Chapter 424: Chapter 61: Showing Off Their Remarkable Skills! Chapter 424: Chapter 61: Showing Off Their Remarkable Skills! “Lord Governor, please wait a mont.”
Just as Li Yan was about to ascend the staircase, Liu Zi, the attendant from the Tea Horse Departnt, stopped him.
“What’s the matter?”
Liu Zi looked troubled, “My adoptive father wishes to discuss private matters with you, and it is… the others.”
Speaking, he glanced at Chen Yuewu who was beside Li Yan.
“Oh, this is troubleso.”
Li Yan made a gesture of wringing his wrists in a sigh, “This is Chen Yuewu, Elder Mr. Chen, who is to lend a ship for crossing the sea. He has resolved my urgent need, and to show my gratitude, I had intended to invite him for a drink. As an impoverished official, exposed to the elents, I really can’t offer any lavish banquet, and I was hoping to borrow so of the Tea Horse Departnt’s splendor. And yet, I arrive for the banquet, and Supervisor Chai won’t allow my guest to join the table. This really puts in an awkward position.”
Liu Zi waved his hands repeatedly, “If the Lord Governor agrees, I will set up another table for Elder Mr. Chen.”
“Nonsense!” Li Yan suddenly turned angry, “Are you looking down on my benefactor?”
“This humble one wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare,” Liu Zi shook his head repeatedly, and after so hesitation, said, “Perhaps, I should go ask my adoptive father?”
Li Yan nodded, “Go ahead, tell Director Chai that there should be nothing one cannot say to another. Are we not both servants of the state, loyal and devoted? Surely we have nothing that needs to be said behind closed doors?”
After Liu Zi had gone upstairs, Chen Yuewu finally spoke, “It seems your relationship with this Director Chai is quite delicate, Lord Governor.”
“We have our differences, and though he invites for a al, I’m not afraid of a ‘Dagger-Axed Guest Banquet’ trick, but I dare not drink behind closed doors with him. That’s why I used Elder Mr. Chen as a shield, and for that, I hope you won’t bla .”
“Nonsense.”
In the brief exchange between the two, Liu Zi hurried back, “My adoptive father invites both of you to the upper room of the Heavenly Character suite.”
Li Yan and Chen Yuewu did as they were told and went upstairs. A few stout and strong soldiers stood guard at the door of the Heavenly suite. After Li Yan and Chen Yuewu entered the room, the soldiers closed the door and stood guard in the staircase.
The interior of the room was elegantly simple, with delicate dishes and two pots of spirits on the table. Apart from this, there was only Supervisor Chai, in his red official’s robe.
“Governor Li, and you as well, Elder Mr. Chen Yuewu, one of the three great marvels of Shandong Prefecture, I have long heard of your great nas, please, co in.”
Supervisor Chai’s courtesy was unexpected, even warm and fitting towards Chen Yuewu, whom he was eting for the first ti, which was a stark contrast to his previous displeasure and arrogance when he first t Li Yan on the passenger ship. This ti, Chai Xuan finally displayed the tactfulness and politeness expected of a supervisor.
At the entrance to Huixian Residence, Hu San, clad in a yellow robe, entered leisurely. Strangely enough, although the inn was booked by Chai Xuan for the day, the waiters and the shopkeeper in the main hall were indifferent to Hu San’s arrival.
Hu San turned a corner and went upstairs. At the door of the Heavenly suite, where the soldiers guarding the door and Liu Zi, Chai Xuan’s close attendant, saw the living immortal, they all showed respectful faces. But just as they were about to speak, Hu San gathered his sleeves, clenched his fists, and the several large n standing on the stairs disappeared without a sound.
With another spread of his palm, Hu San held lifelike papercuts of soldiers with sabers at their waists and a young man with a smile of flattery and a silken hat. He stuck these papercuts on the door, then glanced at the Heavenly suite door, revealing a cold smile.
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Several rounds of drinks and a variety of dishes passed, and Chai Xuan finally got to the point, stating his willingness to pay ten thousand taels of Patterned Silver to buy Li Yan’s Flying Thunder Horse.
He took out the golden yellow banknotes he had prepared in advance, an inch thick, tied with silk ribbons, placed inside a solid wooden box.
If Li Yan agreed, in terms of Yan Fu points, it would amount to more than two thousand points, equivalent to the inco of a normal envoy on one fruit mission.
In reality, for the current Li Yan, aside from serving as a handy and legitimate mode of transportation in ancient-background ‘fruits’, the Demon Horse Flying Thunder wasn’t all that useful. Once he left, Flying Thunder could only remain in this world.
After such consideration, Supervisor Chai’s offer seed like a good deal to Li Yan.
Thus, Li Yan naturally displayed a thoughtful expression.
Supervisor Chai had no real hopes at first, thinking it unlikely that a young and strong military officer would easily sell a prized steed for money. But upon seeing Li Yan’s expression, he suddenly perked up.
“Elder Mr. Hu San is truly divine.”
Unexpectedly, Li Yan still shook his head, “Flying Thunder was a gift from Commander-in-chief Li Rui not long ago, asking to use it to escort the flag efficiently. Now, before my task is complete, if I were to sell the treasured horse given by my superior, such behavior would be truly despised, I am sorry Director Chai.”
“What if I add another ten thousand taels?” Supervisor Chai gritted his teeth. He maintained appearances every day, living extravagantly, because there were always wealthy rchants willing to curry favor with him. However, when it ca to savings, he could only muster up twenty to thirty thousand taels of silver at most.
Li Yan saw his earnestness and seed to let go of his reservations. It seed that Supervisor Chai was not holding grudges, but simply wanted to buy his horse.
One shouldn’t slap a smiling face, Li Yan responded, “I truly cannot agree to this. How about this instead, Director Chai? Aren’t you planning to go to the capital? Once I finish my duties in Jiangxi and return, I am willing to lend Flying Thunder Horse to the Tea Horse Departnt for a year to be a breeding stallion. Any foals it sires will be entirely at the disposal of the Tea Horse Departnt, how does that sound?”
“`
“Uh…”
Chai Xuan found himself in a quandary. He had intended to use Mr. Hu San’s supernatural prowess to vent his spleen, agreeing to the old immortal’s request only begrudgingly to host this al. He hadn’t expected Governor Li to be less domineering than he imagined.
He loathed parting with his horse or his money. He wished Li Yan had flipped the table today, providing an excuse to call upon the widely known powers of the old immortal, Mr. Hu San, to take charge and subdue the “Wild Crow God”!
But the current situation made it difficult to fall out with him.
“Director Chai?”
Li Yan urged him.
“Fine, alright then.”
Chai Xuan had no choice but to agree.
“Good, it’s settled then.”
Li Yan raised his cup, and Chai Xuan, still in a daze, did the sa.
Only after discussing the matter of Flying Thunder did Chai Xuan escort Li Yan and Chen Yuewu out of the Huixian Residence. The entire process went unexpectedly smoothly and harmoniously.
“The drunken snails at this Huixian Residence have a unique flavor. Even officials from Jiangsu and Zhejiang sing its praises. If Lord Governor finds it to his liking, I’ll have the waiter pack a couple of dishes for you. Since Elder Mr. Chen is a local, I won’t sha myself.”
Chai Xuan was brimming with alcohol, yet he seed quite invigorated.
Li Yan was also flush with excitent, “Director Chai! We could say we’ve beco friends through conflict. Whatever happened before was my fault, and you shouldn’t take it to heart.”
“Not at all.”
They looked at each other and laughed out loud.
“Then I won’t see you out any further.”
“No need, no need.”
They each turned and instantly their expressions grew dark. Li Yan and Chen Yuewu walked down the street, while Chai Xuan headed back to the Huixian Residence.
“This Supervisor Chai seems quite amicable on the surface.”
Chen Yuewu pondered deeply.
“If the elder could have seen the look on his face as he turned around, he wouldn’t think so. All officials are crafty, and eunuchs even more so. However, judging from his actions today, he likely won’t trouble anymore.”
Although that was what Li Yan said, he still felt sothing was amiss but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
As Chai Xuan turned around to enter the premier room, he found that Mr. Hu San, dressed in a yellow robe, was already sitting upright inside.
“Didn’t I tell you that no one, aside from that Governor Li, is allowed in here?”
Mr. Hu’s face was angry and even let slip a hint of ferocity. Chai Xuan was montarily stunned and replied instinctively, “But… I couldn’t help it. Governor Li insisted on bringing soone; otherwise, he wouldn’t sit at the table.”
“Humph, that won’t help him escape.”
Mr. Hu’s expression softened a bit.
“Mr. Hu…”
“Sit down first.”
Mr. Hu interrupted him. Chai Xuan swept back his robe, lowered himself, and said with a flattering smile, “About that Wild Crow God of mine…”
He hadn’t finished speaking when Mr. Hu San, who had always seed a paragon of virtue, stretched out his hand, and a sharp dagger lengthened in the wind. Without a word, he plunged it into Chai Xuan’s chest, effortlessly turning his heart to mush.
Blood spattered; Chai Xuan didn’t even have ti to look incredulous before he died.
Mr. Hu San tossed away the dagger and shook his robes. Any trace of blood and footprints vanished.
He stepped out the door, tore down the colored paper cuttings on the door of the premier room, blew on them, and they shattered with a bang. Several soldiers and Liu Zi appeared once again, out of thin air, like puppets on strings, completely immobile.
Mr. Hu San smiled, descended the stairs, and only when he reached the street did he clap his hands with a snap. Inside the inn, Liu Zi and the soldiers’ eyes cleared, and they looked warily around the empty stairwell, completely unaware of what had transpired.
“`
And they thought Chai Xuan, who was still enjoying wine and conversation with Governor Li in the room, had died an utterly thorough death.
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It wasn’t until evening that Jia Liu finally returned to Stone Bridge River. He joyfully carried a fortune in gold back to the City God Temple, where the bronze-faced Qin Chenghuang truly awaited him.
“Godfather! Gold… they gave the gold,” Jia Liu stuttered with elation.
Qin Chenghuang glanced at the gold Jia Liu handed over and nodded, “Put it aside, and fetch the firewood knife from behind the altar.”
Jia Liu nodded eagerly. After placing the gold on the table, he fumbled behind the altar for a while before finally finding a rusty, serrated firewood knife. Without much thought, he presented it to Qin Chenghuang.
Qin Chenghuang took the knife and nodded at Jia Liu, “Good boy, close your eyes.”
The mont Jia Liu closed his eyes, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Qin Chenghuang’s hand rose and the knife fell; the rusted blade was surprisingly sharp, cleaving through Jia Liu’s chest as easily as a hot knife through butter!
Blood spattered as Qin Chenghuang reached into Jia Liu’s chest, extracting a dripping heart. Not a sound from Jia Liu as he fell backward, dead before he hit the ground.
Qin Chenghuang, holding the heart, stood up and walked out.
Though he walked on two feet, each of Qin Chenghuang’s steps spanned a mile. He reached the city in just a few strides, heading straight for Huixian Residence. Upon entry, the shopkeeper, runners, and accountants acted as if he were invisible. Qin Chenghuang paid them no mind and thundered up the stairs.
Several soldiers saw a man with dignified, bronze skin and ancient yet grand attire heading towards the premium room. As they opened their mouths to speak, Qin Chenghuang glared and said, “You ignore a fox that breaks in and kills, but you stop a clay man coming to save soone?!”
His voice wasn’t loud but resonated deeply. The soldiers, including Liu Zi, were stupefied, all immobilized as if they had lost their souls.
Qin Chenghuang didn’t linger on them and pushed open the door to the room. He imdiately saw the corpse on the floor. Taking the firewood knife, he gouged out Chai Xuan’s rotten heart and then stuffed Jia Liu’s heart into Chai Xuan’s chest. With a swipe of his finger, Chai Xuan’s chest wound vanished, though blood still covered the ground.
Qin Chenghuang disregarded the ss, focusing instead on the heart in his hands.
“Clear-minded yet greatly decayed,” he mused.
Taking the firewood knife, he carved at the already damaged heart, like peeling a potato, occasionally removing pieces of blackened, rotten flesh. Eventually, only a chicken egg-sized portion of fresh, bright red was left.
Qin Chenghuang nodded with satisfaction, tossed the small chunk of heart into an empty wine jar on the table, sealed it with clay, and turned to leave.
About the ti it takes an incense stick to burn, Chai Xuan cried out, “No, no, don’t kill !” and startlingly rose to his feet.
“It hurts! It hurts!”
He rolled on the floor in agony. It felt as if his heart had been cruelly cut out, held in soone’s hand for over twenty miles, then brutally stuffed back, causing excruciating pain.
After enduring imnse pain, Chai Xuan saw the blood all over the floor and a few pieces of black rotten flesh on the table, which sent chills down his spine.
“Sobody, anybody!”
He scread hoarsely.
Liu Zi and several soldiers rushed in, taken aback by the sight of the blood.
“Mr. Hu, where’s the master, where is he?”
Chai Xuan covered his mouth, baffled by his own stuttering.
Before he could compose himself from the chaos, an old coachman from the port’s Tea Horse Departnt, his face stricken with grief, ran to him, ignoring everything else, fell to his knees, and wept, “Sir, sothing terrible has happened. Both Zhu Si and Hu Pao are dead! Sohow their corpses have already started to stink. When I cut open their bellies, their livers were gone, they’ve been dead for days!”
Chai Xuan’s head buzzed violently; he rembered witnessing Hu San’s mystical feat of extracting dragon livers and phoenix gallbladders from paintings, anger nearly bringing him to the brink of spewing blood.
“Chase them! Chase them down!”
His eyes were bloodshot.
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Qin Chenghuang had only taken a few steps before returning to the City God Temple. He poured the egg-sized heart out from the wine jar and rolled it around in an incense burner full of leftover incense ash. When he retrieved it, it was a dark red heart exuding an exotic fragrance.
Qin Chenghuang examined it from all sides, nodding with contentnt. He inserted the heart into the chest of Jia Liu’s corpse, swiped his hand, and Jia Liu let out a groan as he slowly awakened.
He sat up with clear, bright eyes, looking rejuvenated.
“Godfather! I! What’s going on?”
Qin Chenghuang waved his hand dismissively, “Your wits were blocked, a naturally rotten heart. I replaced it with a good one; whether you will obtain scholarly honor or engage in trade and farming in the future is up to your fate. But rember one thing!”
Qin Chenghuang’s expression turned solemn, “If you serve as an official, you must be a fair and just one! If you conduct business, you must be an honest and forthright rchant! You must not worship at temples, fawn over superiors, or compete with the commonfolk for profit. Do you hear ?”
“Rest assured, Godfather, I most certainly will not.”
Jia Liu’s gaze was resolute. Unexpectedly, Qin Chenghuang let out a strange laugh, “The affairs of this world are inherently murky. Those with seven orifices prey on those with six, and those with six prey on those with five. You used to be utterly senseless, only fit to be devoured by others. Now that you’ve turned the tables, is there any logic in not preying on others? I may have trimd this heart of its evil sprouts, but I cannot ensure it doesn’t sprout anew! I won’t deceive you with lies of karma and retribution, so if you do evil later on, don’t bother concocting pathetic excuses of helplessness to absolve yourself!”
Jia Liu felt wronged by these harsh words, so he kept kowtowing without daring to speak again.
Seeing Jia Liu like this, Qin Chenghuang felt a pang of pity, but could only say with a touch of sadness, “I am blunt to a fault. That’s why I am not well-liked. If my words have hurt you, don’t take offense.”
Jia Liu stood straight up, “Godfather is looking out for his son. Since Godfather dislikes vows, I won’t make one. Just watch, Godfather. Whether I beco an official or a businessman, I’ll definitely remain untainted and not let you down.”
Qin Chenghuang did not nod but said, “Good son, I truly believe in the honesty of your words right now.”
With that said, Qin Chenghuang turned around and walked towards the exit.
“Where are you going, Godfather? I’ll co with you.”
Qin Chenghuang, without turning back, rely waved his hand: “I still have so loose ends to tidy up. You go to the butcher’s and get two pounds of pork head at, and bring a jug of wine too. Wait for ; I’ll be back to eat in the middle of the night.”
Having said that, he walked out the door.
Night fell, and another day of wandering had passed in Jiaozhou City, with a succession of lively events one after another.
First, there were bizarre rumors about the Five Immortals stirring up trouble in the Bohai Sea. Then people emphatically claid that the harbor of the Bohai Sea had frozen over in midsumr, with horses seen running on the ice. But the tales that followed were trivial in comparison, things like thefts at Erlang Temple and the River God Temple, or the acrobat Wei Choulv’s wife committing adultery—hardly worth ntioning.
Today, however, another odd incident occurred—the Supervisor of the Tea Horse Departnt, Chai Xuan, had developed a stutter and, in a frenzy akin to madness, ordered a citywide martial law with the help of the officials from three departnts, spreading widespread panic.
Mr. Hu San sat alone at the best seat in the teahouse, unnoticed by the people around him, who were absorbed in their own conversations.
How could Chai Xuan be alive? I personally crushed his heart. Now this matter isn’t finished; I must think of another plan…
As Mr. Hu San was pondering, a person entered the teahouse and without hesitation, sat down opposite him.
This man wore an azure patterned silk garnt, styled richly and curiously ancient, and carried a black silk wrap. His presence was distinguished.
“What will the gentleman be having?”
The waiter approached.
“The sa as him.”
The stranger pointed at Mr. Hu San, who suddenly raised his brows in a startled twitch.
The waiter turned and only then noticed Mr. Hu San, wondering when he had co in and whether he had paid.
Though puzzled, the waiter nonetheless turned to leave, shouting, “A pot of the finest Longjing tea!”
“I wish to speak three sentences with you,” said the stranger.
Mr. Hu San’s face darkened. The last ti soone spoke three sentences to him, he ended up in a disgraceful state, and now soone else wanted to speak three sentences.
Qin Chenghuang slowly untied the black silk wrap and began, “The first sentence is, I saved Chai Xuan, so you need not doubt that any longer.”
“…”
“The second is that I have taken soone’s silver, and I’ve been asked to deal with you.”
Mr. Hu San finally spoke, “How much silver can invite the presence of a Wild God? Whose silver have you taken? Is it from Dragon Tiger Mountain or that Li family?”
Qin Chenghuang did not answer but continued, “The third sentence is this: although you are a Demon Immortal with great fate upon you, and I am rely barren dirt, killing you would bode ill for . Therefore, I will hit you nineteen tis with my clubs. If you survive, it is your destiny; if you die, it ans your fortune was insufficient.”
Mr. Hu San laughed heartily, “Now I understand who ruined my plan, but I wonder how a Wild God on the verge of extinction can be so sure about killing , a thriving Demon Immortal?”
Qin Chenghuang looked at him, smiling too, “Then I will give you one more saying: people talk about the gold outside the Pass, the Golden Mountain inside, and the three hidden demons as the leaders of heretics. How absurd and laughable. If re immortals of two or three thousand years of cultivation could prevail, the powerful Dragon Tiger Mountain would have long since exterminated all the heretics in the world…”
With these words, Qin Chenghuang pulled back the black silk, revealing a glint of gold.
“If you can survive nineteen gold strikes from and not die, consider returning to the black hills and white waters, to the vast forests, to witness more of the world before you dare to challenge us again.”
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