Yin Long made his way out of the mansion by stepping through wall after wall, swallowing a total of three pills before he finally made his way through the wall surrounding the mansion and arrived at the opposite end from which he had first entered the estate. He continued to wear his disguise as he casually sauntered away, the loud shouts from the mansion behind him slowly fading as he walked into the distance.

Yin Long didn't return to the brothel straight away after completing the assassination. The estate of the elder was close to the southern entrance of the city so he took advantage of this fact to head over to the entrance, leaving the city for a bit. He entered the upper portion of the Underearth Forest just as he had done when he first set out to learn the properties of his parasitic soul, making his way through the forest until he reached a stream of water that was nearly 40 meters wide.

There were several boulders of various sizes spread along the side of the stream, Yin Long sitting down on a three-meter wide but only one-meter tall one. He took off his hat and the demon mask, stuffing them into his interspatial ring before taking out a gourd of wine and an elongated flat bowl that was nearly a meter wide and half a meter long. He filled the bowl with a little over half of the fragrant wine within the gourd and placed it on the ground next to the boulder before bringing the gourd up to his mouth and taking a few sips.

He sat on the boulder while gazing at the stream, quietly breathing in the fresh air while taking the occasional sip of wine. After he had sat there for about a minute, the sound of rustling came from the forest behind him, a one-meter long beast sauntering out from between the trees. The beast looked like a large cat with faded yellow fur and deep black eyes and it casually walked up to Yin Long and laid down in front of the bowl of wine, sniffing at it before glancing at Yin Long, who could guess what it was thinking.

" No sparring today, I'm just here to drink for a bit. As for the wine, it's a new one, she made it using some underwater plant found within the Skywater Marsh. The taste's pretty good, you just have to get used to the somewhat salty aftertaste."

This cat was the same one that Yin Long accidentally dragged along with him as he escaped the assassins six years ago, it hadn't grown too much over the last six years but it was starting to show a few faint signs that it wasn't just a cat type Demonic beast but rather a young tiger or lion type Demonic beast. Yin Long would come out here to share a few drinks with the cat rather often, it served as a break where he could clear his mind and relax.

The cat let out a short meowing sound and then lowered its head to the bowl, sipping up the transparent brown wine with its tongue. It made a few coughing sounds after taking the first sips but continued to drink when it finished coughing, trusting Yin Long that it just had to get used to the salty aftertaste. The man and cat sat at the side of the stream, quietly drinking the alcohol and enjoying the silent moment of freedom and peace.

But the moment had to come to an end sooner or later, Yin Long emptying the gourd of wine after nursing it for close to an hour. He stood up from his seated position and stretched his body, picking up the already empty bowl next to the boulder and stuffing it into his interspatial ring. The cat stood up at the same time and gave its body a lazy stretch, moving its gaze between Yin Long and the direction of the city. Yin Long understood what it was trying to get at, shrugging his shoulders.

"You can come if you want to, but you'll probably just find the city to be stifling. You're a wild beast, you're meant to wander around freely and act as you please, sticking with me in that city will just be suffocating for you."

Yin Long had his responsibilities and duty as the shadow of the Lang clan, the cat wouldn't be able to move freely if it entered the city with him. It would end up restricted in multiple ways, which was not a way for a beast like it to live. The cat looked deeply at Yin Long but didn't gesture anything else, lazily following alongside him as he donned his disguise again and left the forest. It stopped at the edge of the forest and let out a short meow before turning around, the man and beast splitting up and heading in separate directions.

Yin Long entered the city again and returned to the brothel, a trip that took him a bit over three hours. He didn't enter the brothel but instead entered the building to the left of it, an empty house owned by Jiu Meiyu. He entered the basement and activated the secret formations, revealing a tunnel that led into the room where Lan Yun was still lying on the bed with her eyes closed and breathing softly.

Yin Long glanced at her charming and defenseless figure for a second before pulling his gaze away and removing his mask and hat. He switched out of the orange robe and into his usual yellow one before leaning against the tub, pulling a book out of his interspatial ring and starting to quietly read it. But he only got to read for a little over a minute before Lan Yun let out a heavy puff of air and sat up, glaring at Yin Long like a neglected woman.

"Come on, the chance was right there, the least you could do was take a bite out of the enticing cake that was offered to you."

Yin Long snapped the book shut and stuffed it into his interspatial ring while correcting his position. He looked at the pouting Lan Yun, rolling his eyes at her actions.

"As if you'd actually allow yourself to fall asleep while I'm gone. If I were to try to take a bite of the cake, I'm fairly certain it would end with me getting eaten instead."

Lan Yun had been working with Jiu Meiyu for even longer than Yin Long had, she acted frivolously but she was still a bonafide professional. Lan Yun stood up from the bed when Yin Long corrected his own position, not rejecting his words.

"Well yeah, that was the plan all along. One of these days I'll crack through that frigid virgin exterior and we'll both get to indulge in some cake. Just you watch, I might not have any actual experience, but I've been taught everything I need to know, I'll blow your mind."

Yin Long rolled his eyes once more and unlocked the door to the room, stepping out of it with Lan Yun following right after him. She returned the gray stone to the other room and then followed Yin Long as they left the bottom floor of the brothel. It had already been six hours since Yin Long first arrived at the brothel so Lan Yun took the chance to sign out for the day and follow Yin Long out of the brothel.

The two walked through the streets, receiving more than a few looks from the other passerby's. Lan Yun was the most famous of the girls working at the Ten Flowers Pavilion, her youthful charm and delicate beauty made her extremely popular among the men in the city, she was also said to be highly skilled at dancing. But to day's date, not a single man dared to actually hire her to see her dancing, much less to spend a night with her.

And the reason behind it was simple, it seemed like the Young Master of the Lang clan had taken a liking to Lan Yun when he was first brought to the brothel. He had been entering it regularly and only hiring Lan Yun each and every time, something that made his stance exceedingly clear in the eyes of the citizens.

Exactly who would be ballsy enough to try to lay a hand on the woman chosen by the Young Master? Even if one ignored his scarily good sword skills, his sister was the leader of the Lang clan, a single word from him to her could ruin them. As such, while they received a lot of looks as they entered a small restaurant, no one actually dared to say or do anything, they didn't even dare hint at whether or not it was fine for others to hire her.

The two entered the restaurant and sat down at a circular table by the window, a waitress walking over and placing two cups and a jug of wine on the table. She didn't even hand them a menu, she simple bowed and stated that the chefs would prepare the food right away. This restaurant was close to the brothel so this wasn't the first time that Yin Long had entered it with either Lan Yun or Jiu Meiyu, the chefs were already well aware of what he would order each time.

Lan Yun and Yin Long chatted while waiting for the food, but while their words sounded normal to the surroundings, they were also covering their mouths in a bit of Qi and transmitting their actual words directly to the ears of the other party.

"I'd ask how the mission went, but I can already guess your answer."

"The elder has been dealt with, no witnesses and no traces. If my guess isn't wrong then the estate will spread the word that he made a mistake while cultivating and it ended up backfiring, killing him by roasting him. They can probably guess that he was assassinated, but spreading that news would make others wonder just why he was assassinated, the other elders might start an investigation at that point, something they'll likely want to avoid. Heard anything from Jiu Meiyu?"

"Nothing concrete. The scope is a bit bigger than he first expected but he believes that he should be able to send you a proper report within the next few days. It'll be just you and me until then, so what do you say we skip out on work for a bit and just enjoy ourselves? I'm sure we can find... something... we can do together to pass the time."

Yin Long rolled his eyes again as Lan Yun winked heavily at him with a charming smirk, finishing his glass of wine and filling up their glasses. The two continued to chat about both work and private, the food arriving before long. They ate and talked, finishing their food and then having a few drinks together before splitting up, Yin Long returning to the Lang clan mansion while Lan Yun returned to the room in the brothel that served as her home.

When Yin Long returned to the mansion the sun had already set, the three gleaming moons replacing it in the sky. He sparred a bit more with Lang Huo and continued to scold her for not properly using all her strength, the family sharing a meal an hour later. Yin Long didn't have a single culinary bone in his body, most of the cooking falling on the shoulders of Lang Ru, who preferred making the food over having the servants making it.

The siblings spent a bit of time together after dinner and then retired to their respective quarters, either cultivating or working through the night. They repeated the pattern over the two next days, Yin Long spending the days either seemingly sauntering through the city or on cultivating. But on the third day after Yin Long assassinated the elder, more news of work came in.

Yin Long was sitting at a square table within the large open room where his parents used to train his sisters. Lang Ru was sitting at his left and Lang Huo and Tang Fen were sitting at the other side of the table, the four of them sharing a hearty breakfast when a young male servant entered the room. He respectfully apologized for disturbing them and handed Yin Long a letter before excusing himself.

Yin Long placed down his fork and opened the letter, leaning his head against his left fist while nonchalantly reading the letter in silence. Seeing him remain silent while reading, Lang Huo couldn't help but grow a slight touch impatient and kick his shin underneath the table.

"Don't just keep us in suspense like that, what does it say?"

Yin Long raised his gaze with a slight smile at Lang Huo's impatience. He shrugged his shoulders in a careless manner, tossing the letter over to Lang Huo while summarising its contents.

"Nothing special really. Uncle Meiyu has found a girl in Stone Heart Village that he wants to introduce to me, he wants me to come over for a bit to get to know her. I swear, that man is more worried about my wedding than father and mother were."

Lang Huo read over the letter with great interest, but the contents were indeed exactly what Yin Long had stated. The contents were one thing, but the actual meaning was something only he would understand, a slight chill hiding deep within his black pupils. Lang Ru glanced at Yin Long out of the corners of her eyes, her eyebrows dropping slightly for a second before returning to normal. Lang Huo's eyes, on the other hand, gleamed with soft light when she raised them again and looked at Yin Long.

"Heh, you don't bother with it so it's only right that someone cares about your wedding. Well, are you gonna go?"

She tossed the letter back as she spoke, Yin Long catching it and folding it before storing it into his interspatial ring. He seemed to give it a bit of thought before nodding his head, a slightly mischievous smile on his face.

"Yeah, I'll probably head there in two days or so, he went through the trouble of finding her after all. But I'll bring along Lan Yun, can you imagine the girl's face when she sees that I'm bringing another girl along? It'll be an excellent test of her strength of mind."

Lang Huo and Tang Fen rolled their eyes heavily at Yin Long's words and smile, they had long heard about all the rumors surrounding Yin Long and Lan Yun. Lang Ru cast another glance at Yin Long, her eyebrows twitching gently, but she eventually chose to remain silent, the breakfast continuing to move on as normal.