Five days later.
Tianmu Region, Yunji Town.
The Yunji Inn buzzed with activity, its business booming. Many cultivators, weary from their journeys, chose to stop here for a delicious hot pot.
In a corner of the inn, sectioned off by a landscape screen, Xu Mu and Jiu Xian removed their masks and sat down.
"Every time I travel, I make a point of coming to this inn for their lamb hot pot. The red broth is exceptionally good. Try it quickly," Jiu Xian said, gesturing to the bubbling hot pot on the table.
He then impatiently scooped a piece of freshly cooked lamb into his mouth, immediately yelping from the heat but refusing to spit it out.
Xu Mu put down his bronze mirror and looked at Jiu Xian helplessly. "I really don't understand what's so great about hot pot."
"Red broth, white broth, cooked meat, raw meat. As long as it's not roasted, doesn't it all taste the same?"
Jiu Xian chuckled, his eyes narrowed in amusement. "You'll know once you try it yourself."
"Putting on airs," Xu Mu chuckled softly. He picked up a piece of lamb from the red broth, dipped it in sauce, and put it in his mouth.
Instantly, a brilliant radiance flashed before Xu Mu's eyes.
"So fragrant!"
Seeing this, Jiu Xian, as if he had anticipated it, chuckled and said,
"I told you so. Once you try this, you'll want to come back again."
Xu Mu nodded. "Indeed."
With that, Jiu Xian scooped a few more pieces of meat onto his plate.
The hot pot steamed, much like the mist that enveloped the outside world. Outside the window, rain began to fall on the green hills.
The distant green hills, the pleasant scenery, the exquisite hot pot, and the scent of watermelon wafting into the inn—all these, combined with the delicious food, helped to ease Xu Mu's taut nerves.
"This is truly delicious. It's the most satisfying meal I've had since leaving the Daoist temple," Xu Mu said, gently chewing the lamb in his mouth, his words filled with emotion. "However, Yunji Town is territory of the Bai clan among the hundred clans, and it's a border region."
"Once we leave Yunji Town, we'll enter the territory of the Nangong clan. I don't know if I'll have another chance to eat this red broth hot pot in the future."
Hearing this, Jiu Xian raised his chopsticks and smiled indifferently. "What's the big deal? Anyway, this Bai clan is one of the families primarily targeting the Nangong clan."
"The Cheng clan, the Dongfang clan, and this Bai clan—we need to win them over. If we stay here a bit longer, you can eat this hot pot for as long as you want."
Xu Mu shook his head at this.
"Of course, it's not that all three clans need to be won over. The urgent matter is that I need to understand the situations of these three clans, the more detailed the better, so that I can choose which one to prioritize. After all, this is not an easy task."
"For instance, as you mentioned before, the Cheng clan and the Nangong clan are sworn enemies and cannot reconcile. If I waste time trying to win them over, wouldn't that be futile?"
"This..." Jiu Xian pursed his lips and put down his chopsticks. "Actually, I don't know much about these feuds. I've only heard rumors, and they might not be accurate."
Xu Mu waved his hand and said seriously, "That's still better than me knowing nothing."
"Senior, please tell me."
Jiu Xian sighed. "Alright, let's start with the Bai clan."
"I know that the current head of the Bai clan is named Bai Yun. She is a woman at the Domain Lord realm, about my age, and very powerful."
"Decades ago, she and Nangong Yu of the Nangong clan, Nangong Huaitian's grandfather, were lovers. They were deeply in love. However, Bai Yun was just a collateral branch of the Bai clan at the time, so Nangong Yu's father vehemently opposed them, even threatening to disown his son, but he couldn't change Nangong Yu's resolve."
"However, fate is unpredictable. In the end, Bai Yun was abandoned. Nangong Yu married Xi Lengxue, a princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Not long after their wedding, Xi Lengxue became pregnant."
"As for Bai Yun, she desperately went to the River of Forgetfulness, drank the Water of Forgetfulness, and cultivated diligently for years. She rose from an obscure collateral branch to break through to the peak of the Domain Lord realm and became the head of the Bai clan."
Hearing this, Xu Mu couldn't help but gasp.
"Heartbreak, Water of Forgetfulness, and even breaking through to Domain Lord because of it."
"It seems Bai Yun is determined to seek revenge on the Nangong clan."
Jiu Xian nodded and sighed.
"Yes, there are eighty thousand words in the world, but only the word 'love' causes the most pain. For so many years, Bai Yun's only motivation for diligently cultivating was to avenge Nangong Yu. However, she ultimately failed."
"Because long before she became a Domain Lord, Nangong Yu and Xi Lengxue had both died in the forbidden grounds."
"At that time, the entire cultivation world was shaken. Nangong Yu possessed the Heavenly Phoenix bloodline, and as long as he lived, becoming a Human King was almost a certainty."
"Died?" Xu Mu was taken aback. Then, as if he had thought of something, he frowned and asked, "I want to know, why did Nangong Yu and Xi Lengxue go to the forbidden grounds?"
Jiu Xian shook his head. "I don't know."
"And it's not just me. Even most people in the Nangong clan are unclear. Their deaths are like a secret. Perhaps only the old ancestors of their clan know."
Xu Mu's brow furrowed even tighter.
"You mentioned earlier that Nangong Yu was willing to risk breaking father-son ties rather than separate from Bai Yun. Why did he end up marrying Xi Lengxue? Is there some hidden reason behind this?"
"I don't know that either." Jiu Xian shook his head again and sighed. "Actually, many people back then didn't understand why Nangong Yu abandoned Bai Yun. Even many elders couldn't figure it out, and eventually attributed it all to a change of heart."
"But in my personal opinion, Nangong Yu was a righteous person and shouldn't have betrayed Bai Yun."
"Furthermore, after marrying Xi Lengxue, he was seriously injured once. However, very few people knew about this, and the reason for his injury was a top secret. Even I don't know who was responsible."
Xu Mu's eyebrows twitched. "If that's the case, there might indeed be a significant hidden story."
"Senior Jiu Xian, I want to investigate this matter thoroughly."
A hint of regret flashed in Jiu Xian's eyes. He sighed. "It's difficult. Decades have passed since those events. Even if there were people who knew the inside story back then, they have long since died. The remaining ones are all old monsters in seclusion, barely holding on to life, and they are unlikely to see us."
Xu Mu put down his chopsticks and said seriously,
"Senior, you can't be so definitive. This is our only clue right now."
"Please take me to find those who knew back then. If they refuse to see me, I will find a way to make them see."
"This... I'm actually not very clear about it." Jiu Xian scratched his head and said, "Nangong Yu and I were only acquaintances, so everything I've told you so far was just hearsay."
"I'm really not sure who the informants were back then. However, we can go to the Jin Yin Commercial Bank in town."
Jiu Xian said with a solemn expression, "They have a lot of information there, as long as you have money."
Hearing this, Xu Mu sighed in silence, got up, and said, "Then let's go."
"I may not have other things."
"But I have plenty of money."
...