Although Qin Ping was a servant in the Qin Mansion, he usually called for a carriage when traveling long distances. It had been a long time since he had walked such a long distance on foot, and it was really exhausting!
Qin Ping felt a dull pain in his heels, as if they were being pricked by needles. Not to mention, his throat was already hoarse from talking too much.
However, when he saw his new master, still excitedly approaching a small shop selling porcelain wares, Qin Ping could only grin and bear it, forcing himself to keep up.
After all, if the master didn't complain, how could a servant like him dare to complain!
"I'm a bit hungry. Shall we find a place to have lunch?" When Qin Ping caught up to Han Li, he heard Han Li sincerely suggesting this. Qin Ping immediately agreed and enthusiastically recommended a nearby small restaurant, praising its signature dishes to the sky.
Han Li couldn't help but find it amusing, but he maintained a demeanor of letting Qin Ping decide. Following Qin Ping's eager lead, they entered the small two-story restaurant.
The first floor was for ordinary customers who only wanted simple meals, while the second floor was for those with a bit more status and wealth.
Naturally, Qin Ping wouldn't let Han Li dine on the first floor, despite his apparent interest.
As they reached the second floor, Han Li's attention was drawn to a group of five people sitting at a table, three men and two women, drinking together, which was quite unusual.
Upon entering the restaurant, Han Li glanced at the group and was slightly surprised. All five of them were Qi Condensation cultivators above the tenth layer, which was quite unusual!
"Could they be from the six sects of the demonic path?" Han Li thought to himself.
Immediately, he suppressed his spiritual energy using the technique only available to Foundation Establishment cultivators, making himself appear no different from an ordinary mortal in the eyes of lower-level cultivators.
"Master, please sit here!" Qin Ping, enduring the pain in his feet, led Han Li to a table by the window, even wiping the chair with his sleeve before inviting Han Li to sit.
Feeling embarrassed, Han Li insisted that Qin Ping sit with him.
This time, Qin Ping didn't refuse too much and sat down obediently.
He was in too much pain to worry about status distinctions, and fortunately, this young master who had just arrived in the capital didn't care about such things.
Once they were seated, the waiter quickly approached them, asking humbly, "What would you like to order? Our restaurant has several signature dishes that are very famous."
"Bring us the best dishes you have and one of each of your signature dishes. Use the best ingredients. My young master is the young master of the Qin Mansion!" Qin Ping, knowing that Han Li probably wouldn't know what to order, took the initiative to speak up for him, puffing up with pride when mentioning the Qin Mansion.
The waiter nodded repeatedly and scurried off to place the order.
Han Li, however, was not paying much attention to the food. Instead, he was focused on the group of cultivators nearby.
To his surprise, he felt a sense of familiarity when he looked at one of the men in blue clothes in his thirties, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
But upon closer inspection, he couldn't recall where he had seen him.
However, Han Li didn't dwell on it and continued to eat, secretly using his spiritual sense to monitor the movements of the cultivators.
Just as Qin Ping and Han Li started eating, the eldest man at the neighboring table, with a black face, stopped drinking and suddenly released an invisible sound barrier, enclosing them all within it before speaking:
"Let's eat something. Since our lives are now in someone else's hands, we, the Five Friends of Mount Meng, can only take it one step at a time! At least we're not dead yet. That's better than many others."
Although there was a sound barrier in place, Han Li could clearly hear every word. For his extraordinary spiritual sense, a sound barrier created by a Qi Condensation cultivator was like nothing.
Perhaps influenced by the older man's words, the two women finally took a few bites of their food, although they seemed to have no appetite.
From their appearance, it seemed like they were in some trouble, and it didn't seem like typical behavior for infiltrating demonic path cultivators.
Among the group, the man in blue clothes, who seemed familiar to Han Li, and another woman in her twenties, were the youngest.
"Master, the food is here. Please enjoy!" Qin Ping interrupted Han Li's thoughts with a respectful tone.
The waiter had efficiently brought out the food, filling the table with dishes!
"Hehe, let's eat together!" Han Li smiled slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed at his earlier behavior of focusing too much on the neighboring cultivators.
He then proceeded to eat with a healthy appetite, but secretly kept an eye on the group of cultivators.
As they started eating, the black-faced man sighed and began to explain to the man in blue and the white-clad woman.
"In fact, seeking help from the seven sects would be of no use to us!"
"Firstly, consider the current situation of the seven sects. We all know that they've mobilized all their manpower to deal with the invasion of the demonic path. Whether they can resist it is still uncertain. How could they spare any resources to help us scattered cultivators? Moreover, among these villains, there are Foundation Establishment cultivators. Ordinary cultivators won't be able to handle them. Otherwise, how could the five of us have been captured so quickly?"
"Secondly, even if the people from the seven sects are willing to help us out of fellow feeling, can you be sure that they can find these people? They've been wearing masks the whole time and haven't revealed their true faces. Even the place where they forced us was just a random dilapidated temple. There's no way to track them down! Not to mention, they've placed strange restrictions on us. If they're not lifted in time, we might die! Can you be sure that the people from the seven sects can remove these restrictions? Considering how confident they were in letting us go, these restrictions must be unique to them. They won't be easy to remove!"
As the black-faced man spoke, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper, and he even seemed to lose some spirit as he continued.
"Must we really assist them in doing evil deeds? Help them trap other cultivators?" The white-clad woman's face was pale as she spoke, clearly reluctant.
"Sister Five! As Big Brother said, all we can do now is take it one step at a time. Fortunately, we have enough time to come up with a plan to escape when the time comes!" Another thin and tall man in his forties tried to comfort her.
But everyone knew that these words were just wishful thinking. They hadn't been able to come up with a good plan in the past few days, so how could they find a solution in a few months?
After saying this, the group fell silent again, their worries resurfacing.
