"Why was I not informed of the mayor's arrival?

" Wu Hei questioned in a cold tone.

"My lord, we… could not. We sensed the spirit qi scanning over the manor before the Mayor's carriage entered the manor. As per your previous orders, we chose to hide and did not expose ourselves to the Mayor.

" The masked man spoke in a nervous tone.

A confused expression appeared on Wu Hei's face for a moment before he spoke again.

"The Mayor used spirit sense? But I did not detect it!? Are you sure of this?

" Wu Hei questioned.

"Yes, my lord. I swear on my life.

" The masked man answered as he tapped his chest with his fist to show his determination.

"Hmm…

" Wu Hei hummed as he rubbed his chin.

'Father is getting sneakier. He never did this before. Has he started to suspect something, perhaps?' Wu Hei thought to himself.

"Alright, it's fine then. But keep a closer eye next time. I want to know if he even gets close to the eastern district next time.

" Wu Hei ordered.

"Yes, my lord!

" The masked man replied.

Wu Hei then continued thinking for about five minutes during which, the masked man stayed silent and waited.

"There will be some new guests in our district soon, the disciples of Tri cauldron peony sect. I want every single movement of theirs reported to me when they arrive.

" Wu Hei ordered.

"As you command, my lord.

" The masked man responded with his head lowered.

"You can go now.

" Wu Hei dismissed the man.

The man thus stood up and was just about to leave the office when Wu Hei called out to him again.

"Wait! Inform Hei Wan about this as well. Tell her that we may need the assistance of our 'ally' if something gets problematic. He should be useful if our assumptions about him are correct. So far, he's only lived up to it.

" Wu Hei said in a calm tone that changed to a more expectant one at the end.

"As you wish, my lord.

" The masked man replied before swiftly leaving to complete his assigned orders.

Wu Hei went to sit at his desk again and slouched slightly as he rubbed his forehead in fatigue.

~Sigh~

'What is father planning now? First, he turns a blind eye to the Northern town head's actions, and now this. There is certainly something bothering him, I need to find out.' Wu Hei thought to himself. 'And these 'culprits', I wonder if they found out anything new about them yet.'

***

In the Sleepscape, Lin Mu was sitting down below the spirit apple tree and had his eyes closed.

Lin Mu was currently on his second attempt at practicing the nameless technique created by the lost immortal. He was channeling his spirit qi according to the instructions in the wooden slip and did not find a difference this time either.

Lin Mu had exhausted nearly all of his spirit qi wisps and was barely left with a hundred wisps now, along with six drops of liquid spirit qi. He had successfully refined two more drops of them during the entire day.

He had thought that his speed of refining liquid spirit qi would improve, but no such thing could be seen for now. Still, he did not lose hope and knew that he should improve some time later. Senior Xukong told him the same thing as well.

~Huu~

Lin Mu let out a breath as he opened his eyes.

~Sigh~

"No difference even now. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong?

" Lin Mu muttered to himself.

He thought for a bit and stood up to practice with his weapons. He took out the spear and practiced the routine demonstrated in the thousand armament blade scripture. While practicing, Lin Mu noticed a new thing. The spear seemed to feel comfortable to him now.

Although it was not at the level of his short sword, it was still better than any of his other weapons.

'Huh, looks like I have a second preference now.' Lin Mu thought to himself.

He continued practicing the moves of the thousand armament blade scripture and continued thinking about it.

"Perhaps, I should try visiting old man Jing again. Maybe he has a spear that is a spirit weapon as well.

" Lin Mu muttered to himself.

~pop~

Xukong suddenly appeared in front of Lin Mu and was almost at the sharp tip of the spear, being barely a millimeter away. Still, he showed no reaction and simply kept on floating there.

"Oh? Your control is getting better.

" Xukong said in a slightly praising tone.

"Ah, yes! I think that too senior. For some reason, my progress with the spear is much faster than the other weapons. Except for of course, my short sword.

" Lin Mu replied.

"Hmm, seems like you have some affinity with spears as well,

" Xukong spoke in acknowledgment.

"Senior should I… try visiting the Jing Wei's emporium again?

" Lin Mu asked.

~Chuckle~

Xukong stayed silent for a bit before he let out a slight laugh.

"You could try, of course. Though I do not know if you will even be able to find the shop again.

" Xukong replied.

Lin Mu had a slightly embarrassed expression, but soon calmed himself again.

"Your right senior. Still, I'll try and see if I can sense it, if not there is no harm. My enhanced spirit sense should help now, I think.

" Lin Mu spoke.

Senior Xukong did not respond and simply floated around. He had been appearing at random times, testing out Lin Mu's response time. Unknown to Lin Mu, he had been secretly enjoying this too.

Lin Mu soon returned to his practice and thought of his plans. While he was doing so, he suddenly had an idea as his eyes went wide.

Lin Mu abruptly stopped and stored the spear away in the ring before sitting down. He then closed his eyes and tried to do what he had thought of. Lin Mu chanted the severing heart sutra and focused on a place at the very bottom of his dantian.