Tumor Sword Immortal

Chapter 339 Rent Collection
Perhaps it was because practicing two sets of boxing had made his meridians feel more comfortable, which made Jiang Shu trust this mysterious guy a bit more.

Perhaps because Jiang Shu himself was not clean, the poison and magical artifacts he used to kill Feng Laoqi were given to him by another mysterious person of unknown identity.

If you can make a deal with the devil once, you can do it again.

At least Pei Xia wasn't hiding behind a black robe and hood, which in some ways showed he was honest.

Therefore, he agreed to Pei Xia's request to accompany him, on the condition that Pei Xia would teach him other martial arts only after Jiang Shu had mastered the Iron Mountain Fist.

Pei Xia readily agreed.

Because of their cooperative relationship, Pei Xia was given another sweet potato for dinner.

Although this stuff isn't nutritionally complete, at least it can fill your stomach; Pei Xiameimei has eaten it before.

As arranged by Jiang Shu, he will sleep in the room next to Jiang Shu's tonight.

According to Jiang Shu, this man surnamed Feng seems to be an elder of the Tianbao Mountain sect. However, the courtyard is old and dilapidated, and there is no trace of the grandeur of an elder.

Pei Xia's room was relatively exquisite, and a faint, rich fragrance permeated the room.

Pei Xia glanced at the rouge on the dressing table, then opened the wardrobe and looked at the few clothes inside. Judging from the two female corpses she had seen that afternoon, this should be the young woman's boudoir.

Without spiritual power, one cannot open the Jade Jade Void, nor can one regulate one's breathing.

Pei Xia stretched and could only lie down on the girl's soft bed, staring at the ceiling in deep thought.

This Jiang Shu should be an ordinary disciple of Tianbao Mountain. His cultivation level is not high, but he is cautious and organized. Apart from being a bit young, he should be a good guide. Traveling down the mountain with him will help Pei Xia understand Qin Prefecture.

The only concern was that he seemed to have killed his master's entire family.

In other states, this would be an absolute villainous label, the kind that can never be washed away.

According to Jiang Shu, Feng Laoqi's family "stewed" his senior brother... Pei Xia didn't delve into how they stewed him, but judging from the many details during the day, such as the sweet potatoes that were called "fine grains" and the fact that Jiang Shu's senior brother Han Mi only had a cenotaph, they all vaguely revealed a chilling possibility.

Having considered Jiang Shu's situation just a wall away, Pei Xia had to reconsider her next steps.

He really didn't know how he ended up in the cemetery of Qinzhou from Dongzhou.

But that's the situation. Now he needs to figure out where to go next.

The eastern part of Qinzhou is coastal, but most of it is blocked by mountains and becomes cliffs. The usable coastline is not long. Judging from its historically closed nature and the choices made by the Guo Han people, it is probably difficult to find a usable port and a stable ferry there.

Although Qinzhou and Yuezhou are only separated by the Dongzhou Sea, it is probably not realistic to want to go back to Dongzhou from there to find Lizi and Lao Han.

Heading south? Heading south leads to Zhenhai Prefecture. Although that place isn't as legendary as Qin Prefecture, the existence of the Zhenhai Thousand Roots means it's not a place that ordinary martial artists can roam freely.

In particular, further south of Zhenhai Prefecture, between Guizhou and the sea abyss, lies the legendary Yinhua Sea, where the Empress, one of the three Calamity Pigs, is sealed away.

Pei Xia lay on the bed and sneered. "I finally managed to get rid of this filth's influence. Why would I bother with this thing when I'm just growing maggots?"

No, I'll never go to Zhenhai in my life.

With no hope of crossing eastward and no option of heading south, he was left with only two choices.

The herons return westward, while joyful birds fly northward.

Pei Xia pondered for a long time and felt more and more that he probably really had to go to Leyangzhou with Jiang Shu to see the girl—Canglu was Da Ling's territory, and he was still a wanted criminal appointed by Luo Xian.

Although Leyang is nominally still Ling Kingdom territory, it is actually largely autonomous due to the fact that Chu Fengliang, the admiral of Longjiang, holds considerable military power, and Luo Xian's influence there is limited.

First go to Leyang, then cross the Dongzhou Sea from Leyang's port to find the pears.

Pei Xia clasped his hands together, making up his mind. The next morning, Jiang Shu got up early, intending to leave as soon as possible to avoid being discovered by the Tianbao Mountain sect.

He searched the courtyard thoroughly early in the morning. Besides the half-bottle of poison and the magic weapon dagger that the mysterious man had given him, he also found some external injury medicine in Feng Laoqi's room and a few pieces of jewelry in Liu Xing'er's room.

More importantly, they took away all the grain they could plunder.

Actually, there wasn't much. There was still a small half-bag of old rice left to cook porridge, plus four or five sweet potatoes and a palm-sized bag of fine flour.

Then there were the four sausages that were prepared for Feng Laoqi in the cellar. Jiang Shu used to slice them very carefully, but now he put them all into the bundle.

He didn't use Pei Xia, the cheap laborer who accompanied him, not because he was kind and benevolent, but because he didn't trust him.

Tianbao Mountain is not a small sect, so it can still provide some food. But once they go down the mountain, they will run out of food immediately. This package is Jiang Shu's greatest reliance.

However, just as Jiang Shu was making preparations in a flurry, two figures strolled leisurely along the mountain path leading to the secluded courtyard.

Jiang Shu had been paying attention for a while and naturally noticed it very quickly. Although the clothes worn by the two people were not in accordance with the rules, judging from their aura, they were definitely cultivators.

People have come from Tianbao Mountain!

Jiang Shu cursed his bad luck in his heart. Normally, he wouldn't see any fellow disciples in Feng Laoqi's courtyard for half a year. How could he have run into them like this?

I should have left yesterday!
He didn't have time to escape, so he could only put the package away first, and then drag the three corpses in the corner of the yard into Liu Xing'er's room.

He hastily coated the dagger with poison, tucked it behind his waist, and went to the yard pretending to chop wood.

The two people who came down were one tall and one short, and their facial features and expressions, perhaps due to years of repression, both looked somewhat sinister.

They walked outside the courtyard, but didn't rush in. First, they coughed loudly.

Jiang Shu quickly peeked out, looking rather simple and honest, and cautiously approached: "And you two are..."

The two men did not give their names, but said coldly, "We're here to collect rent."

Tianbao Mountain is a typical example of the sect model in Qinzhou, living off rent.

The sect allows refugees to live in its territory, but as long as they stay within the sect's territory, they must pay rent to Tianbao Mountain.

The Feng family was responsible for the rent of a small village at the foot of the mountain. They collected the money, kept a portion for themselves, and handed over the lion's share to the sect.

Jiang Shu's heart sank, and he asked in a low voice, "Isn't it supposed to be paid every six months?"

Dean Feng had already approved the application for the past six months.

The higher-ranking cultivator snorted coldly: "Commander Hong is currently engaged in a fierce battle with that woman surnamed Li at the Xian River, and he needs military supplies everywhere. What's wrong with collecting them one more time?"

Hong Zongbi, one of the seven warlords of Qinzhou, was known as the "Great Marshal Hongfu Tianen Shenwei". The area north of the Xian River was basically his territory, including Tianbao Mountain.

Or rather, Hong Zongbi came first, and then Tianbaoshan came into being. This so-called sect was essentially Hong Zongbi's lackey.

Even if Jiang Shu had something to hide, he wouldn't dare say a word if Feng Laoqi had brought up Marshal Hong.

He wiped his hands on his clothes, pretending to wipe sweat, and then said softly, "Master and Mistress are not here. I've asked for permission to send it to the mountain later when we get back, is that alright?"

The tall cultivator snorted coldly, not suspecting anything. Disciples like Jiang Shu were not supposed to have control over the expenses of the courtyard anyway.

I was just about to agree.

Suddenly, the short man wrinkled his nose, narrowed his eyes, and looked around the empty courtyard: "Why do I smell meat?"

(End of this chapter)