Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Powers of Qinghe City, Encounter with the Strange

“Hmph… You sure asked the right person, there’s no one more knowledgeable than me about the people in Qinghe City!”

Miaotong’s beautiful eyes were like water, her charming face flushed, gasping like a fish out of water, her red lips slightly parted, breathing softly.

Snow Moon Square usually served all sorts of people from Qinghe City; knowing whom not to offend and who people were was a fundamental lesson they had to learn.

Otherwise, accidentally offending a VIP could cause endless trouble.

“Then tell me, if you do well, I’ll reward you generously!”

Pinching Miaotong’s rosy face, Zhou Chen leaned down and kissed her plump lips heavily, feeling very satisfied.

He was right to come to the brothel to gather intelligence.

“Mmm!”

Miaotong twisted her soft and tender body, found a comfortable position, her eyes glittering like water looking at Zhou Chen’s eyes, her red lips gently parted:

“Sir should know that, firstly, the powers that must not be offended are naturally the government offices, such as County Magistrate Lord Chen, County Captain Lord Zhang, these are absolutely untouchable!”

“Correct!”

Zhou Chen toyed with her advantages, nodding in agreement.

“Besides the official powers, the most formidable in Qinghe City are the three influential families and the two big gangs.”

“The three families are the Xiao Family, the Lin Family, and the Li Family.”

“The two big gangs are the Qinghe Branch of the Fishermen Gang and the Qinghe Branch of the Salt Gang.”

“Don’t even mention our small Qinghe City; both the Fishermen Gang and the Salt Gang are top-tier gangs with overwhelming influence throughout the entire Yunmeng Prefecture…”

As Miaotong’s red lips moved and described one by one, Zhou Chen got a general understanding of the situation in Qinghe City.

Qinghe County is part of the Yunmeng Prefecture in the Great Qian Dynasty.

Yunmeng Prefecture encompasses 800 miles of Yunmeng Marsh; Qinghe City and Qing River next to Dahe Village are connected to Yunmeng Marsh.

Both the Fishermen Gang and the Salt Gang, which have significant influence in Yunmeng Prefecture, have branches in Qinghe City.

With such strong backing, other gangs naturally cannot compete with the branches of the two large gangs.

Therefore.

Qinghe City only has the branches of the two large gangs, leaving no room for other small gangs to survive.

Even if there are small gangs, they are affiliate gangs of the two major gangs, such as the Black Tiger Gang and the Divine Saber Sect, which are affiliates of the Fishermen Gang and the Salt Gang.

The Xiao, Lin, and Li families have resided in Qinghe County for hundreds of years and are deeply entrenched.

“Sir, are you satisfied?”

Miaotong’s mouth was dry from talking, possibly also due to dehydration.

“Satisfied!”

Zhou Chen considerately took a sip of tea from the side; instead of swallowing it, he leaned down to feed Miaotong through her rosy lips.

“Then how will Sir reward me?”

Miaotong’s fair arms encircled Zhou Chen’s neck, her eyes like silk, her face full of anticipation.

“How about I reward you with a few billion gold?”

“Sir, you know how to joke; even if you had a few billion gold, I wouldn’t dare to accept it with my small arms and legs, nor would I have the fortune to enjoy it!”

Miaotong chuckled; she didn’t believe Zhou Chen had a few billion gold.

Not just Zhou Chen, but the whole Qinghe City probably couldn’t come up with that amount.

“If I say I’ll give it to you, then I must give it to you, right now!”

“Ah… Sir, you’re so bad, always teasing me!”

Having obtained the information he wanted, Zhou Chen said no more, fully investing himself in the business of earning ’money.’

He came here to discuss business.

Not for romance.

He only wanted to make ’money.’

Time passed slowly.

The crimson sun crossed the zenith and gradually inclined westward.

Sister Hong, having finished lunch, passed by the door, listened for a moment, and was secretly startled.

“I never thought that Young Master Liu, looking so handsome and gentle, turned out to be a human-shaped beast!”

“It’s a huge loss indeed!”

Thinking about only receiving two taels of silver from Zhou Chen, Sister Hong felt a tinge of regret, but the memory of Zhou Chen’s electrifying hand made her shiver uncontrollably.

She dared not linger at the door, quickly scurrying off, legs pinched together.

Around four in the afternoon.

Zhou Chen emerged from Miaotong’s room, satisfied and relaxed.

He glanced around, adjusted his belt, a smile in his eyes, his mood buoyant.

“Master Liu, were you satisfied with Miaotong?”

Upon descending the stairs, Zhou Chen encountered Sister Hong, who approached with a smile to ask.

“Satisfied! Very satisfied!”

Zhou Chen grinned, giving Sister Hong’s plump posterior a firm squeeze.

“Naughty!”

Sister Hong swatted away Zhou Chen’s hand and, seeing him leave, said with a laugh:

“You are always welcome to visit again!”

“Of course, of course!”

Sister Hong went upstairs to check on Miaotong, and upon entering the room, she was stunned.

“My heavens!”

Seeing Miaotong passed out and the surrounding mess, Sister Hong felt a pang in her chest.

“That bastard!”

“Truly, if it’s not yours, you don’t care if it’s used up or broken!”

Zhou Chen left Snow Moon Square with a spring in his step, glanced at his personal interface in his mind.

[Wind and Moon Treasure Mirror]

[Owner: Zhou Chen]

[Cultivation Technique: Yi Arrow Skill]

[Realm: Body Refining Second Stage: Refining Flesh (37/2000)]

[Divine Techniques: Thunder Light Ruyi Hand]

[Skills: Archery (Mastered), Tracking (Grand Accomplishment 40/160), Throwing (Grand Accomplishment 8/160), Traps (Proficient 2/20), Fishing (Beginner 6/10)…]

[Prescriptions: Aphrodisiac Powder (0/10)]

[Wind and Moon Points: 96]

“Ninety-six Wind and Moon Points, this wave was worth it!”

Zhou Chen was in a great mood, just gaining ninety from Miaotong was worth three days of hard work at home.

He even got six from Sister Hong, and he only moved his hand a little!

“Sure enough, props have bonuses!”

Zhou Chen thought about all the props in the room, like the Heaven-Supporting White Jade Pillar, Sea-bridging Purple Gold Rope…

He used all of them once.

It was really tough.

“Add points!”

Zhou Chen left ten points to add to the aphrodisiac powder, and the rest all on Yi Arrow Skill.

A familiar mysterious feeling surged in his heart, Zhou Chen was warm all over, and all his muscles seemed to be writhing and getting stronger.

The consumption from Miaotong was instantly replenished, his whole spirit was full, and his energy was vigorous.

This wave.

Zhou Chen felt he had increased his strength by several hundred pounds.

“The Muscle Refining Realm is indeed powerful for increasing strength!”

Zhou Chen clenched his fist, shocked in his heart.

Then.

Zhou Chen added the remaining ten points to the aphrodisiac powder.

The information in the formula column immediately changed, allowing Zhou Chen to rename it.

At the same time.

New formulas and effects appeared in Zhou Chen’s mind.

“Let’s call it Yang Dingtian!”

Zhou Chen named it.

[Yang Dingtian: Treats kidney deficiency without sugar, you deserve it, a real man should take on ten!]

“Awesome!”

Zhou Chen’s eyes carried excitement as the Yang Dingtian formula consisted of common herbs, it could be immensely profitable when manufactured.

However, he definitely couldn’t sell it publicly right now, as he understood the principle of ’a valuable item is a crime’.

But he could make some himself, to use as a gift for others as a stepping stone in the future.

Zhou Chen went to three pharmacies, gathering the herbs separately, costing only one tael of silver, even though he took a large quantity of medicine.

After obtaining the herbs, Zhou Chen prepared to buy a bow.

He arrived at a weapon shop, where there were various weapons like knives, spears, swords, halberds, and also bows and arrows.

But Zhou Chen was unsatisfied with the bows and arrows here.

“Young Master, this is the best bow we have in the store. If you’re still not satisfied, you’ll have to go to the Four Seas Merchants Association!”

The shopkeeper looked at Zhou Chen and said, “Even Divine Weapons used by martial artists are available with the Four Seas Merchants Association, they definitely have the strong bow you need!”

“Okay, I understand!”

Zhou Chen walked out of the weapon shop, heading towards the Four Seas Merchants Association.

He was cultivating the Yi Arrow Skill, and he needed a good bow to exert maximum power, plus a good bow could help him train.

The bows in the weapon shop were similar to the ancient Iron Embryo Bows from his previous life, roughly weighing one stone, which equals two hundred pounds, too light for Zhou Chen.

Especially since Zhou Chen could soon complete Muscle Refining, at that time, he would have the strength of ten thousand pounds, a one-stone bow wasn’t enough.

Fortunately, in this Extraordinary World, there even were ten-stone, hundred-stone bows with no upper limit.

Zhou Chen arrived at the Four Seas Merchants Association, warmly greeted by a maid as he headed to the bow section.

The bows and arrows here were top quality.

Under the maid’s introduction, Zhou Chen picked up a bow named Luoxia and tried it out, roughly weighing five stones, priced at thirty taels of silver.

Very expensive.

However, Zhou Chen actually preferred the bow named Jinghong, which had a pull of fifty stones, that is, ten thousand pounds.

It’s a pity that Zhou Chen had no money; even if he did, he wouldn’t buy it now.

Because such bows were generally used by martial artists around Body Refining Third Layer.

Even testing this Luoxia Bow, Zhou Chen pretended to be struggling, gritting his teeth, with his face flushed, managing to pull it about halfway.

He exhibited a strength of only about two stones!

“I really like this bow. Although I can’t fully draw it now, I believe I definitely can in the future. Can you give me a discount?”

Zhou Chen said, looking at the maid.

“Young Master has a good eye!”

Before the maid could respond, a middle-aged man with a steward appearance approached with a smile:

“As the saying goes, the treasured swords are gifted to heroes. I see you’re a bow expert, a flat price of twenty-five taels and I’ll add twenty arrows for you!”

“Great!”

Zhou Chen nodded, then spent another tael of silver to buy thirty arrows!

So, it was a total of twenty-six taels of silver for one Luoxia Bow and fifty arrows!

With the transaction complete, the steward smiled and said, “My name is Xiao Heng, feel free to come back if you need anything in the future!”

“Alright!”

Zhou Chen nodded and hurriedly left with his bow and arrows.

It was getting late, and he had to get home before dark.

He had heard that the outskirts at night were dangerous and prone to strange occurrences.

Just after leaving the association, Zhou Chen noticed someone was following him.

Zhou Chen guessed the other party must be staking out near the association, targeting fat sheep.

Zhou Chen didn’t want to complicate matters, so he turned left and right, shaking off the pursuer and swiftly left the city.

After leaving the city, Zhou Chen moved fast, jogging all the way home.

“With my speed, I can get home in less than half an hour!”

Watching the sun set, the afterglow of the sunset dyeing the sky blood red, Zhou Chen’s urge to go home was like an arrow.

Suddenly.

Zhou Chen’s steps paused, he immediately clenched the Luoxia Bow, his sharp gaze sweeping around:

“I’ve just walked through here!”

“Is it a Ghost Wall? Or…”

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep