Chapter 89 Heaven Will

“Another drink!”

Jia Jinsheng slammed his cup onto the table irritably. Several days had already passed, yet he still could not forget what had happened in his gambling den. Some brat from Gu Yue Village had actually obtained a living Rank Two Mudskin Toad, costing him five or six hundred primeval stones.

Just remembering it made his heart ache. Jia Jinsheng had originally intended to force the boy to sell it cheaply, but the other party immediately brought up the Gu Yue Clan. Since they were currently doing business inside Gu Yue Village, Jia Jinsheng could not push the matter too far and could only watch helplessly as the living Mudskin Toad Gu was completely revealed.

In the end, he had been forced to spend five hundred primeval stones to purchase it.

Five hundred primeval stones! Every time Jia Jinsheng remembered that amount, he felt as though he had suffered an enormous loss.

Suddenly, someone patted him on the shoulder from behind. The familiar action immediately made his expression darken further.

“Lin Feng, you bastard. Shouldn’t you be inside Hundred Refinements Pavilion refining Gu? What are you doing here?” Jia Jinsheng snapped after recognizing him, then drained his cup in one gulp.

Seeing his miserable expression, Lin Feng smiled and shook his head. “I heard something interesting, so naturally I came over to share it with you.”

“Oh? What happened?” Jia Jinsheng immediately became curious.

Lin Feng chuckled. “A young man came to my shop today to pay for the materials needed to refine a Gu. Originally, he didn’t have enough primeval stones and planned to postpone it. But apparently, he recently made a small fortune in the stone gambling den after opening a stone containing a Rank 2 Mudskin Toad Gu.”

Lin Feng’s smile widened. “I also heard the owner of that gambling den was so angry his face nearly turned green. Hahaha!”

Jia Jinsheng’s fingers tightened around his cup as he struggled to suppress his anger. “You came all the way here just to mock me over such a trivial matter?”

So you know it’s a trivial matter. Lin Feng found it even more amusing. If losing five hundred primeval stones bothers you this much, how do you expect to accomplish anything great?

“Look at you. You can’t even take a joke.” Lin Feng shook his head and stood up. “Forget it, I’m leaving. Put this drink on your tab.”

“You!”

Jia Jinsheng clenched his fist angrily, but could only glare at Lin Feng’s departing back. Lin Feng was usually easy enough to get along with, but sometimes his words were infuriating enough to make Jia Jinsheng want to punch him.

Lin Feng walked away without looking back. He had already noticed a young boy watching Jia Jinsheng from nearby.

That was precisely why he had chosen to leave now. He needed to give the boy an opportunity to speak with Jia Jinsheng alone.

“Hehe, Great Love Immortal Venerable… no, I should call you young friend Fang Yuan for now.” A meaningful smile appeared on Lin Feng’s face. “Because of me, Jia Jinsheng has already reached Rank Two. Can you still kill him as easily as before?”

In the original timeline, Jia Jinsheng had only possessed Rank One cultivation when Fang Yuan ambushed and killed him, an incident that later drew Tie Xue Leng and Tie Ruonan to Qing Mao Mountain. Now, however, Jia Jinsheng had already advanced to Rank Two, while Lin Feng’s earlier arrangements had caused the Tie Clan to turn its attention toward Qing Mao Mountain ahead of time.

Even if Jia Jinsheng failed to kill Fang Yuan, Lin Feng could simply take action himself afterward. Fang Yuan was currently only a Rank One initial stage Gu Master. With Lin Feng’s Rank Four battle strength, killing him would truly be no more difficult than crushing an ant.

Two tigers could not share one mountain, much less two people destined to compete over the same opportunities. As long as Fang Yuan remained alive, he would inevitably seize countless benefits in the future. From Lin Feng’s perspective, the safest competitor was a dead one.

Lin Feng slowly raised his head toward the cloudless blue sky.

So, Heaven Will, what will you do now?

Fang Yuan is one of your most important chess pieces. Now that I’ve pushed him into such a dead end, how are you going to help him turn the situation around?

Not long after Lin Feng left, another voice sounded beside Jia Jinsheng.

“Want to deal with your brother? I can help you.”

Jia Jinsheng froze before turning toward the speaker. Someone had taken Lin Feng’s former seat without him noticing. He shook his head several times and blinked until the alcohol-induced haze faded enough for him to recognize the newcomer.

It was Fang Yuan.

“It’s you!” Jia Jinsheng glared at him in irritation. “I remember you. You’re that lucky brat who opened the toad Gu from my gambling den! What, wasn’t taking advantage of me once enough?”

Fang Yuan met his glare without the slightest change in expression. “I have a major business deal to discuss with you. If you want better results from this caravan and a larger share of your family’s inheritance, you should hear me out.”

Jia Jinsheng’s drunken expression immediately changed. He straightened his back and stared suspiciously at Fang Yuan. “How do you know about the inheritance?”

The matter was not something outsiders should know, much less a young Gu Master from Gu Yue Village.

“The affairs of Jia Family Village aren’t exactly impossible to discover. Anyone willing to investigate carefully can learn a few things.” Fang Yuan sneered.

With five hundred years of memories from his previous life, Fang Yuan naturally knew far more about the Jia Clan than he should.

The current Jia clan leader was a legendary merchant who had risen from humble beginnings. Through years of leading caravans and accumulating wealth, he had transformed Jia Family Village into one of Southern Border’s major commercial powers. Now that he was growing old and knew that his remaining lifespan was limited, he had begun testing his sons by having them lead separate caravans. Their performances would determine how much of his enormous inheritance each would eventually receive.

Among his sons, Jia Fu and Jia Gui were the most outstanding. The two competed fiercely for six or seven years without producing a clear victor. After the old clan leader eventually died, the struggle over his enormous inheritance intensified further. Jia Fu and Jia Gui drew in outside forces, and their conflict ultimately developed into a massive Gu battle that left both sides devastated. The once-prosperous Jia Clan rapidly declined afterward, shocking countless people throughout Southern Border.

Naturally, Fang Yuan did not rely entirely upon his memories when judging Jia Jinsheng.

His gaze briefly fell upon the square jade ornament Jia Jinsheng wore. A horizontal jade pattern ran through its center, forming the character “Rank One”.

According to what Fang Yuan could sense, Jia Jinsheng’s cultivation was roughly equal to his own. That was another reason he had chosen to approach him. Someone of similar cultivation would be much easier to control if negotiations went wrong.

Unfortunately, Fang Yuan had no idea that Jia Jinsheng had already reached Rank Two peak stage. A Gu concealed his true aura, making him appear to possess only Rank One cultivation. Jia Jinsheng himself also enjoyed pretending to be foolish and harmless so that others would underestimate him.

This time, even Fang Yuan had been deceived.