Dual Cultivation God Returns

Chapter 1009: Places to be, things to do

Ko Fuan was notified that the famed masked Talisman Master was seen setting up some kind of formation in the Silver Wing City Arena, so he hurried there with a squad of his most skilled private city guards.

One of his father’s sources of frustration was this same Talisman Master, the same one who was with Zhao Xieren at that wine tower the night that City Lord Ko was caught in a trap by the 9th prince.

Ko Zhumen despised being defied in his own city. Especially if it was by people without special status or backing. That masked Talisman Master was guilty of exactly that. And, after that night he was also the target of resentment for the situation overall. This, in the mind of the 4th young master of the Silver Wing City meant only one thing - high merit points for capture and bringing to his father.

Ko Fuan knew that Zhao Xieren and the Talisman Master had only a working relationship, and that the former even used the latter for that ambush - they certainly weren’t friends.

Thus, even if catching the man to present to his father was something Zhao Xieren would be upset about, Ko Fuan could simply use an excuse that he didn’t know not to touch the masked man from the casual relationship between them.

He arrived at the same time as a group from Ember Palm Pavilion who was for some reason there.

The two groups froze, seeing each other, and instantly read in each other’s eyes that their destination was the same - the arena.

’But it’s too early for the fight’, Ko Fuan thought, since the three big Sects, the Imperial Delegation and two princes, and a few other dignitaries like people of the Martial Alliance didn’t need to hurry and claim the seats - there was a special terrace prepared for them. Not to mention, all three of the very top representatives of the Ember Palm Palace were here.

’What’s he doing here?’, was on the other hand the thought that went through the head of the Inner Court Elder of the Ember Palm Pavilion, but then remembering the scene at the Wine Tower, became cautious since it wasn’t convenient for him if the Talisman Master was caught by the City Lord’s Manor.

"Are you here to arrest who I think you are here to arrest?", the Inner Court Elder of the Ember Palm Pavilion finally asked.

Ko Fuan widened his eyes.

’Talisman Master?’, Ko Fuan thought, ’They’re after the Talisman Master here as well? What’s he got to do with them?’

"And you are here for him as well?", he then asked.

Silence came down as the Ember Palm Pavilion’s Inner Court Elder was seemingly gauging how to proceed. Eventually, however, he opened his mouth to speak, "We have hired him to do some job for us - the formation at the place we stay at... seems to have some minor issues"

"He is not the only Symbol Arts specialist in town..."

"But he is the best one there is, no?"

"Since when does the leader of the Ember Palm Pavilion’s entire force on this continent come personally to fetch a single Talisman Master to discuss a little problem with your formation? Aren’t you afraid to invite ridicule?"

"Since when does the City Lord’s Manor come to arrest a Talisman Master who committed no crime other than not appearing in response to a voluntary invitation from the City Lord? Aren’t you afraid to invite criticism?"

Ko Fuan gritted his teeth as that line of argument was indeed problematic for him while the Ember Palm Pavilion Elder seemed to brush off his remark with ease.

There was a reason City Lord Ko filled the entire Wine Tower floor with plain clothed city guards that night - he had to protect his public image, as well as to project the threat to the Talisman Master that he was not in view of the public and thus was not as safe. Openly acting this way was not advisable - Ko Fuan acted on impulse and too blinded by the prospect of gaining more of his father’s approval, and what’s more, he did this without consulting his father. The blowback from this, if this gets out, was severe.

Seeing his words take visible effect, the Inner Court Elder smirked, thinking this kid was too wet behind his ears to try and go toe to toe against him, adding, "Besides, is this an efficient way to spend your resources? It seems you have bigger problems at hand, no? You haven’t investigated the theft from several months ago, from a group of Disciples of our Sect staying in an inn in the city. I seem to remember we reported it to you because it was in the city and we didn’t want to infringe on your boundaries by conducting our own investigation... and we heard similar reports were made by the other two Sects as well"

Ko Fuan’s expression soured even more as the Elder touched a sore spot. This was for months a case of a series of thefts from the Disciples of the three big sects staying in the city. And just as the Elder mentioned, it was the City Lord’s manor that heavily implied this was not a lawless place where just anyone could start their own pursuits, that they were the sole authority, and would give satisfactory explanation to all parties affected in due time.

It was assigned to his eldest brother who wasn’t able to make any progress the entire time, but recently, after the latter had fallen out of favor, it was reassigned to him, which turned into a massive headache for him. His brother fumbled the start of the investigation and pursuit, and now he was left with basically no actionable leads.

The thefts weren’t that big of a problem, they happened all the time, especially of this petty nature where barely anything of value was stolen - those numbered in the thousands across the city every year.

And the cases massively multiplied with the influx of cultivators from outside as the denizens of the Crow King’s Nest were attracted by such a target rich environment.

Petty thieves were also caught almost daily, in one way or another, and even if they did not commit all of the crimes assigned to them and only a portion, it was possible to pin everything on them, thus maintaining an appearance of every crime being accounted for, thus maintaining order.

The problem, however, was the victims. The incident, of course, was kept under wraps to protect the dignity of the Sects, but it was impossible to keep the rumors from spreading, which increased the pressure on Ko Fuan, even if he was in charge for only a week or a bit more.

And they couldn’t use the tactic of pinning it on someone they caught in unrelated incident, because the items stolen, which had Sect insignia on them and personalized details, had not yet appeared on the market of the Crow King’s Nest, meaning that they still were in the thief’s possession and had to be discovered.

Suddenly, an idea of relying on Zhao Xieren’s help in dealing with this case came to his mind. After all, Zhao Xieren’s backers seemed to have some resources that Ko Fuan did not.

"Gentlemen, what seems to be the problem?", at this point, Qian Ying, the old Arena Owner showed up with a few arena staff around him that he was discussing something with. Seemingly surprised to see the two groups, he attracted their attention with a look of hoping to be helpful to such important visitors.

"Ah, Arena Master Qian, hahaha, nothing much. I was on the way to visit the arena for personal reasons when I bumped into Young Master Ko here who was just passing by. We were just both excited for the upcoming fight, so we had a little discussion, didn’t we?", the Inner Court Elder plastered an amicable smile and spoke with a very friendly, bright demeanor, but his eyes that shot a glance toward Ko Fuan were full of pressure.

The latter slightly winced, and not able to withstand that eye contact, turned his gaze away with an unenthusiastic, "Ah~, yes... I met the Elder on the way and we got into a discussion so I forgot about time. I should go, I have duties to fulfill"

"Ah~! Of course~!", Inner Court Elder placed a hand over his chest with an expression of goodwill and guilt all over his face, "My fault for keeping you from your duties, Young Master Ko, you have so many things to do! Public order to maintain, criminals to punish, thieves to catch..."

"Ehem, yes, I will be on my way", Ko Fuan cleared his throat, and giving a signal to his people led them away under a gaze full of ridicule of the Inner Court Elder, and a slightly surprised one of the Arena Owner who was not sure why the young man was so flustered at being caught having such a little moment of idle time.

"Heh, such young people having such a strong sense of responsibility is a sight to behold, don’t you think Esteemed Elder? It just warms my heart!", the latter then chuckled, inviting the Inner Court Elder inside with a gesture of open palm.

"Hahaha, I completely agree. It is such a rarity these days", the Inner Court Elder didn’t stand on ceremony and the two walked side by side toward the arena, followed by their respective entourages.

"Haa~, and then there are the likes of my grandson, who is lazying about all day. Just a few minutes ago, I spotted him loitering around the arena, bothering my staff. You could tell he had a guilty conscience from how startled he was to be caught by me. So I had to give him a scolding and send him to his father"

"Hahaha! Don’t worry, Arena Owner Qian, young people tend to have their own timing of finding their way in life. If you are that worried for his future though, how about sending your grandchild to my Sect?"

"You are too kind, Esteemed Elder. That rascal will do nothing good for you while causing you all kinds of problems. Although... it might finally straighten him up. So if you could help... Yes, he has a bit of a gambling problem, drinks a bit, and likes to swear and curse when I’m not looking... slightly mischievous... and in general has been a troublemaker from when he was a little child... haha, he once accidentally burned down an annex of the arena over there while practicing some kind of cultivation hahaha... and, oh! You see that set of toppled giant columns over there, hehehe it was he who removed a brick from the foundation of one, causing them to start falling like dominos... the building is ancient you see so... oh! And there..."

The Arena Owner’s rant continued for quite a while as it turned out the arena had quite a bit of scars from Qian Lei’s childhood of ’innocent mischief’.

"Hahaha... what an energetic fellow..." , the laughter of the Inner Court Elder suddenly sounded a bit strained, "Though I must say that our Sect generally accepts Disciples in early childhood, around 13-14 years old... so he might have trouble fitting in. There are good choices for you though... "

"Eh...? But earlier you said-..."

"How about the Seven Extreme Swords Sect who are going to compete in the arena today? Hmm, the Crystal Wood Sect is also not a bad choice, I must say..."

"But aren’t those rivals with yo-..."

"And there are a plethora of local Sects, don’t look down on them just because they are smaller and local. You could say that they are even better suited, since they have fewer Disciples and are able to give more passion, attention and dedication to each one"

Their voices continued to go into the distance, the Arena Owner’s voice confused and disoriented, truly like a slightly lost in the conversation old man, while the Elder of the Ember Palm Pavilion sounded very enthusiastic and encouraging. Though eventually, the latter had to go back disappointed and with empty hands as the Talisman Master already finished making the preparations and thus was not there.