743: A good dog doesn't block the way (4k)

Outside Baichi City.

Lin Yang first led the members of his Squad for a tour inside the city, and then they came outside the city walls.

Actually, there was not much to familiarize themselves with; he just led the group to look at the situation around the city, including the Rogue Cultivator Stronghold that had already been restored.

Outside the Prefecture City, there were several Rogue Cultivator Strongholds.

But there was only one near Baichi City.

"Just an ordinary second-tier city."

After familiarizing themselves with the area, Li Rui commented.

Lin Yang nodded. Baichi City was indeed not very large, nor did it have any unique features.

It did not even have any special mineral deposits or high-level resource output.

It was indeed suspicious that members of the Ancient Night Clan had infiltrated this place.

"However, the more this is the case, the more it suggests that the Ancient Night Clan might have a major scheme behind this operation," Lin Yang thought to himself.

Afterward, the Squad returned to Baichi City and began patrolling the city in secret.

While they called it patrolling, it was essentially wandering around the city aimlessly, looking to see if there were any suspicious targets.

Several months passed, and the Squad found nothing.

No other Squads sent out distress signals either.

The entire Baichi City remained peaceful.

Or at least, that was how it appeared on the surface.

"Captain, it's been several months and we haven't found a single issue. Could it be that the members of the Ancient Night Clan are no longer here?" one member of the Squad muttered in a low voice.

Li Rui shook his head. "That shouldn't be the case. They went through the trouble of infiltrating here; they must have some scheme. They shouldn't be withdrawing so quickly. Furthermore, the higher-ups haven't issued any notification for us to withdraw, which means the infiltrators from the Ancient Night Clan must still be here."

As he spoke, Li Rui glanced at his Squad and said in a low voice, "The harder it is to find a problem, the deeper the opponent is hiding. Everyone needs to be even more careful."

"Moreover, this is a time to test our patience. It's only been a few months, and there is still plenty of time. We will just wait slowly."

Everyone nodded and didn't say anything more.

To be honest, this mission was quite good.

Before engaging with the members of the Ancient Night Clan directly, it could be considered quite relaxed.

Lin Yang asked, "Captain, do you know how many Squads are here this time? Have you contacted any other Squads? Is there any intelligence we can exchange?"

Li Rui shook his head again. "I don't know the situation of the other Squads, and naturally, I haven't contacted anyone. For this operation, I don't even know which Squads are involved. The Prefecture Army has many people, and I don't know many of them. I haven't seen any familiar faces in the city."

"Alright then." Lin Yang didn't ask any more questions.

Seeing this, Cheng Fu laughed and said, "What? Lin Yang, do you want to find the members of the Ancient Night Clan as soon as possible? This mission is quite comfortable every day, and it's pretty good. I actually hope we don't find them so quickly; otherwise, who knows what the next mission will be."

"Cheng Fu is right. This mission is quite good for now, and we can stay in the city. It's much better than other field missions," a team member agreed.

Lin Yang was speechless.

Cheng Fu was a foodie, so this mission was very good for him; he had food and drink available at any time in the city.

"Alright, take some time to cultivate when you have the chance. This mission is expected to take a while. Before the members of the Ancient Night Clan are exposed, every bit of improvement we can make counts," Li Rui said.

Another benefit of being in the city was that it was more convenient for cultivation.

Lin Yang and the others nodded, agreeing deeply.

Before the Ancient Night Clan members made their move, it was indeed comfortable, but after they acted, they would have to face them directly. Focusing on cultivation was the right thing to do.

In the time that followed, Li Rui symbolically had a few members patrol every so often, while everyone else spent their time cultivating.

Time passed.

A thousand years flashed by.

During those thousand years, Baichi City remained as calm as ever.

But Lin Yang and his group still hadn't received news to withdraw.

The mission was still ongoing.

"These guys from the Ancient Night Clan are truly patient. They haven't caused any commotion even now. I really don't know what they are up to," a member muttered.

Someone else said, "It's only been a thousand years or so, no need to be anxious. If they really have some plan, preparing for tens of thousands of years is normal."

"..."

This person's words turned out to be prophetic.

In the more than ten thousand years that followed, nothing unusual occurred.

If it weren't for the fact that the higher-ups still hadn't issued an order to withdraw, Lin Yang and the others would have thought that nothing was happening here at all.

However, although nothing happened in Baichi City, Lin Yang's cultivation had improved a bit more.

Although he hadn't broken through to the mid-stage of the Dao Fire Realm, he wasn't far off.

This rate of improvement was certainly not slow.

Over these years, the Little Girl Xia Shuang had also sent a few messages to Lin Yang, all of which were greetings and reassurances that she was doing well in the Huan Yin Sect, telling Lin Yang not to worry about her, and so on.

"When the mission is completed, I'll find a chance to go with Cheng Fu to visit the Huan Yin Sect," Lin Yang thought.

...

In a quiet street inside Baichi City.

Inside a cave dwelling courtyard, several practitioners were standing.

One of them, a man with a hooked nose, said to another middle-aged man who looked honest and simple:

"Qiling, we have been ordered to stake out this city for over ten thousand years. Our people have been searching without interruption, yet we have gained absolutely nothing, not even a single trace. Could the intelligence be wrong? Should we consider withdrawing?"

The honest-looking middle-aged man, Qiling, had his gaze turn incomparably sharp in an instant. "Suying, are you questioning the orders of the superiors?"

The man with the hooked nose immediately said, "I am not. It's just that it's been over ten thousand years, and we haven't found a single trace. It is too dangerous for us to be among the human race for so long, and the humans are also constantly searching for us. I feel like something will go wrong if we stay any longer."

Qiling's gaze sank slightly. "Suying, the order the superiors gave us is to find the reason at all costs. Although the situation this time is indeed a bit tricky, we cannot withdraw without the superiors' orders."

"Qiling, have you reported the situation here to the superiors? We have searched the entire Baichi City and all surrounding areas for these ten thousand years. We've practically dug three feet into the ground, and there isn't a single clue."

Suying frowned and said, "This is too abnormal. Furthermore, over these ten thousand years, our people have tried various methods and means to communicate with the local humans, but there have been absolutely no results."

"I'm not trying to question anything, I'm just puzzled. Is there a possibility that the superiors sensed it wrong? Or perhaps, there is a discrepancy in the location—it's not here, but in another city?"

Upon hearing this, Qiling did not immediately refute him but pondered deeply for a moment before saying, "I will report the situation here again later. At the same time, I will also inform the superiors of your doubts. However, until the superiors' new orders are issued, the operation cannot stop."

Suying then nodded, "Alright, the operation continues. I will tell everyone to be more careful."

Qiling nodded slightly and said, "I also know that everyone has been on edge for these ten thousand years without any progress or gains. It is very hard and frustrating."

"But this is, after all, the superiors' order. The superiors went to great lengths to send us here, so we must execute it. Even if we lose our lives, we must not hesitate. Do you understand?"

Hearing this, Suying sighed. "Qiling, you misunderstood. I don't want to back down. From the moment everyone was chosen, no one thought about returning alive. It's just that if we lose our lives without achieving any results, it would be too worthless."

Qiling knitted his brows and said, "I understand what you mean. Let's wait for the superiors' new orders after I report. Go get busy first."

Suying didn't say anything more and left the courtyard with the others.

Qiling turned around and returned to his room, took out a unique communication tool, and began to transmit a message.

The communication tool flickered for a long time before a voice came from the other end: "Qiling, it is not yet the agreed-upon fixed contact time. You are contacting me suddenly—is there something to report? Has there been progress?"

Qiling's expression was solemn and respectful. "We are useless. It is not that there has been progress in the operation, but rather..."

He quickly reported what had just happened.

A cold snort came directly from the other end: "Hmph, a bunch of useless things. The superiors sent you there, and not only has there been no progress to date, but you even dare to question the superiors?"

"We dare not. It's just that ten thousand years have passed, and Baichi City has remained unchanged. This time, we wish to ask for the superiors' instructions on whether to continue. We are not afraid of death, but we do not want to die without any value or meaning," Qiling said in a deep voice.

The other end snorted coldly again: "Fine, you wait there for now. I will go and ask for instructions."

Qiling waited in silence.

This wait lasted for nearly seven days.

A voice finally came from the other end of the communication tool: "Qiling, the superiors have said the location is correct. You are required to continue executing the previous operation until you succeed."

After saying this, without giving Qiling a chance to reply, the communication was cut off directly.

Qiling was silent for a moment before walking out of the room.

Suying seemed to know that there would be a result today and had also returned to the courtyard.

Seeing Qiling walk out, he immediately asked, "How is it? What did the superiors say?"

Qiling's tone was indifferent. "I reported your doubts truthfully, but the superiors said the location is correct, and they require us to continue executing the previous order until something is discovered."

"This..." Suying couldn't help but be stunned, then followed up by saying, "Then what if we never discover anything? Or, what if we are exposed before we gain any results?"

Qiling did not answer immediately, but after a moment of silence, he said, "If that is the case, then kill! Kill these damned humans in Baichi City; the more you kill, the better."

"In that way, it won't be considered dying without value!"

Suying's eyes flickered a few times, and he whispered, "Understood."

...

Two thousand more years passed.

On Lin Yang's Squad's side, he was cultivating when Li Rui suddenly interrupted everyone's cultivation and said with some excitement:

"I have good news. A while ago, through some connections, I contacted another Squad that is also acting in secret. According to their Squad, they have already discovered some suspicious targets. Perhaps there will be an operation soon. Let's all prepare and be ready at any moment."

Upon hearing this, everyone was invigorated. Cheng Fu said directly, "Captain, your connections are quite good to be able to find out about this."

Li Rui smiled slightly. "It's just alright."

"So, who are the suspicious targets?" Cheng Fu asked again.

Li Rui shook his head. "I'm not clear on that. They didn't say; I reckon they want to keep it confidential."

"That's true. If too many people know, there will inevitably be leaks, and it wouldn't be good if it alerted the other party," Cheng Fu nodded and said.

Li Rui waved his hand and said, "We don't care about that. It's better if we don't know. Let's just not do the close-range tracking of the Ancient Night Clan infiltrators. We can do without that bit of credit; our lives are more important. We'll just wait for the operation to break out and then provide support."

The members of the Squad nodded one after another.

Li Rui had mentioned this before.

Their Squad had average strength, so they had to prioritize staying alive; credit and such could be put on the back burner.

In the following period, although everyone still took time to cultivate, they were also prepared to provide support at any time.

They even felt a faint sense of anticipation.

It was not anticipation of fighting the Ancient Night Clan, but anticipation of capturing the Ancient Night Clan members to figure out the purpose of their infiltration.

What exactly was the reason that made it worth them hiding like this for so many years?

This day, Lin Yang suddenly received a message from Shi Jie, saying that he had business to attend to in Baichi City and asking if it was convenient for Lin Yang to meet.

Although Lin Yang had previously warned Shi Jie and the others that it was best not to come to Baichi City if there was no business, Shi Jie had come to Baichi City on orders from the Xu family, so he had to come.

Regarding this, Lin Yang agreed.

After all, they hadn't seen each other for so many years. Since Shi Jie was coming, it was only natural to meet.

The meeting time was set for five days later.

Five days passed in a flash.

Lin Yang went out according to the schedule.

But as he was leaving, Cheng Fu followed him, "Lin Yang, this is rare. You're actually going out? Where are you going? Do you want to go eat and drink something together?"

Over these years, except for occasional routine patrols, Lin Yang basically never left his house.

Now seeing Lin Yang going out, Cheng Fu was quite surprised.

Lin Yang was a bit helpless. "Cheng Fu, you go to the restaurant to eat and drink every other day."

"Haha, in life, one must enjoy the moment. I don't have any other hobbies; I just love to eat!" Cheng Fu laughed loudly.

"Alright, I'm going to meet a friend today, also at a restaurant," Lin Yang said.

"That's perfect, let's go together. When the time comes, you can meet your friend, and I'll eat my food," Cheng Fu smiled.

Lin Yang did not refuse.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the agreed-upon restaurant.

Just as Lin Yang stepped forward to enter, several people suddenly walked out of the restaurant.

Both sides bumped into each other face-to-face.

The next instant, both sides paused.

Then, a sound of astonishment rang out: "Lin Yang, it's you? You actually dare to return to Baichi City?"

That's right.

These people they bumped into were indeed disciples of the Tiankun Sect.

They were all wearing the robes of Tiankun Sect disciples.

Lin Yang frowned. He basically never went out, and for him to come out this one time, it was such a coincidence that he ran into people from the Tiankun Sect.

This was truly... bad luck!

"People from the Tiankun Sect?" Cheng Fu, who was on the side, also frowned.

He naturally knew about the grudge between Lin Yang and the Tiankun Sect, but he hadn't expected to meet them here.

Lin Yang ignored these guys and prepared to enter.

Anyway, since they couldn't fight inside the city, he couldn't be bothered to waste words with these people.

However, the other party moved in unison, and one of them reached out to block his path, sneering:

"Lin Yang, what a coincidence. Since you dare to come back, then don't leave. Stay here."

As he spoke, he signaled the others to notify the sect, looking like they wanted to forcibly take Lin Yang away.

"Get lost!"

Lin Yang's expression did not change, and he said coldly:

"Good dogs do not block the way!"

He didn't put these people in his eyes at all.

Not to mention that they couldn't fight in the city, even if they could, these guys were just asking to be beaten.

"Lin Yang! You are courting death! How dare you speak so insolently!"

The person from the Tiankun Sect was instantly furious. (End of chapter)