Jia Si observed Yang Kai's expression, vaguely sensing something, and swallowed hard before saying, "Young Master, there is something Jia isn't sure whether he should mention!"
"If it's nonsense, then don't bother," Yang Kai said, regarding him with cold eyes.
Jia Si said, "An month and a half ago, Elder Ju Tianqing came to visit the City Lord. The very next day, the City Lord left Kunyuan City."
"Ju Tianqing?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow. "Who is he?"
Jia Si replied, "He is one of the ten Emperor Sovereign Realm elders of the Fantian Sacred Ground, and has always been on very close personal terms with the City Lord."
"From the Fantian Sacred Ground?" Yang Kai couldn't help feeling somewhat surprised.
The Fantian Sacred Ground — he naturally knew of it. It was one of the top sects in the Eastern Domain. In terms of standing, it was roughly comparable to the Qingyang Divine Temple's position in the Southern Domain.
The two Holy Sons he had encountered in the Shattered Star Sea — Changxian and Changhao — had both come from the Fantian Sacred Ground. Their cultivation and aptitude were indeed exceptional. If they hadn't been unlucky enough to run into him, there was a very high chance they would have advanced to the Emperor Sovereign Realm after that journey through the Shattered Star Sea.
And Ju Tianqing was merely one of the Fantian Sacred Ground's ten Emperor Sovereign Realm elders. Judging by this, the Fantian Sacred Ground truly lived up to its reputation as a top-tier sect — its overall strength was even greater than the Qingyang Divine Temple's.
"What is Ju Tianqing's specific cultivation level?" Yang Kai had a vague feeling that Ju Tianqing must be deeply connected to the matter involving Gao Xueting.
"Also the first level of the Emperor Sovereign Realm." Jia Si had already said this much, so naturally he held nothing back — he answered everything honestly, wanting only to leave this place as soon as possible. Given the strength Yang Kai had just demonstrated by casually crushing that Source-grade upper-tier shield artifact, killing him would require nothing more than a casual flick of a finger.
Jia Si didn't believe his flesh body was anywhere near as durable as that shield.
Yang Kai nodded and raised a single finger. "One last question. Do you know where Ju Tianqing or Zu Hong currently are?"
Jia Si wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said uneasily, "I truly don't know that!"
The cold glint in Yang Kai's eyes suddenly turned dangerous.
Jia Si's face drained of color, and he said with a mournful expression, "The City Lord didn't tell me anything before he left — I genuinely don't know." He paused, then added in a panic, "However, if the Young Master insists on knowing, this humble one could try to look into it for you..."
"Look into it?" Yang Kai gave a heavy snort. "You just said the City Lord told you nothing before he left. How would you manage to look into it?"
Jia Si stammered, "This humble one could try to subtly ask the Young City Lord or the City Lord's wife — the two of them might know something. If that doesn't work, I could also ask around through a few of Elder Ju's disciples. To be completely honest, this humble one is on quite good terms with several of Elder Ju's disciples. Perhaps they know where the Elder currently is."
"How long?" Yang Kai asked, his face cold.
"Four hours... No, no. Two hours will be enough."
Yang Kai's face immediately broke into a wide smile. "Then I'll be counting on Lord Jia. Hurry back — I'll be waiting right here for you."
Jia Si shot to his feet and rushed out without a moment's hesitation, as though something were chasing him from behind.
But the moment he took a step, Yang Kai casually slapped a seal onto his body.
Jia Si's expression changed wildly. He stared at Yang Kai in utter horror, feeling the spot where the seal had struck burning like fire — an almost unbearable pain.
"Don't be nervous. This is merely one of my secret techniques, called the Bone-Dislocating Sinew-Splitting Seal. In the short term, it won't cause you any harm at all..." Yang Kai wore a pleasant, harmless smile on his face.
"And in the long term...?" Jia Si asked with a trembling voice.
"If within twenty-four hours my unique technique isn't used to解除 the seal, then your bones will separate, your meridians will sever inch by inch, and you'll wish for death rather than live!" At the final words, Yang Kai's voice turned frigid, as though a cold wind were howling up from the depths of the nine hells — enough to make one's skin crawl.
Jia Si's face went ashen. But the other man's fist was far bigger than his own, and he didn't dare put up any resistance. After a moment of wild color shifting across his face, he stamped his foot and departed like the wind.
Yang Kai called over the tea house's server and had him bring a fresh pot of tea, which he sipped at leisure.
It didn't even take two hours — in barely the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, Jia Si suddenly returned.
"That fast?" Yang Kai looked at him with surprise and praised, "Lord Jia is truly exceptional in his abilities. This intelligence work is first-rate — you must be the City Lord's most capable assistant."
Jia Si offered an obsequious smile. "It was just luck. As it happened, the City Lord had let some information slip to his wife before he left, so it was easy enough to track down."
"You were able to dig up information from the City Lord's wife herself, tsk tsk... Your City Lord's head — wouldn't happen to be a little green, would it?" Yang Kai fixed him with a peculiar expression.
Jia Si's face changed, and he said, "Young Master, please don't joke about such things. Jia obtained the information from one of the maids who serves the City Lord's wife — it's nothing like what you're imagining."
"Fine." Yang Kai responded lazily, then said with a serious expression, "Tell me the answer I want."
Jia Si said, "The City Lord said he was heading to the Dragon Bone Wasteland. As for the specific location, I don't know."
"The Dragon Bone Wasteland!" A cold flash swept through Yang Kai's eyes.
Jia Si said, "This is the limit of what I was able to find out. Any more intelligence would simply be impossible to obtain. Young Master, if you'll see your way to..."