Chapter 33: The Price of Information and Lingering Hope

You An frowned slightly.

They were already a small group, and as Quan Haoqing had mentioned, two newcomers might be easily dismissed.

However, if their numbers increased to three, they would become a force within the gang that could not be ignored.

Still, a sense of reluctance gnawed at him.

He grumbled, “He’s not the type to repay kindness.”

“Hey, Senior Brother You, you’ve already given him a beating.

Now, follow it up with a sweet treat to show your magnanimity.

Wouldn’t he then be eternally grateful to you?

Of course, none of that is the most crucial part.”

You An looked at Quan Haoqing curiously, his confusion evident as he asked, “Then what *is* the most crucial part?”

With an air of shrewd confidence, Quan Haoqing replied, “This mission is of great importance, and Boss Rong also takes it very seriously.

But consider this: if any oversights occur, we can’t be the ones at the forefront, can we?”

A sudden realization dawned on You An. “You mean…”

Quan Haoqing sneered, “We shouldn’t just take benefits for free, should we, Senior Brother You?”

All traces of hesitation vanished from You An.

He burst into laughter, “Exactly, ha-ha-ha, that’s precisely how it should be!

When it comes to strategizing, you’re truly skilled, Junior Brother Quan.

Alright, alright, I’ll go find him right away!”

You An strode away, having completely cast aside all thoughts of surveillance.

The smile on Quan Haoqing’s face gradually faded, much like a peacock retracting its fanned tail.

He lowered his gaze to his palm, where a black pill rested silently.

****

While ‘brotherly affection’ lay dormant on Quan Haoqing’s side, Ye Qingfeng, donning a bronze mask, ventured alone into a dilapidated underground wine cellar.

This wine cellar was nestled in the desolate wilderness outside Xingqing City.

It once belonged to a sizable winery, which had produced various fine wines, sitting directly above it.

However, due to mortal wars, the winery was utterly destroyed, and the site subsequently fell into complete disuse.

Oh, right, that had happened a century ago.

Of the once-glorious winery, only a few severely weathered wooden stumps remained, so fragile that a mere touch would reduce them to dust.

In truth, after the winery’s destruction, the land was quickly taken over, and surprisingly, its owner had remained unchanged ever since.

Ye Qingfeng walked expressionlessly towards the north wall of the wine cellar, stepping through it as if the dark, greenish-black surface were not even there.

The wall was merely an illusion, a trick of the eye; beyond this phantom barrier lay Ye Qingfeng’s true destination.

Yet, there was no sense of novelty upon entering.

Beyond the wall was an entirely enclosed space, devoid of any windows or doors.

Every surface—the surrounding walls, the floor, and the ceiling—was fashioned from a profoundly somber black material.

The room was so small that fitting ten people inside would leave no extra space to stand.

As for the room’s height, Ye Qingfeng felt fortunate her stature did not exceed two meters; otherwise, upon entering, she would have to constantly stoop, much like eunuchs attending an emperor.

At the very center of the room stood three utterly simple pieces of furniture: two chairs, a wooden table, and an oil lamp casting a faint glow.

Ye Qingfeng, with practiced ease, settled into the chair closest to her, then articulated her request.

“I require intelligence regarding the Sky Philosophy Sect’s missing disciple Ye Lan, Enforcement Hall disciple Liang Tong, and outer sect disciple Du Yu.”

****

Wind and Wave Tower.

Hidden in shadows, this demonic sect was renowned throughout the world for gathering myriad affairs, both great and small, and for selling all manner of secret intelligence.

Unlike other demonic sects that reveled in conflict and bloodshed, Wind and Wave Tower, from a certain perspective, could be considered a purer, more refined faction.

They harbored no fondness for blood sacrifices or murder, no interest in doctrinal disputes, and certainly no desire to attract attention.

This demonic sect simply wanted to make money—a great deal of it.

However, just as the most profitable methods in her previous life were often detailed in criminal law,

Wind and Wave Tower also disdained earning paltry sums.

As a demonic sect thriving on gathering and selling intelligence, how did they manage to amass vast wealth?

By selling information that others dared not touch.

It was said that the intelligence they collected even encompassed the private secrets of prominent figures from major sects, along with other mysteries that should never see the light of day.

Crucially, if the reward was sufficiently generous, they genuinely dared to sell this information without considering the consequences.

Precisely for this reason, Wind and Wave Tower had always remained on the blacklists of all major sects, consistently targeted for suppression.

Yet, much like how new weeds inevitably sprout soon after every last one in a garden has been pulled out by the roots,

Wind and Wave Tower had endured countless devastating blows, both major and minor, only to invariably rise from the ashes.

This was, of course, entirely logical; where there is demand, someone will always fulfill it.

Internal intelligence from the Sky Philosophy Sect was not something easily acquired by ordinary individuals, nor was it something ordinary people dared to sell.

Only an organization like Wind and Wave Tower, which recognized only money and not individuals, would dare to sell such information.

After Ye Qingfeng finished stating her requirements, a line of ink-black text appeared on the table.

The price: ten high-grade spirit stones.

Even though she was currently short on spirit stones, she unhesitatingly produced them and placed them on the table.

The spirit stones vanished silently, replaced by a scroll containing the intelligence Ye Qingfeng sought.

She immediately unrolled it and read its contents.

The disappointment on Ye Qingfeng’s face was palpable.

It wasn’t that the intelligence was inaccurate, but rather that it revealed the opposite of what she had hoped.

She had no intention of taking the expensively acquired intelligence with her.

Its contents were already committed to memory, and carrying the scroll out would only invite trouble if detected.

Here, Wind and Wave Tower would dispose of it properly.

Filled with profound disappointment, she departed from this covert outpost of Wind and Wave Tower.

This was far from Ye Qingfeng’s first visit.

Ordinary rogue cultivators might be unaware of Wind and Wave Tower’s existence, but as a former Sky Philosophy Sect cultivator, she had known of it, though not its location.

After becoming a rogue cultivator, she had gone to great lengths to inquire about its whereabouts, seeking information about her former sect.

Information about Wind and Wave Tower proved easier to obtain than she had anticipated.

No, to be precise, Wind and Wave Tower had first learned of Ye Qingfeng’s desire to find them and then actively guided this ‘small client’ to one of their hidden outposts.

It was a case of ‘every little bit helps’ (TL Note: A Chinese saying, ‘wenzi zai xiao ye shi yi kuai rou,’ meaning even a small mosquito is still a piece of meat, implying that even small profits or contributions are valuable).

They must have also conducted some investigations into Ye Qingfeng, this sudden arrival.

It could only be said that they truly lived up to their reputation as a headache for all major sects, indeed possessing remarkable methods.

Over the past year, despite her own financial struggles, Ye Qingfeng had repeatedly spent spirit stones at Wind and Wave Tower, much like a desperate gambler throwing away even the money meant for sustenance.

Yet, each piece of intelligence she received silently mocked her actions.

Liang Tong had indeed returned to the sect severely wounded.

Now, the sect’s prevailing sentiment, including the elders’ views, leaned towards, and even affirmed, Liang Tong as an innocent victim who had been implicated.

Meanwhile, she, the one who remained mysteriously missing, was deemed a treacherous disgrace to the sect, one whose conduct was utterly despicable and who had harmed a fellow disciple.

Du Yu was also tracking her whereabouts and gathering the truth about the original incident, but he had yet to uncover anything.

Ye Qingfeng yearned to rush back and confront the sect members, to confront Liang Tong.

However, as Du Yu had warned, the entire affair reeked of strangeness, and returning to the sect rashly without sufficient evidence would only drag her into greater peril.

Within the sect, Liang Tong held a natural advantage due to his past reputation.

If Liang Tong firmly insisted that she had made the first move, the final verdict would, with high probability, favor him.

After all, compared to an Enforcement Hall Senior Brother who was usually just, strict, gentle, considerate, and cheerfully optimistic, no one would believe an obscure outer sect disciple in the Origin Reversion Realm, who only knew how to bury herself in cultivation and had few friends.

As for seeking out Du Yu, what good would it do even if she explicitly told him that Liang Tong had attacked her first?

What could truly overturn the current situation was concrete evidence, not the mere testimony of the primary suspect herself.

Moreover, Du Yu’s actions had likely already drawn the attention of those with ulterior motives.

If she were to rashly contact him at this juncture, it would be detrimental to both of them.

The optimal solution was for them to search for the truth of the original incident separately.

Therefore, what Ye Qingfeng should have been doing was not spending money on intelligence fees that she knew were ultimately worthless.

Despite this, she still clung to a sliver of ethereal hope—what if?

What if Liang Tong panicked and exposed himself?

What if someone had witnessed Liang Tong’s attack on her?