Chapter 98: Inheritance

Langu stood amidst the ruins after the duel, her eyes filled with unwillingness and anger. She looked at the corpse of Nie Yuan, her heart filled with bitterness.

She had thought she would gain something from this outing, but she did not expect to end up with nothing, having wasted four months for nothing.

Cheng Feng stood to the side, his gaze sweeping over Nie Yuan's corpse, but his mind was on a different scene. He saw the clothing on Nie Yuan's body; although worn, the texture was extraordinary, clearly not something an Ordinary person could possess.

More importantly, there was a Jade Pendant hanging from Nie Yuan's waist. The Jade Pendant was crystal clear, with a phoenix carved upon it, lifelike. Cheng Feng saw at a glance that this Jade Pendant was by no means an Ordinary item.

"Babai, go search the body," Cheng Feng ordered.

Babai was Cheng Feng's capable assistant, a robot with a full-metal skeleton, so naturally, he would not fear respiratory or contact-based poisons.

He did not hesitate at all and immediately stepped forward to begin searching the body. Nie Yuan's clothes were removed one by one, revealing his thin, weak frame. Babai found all sorts of poisons or medicinal powders on Nie Yuan's body.

"Master, he only has these on him," Babai reported.

Cheng Feng nodded, his gaze falling on that Jade Pendant. He walked over, gently untied the Jade Pendant from Nie Yuan's waist, and then began to observe it carefully.

"This Jade Pendant..." Cheng Feng's voice was filled with surprise. He widened his eyes, scrutinizing the crystal-clear Jade Pendant in his hand as if he had seen some rare treasure.

"What is it? Did you find something?" Langu, who was to the side, could not help but curiously lean in, wanting to see what was so special about this Jade Pendant.

Cheng Feng carefully held the Jade Pendant up, looking at it again and again against the sunlight, before slowly saying, "I think this Jade Pendant should be worth quite a lot of money."

Hearing Cheng Feng's words, Langu felt speechless. She truly could not understand how this person before her, who could at least be considered a Martial Artist who had stepped into the Blood Refining Realm, would think of scavenging wealth from a dead person to sell. Such behavior really made one feel somewhat ashamed.

One must know that in the prefecture, any Martial Artist in the Blood Refining Realm was a highly respected existence. If they went out to take a mission or run an errand, the reward they received would be at least twenty taels of silver. Not to mention those Martial Artists attached to large families, whose monthly allowance alone far exceeded this amount.

However, Cheng Feng seemed completely ignorant of all this and was still fixated on how much money this Jade Pendant, which might have been taken from the deceased, could be exchanged for. This truly made Langu feel disappointed and disdainful.

It is truly something to sigh about! These people from small counties have such narrow horizons that it makes one's heart ache!

However, considering they had just fought side by side, Langu did not say anything more.

Langu said without concealment: "Wealth is not an issue for me, so I will gladly accept these medicinal powders."

Seeing that Cheng Feng did not express any objection, Langu made a prompt decision and took action herself to pack them up. Her movements were skillful and neat; she organized the medicinal powders that Babai had piled together—which were filled with various small bags—one by one and put them away properly.

Finally, Langu stared at this pharmacy where she had stayed for a full four months, without a trace of attachment in her eyes, and resolutely turned to leave.

As for Langu's departure, Cheng Feng naturally had no intention of stopping her. In fact, if it weren't for the bags of mysterious medicinal powders and poisons that Langu possessed, wanting to kill Nie Yuan would have been nothing but a pipe dream.

If they really had to face him head-on with a Sword, Cheng Feng was truly not confident; the outcome might have been hard to call.

Although he had Babai as a backup on his side, who could provide long-range fire control,

the opponent's poison methods were truly unreasonable.

Having read the Ghost Doctor Book, Cheng Feng could be considered to have understood a few things.

Soul Shock was a method explored by Alchemists of the herbalist type to confuse the spirit of a Martial Artist.

This was not a technique; it was a poison.

It mainly relied on a rare material called Soul-Trapping Grass as the main ingredient to take effect.

The effect was naturally very powerful.

Anyone below the Blood Refining Realm would die from exhaustion of the spirit.

Martial Artists at the Blood Refining Realm and above, because they had Blood Qi within their bodies, could consume the aura of the Soul-Trapping Grass, so three days would be about enough.

Those with thick Blood Qi could recover after one day.

Although Cheng Feng had only read through it cursorily, his own symptoms were still fresh in his memory.

Fearing that he would fall for it again, Cheng Feng had read about Soul Shock very carefully.

Seeing that Langu had walked far away, Cheng Feng naturally did not hide anything and looked toward a corner: "Come out!"

Wang Hu appeared before Cheng Feng with the members of the Hutou Gang; this was the third insurance policy Cheng Feng had prepared.

Although he had just taken Wang Hu in, loyalty was still a big problem. Relying on strong-arm tactics was still not the right path, but this was all Cheng Feng could do.

Watching the destruction caused by a Blood Refining Martial Artist, Wang Hu felt a lingering fear. Seeing his subordinates still holding Swords and blades, he hurriedly shouted: "Why haven't you greeted the Gang Leader yet?"

Seeing Wang Hu so tactful, Cheng Feng could not help but feel very satisfied: "The person behind Nie Hu has now been slain by me. From now on, the Hutou Gang no longer needs to pay a large amount of Offering to him!" As he spoke, he gently patted Wang Hu on the shoulder to show reassurance.

Immediately after, Cheng Feng explained his well-thought-out plan to these newly subdued underlings in detail: "From today on, the Hutou Gang will be renamed the Hong Sect. And I will become the Sect Master of the Hong Sect. Under the Sect Master, we will also establish a Fumen to be responsible for managing daily affairs and dispatching members of all levels within the Hong Sect. After my careful consideration, I have decided to appoint Wang Hu to this important position. In addition, the Hong Sect will have three branches underneath, named Heaven Gate, Earth Gate, and Human Gate, arranged in order of status. At the same time, we will specially establish a Offering Hall. This hall will only accept Martial Artists who have cultivated to the 'Skin Refining' realm and above; it will never recruit ordinary gang members. These people will become our vanguard and backbone during battles. Of course, they will also enjoy more generous treatment. As for the specific details, let Fumen Wang Hu convey them."

Cheng Feng looked at Wang Hu, and Wang Hu naturally knew to be tactful: "Thank you, Sect Master."

The underlings behind them were puzzled watching the two sing in harmony, but on such an occasion, whoever dared to be the first to cause trouble would definitely be the first to be dealt with, so naturally, no one would stir up trouble.

Cheng Feng knew his layout ability was average, and his ability to organize was even worse, but Cheng Feng's greatest confidence was still his strength and vision.

The large amount of Offering from the Hutou Gang previously had all gone into Nie Hu's private pocket.

So, although the Hutou Gang did not have many people, Nie Hu's residence was so large; that must have cost a lot of money.

Cheng Feng needed money, but he needed people to help him earn money even more.

Fine Salt was his greatest tool for making money.

Cheng Feng truly looked down on the small businesses the Hutou Gang had before.

Wang Hu also understood Cheng Feng's meaning and handed over all the savings in the Hutou Gang to Cheng Feng.

A small gang of thirty-some people had savings of over one hundred and twenty taels of silver.

Nie Hu had not killed the goose that laid the golden eggs; at least he had left some funds in the gang for turnover.

It was Cheng Feng's gain; he would take this money out to do favors.