Chapter 80: Getting Your Shoes Wet
Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Getting Your Shoes Wet
BAM!
A deep, muffled crash echoed.
Bai San felt an irresistible, ferocious power surge through his body. It crashed through the Inner Breath he had painstakingly cultivated as if it were snapping dry twigs, and his Dantian erupted in searing, splitting pain.
He let out a bloodcurdling scream, spraying a mouthful of blood as he plummeted from mid-air and smashed heavily onto the stone slabs of the courtyard.
He was left completely unable to resist.
Shouheng and Shouye had only just arrived on the scene.
Chen Li landed gracefully and strode forward, his gaze burning as he stared at the man.
’Where did this Spirit Realm Powerhouse come from?’
Bai San’s face was ashen. His body wracked with pain, he struggled to lift his head and meet Chen Li’s eyes. He never imagined that after walking the riverbank for so long, he would finally get his shoes wet.
Unlike other martial artists, however, he was famously pragmatic. Ignoring his injuries, he immediately dropped to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. "Spare me, sir! This humble one was blind, my heart clouded by greed! I have offended this sacred place. I only beg you to spare my worthless dog’s life, sir! I’ll never do it again!"
"Who sent you? What is your purpose?"
Chen Li’s voice was ice-cold.
Feeling the killing intent that was so thick it felt tangible, how could Bai San dare to hide anything if he wanted to live?
It all came pouring out. He confessed everything—how he was hired and the details of his mission.
Of course, the murder at Chen Yongxiao’s home and the silver taels he had stashed away were things he would absolutely never mention.
Chen Li then asked about his employer.
Bai San’s face was a mask of misery, tears and snot streaming down. "The employ... employer, I really don’t know who it is! It was all passed through a middleman. This humble one has never met the real client!"
Chen Li took the ledger that Chen Shouheng had found on him and quickly scanned it. As expected, it contained detailed records of the grain stores of over a hundred families.
"Grain... Zhuoyan Collection..."
After interrogating Bai San, a cold glint flashed in Chen Li’s eyes.
He noted Bai San’s confession that the handover method after completing the mission was to deliver the ledger to a grave in Zhuoyan Collection, then go to the Ten-Mile Tavern and order a bowl of thirty-three-year-old pure grain spirits.
The Sect, the Water Bandits.
Chen Li instantly guessed who the employer was, or at the very least, that they were inextricably linked.
Chen Li wondered, ’Are they preparing to rob the wealthy households of their grain?’
At the same time, he also recalled the ledger from the Two Immortals of Life and Death.
"Thirty-three-year-old pure grain spirits"—phrases like that seemed to appear frequently in that ledger.
’Could that ledger be a record of the Sect’s missions?’
After a moment of contemplation, he returned to his study, retrieved a porcelain vial, and shook out a pill. He flicked it into Bai San’s hand and said coolly, "If you want to live, eat this."
Staring at the pill, all the color drained from Bai San’s face. His voice trembled. "This... What is this...?"
"You don’t need to know."
Chen Li’s voice was flat. "If you don’t take the antidote for this poison within three months, your intestines will rupture and rot. Your bones will feel as if they’re being devoured by ants, and you will die after seven days of agony."
Bai San trembled all over, his eyes filled with terror.
But he had no choice. Trembling, he took the pill, shut his eyes, and gulped it down.
Chen Li flipped through the ledger Bai San had been keeping and said suddenly, "Shouheng, go get a brush and paper."
When Shouheng returned with the brush and paper, Chen Li tossed the ledger to Bai San. "Write: Chen Lijia, two hundred dan."
Bai San looked up, his eyes showing confusion and shock.
’Wait, sir, your family has so much grain, and you only want me to put down two hundred dan?’
’If I hand in this ledger, the employer will think I don’t know what a real country squire looks like, that I’ve been casing any random nobody.’
Although he felt uneasy, he did as he was told to save his own skin.
"Father, isn’t that a little low?" Chen Shouheng couldn’t help but cautiously remind him from the side.
The autumn harvest had just passed. Right now, even an ordinary wealthy farmer would have that much grain in storage.
Chen Li thought for a moment. It really was unreasonable.
He flipped through the other entries in Bai San’s ledger. Most were over two thousand dan, and Chen Yongxiao’s household was estimated at over five thousand. After some thought, he added, "Change all the entries for Lingxi to no more than one thousand dan."
Seeing that Bai San had finished making the changes, Chen Li said, "Now, follow your employer’s rules and go deliver the ledger."
Bai San froze, never having expected Chen Li to make such a request.
But on second thought, ’Whatever he’s planning, I’ll just play along for now and save my own life.’
Chen Li said coolly, "Handle this matter properly, and I’ll give you the antidote and let you live. If you dare to pull any tricks, or try to escape halfway... Hmph..."
"Yes... yes! I understand! I will definitely handle it well! I would never dare to pull any tricks! Thank you for sparing my life, sir! Thank you, sir!"
Bai San kowtowed like a pestle grinding garlic, secretly plotting. ’Once I get the antidote and get away, I’ll go back and dig up the silver taels I hid at Chen Yongxiao’s home, then take the money and disappear.’
’Damn it, this time I’m really washing my hands of this business for good!’
* * *
Like a startled civet cat, Bai San slipped silently out of the Chen Lijia courtyard.
He did not head directly for Zhuoyan Collection as Chen Li had ordered.
Instead, he wound his way through the labyrinthine alleys of Lingxi Village, circling a dozen times.
Every so often, he would whip his head around to check behind him or leap onto a roof to survey the area, his wary eyes scanning in all directions through the thick darkness.
Only after a full hour had passed did his frayed nerves relax slightly. ’That monster... he didn’t follow me, did he?’
After confirming that no one was following him, he changed direction and silently snuck back to Chen Yongxiao’s home.
He slipped inside and soon dragged out several heavy sacks he had packed earlier.
Inside was a full seventeen thousand taels of snowflake silver and a considerable amount of gold and silver valuables, constituting almost half of Chen Yongxiao’s entire fortune.
He dragged these valuables to a remote corner of the backyard, found a hoe, and began to dig frantically.
He had just been injured by Chen Li, and with his qi and blood in disarray, he had to rely solely on physical strength. Soon, sweat soaked through his black night gear.
"Damn it, even having too much money is a pain in the ass! This is killing me..."
Bai San gritted his teeth as he dug, but he couldn’t suppress the wild joy surging within him.
’Son of a bitch! As soon as I get the antidote from that monster, I’m taking this fortune and getting the hell out of here!’
After digging a sufficiently deep pit, he carefully pushed the valuables in, covered them with dirt, and then concealed the spot with several heavy stone slabs, meticulously cleaning up any traces.
By the time he was finished, he was drenched in sweat. Gasping for breath, he slipped away once more.
* * *
Every single one of Bai San’s actions was observed by Chen Li, down to the smallest detail.
Chen Li had originally planned to follow him all the way to Zhuoyan Collection.
But he hadn’t expected that after letting Bai San go, the man wouldn’t leave directly. Suspicion flared, and he immediately began tailing him from a distance.
After practicing the Prajna Glaze Heart Sutra of the Self-Viewing, his Power of Divine Sense was exceptionally strong. Even without deliberately channeling it, his Spiritual Sense could cover a radius of several dozen feet.
By activating his Divine Sense, he could lock onto and track a person within hundreds of yards with absolute ease.
To him, Bai San’s counter-tracking measures were as obvious as holding a candle in a dark room.
At first, when he saw Bai San sneak back to Chen Yongxiao’s home, Chen Li was merely a little puzzled. ’What’s this thief going back there for?’
But when he saw Bai San haul so many heavy sacks out of the house and start struggling to dig a pit, suspicion grew in Chen Li’s mind. ’Hmm? So many valuables? Did he get those from Chen Yongxiao’s home? And where is Chen Yongxiao?’
His Divine Sense swept over the entire Chen Mansion. There was no sign of life inside, no trace of Chen Yongxiao’s aura. He didn’t even find any signs of a struggle or a body.
’For such a huge amount of wealth to be moved out so easily... Could it be that Chen Yongxiao... has already fallen prey to this thief?’
Chen Li’s gaze hardened, and a wave of shock washed over him.
He had never expected Chen Yongxiao to meet such an end.
Suppressing his emotions, Chen Li moved like a flash of lightning, quickly returning home to find his two sons.
"That thief just buried something in Chen Yongxiao’s backyard. It looks like valuables. I’m afraid Chen Yongxiao has met with foul play."
Chen Li was concise. "Wait for him to leave, then go over immediately, dig up the items, and bring them back to our storehouse."
Shouheng Shouye were surprised, but they didn’t hesitate and set off at once.
By the time the three of them returned to Chen Yongxiao’s home, Bai San had just finished digging the pit.
The father and his sons simply watched until Bai San finished burying the treasure and camouflaging the scene. After Chen Li left to follow Bai San, Shouheng Shouye emerged, moved the heavy stone slabs, and began to dig.
"So much silver! How much could there be..."
Shouye’s face was filled with shock.
When the gleaming white silver taels were revealed beneath the dirt, even though their family’s finances had greatly improved, the two brothers couldn’t help but gasp.
Shouheng’s voice was filled with suppressed excitement. "Little brother, quick, pack it up and let’s get it back home!"
The two moved quickly, repacking the valuables. They worked together to carry the heavy, unexpected windfall, silently transporting it back to their home’s storehouse without alerting anyone.
* * *