Chapter 128: Chapter 79: Mastering Alchemy! Master Su!_3
“Who is he?” A young man on the right side looked over with some displeasure after being interrupted.
Another man with a square face, however, recognized Su Changkong’s robe and quickly tugged at the young man.
The square-faced man thought for a moment about how to phrase his words, and only spoke after ensuring nobody was paying attention to them, “I heard from others that today at noon, someone found a headless body more than ten miles outside the Giant Whale Gang’s territory. The head of this corpse seemed to have been ripped off alive, its whereabouts unknown, and even the heart had been gouged out alive, the method was very cruel… Based on the clothes, it was identified to be Master Gong who had left.”
“A headless corpse…with the heart gouged out?” Su Changkong stood still, his complexion changed uncontrollably, with sadness and anger in his heart.
If a stranger had died, Su Changkong wouldn’t have felt much emotional turmoil; however, the deceased was Gong Zheng! Gong Zheng, who had taught him Alchemy and looked after him!
“The head torn off alive, the heart gouged out… Such a method of killing is too cruel for an ordinary person, could it be the work of a demon monster?”
Su Changkong didn’t lose his cool, and oddly enough, he thought of the woman in white he had encountered at the Ghost Market that night, suspected to be a demon monster, who dug out people’s hearts to eat them alive!
It inevitably made Su Changkong wonder if Gong Zheng had encountered a demon monster and been brutally murdered.
However, upon further reflection, there was something suspicious about it: Gong Zheng had not been far from the Giant Whale Gang when he was murdered, and it was a demon monster who killed him; the coincidence of these two facts seemed too small! It could be that the murderer did it deliberately to confuse the investigators!
But if so, why not destroy the body and eradicate all traces?
Seeing the changing expressions on Su Changkong’s face, the square-faced man offered some comfort, “Master Su, you studied Alchemy under Master Gong, please accept my condolences. This incident has caused many Hall Masters within the Gang to be furious, and the Deputy Gang Leader has already spoken personally, vowing to spare no expense in hunting down the murderer and to exact a terrible price to accompany Master Gong in death.”
Gong Zheng’s death had indeed caused no small disturbance within the Giant Whale Gang.
Having dedicated decades to refining pill medicine for the Giant Whale Gang, Gong Zheng was brutally murdered shortly after his resignation and departure from the Gang, which would undoubtedly lead to outside speculation and even cause grumblings among the Gang’s disciples; the Giant Whale Gang would put all its effort into investigating!
“Hmm…I understand,” Su Changkong subdued his emotions and nodded slightly before resettling into his original seat. The lavish food on the table, however, seemed tasteless to him.
Gong Zheng’s death undeniably left a bad taste in Su Changkong’s mouth, having been a benevolent figure in his life, though not so much that it drove him to lose his sanity in anger.
“Let the Giant Whale Gang handle the investigation. I’m also new here and probably don’t know much more than anyone else.”
In the end, Su Changkong sighed.
Gong Zheng had been killed right after leaving the Giant Whale Gang, and there were too many speculations about the murderer’s identity. It could be the work of a demon monster, might be a deliberate provocation by a rival force against the Giant Whale Gang, or it could even be that Gong Zheng had offended someone within the Gang, slain by one of their own!
As Su Changkong had only joined the Giant Whale Gang two months ago, he knew too little to make a judgment; the best course of action was to do nothing and wait for the outcome, though there might not even be one!
Gong Zheng’s death had caused quite a stir within the Gang, and even Su Changkong, who had interacted with him, had been visited for inquiries. Su Changkong had given an honest reply; he had not had deep conversations with Gong Zheng and genuinely did not know much.
But with Gong Zheng gone, the world continued to turn, and life went on.
It was the following morning, yet in the Pharmacy’s Pill Refining Room, someone was waiting ahead of time.
The person waiting was a teenager a year or two younger than Su Changkong, with a shy smile on his face. Upon seeing Su Changkong arrive, he spoke, “Master Su, my name is Liu Geng, and I know a bit about medicine and pharmacology. I am here to assist you with your Alchemy.”
Su Changkong frowned and said, “I don’t need assistance.”
Su Changkong had always refined pill medicine alone and indeed wasn’t comfortable with having an unfamiliar person assist him, which might get in the way.
The teenager who called himself Liu Geng said with a troubled face, “Master Su, the Deputy Gang Leader sent me here… I can’t go against that.”
Hearing this, Su Changkong roughly understood the situation. Liu Geng’s assistance in Alchemy was a pretext; frankly speaking, he was there to supervise him.
As Su Changkong had just become an Alchemist for the Giant Whale Gang, the Gang couldn’t be said to have much trust in him yet. Sending Liu Geng to watch him, to prevent him from causing trouble or being overly greedy, was the normal protocol that even Gong Zheng had experienced.
“Fine, then you can stay and help me as an assistant,” Su Changkong eventually agreed, knowing that outright dismissing Liu Geng would only make both parties trust each other less and make the situation more awkward.
“Thank you for your understanding, Master Su! I have a bit of a vision problem. You, Master Su, work hard at Alchemy, and there are some things I can’t see. I won’t blabber everywhere!”
Liu Geng expressed his gratitude, simultaneously hinting to Su Changkong that as long as he focused on his Alchemy and satisfied the Giant Whale Gang, even if he kept a bit of the product for himself, it wouldn’t matter; Liu would turn a blind eye.
Otherwise, an unsatisfied Su Changkong could frequently cause Alchemy failures intentionally, and the Giant Whale Gang would face significant losses. Training a new Alchemist would be time-consuming and laborious. It was better to give Su Changkong some benefits to make him feel grateful and willingly work for the Gang!
“Let’s start the Alchemy. You help me light the Pill Furnace for preheating,” Su Changkong went straight to the point, beginning a new day of Alchemy.
True to his word, Liu Geng showed no reaction when Su Changkong occasionally took away a pill or two. Moreover, Liu Geng was very diligent, helping Su Changkong watch the flames and being incredibly helpful, proving to be quite a competent assistant!