Chapter 1015: A Strange State of Affairs
In the end, the burly man accepted the 10 Taiping coins and decided to let the matter rest.
As the saying goes, there was always a hidden cause when something was abnormal. It was certainly strange for a noble to bow his head so readily, especially when his bodyguard was a Guizhen-stage Martial Arts Practitioner.
Sensing something dangerous beneath the surface, the man dared not press further.
But he did not notice the look of quiet pity in Zhang Quande’s eyes.
Zhang Quande’s cultivation might not be high, but his instincts were sharp. He could tell that these people had just provoked something far beyond them, and when disaster eventually struck, they might never even know why.
On the way back, Qi Xuansu asked, “Who were those people?”
Zhang Quande quickly replied, “Young master, that man’s the local tyrant of Chralong Lake. All the taverns and courtesans here pay him tribute. They call him by his nickname, Keeper of Chralong.”
Qi Xuansu continued, “Whose power does he rely on? Is he a Mage from the Daoist Order?”
“No, not at all,” Zhang Quande said. “Rumor has it he’s backed by the Witch Sect. Even the officials don’t dare touch him.”
Qi Xuansu paused. “The Witch Sect?”
He had long known that remnants of the Ancient Witch Sect, also known as Wuism, still lingered in Poluo, but he had not expected to encounter them so soon. He had imagined such remnants hidden deep in mountains or jungles, not walking openly in the capital of a kingdom.
Catching the shift in Qi Xuansu’s expression, Zhang Quande hurriedly explained, “Not the Ancient Witch Sect. It’s the Lingshan Witch Cult.”