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However, outside of the mansion grotto on the Sixth Peak, Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior actually looked gloomy in the moonlight. And that gloominess amplified the worry visible on his face. The truth was that he didn’t care too much for the wealth he’d lost. The real reason he’d coughed up blood was the fury of seeing his sect headquarters ruined.

The spirit stones that had been out for the taking had been placed there mostly for decoration.

And what he worried about now was that his enemy was in Seven Blood Eyes, getting stronger and stronger. As anxiety mounted within him, he looked at the mansion grotto, and noted how silent it was. There seemed to be no response to his greeting.

Enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn. Then, he heard a sigh from within.

“Long time no see, Master Freespirit.”

Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior’s actual daoist name was Master Freespirit. However, it had been years since people in the area started referring to him as a patriarch. Thus, there were only a few people who called him by his daoist name. When Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior heard that name, a flicker of reminiscence appeared in his eyes, and he sighed lightly.

“Long time no see,” he said.

The closed stone door of the grotto rumbled open, revealing inky darkness within, out of which strode an unusual-looking person. He was an old man who walked with a very rigid gait. He wore a deep blue daoist robe, had long gray hair, and he had a very somber expression on his face.

As he walked up to Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior and stood in front of him, the wind caught the edge of his robe and it swayed to the side, revealing... that he didn’t have legs of flesh and blood. Instead, his legs were a mechanical construction. They glittered with blue light, and seemed especially cold because of the moonlight.

The blue-robed old man looked up at the clouds in the sky, and softly said, “It has indeed been a long time. And thus... I have to wonder what brings you here today.”

Although they were standing on equal footing, it actually seemed like Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior was positioned beneath him as an inferior. After a moment of bleak silence, Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior explained the situation with Xu Qing.

“A huge calamity struck my sect recently.... Before leaving, the little thief stole all of my resources. He poisoned everyone, set a number of fires, and basically burned the headquarters to the ground.

“If he was just some ordinary brat, I wouldn’t care as much. But after spending a huge amount of money to run a background check, I found out that he joined Seven Blood Eyes. Not only that, but he’s doing well here. Now I’m sitting around worried all the time. I can’t stop thinking about accounts I read in the ancient records a few years ago.

“I’ve actually studied many ancient stories, and as it turns out, people like him usually have an unbeatably strong destiny. I was really an idiot to go after him with only two grand elders to back me up. I should have taken the whole sect with me. I should have gone all out to destroy him! Either that, or I should have turned weapons of war into gifts of jade and silk and just apologized....

“Ai. Sadly, I missed that chance. Anyway, based on my analysis, I’m absolutely certain that after he grows up, he’ll be impossible to stop.... And then I’ll be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt!

“I just know in my heart that, once he rises to prominence, he’ll rain fire and blood down on your Seven Blood Eyes, and completely destroy it! The ancient records all say that things will play out that way. And then, all it will take will be a single word from him, and my Golden Vajra Warrior Sect will be reduced to ashes.”

Having finished his explanation, Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior hung his head bitterly.

The blue-robed old man stood there with a strange expression on his face as he listened to Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior. Then he shook his head.

“Master Freespirit, after all these years, you... really have taken to jabbering. You think a nobody like that has an unbeatably strong destiny? That he’s going to rain fire and blood on Seven Blood Eyes, and wipe the sect out of existence? With one word, he’ll destroy your Golden Vajra Warrior Sect? It sounds to me like you’re imagining things....”

The patriarch sighed. “You don’t get it. I trust my instincts....”

Seeing the patriarch like this, the old man in blue shook his head again. The truth was that the two of them didn’t have some sort of deep friendship. Other than a few interactions years ago, they weren’t very close.

“What peak is the kid assigned to?”

“The Seventh Peak,” the patriarch replied quietly. “According to the background search I paid for, his name is Xu Qing, and he’s in the Violent Crimes Division.”

“It doesn’t matter what division he’s in, he’s still just an Offpeak disciple. That said, though we treat them like venomous bugs in a jar, and even allow them to fight and kill each other, the fact remains that there are certain sect rules which just can’t be broken....”

Seeing the patriarch look even more dejected than ever, the old man in blue sighed again.

“Ah, whatever. Look, I can have him roughed up, then force him to give you back the things he stole. If he doesn’t have them, then I’ll take everything he owns.”

With that, he took out his identity medallion and sent a message. Then he pointed at Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior. “Okay, it’s done. As for you, spend some time working on your cultivation! Even after all these years, you’re still just in early Foundation Establishment? You haven’t made any progress at all! Stop spending all your time reading those random ancient records. Stop sitting around jabbering all the time! If you keep this up, you’re going to develop an inner devil!”

The patriarch seemed to have more to say, but held his tongue. Things hadn’t turned out exactly as he’d hoped, but he could see that no amount of arguing was going to do any good. Sighing inwardly, he clasped hands and bowed.

***

The night passed without incident for Xu Qing. At dawn, he opened his eyes from meditation and looked at the sack lying next to him. Last night, Huang Yan had given it to him as a gift, and inside were three mutant beast parts. There were two diamond-shaped skulls, and one feather.

All of them glittered with red light, indicating that they came from the same creature. Their auras were extraordinary, but unfortunately, they wouldn’t boost the toughness of his boat. Instead, they were related to magical techniques and speed.

I wonder how many spirit stones I could get if I sold them. Also, I’ve built up about 1,000 white boluses....

After organizing his belongings, Xu Qing left the dharmaboat and headed to the vendor cart where he usually purchased breakfast. The vendor was a burly, middle-aged man with no cultivation base. Like most common citizens in the capital city, he was a frank and straightforward person, and when he saw Xu Qing approach, he grinned. He liked this handsome young man from the Violent Crimes Division, and felt that he didn’t have the vicious air that most Seven Blood Eyes disciples did.

Xu Qing didn’t even need to put in an order. As soon as he walked up, the vendor served him some stuffed buns, steamed eggs, and a plate of pickled vegetables.

Xu Qing thanked him and sat off to the side, picked up some chopsticks, and started eating. He had become accustomed to eating with chopsticks lately. After finishing the meal, he put some spirit coins onto the table, then left for the Violent Crimes Division.

Morning roll call was a simple thing. He just had to swipe his identity card on the limestone stele at the Celestial Bureau, then wait for the formalities to end. Xu Qing was used to the process. After the roll call, he checked the duty roster, then headed back out onto the street. As he left, other disciples in the Violent Crimes Division offered polite greetings. After what happened with the Night Dove operation, he had a good reputation in the division.

Out on the street, Xu Qing bought a few pears to eat as he headed toward the medicine shop. His plan was to sell his white boluses, and also see how much he could get for the materials Huang Yan had given him the night before. Afterward, he hoped he would have enough to purchase that whale skull.

Before long, he caught sight of the shop he usually frequented to buy and sell medicinal pills and plants. It was as bustling as it usually was.

Xu Qing was a regular at this location, so as soon as he entered, the busy shopkeeper noticed him and smiled.

“Haven’t seen you for a while. Are you here to buy plants or sell pills?”

“Sell pills.”

Smiling even more warmly, the shopkeeper glanced at the pills Xu Qing handed him, then started counting out 20 spirit stones.

“You’re not even going to inspect them?” Xu Qing asked.

The shopkeeper waved his hand dismissively. “There’s no need to inspect your pills.”

Xu Qing nodded. He was absolutely confident that all the pills he’d concocted were of the highest quality. After taking the spirit stones, he clasped hands and left.

After he was gone, the shopkeeper took out a jade slip and sent a message to his boss. Then he yelled at one of the shop clerks to come over, put the medicinal pills in a box, and take them to the Second Peak. The clerk knew how important the pills were to the boss, so he packed them up quickly then ran out of the shop at top speed.

Before long, the box had been delivered to a young woman in her mansion grotto on the Second Peak. She looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, and wore a pale orange daoist robe. Sitting down with the box, she examined the pills.

In the light of the sun, her skin was as fair as snow. Her eyes glistened, and her long, black hair was coiled in a bun like that a princess might wear. The bun was fastened with a pearl hairpin, but a few strands of hair hung down and drifted about her face.

This young woman was the owner of the medicine shop, and was the same person Xu Qing had passed by some days ago when leaving the shop. As she examined the pills, the young woman made a faint exclamation of surprise, and her eyes widened.

I can’t believe they have such a high level of purity.

Although she could achieve the same quality, she couldn’t do it every single time. All of a sudden, she felt her sense of competitiveness stir.

If a Seventh Peak disciple can do this, then so can I. After all, I’m a cultivator who specializes in the dao of alchemy!

She waved her hand, causing several medicinal plants to fly over to her. Looking very serious, she started a session of pill concocting.

As she was trying to match Xu Qing’s efforts, he was walking the street toward the shops where the Sixth Peak disciples offered equipment forging services. As he neared one shop in particular, his eyes flickered with suspicion. Perhaps it was a misperception, but he felt like the vendors from the Sixth Peak were, intentionally or otherwise, glancing at him out of the corners of their eyes. Before, it hadn’t been like this.

Are they watching me?

Eyes narrowing, he put his guard up even more, and at the same time, gave up his plan to visit the Sixth Peak vendors. Instead of purchasing any materials, he headed back to Harbor 79, where he went into a session of cultivation.

Days passed and nothing happened. Xu Qing was still feeling suspicious, though, and was cautious everywhere he went. He also went through the Sixth Peak vendor area a few times to see what would happen.

He never again got the sense he was being watched. However, he didn’t let down his guard. A few days later, after confirming repeatedly that it was safe, he picked a shop that had never participated in the strange behavior, and headed in that direction. He really did want to upgrade his dharmaboat, and virtually all the places to buy the necessary parts were run by the Sixth Peak. They essentially had a monopoly on that business in the Port District.

Even if something strange was going on, Xu Qing was ready to give it a shot.

Keeping his guard fully up, he hurried down the street toward the shop. However, that was when he heard a familiar voice.

“Xu Qing.”

He looked over his shoulder to find that Huang Yan was a short distance behind him. Huang Yan waved enthusiastically as he hurried to catch up, his fat jiggling up and down as he ran.

“Xu Qing, guess what? My Elder Sister returned my messages again today! Hahahaha! Come on, I’m in such a great mood that I have to treat you to some eggs!”

With that he reached out to grab Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was inclined to step back to avoid him, but then he thought about those fantastic eggs, as well as the materials Huang Yan had given him, and he hesitated. “I need to sell some things.”

“Sell things? Are you low on money? I can give you some!”

Xu Qing shook his head.

“Well, fine,” Huang Yan said, looking no less happy than before. “But at least let me come along. Afterward, the two of us are going to splurge on eggs! Deal? Okay, deal!” Huang Yan was clearly dead set on sharing his good mood. Looking around, he pointed at one of the nearby shops. “That’s a good one. I’ve been there a few times.”

It was the same shop Xu Qing had intended to go to, and it was busy inside. In fact, Xu Qing recognized one of the customers. It was none other than Zhang San, who was there buying some things. When Xu Qing entered with Huang Yan, Zhang San noticed, smiled, and called out a greeting. [1]

“Come on, let’s go,” Huang Yan said. “Hurry up and sell your stuff. Remember, the eggs are the most important thing right now.”

Xu Qing found the shopkeeper and walked over without any hesitation.

It was a big shop with two floors. There were all sorts of mutant beast materials up for sale, and all of them were very expensive. As Xu Qing neared the counter, the shopkeeper looked up. He was middle-aged, with a mustache shaped like the character 八, and a shrewd look. Upon seeing Xu Qing approaching, he smiled.

“Hello, Fellow Disciples. What are you looking to buy?”

“I want to sell some materials,” Xu Qing said calmly, then took out the materials from his sack. He didn’t just take out the items Huang Yan had gifted him, he also took out some things he’d taken from criminals he’d killed recently.

The shopkeeper looked at Xu Qing, then at the items. Muttering to himself, he looked at something behind the counter, then peered at Xu Qing. Face darkening and eyes turning hard, he said, “There’s something wrong with these items, young friend! A few days ago, the Golden Vajra Warrior Sect got in touch with our Sixth Peak and reported a big heist perpetrated on their sect. They lost a lot of resources, and the items here... are listed on the incident report as belonging to the Golden Vajra Warrior Sect! Young friend, are you really trying to sell me stolen goods? What’s the meaning of this! Don’t tell me that you have something to do with the Golden Vajra Warrior Sect heist? Could it be that a disciple from the magnificent Seventh Peak actually robbed the Golden Vajra Warrior Sect?”

It was obvious that the shopkeeper was deliberately speaking louder and louder, until every disciple in the entire shop could hear what he was saying. By the time he was done talking, the shop was completely silent, and everyone was looking at Xu Qing and the shopkeeper.

Xu Qing didn’t really care, though he was sighing inwardly. Despite all his caution, he had been unable to avoid this situation. Obviously, this whole thing was connected to Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior, and it caused the killing intent in his heart to grow even more intense. And now he knew that some important person from the Sixth Peak was actually working with the patriarch.

He glanced at the shopkeeper’s throat, as well as all the materials on the shelves, and then looked out at the open sea. His eyes started to turn cold as he tried to decide whether to just leave, or get into an argument.

As he deliberated, Huang Yan’s eyes turned wide and slapped his hand onto the counter with a loud thump.

“Stolen goods? Is this a stolen good?” Huang Yan picked up one of the mutant beast skulls he’d given to Xu Qing as a gift. At the same time, his eyes burned with unprecedented anger, as though he had just been insulted in the most outrageous manner. “This freaking thing belongs to me, got it, you bastard? How dare you say that one of my things is stolen!”

Brimming with indignation, Huang Yan threw the bone into the shopkeeper’s face.

1. Zhang San was introduced in chapters 55-56 ☜