Tracking

Chapter 69 Tracking

Why would Zhou Zhengkang go to the Spirit Beast Pavilion?

Even after returning to the Spirit Beast Hall, Zhou Chun still couldn't figure out what had happened.

"Sixteenth Uncle, has anyone from the family come to the shop these past few days?"

Back at the shop, Zhou Chun hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but subtly inquire about the matter from Zhou Jiasheng.

"No, why are you suddenly asking about this?"

Zhou Jiasheng looked at Zhou Chun with a puzzled expression, not understanding his meaning.

"It's nothing, just pretend I didn't ask!"

Zhou Chun's mouth moved, but in the end she shook her head slightly and did not say anything about seeing Zhou Zhengkang.

Whatever Zhou Zhengkang did at the Spirit Beast Pavilion, it was not appropriate for him to speak of it aloud, especially not in front of other elders behind their backs.

Zhou Chun had suffered a similar loss in his previous life, and of course he couldn't make the same mistake again.

When Zhou Jiasheng heard him say this, he frowned slightly and then nodded, saying, "Since it's nothing, then just focus on managing the shop and getting things done."

"Yes."

Zhou Chun responded and immediately sat down in the shop.

Another day passed, and he still hadn't seen Zhou Zhengkang come to the Spirit Beast Pavilion.

On the third day, Zhou Chun finally saw Luo Guangshun, the rogue cultivator, come to his door, bringing him more monster meat.

"Oh, it's this kind of strange fish again? It seems Fellow Daoist Luo's trip to the Heavenly Immortal Pavilion last time was a wasted trip!"

In the backyard of the Spirit Beast Pavilion, Zhou Chun looked at the two strange fish corpses that Luo Guangshun had packed in a wooden box. A strange light flashed in his eyes, and he couldn't help but smile and tease Luo Guangshun.

Upon hearing Zhou Chun's words, Luo Guangshun's face immediately showed embarrassment.

But having spent decades in the cultivation world, what kind of embarrassing experiences hasn't he had?

He quickly gave Zhou Chun a wry smile and waved his hand, saying, "Don't even mention it. Last time, I was almost beaten out of Tianxianlou by the manager. I won't dare go there again!"

Upon seeing this, Zhou Chun immediately laughed and said, "Fellow Daoist Luo, don't worry. Even if the Heavenly Immortal Pavilion doesn't accept fish meat, I will. My two spirit pets have eaten a lot of ordinary beast meat, so they find fish meat quite delicious and like it quite a bit."

Upon hearing this, Luo Guangshun immediately showed a grateful expression and said, "With Fellow Daoist Zhou's words, I am relieved."

"Next time you come, Fellow Daoist Luo, could you bring a few more of these strange fish? My elder's spirit beast has become increasingly picky lately, refusing to eat much of the meat. If you could send a few of these strange fish carcasses over, I think he would be very pleased!"

At this point, Zhou Chun gestured with his hand and said, "If Fellow Daoist Luo can deliver three or four of these strange fish carcasses within ten days, I can increase your price by half again."

Upon hearing this, Luo Guangshun's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Is what Fellow Daoist Zhou said true?"

After saying that, he quickly waved his hand and said, "I don't doubt Fellow Daoist Zhou, I just want to ask if Fellow Daoist Zhou only needs three or four of these strange fish corpses, or the more the better?"

"Three or four items are enough. Any more than that, and Mr. Zhou doesn't have the financial means to buy them."

Zhou Chun shook his head and said something that disappointed Luo Guangshun.

A flicker of disappointment flashed in his eyes, and he nodded slightly, saying, "Very well then, I, Luo, will definitely deliver the goods to Fellow Daoist Zhou within ten days!"

"Then I, Zhou, will wait here for Fellow Daoist Luo's good news."

Zhou Chun smiled and nodded, and then personally saw Luo Guangshun out of the shop.

Furthermore, after leaving the Spirit Beast Hall, Luo Guangshun did not immediately leave the market, but instead went to the inn to meditate and cultivate.

After cultivating for more than two hours, he waited in a certain place in the market.

They waited until the other three cultivators who had come to the market with him arrived before the four of them left the market together.

The four of them were all veterans who had been in the cultivation world for decades. They had entered and exited Red Cliff Market countless times and had even figured out relatively safe routes for themselves.

In addition, the four of them were also quite powerful, and they were not ordinary bandits who could take them down. Their journey out of the market was very smooth.

Once they reached the outside of the Red Rock Mountains, the four of them dispersed and returned to their respective lodgings.

Because they cannot cultivate in the wild, the lodgings of the independent cultivators are all different.

Some people prefer tranquility and often carve out caves or stone chambers to live in in the desolate mountains and wilderness near places of cultivation.

Some people enjoy life and prefer bustling, prosperous places, so they will build manors in nearby towns and become powerful local figures.

Luo Guangshun was already over fifty years old and felt that there was little chance of making progress on the path of cultivation in this life. So he chose the latter and built a large manor in a small town near Hongyafang City, where he took seven or eight concubines.

After returning from the market, he went back to his manor and hid most of the spirit coins he had obtained from the market in a secret compartment in his bedroom wall, keeping only two for himself to carry with him.

This hidden compartment was known only to him; even his most beloved concubine was completely unaware of it.

At this moment, he looked at the nearly one hundred spirit coins in the porcelain jar inside the dark cabinet, which was already more than half full. His eyes showed both satisfaction and a hint of worry.

"Sigh! I wonder if all these spirit coins I've painstakingly saved up will ever be of any use before I die!"

"If I can't produce a descendant with spiritual roots to inherit my wealth, what's the point of all this hard work?"

Thinking about how he had saved up these spirit coins one by one over five or six years by living frugally, Luo Guangshun felt both proud and extremely distressed.

He could already see the end of his life ahead of him.

If there is any hope left, it is to have a descendant with spiritual roots, and then nurture them well from a young age.

This will allow him to inherit his mantle and not follow in his footsteps again.

Unfortunately, none of his concubines have been able to conceive or give birth, let alone produce offspring with spiritual roots.

"After I finish dealing with Fellow Daoist Zhou, I'll take a few more concubines. As long as we keep having children, I refuse to believe we won't produce one with spiritual roots!"

Luo Guangshun gritted his teeth, closed the hidden cabinet again, and summoned his two concubines to favor him.

After resting at home for two days, Luo Guangshun finally went out again.

The place they were going to was not close, so Luo Guangshun rode his family's finest horse when he set out. He rode for more than two hundred miles before stopping outside a range of mountains.

He then skillfully tethered the horse to a cave in the mountains, prepared food and water in one of the troughs, and then left the cave to walk into the deep mountains.

Luo Guangshun, who was traversing through the mountains and forests, was unaware that a "tail" was following him more than ten miles behind.

In the forest, Zhou Chun was steadily moving forward, following a palm-sized, blue-black butterfly, heading in the same direction as Luo Guangshun.

It turns out that the order he placed with Luo Guangshun was for fishing.

Before Luo Guangshun left the shop, he sprinkled refined female "Black-spotted Blue Butterfly" powder onto the spirit coins.

After Luo Guangshun touched the spirit coins, his hands and the corners of his clothes would be covered in butterfly powder.

Therefore, Zhou Chun easily tracked Luo Guangshun's manor using the male "Black-spotted Blue Butterfly" that he had specially obtained from his family.

That night, while Luo Guangshun was enjoying the company of his two concubines, Zhou Chun had already sneaked into his manor and sprinkled butterfly powder on the back and inside the saddle of the horse he was riding.

Therefore, even if he is more than ten miles away, he can easily know where Luo Guangshun has gone.

After following Luo Guangshun for dozens of miles through the mountains, Zhou Chun saw him stop beside a mountain pool.

On the edge of a mountain pool with its clear blue water, Luo Guangshun twisted off the head of a pheasant he had caught on the road and threw it onto the shallow beach covered with pebbles. Then he took out a harpoon from his storage bag and prepared to use it.

Not long after, a string of bubbles suddenly rose from the previously calm water, and a strange silver-black fish quickly pushed the waves and climbed onto the shallows, trying to pounce on the pheasant.

However, at that moment, Luo Guangshun, who was on the shore, threw his harpoon, which struck the strange fish with deadly accuracy, impaling it completely on the shallows.

Before the injured and pained monster fish could break free of the harpoon, Luo Guangshun unleashed a black meteor hammer, a magical artifact, and smashed it heavily onto the monster fish's head, instantly cracking it open.

After easily killing the first strange fish, Luo Guangshun skillfully used a lasso to trap the fish's carcass and drag it ashore. He then placed it in a wooden box and continued to wait.

After lying in wait for almost half a day, and using only four pheasants, Luo Guangshun easily caught five strange fish, thus fulfilling Zhou Chun's request.

He then did not linger and soon began his return journey with his spoils.

Once he was certain that Luo Guangshun had gone far away, Zhou Chun, who had been concealing himself using the "Forest Hidden Cicada Breath Technique," emerged from the shadows and began to ponder as he looked at the pool in front of him.

He had witnessed Luo Guangshun's fishing process in its entirety.

The whole process can be summed up in two words: simple.

It's so easy!

It was so simple that he felt a little bad about the spirit coins he had spent.

No wonder Luo Guangshun was so disappointed when he heard that he only bought three or four strange fish.

"But how come so many fish demons have appeared in this small mountain pond? What do these fish demons eat to grow so big?"

Zhou Chun stared at the pool in front of him, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

(End of this chapter)