Chapter 65: A Secret Worth 100 Spirit Stones
A moment later, two people clashed outside the gambling hall.
Xu Qing tapped into both the Sea and Mountain Incantation and the Seaforming Scripture, giving him both incredible speed and immense strength.
When his fist slammed into Sun Dewang, the man’s face fell. He had misjudged the situation, and as soon as he clashed with Xu Qing, he sensed the terrifying strength within him. He immediately fell back, and yet, compared to Xu Qing, Sun Dewang was almost slow. In the blink of an eye, Xu Qing landed another fist on the man’s belly. A thump rang out as the man shivered. However, this time he didn’t fall back. Instead, his skin expanded toward Xu Qing as if he didn’t contain any innards. The man was like an octopus, stretching out in all directions to bind Xu Qing.
Xu Qing frowned as, all of a sudden, a host of water droplets appeared around him, creating something like the shape of an arrowhead as it pierced through the stretched skin.
A moment later, a vicious-looking figure shot backward from within the skin. He was humanoid, but covered with sticky fluid; he had green hair and a body covered in scales. His eyes shone with brutality, and he had a mouthful of sharp fangs, plus a forked tongue. Glaring at Xu Qing, he didn’t make any further attacks, but instead, prepared to flee.
Staring back coldly, Xu Qing waved his hand, causing a screen of water to pop up in the nonhuman Sun Dewang’s path, making it impossible for him to escape.
“Looking to die!?” Sun Dewang growled. Throwing both of his hands out in front of him, he summoned a mass of black energy that became a host of vengeful souls, screaming shrilly as they shot toward Xu Qing.
Xu Qing remained expressionless as his own energy and blood spread out. As a result, the vengeful souls screamed as they were dispersed. Then Xu Qing strode onward to the cultivator, reaching out with his right hand to grab him.
Sun Dewang was panting, and his eyes shone with madness. In that moment of critical danger, all of the scales that covered him suddenly fell off, turning into a host of blades that shot toward Xu Qing like a tornado. Having accomplished that, the man didn’t flee, but instead surged with brutality as he lunged toward Xu Qing’s neck with claws outstretched.
“Die!”
A fraction of a second later, Sun Dewang’s eyes went wide with disbelief.
Xu Qing had completely ignored the tornado of scales, and had smashed through them like a hammer crushing an ice cube. Reaching out, he clamped his hand down onto Sun Dewang’s arm.
A cracking sound rang out as Xu Qing twisted his wrist and broke the arm. Getting closer, he slammed his forehead viciously into his opponent’s face, provoking a scream. Sun Dewang tried to back up, but Xu Qing had too tight of a grip. It was like an iron pincer that caused the nonhuman to gasp with astonishment.
“Fellow Daoist, I’m—“
Before the man could finish speaking, Xu Qing calmly grabbed the man’s own clawed hand and shoved it deeply into his forehead. The sound of bone cracking and flesh tearing rang out. The cultivator let loose a bloodcurdling scream of despair, and his eyes shone with terror. However, his body structure was different from that of a human, and thus, it wasn’t a fatal blow.
That said, it was still a grievous injury. As blood poured out, Sun Dewang’s energy rapidly began to fade. Xu Qing grabbed him by the neck, and he lapsed into unconsciousness. Then, he was like little more than a corpse as Xu Qing dragged him away.
The gambling hall was silent. Even the guards outside were trembling. The fight between Xu Qing and Sun Dewang had been intense, but it had ended very quickly thanks to Xu Qing’s vicious attacks. And when they realized who that nonhuman cultivator was, they were even more fearful, and even more convinced of how terrifying Xu Qing was.
In that tense atmosphere, Xu Qing was walking off. Then he suddenly stopped in place and turned his head.
Some distance away, a person was approaching from a shadowy street. As the newcomer neared, he reached the lamplight, and it became clear that he was wearing a pale violet daoist robe.
Xu Qing’s pupils constricted.
It was a young man with long black hair and extraordinary facial features. He was tall and thin, with a haughty expression. And of course, his daoist robe made it obvious the high position he held. He emanated the fluctuations of the Seaforming Scripture and the eighth level of Qi Condensation, causing his entire person to be surrounded by a host of water droplets. And all of them seemed to be locked onto Xu Qing.
“Which bureau of the Violent Crimes Division are you from? Give that nonhuman to me, and I’ll pretend I didn’t see any of this.” His words were cold, and spoken with much authority.
Xu Qing didn’t respond. He looked at the young man, whom he remembered seeing when he went with the Captain on patrol for the first time. He had seen this disciple from a distance, and remembered thinking he looked like the child of a god, descended to the mortal world.
Obviously, he was a conclave disciple from the Seventh Peak.
Xu Qing frowned. Although he had taken some precautions in case further fighting ensued, given this was a conclave disciple, he wouldn’t be able to use them. That said, there were 40 spirit stones at stake here. As far as Xu Qing was concerned, that sum was worth getting into a conflict with a conclave disciple.
Before he could say anything further, a cold voice spoke from behind the disciple in the pale violet robe.
“Conclave disciples are impressive. They’re even willing to interfere with law enforcement matters right in the presence of the Violent Crimes Division.”
The disciple in pale violet spun around, and Xu Qing looked over.
From some distance away sauntered the Captain, eating an apple as he walked.
The disciple in pale violet looked surprised, as did Xu Qing. Although, it wasn’t that Xu Qing was surprised to see the Captain, per se, more that he was surprised he’d chosen this moment to show his face.
Xu Qing hadn’t trusted the information given to him by the old innkeeper from Plankspring Way. In the Seven Blood Eyes capital city, where everyone harbored evil intentions, it seemed more likely the old man had given him information as a means to lend someone a knife and have them do his dirty work for him.
After all, a gambling hall like this would certainly be backed by some important people. That was why, on the way here, Xu Qing had sent a message to the Captain, offering him half of the reward if he showed up to help in a tricky situation. Of course, he would give the spirit stones regardless of whether or not a tricky situation arose. The first bit of information had been a bust, so the Captain never showed up. But even though the second clue drew out a conclave disciple, Xu Qing hadn’t expected the Captain to do anything.
The Captain noticed Xu Qing’s surprise. Taking another bite of his apple, he blinked a few times, then looked at the uncomfortable-looking disciple in pale violet.
“According to section three of the Violent Crimes Division’s policies and procedures, anyone who interferes with a public servant’s execution of the law will be punished severely. This is a wanted criminal, and we’re executing the law. We’re also public servants. So the question is... are you interfering?”
The Captain smiled at the disciple in pale violet.
The Captain was obviously wearing an ordinary gray daoist robe. But his words were spoken with such authority that the conclave disciple looked very uncomfortable. In fact, it seemed almost like he and the Captain had switched statuses.
Xu Qing was more than a little shocked.
The truth was that the conclave disciple was feeling very anxious. Sun Dewang had plied him with plenty of gifts, and besides, he owned this gambling hall, and normally wouldn’t allow someone to harm one of his customers. But this was the Captain from Celestial Bureau Unit Six, and even this conclave disciple was a bit afraid of him. In fact, he remembered that about two years ago, a different conclave disciple had gotten into an argument with the Captain. And not long after that... the conclave disciple went missing.
That thought put him more on guard, and at the same time, made him even more nervous. Even more telling, no one on the mountain peak had looked into the matter. In fact, nobody even talked about it. To this day, no one was sure what really happened.
Normally speaking, if a conclave disciple went missing, that was a huge deal in Seven Blood Eyes. But on that occasion... nobody seemed to care.
After some thought, the conclave disciple snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve, and walked off.
The dramatic scene was very surprising to Xu Qing, and created a lot of questions in his heart about the Captain.
“My spirit stones?” the Captain said, smiling.
Without a word, Xu Qing gave him 20 spirit stones.
The Captain looked pleased to take the stones. Then he glanced at the conclave disciple walking away in the distance.
“That’s Zhao Zhongheng. He’s mostly an idiot. If it weren’t for his grandfather being an elder on the Seventh Peak, he would have been killed long ago. I’m honestly surprised he’s stuck around as a conclave disciple. That said, I heard his grandfather actually sent him off the mountain to a management position in the Dispatch Division. I guess he wants him to get some real world experience.” [1]
As he spoke, the Captain started walking back in the direction of the Violent Crimes Division, and Xu Qing followed. Along the way, Xu Qing looked at the Captain out of the corner of his eye several times, but didn’t ask any questions. As they got closer to the Violent Crimes Division, the Captain looked at him, seemingly surprised.
“You little punk,” he said. “You really know how to hold your tongue! Aren’t you going to ask what makes me formidable enough to make a conclave disciple back down?”
“Okay, what is it?” Xu Qing asked.
The Captain looked back at him, seemingly a bit disappointed. “You already took the fun out of it.... Ah, whatever. Since you’re in my unit, I’ll tell you. Two years ago, I offended a conclave disciple, and was planning to flee Seven Blood Eyes. However, you’ll never guess what happened.” The Captain couldn’t hold back from laughing. “That disciple got unlucky and died at sea. The sect investigated and found it was just an accident, though they never determined all the details. In any case, after that, a rumor spread among the Onpeak conclave disciples... that I was responsible. Ever since then, they all avoid me.”
Grinning, the Captain looked at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing nodded back at him.
“You actually believe me?” the Captain asked, sounding surprised.
“Nope,” Xu Qing said, shaking his head.
“Then why did you nod...?”
Xu Qing didn’t answer.
The Captain sighed, and felt more than ever that Xu Qing had taken all the fun out of the conversation.
Shortly thereafter, as they approached the main gate of the Violent Crimes Division, the Captain lowered his voice and said, “The truth is that I did kill him. That’s my big secret, Xu Qing. And it’s worth... er, 100 spirit stones!”
The Captain looked at Xu Qing, blinking.
Xu Qing did not give him 100 spirit stones.
The Captain sighed, muttered a few more things, and then made Xu Qing promise to pay him 100 spirit stones later. Finally, he stretched a bit and headed toward the Celestial Bureau.
Xu Qing rubbed the bridge of his nose as he watched the Captain leave, feeling a bit irritated at being forced to owe the man 100 spirit stones. Finally, he sighed. The reason he hadn’t asked any questions on the way back was that he’d sensed some killing intent on the Captain. The Captain’s cultivation base seemed to be in the ninth or even tenth level of Qi Condensation. But Xu Qing got the sense the Captain’s true battle prowess was actually beyond that level. What was more, that killing intent didn’t fade away until after Xu Qing agreed to owe him the spirit stones.
Feeling a bit calmer now, Xu Qing looked in the direction of Plankspring Way, his eyes glowing coldly.
A moment later, he headed into the Violent Crimes Division to get the bounty for Sun Dewang. Before leaving, he passed a few spirit coins to the disciple in charge of handing out the bounties, and asked him about Zhao Zhongheng.
Taking the spirit coins with a wooden smile, the disciple explained what he knew to Xu Qing. The story was basically the same as what the Captain had told him, although the Captain’s version was more detailed. Afterward, Xu Qing thanked the disciple and left.
On the way back to his berth in the harbor, Xu Qing thought back to the events of the night.
The Captain is strong. And ruthless. But he treats me differently. Why? What does he want?
Back at his berth, Xu Qing felt more of a need than ever to be on guard. Once inside his dharmaboat, he pulled out an old bamboo slip that he had clearly had with him for a long time. There were a number of names carved on it, none of which had been scratched off. One of the names was Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior.
Using his iron skewer, he carved a new name on the slip: Plankspring Way Innkeeper.
After that, he carved The Captain. Then he thought about it for a moment, and added a question mark after the Captain. He’d put the Captain’s name there because of the killing intent he sensed on him. The question mark was because that killing intent had been dispelled by 100 spirit stones.
After that, Xu Qing resolved not to worry about the Captain’s secrets, nor to pry into them. Next, he took out Sun Dewang’s sack, which he opened and examined. As he did, he thought back to what the man had said after stepping out of the gambling hall. His sack was basically empty. There were some random things of no value, and that was it. Frowning, Xu Qing tossed the sack to the side and sat down cross-legged to start his cultivation.
Days passed. After earning those 20 spirit stones, he chose not to go back to Plankspring Way. However, given how the old innkeeper had obviously used him, he had already started planning how to kill him. It was going to be difficult, and therefore Xu Qing decided that he would do nothing to beat the grass to startle the snake.
Most of his focus was spent on cultivation, as well as on using spirit stones to upgrade his dharmaboat.
In fact, he had upgraded it by two entire classes. It was now a class-four dharmaboat. It looked very different from the original. It was much bigger, and instead of being covered with scale totems, it was actually covered with real scales. As the boat floated on the water, it looked like a real crocodile, pulsing with a brutal and violent aura. What was more, the crocodile’s head seemed like it was alive, with its eyes glittering.
That was because Xu Qing had purchased two solid rock discs to serve as eyes, which increased the overall defenses of the boat.
What had once been a simple canopy was now a real cabin with a door, which made him feel even safer when he was inside.
Class-four dharmaboats weren’t something that everyone in the port had. Although Xu Qing had upgraded it with low-level materials, in Harbor 79, it was still fairly eye-catching. There was nothing he could do about that. He could have asked the shop to mask the effects of the upgrades, but that would reduce their effectiveness. All he could do was keep his guard fully up.
Thankfully, he was used to doing that. It was simply a part of his life.
Now that he was upgrading his dharmaboat, his plan of going out onto the open sea was closer to becoming a reality. All in all, he felt a lot of anticipation. Granted, it was expensive to upgrade the boat, but it was worth it.
There were never any repercussions from Zhao Zhongheng. It seemed the Captain had really cowed him.
Meanwhile, the Violent Crimes Division publicly reined in their efforts to hunt down members of Night Dove. However, the truth was that things were very tense behind closed doors. From what Xu Qing could guess, there was a big trap being set up for Night Dove, and it would be sprung soon.
Two days later, after Xu Qing was off duty, but before he had left the division, he received notice that no one was allowed to go home, and everyone should wait with their units for instructions. All identity medallions and transmission jade slips were locked down.
From that, Xu Qing could guess that the trap was going to be sprung that very night. He was right. About two hours later, as the sun set, the Captain appeared.
“The Division has decided that the Night Dove trap will be sprung tonight in all seven districts. Over the past few days, we’ve confirmed that there are seventeen hideouts in the Port District. All units from the four divisions of Heaven, Earth, Celestial, and Terrestrial will be working together tonight.”
Smiling at Xu Qing, he continued, “Xu Qing, the location you reported some time ago was indeed a hideout. And that’s exactly where we’re headed tonight, along with Earth Bureau, Unit Three.” His expression turned serious. “The hideout we’re raiding has two people in the great circle of Qi Condensation, four in the ninth level of Qi Condensation, seven in the eighth level. And in terms of people lower than that, there are about twenty-five.
“The division is taking this matter very seriously. Any unit that takes out a hideout chief will get a reward of 10 spirit stones per unit member. And the person who lands the killing blow will get 80 spirit stones!
“In addition to that, every additional Night Dove operative that you kill will earn you 10 spirit stones. Brothers, the time has come to earn some tidy profits!”
This information caused Xu Qing’s pupils to constrict. If he wanted to get his dharmaboat from a class four to a class six, then he needed to purchase a lot of materials. If he chose low-level materials, he would need dozens of spirit stones. But he had his heart set on mid-level materials, which meant he would need something more like 80 spirit stones. In terms of high-level materials, he hadn’t even bothered thinking about that.
Given how hard he had worked to earn spirit stones lately, the new information from the Captain caused Xu Qing’s eyes to glitter brightly.
1. Zhao Zhongheng: Zhao is #8 on the list of the 100 most common Chinese surnames. Zhong means “middle, center” and Heng means “permanent, constant.” To Madam Deathblade, this sounds like a very mature and wise name, almost like a name you would expect an old politician or something like that. ☜