Bai Yunfei stood in the middle of an isolated corner, thinking to himself if he should go back home via the skies when he suddenly realized....he was surrounded.

A group of cold-looking middle-aged men had him surrounded from every direction he could look at.

There were plenty of soul cultivators in the crowd, though that was nothing strange to Bai Yunfei. The Capital had a great number of soul cultivators, Bai Yunfei just never expected to have five to six of them surround him right now.

“Am I being mugged?”

Bai Yunfei thought at first, but that thought was dashed rather quickly. There were two early-stage Soul Exalts and three late-stage Soul Exalts here. They wouldn’t bother doing a group shakedown like this.

“What matter is this? Have you the wrong person?” Bai Yunfei asked the group bluntly.

The leader of the group seemed a little surprised that Bai Yunfei didn’t look panicked, but he covered it up with a cold snort afterwards. “Kid, come quietly with us if you know what’s good for you!”

“Come with you?” Bai Yunfei asked. “Are you sure you didn’t get the wrong person?” He repeated, “I don’t know you.”

“The one we’re looking for is you, so shut your yammering!” The scarred man barked, “If you keep resisting then I’ll just knock you out!”

His body flashed purple with light to show his ‘powerful’ strength as a Soul Exalt to try to intimidate Bai Yunfei.

Bai Yunfei was floored.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Was this....a kidnapping?!

But wasn’t it a little laughable, this ‘kidnapping’? Did they not know just who Bai Yunfei was and how strong he was?

Did these guys really want to try to kidnap him? Just who were they?

The scarred man leading the group didn’t take kindly to the baffled look on Bai Yunfei’s face, “Take him!”

Three Soul Ancestors came forward at once to knock out Bai Yunfei.

“Hold on.” Bai Yunfei suddenly spoke up, “I’ll go with you.”

Then he took a step towards the scarred man to follow him.

“......”

The scarred man had to admit, this was a surprising reaction from Bai Yunfei. How was a Soul Ancestor (As far as the man could tell) able to remain so calm in a case like this? Still, whatever reaction Bai Yunfei had didn’t really matter to him. He had his orders to carry out. It’d save him some trouble if Bai Yunfei was being cooperative anyways. Three of the Soul Ancestors stepped behind Bai Yunfei so that he wouldn’t be able to run away. Together, the group walked out from the alleyway onto the main streets.

Bai Yunfei walked with them, a curious expression still on his face--just who in the world was ‘kidnapping’ him?

One thing was for sure, they didn’t know who exactly Bai Yunfei was. If they did, there’d be no way they’d have sent these people to get him. There would’ve been a slaughter if Bai Yunfei felt disinclined to go with them.

That should also mean there probably wasn’t any Soul Kings lying in wait for him either.

He had the class seven Xiao Qi with him and the permafrost mastiff in its ring. If there was any trouble in the Capital, Bai Yunfei was confident that he could run away to safety.

Hence why Bai Yunfei decided to go with them rather than tell them to go away. He was curious to see just who was looking for him.

......

Walking with the group, Bai Yunfei was led this way and that around several corners and turns. Soon enough, he was thoroughly confused which way was where.

Around twenty minutes later, they came to a relatively quiet area and entered a medium-sized manor.

Several lesser commoners and servants were walking in and out from this place, and Bai Yunfei himself was led to the right side of the manor into a rather large room.

The scarred man had a reverent look on his face when he entered the room. Bowing to the young man sipping tea at the table in front, he spoke, “Young master, we’ve brought the person back.”

“Very good. You may go.”

The young man dismissed him and turned to Bai Yunfei.

From there, Bai Yunfei saw just who it was, “Cheng Xin? It was you?!” He blurted out.

He had just seen this person this afternoon! The one known as the ‘King of Troublemakers’, the hedonistic third son of the Minister of the Right Cheng Bowen, Cheng Xin!

Never had Bai Yunfei imagined that the person who was ‘kidnapping’ him was this person.

“That’s right, it’s me.” Cheng Xin had a disparaging look in his eyes. “You don’t feel scared, do you?”

“Scared?” Bai Yunfei quirked his lips. He shook his head, “We’re not well acquaintanced with each other, so what business have you with me?”

As things would have it, Zheng Kai never really introduced Cheng Xin to Bai Yunfei, so the two of them were never really ‘acquainted’ with one another and thus didn’t say a word to one another. So what was Cheng Xin playing at now trying to ‘kidnap’ him?

There was a ‘profound’ smile on his face as Cheng Xin asked, “Let me ask you, are you friends with Zheng Kai?”

“Zheng Kai?” Bai Yunfei blinked once, “We’re decent friends, what makes you ask that?”

He wanted to see just what kind of game Cheng Xin was trying to play.

“What benefits has he given you?” Cheng Xin asked.

“Benefits?” Bai Yunfei was mystified now. “We are friends, not master and servant.”

“Pft!!” Cheng Xin snorted derisively, “Friends? You’re nothing more but an attendant. Do you really think Zheng Kai thinks of you as a friend? You’re nothing but an insignificant Soul Ancestor with no status, do you really think he treats you as a true friend?”

Bai Yunfei didn’t know how to respond to Cheng Xin, this wasn’t how he expected the conversation would go. “What are you talking about?”

‘Kindly’, Cheng Xin gave him a ‘heartfelt’ smile. “The Four Lords of the Capital have always been a group of four. They’re great friends with one another, and never has anyone ever been able to join in their group. Even though you might think you’ve it good with them, you’re nothing more but an insignificant attendant, that’s all. If you want to get more out of life, you’d be better off choosing other companions than those four.”

The final puzzle piece landed in its place. Unsure if he should laugh or cry, Bai Yunfei asked, “Meaning?”

“Meaning you should find an even better patron to support.” Cheng Xin offered ‘magnanimously’. “Follow me and have all your desires met. Riches, women, land, cultivation needs....I can get them all for you, how about it?”

A part of Bai Yunfei’s smile twitched at the look of absolute confidence on Cheng Xin’s face. “What would you have me do then?”

Even Cheng Xin found himself smiling even more at the sight of Bai Yunfei’s expression. He had him now. “You’ll be my eyes and ears. Continue by Zheng Kai’s side and report back to me on whatever they do.”

“He wants me to be a ‘spy’!”

Bai Yunfei was amazed, “And if I choose to decline?” He smiled.

“Decline?” The smile on Cheng Xin’s face grew icy. “If you decline, then do you really think you’ll be able to leave from this room alive?”