Minglong

Chapter 442 Nurturing a Young Dragon in the Azure Spring

After leaving Beiming Lake, Xie Jinhuan did not linger and quickly turned back to the Southern Dynasty to avoid any further mishaps.

Along the way, the white-haired fairy went to Wolf City and discussed the matter of the Xuanwu Divine Gift with True Man Huang Lin, but she did not take him with her.

As for the reason, Xie Jinhuan thought it was probably because he was afraid of having a bad influence.

After all, Master Huang Lin had bad luck on this trip, running into the main force of the evil sect. Not only did he fail to obtain the opportunity, but he was also the one who saved him.

Opportunities are earned by risking one's life, even if they are for the righteous path. To obtain the divine gift of Xuanwu to extend one's life, one must pay a price; and to help someone out of a predicament, one must repay the favor.

The white-haired senior sister was taught by the same master as him, so if she asked for a lower price, it would be beneath her skills. Therefore, the negotiation was bound to be anything but harmonious.

Xie Jinhuan was unaware of the specific details, only knowing that after the two righteous elders finished their discussion, the Divination Sect sold off a lot of items. The dividends he received from the White-haired Fairy alone included five immortal herbs and a large amount of refining materials. Bing Tuozi, Ling'er, and others also received dividends, indicating that True Person Huang Lin must have suffered a great loss.

The spoils on their side were to be distributed by Sister Guo and the White-haired Fairy.

The other gift from the Black Tortoise God was unusable for Sister Guo due to her physical condition, but the White-Haired Fairy considered it icing on the cake and gave it to him to help him achieve the power of the Four Symbols: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, thus quickly enhancing his righteous combat strength.

Although they were all family, Xie Jinhuan couldn't just take it for free, so he handed over all the money he had earned on the trip, which was then distributed by the two elders according to their needs. However, in reality, it was just a matter of money being transferred from one hand to the other.

Shang Mingzhen's Azure Dragon God-given gift can also be used by wizards, which is why Sister Guo gave it to her grand-disciple Wanyi.

The Vermilion Bird Divine Gift was given to Zisu, since alchemists without a special fire would find it difficult to refine certain high-difficulty elixirs.

As for the element of metal, Ling'er already had it, so she gave it to Sister Ye, who was also a martial artist.

The long spear, the double swords of Chaochitai, and the Yin-Yang magic ball were given to him, Ling'er, and Sister Bu. As for Bing Tuozi and Mo Mo, the White-haired Fairy rewarded them with treasures she obtained from Huang Lin Zhenren.

Having made a fortune, Xie Jinhuan was eager to go home as soon as possible to throw a celebration party. He didn't stop along the way, and nothing unexpected happened.

Time flew by and it was already mid-April, with the warm early summer sun shining on the southern land.

Outside Danyang City, Xie Jinhuan stood on the dock once again, carrying coal briquettes on his shoulder and two weapons at his waist. Although his strength was no longer what it used to be, his unchanged appearance still made people feel as if they had returned to the day when the dream began.

Because of his great reputation, some of the dockworkers gathered under the shade of the pavilion to drink tea, boast, and discuss his story:

"Master Xie is truly amazing! A few days ago, I heard that he single-handedly held off 100,000 cavalry on the grasslands and swept through the Northern Royal Court..."

"I heard they also kidnapped Shang Lianbi's wife, is that true?"

"Nonsense! I've seen Master Xie before, and he's clearly not the type to be interested in women..."

"Huh? You've even met Master Xie before?"

"That's right. Last August, Master Xie came to Danyang on Old Liu's boat. He was penniless and couldn't afford the fare. I heard, well, tsk tsk tsk..."

"Master Xie also sold them?!"

"Shh..."

? ?
Coal Ball, perched on the shoulder, had been reflecting on the hardships of the past. Upon hearing this, it instantly perked up, glanced at the tea stall, and then raised its wing to swat Ah Huan's neck, its meaning probably—to silence him!

Xie Jinhuan rubbed the coal ball and felt that these idlers were probably tired of living. Last year, he clearly wanted to use facial recognition to pay, but the boatman refused. He helped him row the boat all the way. This was clearly selling hard labor, so why did he say it was like selling hooks?
Although he was somewhat displeased, he had already reformed himself and become a righteous hero, so he couldn't just quietly silence him anymore. He pretended not to hear it and turned to walk towards the city gate.

On the official road outside the city gate, Nangong Ye was dressed in a long black dress and carried a sword. From a distance, she looked like a female knight-errant commonly seen in the martial arts world, but her demeanor was like that of a banished immortal who had fallen to the mortal world. Her appearance was just like when we first met in the rain last year.

Seeing his childhood sweetheart, the woman he had longed for since childhood, Xie Jinhuan's mood, which had been disturbed by the rumors, improved considerably. He walked up to her and gently patted Manyue.
"Let's go."

Fearing being seen by acquaintances in Danyang, Nangong Ye quickly moved to the side of the road.
"You have your master keeping an eye on you outside, so I won't say anything if you get carried away. But if you don't know your place when you come back, you know the consequences yourself."

Xie Jinhuan naturally understood that she was simply sulking and wouldn't let him touch her; she would only obediently return to her room after being coaxed. He shook his head and chuckled softly.

"Okay, I haven't had a chance to be alone these past few days. Let's go to Qingquan Alley later..."

"I'm not going!"

Nangong Ye's eyes darkened slightly: "I allowed you to act recklessly so you could do something for me, but instead of doing anything, you went further and further in front of the demoness..." Xie Jinhuan said helplessly: "How could I not do anything? It's just that things need to take their natural course, and I wasn't deliberately bullying you, but giving you a way out. If I don't take this opportunity to treat everyone equally, and you're caught playing with magical artifacts later, wouldn't Sister Bu laugh at you..."

"Can you please not say these things in broad daylight?"

"Ha ha……"

Xie Jinhuan chuckled twice, reverting to his aloof and extraordinary demeanor as a restrained male god, and scanned the streets and alleys of Danyang:
"Blood Rain Tower said there are still spies from the Underworld God Cult in the city. With hundreds of thousands of people and no other clues, it might be difficult to investigate..."

Xie Jinhuan came to Danyang immediately after returning because he received a message from Wanyi on his way back.

The Blood Rain Tower has been conducting investigations in the southern border region for some time now, deploying thousands of intelligence personnel. They have indeed made some progress. It has now been roughly determined that the Gu Poison Sect has had problems with the import and export of resources in recent decades. Either they have secretly stockpiled a huge amount of materials and treasures, or they have used these resources in ways that are unknown to others.

In addition, the Blood Rain Tower members, while investigating merchant ships entering and leaving the border, unexpectedly intercepted a letter addressed to the Underworld God Cult.

The intelligence report was quite well-written, several thousand words long, clearly indicating serious underground work. But the main points can be summarized in two sentences: Danyang is peaceful recently, and money is being transferred!
Danyang was indeed calm after the start of the year, so it cannot be said that this covert operation was just loafing around to cheat for subsidies.

Xie Jinhuan discovered that the Underworld Cult still had spies in Danyang. In addition, Zisu was taking exams at the academy, accompanied by Wanyi's mother, so he decided to come and check first, while Ling'er and the others returned to the capital first.

Nangong Ye was constantly mocked by the vixen, and he had come here to find some peace and quiet. He glanced at the seemingly normal street scene:

"His Majesty has left Danyang. Apart from the Danyang Academy, there are no high-value targets in the city now. With Mu Yunling stationed there every step of the way, there's no way anything could go wrong. The Underworld God Sect might just be planting a spy for routine surveillance, without any real plans."

When evil forces have plans, they will inevitably cause all sorts of disturbances. If they do nothing but monitor, or even are too lazy to monitor, and rely solely on fabricating information to deal with the higher-ups of the Underworld God Cult, then even a god would be baffled.

Xie Jinhuan knew that this hidden agent would be difficult to find. Even if he asked the landlady to come, it would be impossible for her to observe the souls of hundreds of thousands of people at the same time. Therefore, he chose to take a chance and see if he could find any clues.

After walking for a while, the two arrived near Qingquan Lane. They didn't find any trace of the demon, but instead spotted a newly opened restaurant on the banks of the Chongming River.

The restaurant, with a sign that read "Zhang San's Stir-Fry Restaurant," was doing quite well. Seeing this, the coal ball, which thrives on food, immediately perked up and started clucking and chirping, presumably meaning:

"Stop looking, let's order first..."

Xie Jinhuan glanced around and thought the restaurant was so-so, full of rough men, probably catering to those who wanted large portions and satisfying hunger. It wasn't really suitable for taking a girl out to eat, so he went to Danyang Academy with Bing Tuozi first.

Meanwhile, in the restaurant's kitchen.

The kitchen was filled with the smoke of cooking water. Zhang Chu, wearing an apron, deftly chopped vegetables on the cutting board, glancing outside every now and then as he asked:
"Zitong is probably gone, and Xie Laomo should be back by now. We've been lying in wait so brazenly, are we sure we won't be discovered?"

Wearing an apron, He Can was stirring a large ladle by the stove, his confidence practically written all over his face.

"Having dealt with Xie the Old Demon so many times, haven't you noticed the pattern yet?"

"What's the pattern?"

"Nine out of ten times we met, he was accompanied by a female cultivator. If he's like this when he's out, he can't possibly be a bachelor at home. If you take a girl out for a stroll, would you eat at a cheap, hole-in-the-wall restaurant?"

"That's hard to say. What if Old Demon Xie reverts to his former self and wants to recall the time before he rose to power..."

"That's the same old restaurant we used to go to, who would come to a small place like this..."

"It seems to be the same..."

Zhang Chu felt slightly relieved and then asked:
"The higher-ups probably put us here because they value your survival skills and think you have some grand plan, but we haven't had any assignments for so long. What do you think they mean by this?"

He Can shook his head:

"Whatever their plans, I'll just live one day at a time. Speaking of which, houses in Danyang are really expensive. To buy a house with this small business, I'd probably have to work like a slave for thirty or forty years..."

"That's no nonsense. It's the gateway to the capital, the place where Ye Sheng, Qixia Zhenren, and Xie Laomo rose to power. Even now it's considered cheap. Wait until Xie Laomo establishes his sect and becomes the patriarch, then you'll see. A house in Qingquan Lane will definitely cost at least 100,000 taels of silver..."

"A young dragon is nurtured in the Azure Spring, and it transforms into a dragon upon returning to the sea. Hmm... this name is indeed quite sophisticated. No wonder Old Demon Xie can achieve such success..."

……

(End of this chapter)