Chapter 206 - 118: Feathered Immortal Robe, Forging Supreme Skin Refining, Clashing Fists with Duan Chenzhou, Daughter of the Giant House

[The Tutor has Hunted the Sea and Rode the Wave, piloting a sampan into the sea at night to slay an enemy. 'Hunting the Sea' authority refined, progress +1%.]

[Current: 52%!]

Under the night sky, the snow had stopped.

Ji Xiu was bundled up tightly, his face concealed. He didn't reveal his true features as he made his way back to the Ji Residence.

'In Jiangyin Prefecture, there are the Thirty-Six Professions.'

Masked, Ji Xiu revealed only a pair of bright, spirited eyes.

He first glanced toward the County Yamen, then toward the far end of the East Canghai, at the massive, distant city whose lights burned day and night.

'I've heard that from birth, the lives of the people in Jiangyin Prefecture are inextricably linked to the 'Thirty-Six Professions and Hundred Trades and Livelihoods.' They dictate every aspect of daily existence.'

'The leaders of the Upper Nine Professions, known as the 'Nine Lords,' are nine great masters who monopolize Jiangyin Prefecture on behalf of the Great Xuan. The Medicine Shop is precisely one of these professions.'

'Outside Jiangyin Prefecture, the various island Schools are a world unto themselves, each ruled by a 'Sect Leader.' They reign through martial prowess, and it's not uncommon to find Qi Sea Grandmasters, or even Leakless Grandmasters, among them.'

'But within Jiangyin Prefecture...'

'The moment you step ashore at Eight Dock...'

'There isn't a single thing you can do that doesn't involve the Thirty-Six Professions. It just goes to show how their reach extends to the heavens.'

'According to what Zhao Jiu and other prefecture insiders say...'

'Huang Xiuwen, Huang the Seventh Young Master, is the sole legitimate grandson of Old Master Huang of the Medicine Shop, one of the 'Nine Lords.' He's the son of the Old Master's eldest son, who died prematurely.'

'He's thoroughly spoiled by the Old Master, one of the Nine Lords, and his status is revered. This has made him arrogant and domineering, convinced he's a cut above everyone else. He travels everywhere by sedan chair, terrified that his fine silks and brocades might get a speck of dust on them.'

'A spoiled brat like that, even after causing such a huge disaster and being escorted to Jiangyin Prefecture, would probably just be released on bail. They'd handle him with kid gloves and nothing serious would happen.'

'But...'

'He had the misfortune of falling into my hands. With all the cases I've seen, thanks to the Innate Wisdom from my two lives, how could I possibly let him get away with it so easily?'

Ji Xiu let out a sinister chuckle. After such a humiliating fall, he couldn't imagine Huang Xiuwen not running back to tattle to his grandfather. He'd surely use the Medicine Shop's influence to crush a County bumpkin like him.

That being the case,

it was better to strike first—to clear his name in public, frame Huang Xiuwen, and then, under the cover of a dark and windy night, 'borrow an identity' and kill him directly!

Originally, Ji Xiu had been determined to do the deed himself.

He just hadn't expected...

that after just a few veiled hints to Zhao Jiu,

this 'Lord Zhao the County Magistrate' would develop a murderous intent of his own. The magistrate had Huang Xiuwen beaten with a board all afternoon, but that still wasn't enough to quell his anger. He then dispatched his old servant, Elder Liang—a master who had achieved Great Success in Three Refinements and attained the Immortal Robe—to strike brazenly under the cover of night, which is when he ran right into Ji Xiu.

'This old man is rather interesting, though.'

'We both recognized each other, but we pretended we didn't. One borrowed the name of the Chaotic Heaven Thieves, the other borrowed the name of the 'Black Market.' We killed our target and left, clean and efficient, no loose ends.'

The Black Market, he'd heard, was a behemoth from Beicang that spanned several prefectures, hidden within the city's dark underbelly.

It was said to be quite similar to the 'Ghost Gate' of Dao Skill legends. Not only was the entrance a secret, but anyone wishing to enter had to possess a 'token.'

Furthermore, one could only enter after the third-watch curfew, using a special catalyst and method, all while wearing a 'Black Market Mask.'

The Black Market had a 'Gold-Selling Cave' that didn't accept Silver, only 'Red Gold.'

It was said that once a request was posted, anything could be obtained as long as the price was right—be it Heavenly and Earthly Treasures or all manner of strange and exotic items.

Of course, finding 'Heavenly and Earthly Treasures or Treasure Fish and Marvels' was a matter of luck, not something one could actively seek out.

The 'requests' perpetually posted in the Gold-Selling Cave...

were mostly 'Headcount Accounts.'

Legend had it that the founder of the Black Market once made a famous declaration:

'Post a Headcount Account in the Gold-Selling Cave, and there is no one in this world who cannot be killed!'

If a target couldn't be killed, there was only one reason.

The 'Headcount Account' wasn't high enough to attract an Assassin from the Celestial Spirit or Earth Fiend lists to take the contract!

This was all information Ji Xiu had gleaned from Cai Ling'Er from time to time through casual, probing questions.

The way she used to brag...

Forget about some young master from the prefecture.

They could even take down a successor of a True Sect!

He heard that once, a wandering practitioner from a True Sect had just descended from his mountain when his Headcount Account was posted in the 'Gold-Selling Cave' with a bounty of 'Celestial Material' grade rarity.

It was enough to attract three Celestial Spirit Blade Catchers, who set up the 'Three-Day Wood Burning Array.' They studied him for months before finding him in a remote, backwater village. Catching him completely off guard, they used every trick at their disposal and ruthlessly cut him down!

Although the aftermath provoked the fury of the 'True Sect'—causing a titled master to be disgraced and step down, and leading to the dismantling of four 'Black Markets'—it was said that the matter was only settled after the Black Market's Captain was forced to come forward and pay an exorbitant price.

But in the end, the identities of the Assassins were never revealed. Both sides ceased their hostilities, and from that day forward, the Black Market Gold Cave never again posted a Headcount Account for anyone from that True Sect.

Still, the life of a traveling practitioner from a True Sect!

It was worth far, far more than a young master from a prefectural Grand Lineage like Huang the Seventh Young Master. If they could kill someone like that without leaking the identity of the one who took the contract...

The reputation of the Black Market was plain to see.

'A true model of business integrity!'

'That old man, Elder Liang, really knows how to borrow a tiger's skin. Who could possibly unravel the truth and verify it when dealing with a 'behemoth' like that?'

'And then there were the Chaotic Heaven Thieves, who caused such a storm back in the day!'

'They held the Chaotic Heaven Lake, claimed to be dispensing Vigilante Justice, and even when the Jiangyin Prefect and the Garrison Commander combined their forces and led three thousand marines and warships to suppress them, they still couldn't get any real results.'

'It wasn't until they leveraged the might of my Ancestral Master, Wang Xuanyang, that the thieves were finally scattered and crushed, beaten into utter disarray.'

'Even though they're scattered now, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.'