“It’s a pity about that Ghost Head Greatknife.”
“And all those scattered Silver Pieces on the ground.”
Zuo Family’s young master isn’t easy to deal with, having seen through his ruse, Chen Mu could only make a hasty escape.
“I can’t go back to that house anymore.”
Chen Mu sighed, “Not only have I lost a bodyguard, but I’ve also wasted three months of rent.”
He had lived there for less than three months, but the rent was paid for half a year.
“Let’s not think about it anymore, the more I think about it, the more it hurts.”
“Let’s take a look at the spoils of war instead.”
The bodies of the two men had already been buried by him in the deserted house north of the city, keeping Sheng Hong company.
He also sprinkled some corrosive powder to accelerate decomposition, soon they would return to dust.
“Three and a half Silver Taels, fifty-two copper coins, and two twenty-Silver Tael notes from the Datong Money House.”
Chen Mu grabbed the shiny Soft Sword and played around with it for a bit. He almost cut the back of his hand and quickly put the sword back on the table.
The strange Soft Sword probably required special skills. Not just anyone could handle it.
“The material is good; it might sell for a good price.”
The apprentice had quite the haul on him, and Chen Mu was a bit excited about what the round-faced Taoist had in store.
All that was on the other person was a plump, palm-sized, bright red leather pouch.
The pouch was made of leather, yet it was as soft and light as fabric.
The front side was embroidered with five little figures using gold thread.
The figures formed a circle with a small, delicate black mountain in the middle.
There was a black cord at the opening of the pouch, passing through several holes, it was pulled tight to narrow the opening and tied into a bow.
“It’s quite pretty.”
Chen Mu examined it for a moment, tugged open the bow, pinched the opening of the pouch and tried to pull it apart… but it wouldn’t budge!
After several attempts.
The opening seemed to be sealed shut, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t pull it open!
What the hell?
Even though he was seriously injured, he was still a master of the Bone Transformation technique.
A normal leather pouch would have been torn apart by him long ago.
Yet now, he couldn’t even open a small pouch.
Chen Mu fiddled with it for half an hour, but the pouch remained unmoved.
He stared at the pouch, examining it closely.
Suddenly, he realized that one of the figures looked very familiar.
On closer inspection, it actually bore a five-point resemblance to the red paper man.
Chen Mu’s heart skipped a beat, and he almost threw it away.
That Bloodsucking Paper Man was too weird.
He had discovered the previous night when retrieving his Dagger that the Paper Man he had pinned to the wall had disappeared into thin air.
He had thought the eerie object had fled.
Now it seemed quite likely that it had returned to the pouch.
Looking at the leather pouch on the stone table, Chen Mu’s face was uncertain.
“This is a treasure.”
“A dangerous treasure.”
He studied it for a long while, but discovered nothing.
“I’ll put it away for now.”
Throwing it away was out of the question.
He’ll study it more carefully later.
…
Chen Mu increasingly did not want to stay in Qingshan County.
However, the next day his injuries suddenly worsened. His face swollen and fatter.
Pain throbbing from within him all over.
“Three Yang Six Lords Pills, one bottle for ten Silver Taels.” Under the pavilion, Jie Jia placed a duck egg-sized porcelain bottle on the stone table.
Chen Mu took out Silver Pieces to pay Jie Jia, feeling even more pain all over his body.
The Three Yang Six Lords Pills were the Zhu Yi Pavilion’s secret healing medicine.
They could quickly heal his injuries.
“Have you decided to leave?” Jie Jia asked, staring at Chen Mu for confirmation.
“Leave,” Chen Mu clenched his teeth, “I’ll leave once my injuries are healed.”
He couldn’t stay in the troubled land of Qingshan County anymore.
“Your injuries are not light,” Jie Jia frowned slightly.
Chen Mu was also annoyed.
No wonder he was a master who cultivated Soul Strength.
The round-faced Taoist had only slapped him once, and as a result, his internal organs were damaged to varying degrees.
An ordinary person would have died on the spot from such a blow.
Luckily, he had cultivated the Shape Cultivation Technique to the Third Rank, and he was slowly strengthening his organs.
“Just wait, I don’t want to travel with an ailing body,” Chen Mu said helplessly.
Jie Jia nodded and estimated, “Then let’s tentatively say three months from now.”
Chen Mu agreed.
He himself estimated that with active treatment, he could largely recover in three months.
Muscle and bone injuries take a hundred days to heal, not to mention the damage to his vital organs.
“Can it be a bit cheaper?” Chen Mu asked unwillingly, clutching the porcelain bottle.
The medicine was indeed good, but it was expensive!
To ensure the healing effects, he would not be able to do without it in the coming three months.
Thinking about the cost, Chen Mu felt a pang of pain.
Jie Jia watched Chen Mu with a cheerful expression without saying a word.
“You’re not going to raise the price on me, are you?” Chen Mu asked, suspicious.
That gleeful expression of yours really makes one doubtful.
Jie Jia immediately resumed a calm expression, “You’re overthinking it.”
Chen Mu: “…”
If your face didn’t change so quickly, I’d really believe you!
This old man will stop at nothing to make money!
But you earn so much and yet never seem to spend it.
You scrounge your meals off me three times a day, then you just sit around rolling your beads, saving money.
Chen Mu grimaced and waved his hand, booting out Jie Jia, this second-rate peddler.
Who could blame him when the man had his own channels?
…
Since I can’t leave any time soon, I’ve got to consider safety.
The spiritual disturbances in Qingshan County are utterly random, without order.
It’s like flipping over a card—whomever it lands on is out of luck.
Can’t go near the Zuo Family mansion. Can’t rely on Jie Jia either, he’s got to go out in the middle of the night for assassination gigs.
With all this chaos, it’s unbelievable how booming the assassin business is. What a ghostly mess.
Hire Jie Jia for protection? Too expensive!
After pondering for two days, Chen Mu set his sights on the Qingfeng Observatory just outside the town.
Jie Jia confirmed that the Qingfeng Observatory had ways to deal with Ghosts. It was currently the safest place in Qingshan County.
Though his past experiences made him wary of the Qingfeng Observatory, it was undeniably safer than the uncertainty within the town.
“Better to keep a good distance from the Qingfeng Observatory, then.”
He planned to stick with his current strategy, living close by and piggybacking off the Evil-Repelling Halo.
…
Five days later, the swelling in Chen Mu’s body had subsided.
Though he still had internal injuries, they no longer affected his movement.
He quickly packed his belongings and rushed off to explore the small eastern mountain.
The situation was simpler than Chen Mu had imagined.
The Qingfeng Observatory was recruiting laborers to construct an altar.
Thousands of workers needed food and shelter. Erecting tents, setting up camps, and building wooden houses, thousands of people spontaneously formed a sprawling shantytown at the foot of the mountain.
Astute merchants even organized a small market there.
Chen Mu dressed in coarse gray clothes, donned a bamboo hat, and applied birthmark makeup.
Fisherman Yang Zhi blended in effortlessly.
He planned to find someone to build a wooden house at the edge of the settlement, close to the Qingfeng Observatory mountain path.
From just a glance, he could see the Qingfeng Observatory up the mountain.
Jumping on the rooftop also allowed him to overlook the entire shantytown.
The construction of the wooden house was fast.
All sorts of skilled craftsmen had gathered here.
Three people started work in the morning and happily left with a hundred copper coins each by evening.
That night, Chen Mu moved into the house, which still smelled of the moist wood.
The timber was fresh and prone to rotting and attracting bugs.
But Chen Mu didn’t plan to live there for long.
The house met his requirements perfectly.
…
In the following days, Chen Mu was busy accumulating life necessities.
Pots, pans, and ladles were indispensable, as were oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.
He carried over four straw bags of white wheat from the second house’s cellar, each weighing over a hundred pounds, the last of the cellar’s provisions.
“So it’s really time to leave Qingshan County.”
The price of food in Qingshan County was getting more and more outrageous; now a straw bag of white wheat even required one and a half Silver Taels.
He also bought two large water jars and caught a basket of fish to keep in them, slowly eating them over time.
Chen Mu then closed his doors to visitors, staying inside the wooden house to slowly recover from his injuries.
…
“Here’s the medical book you wanted.” Jie Jia had one hand behind his back and with the other, he dropped the sack in front of Chen Mu with a thud.
Under the shade of the trees, Chen Mu lay on a bamboo chair, leisurely rocking back and forth as he read.
“Thanks,” said Chen Mu, sitting upright and casually flipping through the bag.
The yellowed pages emitted a faint ink smell.
These were various medical books Chen Mu had Jie Jia help him buy.
Unable to practice his abilities while recovering, it was a good time to brush up on his Pharmaceutical Technique.
Finding that he hadn’t seen most of the medical books before, he tossed a small cloth bag to Jie Jia, nodding his head in satisfaction.
“You’re thinking of replicating Three Yang Six Lords Pills?” Jie Jia weighed the bag and slipped it into his sleeve.
“Don’t believe me?” Chen Mu didn’t hide his intention.
Jie Jia earnestly replied, “I believe.”
This time, it was Chen Mu who was baffled.
I don’t even have confidence in myself, how come you believe in me?
“Need any medicinal ingredients? I’ve got connections,” Jie Jia stated seriously.
Chen Mu: “…”
You really have a knack for spotting business opportunities!