Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

Chapter 190: Clues to the Aquatic Wonder

Anping County, west of Tianyan City.

Late at night.

The Black Tiger Gang's residence was located at the eastern end of the county town. It was a three-courtyard compound with two red lanterns hanging at the entrance. The candles inside the lanterns were almost burned out, casting a dim, flickering light. Moss covered the courtyard walls, and several bundles of neglected firewood were piled up at the base of the walls.

Two thugs stood at the door, holding knives, leaning against the door frame, nodding their heads as if dozing off.

Deep in the backyard of the mansion.

Ma Sandao, the leader of the Black Tiger Gang, had just walked out of his concubine's warm room.

He wearily straightened his disheveled silk robe and casually wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He turned his head and glanced at his personal butler, who stood outside the door like a wooden stake.

The steward was a trusted confidant who had served him for over a decade.

At this moment, he was bowing his head, his hands clasped in front of him, and he remained motionless in the night.

Ma Sandao was used to this rigid respect and casually gave an order: "Keep an eye on things outside. I'm going to the storeroom to count that batch of cash again."

The butler didn't look up, but just gave a muffled "hmm" in response.

Ma Sandao walked through the backyard corridor and arrived at the innermost storeroom.

He stopped, looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then rubbed his hands together and pushed open the door.

The warehouse was small, with several large boxes piled up, their lids covered in a layer of dust.

Ma Sandao walked straight to one of the brand-new large boxes.

He reached out and yanked open the heavy box lid.

silver.

The gleaming silver ingots were stacked neatly, gleaming faintly in the dim light.

Ma Sandao's eyes lit up.

He reached out and took out a silver ingot, weighed it in his hand, breathed on it, and carefully wiped it with his sleeve until it shone brightly before putting it back.

Then he picked up another piece. He breathed on it and wiped it clean.

He opened the three boxes one by one, examining each one carefully, his fingers tracing the silver ingots, his greed barely concealed.

After counting the last silver ingot.

Only then did he leave the warehouse, satisfied, carefully locking the three locks and closing the door.

Those powerful families in the city are incredibly wealthy and powerful.

He threw out so much cash that the entire Black Tiger Gang could squander for ten years with just one sentence.

All he wanted was for him to send any low-ranking subordinate to open an empty shell shop called "Xinglong Trading Company" in the southern part of Tianyan City.

He shook his head. The manager of Xinglong Trading Company used to be one of his lowly underlings who couldn't make a name for himself. He would have been given some silver and then eagerly run off to him.

It's obviously a job where you have to take the fall for someone, yet people are eager to come to your door, all for that little bit of money.

stupid.

He looked up at the sky; the moon was mostly obscured by clouds, and the courtyard was dark.

I heard the aristocratic family's plan has already begun; that guy should have been dealt with by now. He smiled smugly.

What business is it of Ma Sandao how these important figures in Tianyan City fight to the death?

The money is in hand, but the work is done by others, and even if someone dies, it's someone else who dies.

Ma Sandao only needs to stay quietly in this remote Anping County.

Whoever wants to stir up this mess, go ahead and stir it up.

With this in mind, he strode off toward the side room in the front yard in a great mood.

The butler was still standing there, head down, motionless.

Ma Sandao walked to his side and casually patted his somewhat cold shoulder.

"Has any new information come back from Tianyan City tonight?"

The housekeeper did not respond.

Ma Sandao frowned, increased the force of his hand, and slapped it again.

"I'm asking you a question! Are you deaf or mute?!" Still no response.

Ma Sandao's hand stopped on the butler's shoulder, and his brows slowly furrowed.

The sensation coming from my palm felt very wrong.

Icy.

It wasn't the kind of chill that comes with cold weather; it was a coldness that seeped into your bones, like touching a piece of dead flesh that had been sitting for a long time.

Ma Sandao's expression changed.

He didn't make a sound, still talking casually, while his hand quietly reached for his waist.

"...So, how's business at our chamber of commerce in Tianyan City? And what about that kid surnamed Chen...?"

next moment.

Ma Sandao suddenly pulled out the short dagger from his waist and plunged it into the neck of the steward in front of him.

The dagger sank into flesh, all the way to the hilt.

He didn't stop; he slammed his left palm down, unleashing a burst of internal energy that exploded on the butler's body. Bang!

The butler's body flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground, creating a shallow crater, where he remained motionless for a long time.

Ma Sandao stared warily at the corpse on the ground, his short dagger held horizontally in front of his chest, his blood and qi circulating to their maximum.

The courtyard was quiet for a couple of breaths.

Just as he was about to go forward to check...

The "corpse" on the ground that should have been dead.

Suddenly, it moved in a very strange way.

There were no signs whatsoever.

The butler sprang to his feet, head tilted back, a short dagger still stuck in his neck, blood gushing from the wound.

But his eyes were empty.

Hollow, without pupils, lifeless, like two black holes.

He waved his hands and lunged at Ma Sandao. "An evil spirit?!"

Ma Sandao was terrified. He took two steps back and struck out with both palms, unleashing wave after wave of powerful energy at the steward.

His shoulders were shattered, his chest collapsed, his ribs were broken, and the butler's flesh was torn to shreds by each blow, but he was still moving, still lunging, still crawling forward.

Ma Sandao shattered the last intact bone in his body, and the butler finally stopped moving.

But at this very moment...

A cloud of black mist suddenly emerged from the butler's battered body.

The black mist neither dissipated nor drifted away; as if it were sentient, it rushed toward Ma Sandao's face at an extremely fast speed.

Ma Sandao raised his palm to block, but the black mist passed through his fingers and entered his mouth, nose, ears, and eye sockets.

His body suddenly stiffened.

next second.

A hand reached out from the shadows.

Five fingers clasped around his head. Spiritual threads seeped in.

Ma Sandao's eyes rolled upwards, his mouth opened wide, and a muffled whimper escaped his throat. He slumped down as if his bones had been removed.

A moment later, he opened his eyes again.

His eyes changed.

......

That night.

White House.

There was no large table in the main hall, just a small square table, three people, a few dishes, and a pot of wine.

Chen Ping sat in the main seat, holding a bowl of rice and eating three bowls of rice, and still hadn't stopped.

Bai Chongshan sat opposite, twirling a walnut in his hand, barely touching his chopsticks, and kept watching Chen Ping.

Bai Ming sat next to Chen Ping, poured him a glass of wine, and poured one for himself as well, but didn't drink it, just held it.

Chen Ping took a bite of food, his voice casual. "Have you sent someone to collect the land deeds for those shops of Xinglong Trading Company?"

Bai Ming nodded: "We've taken it. We've also moved the rest of the goods from the shop to our warehouse."

Chen Ping hummed in agreement and took another bite of rice.

"As for the Black Tiger Gang, Ma Sandao is now one of my men."

He picked up a piece of meat and chewed it.

"Around Tianyan Prefecture, there are some dirty jobs that you can't do yourself; you can send him to do them."

The chopsticks paused for a moment.

"However, on the surface, we have no connection with the Huai River Chamber of Commerce. Do not have direct dealings with them. If you need anything, just let me know, and I will arrange it."

Bai Chongshan stopped eating the walnuts in his hand.

He looked at Chen Ping and remained silent for a long while.

This kid was gone for a day and a night. He took down the Xinglong Chamber of Commerce, absorbed the gang behind it, and even made the gang leader his man.

From beginning to end, everything was done cleanly and without disturbing anyone. Bai Chongshan put down the walnuts, picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and put it down again.

"What about...those two Yuan Gang martial artists who were hired to intercept the goods?"

Chen Ping didn't look up, continuing to eat the food in his bowl, casually uttering three words.

"It's been dealt with."

Bai Chongshan did not ask how it was handled.

He simply nodded and continued turning the walnuts.

"What about the aristocratic families...?"

Chen Ping said, "They won't make any more moves for now. Their scouts didn't return; they'll naturally think twice."

Bai Chongshan thought for a moment and said, "But what if they get angry and escalate their actions?"

Chen Ping shook his head: "No, they spent money to hire people, and if those people are gone, the money is wasted. Doing it again would be even more costly. Besides, the competition is just around the corner, and their priority right now is preparing their own prodigies. They won't waste time on this."

He put down his chopsticks and picked up his wine glass.

"However, it's always better to be safe than sorry. You still can't let your guard down during this time. When the caravan leaves the city to transport goods, send several reliable guards to escort it. Also, change the official road routes you take each time, so that no one can easily figure out your patterns." Bai Chongshan nodded solemnly: "I know the rules of the trade routes. Don't worry."

Bai Ming, who had been listening for a while, finally couldn't help but ask, "Brother Chen, is that Ma Sandao reliable?"

Chen Ping glanced at him, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"He's reliable."

He did not explain why he was reliable.

Bai Ming opened his mouth, looked at his father, then at Chen Ping, and swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

Bai Chongshan patted his son on the shoulder, picked up his wine glass, and raised it towards Chen Ping.

"Chen Ping, this glass of wine is for you."

Chen Ping raised his glass, clinked it against his own, and downed it in one gulp.

Bai Chongshan finished his drink, put down his cup, and the walnuts started spinning again.

"Don't worry about your work; I'll keep an eye on the business afterwards."

...The dinner ended. Chen Ping bowed and took his leave.

Alone, he left the Bai family compound and walked along the deserted street towards Cangwu.

It was already very late at night.

The entire city of Tianyan fell into slumber.

There were hardly any people on the streets, except for a few squads of government soldiers on night patrol, carrying lanterns and occasionally passing by a street corner in the distance.

Chen Ping walked on the bluestone path, his mind racing.

The matter of Xinglong Trading Company is considered settled.

But the foreign language competition is not what he cares about most right now.

What truly weighed heavily on his mind was what happened after the competition.

Battlefield in Yangzhou Prefecture.

In recent days, the corpses that have been brought back from the northern battlefield to the inner courtyard one after another have all been martial artists of the Yuan Gang level or above, and all of them are elites of the inner courtyard.

These people are all dead. Some of them were carried back covered with white sheets.

They couldn't even piece together a complete corpse.

They were all Yuan Gang, people the Inner Academy was focusing on cultivating, and they all died on the battlefield.

The battlefield doesn't discriminate. No matter how strong you are, when a sword is slashed or a spear is thrust, everyone is made of flesh and blood.

Then Chen Ping will die too.

Chen Ping clenched his fist.

And one more thing.

His access to information about the world was far too limited and outdated.

He only learned about the Prince of Jingnan from He Qingshan.

He only learned that the trade routes in Jinnan Prefecture had been cut off from Bai Chongshan.

Zhai Jing was being questioned by the administrative office, and he only found out about it from Zhang Tingwan.

He always finds out about everything last, and he's always caught off guard. He needs to train more spirit puppets.

Having learned from Cao Dayong's experience, he now clearly understood the usefulness of the spirit puppet.

Each additional spirit puppet means another pair of eyes and another source of information.

With information and intelligence, he can sense things in this world in advance, instead of waiting until trouble hits him before he knows it.

Ma Sandao is one, but not enough.

He has run out of the strange objects he has now, and it's time to go to Nanling and bring back some more.

Chen Ping kept this matter to himself and returned to Xuanzi No. 6.

He closed the courtyard gate, lit an oil lamp, and sat down at the table.

He took out the note he had found on Yu Wu from his pocket and unfolded it.

The note was small, folded twice, and the handwriting on it was very neat, written in tiny characters, containing only a few words.

"For your consideration, Brother Yu."

"Seventy miles north of the city, in Qingxi Valley, a deep, perpetually cold pool has recently been discovered. In recent days, unusual movements have been observed at the bottom of the pool, with the water gradually changing from clear to turquoise, and a chilling aura emanating from it. It seems that some kind of aquatic wonder is being nurtured and matured at the bottom of the pool." "Such an opportunity to seize the creation of heaven and earth is truly a once-in-a-century occurrence. I have written to invite you, brother, to join me in exploring this wonder in the depths of Qingxi Valley in a month. At that time, we will meet at the edge of the cold pool. This matter is of great importance, so please do not tell any third party."

There was no signature at the end, only a simple symbol, like some kind of personal mark.

The letter was written in a respectful tone, using the term "brother," a term of address used by people of the same generation, indicating that the writer was of similar strength to Yu Wu.

From the first to the second level of martial arts training.

Chen Ping narrowed his eyes as he looked at those words.

Water-based wonders.

Although his Blazing Sun Burning Sea True Scripture has not yet reached the fourth level, he cannot use water-attribute artifacts for the time being.

However, the refining of rare items is not always successful; having more rare items means having more assurance.

If the first attempt fails, having a backup will prevent delays in your cultivation progress.

Moreover, water-attribute rare items are rare in themselves, and even Wanbaotang may not have them. If you can find a wild one, you shouldn't let it go.

a month later

Seventy li north of the city. Qingxi Valley.

Chen Ping folded the note and put it in his pocket.

But what if the person who wrote this letter gets there and finds out that it wasn't Yu Wu but Chen Ping who came?

Has the other party already used other means?

Did he know in advance that Yu Wu had already died by his own hand?

We need to be well-prepared for this mess.

We must never fight a battle we are not prepared for.

Chen Ping blew out the oil lamp and sat cross-legged on the futon.

Fetal breathing circulates, and all the pores of the body open up.