Old Yen had an exhausted expression, as his new partner turned out to be quite hard to control.
However, it also made his work somehow easier as well.
It turned out, that people were a lot more willing to speak with him after Nie Guanting would display an impulsive and menacing demeanor, likely perceiving Old Yen to be the only person standing between them and danger.
Thus, the two of them were an oddly efficient combination through their differences, though the awkwardness in their cooperation, this being their first time working together, took its toll on the one of the two coordinating and guiding their movements.
While Old Yen and Nie Guanting were away, though, Wu Long took his ladies to the most expensive restaurant in the capital to try the local cuisine, having a leisurely walk from the inn to there to see the local scenery.
As they entered the restaurant premises though, Wu Long was surprised to hear a vaguely familiar voice as they were passing through the vast garden.
"Benefactor!!!", a man stood up with a painting brush in his hand, and unfinished portrait in front of him, his eyes slightly watering at the sight of Wu Long.
"Hmm?... Oh, we meet again, hahaha", Wu Long raised his eyebrow and then slowly a recollection of this artist came back to him as the coincidence of meeting three times on three different continents made him slightly chuckle.
"Huh? What is this?! Who told you to stop painting?!", the man that the artist was painting stood up from the sofa.
The two luxuriously clothed women by his sides revealed grins of anticipation, as they knew that a spectacle was going start now.
"Ah! M-my apologies, Your Highness. B-but I just saw the man who made me what I am today and-...", the artist revealed a fearful expression at the menacing attitude of the apparent Imperial Family member.
"And what?! Thought you could stop painting to say hi?! And who is this-...", the Imperial Family member made an expression full of indignation, but froze as he turned to look at the party that the artist was greeting.
His eyes widened at the sight of the beauties while the women sitting on the sofa revealed angered and defeated expressions.
However, before the Imperial Family member could even say anything, his face deformed from the side, and them he flew into the decorative wall, crushing and becoming embedded into the stone in a quite artistic pose.
His Revolving Qi Realm allowed him to survive crushing into the wall to the detriment of the decorative stone, but he could not remain conscious, remaining stuck in the wall in that same pose.
The two women on the sofa revealed first wide eyes of confusion, and then started trembling as they turned to look at the man turned into bas-relief.
"Ooof, such a sound...", Gong Cui chuckled as she looked at that as well, admiring the distinct heavy sound of impact into the stone, while Wu Mengqi stashed her sword back into her Spatial Ring.
The artist's eyes widened and then the brush fell from his trembling hands.
"Y-You really are sent by Heavens to guide this humble one!!!", tears started flowing from the corners of the eyes of the artist, who looked at the scene as if having a new epiphany.
"It seems you're not here voluntarily", Wu Long chuckled, he noticed that the guards that were now frozen as thin threads of steel were wrapped around them were placed all around the artist.
"Y-yes... I have fallen out of favor with the Minister of the Wood Spirit Empire and thus tried my luck in the Island Kingdom, from where I was invited here but...", the artist, woken up from his daze by the words of his benefactor, spoke with a slightly heavy sigh as Wu Long nodded with understanding.
Members of ruling dynasties trapping people of arts and compelling them to work for them was not a new story after all, rather, it was a very old and common one.
He did, however feel that three meetings were at least some kind of fate so he chuckled and nodded.
"Butler Bang, escort this man to our inn"
"It's fine. There's no need to be humble, it's no big deal. Just go and have some rest and then you'll leave this country with us", Wu Long chuckled.
"If I may...", however, a calm tone of voice resounded as a man wearing a blindfold with a sword strapped to his back appeared as if from nowhere.
"Mm?", Wu Long raised his eyebrow at Duan Feng.
Of course, he noticed him quietly eating alone in a small diner not that far from here, but did not expect the swordsman to approach on his own.
"I can take care of this artist and escort him to safety...", Duan Feng spoke in a calm tone, seemingly more at peace than when he left the Cloud Piercing Sect's ruins.
Wu Long's eyes calmly looked at the swordsman, and then a smile touched his lips.
'Fate, or coincidence... or just a natural progression... hahaha, interesting...', ran through Wu Long's mind.
"Will appreciate it", he then chuckled, and turning to the artist spoke in a reassuring tone, "This man is strong, as long as you're with him you'll be safe. He's also one of integrity so you can trust him"
"T-Thank you Benefactor", the artist spoke with sincere emotions as he lowered his head, while Wu Long nodded to him and Duan Feng, and then proceeded to go further into the restaurant with his ladies.
The Imperial Guards that were freed from Butler Bang's restraints looked at the group with apprehension, but did not dare to move against them as they recognized that this was the same group that recently arrived in the capital, and had at least two known Mortal Transcendence Realm experts.
Duan Feng was also still wearing the robes of the Cloud Piercing Sect so they could not do much against him either.
They could only hurry and run to help the unconscious member of the Imperial Family out of the decorative wall.
After having their dinner in peace, the group soon left the capital, also unperturbed.
No repercussions for the incident followed them, as the Imperial Family remained completely silent.
Wu Long had everyone enter Fen Baihu's core realm, which then spirited away the entire fortress-ship as well, and then traveled with speed and ease that was only available when he traveled at his own pace, experiencing the convenience of his alliance with the Celestial Fox.
The latter was sitting on his shoulder in her small fox form.
In truth, Fen Baihu could freely go in between reality and phantasm-like state, existing all around and yet nowhere.
Of course, that power did have a limitation, in that she had to materialize her Soul Bead into reality, either within herself or outside, to fully use that ability, thus exposing a vulnerability.
It was both the source of her ultimate power, and her weakest point.
But as it now was within Wu Long's Niwan Palace, she technically met all conditions to exist in her phantasm-like state in a very large area around him, and thus she did not need to manifest her physical form in order to travel with him.
She still chose to do so, however, driven by unknown motives and thoughts.
He first arrived in the Northern Sea Islands to visit the Brilliant Sun Temple.
The ship was unleashed not far from the Sect's volcanic island, as the existence of the realm was at least for now kept hidden.
What they learned upon entering the Sect, was that it has split in two, one part of which decided to join the Eternal Duality Valley, and another, more conservative part decided to keep the tradition of their Sect.
Only around 1400 members led by Grand Elder Gan and Temple Master boarded the ship while the others remained in the Sect.
The ship then sailed for a bit before being spirited away again.