Chapter 145 - 112: Beating Them at Their Own Game, a New Deal, and Massive Gains

Chapter 145: Chapter 112: Beating Them at Their Own Game, a New Deal, and Massive Gains

Blood oozed from the man in black’s nose, mouth, ears, and eyes—a gruesome sight. Before long, his breath ceased, and he died on the spot.

Su Chen quietly watched him fall before stepping forward to pat down the body. He found no money. No secret manuals, either. Su Chen furrowed his brows slightly. Members of the Rebirth Sect shouldn’t be this poor!

After another thorough search, he finally found something tucked inside the inner lining of the man’s belt. It wasn’t money, but a slip of paper. He unfolded it and read, "The third day of the month, 7:45 PM, Qingxi Bamboo Forest."

The first two parts were clearly the specific date and time. As for the Qingxi Bamboo Forest, Su Chen had heard of it; it was a bamboo grove near Qingxi Town.

"A time and a place. Is this a rendezvous point?" Su Chen speculated inwardly, lost in thought. "Qingxi Town is the Profound Water Sect’s territory. To conduct a trade in their domain... unless they’re trading with someone from the Profound Water Sect itself. Could the Profound Water Sect be colluding with the Rebirth Sect?"

As the number one sect in Qinzhou, the Profound Water Sect held a supreme status. On the surface, Qinzhou was governed by the Government Office, but the true master in the shadows was the Profound Water Sect. If the Rebirth Sect wanted to overthrow Qinzhou’s regime, their first and biggest obstacle would be the Profound Water Sect. The relationship between the two forces was as incompatible as fire and water. Now that a member of the Rebirth Sect was heading to the Profound Water Sect’s territory for a trade, it was hard not to suspect secret collusion between someone within the sect and the cult.

"If my guess is right, what are they trading? Is it money? Or pills? Qi Blood Pills or Profound Essence Pills?" he wondered.

Following this logic, Su Chen’s eyes lit up. Compared to other sects, the Profound Water Sect’s greatest advantage was undoubtedly their pills. Among these, the most highly revered was the Qi Blood Pill. By relying on Qi Blood Pills, the Profound Water Sect had essentially monopolized all the martial artists in Qinzhou. It made perfect sense that the Rebirth Sect would need Qi Blood Pills.

"Whether that’s the case or not, I’ll know once I go take a look!" he thought.

After a moment of hesitation, Su Chen gritted his teeth and made his decision. He knew it was a massive risk, but fortune favored the bold. If things were truly as he suspected, this could become a vital channel for him to acquire Qi Blood Pills and Profound Essence Pills. He wouldn’t be able to accept it if he didn’t at least try. Moreover, he was certain that since the man in black dared to trade with someone from the Profound Water Sect, neither party would reveal their true identities. This gave him the perfect opportunity to exploit the situation.

After pocketing the secret missive, Su Chen tossed the corpse into a nearby ravine and set off back to the city.

Two days later.

Su Chen, fully prepared, headed out early to Qingxi Town. Upon arriving, he found that Qingxi Town hadn’t changed much since his last visit. It was still as bustling as ever. Yu Xian’s death hadn’t seemed to cause any ripples here, nor had it disrupted the daily lives of the townsfolk.

This time, Su Chen applied a simple disguise to mimic the man in black, achieving a fifty or sixty percent resemblance to his facial features. This was a precaution just in case. Even if he were exposed, he could bullshit his way out by claiming to be a relative of the man in black, using his face as proof.

Soon after, Su Chen arrived at the bamboo forest early to wait. The agreed-upon time of 7:45 PM was fast approaching. The other party was remarkably punctual. 7:45 PM meant exactly 7:45 PM—not a minute early, not a minute late. The newcomer was also dressed inconspicuously, with a cloak covering his body and his face masked, clearly afraid of being discovered.

Upon entering the bamboo forest, he looked around with a vigilant gaze. When he spotted Su Chen stepping out, he frowned slightly. "Why is your face covered this time?"

Hearing this, Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained impassive. Instead of answering, he countered, "Did you bring the goods?"

The cloaked man didn’t reply immediately. He looked Su Chen up and down, took a step back, and said in a low voice, "I brought them. But there aren’t many this time—only ten pills!"

Only ten pills? That meant the quantity he originally agreed upon with the man in black was supposed to be much higher. With this in mind, Su Chen feigned displeasure. "Ten pills? Do you think you’re fooling a child?"

Knowing he was in the wrong, the cloaked man replied helplessly, "You know as well as I do that someone was caught selling Qi Blood Pills without authorization. The Profound Water Sect has been cracking down hard on this lately. Getting ten pills is already a miracle. Next month, I’ll make up for the shortfall and give them all to you."

These words gave Su Chen two crucial pieces of information: first, the items they were trading were indeed Qi Blood Pills, and second, their transactions took place once a month. Naturally, Su Chen couldn’t agree to the man’s terms. A whole month until the next trade? Who knew what could happen in that time? He didn’t want to take that gamble, nor was he willing to waste time waiting.

"No," Su Chen said, his tone brimming with such dissatisfaction that it seemed he might strike at any moment. "This is your problem. I only ask for the full amount of Qi Blood Pills. If you can’t deliver, then don’t blame me for getting nasty!"

The cloaked man’s expression soured, but he compromised. "I really can’t get them right now. How about this? On the fifteenth of this month, I’ll bring the rest. What do you say?"

Su Chen remained silent. After lowering his head to think for a moment, he replied, "Fine. But the next meeting place will be changed to the woods east of Qingxi. The time remains the same. Also, I’m only giving you one thousand taels this time. Once you make up the rest, I’ll pay you the balance!"

"One thousand taels is too little. Can we do 1,500 taels?" the cloaked man bargained after a moment of hesitation. However, upon seeing Su Chen’s gloomy glare, he gave an awkward smile. "One thousand taels it is. We’ll do as you say."