Chapter 171

Bai Lang stood before these five people, wearing a cruel smile, 'You heard what I said earlier. So, speak up—speak and I'll give you a quick death.' Bai Lang looked at these five old and young gentlemen. He could see that all five possessed a bone-deep cruelty and disregard for human life—even the one who looked merely fifteen or sixteen was no exception.

'Speaking of it, no female thief has appeared before me; perhaps they still have a division of labor.' Bai Lang sized up the five people before him, wondering who among them might be the weakest. But it seemed they didn't know? Anyway, the five quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy, spouting lines about having an eighty-year-old mother above and a three-year-old child below, yet they could not say what Bai Lang wanted.

Indeed, there were two among them who seemed smarter; at the sight of Bai Lang's expression they immediately changed their tune, claiming they knew the situation and movements of Mao East Mountain. However, after Bai Lang attained the Innate Expert level, his short-term memory was still good, especially when focused, and he instantly noticed the inconsistencies in these two scoundrels' statements, confirming they were boasting. Before he could act, the other three also reacted, starting to chime in with embellishments.

Watching these five people gesticulating as they began to claim they were well acquainted with Mao East Mountain and to bullshit each other, Bai Lang quickly cross-checked their words in his mind, finding countless loopholes, while also deeply understanding the feeling of the lieutenant upon hearing Mr. Sitansislasi and the painter spouting nonsense......

Bai Lang's hooked eyebrows twitched; he would not fly into a rage like the lieutenant, nor would he say, 'One shot to kill you, one shot to kill you, just two shots...' This world seemingly had no firearms, yet it did not hinder Bai Lang from taking direct action. He spread his five fingers and thrust straight out; with great speed he pierced the skulls of these five wicked bandits before him. 'Piercing the enemy chief's head is like piercing rotten soil... even the Nine Yin Divine Claw is no different.'

Each of the five people had a large hole in their foreheads, and the backs of their heads bore five small holes; brain matter mixed with blood poured out white and bubbly from the six holes, and they died with occasional twitches. Bai Lang did not use Lightness Skill this time—those who should have fled had already fled, and he suspected that this village actually knew nothing of Mao East Mountain's whereabouts; perhaps they knew, but that was all. 'This might not be that fellow's stronghold.'

Bai Lang strolled toward the cave; its mouth was flat yet very wide, and a small stream flowed out from inside to outside. Upon entering, he discovered a series of dwellings blocked off with timber; looking at the furnishings and decorations, they were actually quite impressive—it seemed that doing business with no capital indeed made money easily. 'Not only do they have houses, but they also have plenty of food and salt...' Bai Lang shook his head; in this world, even such people lived comfortably.

Bai Lang would naturally not let such people live comfortably, but he had no storage ring, so he couldn't carry away all the valuables. He searched the dwellings here for anything that might be useful—especially any clues related to Mao East Mountain. Since this person cultivated the yin-yang grinding evil art requiring boys and girls, there must be a place for 'use' and for disposing of the aftermath; seeing whether such a place exists here would give a rough idea.

'However, if he hid this place inside the cave passage... then it would be hard to find.' Bai Lang gazed at the pitch-black interior of the cave passage; even with outside light, he could only see that there were at least six or seven entrances here. The caves on the other side of the mountain were similar, with at least ten or so entrances leading deeper. The women, children, and elderly of this village seemed to have fled along the cave passage; Bai Lang was not a dog, could not track them, and who knows what traps they might have set inside?

While searching the village's belongings, Bai Lang actually found quite a few good things: 'We found plenty of weapons, and also various ointments in those bottles and jars of unknown purpose; as for gold beads and valuables, there were many. No martial arts manuals at all, and those strange flowers and herbs seem absent as well. Divine pills and elixirs... if they existed, I wouldn't even know what they are.' Bai Lang couldn't carry more, but he did find a medicine for repelling insects.

This is probably why poisonous insects hardly ever come here—Bai Lang, relying on his sense of smell, found that the village was scattered with medicinal powder that every household possessed; he took away a large bundle. He had not found any trace of Mao East Mountain, but Bai Lang was not impatient—he had plenty of targets to pursue, and he decided that next time he had a storage ring, he would come here to eradicate the roots, killing everyone who could be killed in these places.

'If the root is rotten, it cannot be saved.' Bai Lang muttered, and on the way back he used a bottle to collect a bottle of hornet honey.

After returning to Huaiyang City, he washed up and slept well. Bai Lang first went to the Minister of Defense's residence to find someone. 'Minister Qiao, Qiao the Minister of Defense, find someone to help me appraise this—I think this stuff might be very effective.' He took out the bottle, which was full of honey. Qiao Peak opened the stopper and took a sniff; his expression immediately changed slightly. 'You could find this? This is blood ginseng honey—no need to have others appraise it—I've seen this before.'

'Is it a blood-red strange tree? The kind with vines all over the top, and many large hornets nesting inside the tree? That's right, this is blood ginseng honey—this substance uses flesh and blood as nourishment to produce the honey. It is toxic but greatly replenishes vital energy; it is one of the chief ingredients needed for many medicinal pills.' Qiao Peak pushed the bottle back to Bai Lang, 'It's not particularly rare; such things could be found in deep mountains and rivers, but the price is not cheap either.'

'You say it's toxic?' Bai Lang's concern was this. 'Indeed, it has slight toxicity, but for an Innate Expert it's basically useless. Its poison is a blood-qi toxin; Innate Experts won't be affected. For ordinary mortals, their blood and qi will boil, causing a reversal, ultimately dying from excessive yang.' Qiao Peak revealed a mysterious smile, 'This is also one reason why this medicine's price is not cheap...' Bai Lang looked at the middle-aged man's face, which instantly turned into that of a despicable person.

'Since Minister Bai has found this blood ginseng, it naturally belongs to you; just remember to harvest it on schedule. The Minister of Defense's office has a special miscellaneous record about this—don't harvest too many roots, this windfall will be endless—how about it? Minister Bai, would you like to officially take up a post here?' Qiao Peak laughed, 'Don't look down on my place compared to the headquarters, but it is also free and easy, much more lively than the Minister of Defense's office in the capital Ji City...'

That's all that needs to be said; Qiao Peak merely smiled, 'If you have any plans, you can find me anytime.' After saying that, he left. Bai Lang touched his bearded face, 'Goodness, I actually feel a bit moved...... but I still have to return to Ji City—aside from anything else, these bounties can only be claimed in Ji City.'