Leaving the secret room, Mo Yi's first action wasn't to run home and hide the jade pendant, but to find a passing maid and borrow a piece of string. He threaded the string through the center of the Double Fish Jade Pendant, wrapped it around once, and tied it around his neck, creating a simple pendant.
"I'm so cool!" Mo Yi boasted, admiring the Double Fish Jade Pendant hanging on his chest.
A passing maid trembled, quickly lowering her head and scurrying away. In her eyes, Mo Yi was a ferocious beast, one that would devour her whole and leave no bones behind. If it had been a young master from another family, the maids would have been happy to offer themselves, but if it was Mo Yi... sorry, this grass wouldn't dare touch him, wouldn't even dare look at him.
Mo Yi watched the maid run away, feeling dejected. What a terrible person the previous owner of this body had been before his arrival, almost like a harbinger of doom.
Suddenly, a gust of wind whistled, and a figure in a black robe appeared behind Mo Yi.
Mo Yi turned, and the figure in the black robe promptly knelt on one knee.
"Have you found out? The latest movements of those three?" Mo Yi asked, slightly nodding his head. This was one of the shadow guards of their Mo family, specifically dealing with things that couldn't be seen in the light.
The shadow guard pondered for a moment and replied, "Yes, young master."
"Tell me."
Mo Yi sat down on a flower bed by the roadside, playing with the jade pendant on his chest. The gingko tree above his head was rustling in the autumn wind.
The shadow guard nodded and quickly reported, "Currently, we only have information on one person - Luo Hou, the second young master of the Luo family."
Mo Yi frowned, "What about the other two?"
The shadow guard shook his head, "This subordinate is incompetent, Xiao Yan of the Xiao family and Fang Han, the stable hand, have both vanished without a trace."
"Vanished, huh," Mo Yi pondered, frowning, "Tell me about this Luo Hou. Names that sound domineering usually die young, unless they're called Long Ao Tian."
The shadow guard, of course, didn't know who Long Ao Tian was, but he didn't ask. He wouldn't pry into his master's matters. "Luo Hou was beaten into a vegetative state by you, young master, half a year ago. After being in a coma for 163 days, he woke up three days ago. The Luo family and their neighbors discovered that Luo Hou was no longer the foolish and weak man he had been before, and now he seems to have been reborn, he's become strong and stubborn, and he's developed a keen interest in martial arts."
"..." Mo Yi listened without saying anything, just sitting on the flower bed quietly playing with the jade pendant.
"He's made rapid progress in martial arts, just three days ago he went from Qi Refinement to Bone Refinement, and now he's on the verge of breaking through to Blood Refinement. According to this subordinate's observations, Luo Hou will break through to Blood Refinement within a week."
The shadow guard described the experiences of the young man named Luo Hou in detail. If Luo Hou was there, he would have been surprised that the shadow guard's account was completely accurate.
"Martial arts realms... Qi Refinement, Bone Refinement, Blood Refinement, Primordial Yuan, Grandmaster." Mo Yi muttered to himself, "How can Luo Hou go from a vegetative state to Bone Refinement in just three days, and even be on the verge of breaking through to Blood Refinement?"
The shadow guard said in a deep voice, "Do you want to investigate?"
Mo Yi shook his head, stood up, and said, "No."
The shadow guard nodded succinctly, "Yes! This subordinate will take his leave."
The next moment, the shadow guard vanished mysteriously.
"Come back..." Mo Yi said, holding his forehead.
"Whoosh."
The shadow guard fell from the gingko tree, bringing down a shower of gingko leaves and branches, ruining the path that the maids and servants had just swept clean.
Mo Yi sighed and said, "Will you shadow guards die if you walk on the ground? Why do you have to climb trees and jump into ditches to act mysterious? And besides, did I let you go? Don't take things out of context."
Mo Yi was very satisfied with the shadow guards' efficiency in gathering intelligence. They could not only gather intelligence but also excel in assassination, theft, and even the destruction of evidence. However, he was speechless about the shadow guards' habit of acting cool and playing it cool. Often, before you could even react, they'd disappear, or they'd appear behind you and scare you half to death before you realized what was happening.
The shadow guard was embarrassed. His originally handsome and neat black clothes were covered with branches and leaves. He knelt on one knee, his head lowered, and said, "Young master, is there anything else you wish to command?"
Mo Yi looked up at the midday sun, squinting his eyes, and said, "We're going to the Luo family tonight."
"The Luo family?" The shadow guard was surprised, "You're going in person, young master? If you want to kill that Luo Hou, we shadow guards are enough."
He spoke with a hint of pride in his voice when mentioning the shadow guards.
"Don't you understand? We're going together tonight," Mo Yi said coldly, glancing at the shadow guard. "When did you start daring to contradict me?"
The shadow guard's heart tightened, he knelt down on both knees and kowtowed heavily, saying, "Please forgive this subordinate, young master! This subordinate was reckless!"
The shadow guard instantly remembered the identity of the person standing before him! He was Mo Yi, the eldest son of the Mo family! The first heir in line! If Mo Yi wanted to make a major change to the shadow guards, it would be a simple matter.
Mo Yi sighed and said, "I'll let you off this time. Also, prepare a ten-man squad tonight, all with a Bone Refinement level or above, led by a Primordial Yuan level shadow guard. We'll be making a nighttime visit to the Luo family."
"Yes."
The shadow guard whispered, and in the next instant, he disappeared from Mo Yi's sight.
"..." Mo Yi sighed and turned, kicking the gingko tree with his foot. The shadow guard fell from the treetop, once again in a state of disarray.
"Young... young master."
The shadow guard was dumbfounded. "Is there anything else you need?"
"Did I let you go...," Mo Yi said to the shadow guard, his tone tinged with exasperation, "Tonight's mission is to be kept secret, there can be no record of it in the shadow guard's mission log. In other words, this mission is a top-secret mission issued by me, as the eldest son of the Mo family."
"Top-secret... mission?"
The shadow guard's eyes narrowed. The people who could issue top-secret missions to the shadow guard were those with immense power within the Mo family, usually family elders or the patriarch. Mo Yi just so happened to be one of them.
"Yes, I don't want anyone else to know about tonight's mission. If anyone does, the consequences are obvious."
Mo Yi threw a token, engraved with a soaring golden dragon. On the dragon's body was a large 'Mo' character.
The shadow guard caught the token with both hands and carefully tucked it into his chest. This was Mo Yi's token, symbolizing his immense power, seeing the token was like seeing the man himself, enough to show how much Mo Yi valued this mission.
"Yes!"
The shadow guard answered in a low voice.
Mo Yi stood up from the flower bed, placed his hand on his hip, and looked up at the sky. He waved his right hand gently behind him.
"..."
The shadow guard obediently knelt on the ground.
"..."
Mo Yi.
"If you don't leave, I'll make you kneel here for a lifetime with a sign saying 'Selling myself for burial with a dog.'"
Mo Yi's voice came faintly.
The shadow guard, relieved, disappeared from the spot.
"Oh right, clean this up afterward. The servants and maids work so hard, it's a pity to have it all messed up."
Mo Yi said casually to the tree.
The shadow guard's body swayed, nearly falling again.