Chapter 876
The Mysterious Note
"The first transaction."
Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.
Guo Tianyou pushed open the door and entered, his face flushed red, clutching a dirty cloth bag in his hand.
"Sir! You...you look! That cripple named Wang Er from the east of the city said he dug up a string of luminous pearls while digging for wild vegetables in the mass grave! A full eighteen of them! He said...he said he wanted to present them to you, saying that you saved the whole city..."
Zheng Yi took the cloth bag, opened it, and found eighteen fist-sized luminous pearls inside, each gleaming with a warm light.
He didn't show much surprise, simply saying, "Tell him I've accepted the bead. Have him go to Elder Guo Xiong in the west of the city to collect five hundred taels of silver as a resettlement fee. Tell everyone that anyone who finds something valuable can exchange it for silver. I'll set the price, and I'll be fair to everyone, young and old."
Guo Tianyou's eyes lit up: "Sir, you... you knew these things would happen all along?"
Zheng Yi didn't answer directly, only saying, "Go and get busy. I want to go and see for myself when the city wall is 30% complete."
Guo Tianyou responded emphatically, then turned and ran out.
For the next seven days, Hongyun City seemed to be under a spell.
Every morning, a new "coincidence" occurs.
Someone was fishing in the river when a half-person-sized gilded Buddha statue got tangled in their net.
Someone was demolishing their dilapidated old house when they found a box of ancient books hidden in the beams and pillars. Upon opening it, they discovered it was the "Mysterious Iron Forging Manual," a book that had been lost for two hundred years.
There was even a seven-year-old girl who was playing in the mud in her backyard and dug out a palm-sized piece of top-quality amethyst marrow, which scared her father so much that he almost fainted.
Everything eventually ended up in that small courtyard in the back of the city lord's mansion.
Zheng Yi only does two things every day:
I took medicine and meditated to regulate my breathing in the morning, allowing the Heavenly Golden Elixir to recover little by little.
In the afternoon, I sat in the courtyard, counting my "harvest" one by one, estimating its value, registering it, and converting it into cash.
He categorized the luminous pearls, golden Buddhas, spiritual contracts, ancient books, etc., melting down what needed to be melted down, selling what needed to be sold, and pawning what needed to be pawned.
The silver notes and spirit stones that were converted into cash were all used to hire craftsmen, buy food and fodder, pay wages, and repair the city walls.
In just seven days, the eastern city wall of Hongyun City was rebuilt from ruins to a height of three zhang (approximately 10 meters), and the main street of the western market was cleared to allow carriages to pass.
The mood of the city's residents gradually shifted from one of lifelessness to one of vitality.
Some people started setting up stalls on street corners, some started repairing roofs, and even a few daring young cultivators took the initiative to patrol the foot of North Mountain to prevent the remnants of the Lu or Li families from launching sneak attacks.
The evening of the eighth day.
The setting sun dyed the ruined city towers blood red.
Zheng Yi was finally able to walk. Although his right arm was still in a sling, he was able to walk to the stone table in the center of the courtyard on his own.
Shen Changyuan appeared at the opposite side of the stone table at some point, holding a pot of wine in his hand, and slowly poured two cups.
"Is the injury almost healed?" he asked.
Zheng Yi sat down and took the wine glass: "Seventy percent. We can still fight another match."
Shen Changyuan chuckled: "The Lu family and the Li family are cowering in their lairs right now. When do you plan to make your move?"
Zheng Yi looked at the swirling liquid in his glass and said softly, "Wait until I'm 90% done. If we wait any longer... they'll start making a mess of things themselves."
Shen Changyuan raised an eyebrow: "What did you do?"
Zheng Yi didn't answer directly, but only said, "Lu Xuanba is in seclusion trying to break through to the Tribulation Realm, and he needs a huge amount of spirit stones. Li Tianque, the head of the Li family, suffered a hidden injury two years ago and has been relying on spiritual medicine to keep alive. Right now, what both families lack most is money."
Shen Changyuan's eyes flickered: "So you..."
"The Wealth-Attracting Technique can only be used on a small scale," Zheng Yi said calmly. "What can truly make them vomit blood is the human heart."
He raised his hand and gestured.
A thin piece of paper appeared on the stone table.
There was only one line of text on the note:
"The Lu family wiped out my entire clan three years ago; today, blood will be used to pay for this debt. —Dark Night"
Below is a line of even smaller text: "The holder of this note may obtain the mining rights to a spirit mine belonging to the Lu family."
After reading it, Shen Changyuan's eyes were playful: "You're going to distribute it?"
“Not just distribute it.” Zheng Yi’s voice was deep. “I want it to appear in the hands of everyone who has a grudge against the Lu family. In the hands of every rogue cultivator who lacks money, spirit stones, and opportunities. In the secret chambers of every family that has been oppressed by the Lu family.”
Shen Changyuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
"Young man, you're ruthless."
Zheng Yi didn't laugh; he simply picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp.
The liquor was very strong, like a knife cutting through my throat.
He put down his cup and looked at the setting sun gradually disappearing in the west.
"The Lu family, the Li family... owe me more than just a city."
The wind blew in through the breach in the city wall, swirling up a few withered leaves from the courtyard.
In the distance, the workers repairing the wall were still hammering away.
The hammer blows sounded like they were pounding on someone's heart.
Day 9.
On the official road outside the city, a dilapidated post carriage swayed and wobbled towards the ancestral home of the Lu family.
Inside the carriage sat a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion and thin physique.
He clutched the piece of paper that had fallen from the sky and been slipped into the crack of his dilapidated temple window tightly in his arms.
On the back of the paper, there was another line of even smaller text:
"Ten days later, at midnight, at the cliff behind the Lu family's mountain. Bring all witnesses and evidence. We will appear in the dead of night."
The man's fingers trembled, yet he gripped them tighter and tighter.
His name is Zhao Sanhuai.
Ten years ago, the Lu family slaughtered all 372 members of the Zhao family in order to seize a mid-grade spiritual vein, leaving only him alive.
Over the years, he begged, stole, and risked his life, just to survive and wait for an opportunity.
Now, the opportunity has arrived.
At the same time.
Three hundred miles southwest of the ancestral home of the Li family, in a desolate mountain and a dilapidated temple.
A one-armed Taoist priest toyed with an identical piece of paper, a slow smile playing on his lips.
"Dark night... Ah, interesting."
He blew out the oil lamp, got up, picked up a rusty iron sword, and walked into the night.
tenth day.
The small courtyard in the backyard of Hongyun City.
Zheng Yi sat cross-legged on the futon, the wooden board on his right arm had been removed, leaving only a thin layer of white gauze.
A huge sand table was placed in front of him.
The sand table shows a scaled-down version of the ancestral lands of the Lu and Li families.
The ancestral home of the Lu family is located in a basin surrounded by mountains, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.
The Li family's ancestral home is located in the upper reaches of the Heishui River, giving it an advantage in terms of waterway access.
Zheng Yi extended his left index finger and gently tapped it on the sand table.
A small red dot appeared at the location of the cliff behind the main peak of Lujia Mountain.
He then ordered a canyon upstream of the Li family's Blackwater River.
Another red dot.
Then, he closed his eyes and his consciousness sank into the Heavenly Golden Core.
The golden elixir slowly rotated, and strands of golden threads spread out from the dantian, extending like a spider web towards the two red dots on the sand table.
At the same time.
The ancestral home of the Lu family, within the restrictive array on the back mountain.
In the stone chamber where Lu Xuanba was in seclusion.
Suddenly, an extremely thin golden thread silently pierced through the layers of restrictions and landed three inches in front of the futon where Lu Xuanba was sitting cross-legged.
The golden thread flashed and disappeared in an instant.
But the next moment, Lu Xuanba suddenly opened his eyes.
His pupils reflected a line of small, blood-red characters:
"Ten days later, at midnight, at the precipice. Awaiting your instructions in the dark of night."
The writing flashed and then disappeared.
Lu Xuanba's face turned ashen. He raised his hand and smashed the stone table in front of him with a single blow. "Dark Night... how dare you!"
at the same time.
At the same moment, Li Tianque, who was in seclusion healing his injuries at the ancestral home of the Li family, also saw those words.
His face was gloomy, and his fingers were clenching so tightly they made a cracking sound.
"Want to play dirty tricks... I'm in for it."
Hongyun City.
Zheng Yi opened his eyes.
He looked at the two red dots on the sand table, his voice soft but carrying an undeniable chill.
"In ten days... I'll show you what it means to pay for a blood debt."
Outside the courtyard, the evening breeze blew.
On the city wall, the newly laid blue bricks gleamed with a cold, hard light under the moonlight.
In the distance, the sound of hammers repairing the wall continued.
a bit.
a bit.
a bit.
It's like tolling the death knell for an impending storm.
Midnight, eleven days later.
In the upper reaches of the Blackwater River, moonlight spills like shattered silver across the rushing water, reflecting countless tiny, cold glints. Towering cliffs rise on both sides, and the occasional low hooting of owls echoes from the crevices. A damp, fishy smell seeps in from the riverbed.
Li Xuance, the most outstanding talent of the Li family in this generation, is standing on a protruding rock platform.
He was twenty-three years old and had already reached the peak of the mid-stage of the Mahayana realm. He wore a moon-white brocade robe and had a jade-green "Azure Whip" hanging at his waist. Nine black iron bells were wrapped around the tip of the whip, which made a crisp yet eerie tinkling sound as he gently shook his fingers.
Below the rock platform, seven or eight ragged rogue cultivators knelt, their hands pierced through their collarbones by black iron chains, blood dripping down the chains and splashing onto the stone, creating tiny dark red flowers.
“Speak,” Li Xuance said lazily, with the arrogance unique to young men. “Whoever tells me the whereabouts of that dog An Ye first, I’ll spare their life. Oh, right—” He raised his hand and flicked the whip, making a crisp sound in the air, “I’ll personally whip the one who lies until their skin is torn and bloody, and then throw them into the Blackwater River to feed the fish.”
One of the rogue cultivators looked up, his lips trembling, "Young Master Li... we really didn't know... Dark Night... he never shows himself easily..."
"Tsk." Li Xuance frowned, flicked his whip, and lashed the man's face.
Snapped!
The sound of flesh tearing open was so crisp it made your teeth ache. The rogue cultivator screamed and collapsed to the ground, half his face a bloody mess.
"Useless trash." Li Xuance spat. "The Li family's bounty has reached three thousand high-grade spirit stones, and you bunch of dogs haven't even caught a glimpse of it. You still dare to show yourselves off?"
He suddenly laughed, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
"But it doesn't matter. That bastard Dark Night will die by my hand sooner or later anyway." He looked down at the whip marks on his palm, his tone filled with a morbid excitement. "My father said that as long as I personally bring his head back, the position of the next head of the Li family will be mine. At that time... for thousands of miles along the Blackwater River, who would dare not kneel?"
The kneeling cultivators lowered their heads even further, some trembling, some so frightened they wet their pants.
Li Xuance suddenly looked up, his gaze sweeping towards the darkness upstream of the canyon.
Who's there?
The wind stopped.
The sound of the river seemed to be suppressed by something invisible, becoming exceptionally clear.
A dark figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the cliff.
The newcomer was dressed in a black robe for night travel, with a hood covering most of his face, revealing only a pair of eyes as cold as iron. In his right hand, he carried a three-foot-long, jet-black sword, the scabbard wrapped with dark red strips of cloth, the ends of which fluttered gently in the wind.
"Dark...dark night?!"
Li Xuance's pupils contracted sharply, but then he burst into laughter, the sound echoing through the canyon.
"Good! Excellent!" He suddenly flicked his Azure Whip, and all nine bells rang simultaneously. "I was just worried about not being able to find you, and you've delivered yourself right to my door!"
Zheng Yi—in the darkness of the night—did not speak, but simply walked forward slowly.
Each step was firm, the soles of his boots crushing the pebbles in the crevices of the cliff with a soft cracking sound.
Li Xuance's face flushed with excitement: "You know what? I dream of tearing you to pieces! First, I'll pull out your tendons, then peel off your skin, and finally dig out your Heavenly Golden Core and kick it around like a ball!"
He took a sudden step forward, and the Azure Whip transformed into a streak of emerald green, whistling through the air as it lashed out at Zheng Yi's face.
Before the whip even touched the ground, the bell rang like a ghost's wail.
Zheng Yi turned to the side.
The movements were minimal, yet perfectly timed.
The whip tip grazed his hood, catching a wisp of cloth, and struck the cliff behind him with a snap, sending stone chips flying.
Li Xuance's eyes lit up: "You dodged pretty fast!"
Before he finished speaking, he made a hand seal with his left hand and flicked his whip with his right hand. The whip suddenly grew to dozens of feet long, like a living emerald green venomous python, coiling around Zheng Yi.
At the same time, he pushed off the ground, his body leaping up, his right hand pointing like a sword towards Zheng Yi's brow.
A turquoise sword light condensed at his fingertips, carrying a strong, pungent stench.
"Die!"
Zheng Yi finally made a move.
He took a half step back with his right foot, his body slightly lowered, and his longsword was drawn.
It wasn't drawing a sword.
Instead, the sword and scabbard were swept out horizontally.
"clang--!"
A clang of metal rang out.
The emerald green sword light was shattered by the head-on collision with the scabbard, turning into countless emerald green specks of light.
Li Xuance's expression changed drastically.
Before he could react, Zheng Yi had already pressed down on the whip with his left hand.
The Azure Whip, which had grown to tens of feet in length, was now gripped tightly by an iron hand, remaining motionless no matter how much spiritual power Li Xuance channeled.
"You..." Li Xuance's pupils trembled violently, "How could you..."
Zheng Yi looked up.
The gaze beneath the hood was eerily calm.
"It's noisy."
The moment he finished speaking, he flicked his longsword in his right hand.
Suddenly, a very faint golden flame appeared on the sword.
Heavenly Qi.
In the next instant, he transformed into a streak of black light, his sword tip aimed straight for Li Xuance's throat.
Li Xuance was terrified and leaned back abruptly, simultaneously forming a hand seal and summoning a jade shield.
The shield had barely taken shape when it was struck by the tip of the sword.
"Snap—!"
The shield shattered into a spiderweb-like pattern, like porcelain struck by a heavy hammer.
The sword tip, still powerful, pierced through the shield and grazed Li Xuance's left shoulder.
Fresh blood gushed out.
Li Xuance screamed as he was sent flying by the sword energy, crashing heavily into the cliff face and creating a huge crater.
Gravel fell down with a clatter.
He struggled to get up, his left shoulder was a bloody mess, and half of his body was numb.
"You...you weren't seriously injured?!" His voice trembled. "The intelligence said you...you were beaten half to death by my father and Lu Xuanba..."
Zheng Yi sheathed his sword, the tip touching the ground, and drops of blood dripped from the blade onto the stone.
"Intelligence?" He said softly, "The intelligence about your father is from ten days ago."
Li Xuance's face turned deathly pale instantly.
He suddenly remembered—in the past ten days, the family had been in complete chaos. The spirit stone vault had been robbed, the outer elders had disappeared one after another, and even his father Li Tianque's secluded cultivation chamber had been smuggled with a strange note…
"What...what did you do?!" he practically shouted.
Zheng Yi did not answer. (End of Chapter)