Dual Cultivation God Returns Chapter 1057: What else...?

Hong Yue was perched on the railings of a suspended wooden bridge within the Dream Realm Main Mansion, her eyes surveying the exquisite scenery.

The wooden bridge was connected to a meticulously carved stone platform situated on a towering, solitary mountain peak. This spot served as the usual entry point for Wu Long when he returned to the mansion from the outside world of the Dream Realm.

Consequently, if his approximate arrival time was known, one or two beautiful women would typically be awaiting him on this bridge, much like Song Lingfei had been not long ago.

Although he possessed the ability to materialize anywhere within the mansion, a choice he had exercised for a period, Wu Long eventually decided that a degree of stability and predictability in their daily routines was necessary to feel more grounded. This led him to impose self-restrictions on his entry points into the mansion.

This same rationale underpinned their adoption of several mortal-like behaviors while within the mansion's confines.

For instance, they would sleep at night, even though meditation was an alternative, and they dined together whenever feasible, despite not requiring food for sustenance. While Wei Lan's Spiritual Food offered minor benefits, that wasn't the primary reason. They generally opted to walk rather than fly, unless circumstances necessitated flight to reach inaccessible areas – a fact Gong Cui had overlooked when retrieving that peach. In everyday life, they also favored traveling at normal speeds.

They even refrained from extending their Spiritual Senses over vast distances, preferring to communicate with those nearby to ascertain locations if it wasn't an emergency. In critical situations, Fen Baihu could be relied upon.

Hong Yue didn’t fully grasp the reasoning behind these customs. However, by living amongst them, she gradually started to emulate their actions, sensing a subtle, yet profound, influence from this lifestyle that she had yet to fully comprehend.

She observed Wei Lan, who had accompanied Wu Long, arriving not long before to commence dinner preparations. Most of the ladies were congregating near the dining area, either assisting Wei Lan or simply waiting. Thus, Hong Yue anticipated Wu Long's imminent arrival.

She was certain he would pass this way.

Her purpose was to seek his counsel.

That very night, at the Crow King’s Nest, Wu Long found himself amused by Hong Yue’s rather impulsive decision to display the Bahshi Assassin masks in a location where they would be recognized. In contrast to her newfound boldness, which she attributed to his influence, he recognized that her decision was made somewhat impulsively upon hearing of his intended visit to the Crow King’s Nest.

A portion of her motivation stemmed from a desire to assist him in addressing what he perceived as a lack of sufficient chaos on the continent.

However, another significant part was undeniably an attempt to draw the attention of certain Bahshi Assassins.

The lingering question, one that she had yet to answer for herself, was: to what end?

As she slowly emerged from the state of shock that she and Hong Ye had experienced following the events at their branch of the Bahshi Assassins Group – after which neither of them wished to have any association with those who had nearly sacrificed one of them for a ritual – Hong Yue began contemplating her future: her path, and her potential.

She was aware that Bahshi Assassins now existed in the wider world. These were not the same rogue faction, isolated in a Fractured World, that had defied taboo by attempting the ritual. Instead, they were the genuine, orthodox members of the broader organization, albeit diminished and scattered in hiding due to unforeseen occurrences in the higher Boundless World.

She also knew of Wu Long's plans to gradually gather and reintegrate the remnants of these forces. Moreover, since he had bestowed upon the twins a technique enabling them to command lower-ranking Bahshi Assassins, she understood his reliance on the twins' legitimacy as Prime Demons of a branch to achieve this goal. Therefore, she wholeheartedly embraced this course of action.

After all, it offered her a means to be useful to him – the one who had not only saved them but also provided her with shelter and a life of peace, free from any unmet desires or necessities. It allowed her to contribute not merely as an individual, but as someone capable of assisting him in controlling a formidable power.

Yet, recent revelations about life had made her question her suitability to lead such a force alongside her twin. She doubted her ability to return to the life of contract killing, especially now that Wu Long had awakened a broader perspective of the world within her.

With his assistance, she had also found the resolve to assert her own will upon the world, wielding her dagger once more to take lives... but it felt different. It was no longer the dagger of a cold, emotionless assassin who felt no connection to their target. Instead, it was the weapon of someone possessing their own conscience and empathy. It was a dagger that demanded justification for taking a life – a proper reason, beyond merely following orders and receiving a pouch of gold for the organization.

’Then again, I don’t know how Daoist Wu... is going to lead that organization and in what manner...’, she sighed, for a minute his usual "Call me Wu Long" with a handsome smile came to her mind, but she shook her head along with shaking that vision out of herself.

’But then again, if I become useless even as an assassin... what else am I even good for?’, her crimson eyes became even more conflicted, ’It’s not like Bahshi Assassins are good at straightforward combat... so my skills are useless for anything else...’

’And there is also Ye’er’, she thought as a bit of warmth appeared in her eyes, ’I can’t leave the whole burden of assassination to her while washing my hands clean because I suddenly have a conscience now, right?’

She then suddenly thought it was silly of her to come here with such questions, and that she should go.

But just as that thought went through her mind, the stone platform that the suspended wooden bridge connected to was enveloped by mist and two figures came out of it, Wu Long and Butler Bang following at a respectful one step behind.

"And?", Wu Long asked with a smile while walking forward, seemingly continuing a conversation they had on the outside.

"As Young Master predicted, they’re aiming for the biggest fish in the pond, the Quiet Lake Hall", Butler Bang smiled as well.

"Haha", Wu Long chuckled, "Old Yen’s going to have some hard time..."

His gaze then caught Hong Yue’s figure who froze in a pose of half-standing up from the railing to leave, but knew she wouldn’t be able to hide from Wu Long, so she simply stayed still.

"Fairy Hong Yue? Were you waiting for me?", Wu Long asked with a pleasantly surprised tone causing the beauty to slightly awkwardly land on the wooden flooring of the bridge.

Butler Bang stopped his movements, respectfully giving some space.

"Ah... no... I-... ehm, actually yes but...", Hong Yue suddenly didn’t know if she should proceed with asking for advice, and then decided to go ahead as it was awkward to just leave now that he already saw her waiting for him, but then also turned a slightly awkward look toward Butler Bang since it seemed that there were still things that Wu Long and him had to discuss so she didn’t want to interrupt.

Wu Long smiled, "Please walk with us for a bit if it’s not uncomfortable or inconvenient. We are almost done with things for the day and then I would be happy to talk"

"Not uncomfortable or inconvenient at all but... aren’t you discussing...", Hong Yue shook her head but didn’t finish her words.

"Nothing that would be problematic for you to hear, in fact I don’t think there’s any topic like that left at all", Wu Long chuckled since Hong Yue was already privy to most of the Wu Family’s and Eternal Duality Valley secrets, there wasn’t much she didn’t know about.

She slightly awkwardly nodded, as she walked alongside Wu Long with eyes that were full of slightly frantic thinking, and Butler Bang once again slightly closed the distance to finish up their conversation.

"Can we take over cleanly?", Wu Long then asked.

"It might be possible with the Quiet Lake Hall itself - the on in charge is possibly quite a reasonable man, although we have to find out more", Butler Bang replied, "But the problem lies in the organization that holds the Quiet Lake Hall - a larger underworld structure most of which we don’t need or would actively reject even if they wanted to join us. That organization also seems to be connected to a noble house at the top levels..."

"Heh, which is why Guanting was the right choice to lead this one. He won’t beat around the bush too much and will clash with the bigger organization right away - since we don’t need it he can crush it without caring much about accidentally breaking something we might need. Old Yen and Kwon Qianhong will cover where he’s lacking in planning, and will likely negotiate with the Quiet Lake Hall’s leader about a peaceful transfer conditional on the downfall of their current employers", Wu Long nodded.

"Yes, I believe that as long as the leader of the Quiet Lake Hall believes we have what it takes to remove his current employers, he would prefer our terms of employment", Butler Bang nodded.

"Is that it for today then?", Wu Long asked.

"Only one more thing, Young Master. The day of the Main Auction is 2 days from now, so Mr. Qian Ying was wondering which of the 3 nights preceding it he should target", Butler Bang added.

"Not tonight," Wu Long stated, shaking his head. "And, perhaps not even tomorrow night, though I will lend an ear if he insists due to practical reasons or feasibility issues. The Silverleaf Trade Hall is aiming for maximum damage, just as we suspected, so their plan is to make the announcement on the morning of the auction day. This gives them an entire day until evening for everyone present to make their way to Iron Claw City. Therefore, while it might be cutting it a bit too close, if we wish to inflict maximum damage in return, we should target the night before their announcement."

"Wouldn't they be significantly more cautious and alert on that particular night?" Butler Bang voiced his concern.

"That is certainly true, but that is precisely the moment our Famed Thief would target himself. He likely just wanted my opinion since it's not his personal responsibility. I suspect our self-proclaimed 'Grandmaster of the Great Theft Dao' falls into the category of thieves who believe the ultimate expression of the Theft Dao is achieved when one steals something at its most heavily guarded moment—what they call an impossible feat," Wu Long chuckled.

"I understand, hahaha. Part of this old man's duties at the old Wu Family Manor involved deterring thieves, so I should have recognized such things... I suppose I wasn't very diligent in my studies," Butler Bang offered a wry smile.

"Many teachings concerning numerous Daos were lost in that Fractured World, Butler Bang, so you needn't blame yourself for not encountering the Theft Dao in all its forms and manifestations. There are many, and this is merely one school of thought," Wu Long calmly replied, shaking his head. "As I mentioned, Qian Ying might belong to such a faction, but it does not represent the guiding operational principle for all practitioners of the Theft Dao, only a specific segment."

As their discussion unfolded, Hong Yue's frantic thoughts, which had brought her to seek Wu Long's advice, faltered and then gradually faded as she paid closer attention to their conversation.

Shortly after, Butler Bang lowered his head and departed in the opposite direction to convey Wu Long's instructions. Meanwhile, Wu Long continued walking alongside Hong Yue, who appeared lost in thought.