"San Yuan, I have another task for you."
Yan Shouyi took out the wooden bird San Yuan from his satchel. San Yuan flapped its wings, wobbled into the air, and mingled with the flock of birds, making it difficult to detect.
San Yuan was a natural scout, and with it around, Yan Shouyi felt as if he had a third eye.
After releasing San Yuan, Yan Shouyi sat back down and leisurely watched the Zhao family members leave.
He took out his phone and sent a voice message to Luo Ning and A Gong:
"When you have time, clear out a room in Ping An Building, and prepare some corpses and paper figures. We'll have guests arriving in Rongcheng soon."
The two understood immediately and began to busy themselves, preparing "guest rooms" for this group of guests from the north.
Among the Zhao family's entourage, a woman stood out. She was draped in a貂皮 (diāo pí - mink fur), wore heavy makeup, and had a voluminous wave hairstyle, looking quite alluring.
She was the sister of Fukada Ichiro, named Zhao Yiyao.
Zhao Yiyao was only twenty-one years old, but she was very mature and considered exceptionally talented, holding an unusual status within the Zhao family.
The clan members brought along this time all followed Zhao Yiyao's lead.
However, Zhao Yiyao was currently full of disdain:
"To deal with just one Yan Shouyi, do we need our entire clan to mobilize?"
Someone comforted her, "Yiyao, this is a major event. Yan Shouyi killed your elder brother. It's only natural for the Patriarch to lead the entire clan for revenge."
Zhao Yiyao sneered, "Fukada Ichiro was half Zhao family and half Japanese. He died because he wasn't capable enough. In my opinion, he should have just accepted his fate, and Father shouldn't have avenged him!"
"According to you, shouldn't we be here to kill Yan Shouyi?"
"No, Yan Shouyi must be killed, but not for revenge for my brother. It's because... this brat has disgraced our Zhao family!"
Zhao Yiyao's heart was far more ruthless than Fukada Ichiro's. She didn't even care about sibling affection or the bond of blood. What she cared about was the Zhao family's honor.
Within the Zhao family, a preference for males over females was common. Despite Zhao Yiyao's greater abilities than Fukada Ichiro, their father, Zhao Zhenghao, still favored Fukada Ichiro more.
In Zhao Yiyao's eyes, Fukada Ichiro's method of broadly casting a net to capture shikigami was an extremely foolish behavior.
She believed that as long as a person mastered one thing to perfection, they would be invincible. Therefore, Zhao Yiyao only tolerated herself and the celestial beings within her, not others.
The Yellow Great Immortal on her person was also far more powerful than those of other Zhao family members.
Zhao Yiyao said in a deep voice, "This Yan Shouyi, I don't know if he's bold or simply foolish, to dare to oppose our Zhao family! Just you wait, before tomorrow's banquet of deceit, we will capture them all alive tonight and torture them to death slowly!!"
After uttering the most vicious curse, Zhao Yiyao and the others boarded their dedicated reception vehicle and sped towards the city.
San Yuan also followed closely behind them.
Yan Shouyi withdrew his gaze, checked the time, and surmised that the people he was waiting for should be arriving soon.
"I wonder who it will be?"
Suddenly, Yan Shouyi felt two presences approaching him from behind. He frowned and turned around.
"Yo, you're quite alert, kid!"
"Our footsteps were so light, yet you could still sense us?"
Yan Shouyi had seen the two men behind him before. When Yan Chou was released from prison and led a group of people up to Feifeng Mountain, these two were among them.
Yan Shouyi remembered that one was named San Long, and the other was called Baldy.
San Long was a tough guy. He wore thin clothes even in the dead of winter, with a string of dog tags around his neck. His demeanor was very much like that of a soldier.
Baldy was a short, stout man with sores all over his head. When he smiled, his mouth was full of yellow, tobacco-stained teeth, including one large silver tooth.
Yan Shouyi smiled and opened his arms, exclaiming, "Uncle San Long, Uncle Fatty, I didn't expect it to be you two!"
The three shared a brief embrace. San Long said, "The reason your father sent the two of us is mainly because our abilities are naturally suited to counter the Zhao family's spirit mediums. In front of us, even Patriarch Zhao Zhenghao of the Zhao family wouldn't be able to cause much trouble!"
"That formidable?!" Yan Shouyi was a little surprised, as he didn't know these two uncles very well yet.
Baldy impatiently lit a cigarette and asked while puffing,
"Is the venue for tomorrow set? We're in a bit of a hurry. After we deal with the Zhao family, we have to fly off immediately."
"The venue is set," Yan Shouyi asked, "Are you uncles rushing to deal with the people from the Xin Xuan Mountain Sect?"
San Long and Baldy exchanged a glance. "It seems you know. That's right, there are still quite a few Xin Xuan Mountain Sect members causing trouble in the northwest. Your father is too busy to go, so it falls to us two to handle it."
Yan Shouyi nodded, it seemed the task of eliminating the Xin Xuan Mountain Sect was quite demanding.
"Uncles, things have changed a bit. It seems we won't have time for a welcome feast for you uncles today, and we'll have to get busy right away." Yan Shouyi said apologetically.
San Long waved his hand, "It's alright, we're here to help you anyway. Just tell us what you need us to do."
Since that was the case, Yan Shouyi felt no more hesitation. He said,
"The Zhao family has sent a group of people who have just arrived in Rongcheng. They plan to launch a surprise attack on us tonight, catching us completely off guard."
"Hahahaha!" Baldy burst into laughter. "I knew these Zhao family rascals wouldn't be honest!"
San Long raised an eyebrow, "So, Shouyi, what's your plan then..."
"Since I know their plan, I naturally can't just wait to be attacked. They want to catch us off guard, so we'll strike first," Yan Shouyi smiled. "I've already sent San Yuan to track them. We'll pursue them later and capture them all in one go!"
"How many people are there?" San Long asked again.
"About ten people in total. Do you uncles have confidence?"
"Confidence? Haha! Shouyi, you still underestimate our abilities!"
Baldy laughed and strode out. After a few steps, he turned back and asked, "What are you standing around for? Hurry up! I can't wait to deal with these scoundrels!"
Following behind Baldy, Yan Shouyi couldn't help but whisper to San Long, "Uncle San Long, why does Uncle Fatty seem so agitated? Could it be that he has some old grievance with the Zhao family?"
San Long chuckled, suppressing his laughter.
"You can probably tell from his accent, but your Uncle Fatty is from the Northeast, isn't he?"
Yan Shouyi was taken aback, "Could Uncle Fatty be from the Zhao family?"
"Of course not!" San Long laughed. "The main deities worshipped by spirit mediums in the Northeast are three animals: foxes, snakes, and weasels. This Zhao family mainly relies on weasels, while your Uncle Fatty was previously from the Wu family in the Northeast, who worshipped the Fox Immortal."
"What does that have to do with the Zhao family?"
"Years ago, Uncle Fatty's Fox Immortal was 'involved' with a Yellow Great Immortal from the Zhao family."
"..."
"Although Uncle Fatty 'dealt with' the offending spirit medium afterwards, this incident has been festering in his heart for years. According to him, it felt like his daughter, whom he had raised for over ten years, was violated by people from the Zhao family in the blink of an eye! If it were you, wouldn't you hate the Zhao family?"
"Indeed, you should hate them. Now I understand Uncle Fatty..."