Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Before we knew it, winter had quietly passed, and spring arrived on March 1, 1093, the year of Emperor Gengshi.

Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei traveled thousands of miles, constantly changing their identities and routes. Under Xiao Hongyun's carefully planned safe route, the journey was indeed calm and uneventful. No one found any trace of the two. They were like a drop of water that had fallen into the ocean and could never be found again.

Xiao Hongyun's arrangements were certainly safe, but Zhou Qingfeng was getting further and further away from the Sword Tower. According to conventional thinking, returning home should be done by heading in the direction of home, but Xiao Hongyun did the opposite, constantly changing Zhou Qingfeng's identity and planning new routes to advance towards the East Sea Paradise City.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Qingfeng arrived in the territory of the Eastern Sea Paradise City and settled in Wangyou Town as a traveling merchant.

Inside the safe house prepared by Xiao Hongyun, the three were sitting around the table eating.

Zhou Qingfeng: "Old Xiao, I can roughly guess your thoughts and plans, but why did you choose to settle in Wangyou Town?"

Xiao Hongyun: "The Third Miss and Mr. Liao are here to pay their respects to Xu Xiaoqiu. It's a good opportunity for you to go home with them. As long as the Third Miss and Mr. Liao are by your side, even if there are pursuers, they can keep you safe and your journey home will be smooth."

Zhou Qingfeng: "Hmm? You've already planned everything out for me."

Xiao Hongyun: "Hehehe, who told me to shoulder this mission? I have to put in some serious effort to make sure nothing happens to you. Two Poison-Eating Realm cultivators plus a group of Fiend-Eating Realm cultivators are chasing you. If you get cornered, you're definitely dead. It's putting a lot of pressure on me. I've been losing a lot of hair lately."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng patted Xiao Hongyun on the shoulder, nodded, picked up his wine glass, and drank it all in one gulp: "The words are in the wine, I won't say any more."

Xiao Hongyun and he had an extraordinary relationship. They had known each other since they were young, supported each other through thick and thin, and their interests and friendship had intertwined along the way. They had already silently forged a deep brotherhood and were unbreakable strategic allies.

Xiao Hongyun was worried that Zhou Qingfeng would die, and Zhou Qingfeng was just as worried that Xiao Hongyun would die.

Because there will never be another Xiao Hongyun or Zhou Qingfeng in this world. For them, the death of one means one less.

Of the three musketeers, only two remain: Ye Tingxiu, whose whereabouts and fate are unknown.

Zhou Qingfeng asked, "Any news about Lao Ye?"

Xiao Hongyun shook his head and drank his wine, then sighed, "Old Ye seems to be deliberately hiding from us, he has completely disappeared. However, we can confirm that he is still in the No Man's Land. But he has been out of contact for so long and has not returned to the Sword Tower. If this continues, the Sword Tower may assume that he has betrayed us. You know the consequences of that."

Zhou Qingfeng frowned and said, "Old Ye is courting death. The Sword Tower's attitude towards traitors has always been to exterminate them without hesitation."

Xiao Hongyun said seriously, "Old Zhou, we can't just sit idly by. We have to find a chance to help him. No matter what the reason, we can't let him continue to court death like this. Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable. You don't want to have to execute him as a traitor one day, do you?"

Zhou Qingfeng remained silent for a moment, then said, "On our way back to the city, we'll pass through the No Man's Land. We'll stop there and see if we can bring him back to the Sword Tower. If Ye Tingxiu is determined to betray the Sword Tower..."

Hsiao Hung-yun: "What would you do?"

Zhou Qingfeng: "I don't know, what about you?"

Xiao Hongyun: "I just thought about it. If I were forced to kill this guy, I would be so confused that I wouldn't be able to do it. To be honest, I, Xiao Hongyun, have no family left in this world. Sword Tower is my home. Apart from my master, the God of Martial Arts, only you and Lao Ye can be considered my family."

Zhou Qingfeng sighed, putting this thorny issue aside for the time being: "Let's not talk about this for now, things will work themselves out."

"Alright." Xiao Hongyun also breathed a sigh of relief, took out the prepared travel documents and handed them over: "You and Jin Wei's new identities are wandering cultivators. Old Zhou, your name is Jiang Dong, and Jin Wei, your name is Cui Yu. Your registered residence is in Forget-Worry Town, Bliss City. The two people you are impersonating are real people, but they have been away from Forget-Worry Town for more than a hundred years. I spent some money in advance to pull some strings and apply the registered residence and identities to you."

"No matter who checks your travel documents, they are genuine, unless you are unlucky enough to run into Jiang Dong and Cui Yu."

"Oh, by the way, these are old portraits of the two of them. You can adjust them based on their faces, and make sure they look about 70 or 80 percent similar."

Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei didn't waste any words. After finishing their meal, they began to change their clothes, put on human skin masks, and made minor adjustments to the faces of the masks based on the portrait. In the end, they looked seven or eight parts similar, and in a flash, they became two wandering cultivators who had been wandering for many years and had suddenly returned home.

Xiao Hongyun said, "Let's go, I'll take you to see Miss San and Mr. Liao. They've been staying here for several days."

The three left the safe house and, led by Xiao Hongyun, arrived at a house in Wangyou Town. Xiao Hongyun said that the Third Miss and Mr. Liao had been staying there for several days and that they could see them once they went inside. Then, Xiao Hongyun quietly retreated and hid in the shadows.

Zhou Qingfeng straightened his clothes and knocked on the door: "Knock knock knock..."

A moment later, the door slowly opened, and the old cripple stood behind it.

Zhou Qingfeng, wanting to tease the old cripple, clasped his hands in a salute and smiled, saying, "Greetings, sir. I am Jiang Dong and this is Cui Yu. We have been wandering for many years and have just returned to our hometown. We are parched and would like to ask you for a bowl of tea and inquire about some things. I wonder if you would be so kind as to do us a favor."

The old cripple looked up at the two of them, his eyes calm, and said softly, "It is fate that we met. Come in."

Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Weimai stepped into the house.

As the old cripple reached out to close the door, he glanced at where Xiao Hongyun was hiding and let out a barely perceptible chuckle.

Inside the house, First Red Leaf, dressed in a pure white dress, stood quietly under the eaves, clumsily embroidering a men's robe. This was a far cry from her previous fiery red attire. At first glance, her plain face and simple clothes gave her a gentle and pitiful appearance.

The old cripple smiled and said in a calm tone, "Why would the Fourth Young Master come to Forget-Worry Town?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng knew he had been seen through, so he shook his head and chuckled, "Jin Wei, it seems our disguise wasn't good enough; Mr. Liao saw through it at a glance. Mr. Liao, I have a long story to tell; we'll discuss it in detail later. I'll go see my third sister first."

The old cripple nodded slightly and made way for him.

Zhou Qingfeng stepped forward, walked to the eaves, clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Third Sister. I have been chased by a powerful enemy and have narrowly escaped death several times. This journey home is extremely dangerous, so I have come to seek your protection. I wonder when you will set off to return to the Sword Tower? I wish to accompany you."

First Red Leaf looked up at him and said calmly, "Fourth Brother, we are siblings and you have done me a favor. It is only right and proper that I protect you. But I'm sorry, I will not help you. Mother wants to train you. If I help you, I will be blamed, and this training trip will be in vain."