Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Four Yuan

The Chen, Cai, and Wei Kingdoms were separated by vast distances. Even for a Cultivator using Wind-controlling Talismans, the journey would take about a month. The trip was arduous, and with a bit of bad luck, one could easily run into Tribulation Cultivators.

Cultivators with some means would opt to travel by Flying Boat. Great Trading Houses would open up some of the empty cabins on their cargo Flying Boats for passengers. The price was steep, but they offered excellent security.

While cargo Flying Boats weren’t equipped with the extensive Restrictions and high-tier Arrays of larger vessels, they were more than capable of fending off stray Demons or Tribulation Cultivators. Furthermore, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator typically escorted the goods, so common Tribulation Cultivators wouldn’t dare try anything.

As the Third Shopkeeper of the Celestial Treasure Tower, Wang Tong had the authority to squeeze his family onto the manifest. He stuffed all his weeping wife, concubines, and maids onto the Flying Boat and sent them back to the Cai Kingdom.

The two concubines he had recently taken were simple-minded, shallow, and snobbish. In the past, they had leveraged their youth and beauty to act arrogantly, constantly scheming against his wife from the Luo family with sharp and cutting remarks. Now that they were returning to the Wang Family in the Cai Kingdom, the tables would be turned; they were likely destined for a miserable end.

Yang Jing watched the Flying Boat disappear into the distance and let out a sigh of relief. The wife and two concubines had all been Wang Tong’s intimate partners. His principal wife from the Luo family, in particular—a woman he’d lived with for over thirty years—would have easily noticed that something was amiss.

After all, he wasn’t practicing a Demon Skill, so he couldn’t cloud their minds to cover for the subtle flaws in his act.

As Wang Tong’s principal wife, she likely had Soul Tokens kept by both the Wang Family in the Cai Kingdom and her own Luo family, so silencing her by force was not an option. Moreover, if he were to do so, he’d have to kill the two concubines and the large number of maids, cooks, and butlers to leave no witnesses.

Such an act not only went against Yang Jing’s principles, but a cover-up of that scale would likely backfire and attract unwanted attention.

As the Profound Carp Association’s man in charge of the Huangyuan Marketplace, Yang Jing was certain the Association had people monitoring him. This much was clear from the fact that when he had mentioned Qiu Feihua was also a member, the real Wang Tong had believed him without the slightest hesitation.

After seeing his family off, Yang Jing took a leisurely stroll to the Celestial Treasure Tower to report for work.

As a Shopkeeper at the Celestial Treasure Tower, routine customers like Independent Cultivators were handled by the maids and clerks. Yang Jing only needed to relax in the tea room, stepping in only for distinguished guests or situations the staff couldn’t manage.

He had hardly sat down when a maid eagerly entered the tea room, lit some Spiritual Incense, and served him a cup of Spirit Tea.

Seeing the maid intentionally swaying her hips like a snake, Yang Jing could only curse the decadent lifestyle under his breath before picking up the Spirit Tea and taking a sip with relish.

This Spirit Tea was called Wusong Tea, and it had the effect of nourishing one’s meridians. Its potency surpassed even that of a Yellow Bud Pill; long-term consumption would make a Cultivator’s meridians far more resilient than average, slightly increasing their chances of reaching Foundation Establishment.

Wusong Tea was incredibly precious; even among the Six Great Sects, only Inner Sect Disciples were entitled to enjoy it. By the rules of the Celestial Treasure Tower, it was only to be served to distinguished guests. However, that rule had long fallen into disuse, and the three Shopkeepers all drank it as a daily beverage.

Yang Jing set down his teacup. Using his Bright Qi Talent, he scanned the area. Once certain that no one was watching him, he stood up and walked to the curio shelf.

The curio shelf displayed several worthless ornaments. Yang Jing took down one of them, a Jade Toad the size of a washbasin. Although this Jade Toad was exquisitely carved from flawless white jade, it was worthless in a Cultivator’s eyes as it contained no Spiritual Qi.

He infused his Magical Power into the warts on the Jade Toad’s back in a specific sequence. A moment later, the toad’s mouth opened, and it spat out a Copper Mirror and a Jade Scroll.

This Copper Mirror was called the Profound Carp Mirror, and it was used for internal communication within the Profound Carp Association. Whether selling Elixirs or acquiring Spirit Medicines, one had to contact their superior through this Profound Carp Mirror to complete the deal. As for the Jade Scroll, it recorded the subordinates Wang Tong had recruited over the years and their transaction histories.

Yang Jing picked up the Jade Scroll, first erased all records pertaining to himself, then began to carefully read the remaining content.

After a long while, he set the Jade Scroll down, his left hand clenched into a fist as he worked to calm himself.

According to the Jade Scroll, Wang Tong submitted around one hundred and sixty bottles of Evil Exorcism Pills each month, taking a cut of six Spirit Stones per bottle. His annual income was in the tens of thousands.

Only such an astonishing income could support his extravagant lifestyle.

That many Evil Exorcism Pills would require a significant amount of Heart’s Blood. Yang Jing was now certain that the Profound Carp Association had a high-ranking member within the Chen Kingdom’s Royal Family; that was the only way to ensure such a stable supply of Heart’s Blood.

Furthermore, his dear “brother” Wang Tong had never sent a request to his superior for the Spirit Medicines he needed for the Transformation Pill.

Wang Tong had only wanted Yang Jing to keep refining Muscle Strengthening Pills to earn him Spirit Stones. According to the Jade Scroll, he could pocket a cut of two hundred Spirit Stones from a single bottle, far more profitable than the Evil Exorcism Pills.

Yang Jing slowly exhaled. Using the Inconstant Illusionary Form Technique to mimic Wang Tong’s Magical Power fluctuations, he sent a requisition order for Spirit Medicines to his superior in the Profound Carp Association’s internal code.

The order listed the Spirit Medicines for ten doses of Bone Marrow Transformation Pills and one dose of the Transformation Pill.

After sending the message, he returned the Jade Scroll and Profound Carp Mirror to the Jade Toad’s belly and placed the toad back on the curio shelf.

Business was slow at the Celestial Treasure Tower that day, so Yang Jing only stayed for half the day before clocking out early to go home. He had just stepped outside his residence’s protective Array when he felt a cold, murderous intent lock onto him.

“Hai Tu, you sent your wife and concubines back to the Cai Kingdom today, yet you remain here alone. Are you planning to betray the Profound Carp Association?”

A cold, sinister voice rang out from behind him.

“Lord Si Yuan, I’m innocent! I have not betrayed the Association!”

Yang Jing, still wearing Wang Tong’s face, immediately turned around, his expression one of pure terror.

A Cultivator wearing a White Bone Mask and black robes hovered in the air, looking down on him. His sharp Qi Mechanism was coiled, ready to strike.

This was Si Yuan, Wang Tong’s superior and a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Even Yang Jing hadn’t expected the Profound Carp Association to be so efficient. He had no sooner sent the women away than his superior had come to find him.

“Speak. Why did you send your wife and concubines away? If you can’t give me a clear answer, your head will roll. We’ll turn your Divine Soul into a lamp and torture it for a hundred years, and your women will be sold to the Demon Country as fodder for those beasts of fur and horn, born from dampness and eggs.”

“You’ve rounded up Independent Cultivators to be used as fodder yourself, so you know just how miserable their end will be.”

Yang Jing’s face went deathly pale as he put on a look of sheer terror. He already had his excuse prepared.

“Lord Si Yuan, it’s because I’ve earned too many Spirit Stones these past two years, and it made my wife suspicious. She shares my bed, after all. I was afraid she’d truly uncover something, so I used the looming demon disaster as an excuse to send everyone in my household to the Cai Kingdom.”

He feigned apprehension, all the while subtly using his Bright Qi Talent to observe Si Yuan’s Magical Power fluctuations.

Perhaps Si Yuan didn’t consider Wang Tong a threat, as he hadn’t completely concealed his Magical Power. Yang Jing committed its fluctuations to memory.

“If I truly intended to betray the Profound Carp Association, why would I send my family away but remain here in Huangyuan Marketplace myself?”

Si Yuan gave a sinister chuckle.

“That is indeed not something a life-clinging, death-fearing coward like you would do.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep