"Don't worry—your friend is my friend." Brandon Tu nodded firmly.
"Thank you." Evan Yang trusted Brandon Tu's character, so he felt comfortable leaving Tiger Sun here and prepared to depart.
Before leaving, Evan remembered something, so he turned back and asked, "City Lord Tu, let me ask—do you know the Spirit-Plume Wanderer from the Northsource Region?"
Brandon Tu had been about to see Evan off, but when he heard this, he stared at Evan in shock. "Of course I know her."
"What's wrong, City Lord Tu?" Evan noticed Brandon seemed uneasy and asked curiously.
"Her strength ranks at least in the top five of the Northsource Region. Just a few days ago, she wiped out a bunch of big shots outside that independent space you were in. The Eastern Continent powers were so furious, they sent people everywhere to hunt for her." Brandon Tu's deepest memory of that space was the sudden arrival of the Northsource powerhouse.
"Really?" Evan thought about the Spirit-Plume Wanderer's true strength and finally stopped worrying about Lana Situ.
"Yeah, otherwise why do you think there were so few experts waiting outside for you all? That Wanderer killed them off." Brandon Tu nodded heavily.
Having understood the reason, Evan said goodbye to Brandon Tu and set off alone for the Situ Clan.
"That kid really has a lot of secrets." Watching Evan leave, Brandon Tu muttered.
After leaving White Slope City, Evan Yang asked around for the direction of the Situ Clan, then set off on foot.
The Situ Clan was quite a distance from White Slope City. After walking for most of the day, Evan finally reached the clan's outer perimeter and stopped. He saw that the Situ Clan looked just like a city, with towering walls and many clan disciples patrolling above.
"Are all the big clans like this?" Evan muttered as he looked at the heavily guarded Situ Clan.
Just then, several ordinary men bumped into Evan. As Evan tried to see who they were, the leader cursed, "Move it, move it! Don't block the way."
The other men were dragging a cloth sack that seemed to be moving. Standing nearby, Evan easily noticed it wasn't an animal inside, but a person.
"What are you staring at? Keep looking and I'll gouge your eyes out." The leader saw Evan wasn't moving and got annoyed when he noticed Evan watching the black sack.
"You're dragging someone around in broad daylight. Aren't you afraid of being caught?" Evan wasn't intimidated by these men—they were only at the Qi-Refining stage—so he mocked them right away.
"Kid, looks like you're tired of living. You guys deal with him first, I'll take the sack over there." The leader, seeing Evan had noticed them, ordered his henchmen to attack Evan while he and another dragged the sack toward a small hut near the city wall.
The men glanced at each other, then rushed forward to try and knock Evan down. But Evan kicked out, sending three of them flying several meters.
The leader hadn't gone far and saw the scene. He couldn't believe it and cursed, "Always bragging about how tough you are, and now you get sent flying by a beggar? Let me handle this."
The leader put down the sack and stepped up, trying to use a spell against Evan. But Evan just laughed, "Only at the sixth layer of Qi-Refining and you're this cocky?"
"What? You're a cultivator too?" The leader asked in disbelief.
"You'll find out soon enough." Evan smiled, then casually threw a punch. For Evan, it was easy, but for the leader it was agony—he was sent flying into a roadside boulder, his bones aching as he cried out, "Ow, ow!"
The other men hurried over and asked, "Boss, are you okay?"
"Damn, this stinking beggar is way too tough. Everyone, let's get him together!" The leader finally realized he couldn't handle Evan alone and called for backup.
But Evan, who was at the Foundation-Building stage, easily took down several Qi-Refining disciples. In the end, they all crawled up in pain and quickly ran toward an entrance below the city wall.
"These guys only bully the weak and fear the strong." Evan sighed as he watched them leave.
The men had left, but the black sack remained. The person inside was still kicking. Evan quickly went over, untied the sack, and found a woman with her mouth sealed and her body tightly bound with rope.
"Were they planning to assault her?" Evan muttered as he untied the ropes.
The woman immediately burst into tears, sobbing, "Thank you."
"No need to thank me. Where are you from? How did you end up getting caught by them?" Evan asked curiously.
"My father and I are merchants. We passed through here a few days ago, but today some men knocked me out." The woman cried, still shaken.
"I see. You'd better take your father and leave as soon as possible." Evan sighed.
The woman nodded. Before leaving, she asked Evan's name, wanting to repay him. Evan just shook his head—he didn't need any thanks—and told her to leave quickly.
Afraid the men might retaliate, the woman hurried away.
"It's really not easy being an ordinary person these days." Thinking about what had just happened, Evan sighed helplessly.
Just as Evan was about to head into the city, the men who had fled earlier returned, bringing a young master with them. The young master glared at Evan and shouted, "Stinking beggar, are you itching for trouble? How dare you let go of the woman I wanted!"
"So it was you who wanted to capture her?" Evan wasn't afraid of trouble; seeing the other was also a cultivator, he sneered.
"You're still so stubborn even facing death. Do you know who I am?" the young master said angrily.
"I don't care who you are. That woman was innocent, so I just did a good deed and let her go." Evan smiled at the henchmen who were eyeing him fiercely.
"You stinking beggar, looks like you're asking for it. Watch how I break you!" The young master drew his sword, and the other men started egging him on.
With his henchmen cheering him on, the young master proudly showed off a few sword moves in front of Evan.
Evan couldn't help but say, "Is your swordsmanship really just all show and no substance?"
"What? You dare say I'm all show? Now I'm really mad—I'm going to break your legs!" The young master, already proud, was enraged by Evan's insult and immediately attacked.
"I wonder how you managed to reach Foundation-Building." Evan shook his head, realizing the young master had the cultivation but not the ability. Even his swordplay was just for show. Evan grabbed the sword with one hand and, with a strong twist, snapped the blade with a clang.
The young master, frightened and furious, cursed, "Stinking beggar, I'll admit you're tough. If you've got guts, don't leave!"
Then the young master and his henchmen slunk away in defeat.
"What a strange guy." Evan was speechless at how someone could have cultivation but be so incompetent.
Once they left and seeing it was about time, Evan didn't want to waste any more time with these troublemakers. He headed toward the city walls, only to be stopped by the guards.
The guard leader asked, "Where are you from? What business do you have with the Situ Clan?"
Evan hesitated for a moment, then replied, "I want to see your clan leader."
As soon as he said this, all the patrolling clan disciples focused their attention on Evan.
The guard leader quickly calmed down and told the others, "Get back to your duties." Then he turned to Evan and asked curiously, "Why do you want to see the clan leader?"
"Did something happen in the Situ Clan?" Evan wondered to himself at their reactions. When the guard leader questioned him, Evan said, "I have news about your young lady."
"Our young lady? Are you...?" The guard leader was shocked when Evan mentioned the person the clan was worried about.
"I'm the one your clan leader is looking for." Evan revealed his identity. The crowd, who had been about to disperse, now stared at Evan, realizing he was the little beggar they'd been searching for.
The guard leader was both shocked and delighted. "It's really you?" he exclaimed.
"That's right. Isn't your clan looking for me?" Evan laughed.
Seeing that Evan was indeed the little beggar, the guard leader said excitedly, "Come, I'll take you to see the clan leader right away."
Evan was puzzled why his arrival made the guard leader so excited, and why everyone was looking at him so strangely. To figure it out, he followed the leader into the city and asked, "Hey, didn't you all send out word to catch me? Why are you being so polite?"
The guard leader smiled and replied, "That was someone else who put out the word. Our clan leader has been troubled by it. Now that you're here, he'll explain everything to you."
"Someone else? Is there really someone who could get the Situ Clan to spread such news?" Evan doubted that Wang Hong had the power to use the clan's internal channels.
"Sigh, that's the Situ Clan's misfortune. The clan leader will explain it to you soon." The guard leader shook his head helplessly.
After chatting with the guard leader, Evan learned that he was actually Situ Lan's older brother, Situ Jing, who was responsible for the security of the clan's city walls.
After learning his identity, Evan was surprised at first, but quickly returned to normal. At least from their conversation, he confirmed that the Situ Clan was worried about Situ Lan, and the news wasn't released by them—they were investigating it.
Led by Situ Jing, Evan entered the Situ Clan's compound. If the outer area was a wall, inside was a mix of small and large houses forming a self-sufficient community—many things were produced internally.
"So this is a clan?" Evan thought to himself as he walked through.
As Evan was admiring the buildings, a group of people suddenly rushed out—led by none other than the young master Evan had just taught a lesson to.