Chapter 569: Infiltration (3400+ words)

Ten years later.

Within the Lin Kingdom, a legend about the "Qingyun Chamber of Commerce" gradually began to spread.

Rumor had it that wherever money flowed in the world, there were shares and business belonging to the "Qingyun Chamber of Commerce"!

And the Five-Colored Dragon Envoys within the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce were existences that struck fear into the hearts of countless people in the pugilistic world.

Among them.

The White Dragon Envoy was mainly responsible for brothels and the entertainment industry.

The Honglongshi managed banks and pawnshops, and was the true God of Wealth.

The Blue Dragon Envoy handled the waterways and was elected as the overall leader of the Thirteen Waterways in the Lin Kingdom.

As for those pieces of intelligence that seemed more reliable, after Aaron verified them later, most turned out to be fake.

Sanqi and Chenxiang had both grown into adults and were acting quite haughty, lecturing the new medicine boys with full, resonant voices: "To enter our Huichun Hall, it takes three years to identify herbs, three years to prepare medicine, three years to read medical books, and ten years before you can treat minor ailments... You little brats still have a long way to go... Hurry up and get to work!"

As time went by, they became familiar faces.

And he himself looked rather unreliable...

He chose to open a medical clinic not too far and not too close to the Lin Family Breakfast Shop, naturally with the intention of long-term infiltration.

His heart couldn't help but stir, feeling a sense of joy that the prey had finally fallen into the trap.

"Yes!"

Her expression turned serious as she handed over a dossier.

Aaron grew a goatee and used the Bone Shrinking Technique and Disguise Technique to make himself look a bit more mature. Combined with a green robe and a black wooden hairpin on his head, he finally had the air of an old traditional Chinese doctor.

Over these ten years, he had used the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce to collect many rumors about immortality—of unknown authenticity—as well as a pile of "immortal items" that were almost certainly all fake.

Seeing that he had attracted enough people, Aaron put down his teapot and bowed to the surrounding crowd: "My surname is Fang, given name Shiyu. I have learned some medicine, and seeing that the local customs here are simple and honest, I intend to settle down. I ask all my neighbors for your kind support..."

"Remember, the rule of our Zui Xiang Pavilion is that hitting women is not allowed!"

This person was none other than Aaron!

He opened his eyes and saw the now-adult Lin Jing standing not far away, blushing, followed by two honest-looking middle-aged people who already showed signs of old age, their faces full of anticipation, nervousness, and unease...

The two of them also knew that their own learning was shallow and they had only learned half of the medical arts; they feared they would starve if they went out to make a living, so they could only rely on their Master for a meal, and thus they were very sycophantic toward Aaron.

On this day, Lin Jing was delivering breakfast as usual when he saw that the Qian Family Paper Shop, which had been closed, was open again. They had even hired people to renovate it and put up a new plaque, so he couldn't help but be curious: "The whole Qian family moved to Jingcheng; who bought this place?"

A small portion of those with unknown authenticity involved some dangerous places.

This was a small city in the Lin Kingdom with a small population and little arable land.

He was happy to be idle every day, carrying a teapot to stroll around the streets when he had nothing to do, and occasionally going to the Lin Family Breakfast Shop for breakfast.

Now he had been promoted to a resident physician and could get a share of the consultation fees from seeing patients every day.

"Oh?"

【Age: 80】

At this moment, with his eyes half-closed, he looked at the Attribute Panel:

【Name: Fang Yu (Aaron)】

Aaron waited until the ink was ground before picking up his brush, dipping it into the ink, and writing a few lines.

Mu'en City.

After finishing the writing, he added a few strokes to a painting of a lady before heading to the front hall.

"Hmm."

Aaron stroked his goatee and shook his head as he said: "The kidney water is not firm; you must have frequented flower gardens in your youth, which damaged your foundation..."

As for the name of the medical clinic, he named it "Huichun Hall" to commemorate Ge Lao.

"This infiltration... is about using time to win trust... it must be long enough; time reveals a person's heart."

In other words, Aaron could find the Five-Colored Dragon Envoys at any time, while the Five-Colored Dragon Envoys could not find Aaron at all!

"Get up... is the news true?"

In the ten years, business at Huichun Hall was indeed bleak at first, but later, after a few urgent cases had no choice but to come to his door and were miraculously cured by Aaron, his reputation finally spread, and the number of people coming for treatment gradually increased.

Just as he was closing his eyes, Chenxiang's voice suddenly came to his ears: "Master... there is a patient here who would like you to take their pulse."

"Not bad, not bad. Medical skills really do require practice... The medicine I conceived has already undergone rigorous human testing and is fully ready for practical use."

Yu Xuanwei agreed without hesitation.

Legend had it that with a wave of his hand, he could overturn clouds and rain, making the wind and clouds change color!

Served by the pretty maid Zisu, Aaron wrote a piece called "Luo Yun Fu".

His calligraphy had been intentionally trained, constantly imitating the great masters, and now it had a certain character; each character was like a glazed jade bead, and the whole page shone with brilliance.

"During the infiltration period, I won't do anything extra... letting things take their natural course is best."

At this time, looking left and right at Sanqi and Chenxiang, he felt somewhat dissatisfied.

To prevent being traced back, the connection between Qinglong Laoda and the Five-Colored Dragon Envoys had always been a single-line contact.

Aaron sat leisurely in the main seat, letting an Apprentice come over to knead his shoulders and beat his back; unless he encountered a major illness, he would not take action.

In the medicine hall, many medicine boys were busy.

"Very good, but starting today, the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce will completely withdraw from Mu'en City!"

One does not hit a smiling face; Lin Jing naturally followed the neighbors in saying some auspicious words like "wishing you wealth," but in his heart, he was very dismissive:

Both of these were children from neighboring families. Aaron had taken them as Apprentices to integrate into the surroundings faster. That very day, they had voluntarily signed a long-term contract similar to a slave contract, agreeing that as long as they were fed, it would suffice, and they didn't even want monthly wages.

Nowadays, the atmosphere in all walks of life is very bad; the so-called "teaching the apprentice starves the master" means that until the master is on his deathbed, he likely won't teach the apprentice any real skills.

"This young doctor looks like he's not even thirty; what use is he? I can't come here for medical treatment in the future! I'd rather run further away to find a mature doctor!"

However, he still pretended to be his usual self on his face, smiling politely: "Isn't this the whole Lin Family? You are all neighbors; your health has always been good, who is ill?"

"This is what that person said to a sister in bed..." Yu Xuanwei said with a giggle: "Men are most likely to tell the truth when they are in bed..."

Aaron asked in a hoarse voice.

Neighbors or regular customers would also come here every morning to buy boiled water, or have the Lin Family boy—Lin Jing—deliver breakfast items like steamed buns and mantou to their doors.

Yu Xuanwei threw out a lecher, then comforted the other courtesans: "If there are any more of these blind fools, just let go and beat them!"

Aaron lay on the grandmaster chair, drank tea for a while, then came to the desk in the backyard, spread out white paper, and shouted with full vigor: "Chenxiang... grind the ink!"

'It seems... the Immortal Cultivation World should be quite dangerous, and not suitable for mortals to live in... otherwise, that Lin Tuizhi seems to treat his family quite well, yet he only let them muddle along in the mortal world...'

Inside Zui Xiang Pavilion.

But that was about it.

Aaron nodded: "What about the others?"

Of course, difficult and miscellaneous diseases still required Aaron to take action.

"Not bad, not bad."

They were now being taught by Aaron in a cramming manner, having memorized some common medical cases and proven prescriptions, and could handle some minor illnesses.

Mu'en City.

'Hmm... noted, later when I buy a maid, I'll just call her 'Zisu', red sleeves adding fragrance while reading at night... that is the joy of a scholar.'

And they wanted to outlive Aaron?

Heh...

"Master!"

Ten years passed, and the little girl from back then had matured like a honey peach.

Yu Xuanwei continued.

"A woodcutter once saw a yellow light land outside the city, and right around that time... Lin Tuizhi returned from a long journey to visit relatives... transport companies and escort agencies in other nearby cities... had no record of this person taking passage."

"What?" Zhang Guihua's voice immediately rose an octave, looking at her son in disbelief, feeling as if she didn't recognize him anymore.

After finishing the troublesome matters at hand, she returned to her room.

【Skills: Fishing (95/100), Sea Gathering Residual Art (4/5), Disguise Technique (95/100), Bone Shrinking Technique (49/100), Medicine (80/100), Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting (50/100)】

He also recognized a few characters, and seeing the plaque above, which had 'Huichun Hall' written on it in large characters, it seemed to be a medical clinic.

Yu Xuanwei continued.

Well, he just let out a bit of word that he was recruiting Apprentices, and the surrounding neighbors very enthusiastically introduced a few to interview.

Time is like water, years are like a shuttle.

This Lin Tuizhi is very likely a real Immortal Cultivator! And the kind of Loose Cultivator who accidentally obtained an immortal fate!

Aaron didn't want to provoke any major forces or Immortal Cultivation sects at all; he just wanted to find this kind of low-strength Loose Cultivator and safely blend into the Immortal Cultivation World!

"Our people all adopt circuitous investigations, spending heavy money to bribe ordinary people to monitor... they don't even know about each other."

Lin Jing seemed to want to run, but was eventually pressed into his seat by his father, and reluctantly held out his wrist: "It's me..."

After all, a growing boy eats his father out of house and home; poor families have many children, and sooner or later they have to find their own way to make a living.

Anyway, this name is almost everywhere; basically, for every six or seven medical clinics, there is one with this name.

Little Huai Alley.

She immediately turned around and prostrated on the ground.

"Yes!"

Even the children's parents specifically instructed Aaron that if they didn't listen, he could beat them as he pleased, and they absolutely wouldn't care!

After all, being able to learn a trade and eat white rice, and perhaps getting a red envelope during the New Year if the master was kind-hearted, was something many boys couldn't even ask for!

Apprentices in other restaurants and blacksmith shops who wanted to learn a trade were also beaten all the way up by their Masters, Mistresses, and Senior Sisters and Brothers!

Aaron opened the scroll and browsed through it quickly.

Those two Apprentices didn't dare to let out a fart, and obediently went to work.

The Huanglongshi colluded with the government to sell private salt and ironware on a large scale.

Just waiting for the day when Aaron would impart his bottom-of-the-box skills in their entirety...

But later it was guessed that it should be that Lin Tuizhi left some Spirit Pill or the like for his family, which was understandable.

"Lin Jing, male, seventeen years old... claims to have a grandfather who sought immortality and asked about the Tao... discussed qualifications and other issues..."

Huichun Hall had been open for a month, and business was very poor.

However, they didn't originally have these names, but were called 'Second Dog' and 'Third Egg'; such unrefined names were immediately changed by Aaron into two traditional Chinese medicine names.

The Black Dragon Envoy was an even more famous giant in the underworld, raising countless desperate criminals under his command!

Chenxiang hurriedly came over to pick up the water bowl next to the Inkstone, added water to the Inkstone, and picked up the high-quality pine soot ink to grind it slowly.

Moreover, the medical clinic also took in more Apprentices and hands, and the back courtyard added a few maids and a cook.

In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed just like that.

Aaron thought to himself.

Just as Yu Xuanwei was facing the mirror, she saw a figure suddenly appear on the mirror, a figure wearing a Dragon Head Mask!

"White Dragon Envoy pays respects to the Master!"

The Lin Family lived by running a breakfast shop, and business was neither good nor bad.

Aaron didn't want to take risks, so it was delayed.

【Martial Arts: Iron Shirt Fist Third Layer (1000/1000)】

"Hmm... another long stretch of time; I can learn the Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting to pass the time..."

Other methods, such as kidnapping or threats, while not impossible, carried too high a risk factor, so he decided it was better to spend the time waiting patiently for an opportunity.

Lin Sansi couldn't help it anymore and spoke up: "Fang... this boy married a wife early on, but he just can't produce a son; I'd like to ask you to take a look..."

【Talent: Changsheng】

"Chenxiang... why haven't you gone to sweep the floor yet?"

Aaron gave the order: "Never underestimate an Immortal Cultivator! Even if they are only at the lowest level! They might just have some unique Secret technique that could discover us."

Aaron came to the front counter and saw two half-grown boys yawning out of boredom; seeing him approach, they hurriedly came over to salute: "Master!"

"Sanqi... go and wash all the pots, bowls, and basins."

The back courtyard.

What surprised Aaron somewhat was that the Lin Family had not come to see a doctor even once, which was truly inconceivable.

Seeing Aaron approach, Chenxiang hurriedly stepped forward and saluted ingratiatingly.

"This..."

Among the Five-Colored Dragon Envoys, she was the most loyal.

"Not bad, the investigation was done quite clearly."

Furthermore, his Medicine had also reached a bottleneck and required a large number of human experiments.

This Lin Jing was also a man with a wandering eye; he usually earned a little money by running errands, and being a lustful youth, he was one day infatuated by a prostitute...

"Grandfather Lin Tuizhi, according to reports from neighbors in the street, was fond of immortals in his youth, and even after marrying and having children, he did not change his ambition, often going out on long journeys, sometimes for years at a time..."

【Realm: Transformation Energy】

"His father Lin Sansi, his mother Zhang Guihua..."

Aaron had long been mentally prepared for this; after all, for businesses like pharmacies and medical clinics, building a reputation often takes years, over a decade, or even several decades!

What a pity...

And above these Five-Colored Dragon Envoys, there was an even more Mysterious 'Qinglong Laoda'; he was the true master of the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce, and the Five-Colored Dragon Envoys were merely the five fingers on his palm...

Aaron said commandingly.

A young man who looked to be in his twenties, wearing a cyan long gown, was holding a purple clay teapot, taking a swig from time to time while shouting at workers to adjust the position of a plaque.

Aaron was somewhat delighted; after spending ten years, he had finally found a relatively reliable target.

"Oh? What is it?"

Lin Jing blushed and simply didn't want to say.

Aaron placed his fingers on the pulse and asked casually.

Seeing Lin Jing lower his head in silent admission, he couldn't help but raise his hand: "How could I not know? I'll beat you to death, you philandering brat!"

Aaron watched the show with a smile, and after Lin's father and mother had finished venting, he said to the crestfallen Lin Jing: "Don't be afraid... this illness... is still curable!"

(End of this chapter)