Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

Chapter 278 Recruiting and Offering

On the way back, the rain gradually intensified.

Wang Zhonghe huddled in the back seat like a young wife, his overcoat tattered and worn.

Her usually meticulously combed side-parted hair was now mostly flat, with water still dripping from the ends.

Her expression was one of extreme grief and indignation, like that of a virtuous woman who had just been raped.

Chen Mo, who was driving, caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up slightly.

I must say, that cigarette really did feel good.

It would have been so nice if everyone could have just fished together peacefully.

What era are we living in? Still playing the trick of killing the chicken to make an example of the monkey, using public office to settle personal scores.

Chen Mo licked his back teeth, and suddenly felt an impulse.

If we drag this person out of the car and beat him up again, will the fusion of the evil energy be pushed forward one more step?

Anyway, Wang Zhonghe looks tough and thick-skinned; he won't be killed in a short time.

As he was thinking this, his gaze, which had been glancing at the rearview mirror, suddenly turned hostile.

Wang Zhonghe felt a chill run down his spine from that one look, and almost instinctively shrank back half an inch into the corner of the back seat.

His head hit the car door with a dull thud.

"What...what are you looking at?"

"You promised not to touch me! I've already handed over my life force, what more do you want?"

"Why are you so agitated? I haven't even hit you yet."

"Still want to fight?"

Were you just cursing me in your mind?

Wang Zhonghe was completely stunned. "I didn't..."

'

"You swore."

Chen Mo interrupted him, her tone firm, "My right eyelid twitched twice just now."

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"Left eye twitching means good fortune, right eye twitching means bad luck. You're probably cursing me in your heart."

Wang Zhonghe's lips trembled several times.

He had been in the officialdom of Tianjin for more than ten years, and he had seen all kinds of frame-up tactics.

But this is the first time I've used eyelid twitching as evidence.

"Uncle Chen, I really didn't curse you. I was thinking about how to reinstate your captain position."

"Captain's position?"

Chen Mo glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "Director Wang, you don't understand me. I hate people who use connections."

Wang Zhonghe choked, as if he were struggling to digest something that had just been tied up in bed and whipped a dozen times with a hemp rope.

Could the person who ultimately forced him to hand over his soul really say such things?

Chen Mo ignored him and looked away from the road. "Fine, I'll let you off the hook today. But if my right eyelid twitches again, you know what will happen."

In the back seat, Wang Zhonghe leaned against the car window, looking constipated.

Having lived for forty years, this is the first time I've felt that my life was given to me by someone else.

The car continued driving forward, the windshield wipers screeching against the windshield.

After a while, the car finally stopped at the gate of the red brick building.

The moment Wang Zhonghe saw the gate to his own courtyard, a glimmer of life finally appeared in his eyes.

He glanced cautiously at the driver's seat out of the corner of his eye, waiting for Chen Mo to speak.

"We've arrived. Go back on your own."

Wang Zhonghe pushed open the car door, trembling, and glanced back.

I want to say something, but I don't know how to say it.

Saying thank you is inappropriate, saying goodbye is too strange, and I dare not curse.

Finally, he just nodded vigorously, limped open the iron gate, and went into the yard.

Chen Mo watched his figure disappear into the porch. Ford made a U-turn on the asphalt road and drove towards the Chinese border.

The rain had stopped early the next morning.

Willow Leaf Lane appeared unusually quiet in the morning light.

Last night's rain washed the stone pavement until it shone, and the moss in the cracks was soaked with water, turning a vibrant green.

As soon as Chen Mo stepped into the courtyard, he saw five or six people standing in the alley.

The leader was an old man wearing a dark gray long gown, with a straight posture and a pair of silver-rimmed glasses.

Behind him followed four men dressed in short clothes, each carrying a red lacquered wooden box, which was still covered with morning dew.

This man was none other than Liu Qikui of the Green Gang, whom I had met at Li's warehouse last night.

He stood by the wrought iron fence, not pushing the door open directly. "Good morning, Mr. Chen."

"I hope my visit has been intrusive and I haven't disturbed your rest?"

"Master Liu?" Chen Mo looked at the person who came over, and then at the four red lacquered wooden boxes.

This is quite a spectacle; anyone who didn't know better would think it was a marriage proposal. "You are..."

'

Liu Qikui bowed slightly, a slight smile on his face, adopting a very humble posture.

"Mr. Chen, I apologize for my offense last night. I've come to make amends."

He turned around and gave a wink, and the four men behind him immediately stepped forward and placed the red lacquered wooden boxes they were carrying on the stone steps inside the courtyard gate.

Liu Qikui personally bent down and opened the first box.

The box was lined with thick satin, and on top of it lay a black stone the size of a fist.

The surface of the stone is not smooth; it is covered with tiny pores.

But upon closer inspection, wisps of black mist were seeping out of those holes.

The mist was very thin, almost transparent in the morning light, but as soon as it touched the air around the box, a thin layer of frost condensed on the satin surface.

"The Xuan Yin Stone was dug up by the North China branch three years ago in an abandoned mine in Rehe. They only got two pieces in total."

"This stone is naturally able to absorb moonlight and transform it into extremely yin energy."

"For those who practice Yin-attribute techniques, wearing it on their body can assist in the practice, making the results twice as good with half the effort."

Chen Mo's gaze lingered on the rock for two seconds, but he didn't say anything.

This bit of yin energy was negligible to him.

Liu Qikui then opened the second box.

This box is smaller than the first one, and it is lined with a layer of red velvet. In the center is a bead the size of a lychee.

It is grayish-white in color and has fine cloud-like patterns on its surface, making it look like an ordinary stone bead at first glance.

However, the air around the bead was noticeably darker than elsewhere. Instead of being reflected, the morning light was absorbed by the bead, leaving only a blurry halo around its surface.

"This is the embryo of the Yin Sha Pearl, it is not yet fully formed, but its essence is very pure."

"One of our retainers picked it up at a secondhand stall. The stall owner didn't recognize its value and just thought it was a worthless agate stone."

Liu Qikui added, "Mr. Chen is an expert, so he naturally knows what this means to cultivators."

Chen Mo's gaze lingered on the embryo for a moment longer.

Although the embryo of the Yin Sha Pearl has not yet taken shape, its essence is indeed pure.

The finished Yin Sha Pearl can be directly consumed and refined to increase one's cultivation level.

The embryo needs to be nurtured with one's own magic power for a period of time to take shape. The effect is actually better than directly consuming the finished product, because the nurtured evil pearl has a higher degree of compatibility with itself.

This isn't something you can buy with money; you need a keen eye and luck.

Without pausing, Liu Qikui opened the third box.

Inside the box lay a section of black root about the thickness of a finger, its surface wrinkled and shriveled, looking like the dried tree roots commonly found in herbal medicine shops.

The roots exuded a cold, damp aura; just by placing them in the box, a few fine water droplets had already condensed on the inner wall of the box near them.

"The roots of a piece of submerged wood, 150 years old."

"This thing was obtained from a corpse driver in western Hunan. It is said that the root originally grew under the coffin in the mass grave, absorbing the corpse's energy and the earth's yin energy day and night, which is how it developed this little bit of spirituality."

"Mr. Chen is an expert and naturally knows that ebony is an extremely yin substance. Ordinary ebony can be used in medicine to calm the mind and soothe the nerves."

"But the roots that have absorbed enough corpse energy and earth yin energy are a great tonic for those who cultivate yin-attribute techniques."

Chen Mo's brow twitched slightly.

Submerged wood is rare to begin with, and the ability to grow spiritual roots is even more rare and hard to come by.

Since the corpse-driver from western Hunan was willing to help, it was either because he was desperately short of money, or because Liu Qikui offered a price he couldn't refuse.

Liu Qikui opened the fourth box.

This box is the biggest and the heaviest.

There was no satin or velvet inside; it was simply a whole, uncarved, bluish-black ore.

It is about the size of a palm, irregularly shaped, and has sharp edges.

The stone's surface has faint dark red veins, like congealed blood.

"The Bloodstone of a Hundred Ghosts was dug out from the deep mountains of Northeast China and has been buried for at least five hundred years."

"This stone has been immersed in the convergence point of the earth's yin energy for many years, absorbing countless amounts of yin essence..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was already very clear.

Chen Mo bent down and picked up the Hundred Ghost Blood Stone with two fingers.

The moment his fingertips touched the stone surface, an extremely cold aura tried to invade his body, but it was blocked by the thin membrane of magic on his skin.

This stone is indeed of higher quality than the previous three. Although it cannot compare to the level of Yellow Spring True Water, it is already a top-tier Yin-attribute material in the mortal world.

He weighed the stone in his hand, put it back in the box, and straightened up.

The Green Gang really went all out to give away all four of these items.

Chen Mo dusted off his hands, his tone slightly better than before, "Master Liu, the items are good, but you shouldn't accept something for nothing. Please take them back."

Although these four items are rare, they are not very useful to him after he has condensed his evil energy.

If it were upgraded to another level, he might actually be tempted.

However, materials of that caliber are not something the Green Gang can produce.

Liu Qikui's smile froze slightly, but he quickly recovered.

"To be honest, Mr. Chen, I've come here today not only to apologize, but also to ask you to do me the honor of becoming a guest retainer of my Green Gang."

"No need to sit in the office, no need to manage affairs, just lend a hand when the gang encounters a tricky problem."

"Remuneration and benefits are negotiable. If the gang has any Yin-type cultivation resources, they will be given priority for your use."

Chen Mo lifted his eyelids and glanced at him, forcing a smile: "Master Liu, you are a smart man. I'm just a lowly inspector in the inspection bureau, and all I want is a peaceful and carefree life."

"The title of 'guest advisor' sounds nice, but once you have it, you have to do favors for others."

"I'm a very lazy person, I can't accept such a favor."

"Sir, you misunderstand. The Green Gang would never dare to joke about your leisure time..."

"7

Liu Qikui wanted to try again, but Chen Mo waved his hand to interrupt him, "Alright, Mr. Liu, let's not talk about this so early in the morning. I have to go to the bureau, so I won't see you off."

He didn't give the other person a chance to speak again, turned around, closed the courtyard gate, and walked towards the street.

The iron gate closed with a soft click, and the door knocker tapped twice on the iron plate.

Liu Qikui stood there, watching his receding figure, the smile on his face slowly fading away.

The four short-sleeved men behind him exchanged glances. One of them, the bolder one, took a half-step forward and whispered, "Master Liu, this man is really ungrateful. You personally came to our door, and he still..."

","Shut up."

Liu Qikui interrupted him without turning his head, looked down at the four red lacquered wooden boxes at his feet, and remained silent for a moment.

Mysterious Yin Stone, Yin Sha Pearl Embryo, Yin Submerged Wood Roots, Hundred Ghost Blood Stone.

He knew better than anyone the combined weight of these four items. The Green Gang had accumulated a wealth of valuable Yin-type materials over the years, and today he brought most of them.

Before coming, he had planned that even if the other party didn't accept the gift, they would at least give him a smile and sit down to talk for a few minutes.

But he didn't even blink twice. It wasn't an act of indifference; he genuinely wasn't interested.

"Let's go."

Two nights later, a blood moon hung in the sky.

The ghost market in the White Bone Tower area of ​​the west of the city has reopened after renovations.

The only change of ownership was to the Ding family, one of the four families of the Yin Gate.

The Ding family is a long-established powerful clan in Jinshi, ranking second among the four families, and specializing in the art of raising ghosts and controlling souls.

Back in the Qing Dynasty, the Ding family ancestor worked at the Imperial Observatory and raised spirits for the emperor to pray for blessings.

After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Ding family retreated to the Tianjin Concession and lived a secluded life in their ancestral home.

The Bone Tower of today is not the same as it used to be.

After the Ding family took over, they cleared out the surrounding mass graves and set up a large array around the area.

Each stall was numbered according to its area and size. Stall owners paid rent monthly, while the Ding family sent out patrol teams to maintain order within the ghost market area.

Ghost Banner Taoist walked along the stone-paved road of the Ghost Market with his neck hunched, his face covered with a gray cloth, only his small eyes showing.

He's been wandering around here for the past two days, but he hasn't seen any trace of the wronged soul threads, or even the realgar and cinnabar from Chenzhou.

Seeing that continuing to wander around would only waste his shoes, he sighed and prepared to head home.

As I passed stall number 23 (Bingzi), my pace involuntarily slowed down.

This stall specializes in making Yin stone seals.

A dirty burlap sack was laid on the ground, on which dozens of stone seals of varying sizes were placed crookedly, the smallest being only the size of a thumb and the largest about the size of a water vat.

The stall owner was an old man wrapped in a tattered cotton-padded coat. He squatted behind the stall without calling out to customers, just smoking a pipe.

Ghost Banner Taoist stood in front of the stall, his hands behind his back, his expression mostly hidden by a gray cloth.

But from his suddenly bright eyes, it wasn't hard to see that he was having an internal struggle.

He used to play this a lot when he was in Ganzhou.

Back then, he was a well-off Taoist priest who performed rituals and drew talismans for people in the Chenghuang Temple area of ​​Ganzhou. He spent most of the incense money he had saved on Yinshifeng.

This is similar to gambling on jade. Before the stone is cut open, nobody knows what's inside. A broken stone can make someone rich overnight, or it can bankrupt someone.

Ghost Banner Taoist clearly belongs to the latter category.

He spent almost ten years in Ganzhou, and the best result he achieved was a worthless pill the size of a fingernail; the rest were mostly empty shells.

The worst time was when he spent a thousand silver dollars to buy a stone seal the size of a washbasin. When he opened it, he found a nest of dried-up pupae. He was so angry that he stomped the pile of pupae to pieces on the spot.

Later, he lost so much that he almost had to pawn his magic weapon, and only then did he make a painful decision never to touch that thing again.

It hadn't been more than half a year since things calmed down, and now Shi Feng was itching to get his hands dirty again.

He squatted down, pretended to pick up a fist-sized stone seal, and examined it carefully under the tiny oil lamp on the stall.

The stone shell is dark in color and has fine lines on the surface, which look like natural yin energy condensation patterns, not artificially aged fakes.

He scratched the stone's outer shell with his fingernail; it was hard and slightly cool to the touch, a genuine earth vein sealing stone.

"How much is this one?"

"Two hundred silver dollars."

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