Chapter 34: Patient Persuasion

“Xiao Haonü! Is the firewood chopped yet?”

Early in the morning, Lu Wuxing kicked open a broken-down hut in the corner of the valley.

This broken-down hut had been converted from the original cell. At first, wind had leaked in from all sides, and it had not even had a roof. Later, Xiao Haonü had found some thatch and enclosed it himself, so at night, at least, he would not be kept awake by the cold wind.

Now, when Lu Wuxing kicked the door pieced together from rotten wood, the entire hut shook, and several dozen pieces of thatch fell down.

Xiao Haonü immediately hid the thing in his hands. Just then, he saw a hole kicked straight through the door, and his heart ached fiercely, but he did not dare flare up.

“I chopped the firewood last night.”

Lu Wuxing was surprised. “Oh, impressive. You’ve finally gotten diligent. Hurry up. The Left Envoy wants to see you.”

Before long, Xiao Haonü was brought to the mouth of the valley. The area near the valley entrance was no longer as deserted as before. A new gate had been built with stone and timber, and Zhaoge’s plaque had also been replaced with a new one. It looked much grander than before, and people were coming and going from time to time.

Guo Qianshan and the others were no longer wearing the old servant clothes from before, either. They had changed into matching blue fitted outfits with arrow sleeves, with armor draped over them. Every one of them looked valiant and imposing.

Not one of these people had a cultivation level that could compare to his! But they were living much better than he was.

Had he known this would happen, back then he would rather have died of thirst than come here.

Xiao Haonü already knew by now that beside Zhaoge was the Sea of Suffering Path. Aside from a blood sacrifice, only a Golden Core cultivator had the ability to suppress the Sea of Suffering Path. He believed Zhaoge’s master was a Golden Core Perfected One, so on the surface he dared even less to act out.

Therefore, although all these people had lower cultivation than he did, he still honestly lowered his head and asked what instructions the Left Envoy had.

Guo Qianshan said, “Today we are going into Luoxia Mountain to gather herbs. The inner reaches of Luoxia Mountain are occupied by the Chen clan. I heard you have old ties with the Chen clan?”

At the mention of the Chen clan, fire flared up in Xiao Haonü’s eyes again. “Old ties? I have a life-and-death feud with them!”

The Chen clan was one of Silver City’s great local clans. Several cultivators had emerged from their ancestors. Long before Strange Treasure Hall opened a shop in Silver City, the Chen clan had already been Silver City’s local tyrant. They had operated in Silver City for several hundred years.

It was only because the Chen clan had not produced a single cultivator in the past century that Strange Treasure Hall had managed to steal the limelight. But the Chen clan’s several hundred years of work in Silver City had not been for nothing. The inner reaches of Luoxia Mountain, which had the best resources near Silver City, had been occupied by them. Back then, if not for the Hall Master of Strange Treasure Hall being a cultivator, they truly would not have dared stand on equal footing with them in Silver City. Now that the Chen clan and Strange Treasure Hall had joined hands, their influence had swelled even further, and ordinary people did not dare provoke them.

The Dragon-Tiger Gang that Xiao Haonü had founded had originally kept out of the Chen clan’s way, and the Chen clan had kept out of theirs. Yet the Chen clan just had to enclose land all the way into his territory. They wanted to forcibly seize the Dragon-Tiger Gang’s land and build a Chen family villa there to house the dancing girls raised by the Chen clan.

“How could I, Long Tianhu, endure such a monstrous humiliation...” Under the stares of Guo Qianshan and the others, Xiao Haonü said sheepishly, “How could I, Xiao Haonü, endure that? So I fought them.”

The result was obvious. The Dragon-Tiger Gang lost, and Xiao Haonü had no choice but to flee into the desert with his six most loyal gang members, swearing that one day he would return for revenge.

Of course, Xiao Haonü also counted all the suffering he was now enduring in Zhaoge onto the Chen clan’s head. He felt that if not for the rotten things that pack of wretches in the Chen clan had done, he would never have ended up wandering the desert. If he had not wandered the desert, he would never have tragically become a prisoner. If he had not tragically been reduced to a prisoner, how would a mere third-level Qi Refining cultivator dare kick the door he had worked so hard to piece together?

In short, all of this was the Chen clan’s fault!

Now that he sensed Zhaoge intended to deal with the Chen clan, Xiao Haonü was extremely excited. He was just about to spill out all the Chen clan’s private filth that he knew when he suddenly clamped his mouth shut.

Guo Qianshan stared at him coldly. “Why did you stop?”

Xiao Haonü stiffened his neck and said, “If you don’t give me some benefits, I won’t say anything.”

Lu Wuxing, standing off to the side, had just lifted his broom when Xiao Haonü hugged his head and started leaping all over the place. He even jumped with quite a rhythm to it. One glance was enough to tell that he had long since figured out the pattern of Lu Wuxing’s attacks. Lu Wuxing swept several times, but forget hitting him, not even the wind from the broom touched his body.

Guo Qianshan watched from the side, stopped Lu Wuxing’s movements, and asked him what benefits he wanted.

Xiao Haonü immediately said, “I don’t want to work anymore, and you have to give me a house.”

Guo Qianshan looked at him without speaking, thinking that a house was not cheap. Even if they gave him one, he would have to build it himself.

Seeing that he stayed silent for so long, Xiao Haonü said, feeling wronged, “Then I’ll still work. Giving me a proper house to live in should be fine, right?”

Guo Qianshan was still considering it. Xiao Haonü’s expression grew even more pathetic. “Then, in the future, tell him he’s not allowed to kick my door anymore. If even that won’t do, then I won’t say anything. You might as well just beat me to death.”

Guo Qianshan glanced at Lu Wuxing. “Deal.”

Such an important piece of intelligence, and all he had exchanged it for was this. Xiao Haonü felt very aggrieved, but at the thought that the Chen clan was about to be in trouble, he grew excited again. He immediately told them everything he knew. He even revealed matters such as the Chen clan’s eldest young master having an affair with his male cousin, and the Chen clan head secretly keeping an illegitimate son outside and stuffing him with large amounts of spirit stones.

Wan Tianyou and the others listened with their eyes opened wide, saying that these great clans really knew how to play around.

Xiao Haonü said disdainfully, “With noble clans like that, probably only the two stone lions at the entrance are clean.”

Guo Qianshan asked, “How do you know all this?”

Xiao Haonü had just opened his mouth, but then he closed it again and said impatiently, “Anyway, all this information is true. Why do you care how I know?”

After sending Xiao Haonü back, Wan Tianyou asked, “Brother Qianshan, do you have an idea?”

Guo Qianshan nodded. “We set out now.”

…

Two days later, Silver City.

The little girl Xingchun carried a basket and walked through the streets selling talisman paper. Her luck had been good these past two days, and she had sold several sheets every day. The little girl was so happy her eyes nearly disappeared when she smiled.

By noon, the little girl was hungry. When she saw a noodle stall ahead and thought of the money she had earned recently, she rubbed her belly and walked up to the stall. For the first time, she was willing to spend money to buy herself a bowl of vegetable noodles with meat added.

There were already quite a few people in front of the noodle stall. The little girl found an empty seat and sat down. When the steaming noodles were brought over, she first ate the noodles mouthful by careful mouthful, saving the meat to eat last.

“Have you heard? The Chen clan really took a fall this time.”

Hearing the words “Chen clan,” Xingchun’s ears twitched, and she quietly lifted her eyes.

At a square table nearby, several customers were spitting with excitement as they talked about the latest news.

“That thing from the day before yesterday was amazing! Too bad I didn’t go to Luoxia Mountain at the time.”

“What? The thing at Luoxia Mountain? Why didn’t you ask me earlier? I was right there at the time. I saw it more clearly than anyone.”

“Brother, brother, this meal’s on me. Hurry up and tell us!”

That person cleared his throat and began holding forth. “Now, as for the Chen family, how many years have they been throwing their weight around in this area? This time, they finally kicked an iron plate... Do you all know Zhaoge?”

Someone beside him chimed in, “Zhaoge? I’ve heard a little. The pills and armor sold by Swift Wind Trading Company are supposedly supplied by Zhaoge. At first I didn’t believe they could be better than Strange Treasure Hall’s, but after trying them myself, I regretted not buying more before. What, does this matter have something to do with Zhaoge too?”

“It has everything to do with Zhaoge!” The person slapped his thigh and said excitedly, “This time, the iron plate the Chen family kicked was Zhaoge! Do you all know where Zhaoge is? It’s in Nameless Valley, in the Nameless Desert!”

“What’s so strange about that? Isn’t it posted inside Swift Wind Trading Company?”

“Then do you know that right beside Nameless Valley is the Sea of Suffering Path?”

Everyone was shocked. Even the stall owner cried out, “What? It was that Nameless Valley?”

There were plenty of nameless valleys in this world, and most people had assumed it was just a shared name. Now that they discovered the truth, they were all greatly astonished.

That person said, “That isn’t all. I heard that over a thousand people are now living in Zhaoge. A merciful true cultivator could not bear to see human sacrifices offered to the Sea of Suffering Path, so they took action to suppress it and rescued those one thousand human sacrifices!”

“This... Are there really cultivators who cherish mortals like that?”

That person said, “No wonder everyone is surprised. I didn’t believe it at first either. As the saying goes, immortals and mortals are separate. What cultivator ever looks downward? But Boss Luo can testify to this, and the assistants in her shop can testify too. Anyone who doesn’t believe it can go to Zhaoge and see for themselves.”

The people nearby grew excited. “The Sea of Suffering Path... It’s said that only a Golden Core Perfected One can suppress it. Could that person in Zhaoge be...”

That person gave a profound and mysterious nod. At once, everyone fell silent together, their eyes full of tacit understanding.

Xingchun had also been drawn in. She was no longer in a hurry to eat the meat and stared straight at that person.

More and more people gathered nearby, and the more that person spoke, the more energetic he became. “The day before yesterday, I originally went to the outskirts of Luoxia Mountain to gather some herbs. Then I saw the Chen family’s guards stop a group of people wearing blue clothes and armor, refusing to let them enter the inner reaches of Luoxia Mountain. Naturally, those people were from Zhaoge. Seeing that the Chen clan’s people were blocking them and refusing to let them in, they started fighting without another word. In just a few moves, they beat the Chen family’s guards until their heads were split and bleeding.”

This person was quite eloquent, describing everything vividly, drawing more attention than even a storyteller in a teahouse. He quickly recounted what had happened that day.

“The Chen family’s guards rely on their master’s power and always look down their noses at everyone. After taking a beating, how could they be willing to let it go? They kept clamoring that anyone who offended the Chen family would pay for it. Who would have thought that Zhaoge’s people would say, ‘Our employer is a true cultivator and now lives in Nameless Valley beside the Sea of Suffering Path. We will respectfully await your arrival.’”

“You didn’t see how wonderful the faces of those Chen family people looked then. Not long after, the Chen family’s eldest young master arrived. He must have known a little about the matter, because he was quite polite to Zhaoge’s people and allowed them to enter the inner reaches of Luoxia Mountain. Who would have thought that Zhaoge would demand that they open the inner reaches of Luoxia Mountain and allow all practitioners to come and go freely? You should know that the inner reaches of Luoxia Mountain contain many rare medicinal herbs, greatly beneficial to cultivation.”

There was actually such a good thing? Everyone immediately cheered, and their favorable impression of Zhaoge was born at once.

“How many years has the Chen family occupied the inner reaches? How could they be willing to hand it over so easily? Naturally, they refused to agree.”

The people around him all began asking questions. After all, this concerned everyone’s interests.

That person took another sip of tea before continuing, “But Zhaoge has a real Immortal Master. The Chen family’s people could neither beat them nor dared offend them too harshly, so they said Zhaoge was forcing them to open the inner reaches and that it was bandit behavior. Hmph.” He said disdainfully, “Luoxia Mountain was originally an ownerless wild mountain. Anyone could go there. Only after a spiritual vein descended from the heavens several decades ago and dispersed there did it give rise to many rare medicinal herbs. The Chen family merely used their influence to seize it by force. All these years, everyone has just dared to be angry but not speak out. Did they really think that mountain belonged to their family?”

“Zhaoge’s people weren’t afraid of them, so of course they didn’t indulge them either. Not only did they speak of that matter, they also shook out plenty of the Chen family’s private filth. The Chen family’s eldest young master’s lips were trembling as he listened.” This person embellished the gossip that the masses loved to hear and repeated it again, making everyone listen with tremendous excitement.

“This is truly satisfying!”

“No wonder the Chen family started making a fuss after that day. So it turns out the family head has a preferred heir outside. How could the Chen family’s eldest young master be willing to accept that?”

“The Chen family really got their retribution, hahaha.”

“So does this mean we can all go into the inner reaches of Luoxia Mountain now? Then what are we waiting for? Hurry and form a team. If we’re late, we won’t be able to find anything good!”

“We still have to be cautious. There are quite a few yao creatures in the inner reaches, and they won’t be easy to deal with.”

“Haha, no matter how difficult they are, can they be harder to deal with than the Chen family? This time, it’s all thanks to Zhaoge. As expected of a place with a true cultivator presiding over it. The petty Chen family can’t compare at all.”

“The Chen family has been forced to give up the inner reaches of Luoxia Mountain this time and has also offended an Immortal Master. This time, they really are going to decline...”

The meat in Xingchun’s bowl had already gone cold, but for the first time, she did not regret it. Listening to the Chen family’s misfortune made her happy. She bit hard into the meat, and Xingchun cursed under her breath, “Damn Chen family. They finally got what they deserved.”

At that moment, two women sat down beside her and called to the stall owner, “Two bowls of noodles.”

Xingchun glanced over and recognized them as people who had bought talisman paper from her two days earlier. She gave them a sweet smile and warmly asked whether they wanted any more talisman paper, since she still had plenty.

Unfortunately, these two older sisters did not seem to recognize her. They froze for a moment before shaking their heads and saying that they had no use for talisman paper today.

Xingchun was instantly a little disappointed. Just as she was about to pay and leave, she heard them say quietly, “The task the employer assigned is all finished. We’ll be able to return to Zhaoge in a while.”

Huh? They were from Zhaoge?

Xingchun was somewhat curious, and her steps stopped.

“This errand wasn’t easy. Fortunately, we did not fail our mission.” The taller woman lifted the cover of a bamboo basket.

Xingchun glanced over unintentionally, then was so startled her eyes widened. Inside, unexpectedly... there were several plump, glowing-white worms, looking exactly like her precious white silkworm!

Fan Huilan deliberately stroked the silkworm treasures she had only managed to buy after many twists and turns. Sensing the little girl’s gaze, she smiled. “Aren’t these things terribly lovable? The silk they spit is cool and chilly, and clothes made from it are worth quite a lot of money.”

Xingchun’s expression grew a little stiff. She thickened her skin and asked several more questions. Only when Fan Huilan began showing impatience did she return home, uneasy and puzzled. She thought, could it be that the one at home wasn’t a treasure? Could they be bought outside after all?

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