Chapter 23: You Little Rascal, That Wasn't a Small Job

The sky was high and the air was vast, the wind was calm and the waves were still.

On a large ship, the leader of the Great River Gang, Wang Haichao, stood at the bow, listening to the report from his subordinate behind him.

"Last night, we attacked seven outposts of the Broken Mountain Gang in the outer city, and the harvest was great!"

"One second-stage beast skin, over a thousand low-grade spiritual materials, and tens of thousands of spirit stones."

"The brothers' gains are not included, as per your instructions, whoever seized it, it belongs to them."

"Boss, this time we really made a big profit!"

Wang Haichao didn't even turn his head, "It was just a small skirmish. It was only because we drew their attention to the mountains that we achieved this result."

He sighed with a lack of interest and patted the railing.

"Xiao Gao, how were our losses last night?"

The subordinate called Xiao Gao was not tall at all, with a short and stocky build and a fierce expression.

Dressed in black, his short outfit highlighted his muscular arms.

"Our losses were minimal, only a few dozen disciples at the fourth and fifth levels of the Qi Condensation stage died, and no one above the seventh level was even seriously injured. Oh, Ding Yilong had some bad luck; he encountered Wang Yuan and the Broken Blade rushing back from the mountains to rescue, and their two swords cut his high-grade magical tool and spirit turtle shield to pieces."

Xiao Gao said with a smile, which made him look even more fierce.

Wang Haichao smiled, "His loss was indeed significant. From this harvest, give him a high-grade magical tool! We don't want him to be without a proper magical tool in future battles."

After saying that, he frowned.

"The two blades of the Broken Mountain Gang are quite troublesome."

The Broken Mountain Gang had over a thousand members, nearly a hundred of whom were late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators.

The gang leader, Old Man Mi, like him, was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and rarely acted personally.

Most of the time, it was his subordinates who did the dirty work.

The headquarters had two blades, and the seven outposts had seven man-eating tigers.

Compared to those seven hall experts, the two blades were the thorn in the side of the Great River Gang.

Raging Blade Wang Yuan and Broken Blade Xu Renke.

Broken Blade Xu Renke had been famous for many years, having wandered through multiple markets before being recruited by Old Man Mi to stay in the Great River Market.

But Raging Blade Wang Yuan had only been cultivating for ten years.

In his debut battle, he single-handedly killed several mid-stage cultivators who had robbed him.

After that, he went into the mountains to hunt, and had multiple conflicts with others, until Old Man Mi personally recruited him to join the Broken Mountain Gang.

However, after that, Wang Yuan did not do anything earth-shattering.

On the contrary, for years, he had been doing the dirty work for the Broken Mountain Gang.

Selling second-hand magical tools and cultivation techniques of unknown origin.

It wasn't until recently, when he single-handedly killed three members of the Great River Gang, that people began to notice this man who had been doing dirty work for years.

At first, it was thought to be just good luck.

But no one expected that in the following month, he would guard the mountain path alone, causing the Great River Gang to suffer heavy losses.

Even experts at the same stage were no match for him, and Luo Renjie at the eighth level of Qi Condensation died at his hands.

Even a ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivator from the Great River Gang was no match for him in a fierce battle.

In just one month, he had thoroughly established his reputation as a Raging Blade.

Even the Broken Blade admitted that Wang Yuan's combat power was on par with his, and he had the potential to reach the Foundation Establishment stage!

It was precisely because of the Broken Blade's endorsement that Wang Yuan earned the title of one of the two blades of the Broken Mountain Gang.

Hearing the boss's words, Xiao Gao fell silent.

As the first person under the Great River Gang's boss, he had always been highly self-regarding.

Broken Blade Xu Renke was about evenly matched with him, and if they fought on the river, he was confident he could defeat him within a hundred rounds.

But that Raging Blade, he was a bit uncertain about.

He had heard that the guy was also good at water battles.

Why would such a person appear?

If he reached the ninth level of Qi Condensation, wouldn't he dare to challenge Foundation Establishment cultivators?

"Never mind, we're just doing someone else's work. Those two blades will naturally be dealt with by others."

Wang Haichao stretched and asked casually, "Where's your little brother?"

"I don't know. He said he wanted to get a storage bag, and he also participated in the attack on the seven halls of the Broken Mountain Gang last night, but he hasn't returned yet."

"Aren't you worried he might have run into trouble?"

"Haha, I gave him the Earth Shield you gave me. As long as he doesn't encounter a ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivator, he won't be in danger." Xiao Gao was not worried and added, "And he has a Divine Speed Talisman. If he wants to run, even a ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivator can't catch him."

Wang Haichao nodded. With the Earth Shield and the Divine Speed Talisman, no one below the Foundation Establishment stage could threaten Xiao Gao's little brother.

"Alright, keep a close eye on the gang's affairs recently. The Broken Mountain Gang might counterattack, but our reinforcements are on the way."

Reinforcements?

Does he mean the experts from the Lianyun Merchant Alliance?

Xiao Gao thought to himself.

In the highest building of the inner city of the Great River Market, the Jade Tripod Sword Pavilion, in a small room.

Sun Shou was tearing strips of beef jerky and putting them in his mouth.

"Although it has no spiritual energy, the taste is really good. Xiao Luo, if you don't cultivate anymore, you could open a beef shop in the secular world, and it would definitely be popular."

Luo Chen blushed.

Go back home?

That's impossible in this life.

He doesn't even know where the way home is.

After finishing the beef jerky in his hand, Sun Shou clapped his hands and opened his mouth, which had only a few teeth left.

"Speak up, what do you want? Your rent isn't due yet."

"I want to rent a house!"

"Hmm, renting a house is reasonable. The southwest corner is too remote and dangerous. Tell me, where do you want to rent? I won't eat your beef jerky for nothing. I'll find you a spacious and safe place."

As he spoke, he picked up a compass.

With a burst of spiritual energy, the compass lit up with a dense array of lights, numbering in the thousands.

But with a wave of his hand, most of the lights dimmed, leaving only a few still shining, indicating the vacant houses in the outer city.

Luo Chen's eyes lit up, "Spacious?"

"What, don't you trust your Grandpa Sun?"

Sun Shou was 121 years old, an outer disciple of the Jade Tripod Sword Sect, and in terms of age, he was indeed old enough to be Luo Chen's grandfather.

Of course, Luo Chen didn't mind.

A few words of address were nothing; he even called Old Daoist Chen "uncle" every day.

As long as he could really find him a good house, he would call Sun Shou "grandpa" all day!

"I want to rent in the inner city!"

"The inner city? Let me see... the inner city?"

Sun Shou looked at Luo Chen suspiciously, "You used to live in a place that cost half a spirit stone a month and rent a stall for half a spirit stone a month. Now you want to switch to the inner city in one go?"

After a moment of scrutiny, he suddenly laughed.

A different robe, a faint aura of killing intent.

This kid must have pulled off a big job!

Now he wants to enjoy life in the inner city.

"Alright, I'm not just talking. For a house in the inner city, I'll take you to see it in person."

Putting the compass back into his storage bag, he got up shakily.

Luo Chen quickly supported his shoulder, afraid that the old man might fall and die.

Who knows what sins he has committed, at his age, not staying in the sect to retire, but coming to this remote place to work.

Truly, living and working until the end, dedicating his life to the sect!

"This house is big enough, right? It's close to the Heavenly Fragrance Tower. You probably haven't had a taste of the good life yet."

"Too expensive."

"How about this one? The previous occupant was a sect's body cultivator, who could even train his physique here. It's definitely spacious."

"Too expensive."

"Looks like you want something cheaper. The north of the city is cheap. I'll take you to see it."

Two hours later.

Sun Shou pushed away Luo Chen's hand and said angrily, "Looks like your big job wasn't that big. Why come to the inner city to spend your money?"

Luo Chen argued, "There are gang battles every day outside. I'm afraid I might end up dead on the street."

"Alright, I'll keep my word and find you a big house!"

Sun Shou gritted his teeth and led Luo Chen into a deep alley.

After winding through the alley for a long time, they occasionally encountered female cultivators who greeted the old man warmly.

Suddenly, the path opened up.

A courtyard appeared before them.

Entering the gate and passing the screen wall, Sun Shou walked straight to the largest and longest house.

"Here it is, a reverse-facing house, the largest area. If you squeeze, it can fit seventeen or eighteen people."

Luo Chen looked around the room with satisfaction. The area was no less than his previous house with a small yard.

The only drawback was the lack of light, making it seem gloomy.

"How much spirit stone?"

"The lowest price, ten low-grade spirit stones a month, one month deposit and three months' rent in advance."

One month deposit and three months' rent, that's forty spirit stones in one go.

It was a bit painful, but finding such a large and cheap house in the inner city was indeed difficult.

If it weren't for Sun Shou's familiarity with the housing market in the Great River Market, it would be hard for anyone to find this place.

"Also, you have to pay one spirit stone a month for management fees and one spirit stone a month for night soil collection."

Luo Chen's eyes widened, "Management fees, what's that?"

The old man rolled his eyes, "You produce waste, right? Someone has to clean it up. If there are disputes, I'll have to mediate, and I should be compensated, right?"

"But—"

"No buts."

"What about night soil collection?"

"Do you want to defecate anywhere like in the outer city, where the smell of excrement is stronger than the spiritual energy?"

Fine!

I give up!

When you're under the Jade Tripod, you have to bow your head!

"Oh, one more thing to remind you."

"Another thing?"

Luo Chen clenched his fists, but remembering the old man was a ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivator, he softened.

Can't fight, can't fight.

Sun Shou pointed to a pile of firewood at the entrance of the main house.

"If you want to cook, remember to use smokeless firewood. If it produces smoke, I suggest you rent a smoke-collecting magical tool from me."

"What, why is that?"

Luo Chen was thoroughly confused.

"Ha, where are we? We're in the inner city, a cultivation place built on a first-stage spirit vein. Too much impure air, do you still want to cultivate?"

Even the cultivation world cares about environmental protection?

Luo Chen, dazed, took a magical tool called the Light Smoke Sparse Rain Tower from the old man.

Square and pointed, it could be installed at the boundary between the inside and outside of the house.

After signing a contract and paying forty-three spirit stones, this large house belonged to Luo Chen for the next four months.

When seeing the old man off, Luo Chen asked casually.

"Although the lighting is a bit poor, it's not that much cheaper than other houses of the same size, right?"

"Why do you think?"

(End of Chapter)