Dual Cultivation God Returns Chapter 1054: This is... what a conspiracy meeting looks like?

With the Spatial Node in Emerald Falls City now established and the performance of the "Raid on the Corrupt Path lair" concluded, Wu Long was able to return for dinner and spend the night in the Dream Realm.

However, his return wasn't immediate; he first needed to attend to a few matters in Silver Wing City.

Despite the Soft Meadow Continent and Emerald Falls Continent sharing slightly different day and night cycles, while sunset had arrived in the Wei Dynasty capital, Silver Wing City was still bathed in the warm glow of the late afternoon sun.

As more Spatial Nodes would be established in various locations, synchronizing the timelines with the outside world would become increasingly complex, especially in Worlds with longer or shorter day/night cycles.

Therefore, a straightforward solution was to discard external time tracking altogether and adopt a fixed, arbitrary time. Since they had been operating on Soft Meadow Continent time for months and their activities were primarily centered there, it became the baseline within the Dream Realm until a more convenient time to switch.

—

Jian Yu had contacted them while Wu Long was en route to Emerald Falls City, reaching him about halfway through his journey. Thus, as soon as his affairs in Emerald Falls were mostly concluded, Wu Long proceeded to meet the Young Master of Crimson Arrow Manor.

"He just had to make up his mind right when you were away, didn't he?" Wei Lan chuckled as she accompanied Wu Long to their rendezvous.

"I had a feeling that would be the case; sometimes things just unfold that way," Wu Long returned her chuckle, acknowledging the irony that Jian Yu had a two-day window to contact him while he was present, yet chose the most inconvenient moment possible instead.

They entered a modest restaurant and were led to a private booth. Understandably, the Young Master of Crimson Arrow Manor desired a meeting on neutral ground, a place that was both public yet allowed for private conversation – a city restaurant perfectly fit these criteria for both parties.

However, Wei Lan had selected the venue, as Jian Yu clearly held no particular interest in the culinary offerings.

The latter arrived approximately twelve minutes later, visibly relieved to find that the reserved room was indeed occupied.

But he faltered upon entering. While he recognized the resemblance between Wu Long and the masked individual who had assisted him previously, he knew with certainty that among the two masked women present, it wasn't Wei Lan who had accompanied him that day.

"Please, take a seat," Wu Long indicated the empty seat opposite him and Wei Lan with an open palm.

"Oh, it really is you," Jian Yu sighed in relief upon hearing Wu Long's voice, finally confirming he hadn't walked into a trap.

"It was wise of you not to bring that attendant," Wu Long said with a smile.

"Well, he is a man of the Crimson Arrow Manor... although they claimed he would act as my hands and feet, he's likely the Clan Ancestor's subordinate. And your offer was rather..." Jian Yu also offered a wry smile, attempting to politely suggest he wasn't entirely naive. He left the sentence unfinished, conveying the rest through a knowing glance.

Wu Long nodded in satisfaction, also noting that Jian Yu referred to the Clan Ancestor by his official title rather than as 'Grandfather'.

Their conversation, however, was momentarily paused by the arrival of a server girl to take their food order. Wei Lan enthusiastically placed her order and selected Wu Long's meal as well when he asked for her assistance.

But as Jian Yu absentmindedly pointed to a dish at random...

"Oh, you wouldn't want that one. It's quite pricey for a small portion and the taste isn't particularly good. They make a much better..." Wei Lan began, offering advice with the same zeal, leaving him slightly bewildered as he hadn't anticipated they would actually be dining.

He was even more taken aback by Wu Long's unchanged expression, as if this was the expected course for their 'secret conspiracy meeting'.

Adding to the surreal situation, Wu Long chimed in with a friendly smile, "Don't worry, we'll cover the bill, so you should definitely listen to Lan'er; she knows this place's food very well."

He also understood that they wouldn’t be discussing anything truly significant until the meal arrived, as interruptions were likely.

For the initial half-hour of this gathering, while awaiting their food, the atmosphere indeed felt like a relaxed social occasion among a couple and a friend or acquaintance. This threw him off guard as they chatted about the weather, an upcoming tournament, recent city gossip, and other light topics.

However, once Wu Long presented a substantial pouch of coins to the servant girl, requesting privacy after their meal was served, the doors to their private chamber closed. Jian Yu became subtly tense, sensing that the real meeting was about to commence. This feeling intensified when he observed Wu Long activating a sound-protection talisman.

"Let's savor the food first; it's best fresh from the kitchen," Wu Long stated, once again diffusing the burgeoning tension. He and Wei Lan began to eat, though it appeared Wu Long derived more pleasure from observing Wei Lan’s delighted reactions to the meal than from the food itself.

Jian Yu watched the pair for a moment, his eyes blinking, before shifting his gaze to the meal before him. He involuntarily swallowed, as the food looked and smelled incredibly appetizing.

With a thought of 'Ah, whatever~' crossing his mind, he noticed his protective Spiritual Treasure ring remained inactive regarding the food and began to eat as well.

"Mm!" His eyebrows rose, eliciting a satisfied grin from Wei Lan, who seemed inclined to say 'Didn't I tell you?' but was too engrossed in her own meal to speak.

Midway through the meal, as Wei Lan continued to focus on clearing the plates before her, Wu Long casually added after taking a sip of tea, "Multiple servants from your Manor were tailing you using trained Stealth Techniques – two from your brother’s faction, one of your own, and one belonging to your Steward. We didn’t intercept them; we merely threw them off your trail, so they are currently occupied searching for you."

Wei Lan chuckled, understanding that 'threw them off' implied Fen Baihu had relentlessly toyed with them. Fen Baihu had clearly enjoyed teasing them by presenting a phantom of Jian Yu only for it to vanish around a corner, or when the silhouette overlapped with random passersby, among numerous similar tricks.

Jian Yu’s eyes widened as his suspicions proved correct. He had indeed felt constantly watched, but hadn't realized the sensation stemmed from the servants rather than warriors from the Manor. He sighed, "Thank you."

"It was inconvenient for me to be seen by them as well, so you could say it was for my own benefit," Wu Long shrugged.

"Why do you believe we won't win the auction?" Jian Yu decided to first confirm his understanding of a message he’d received before addressing the more sensitive question of Wu Long’s identity. "Is it due to the two princes?"

"Yes," Wu Long nodded. "In fact, no one would be able to outbid them."

"Haa~... I don't think Clan Ancestor anticipated the princes would be interested in a pill neither of them requires," Jian Yu sighed, then raised his eyes to Wu Long again. "Then... what did you mean by your assistance?"

"To help you win the battle of succession," Wu Long’s expression and tone remained unchanged, as if he were making the simplest comment, similar to their conversation before the food arrived.

Jian Yu’s eyes widened once more. "This mission is merely a small part... even if you somehow assist me succeed here, it won't impact the battle of succession."

"I am aware," Wu Long nodded. "But I am indeed referring to the entire battle of succession."

"What is there for you to gain?" Jian Yu narrowed his eyes.

"We are seeking benefits for ourselves, naturally," Wei Lan stated, wiping her lips with a napkin, a satisfied smile gracing her features.

She understood Wu Long preferred a direct approach. Having previously been in a similar, though distinct, situation herself – where she accepted his help without fully knowing him – she knew precisely how to appeal to the young man before them.

The initial tactic in this interaction was honesty, with the opening move being the open declaration of selfish motives, designed to manage expectations and allay suspicions.