Chapter 601: You Must Still Love Me
When Ning Zhuo saw the head of the Jiao Family standing outside the door, he immediately felt a headache coming on.
For the short term, maintaining the identity of Jiao Ma was still necessary.
The enmity between him and the Heaven-and-Earth Twin Ghosts was simply too great!
Once his true identity was exposed, those two would certainly come after him. At that time, if two Nascent Soul true lords hunted him down while he had already lost his military position, how could he still deal with matters of White Paper Immortal City? How could he still join the Myriad Phenomena Sect?
“However, come to think of it, if I can enter the Myriad Phenomena Sect, that super sect would indeed be an excellent shield.”
But that matter was still rather distant.
For now, Ning Zhuo would remain in White Paper Immortal City for some time yet, so he needed to keep up the disguise.
Still, Ning Zhuo did not want to speak much with the head of the Jiao Family. Blocking the doorway, he said with an expressionless face, “Not long ago, even Lord Funeral Music Nether Performer died because of an assassination attempt.”
“I will avoid meeting any suspicious individuals as much as possible.”
The Jiao Family head immediately flushed red with anger. “I am your father! And you dare to suspect me?!”
Ning Zhuo remained expressionless. “The traitor in the city has extremely strong disguise abilities. As long as I do not step past this threshold, I remain protected by the defensive formation inside the house. If you have something to say, keep it brief.”
The Jiao Family head had not expected such treatment when he deliberately came to see his own son.
“Fine, fine.”
He forcibly suppressed his anger. “My son, I know you are still angry with your father.”
“But everything I made you do was for the sake of the family.”
“Your two older brothers have already lost their Yuan Yang. With such a depleted body, serving the City Lord would be a great disrespect!”
“Only you were the most suitable candidate.”
Ning Zhuo interrupted him. “Is there anything else? I’m very busy right now. On one hand I must cultivate, and on the other I must handle cases for the City Lord.”
The Jiao Family head sensed the intent to drive him away and forced a smile onto his face. “My son, you managed to overcome the crisis by relying solely on yourself. Your father is very pleased.”
“You truly are worthy of being a descendant of the Jiao Family! Turning misfortune into fortune and gaining the City Lord’s favor.”
“That is precisely why I came this time.”
“Whatever you need for your investigation, just say it. Our family will definitely assist you with everything we have.”
Ning Zhuo’s heart stirred immediately. He instantly understood the hidden meaning in those words.
“How many members of the family came this time?”
The Jiao Family head answered honestly, “Eighty percent of the clan came. Another ten percent left the Black Marsh Wetlands, and the final ten percent are the old, weak, sick, and disabled who remained behind to guard the clan lands.”
When a cultivation family suffered a disaster, naturally they would distribute their members in order to preserve the bloodline.
But eighty percent was far too high.
“Eighty percent?” Ning Zhuo looked at the Jiao Family head, somewhat surprised by his boldness. This was almost equivalent to committing the entire clan to supporting White Paper Immortal City.
The Jiao Family head wore a solemn expression. “This was a decision the elders and I debated for many days before reaching.”
“The boundary between yin and yang separates us. Ghosts emerging from the Underworld cannot exceed the Nascent Soul level.”
“White Paper Immortal City has stood here for so long. It will not be destroyed by a ghost tide!”
“Of course, there is another reason.”
“The announcement issued by the City Lord offers extremely generous rewards to all cultivators who enter the city to provide support. The scale of this reward is the greatest I have seen in my entire life!”
Ning Zhuo again heard the underlying meaning. “Heavy rewards attract brave men. White Paper Immortal City is likely emptying its coffers to make you risk your lives.”
“Of course. It is indeed life-risking money!” the Jiao Family head admitted frankly. “But at such a high price, I believe it is worth it. We have already received orders to undergo secret training first, and afterward to leave the city to fight.”
Ning Zhuo frowned. “Although that Yin Army is not large in scale, their formation is strict and disciplined, and they are supported by military strategy. If you leave the city for open combat, how can you possibly be their opponent?”
The Jiao Family head laughed loudly. “My son, rest assured. We will not confront them head-on. We will merely look for opportunities to launch surprise attacks and eliminate their scouts.”
Ning Zhuo’s brows relaxed slightly. “That is a strategy of exhausting the enemy.”
He had experienced the battlefield himself, so he knew that this was already the limit of what White Paper Immortal City could realistically achieve at the moment.
Seeing that Ning Zhuo still cared about the family, most of the Jiao Family head’s earlier anger dissipated. Before leaving, he reminded him, “My son, this time the City Lord has ordered reinforcements from nearly every village and town.”
“The Hidden Yang Residence may soon be overcrowded. You should quickly advance into the Strong Yang Courtyard.”
“If your father dies on the battlefield, and you manage to secure a position within the City Lord’s Mansion, then you will become the family’s support.”
At the end, the Jiao Family head sighed and took out a jade slip. “This contains the complete set of our family’s cultivation methods, along with the Family Head Token. Keep them safe. If misfortune strikes, perhaps you may use them to restore the family one day.”
Ning Zhuo did not reach out to take them. The Jiao Family head simply placed the jade slip and token on the ground before turning and leaving.
Seeing this scene, Sun Lingtong said, “Not bad, Little Zhuo. You just got a benefit for free.”
Although Sun Lingtong was currently inside the Yin Army’s main camp, Ning Zhuo could transmit the surroundings through Life Hanging by a Thread.
Therefore, what Sun Lingtong saw was almost no different from when he had previously been inside the Wanli Dragon.
Ning Zhuo sighed. The trust the Jiao Family head had placed in him stirred complicated emotions in his heart.
He could not help imagining: if his own father had survived, would he have treated him the same way in such circumstances?
Ning Zhuo was not Jiao Ma. From the perspective of an outsider, the Jiao Family head had actually placed his beloved son in a relatively safe position. This was both for the family and an expression of deep fatherly love.
A thought arose in Ning Zhuo’s mind.
“Boss, since we borrowed his son’s identity, we should consider ourselves to have received a favor from the Jiao Family.”
Sun Lingtong replied, “Oh? Then what do you plan to do, Little Zhuo?”
Ning Zhuo said, “Now that I have the Family Head Token, I can send message birds to members of the Jiao Family. Since you’re in the enemy camp, you might as well gather some intelligence. I can pass it to them in time and reduce some of their casualties. That would repay this favor.”
Sun Lingtong shrugged. “It’s only a convenient thing to do anyway. Fine by me.”
Ning Zhuo touched the Mechanical Ring on his finger, then inspected the jade slip and token. After confirming they were harmless, he finally put them away.
Besides recording several cultivation methods of the Jiao Family, the jade slip also contained a treasure map.
Since nearly the entire Jiao Family had come to provide support, they had made many preparations before departure. One of them was dividing the family’s wealth into multiple portions and burying them in secret locations.
Ning Zhuo had little interest in the treasure map. The Jiao Family’s level was not particularly high, and most of their assets had already been distributed among family members. What remained was nothing remarkable.
He also had little interest in the cultivation techniques recorded in the jade slip. After glancing at them briefly, he stopped paying attention.
He still could not even keep up with the cultivation of the Three Sect Supreme Techniques he was already practicing.
As for body cultivation, it continued steadily with the help of the Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel.
But soul cultivation was Ning Zhuo’s current focus.
After all, four Nascent Soul-level soul-cultivation treasures were not something ordinary cultivators could possess. Moreover, the Hungry Ghost Backlash Cauldron and the Underworld Punishment Scripture were borrowed from the White Paper City Lord and would have to be returned once he left the city.
Ning Zhuo’s soul foundation continued to skyrocket.
The city organized several night raids. Although they did not shake the Yin Army’s main camp, they indeed caused the enemy trouble and casualties. Overall, the results were fairly effective.
Wen Ruanyu repeatedly came to see Ning Zhuo, urging him to search for the traitor.
But how could a traitor be so easy to find?!
Ning Zhuo had clear self-awareness. He was not skilled at investigations. Instead of wasting time on uncertain matters, he would rather seize the present opportunity and cultivate with every second he could spare.
Wen Ruanyu refused to give up. During one of his visits, he finally revealed his true thoughts.
“The City Lord has entrusted you with an important task. How can you slack off? Jiao Ma, put in more effort. If you uncover more intelligence, perhaps you can dig out the traitor.”
It turned out that through Sun Lingtong, Ning Zhuo had been gathering detailed military intelligence and sending it to the Jiao Family via message birds. Thus, when they conducted night raids, they always targeted the weakest points in the enemy’s forces.
After doing this many times, attentive people naturally noticed something unusual.
In Wen Ruanyu’s mind, this only further confirmed that Jiao Ma was not really Jiao Ma. The City Lord must have assigned him to investigate the traitor precisely because of his unique intelligence-gathering ability.
Ning Zhuo became annoyed by the constant urging and made a few excuses.
But Wen Ruanyu was deeply concerned about White Paper Immortal City and could not be dismissed so easily.
After thinking for a moment, Ning Zhuo could only offer a suggestion.
“Senior Wen, please be patient. Whether White Paper Immortal City can survive this ghost tide does not fundamentally depend on finding the traitor, but on our City Lord.”
“As long as the City Lord recovers and resolves the issue of excessive Yin energy, regaining the ability to move freely, then with this immortal city as support, who could possibly conquer it?”
Wen Ruanyu nodded. “That is true… but the problem is that the City Lord is still in this condition!”
Ning Zhuo shook his head and stared at Wen Ruanyu.
“Senior Wen, I refuse to believe that the mighty White Paper Immortal City has no contingency plan for this.”
Wen Ruanyu hesitated briefly before transmitting his voice directly to Ning Zhuo.
“Very well. Since you are now the Deputy City Lord, this plan will not be hidden from you.”
He quickly explained the plan in simple terms.
After hearing it, Ning Zhuo revealed a hint of surprise.
“The Golden Swallow Fork?”
Sun Lingtong also learned of it almost simultaneously and laughed secretly.
“Little Zhuo, what a fine name for a treasure. It matches perfectly with our Iron Gray Han Armor. It should belong to us!”
Wen Ruanyu’s plan was simple. They needed to find a suitable cultivator for the Golden Swallow Fork to recognize as its master. Through this extremely Yang-attribute treasure, they could release massive Yang energy to help the White Paper City Lord consume the excessive Yin energy in her body.
As long as the burden was reduced enough, the White Paper City Lord’s true body would regain some ability to act.
Wen Ruanyu sighed. “Originally, Golden Yangzi was the best candidate for this plan.”
“This man was a piece placed here by the White-Headed Dragon Lord. We all knew it, but for the sake of the greater situation we tolerated it.”
“Unfortunately, the traitor moved first and eliminated him.”
Ning Zhuo said, “So the traitor also knows about this plan.”
Wen Ruanyu replied, “The existence of the Golden Swallow Fork has long been known among the upper ranks. In fact, it also represents hope and helps stabilize morale.”
Ning Zhuo clapped his hands.
“In that case, we might as well use this matter to set a trap.”
“If we run around everywhere investigating cases, not only is it dangerous, but what if the enemy feeds us false leads and exhausts our time and energy?”
“Instead of being easily dragged around by the enemy, it would be better to retreat and cast a net, waiting for the rabbit to walk into the trap!”
Wen Ruanyu was persuaded and nodded slightly. “That makes sense.”
Ning Zhuo added, “But before that, move me to the Strong Yang Courtyard first.”
Recently, the Hidden Yang Residence had taken in too many human men. The environment had become extremely noisy, which was not suitable for Ning Zhuo’s cultivation.
“That’s easy!” Wen Ruanyu agreed immediately.
In fact, if Ning Zhuo simply revealed his position as Deputy City Lord, he could have arranged it himself with ease.
Ning Zhuo soon moved into the Strong Yang Courtyard.
The temperature there was far higher than outside.
Deep underground lay a pool of Fire Essence.
The main hall was the Blazing Sun Hall. Behind it stood the Rising Sun Stele, while in the front courtyard plaza stood a Golden Crow Heaven-Burning Pillar, towering upward as if holding up the sky.
The residence where Ning Zhuo moved was collectively called the Yang Flame Residence. Many pieces of furniture were made from fire jade.
However, the atmosphere here was not good.
On the very afternoon he moved in, Ning Zhuo was blocked in the back garden while taking a walk.
“So kid, I heard you were personally arranged to enter here by Lord Wen?”
“You’ve got quite the connections, but don’t get any delusions.”
“I am destined to become the master of the Golden Swallow Fork!”
A man named Zuo Han, whose left eye glowed with cold moonlight, threatened Ning Zhuo with a stern expression.
Just as Ning Zhuo was about to speak, a figure suddenly jumped out from behind a nearby rockery.
It was someone Ning Zhuo knew—Yang Weida, who had come from the same “village.”
Yang Weida bowed and scraped to Zuo Han, helping Ning Zhuo deal with the situation.
“Jiao Ma, you finally got promoted up here.”
“That’s wonderful!”
“We’re on the same side. We should help each other and make those old men who bully us open their dog eyes and watch us succeed!”
After saying that, he stared intently at Ning Zhuo.
“Jiao Ma, you finished the medicine I sold you, right? Want to buy some more?”
“That won’t be necessary.” Ning Zhuo refused decisively, turned around, and left, unwilling to entangle himself with Yang Weida.
He still needed to practice cultivation.
When it came to soul cultivation, Ning Zhuo practiced diligently without interruption.
As for setting the trap around the Golden Swallow Fork, Wen Ruanyu handled almost everything.
Ning Zhuo simply acted as a hands-off manager, and his days were quite comfortable.
But the arrival of a young girl broke his peaceful life.
Her skin carried a bluish-green hue, and dark green spiral patterns appeared at her joints. Fish-scale-like keratin covered her elbows and knees.
Two spiral short horns protruded from her forehead like curved blades forged from bronze.
She wore leather armor, her figure extremely alluring—full in front and behind, yet with a slender waist that made her curves both smooth and exaggerated.
The young girl came directly to him and stared intensely at Ning Zhuo, strong emotions flowing from her eyes.
“Xiao Ma, you still like me, don’t you?”
Ning Zhuo immediately understood that this girl must be Qing Yan’s daughter—the ghost-race girl Qing Chi who had been in love with Jiao Ma.
A headache rose in his mind.
Expressionless, he shook his head. “At this point, what’s the point of talking about love or not? You should leave. Don’t come looking for me again. Just pretend we never met.”
The girl staggered back a step, her face turning pale as she clutched her chest in pain.
“Xiao Ma, how can you be so heartless, saying words as sharp as knives!”
“I don’t believe it!” The girl shook her head, then fixed Ning Zhuo with a determined and pleading gaze.
“You must still love me. You’re just saying the opposite of what you mean!”