Da Liang, Year 640, April 23.
On the north bank of the Luo River, amidst a stretch of trees, a gentle breeze wafted through, carrying willow leaves in its drift.
Hidden behind the willow grove was a two-story wooden building that could barely be seen.
Chen Mu sat by the window on the second floor, silently observing the vast, boundless river shrouded in white mist.
In his hands, he cradled a wooden cup filled with a thick brown beverage, emanating a faint milk fragrance laced with a medicinal scent.
This was his specialty milk tea, brewed with qi-boosting medicinal herbs. It was rich in flavor and nutrition.
Chen Mu sat behind the long desk under the window, sipping tea at ease while enjoying the scenery.
It had been five days since he had launched a night attack on the White Tiger Hall’s large ship.
That very night, he had abandoned his residence at the pottery workshop. He didn’t even bother getting the rent back as he packed up and moved out overnight.
This wooden building was rented on his behalf by Jie Jia. Chen Mu didn’t dare show his face, fearing that it would lead to another unwelcome visit if they traced him through their associates.
“Zuo Sheng is from the Startling Swan Gang, right?” Chen Mu mused quietly, “Did he show up at the pottery workshop that night specifically for me?”
First, it was Lin Que from the White Tiger Hall, and then came Zuo Sheng.
“I can’t sell Qingfeng Powder anymore,” Chen Mu sighed.
Just when he had found a way to make money, it attracted covetous eyes.
If it weren’t for a twist of fate and Zhu Yi Pavilion taking the fall for him, he would have been the one killed by Lin Que and his troop that night!
Thinking of what befell Zhu Yi Pavilion, Chen Mu’s expression became odd.
Not only had his own Yellow Dragon Powder been counterfeited, but Zhu Yi Pavilion had also been implicated and took the disaster meant for Chen Mu.
“Jie Jia, your sins are profound,” Chen Mu lamented insincerely.
…
“Things should have settled down for now, I guess,” Chen Mu thought uncertainly.
Over the past days, Chen Mu had stayed put in his new home in Shanglin Neighborhood, worried that the Startling Swan Gang might cause trouble.
As the largest gang in Nanyang Prefecture, the Startling Swan Gang lost all its elite members aboard the White Tiger Hall’s ship overnight.
The gang’s leader Lin Que, four helmsmen, and dozens of core gang members had all died, leaving only a bunch of low-level henchmen. There was no way the Startling Swan Gang wasn’t furious.
Whispers and fright haunted the Jinshui River, and passing ships were subjected to strict inspections and harassment.
The prefect of Nanyang Prefecture City had to intervene to appease them, which finally quelled the Startling Swan Gang’s anger.
“There must still be some repercussions happening in secret,” Chen Mu thought with a touch of worry.
“I might as well stay home and work on improving my proficiency.” It just meant continuing to stay indoors.
“Let’s check out the loot from this time.”
A string of convoluted curses was recited.
Puffs of black smoke enveloped the room, and a black lacquered wooden chest, about half a meter in length and as tall as a forearm, appeared on the table.
It was something he had brought from the White Tiger Hall’s large ship five days ago.
The chest came from a luxuriously furnished cabin, most likely part of Lin Que’s private collection.
He had been busy renting a house and moving these past few days and hadn’t had time to examine it closely.
Upon opening the chest, a stack of silver notes immediately caught his eye.
“Thirteen thousand and two hundred taels!” Chen Mu gasped at the sight.
He had never seen so many silver notes before.
Selling Ling Sha Pills and Qingfeng Powder could bring him roughly three hundred taels of silver each month. He would have to save for four years without spending a single coin!
“I’ve struck it rich,” he said.
Chen Mu put away the silver notes and continued to search through the chest.
Three fist-sized white porcelain vials, a chunk of gray rock the size of a pineapple, two ledgers, and seven property deeds.
The ledgers were useless.
The property deeds included three shops and four houses.
“Perhaps I can have Jie Jia handle selling these.” The old man had many connections and was sure to know how to dispose of such items.
He didn’t dare open the three white porcelain vials rashly, for fear they might contain some kind of volatile poison.
He placed them in a sealed compartment within the Five Ghosts Bag, letting the controlled Ghost paper men open the stoppers.
Two of the vials contained the same thing: red medicinal pills the size of grapes, ten pills per vial, their use unknown.
The other vial contained six peanut-sized brown medicinal pills, again of unknown purpose.
Chen Mu poured out one pill from each onto the desk.
Gently wafting the air, a faint medicinal scent drifted up.
The Pharmaceutical Technique granted him a keen sense of smell that allowed him to make a rough guess about the two types of pills.
“The red ones focus on replenishing qi and blood; could they be nourishing medicines for nurturing the soul?” Chen Mu’s eyes lit up.
Nourishing the soul is difficult. The royal families and great clans of Da Liang control the Secret Medicines.
Independent individuals from the Jianghu are forced to find various methods for themselves.
Chen Mu himself had been concocting nutritional milk with medicinal herbs. There must be others skilled enough to figure out methods to enhance qi and blood.
“The red medicinal pills might be one such method.”
“There are likely many more similar nourishing medicines.”
Chen Mu decided on the spot, “I must collect some when I have the chance.”
With just one or two samples, he could deduce and replicate them through his pharmaceutical technique. They would become the nourishment for his cultivation.
The brown pills were much simpler.
He sniffed and carefully tasted them, figuring out the formula to about seventy to eighty percent.
But the more he contemplated, the stranger the expression on Chen Mu’s face became.
“An ancient version of the blue medicine pill?”
What a find!
“Lin Que presents such a strong and formidable appearance, who would have thought… who would have thought…”
The effects are gentle and nourishing, strengthening the foundation and fostering vitality, without harming the body—excellent stuff!
“Too bad I can’t use them.”
“Hmm… Sell them to Jie Jia? Yes, sell them to Jie Jia! His hair is all white; he definitely needs them!” Chen Mu chuckled to himself as he put the medicine bottle away.
Finally, he examined the dull grey stone.
“If Lin Que put it in the wooden box, it must be some kind of precious mineral.”
“I’ll take it and figure it out when I have time.”
…
By the banks of the Jinshui River, in the Changrui dock of Nanyang Prefecture City, inside the headquarter boat of the Startling Swan Gang.
Jin Wuduan, the leader of the Startling Swan Gang, sat at the head of the table.
His plump face was always adorned with a genial smile. Yet, the bold and strong men seated below him dared not even breathe too loudly.
Jin Wuduan might look like a wealthy merchant, but his strength ranked within the top three in Nanyang Prefecture.
It was precisely because of this expert’s presence that the Startling Swan Gang remained in firm control of the Jinshui River.
Next to him on a tea table, there was a tray with a dagger on it.
Jin Wuduan rubbed his finger over the break, “Good sword technique.”
“Zhu Yi Pavilion doesn’t admit to having killed Lin Que,” said a man over fifty on the left respectfully.
“Hmm. Zhu Yi Pavilion doesn’t have such good sword masters,” Jin Wuduan nodded.
“Zhu Yi Pavilion also claims that Lin Que attacked their stronghold unprovoked and demands an explanation from us,” continued the slender old man.
“Don’t bother with them,” Jin Wuduan said indifferently with a wave of his hand: “I will go and have a good talk with Zhang Qinghe myself.”
The expressions of the many hall leaders immediately became solemn.
Zhang Qinghe was the pavilion master of Zhu Yi Pavilion in Nanyang Prefecture, one of the three great masters in the prefecture.
A confrontation between the two could turn into a fierce battle!
This conflict could have immeasurable repercussions on both the Startling Swan Gang and Nanyang Prefecture.
“Lin Que acted out of personal greed and launched an attack on Zhu Yi Pavilion; he only got what he deserved by dying,” Jin Wuduan said with an amused smile.
“However, he was after all a hall leader of my Startling Swan Gang.”
“I’ll clean up the mess for Zhu Yi Pavilion.”
“In addition, issue a reward: ten thousand taels for information leading to Lin Que’s death, twenty thousand for finding the murderer, and fifty thousand for the murderer’s head,” he said.
Jin Wuduan’s face turned serious as he looked at the many hall leaders: “Go back and put your house in order, discipline your subordinates, and don’t allow any reckless actions.”
“An important figure will be arriving soon, Nanyang Prefecture cannot be in chaos!”
“Yes!”
The hall leaders bowed and complied.
Zuo Sheng sat at the end, also raising his fist in agreement.
Thinking of the substantial reward just announced, he felt an involuntary stirring of interest.
Recalling the tragic scene aboard the White Tiger Hall’s big ship, Zuo Sheng furrowed his brows deeply.
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Iron Lotus Seeds shot in salvo, dagger thrust to kill.
He was all too familiar with this scene.
The person from Thousand Mountains Path in Qingshan County had died this very way.
He couldn’t help but remember the chance encounter that night.
“Older brother, you’ve really stirred up trouble, putting me in a difficult position,” he murmured to himself.
He desired the generous reward, yet deep down there was a hint of fear.
No sooner had Lin Que sent people to tail him than he faced an explosive counterattack.
White Tiger Hall was wiped out as if it were nothing—a manner of acting without any reservations, which made Zuo Sheng feel apprehensive.
“Forget it, better not to provoke this scourge,” Zuo Sheng decided, shaking his head: “Rather than that, it’s better to think of how to benefit from White Tiger Hall’s situation.”
He turned to look at the dark-faced strong man sitting at the other end.
Zhang Ye, the former leader of the Bailang Gang from Qingshan County, now the hall leader of White Tiger Hall, was a lucky guy that everyone envied and resented.
With the elite of White Tiger Hall dead, by pulling rank, Zhang Ye had somehow become a hall leader.
Even Zuo Sheng couldn’t help but feel envious.
“He’s from the same Qingshan County as the other party and lacks strength, urgently needing external aid. If I could ally with him at this time…” Zuo Sheng smiled as he narrowed his eyes.