"Damn," Mu Chen cursed as his heart almost leaped out of his throat. He scrambled onto his feet and turned around to see a person standing in the pond, naked. But it was not some jade-beauty he once dreamed of.

Instead, it was a guy in his teens and he was staring at Mu Chen like he had seen a ghost. He had been enjoying his relaxing bath, but Mu Chen's appearance startled him.

Mu Chen jumped into the lake next to the guy and chopped at his neck. The guy was still in a bit of a daze and slow to react. A clean swipe and he was knocked unconscious. Mu Chen grabbed him by the neck and dragged him to the shore.

Only now was Mu Chen able to take a good look at his surroundings. They were inside a courtyard, next to a small pond. Decorative trees and rocks surrounded the marble basin. There was even a small waterfall. A three-storied mansion stood on one side, while the other three sides were surrounded by tall walls.

"Does this guy live here?" Mu Chen looked at the unconscious figure. He was about the same age as him. "Ming Dynasty's scion?" Mu Chen had a headache. Why couldn't this guy take a bath during the day like normal people? Fortunately, nobody else was here.

Mu Chen's clothes had become soggy so he decided to change first. But as he was changing, the guy who he had knocked out, opened his eyes. He saw Mu Chen undressing and let out a high-pitched scream, "Aaaaah! A p-pervert!"

Mu Chen had black lines on his forehead.

"Shut up!" he roared and knocked out the guy again using a bit more force.

Mu Chen dressed in a hurry. Just as he was thinking what to do with the guy, the pitter-patter of footsteps reached his ears. Mu Chen decided to leave the guy alone and hid behind a boulder. Using sword sense to cover himself, he did his best to stay still and quiet.

A short and scrawny little man slid open the door of the house and poked his head. "Young Master, are you alright?" After receiving no reply, he stepped into the courtyard and saw the guy lying unconscious. "Young master!" He ran towards the youth and checked his pulse. "Young Master, wake up."

"Ugh, my head...hurts." The guy woke up and rubbed his head. He was still dizzy but quickly regained his senses. "T-that guy? Where is he?"

The scrawny man was shocked. "W-who?" He became alert and inspected the surroundings with his divine sense, but found nothing.

"Who else?" The guy stood up, fuming in anger. "Father was assaulted―" He paused as he recalled something and his face turned pale. He covered his ass and began shivering.

The scrawny man was puzzled. "Y-young master?"

But the young master paid no attention as he examined his body. Finding nothing amiss, he heaved a sigh of relief and murmured. "Fortunately, Father's chastity was saved..."

Mu Chen, who was hiding, heard this and almost vomited. He very much wanted to knock out the guy again. But he controlled himself and remained motionless, not making a sound.

"Should we alert the guards?" The old man was still a bit confused. But he understood that someone had come in and knocked the young master out. "If there is an intruder―"

"Are you stupid?" The guy scoffed. He picked up his clothes from the ground and began dressing. "He is already gone. If we tell the guards, they will search the entire residence—your existence will be exposed. Anyway, it's the Ming Family's problem, not mine."

"Y-young Master," the man's voice trembled. "You care about me."

"That's natural," the young master said. "Since you've agreed to be this Father's follower, I won't abandon you."

"Young master is noble and generous." The man bowed. "I swear I will do everything to help the Young Master rise to power."

"Help me? Or did you mean to help yourself?" The young master teased.

The scrawny man fell silent. "Young master's discernment is like a torch," he sighed. "I just wanted to earn some extra spirit stones before leaving, but after getting their share they didn't even want to speak with me..."

"We all came for the secret realm―you think they would have time to waste on you?" the guy chuckled. "But I must thank them. Otherwise, how would someone like you be willing to be my underling?"

The scrawny man lowered his head in shame. "I was foolish."

"Anyway, how long until they figure out that the divine metal you sold is a fake?"

"It should take some time. Although I lied it was a million years old, its real age is at least several thousand years old. Not many people here have experience with antiques. Just finding one will be troublesome and I also used some of my tricks."

"That's good. Use this time to cover all the traces. Even after we enter the realm, you can continue hiding in this residence. No matter how arrogant the noble family is, they won't dare to search here."

"B-but what about later?" The scrawny man shifted his weight from one foot to another. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life hiding.

"What are you so nervous for? The elders of the family will be arriving soon."

The scrawny guy picked up a piece of clothing from the ground and began to help the young master get dressed. "Will they really come?"

"Hehe, of course. Even the Long Clan's Princess came...the news must have spread by now. So, when the elders arrive, you must grab the opportunity."

"Young Master, my skill is genuine―I can guarantee it with my life," the man said.

"You have the skills, but it won't be easy to persuade the elders," the young master said.

"As long as Young Master helps put in a word, it won't be impossible." Not only did the man help the guy get dressed, but he also flattened the creases on the clothing.

Having finished dressing, the young master began to walk towards the mansion. The scrawny man followed.

"But, are there really so many treasures in the Blood Marshes?"

"You know nothing!" The young master shook his head. "The Blood Marshes is the place of a real battlefield. Thousands of years ago, a war that shook the entire Central Continent took place." The young master stopped and shivered. He had only seen the records of those wars, yet they could strike terror in one's heart. The young master sighed and resumed walking. "The number of cultivators that died in the war could've piled up mountains. Even now that land is dyed red...and all the treasures that they carried, were lost on the battlefield. But due to the heavy resentment, it has become impossible to distinguish real treasures from trash. If you can help the clan recover a few ancient treasures, it will be a great merit..."

The voice trailed off as the two of them went back into the residence.

After the two of them disappeared, Mu Chen waited for several minutes before coming out of his hiding. He looked in the direction where the two of them had left with a frown on his forehead. Never did he imagine he would see the Proprietor Jin from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion here.

"That guy is from the Central Continent?" Mu Chen recalled those people he had seen with Proprietor Jin at the auction. "They are all here for the secret realm as well?" Mu Chen's brow was full of frowns. Things had become complicated with the involvement of cultivators from the Central Continent.

"Forget it." Mu Chen shook his head and took out the reed pipe. "Let me find that little brat first." He played the tune and waited for Xiao Xue's reply. This time, Xiao Xue's cry came faster than before, meaning she was a lot closer. Mu Chen identified the direction and jumped over the wall.

The Ming Dynasty Palace was a place full of architectural grandeur. Mu Chen had never seen a place that was so luxurious, yet the meticulousness of it made sure it didn't look ostentatious. It made the Mu Family estate look like a pauper's. If it was another time, Mu Chen would have liked to tour the entire palace and enjoy the scenery. But between keeping himself hidden and tracking Xiao Xue, he didn't have the leisure to appreciate any of the beautiful structures or carvings.

Following Xiao Xue's cue, Mu Chen came in front of a compound. He saw guards standing in front of the gate and circled. He found a vacant spot and jumped over the wall into the compound.

The air surrounding Mu Chen changed. The spiritual qi had become thicker. But this made Mu Chen even more cautious. He hadn't sensed spiritual qi anywhere else so far. It was obvious there were formations in place to prevent the leaking of spiritual qi. But the area he had just entered was saturated with spiritual qi. Due to the excess of spiritual qi, the plants here were lush and green, the fruits and vegetables were ripe and juicy. The variety of vegetable and fruit plants present was staggering and it didn't take him long to realize where he was.

"A vegetable garden?" Mu Chen's face twitched. "The Ming Family sure knows how to enjoy themselves."

After walking for a bit more, Mu Chen came across another compound. Its scale was much smaller than the vegetable garden he had seen. But the security here was much tighter. There were guards stationed everywhere and patrols.

Mu Chen circled the compound, trying to find an opening. But to his disappointment, there were guards present in every direction. Even if he managed to sneak past the guards, it would be useless. Mu Chen sensed a very strong formation covering the compound. Unlike the vegetable garden, he couldn't just jump over it.

"What should I do?" Mu Chen lied flat inside a vegetable patch, surveying the compound. If he wasn't mistaken, Xiao Xue was inside that compound. "If she was kidnapped, then I can only fight hard. But this place doesn't look like someone's residence."

He glanced at the vegetables everywhere and a thought hit him. "I get it! It must be a medicine garden―only that can explain why there is a vegetable garden surrounding the center." The herbs not only required spiritual qi, but they also needed fresh air, water, and sunlight. So even if they used a formation, they had to make an exception and allow for air and moisture to pass through. But this meant that some of the spiritual qi would also leak. It was this leaked spiritual qi that was being utilized to raise the vegetables and fruits.

"Huh? So maybe they are not as extravagant as I thought." Mu Chen rubbed his chin. "But this could only mean Xiao Xue went in by herself. How did she get in?"

Mu Chen circled the medicine garden once more. But this time he used his sword sense to probe his surroundings. Sure enough, he noticed something. In one of the vegetable patches, he found a burrow.

Mu Chen crouched down and examined the burrow with his sword sense and discovered it stretched in the direction of the compound. It was barely a foot wide, the perfect size for someone like Xiao Xue to crawl through. He suspected it was Xiao Xue herself who dug it.

Mu Chen dug at the sides till it was wide enough then squeezed himself in. But once inside the burrow, it became difficult to even move around. Mu Chen had to use his sword intent several times to loosen the earth. "That brat! What the hell is she upto? My divine ability has been reduced to digging a pit. See if I don't smoke your ass red once I find you!" Mu Chen grumbled, but his hands didn't stop.

"Pfft!" Mu Chen spat the mud in his mouth. After what seemed like hours, he broke through the other end of the burrow and crawled out, covered in dirt. The new set of clothes he had recently changed had been ruined, and a heavy scent of earth lingered around him.

"Xiao Xue?" Mu Chen whispered, but there was no response. Mu Chen sighed and began to look for her traces.

The medicine garden was filled with herbs. Mu Chen could only recognize a few of them, but even with his limited knowledge, he could guess every herb here was precious. Mu Chen was tempted to grab a few as went along but gave up. Precious herbs like these had to be stored in special containers otherwise they would lose their essence once harvested. Moreover, he didn't want to add to his list of crimes.

Mu Chen continued to look for Xiao Xue and a while later, he spotted a white patch of fur in one of the fields.

Xiao Xue lied on the ground, curled up.

Mu Chen hurried forward and crouched next to Xiao Xue. He tried to pick her up but almost dropped her from shock. Xiao Xue's body was burning.

"Grrr!" Xia Xue growled and opened her eyes. But when she saw it was Mu Chen, her growl turned into whining. She struggled to stand up on all fours but fell unconscious.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Mu Chen picked up Xiao Xue in his arms. Not only was her body temperature high, but she was also shivering. It was then he noticed something odd. Xiao Xue's stomach was bloated like a balloon.

Mu Chen looked around and saw there were several pits dug in the surrounding field. Seeing them, he didn't know if he should laugh or cry.

"This greedy little fox! You ate till you couldn't even move?" Mu Chen chided, but his worries dropped by half. At least, Xiao Xue's life shouldn't be in immediate danger.

"Let's go back." Mu Chen hugged Xiao Xue, came back to the burrow, and crawled through it once again. Things were more difficult since he also had to carry Xiao Xue, but he managed it.

After confirming he wasn't exposed, Mu Chen took a few steps forward but froze.

"Damn! How do I go back?"