A third-grade Pointing-to-Mystery expert has gone missing in Beijing.
Evan Lin paused for a moment when he heard the news, then nodded, gave a rare smile, and said, 'That's a bit interesting.' After that, he didn't say anything more.
He wasn't too bothered, and he definitely wasn't about to go rubbernecking with the crowd.
The Ancient Martial Rowe Clan.
This clan, enough to make countless Beijing families tremble, actually doesn't hold much status in the ancient martial world. What's more, the Rowe clan is based far away in Tangshan, rumored to be hidden deep in the mountains, rarely seen by ordinary people.
But as for the entire Rowe clan, Evan Lin really didn't have much interest in paying attention to them.
He took a sip of coffee and ordered a medium-rare steak, eating slowly and savoring each bite.
The Orthodox Lin Clan was never on the same level as the Rowe Clan.
As Evan Lin ate, Logan Lu kept running his mouth nonstop, making things feel a bit more alive than usual—but that was about it. For some reason, three figures flashed through Evan's mind.
A boy, a girl, and a man built like a tower.
The Rowe clan makes their move.
Ever since leaving Illustrious Gate, Logan Rowe—temporarily staying at Mason Shang’s house and worrying about how to get closer to Molly Su—had originally planned to invite Molly on a hunting trip.
There’s a private hunting preserve just outside Beijing where you can supposedly bag wild boar. Logan Rowe imagined that if Molly got into trouble, he could swoop in and play hero—maybe score some points with her.
But ever since meeting that so-called Master Lin from Seacrest, Logan Rowe noticed Molly acting way colder toward him. As for that Master Lin, the guy straight-up wiped the floor with the impostor, and Logan Rowe doesn’t have the guts to stir up trouble anymore—so he just keeps quiet.
Before the plan could even take shape, Logan Rowe got a call from home.
The call left Logan Rowe totally stunned. He’d been caught up in his own little drama, but now he jumped up, freaked out.
“Got it.”
Logan Rowe listened for a long time, then hung up, nodded, and stood there in silence.
“What happened?”
Molly Su, curled up on a nearby sofa with a book, her long dress covering her figure, glanced at Logan Rowe. She looked delicate, but her eyes were miles away.
She glanced at Logan, picture-perfect, but her gaze stayed aloof.
“Family’s sending people. One Elder and four fist slaves.”
Logan spoke, his face getting serious. “Also, Pill King Xander Xiao is about to go gather herbs—he wants to take you along, and he’s asking what you think.”
“I probably can’t go with you this time.”
Logan felt a strange disappointment. The Rowe clan had arranged for him and Molly to come to Beijing together, hoping he’d get the ‘near water’ advantage.
Pill King Xander Xiao hadn’t taken a student in years, but now he’d chosen Molly Su. Her future was bound to be bright.
As an Ancient Martial Clan, the Rowe clan relies on pills for their internal training—same as any other Ancient Martial Clan. But real alchemists are terrifyingly rare; true experts are one-in-a-million.
So keeping a powerful alchemist close is a big deal for the Rowe clan.
Of course, they had no clue that the kind of alchemist they worship is being mass-trained somewhere else.
Right now, Evan Lin’s crew of alchemists is growing fast. Even without counting the ones from the Yun family, just Warren Wu’s Miracle Hand Sect has five hundred alchemists under him.
That number isn’t climbing right now, since pill ingredients are running short. But more and more can refine Nourishing Spirit Pills.
To Evan, a five-hundred-alchemist team is just barely enough. But in all of China, nobody else has anything close.
“Yeah, I’ll head back this afternoon. You take care of yourself.”
Molly nodded, barely reacting, totally ignoring the concern in Logan’s last words. Logan’s frustration boiled inside, but he didn’t show it.
Molly went back to her room, picked up her phone, and thought about calling Evan Lin—but after a long hesitation, she didn’t dial. She just lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling for a while.
She really wanted to stay in Beijing—maybe she’d get another chance to see Evan. But after thinking it over, she put her phone away and decided to follow Pill King Xander Xiao and learn some real skills.
Her master was a legendary figure—even the Rowe clan patriarch had to show him respect.
Molly quietly left Beijing. Meanwhile, Mason Shang was already waiting for the Rowe clan arrivals.
A grim-faced elder with snow-white hair stepped out, followed by four bronze-skinned, muscle-bound men.
The moment this group walked out of the airport, their aura was so strong that nobody dared come within three meters.
“Fourth Elder Rowe!”
Mason Shang hurried over, greeted him respectfully, and bowed slightly.
Fourth Elder Rowe just nodded, expressionless, and got into the car Mason had prepared.
The car sped all the way to Mason’s villa, where Logan Rowe was already waiting obediently at the door.
“Where’s Miss Molly?”
Fourth Elder Rowe glanced around as he saw Logan.
“She’s already gone.”
“A pity.”
Fourth Elder Rowe sighed faintly. Logan didn’t dare say anything—he knew he’d let the family down this time.
“But it’s fine. There’s still time. The Rowe clan will always need Pill King’s medicine, and Pill King Xander Xiao will bring her back again someday. What you need to do is get stronger, fast.”
Fourth Elder Rowe paused. “Pill King wants to train her, but other Ancient Martial Clans are eyeing Molly too. If you want to stand out, it won’t be easy.”
After saying all that, Fourth Elder Rowe sat down on the sofa, while the four bronze-skinned men remained behind him, standing like statues—so fierce that even hardened underground types would shiver.
“Mason Shang, let’s hear it. Everything that’s happened lately.”
Fourth Elder Rowe was blunt—he didn’t show Mason any respect at all.
Even though Mason Shang was a fifth-grade Pointing-to-Mystery expert, and probably the next head of the Shang family, it didn’t matter.
The Shang family was still just the Shang family. Even if the patriarch himself were here, Fourth Elder Rowe would hold onto his Elder’s status.
Mason didn’t dare waste a word. He laid out all his previous guesses and the current situation, including his old grudge with Helena Meng and Old Man Liu.
“So you’re saying Brandon Rowe might’ve been killed by that kid or his master?”
“And died in a restroom, no body left?”
“Mason Shang, do you even get what that means?”
“Brandon Rowe was a third-grade Pointing-to-Mystery!”
(End of chapter)