Chapter 710 Promising Talent, Southern Wind Ghost Market! (2)

Speaking of which, the half-Life Character ‘Zheng’ left by Liu Zhengyuan once saved Su Mu’s life, so he has a favorable impression of Qingzhou Academy.

“If there’s a chance in the future, I should visit Qingzhou Academy.”

As for the Taoist Sect’s Holy Land, Qingfeng Temple, Su Mu is indifferent, and after the incident at Vajra Temple, he can’t help but feel a certain dislike towards the Buddhist Sect.

“These are the Three Gates and Four Families of Qingzhou, in addition to the Qingzhou Inspector, Qingzhou Demon Slayer Bureau, Qingzhou Governor’s Office, Wanlin Commerce Association, Pill Cauldron Pavilion, and other major forces.”

After piecing together the situation of the major forces in Qingzhou from scattered and fragmented historical records, Su Mu’s purpose of this trip to Wanlin Tower was basically fulfilled. At this moment, he flipped through a few more miscellaneous records and planned to leave.

However, before leaving, Su Mu thought of the demon fiend matter, so he discreetly inquired with a steward from Wanlin Tower.

“I read a bizarre account in this building mentioning demon fiends; does this building have any specialized books on demon fiends?”

Hearing this, the steward’s face changed dramatically. He scrutinized Su Mu as if trying to imprint the young man’s appearance into his memory. After ensuring no one was around, he gestured with Spiritual Power to isolate outside sound and lowered his voice.

“Disaster comes from the mouth, dear guest… Regarding demon fiends, not even the Wanlin Tower in Ancient County has more than a few words recorded. You should avoid asking too much about it to prevent bringing disaster upon yourself.”

The steward’s tone carried an unmistakable warning. After Su Mu gave his thanks and swiftly changed the topic:

“I’m quite interested in this book ‘The Chronicles of Sanshan’, might I purchase a copy from your esteemed building?”

This time, the steward agreed readily, “Yes, three taels of silver per copy.”

Three taels for a book is quite expensive, but in the feudal dynasty’s age, books were already precious; hence, the saying ‘poor families cannot afford scholarly children’. Studying and practicing the Confucian Sect’s teachings was not common for ordinary people.

Nonetheless, Su Mu did not haggle and paid the three taels of silver to take the ‘Chronicles of Sanshan’ with him.

“They warned me not to pry into the affair of demon fiends… yet directed me to Ancient County. What exactly is the Wanlin Commerce Association up to?”

Su Mu pondered this as he stepped out of Wanlin Tower.

After Su Mu had left, the steward from Wanlin Tower summoned a person.

“Follow him and see where he goes.”

…

Ancient County, Yuguo Pass.

Evil Eagle Prison.

From its depths occasionally echoed several piercing screams. This was one of the five prisons of Lingfeng Iron Cavalry’s Evil Eagle Camp, divided into inner and outer prisons.

The outer prison held common captives and criminals.

The inner prison held those with uncommon identities and spies of the Evil Eagle Camp. Seldom did anyone survive reemergence once confined to the inner prison.

“Lead the way!”

“Yes, Commander.”

In dim light, a jailer led a person deeper with fawning steps. The person walking behind looked young, around thirty, with a handsome, fair face now wrinkled in repulsion at the prison’s vile stench and bloodthirsty odor.

Quickly, the two reached an interrogation room within the inner prison. The room was filled with a sickening metallic scent, and on a cross-shaped torture pillar of iron, a brawny man was shackled by chains as thick as a baby’s wrist.

His robust body had each acupoint pierced and sealed with several inches of special steel nails.

The man’s face was ordinary, but his eyes were profound. Now flesh and blood blurred, leaving no intact skin, and a ghastly penetrating scar across his chest revealed the tortures he previously endured.

“Open the door!”

The jailer immediately took out a key to open the heavy iron door; the man referred to as Commander covered his nose as he entered, observing the shackled man.

“You may leave now.”

The Commander waved dismissively; the jailer hesitated but soon exited the room.

Once the two were alone in the dark room, the Commander spoke.

“Are you Wang Xuan?”

“Yes.”

The Commander stepped half a step forward, reaching out to press on the scar on Wang Xuan’s chest. Then, suddenly exerting force, his fingers burrowed into the wound, deeply gripping the flesh.

The man bore the excruciating pain without a sound, his body only slightly trembling.

Noticing this, a gleam of interest flickered in the Commander’s eyes. He quickly withdrew his hand, shook off the blood, and smiled as he spoke.

“Good, very good. You’ve proven yourself promising material. I like your kind of resilience. As long as you remain loyal to me, I promise you abundance and prosperity in the future.”

There was a military order earlier to have twenty elite Evil Eagle soldiers escorting two individuals of special identity beyond the pass towards the barbarian Khel clan, and he had secretly instructed Wang Xuan to eliminate the two during the journey.

Originally, Liu Sheng intended to treat Wang Xuan as a disposable tool, never expecting him to remain silent despite severe torture upon return. This piqued Liu Sheng’s interest who initially wanted to have Wang Xuan eliminated in prison.

Intrigued, he personally came to see this so-called Wang Xuan and discovered he might be a useful tool—a person with no background, ideally suited as an underground assassin.

Filled with cunning and scorn, Liu Sheng failed to notice the fleeting chill in the depths of the man’s eyes.

“Thank you, Commander Liu.”

“Good, I will take you out right now. I’ll have someone deliver you elixirs for treating hidden injuries and resources to advance in Martial Dao. From now on, you will be a Thousand Man Commander under my command. If you can break through to Half-Step Grandmaster before the great competition, there will be even greater rewards.”

“Thank you, Commander Liu, for your promotion. I will do my utmost, following your lead, fearing no hardship or peril!”

The man’s voice rumbled deeply, like a heavy hammer striking the ground, steady and powerful, concealing what emotions there might be, though the self-satisfied Liu Commander barely noticed.

…

“The herbs for the Profound Pattern Pill are indeed not easy to purchase.”

At Sanshan Commandery City, after shaking off the tailing figure, Su Mu changed his appearance. He strolled through various pharmacies on Sanshan Long Street, yet could not gather all the ingredients needed to refine the Profound Pattern Pill.

Su Mu then realized how difficult it was for Second Sister to gather the herbs for him before. Now, despite having a million silver, he faced the difficulty of not being able to buy the necessary herbs.

On the verge of giving up, the thirteenth pharmacy that informed him of a lack of necessary herbs, had a Medicine Boy run out after him to the street, quickly finding Su Mu.

“Dear customer, may I have a word with you?”

“Alright.”

In a dim alleyway, the Medicine Boy spoke directly.

“The herbs you need aren’t available in our small shop, but I know a place where they might be.”

“Where?”

The Medicine Boy rubbed his hands, holding out a finger; Su Mu casually took out a twenty taels silver note, “Twenty taels, no more.”

“That’s alright, that’s alright.”

The Medicine Boy reached to grab the silver note, but Su Mu retracted his hand, evading it. The Medicine Boy reluctantly took out an item—a token etched with mysterious black patterns and lines of tiny, disjointed words.

“The 9th day of the lunar month, Nan Feng Mountain.”

Su Mu glanced at it and realized it was likely a Ghost Market token from the area, guessing that the herbs required for the Profound Pattern Pill were peculiar and might not be openly traded by pharmacies.

“Sir, tomorrow is the 9th day of the lunar month.”

Hearing this, Su Mu handed over the silver note, took the token, and the Medicine Boy also produced a piece of rough paper. Su Mu unfolded it to find it marked the location of Nan Feng Mountain, saving him some trouble.

Before the Medicine Boy left, Su Mu asked one more question.

“Hold on, is there any good wine in the Commandery City?”

The Medicine Boy paused, promptly naming two locations.

“In Commandery City, dignitaries and nobles favor the mountain delicacy brew at Linshan Pavilion, priced at a hundred taels per jug. Additionally, on the south side of the city market, there’s a wine shop named West Wind, whose brew is three taels per jug and praised highly in the city.”

The following day, Su Mu followed the map’s markings to Nan Feng Mountain. The secluded Nan Feng Mountain lay over a hundred li from Commandery City.

The night was quiet with few stars and a dim moon. Though it was a desolate scene, Su Mu entered the mountain without hesitation.

“This truly brings back memories…”