NOVEL WEB Chapter 67: A week Passed!
Green Jade City...
A week has passed since the death of Dong family young master Dong Ming. Everything came back to usual as Dong family failed to capture the enemy. The Dong family members also fed up with the search.
The Dong ancestral manor, once a place of bustling politics, now bore an oppressive silence. Servants avoided eye contact and no one spoke loudly to each other.
In the grand hall, Old Patriarch Dong Xian sat motionless, his eyes shadowed with sleeplessness. Before him lay the crude sketches of a plump-faced youth — Fatty Lambu — the only lead his family had managed to claw from the depths of frustration. His fingers, knotted with age and authority, gripped the parchment until the edges tore.
"Seven days… and nothing,"
his voice was a low growl, thick with suppressed rage.
Beside him, Dong Lianhua poured tea into a porcelain cup but did not dare speak. She knew every word she offered risked stoking the inferno brewing inside her grandfather.
Finally, he looked at her — his gaze sharp as a forged blade.
"We scoured Green Jade City. We sent soldiers into every tavern, every market, every roadside gambling den. We bribed the Khan Family's servants until their pockets jingled with spirit coins… and what do we have? A half-eaten description of a glutton!"
His palm slammed against the table. The porcelain cup cracked, spilling tea like fresh blood across the wood.
---
[Few Days Back...]
It had been the young maid from the Khan Family auction house who first revealed information about Mo Han. She was the one who had opened Private Room No. 13 for Mo Han and his companions.
While Mo Han's identity remained hidden behind a mask, she remembered something vividly — the plump, round face of Fatty Lambu who had not bothered to cover himself.
"He had cheeks like stuffed dumplings," she had said nervously. "And eyes that wandered to every food tray as though they were treasures. I… I've never seen such a hungry look."
The description had been crude, but it was enough for the Dong Family's artists to sketch Fatty Lambu's face. The drawing had been duplicated and passed secretly to every informant, mercenary, and shadow-agent the family could spare.
But even that lead turned to dust.
In the chaos of Green Jade City's sprawling districts and hidden alleyways, no one recognized the fat youth. Not a single innkeeper, stable boy, or roadside stall merchant could recall seeing him after the auction night.
Even some recognised, they denied because of Ding family madness.
[Now...]
A pair of family elders whispered in hushed tones before the old patriarch Dong Xian.
"Perhaps they left the city entirely…"
"Impossible. We had every road watched for days."
"And yet, here we are — empty-handed."
The truth was simple but bitter: Mo Han and his companions had slipped away as if swallowed by the earth itself.
Dong Xian's fury was only tempered by the fact that they had no face, no name, no direction to chase. Without those, even the vast influence of the Dong Family was shackled.
---
Meanwhile...
Far from the politics and burning grudges of Green Jade City, Mohan, Fatty Lambu, and Jia Kai traveled at a measured pace toward the Burning Sun Peak.
Under normal circumstances, their spirit crane could have carried them there in three days. But the presence of the mountain eagle slowed their journey.
On the 8th morning, the horizon began to shimmer with waves of heat. Even from miles away, the Burning Sun Peak was visible.
The air grew hotter with every step. The rocks on the ground radiated heat, and faint mirages danced in the distance.
Fatty Lambu wiped sweat from his forehead and complained loudly.
"Why… huff… do the sun is so hot today? Not a single cloud in the sky."
Jia Kai rolled his eyes.
"You're sweating because you've eaten half our dried meat stock. Maybe if you carried less weight in your stomach, the heat wouldn't bother you."
"Hah! A warrior must never travel on an empty stomach!" Fatty retorted, clutching the food pouch protectively. "Besides, you'll thank me when we're starving in some cursed ruin."
Mo Han, walking ahead, didn't look back.
"Both of you, quiet."
His eyes scanned the rocky ridges as he can see the distant mountains surrounding Burning Sun Peak.
---
Back in Green Jade City...
While the trio escaped, in the Green Jade City, Dong Xian's patience finally cracked.
The old patriarch stood before a group of his most trusted captains.
"We will cease the open search," he said, voice low but firm. "The city's eyes are watching. Let them think we have given up."
One of the captains frowned.
"Patriarch, you mean to—?"
"Yes," Dong Xian cut him off. "We move in the shadows now. Double the reward for any whisper about this… Mo Han. And the fat one — the one in the drawing — he is the key. If you find him, you find the others."
Dong Lianhua, standing nearby, could see the toll this hunt had taken on her grandfather. His hands trembled faintly, but his gaze remained as cold and sharp as a drawn blade.
Somewhere in the city, informants passed the sketch again. Somewhere, eyes lingered on strangers in marketplaces and roadside inns. But the city was vast, and Mo Han was gone.
---
That night, as Mohan sat by the small campfire, Fatty Lambu finally asked the question that had been gnawing at him.
"Brother Han… do you think they're still looking for us?"
Mo Han's expression didn't change, but his answer was quiet.
"Of course they are. Families like that don't forget revenge. But we gave them nothing to work with. No name. No trail."
Jia Kai glanced up from sharpening his blade.
"Still… we should be careful. The more we move, the more chances they'll have to hear about us."
Mohan's gaze turned toward the looming silhouette of the Burning Sun Peak.
"They can look all they want. By the time they find us… we'll already be strong enough to make them regret it."
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