Mu Chen had just walked for a few steps, he sensed something strange and turned back.

"Was it my imagination?" Mu Chen looked behind in suspicion. But due to the crowd, he couldn't find any abnormality. 

Due to losing his cultivation, Mu Chen could no longer use his divine sense to detect or guard against the probing of other cultivators. He could only vaguely feel if someone was probing him. Since he had come here, he had felt several such probes. Although it was uncomfortable, there was nothing he could do against it. So he had just ignored them.

But just now, he had felt some killing intent directed towards him. However, it was only for a fleeting moment making him wonder if he was just imagining things.

Mu Chen felt very uneasy as he turned and once again started walking. Because of his dull senses, he couldn't even be sure if what he sensed was correct. Even if he assumed there was indeed someone who wanted to kill him, could he do anything? 

Since he lost his own cultivation, Mu Chen had clearly comprehended the gap between a true cultivator and mortal. So he had spent a lot of time trying to devise strategies in preparation for Mu Family's internal tournament. Close combat was something he could exploit in a confrontation since cultivators usually didn't train in melee combat and with him being a sword practitioner, it was one of the most effective tactics.

But that was only applicable if he could get close and the cultivator was unguarded. Not every cultivator would be careless like Mu Yukong. Moreover, many cultivators would have defense treasures on their bodies to negate this weakness. Mu Yukong just happened to be poor and couldn't afford one. Even if he forced his opponent into close combat he might not be able to breach through their defense. On the other hand, if someone really wanted to kill him, just a flying sword might be enough!

Mu Chen had been training and refining his sword techniques, but there was still an insurmountable gap. He hated this sense of helplessness and weakness.

Mu Chen gripped his sword tightly as he continued to walk.

#

"...Brother Changshou?" Above the ship, the Ming Dynasty youth questioned Mu Changshou who seemed to have suddenly stopped talking.

"Haha...excuse me, Brother Huang! I just remembered I had forgotten to call for a carriage. If you could excuse me for a moment, I will relay a message to my driver. Why don't we first go to the restaurant? As the host, I find it inappropriate to keep the guest standing." Mu Changshou said as bowed a bit as an apology.

"Hahaha! There is no need to be so courteous, Brother Changshou! But we should indeed change locations. I will let others know, while you make the arrangements." Qin Huang waved his hand in a friendly manner as he refused Mu Changshou's apology. They had only met just a while ago but Mu Changshou had already managed to make an indelible impression on him.

Mu Changshou smiled in response as he distanced himself from the crowd on the deck. As he walked, his gaze fell on an inordinately beautiful red-haired girl who was chatting with the other girls from the Ming Dynasty. His eyes became gloomy as he noticed something. He clenched his fists and a fierce flame of jealousy burned within his eyes.

#

It took Mu Chen over half an hour to get back to the relay station. When he reached the station, he was somewhat short of breath, because he had been walking very fast, almost at his limit.

Noticing his state, Mu Chen couldn't help but feel ashamed. This was not because of his exhaustion, but because the killing intent he had sensed had unconsciously affected his mental state. His speed of walking had been faster than optimal, even his breath wasn't regulated as usual.

"I even forgot to get sweets for Xue'er…" Mu Chen couldn't help but facepalm himself. If his little sister knew he forgot to bring her sweets because he was nervous due to some random killing intent, wouldn't he lose his respect as her elder brother?

"Damn it! Who cares about some little killing intent?" Mu Chen cursed as he turned back. Maybe it was just his imagination? Besides, it was possible that the killing intent was not even directed at him.

Mu Chen went to the shop he had planned to visit just before his meeting with Liu Fengying. 

"This should be enough to pacify her for now." As he came out of the shop, Mu Chen patted the small parcel he had just received.

Mu Chen didn't buy too many sweets. This was because he didn't dare to place any food items in his spatial pouch right now. If by chance any of the poisons leaked, it would be a disaster. So he would be carrying them on his body.

Another reason was, he would be coming back to the city in a couple of days. He could buy more sweets then.

Mu Chen was about to place the parcel inside his robes when he realized there was already something in that pocket.

"I almost forgot about this." Mu Chen saw the crystalline bottle that contained the saliva of the Three-Eyed Bone Python. A lot of things had happened today and he had almost forgotten he was carrying it around. This made him sweat. If he had accidentally shattered the bottle?

Mu Chen removed the tiny bottle and placed it gingerly inside the folds of his belt instead. Then he placed the parcel inside the pocket.

After making sure everything was secure Mu Chen once again came back to the relay station. 

Mu Chen went to the place where he had his carriage stationed. But soon realized something odd. The carriage he had come with, was missing.

"Damn it! Even a carriage driver dares to disobey my instructions!" Mu Chen couldn't help but curse out loud. His outburst attracted the attention of several other drivers that had been loitering around their carriages. But Mu Chen was too angry to care about it. He had explicitly ordered the driver to wait for his return. But the carriage was nowhere to be seen. Didn't this mean that even a lowly servant dared to look down on him? Mu Chen swore he would chop that guy into pieces with his sword once he saw him again.

"Ex-excuse me, S-Sir? Are you-are you from t-the Mu Family?" One of the drivers who was near asked Mu Chen. He was very cautious as if afraid Mu Chen could eat him any moment. Coupled with the man's rather burly appearance, it gave off a rather conflicting expression. Like a big ferocious bear who was trying to be low key.

"Yes, what about it?" Mu Chen asked. He was not really in the mood for conversation but still replied. He couldn't vent his frustration on unrelated people.

"Xia Bai...He-he said there was an emergency! He asked me to explain if someone came looking..." The burly man said.

"Oh? What happened? Why isn't he here?" Mu Chen frowned.

"Some time ago...a group of people came by. One of them...he was a Mu Family member. He was seriously injured and needed treatment. He asked Xia Bai to take him back to Mu Family…" The man said.

Black lines formed on Mu Chen's forehead and he was left speechless.

Under normal circumstances, since Mu Chen was the one who had hired the carriage, no one else would be able to request use without his consent, unless they were an Elder. But this was an emergency, so there was a leeway. He couldn't really fault the driver in this matter. Mu Chen silently withdrew his commitment to chop the guy into pieces.

"You did well!" Mu Chen sighed. "Here! You can have this as your reward." Mu Chen threw a couple of spirit stones towards that man.

The guy was ecstatic on receiving spirit stones as a reward and quickly hid them within his robes.

"Sir, if you need anything, Ma Hong will be glad to be of service." Ma Hong bowed in respect towards Mu Chen.

"Then...can I hire your carriage?" Mu Chen immediately requested.

"That...umm...about that." Ma Hong began stuttering. He didn't expect Mu Chen would actually take up on his offer.

"What? Can't I?" Mu Chen's voice rose a few notches higher and became sharp.

"That…p-please forgive me..." Ma Hong gulped as he inwardly cursed himself for being a suckup. "M-my carriage has already been booked." He said while bowing deeply in apology.

"Then help me find another carriage." Mu Chen said.

"This...the last available carriage was also booked a while ago." Ma Hong said as he scratched his head in awkwardness."There were a lot of customers today."

Mu Chen was suddenly enlightened. There must be a lot of cultivators who had come to the city to see the Envoy, over the past week. But knowing the selection was a month later, many must have wanted to go back to handle their affairs. This had caused a sudden spike in demand for carriages.

"Did Xia Bai say he would come back?" Mu Chen inquired. Since there were no other carriages available, he didn't mind waiting for a while if Xia Bai was bringing the carriage back. 

"He was in a hurry...he didn't say anything else."

"When did they go? The exact time?"

"A couple of hours ago...I think." Ma Hong said, but he didn't seem so sure.

"A couple of hours, huh?" Mu Chen pondered. He was now doubtful. Two hours were already enough for Xia Bai to return. Maybe Xia Bai assumed Mu Chen would just hire another carriage, instead of waiting. He wouldn't have expected a sudden spike in demand for carriages. This was plausible since his first thought was to immediately hire another carriage, rather than wait.

There was also the possibility that Mu Yukong may have prevented him from coming back since he must have been pissed at him.

"You go." Mu Chen dismissed Ma Hong. Ma Hong bowed politely once again, as he retreated back to his carriage, leaving Mu Chen alone engrossed in his thoughts.

Was this karma? Mu Chen pondered. The cause and effect were clear. If he hadn't seriously injured Mu Yukong, he wouldn't have needed nor would he have been able to use his carriage to go back. Mu Chen sighed as he thought of how one's actions could lead to unexpected outcomes.

Mu Chen could instead choose to just stay in the city till the next day, but he was worried about Ningxue. He didn't know when Zhou Mei would be back or whether she even received their transmission message. She often disappeared into the Dark Forest for a couple of days or more.

"There is no other choice!" Mu Chen took a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself. The road was long, but for him, it would be just another form of training.