"Enough, Qiao Qiao. Don't be rude."
The young woman in white slightly shook her head at her maid before fixing her gaze ahead on the city built in the desert. Her expression was serious.
This master and servant pair were none other than Yue Yunlan, the young lady of the Cangqiong Sect, and her ever-present maid, Qiao Qiao.
The other four people with them were also from the Cangqiong Sect. The eldest was named Hong Li, and the skinny man from earlier was called Lu Shaoan.
The remaining man and woman were named Yu Qian and Fang Ning.
This group had traveled a great distance to reach Duling City in the Western Wilderness on a mission.
It turned out that a prince from the Tianyang Empire had gone missing after entering the Tianbai Empire.
As a result, the prince's father, enraged, pressured the Tianbai Imperial Family with the following threat: If they didn't return his son within a month, he would lead his army east and declare war on the Tianbai Empire.
Such a task naturally ended up in the hands of the divine guardian sect of the empire, the Cangqiong Sect.
This matter could become very serious. The Tianyang Empire was powerful, and a conflict between the two countries would undoubtedly give other empires or the demon races an opportunity to strike.
If possible, avoiding war was preferable.
Therefore, Sect Leader Yue Zhonglian sent his third disciple, Hong Li, along with several elite disciples from the Cangqiong Sect, to Duling City to find the missing prince and resolve the conflict.
When Yue Yunlan learned of this, she wanted to help ease her father's burden, so she came to Duling City as well.
After several days of traveling, the group was exhausted.
"Junior Sister, the city's residents are tough and unruly. It's full of all sorts. I suggest you wear a veil," Hong Li advised. Being older and more experienced, he knew that women as striking as Yue Yunlan and her maid would draw too much attention just walking down the street. Keeping a low profile would be difficult.
"Mmm-hmm," Yue Yunlan nodded slightly and covered her face with a white veil. Though it couldn't entirely hide her beauty, it at least concealed some of it.
"We're on a mission, so remember to be careful," Hong Li reminded them again before leading the group into Duling City.
Hong Li was naturally the leader of the group. With his strength at the fourth level of the Spiritual Element Realm, he was more than capable of handling the task.
What he meant by unruly residents was the high number of criminals in the city.
The streets were crawling with thieves. Some of the foolish ones even tried to target Hong Li and his group. But they were destined for disaster.
These people were elite disciples of the Cangqiong Sect. Even the weakest among them, Qiao Qiao, could easily crush those common thieves, who were typically only at the Qi Formation Realm.
Yu Qian, with his cold demeanor, was particularly ruthless. He caught one of the thieves and brutally tore off the man's arm. The thief collapsed and started screaming in a pool of blood, drawing the attention of many passersby.
Hong Li's face darkened as he immediately grabbed the smug Yu Qian and pulled him away. They were on a covert mission, but this guy had caused such a scene. It was as if he had written "I'm here!" right on his forehead.
After the group had walked a good distance away, Hong Li scowled and harshly reprimanded Yu Qian with, "We're here to complete a mission, not to show off!"
"Hmph, that fool didn't know any better and dared to steal from me," Yu Qian sneered coldly. "He was just a worthless insect, so who cares if he dies?"
Yu Qian was the son of a prominent family. Even though he had joined the Cangqiong Sect, his innate arrogance was something he could never fully shake off.
"You!" Hong Li's eyes bulged in anger, but he wasn't the type to argue. A few words in and he was already tongue-tied.
"Senior Brothers, stop arguing," Yue Yunlan interjected. As soon as she spoke, Yu Qian immediately acknowledged his mistake, smiling and saying, "It's my fault. Senior Brother is right to scold me."
But his playful grin showed he didn't truly feel any remorse.
Yue Yunlan shook her head slightly and let out a soft sigh. "Let's focus on gathering information first. We need to find out why Nangong Yin was captured and by which faction. We'll split into three teams. Senior Brother Hong, you and Senior Brother Lu will form one team. I'll go with Qiao Qiao, and Senior Brother Yu, you can team up with Senior Sister Fang."
The group quickly nodded in agreement. While Hong Li was technically the leader, Yue Yunlan's status as the sect leader's daughter made her words carry significant weight.
With the plan set, they decided to find an inn to rest first before splitting up to gather information on the Tianyang Empire prince, Nangong Yin.
Before long, they arrived at a modest inn in Duling City called the Yun Lai Inn.
Seeing the large group enter, the innkeeper hurried over with a smile and greeted them warmly. "Dear guests, are you here to eat or stay?"
"Stay," Hong Li replied, placing a crystal note on the counter. "Prepare some food and get us four top rooms."
The innkeeper beamed with joy, recognizing the big-spending customers.
He led them to a square table and said apologetically, "I'm afraid you'll have to squeeze in a bit, as our resources are limited. Please bear with us."
"Ridiculous! Six of us at one table?" Yu Qian frowned and pointed to a nearby wooden table. He scoffed, "Isn't there another table right there?"
"I'm sorry, but that table was reserved by three guests earlier, so..." The innkeeper looked troubled.
"Who do they think they are?" Yu Qian glared at the innkeeper before arrogantly sitting down at the other table. "Let them come to me if they have a problem!"
As he spoke, he turned to Yue Yunlan with a fawning smile. "Junior Sister, with your status, how could you sit at a crowded table with us?"
Hong Li frowned once again. This guy had been forced into the group by an elder, and now his attitude was even more pretentious than Yue Yunlan's!
Yue Yunlan simply shook her head and said calmly, "Forget it. I'm not hungry. Qiao Qiao, let's return to our room."
Qiao Qiao glanced back at Yu Qian and silently thought to herself, Idiot!
At that moment, a figure in a flamboyant cloak appeared at the foot of the stairs. This odd-looking character instantly noticed someone else sitting in his seat and shouted, "You scoundrel! Who dares to take my... My seat?"
The figure in the garish cloak was none other than Despicable Donkey.
Right behind him, Ling Feng and Tuoba Cheng emerged from their rooms, only to find the despicable donkey in a confrontation with another group.