Chapter 150: The Situation, the Carriage

“Excellent, truly formidable hard qigong—I’ve never seen anyone achieve such mastery in hard qigong.”

The man in green robes had his internal organs severed; he was weak and barely breathing, yet still alive, so he tore off the cloth covering his face and stared at Chu Tianshu.

“Are you from Shaolin?”

Chu Tianshu calmed his blood and qi, gradually withdrawing his aura; his gaze swept over the heads of these men as if looking at something beyond them, and he said, “Who are you people?”

The man in green robes said, “I am Shu Kongqi, leader of the Giant Whale Gang.”

The burly man beside him gritted his teeth and said, “I am Zhou Yan, patriarch of the Sea Sand Sect. Please tell me your name, so we may die knowing who ended us!”

Chu Tianshu’s expression grew subtle.

“Giant Whale Gang, Sea Sand Sect—such common names. But aren’t your gangs on the verge of bankruptcy?”

“A gang leader and sect patriarch venturing out alone, with not even a single loyal and capable warrior at your side?”

The man in green robes struggled to speak: “Our Giant Whale Gang has considerable reputation along the coast—we are no minor sect. But the Fire God Secret Scripture’s improvements to the fire gun are of immense importance.”

“The people of Fire God Gully have scattered and fled; along the way, many factions will vie for it—it’s perilous and arduous. I had no choice but to personally lead one of the pursuit teams!”

As gang leaders, they knew the danger and hardship, yet still chose to act.

First, they were men of the wilderness, steeped in the spirit of the rivers and lakes, and confident in their own strength.

Second, the Fire God Secret Scripture was too tempting.

To risk everything for a secret they’d never even seen.

It seemed the Fire God Gully truly was an authority on fire gun metallurgy.

Rumors said they’d developed excellent improved techniques—and people truly believed them.

At this moment, Xu Ben also gradually recovered from the effects of the aura pressure.

“The Giant Whale Gang and Sea Sand Sect do indeed have formidable reputations.”

He spat bitterly, “Half that reputation comes from your salt smuggling, and the other half from your ability to instantly transform into two bands of pirates.”

“It’s because of scoundrels like you that the Japanese pirate raids have grown worse.”

“How dare you even dream of our Fire God Gully’s secrets?”

The man in green robes and the burly man both burst into laughter, ignoring the worsening blood loss from their abdomens.

The burly man barked, “You Fire God Gully folks developed your secrets to kill and make money—we take them for the same purpose: to kill, to make money, to grow our power…”

Seeing them about to launch into a vulgar verbal brawl, Chu Tianshu flicked two fingers.

Two silver needles pierced the foreheads of the two gang leaders, ending their lives.

Watching the two men collapse, Chu Tianshu’s eyes widened with faint light.

Indeed, at the moment of their deaths, a scattering of tiny specks of light seemed to squeeze out from within them.

The specks varied in hue, rising slowly before vanishing into the air.

Chu Tianshu had faintly witnessed this before on other corpses.

Since his physique reached the “Wu Zao Shen” realm, he could perceive spiritual forms even without opening his spiritual gates.

But only after further entering the state of spiritual perception and gate-opening could he clearly see actual light specks rising from them.

These were not souls—not even residual spirits.

Merely chaotic emotions.

Previously, in the place where his consciousness had been trapped, countless colorful mists drifted endlessly.

Those mists were formed from the accumulation of such light specks.

Does this world contain a unique layer particularly suited to storing emotions?

Yet those mists were too scattered and chaotic; if anyone with a complete consciousness contacted that layer, they would easily feel immense pressure and be swept away by hidden currents.

Chu Tianshu was able to stabilize his spirit and mind within those mists and currents only because his flesh and consciousness were deeply intertwined, allowing him to purge distractions and pull his intent back.

A mere spiritual practitioner would face a danger level skyrocketing straight to the ceiling.

Thus, this situation is highly unfriendly to practitioners—yet perhaps it will give rise to a unique system of spiritual arts.

“Thank you, great hero, for saving our lives!!”

Xu Zhicheng spoke, then bowed his head again in kowtow.

Chu Tianshu reached out and pulled him up.

“Your forehead is bleeding and caked with dirt—don’t you know that’s a sure way to get infected?”

Seeing the dirty bloodstain on the boy’s forehead, Chu Tianshu found it unpleasant; he jabbed a needle into his hairline to stop the bleeding.

“Later, find some cool boiled water to wash and bandage it.”

Xu Ben also approached: “Thank you, benefactor, for saving us…”

Chu Tianshu seized his right wrist; before he could kneel, Chu Tianshu shook his hand, resetting Xu Ben’s dislocated shoulder and elbow joints.

Xu Ben felt a sudden sharp pain in his right arm, then his entire body relaxed.

As his physical condition improved, his mood lifted.

His previously chaotic thoughts also grew calmer.

But why did this benefactor feel so different from the last time he’d met him?

Chu Tianshu gazed toward the end of the street: “Fire guns fired, severed heads…”

“Blood splattered everywhere—by dawn, children will be terrified. Why haven’t the officials come to clean up?”

This didn’t match Zhicheng’s description of him as quiet and reserved.

Xu Ben said, “According to County Magistrate Wang’s nature, the more noise he hears from here, the more he hides inside the yamen—only sending people to investigate once all sound has ceased.”

Chu Tianshu said, “Aren’t there also a hundred-man commander?”

Xu Ben replied, “He’s much the same. If the city were under attack and the disturbance huge, he might be forced to act—but if it’s just a minor incident in the middle of the night, he won’t show his face.”

“Fine.”

Chu Tianshu placed three bamboo sticks into the basket, then lifted it and said, “Let’s go find the county magistrate.”

Xu Ben hurried over to the corpses of the Three Yin Wind Killers, rummaged through them, and retrieved his two fire guns.

Chu Tianshu saw clearly.

The moment Xu Ben grasped the two fire guns, faint hues of light rose from his head.

These must have been the weapons’ profound significance to him—his emotions surged intensely for an instant, producing this phenomenon.

Though invisible to ordinary eyes, it was already astonishing.

In Chu Tianshu’s homeland, even if Xu Ben’s emotions were ten times stronger, no such phenomenon would occur.

This manifestation now exists primarily due to the influence of the Mist Layer.

The three arrived at the yamen and found the gates tightly shut.

The Yongchun County yamen had a front office and rear residence, where County Magistrate Wang and his family lived.

Originally, yamen guards had no duty to stand watch at night for the magistrate’s household—but in reality, nearly every county magistrate’s home had such arrangements.

Chu Tianshu led the Xu uncle and nephew over the wall and saw over a dozen guards standing inside and outside the hall.

County Magistrate Wang held a teacup, distracted and full of worry; upon seeing Chu Tianshu, he was both startled and delighted.

“Great hero, thank heaven you’ve come! Just now, those sounds…”

Chu Tianshu said, “A few pirates broke into town and caused trouble—I dealt with them. Send men to the place where I sat earlier today to remove and clean up the corpses.”

County Magistrate Wang beamed: “Good, excellent!”

He immediately dispatched men to carry out the order; seeing Chu Tianshu willing to speak, he grew even more delighted and ordered a banquet prepared.

The hall was lavish and splendid: matching tables and chairs, exquisitely carved, made of precious materials, lacquered to a glossy black-lava sheen.

The cups, bowls, plates, and dishes were fine porcelain; the screen in the hall featured superb embroidery.

The kitchen served dishes quickly: first, boiled chicken, red-fermented pork, drunken ribs, then Taiji egg custard, meat dumplings, and fish balls.

Among the many dishes were three plates of baked bread—looking oddly out of place.

Xu Zhicheng immediately recognized them: these were the bread the magistrate had brought back from the bakery earlier that day.

Chu Tianshu tasted several dishes; their flavors were mild, yet still pleasant.

Especially the meat dumplings—smooth and fragrant upon entry.

Seeing the magistrate preparing to arrange more, Chu Tianshu said, “No need for such fuss—I came to bid you farewell.”

County Magistrate Wang was startled: “Did I fail to treat you properly?”

“Not at all. I am originally a wandering outsider from overseas; my ancestors were from Jianghuai, and I returned to hear my native tongue.”

Chu Tianshu sighed, “But the sea winds shifted, and I failed to reach my homeland.”

“This journey was meant to return to my ancestors’ homeland, yet I found everywhere in turmoil—better to live peacefully on some remote island overseas. So I plan to sail again.”

County Magistrate Wang understood: “So that’s it. But the coast is unstable, all because of rampant pirates—surely the sea is even more dangerous?”

“Pirates occupy strategic locations; my home is merely a remote island. The ocean is vast, and our routes differ—no need to worry excessively.”

Chu Tianshu raised his hand and said, “These uncle and nephew are willing to sail with me. I sense a karmic connection with them—I’ll take them along.”

County Magistrate Wang sighed: “Such martial prowess, wasted on some remote island—wouldn’t that be a pity?”

“Though the coast is unstable, it’s also an opportunity to achieve glory. No need to risk your life—stay in my city as a patron. I’ll report you to the court, secure you an official post, and you’ll enjoy wealth and honor.”

Chu Tianshu smiled, picked up a baked bread, and took a bite: “My decision is final.”

County Magistrate Wang sighed: “I truly hate to see you go.”

“Oh?”

Chu Tianshu mused, “Then perhaps you should sail with me.”

County Magistrate Wang waved his hands frantically: “No, no, no—home is hard to leave, home is hard to leave!”

Chu Tianshu merely smiled.

Over there, Xu Zhicheng had gone from his initial timidity to now eating and drinking with abandon.

Xu Ben, meanwhile, seemed lost in thought, yet couldn’t help eating a few more bites.

They had been on the run for half a year and hadn’t tasted anything good in far too long.

After dinner, Chu Tianshu told the two of them to clean themselves thoroughly and change into clean clothes.

In the morning, County Magistrate Wang even presented them with the reward money for slaying Japanese pirates and gifted them a carriage.

Since they didn’t know the identities of the Giant Whale Gang or the Sand Sea Sect, he had simply priced them as ordinary Japanese pirates.

Even so, it was still a substantial sum of silver.

The horse hooves clattered as they left the county town.

No one yet spurred the horse; it wandered at its own pace, and all three sat inside the carriage.

Xu Zhicheng stared at the basket of silver: “I thought he’d pretend he forgot the reward.”

Xu Ben said: “Though he’s a mediocre official, he’s quite shrewd when dealing with martial artists.”

“Just a mediocre official?”

Chu Tianshu sat against the carriage wall, leisurely carving a windmill, and said, “I heard Ming officials aren’t paid much. How could a mediocre official have so much wealth?”

Xu Ben sighed: “After your grace landed, you’ve traveled, but perhaps not far enough.”

“In the past half year, as we’ve moved from place to place, the Yongchun County government is among the few that could even be called decent.”

Xu Zhicheng nodded: “My ancestors from Fire God Gully were originally craftsmen of the Divine Engine Corps, exiled to Lingnan, where the whole town now makes firecrackers and weapons.”

“Though not martial heroes, we still had a heart to serve the nation. After developing the Fire God Secret Manual, we intended to present it to the court…”

With the court’s resources, applying this secret quickly would surely clear the Japanese pirate threat from the southeast coast in no time.

That’s what they originally believed.

But when word of the secret leaked, several factions stormed Fire God Gully, and the survivors scattered in flight.

Xu Zhicheng’s group, who held the secret, still hoped to contact the authorities.

But along the way, they encountered pirates raiding several times—after the pirates left, the soldiers arrived, not to pursue the pirates, but to plunder again!

This happened so often that Xu Zhicheng finally understood.

If soldiers couldn’t fight pirates, couldn’t they at least rob civilians?

Wherever pirates caused chaos, the soldiers could use it as an excuse to loot, enrich themselves, then blame all losses on the pirates.

If the chaos became too obvious to ignore, they’d kill civilians—label them as spies or pirates—and count them as battle achievements.

For soldiers, this was a perfect, multi-benefit arrangement.

“Alas, the garrison troops are hereditary military households, all relocated from elsewhere, resettled for farming, torn from their homes, then robbed of their land and burdened with extra labor by their officers—deep resentment runs through them, and they’re estranged from the locals.”

Xu Ben said, “So when they burn, kill, and plunder, they feel no guilt.”

Chu Tianshu recalled how, in his homeland’s history, Qi Jiguang had been deeply dissatisfied with the imperial army and had recruited local coastal troops to fight the pirates.

But last night, he had asked the county magistrate: the Ming Dynasty had been established for a hundred years.

Even if in this world, generals like Yu and Qi would one day emerge, they hadn’t been born yet.

Besides, in this world, merely killing pirates isn’t enough.

Huh!!

Chu Tianshu blew on the windmill in his hand and handed it to Xu Zhicheng.

“Last night you said you’d never heard of any magic in the martial world.”

“But a bat tracking kin by blood scent is already similar to magic.”

Chu Tianshu said, “Hold this windmill—it will let your qi blend with the surrounding mountains, woods, and wind, masking your scent from such tracking methods.”

Curses that target through bloodline are common.

The Crossroads Secret Incantations record several methods to hide a bloodline target from detection.

Xu Zhicheng took the windmill, hesitating: “Will your grace really take us to sea?”

Xu Ben ventured: “The talk of going to sea is just a ruse, isn’t it? I don’t think your grace looks like someone who’s given up and wants to flee overseas—you seem full of spirit.”

“So obvious?”

Chu Tianshu touched his face, his expression growing calm. “Old Xu, you want revenge too, don’t you?”

Xu Ben lowered his eyes: “I leave it entirely to your grace.”

The secret and the people were now in this benefactor’s hands.

At least, he doesn’t seem connected to the massacre at Fire God Gully.

“Then go out and drive the carriage first.”

Chu Tianshu picked up a straw hat and placed it on Xu Ben’s head.

“Don’t let the horse run too fast.”

(End of Chapter)