Chapter 553 - 269: Borrowing Chen Cheng’s Luck

Chapter 553: Chapter 269: Borrowing Chen Cheng’s Luck

"Sigh... It’s true." Wang Chun sighed softly. "The price of grain has already risen by thirty percent these past few days. I heard it went up by a few more cents today.

I reckon the price will keep climbing, so I’m using what little extra money my family has to buy and store more grain. Otherwise, I’m afraid we won’t be able to afford to eat later on."

"Oh," Mu Xiaowan murmured, her expression turning a little glum.

She was no longer an ordinary commoner and didn’t have to worry about food or clothing, but she still felt a measure of sympathy for people like Wang Chun.

"Don’t rush to buy grain," Chen Cheng said.

"Don’t rush to buy?" Wang Chun’s face was filled with doubt.

Chen Cheng nodded slightly, his expression serious. "This official knows a thing or two about the grain market trends. In no more than three days, the price will return to what it was before.

If you trust me, hold off on hoarding grain for now."

"The price will fall? How is that possible?" Wang Chun looked at him in disbelief.

In a year of bountiful harvest, the price might drop a little, but this is clearly a year of drought. How could the price possibly fall?

It would be a blessing from the heavens if it didn’t rise to the point where commoners couldn’t afford to eat at all!

It wasn’t just Wang Chun who was skeptical; many of the commoners nearby who had been watching Chen Cheng were also full of doubt.

People unconsciously gathered closer, wanting to hear what this important figure had to say.

"My Buddha is merciful!

This disaster is the will of the heavens, which no one can change.

Only the Buddha Master can deliver all living beings from suffering and save them from hardship.

Serve the Buddha Master with piety, and with our wills united, the Buddha Master will use his boundless merit to dissolve this calamity!"

An Ascetic Monk in a yellow robe called out from within the crowd.

Hearing this, the doubt on people’s faces deepened!

"Silence!" Chen Cheng shot the Ascetic Monk a look and rebuked him coldly.

The Ascetic Monk wasn’t angered. He simply gave Chen Cheng a small smile and turned to leave.

"I have said my piece. Whether you listen or not is up to you."

Chen Cheng said this faintly, then gestured for Mu Xiaowan to head with him toward Locust Tree Lane.

After a few steps, he suddenly turned back and said to Wang Chun, who was still standing there stunned:

"If you want to make a small fortune, you might as well go to Ronghe Restaurant and bet some silver taels on me to win!

But gambling is a wicked affair. Once you fall into that habit, you often end up losing your entire fortune, having your family torn apart, or even seeing your whole household wiped out. You can only do this once!"

"Bet?" Wang Chun was stunned once again!

Everyone else was stunned too!

The street quickly erupted in an uproar!

People debated heatedly, guessing at Chen Cheng’s intentions for revealing this information from every possible angle.

Opinions were all over the place, and the conclusions they reached were bizarre and varied!

However, those with a mind for it had already begun to act furtively, either returning home to grab their silver coins or heading directly to the various betting houses.

No matter what, placing a small bet along with Lord Chen might bring an unexpected windfall!

After all, with ten-to-one odds, it was a massive profit worth taking a gamble on.

Winning would feel incredible; they could buy a few extra pounds of pork and enjoy meat dishes a few more times.

If they lost, it didn’t matter. After all, Lord Chen had lost over ten thousand taels of patterned silver. What was losing a little pocket change in comparison?

Many people, treating it as a bit of fun, followed Chen Cheng’s lead and placed their bets. Of course, there were also the big spenders, as well as veteran gamblers whose life motto was to bet it all, who threw down more than half their net worth in one go.

Wang Chun hesitated for a long time before finally walking into Ronghe Restaurant.

He had two taels of silver on him, which, at current grain prices, was enough to buy a large sack of grain—enough to feed his family for over a month.

He planned to bet five hundred cents. Even if he lost, it wouldn’t be a huge pity.

But when he entered Ronghe Restaurant and saw the long line of bettors, with many wealthy households even wagering several dozen taels of silver,

Wang Chun steeled his heart and raised his bet to one tael of silver.

***

Locust Tree Lane. The newly rebuilt home of the Chens now encompassed the entire lane. With its high walls and deep, imposing courtyards, it was quite grand.

"Brother Cheng, is this really our family’s home?"

Standing before the wide courtyard gates, Mu Xiaowan’s mouth hung slightly open in disbelief.

"Of course it’s our family’s home!" Chen Cheng chuckled, walking up to rap the door knocker.

"Greetings, Master! Greetings, Madam!"

Jian Luchuan opened the door and hurried forward to pay his respects.

"No need for formalities." Chen Cheng nodded slightly and led Mu Xiaowan by the hand into the residence.

"Greetings, Master. Greetings, Madam." Ji Qing, Gou Yi, the couple Li Chunlei and his wife, and the other servants had already received word and all came to bow respectfully.

Chen Cheng nodded slightly and told them to go about their duties tending to the courtyard, then led Mu Xiaowan deeper into the estate.

The front courtyard was very spacious, complete with gardens, rockeries, pavilions, and terraces—everything one could wish for in an elegant environment.

Directly ahead in the center was a wide-open square.

"Why does this square look so familiar? I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before..." Mu Xiaowan said, slightly surprised, but then realization dawned on her.

"That’s it! The layout is identical to the training grounds in the front courtyard of the Zheng Martial Arts Hall.

Don’t tell me our Chen Family Residence was also designed based on the Zheng Martial Arts Hall?"

"Not entirely. Only the front courtyard borrowed from the Zheng Martial Arts Hall’s layout. The rear courtyards were designed by skilled artisans."

Chen Cheng chuckled. In truth, this was also his first time back since the Chens’ new home was completed.

’The front courtyard will most likely be used as a Martial Arts Hall, to recruit some disciples with good Martial Arts Talent in the future and train them into my personal retainers.’

’These retainers must, of course, be trained from a young age to be utterly loyal to the Chens.’

’No matter where I go, they must be my own trusted confidants, serving the family in their daily lives and protecting their safety.’

’Of course, there’s no need to rush these things. I can plan and lay the groundwork slowly.’

***

Ruyi District, Shisong Street, Willow Lane.

Within a deep, secluded residence.

A middle-aged man with a plain face, dressed in a simple gray cloth shirt, stood quietly on the branch of a tall, ancient tree.

This was none other than Zhu Jiu, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Blood Moon Sect.

As a Killing Dao Expert, Zhu Jiu enjoyed solitude and was accustomed to the loneliness of being by himself.

"Only solitude brings true loneliness, and only loneliness can temper the heart!"

He murmured, and the sheathless dagger in his hand, thin as a cicada’s wing, suddenly swung forward.

A sharp aura of the Killing Realm flashed and vanished!

Ten feet away, a thumb-sized black spider was instantly sliced into several pieces by the aura of the Killing Realm!

Yet the leaf the spider had been resting on was completely unharmed!

Precision, sharpness, and meticulous control, without wasting a single shred of the Killing Realm’s aura—this was the Profound Passage to reaching the Second Layer of the Killing Realm!

Zhu Jiu had undoubtedly already touched the threshold of this Profound Passage.

Suddenly, a figure in white with a face veiled by light gauze flew over from a distant courtyard wall at extreme speed, landing steadily in the courtyard.

"Fan Jinhua of the Sutra of Ultimate Sect has taken the liberty of visiting. Would Brother Zhu please come out for a word?"

Fan Jinhua’s voice was soft and seductive.

There was no response.

A hint of suspicion appeared in Fan Jinhua’s eyes. She began to walk slowly toward the main hall, but as she reached the entrance, her brow suddenly twitched. She immediately turned her head to look at the ancient tree.

"Brother Zhu, your methods for concealing your aura are truly brilliant. If you hadn’t just used your Killing Realm, this humble servant would never have found you!"

BUZZ!

The ancient tree suddenly erupted with a slight tremor, followed by a faint sound like the vibrating wings of a cicada.

A bright silver blade of light, wrapped in sharp, cutting ripples, shot toward Fan Jinhua’s neck.

A sense of life-and-death crisis welled up in her heart. Fan Jinhua’s pupils contracted violently, but then she let out a delicate giggle.

With a gentle sway of her waist, two flowing ribbons, imbued with a yin-like aura, slowly pushed out in front of her.

BANG!

The auras of the Killing Realm and the Extreme Yin Realm collided, letting out a soft boom!

Fan Jinhua twisted her waist repeatedly to dissipate the force of the rebound, barely managing to stabilize herself.

Zhu Jiu stepped on empty air as if he were a nimble bird, landing silently in the courtyard.

His expression was as calm as still water. He looked leisurely at Fan Jinhua and said, "Fairy Fan, you honor me with your presence. What instructions do you have for me?"

Fan Jinhua giggled coquettishly, her peaks trembling. "The Lonely Cicada Shadow Blade kills without a trace! Brother Zhu, your Lonely Cicada Killing Dao Realm is close to reaching the Second Layer, isn’t it?"

"I’m still a long way off," Zhu Jiu sighed softly.

"Men are all liars! If this humble servant actually believed your nonsense, I probably wouldn’t even know how I died," Fan Jinhua purred.

Zhu Jiu turned to look at the ancient tree, his deep eyes finally settling on the spider that had been sliced to pieces. He murmured, "Whether you believe me or not, what difference does it make?

Surely Fairy Fan didn’t come all this way just to discuss the Martial Dao with me?"

Fan Jinhua said, "This humble servant has heard that Chen Cheng used to live on Shisong Street.

Brother Zhu, your choice to live in seclusion on Shisong Street must mean that, like Zhang Daozong, you intend to borrow some of Chen Cheng’s momentum."

"Perhaps," Zhu Jiu said languidly.

Fan Jinhua said, "Chen Cheng has caused such a huge commotion today. I wonder how Brother Zhu plans to respond?"

"Why should I respond?" Zhu Jiu turned back, looking leisurely at Fan Jinhua.

Fan Jinhua giggled. "In that case, it seems Brother Zhu intends to borrow Chen Cheng’s momentum to the very end.

But aren’t you afraid he’ll come up with some clever scheme and ruin your plans?"