Chapter 146 - 115: "He Probably Wouldn’t Kill His Own Stepmother, Right?
Chapter 146: Chapter 115: "He Probably Wouldn’t Kill His Own Stepmother, Right?
On top of that, he’d gotten his hands on a good number of Cultivation Pills, which he could use to boost the Cultivation of Lame Monkey and the others.
He’d pretty much already earmarked the Yellow Level Alchemy Furnace for Medicine King Valley.
He had no use for it at the moment.
It all depended on the price Medicine King Valley was willing to pay. If their offer was too low, he’d just have his own people bid on it and keep it for himself. ’I may not have an Alchemy Master now, but I’m bound to get one eventually.’
Then there were the six Building Blueprints.
Several of them were quite useful to him.
But he wasn’t going to build them just yet.
He was short on manpower.
He needed to go to Jiangbei City and bring a group of people back.
Among the Exotic Treasures were a few Terrain Cards. They were interesting, but they also required people to use.
He’d come to a realization.
Manpower was the true foundation of any faction.
Without people, a faction couldn’t get anything done.
He didn’t stay in the Warehouse long. After a quick look around, he leaned on his Dragon Head Staff and headed back to the Wooden House to get some sleep. It had been a long time since he’d slept well.
He had to admit,
it was surprisingly comfortable to use. It had a nice feel to it—warm, smooth, and rounded.
It felt less like a defensive Exotic Treasure and more like a trinket to be toyed with.
And...
There was something that had been on his mind.
’Where can I poach some Alchemy Masters and Artifact Refiners?’
’Hmm... Qi Feng’s alchemy skills seemed decent. Then again, that’s probably not realistic. He is the heir to Medicine King Valley, after all.’
...
「Tonight.」
In Jiangbei City, none of the factions that had come from Jiangnan to Jiangbei could find any sleep. They tossed and turned all night.
Normally, when a region’s rainy season arrived early, the major surrounding factions would send their younger generation over after it ended. This served two purposes: scavenging for loot from the dead, and taking refuge from the disasters in their own territories.
It was a way to exploit a loophole and avoid their own rainy season.
But tonight,
the Hill and Valley Wang Family Members remained in their old mansion, staring at one another in silence. The family’s station masters and their subordinates had all been dismissed, leaving only the Wang Family Members behind in the residence.
"Tomorrow is the deadline the Pavilion Master of the Jiangbei Marketplace gave us to move out. What are your thoughts, everyone?"
"Should we go our separate ways and fend for ourselves, or should we stick together and see if we can build something new?"
Inside the meeting hall, a middle-aged man sitting in the head seat spoke in a hoarse voice.
His father was Wang Qiuhao, the Patriarch of the Wang Family. The day before, when he had gone alone with a horse-drawn carriage to visit the Mortal Sect, he had mortgaged the Wang Family’s Old Mansion to the Jiangbei Marketplace for 3,000 Ghost Stones.
If he returned the next day, they would have to pay back 3,100 Ghost Stones to reclaim the old mansion for the Wang Family.
If he didn’t, the old mansion would be forfeited to the Jiangbei Marketplace.
The core of the old mansion was encircled by a Level 3 City Wall. Though the area it enclosed wasn’t large, it was enough to safely ride out the rainy season. The wall was fortified with fourteen Level 4 Arrow Towers and six Level 5 Cannon Towers. All of this, including the other buildings, was bundled together and mortgaged to the Jiangbei Marketplace for a pittance.
It was an absolute fire sale.
His father had been absolutely resolute at the time.
He had taken a "burn the boats" approach, saying that while the number of Ghost Stones offered might be small, it was crucial to show they were giving it their all. The attitude was what mattered. Besides, the Jiangbei Marketplace had just weathered the rainy season themselves; they wouldn’t have many Ghost Stones to spare.
"Let’s go our separate ways."
After a long silence, one of the man’s uncles spoke up. "The Patriarch cleaned out the family coffers when he left. We don’t have the capital to even start a small business. It’s better if we all go our separate ways for now, save up for a few years, and then meet again to see if we can form a merchant guild."
The others exchanged glances and agreed with the proposal.
"Very well."
The middle-aged man in the head seat paused before continuing.
"I, Wang Wufan, issue the Wang Family’s final command on my father’s behalf. As of tomorrow, the Wang Family is officially disbanded. Let everyone go their separate ways. If, in three years’ time, any of you wish to reunite and work together again, we will meet on this very day at Old Hu’s Pork Shop at the West Gate of Jiangbei City."
"Agreed."
...
"Gang Leader."
"The station masters the Wang Family dismissed are all veterans. The posts in the Wilderness will be reopening after winter. Why don’t we recruit them? When the posts reopen, we can seize the market share the Wang Family used to control."
"..."
The Gang Leader of the Wild Wolf Gang frowned slightly. After pondering for a long while, he shook his head. "No."
"The landscape has shifted dramatically this year. The Mortal Sect is situated in the Wilderness and will likely try to take over all the posts’ business. Let’s wait and see if they’re interested in that piece of the pie first. If they aren’t, then we’ll make our move."
"What about the station masters, then? They’re all experienced veterans. It’d be a waste to let them go."
"Let me think."
...
「Jiangbei Chen Family.」
Inside a private chamber,
Chen Quan’s mother, a stunningly beautiful woman, rose and leaned against the window, scanning her surroundings. Only then did she retrieve a Sound Transmission Talisman from within her robes. A rare look of reverence and fear crossed her lovely face as the connection was established, and she spoke in a rush.
"Master."
"The rainy season in Jiangbei has ended, but the situation has changed drastically. The outcast son of the Jiangbei Chen Family has established the Mortal Sect on Nameless Mountain. Their power is considerable. They’ve killed a Ghost King, and they also killed the Young Master of the Pill Sect from Jiangnan."
"Should we still proceed with the plan to go to Nameless Mountain and search for the items ’that person’ left behind?"
"Or should we wait until the Pill Sect has taken its revenge on the Mortal Sect before we infiltrate Nameless Mountain?"
"..."
After a long silence, a man’s grating voice, like fingernails scraping across glass, came from the other end of the Sound Transmission Talisman.
"The Mortal Sect has been renamed the Mortal Realm. Yesterday, they launched a night raid into Jiangnan and slaughtered an entire Pill Sect city. Their strength is not to be underestimated."
"Forget about the items in the Celestial Pit."
"Go up the mountain from the other side. Just take the Snow Lotus and the Mountain Embryo. Do not set foot in the Mortal Realm’s territory. If you happen to alert them, you absolutely cannot expose our identities or our plans. Isn’t your current identity Chen Fan’s stepmother? Just say you wanted to come see him, give him a surprise. Figure out the specific pretext yourself."
"If all else fails..."
"with your looks, a virile young man like Chen Fan won’t necessarily be able to refuse you."
"You must retrieve the Snow Lotus."
"If you fail this mission, don’t bother coming back."
"..."
The beautiful woman hesitated for a long moment, but couldn’t stop herself from asking, "Couldn’t we wait until after the rainy season, send reinforcements to annihilate the Mortal Realm, and then take both the Snow Lotus and the items in the Celestial Pit?"
A derisive laugh echoed from the other end of the Sound Transmission Talisman.
"Our reach already extends far enough just by touching Jiangbei. If the Holy Land had the power to cross that distance and destroy the Mortal Realm, we wouldn’t have needed you to stand guard in Jiangbei for over a decade. We’d have simply slaughtered everyone in Jiangbei, and everything would be ours."
"When you return,"
"The position of Saintess will still be yours. And that son of yours will be given the right to contend for the title of Holy Son. This is a gift from our Lord. I trust you will seize this opportunity."
"The Celestial Transmission Talisman has a limited number of uses, and this is the last one. The next time it’s activated, I expect it to be with news that your mission is complete and you are on your way back. I will arrange for someone to meet you."
"Oh, and one more thing—"
"Our Lord is very interested in how Chen Fan managed to build the Mortal Realm from scratch in such a short time during the rainy season. He believes Chen Fan must possess a supreme Architect’s treasure. If you can bring Chen Fan back as well, your son won’t have to compete. He will be named Holy Son directly."
With that, the voice faded.
The Sound Transmission Talisman in her hand gradually dimmed. It was a talisman of exceptionally high quality, capable of communication over vast distances.
"..."
After the connection broke, the beautiful woman sat on the edge of her bed, silent for a long, long time. The mission’s danger level had just increased exponentially. ’I have to make good use of my identity as his stepmother. It might be the only way I survive if I’m discovered.’
’That guy...’
’He wouldn’t kill his own stepmother, would he? That sort of thing getting out wouldn’t be good for his reputation.’
...
Meanwhile, in another chamber of the Jiangbei Chen Family’s residence,
Chen Quan cowered in the corner of his bed, his face ashen as he trembled uncontrollably. He had already heard the news: Chen Fan had established the Mortal Sect on Nameless Mountain, killed a Ghost King, and even murdered the Young Master of the Pill Sect. ’The man had dared to kill the Young Master of the Pill Sect.’
’Would he hesitate to kill me?’
He spent every day in a state of terror, terrified that at any moment, Chen Fan would show up in Jiangbei City and drag him out of his bed.
’Mother should be able to stop him... right?’
Night had already fallen, but he still didn’t dare to sleep. His only hope now was that the faction backing his mother could stop the Mortal Sect. He desperately wanted to run, but... there was simply no way out.
The posts around Jiangbei City hadn’t reopened yet.
Without a Skeleton Horse, there was nowhere to go.