Chapter 517: Capturing the Snake

Old Master Hu is a regular patron of Goldfinch Tower; the dishes he orders are very familiar to the waiters there.

First came eight candy plates, each holding eight varieties of premium preserved fruit candies, exquisitely crafted, each piece resembling amber; merely looking at them was delight beyond measure.

Old Master Hu sat smiling at his own reserved oversized Eight Immortals table by the window in the hall, shaking his head and swaying as he sipped tea, occasionally picking up a small piece of preserved fruit with a toothpick and popping it into his mouth.

After a while, eight plates of top-grade fruit were served.

Golden Flower Prefecture is rich and prosperous, a hub connecting four directions and nine provinces, where countless rare fruits pass through and can be seen here. Old Master Hu's eight-fruit platters include apricots, grapes, longan, lychee……

These eight fresh fruits are not ordinary varieties commonly found on the market; they are all extraordinary mutants of medicinal-grade quality.

Take the lychee, for example: each one is the size of a baby's fist, entirely fiery red, exuding a rich fire-attribute elemental energy wave; a single such lychee stores energy comparable to a Nine-Refined Spirit Pill!

If it weren't for a distinguished old customer like Old Master Hu, the premier tycoon of Golden Flower Prefecture City, Goldfinch Tower would not bother to produce such fruit, serving them as an ordinary fruit platter.

Next, eight plates of cold dishes were served.

The eight cold dishes, featuring both land and water delicacies, were all exquisitely prepared and gave off a strangely enticing aroma; merely smelling it made one's mouth water.

Then came eight hot dishes, eight soups, and eight pastries.

Everyone in Golden Flower Prefecture City knows that Old Master Hu likes to sit in Goldfinch Tower's hall, by the window, ordering a "six-eight" set meal; people in the hall and passersby on the street can see him alone enjoying the lavish spread and gulping down century-old liquor.

Half of the people in Golden Flower Prefecture know that Old Master Hu had a poor early background; rumor has it he was a vagrant and beggar, engaged in some shady dealings, and by luck amassed this tremendous fortune amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Thus Old Master Hu loves to show off, to indulge, to squander without limit, and even more to revel in beauty… First, he suffered too much hardship in his youth and wants to compensate himself; second, he fears people discovering his humble origins and looking down on him, so he uses ostentatious wealth and display to boost his status; third, it's simply pure vanity.

To let a bunch of paupers far poorer than him stare longingly, envy dripping from their eyes… hey!

Old Master Hu just has that sort of foul hobby!

With such conduct and such rumors, who could believe that this portly Old Master Hu is the eldest legitimate son of the Linghu clan, the premier military family of Great Jin? The biological son of Linghu Qingqing? A top-tier aristocrat of Great Jin?

Wu Tie sat nearby, restless and fidgeting, peering at Old Master Hu's table. He had just feasted on copious meat and wine, consuming countless delicacies, but in terms of value, not even one of the hot dishes on Old Master Hu's table could match it.

Speaking of the golden-scaled giant carp placed before Old Master Hu, it is precisely two feet seven inches long—neither more nor less—and its whiskers must be exactly one foot two inches, neither longer nor shorter; moreover, its scales must be gold and its whiskers silver, with not a trace of impurity.

Such a golden-scaled giant carp, given Goldfinch Tower's resources and channels, can only be obtained two or three times a year, and who knows how much effort and thought it requires.

Once such a giant carp is available, it is definitely destined for Old Master Hu's bowl; even the City Lord of Golden Flower Prefecture City could not hope to eat it.

For that single golden-scaled giant carp, Old Master Hu must pay Goldfinch Tower ten thousand taels of gold each time he eats one.

Ten thousand taels of gold—in Golden Flower Prefecture City, that buys a fine five‑section, five‑courtyard mansion worth a hundred thousand taels of gold!

Wu Tie stared at the fine wine and dishes before him, continually swallowing saliva; soon his intestines churned violently, emitting a "gurgle-gurgle" sound. Wu Tie's gaze swept over Old Master Hu's rotund figure, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

The four retainers beside Old Master Hu walked over unhurriedly, lining up side by side, quietly blocking Wu Tie's line of sight.

Wu Tie glared fiercely at those four retainers.

The four retainers stared back at Wu Tie with expressionless faces and icy gazes.

Wu Tie blinked, then suddenly snorted a cold laugh: "It's just money… I, I've got money!"

After a cold snort, Wu Tie grabbed the beast‑skin bundle he had placed beside the wine table, summoned the waiter to settle the bill, then untied the bundle to reveal a small pile of glittering gold bars and ingots.

After pulling out several gold bars and ingots to pay the bill, Wu Tie seized the mixed‑iron rod leaning nearby, hoisted the bundle with it, and strode out of Goldfinch Tower head‑high and spirited. Upon reaching the doorway, he turned back and asked the waiter: "You buy thousand‑year white flower snakes for one million taels of gold? Brat, dare you try to fool me? I'll come to your place in the dead of night!"

The waiter smiled, eyes narrowing to slits: "Sir, rest assured—if you can actually bring a thousand‑year white flower snake, Goldfinch Tower will hand over one million taels of gold without a word!"

Wu Tie nodded firmly, gave Old Master Hu a hard stare, then glanced warily at the four retainers beside him, let out a cold snort, and marched out of Goldfinch Tower, quickly merging into the street crowd.

Old Master Hu chuckled "heh heh": "My cultivated cat has been eyed by a passing yellow‑haired rat—this kid is bold, not bad, I appreciate him!"

The drinkers inside Goldfinch Tower burst into laughter, the waiters laughed too, the proprietor laughed, and the entire nine‑story space of Goldfinch Tower instantly filled with an extremely jovial atmosphere.

Everyone in Golden Flower Prefecture City knows that Old Master Hu's household is vast and prosperous, with countless women, countless wives and children, numerous outer residences, even more illegitimate offspring, and innumerable lovers throughout the city; thus he keeps a large retinue of guards and enforcers, and it is even rumored that several of Golden Flower Prefecture's bandit gangs are his lackeys.

He is a seated tiger, with foreign barbarians among his ranks; anyone who dares to scheme against Old Master Hu is surely dead.

Old Master Hu picked up a handful of rock‑sugar‑preserved white lotus seeds and slowly savored them, each one tasty and satisfying.

One of the retainers standing beside him stepped outside Goldfinch Tower's door, lightly shook his head, and pointed toward the direction Wu Tie had gone. On the street, a few loafers idly squatting under the eaves, chatting with grinning faces, rose to their feet and lightly pursued Wu Tie.

The drinkers and waiters inside Goldfinch Tower laughed again.

They knew this foreign barbarian was about to meet misfortune.

But it's also possible that Old Master Hu has taken a liking to him, in which case he's in for good luck!

Many people understand that Old Master Hu employs many guards and enforcers, but he prefers to recruit desperadoes—anyone with some martial skill who dares to kill, preferably those with a criminal record, are his favorites.

Wu Tie strode swiftly down the street.

He stands over fifteen feet tall, his burly frame like a savage bear, his aura like that of a ferocious beast; wherever he passes, decent folk on the street all make way, leaving a blank space of seven or eight zhang around him, and the few idlers trailing behind find it ever easier to keep up.

After striding for a while, passing two or three major streets, Wu Tie suddenly turned into a side alley.

Of the three loafers following him, one immediately slowed down while the two maintained their original pace, leisurely entering the alley.

Just as they entered the alley, the two loafers felt their vision go dark; Wu Tie lunged forward with his whole body, his left palm chopping onto one loafer's neck and knocking him out cold, while his right hand clamped like a tiger's jaws and seized the other loafer.

"Hey, lover, you've been following me all this way. I don't care whether you're pickpockets, robbers, or bludgeon‑wielders—I'll ask you one thing: answer and you live, stay silent and you die!"

Wu Tie tightened his grip slightly, and the loafer's neck emitted a horrible "crack‑crack" sound.

The loafer turned deathly pale with fright and frantically signaled Wu Tie with his eyes.

Wu Tie chuckled "heh heh", loosening his grip a bit: "Thousand‑year white flower snake—what's the deal? Is it really worth one million taels of gold?"

The loafer stared, his face twisting into an extremely odd grin: "Brother, just ask around the streets of Golden Flower Prefecture City—if you can actually bring back a thousand‑year white flower snake and deliver it to the pawnshop opposite the City Lord's Mansion, it's not one million taels of gold, but a hundred Origin Crystals!"

The loafer oddly laughed: "That's worth a hundred million taels of gold!"

Wu Tie's mouth twitched, and he snarled: "The waiter at Goldfinch Tower dared to fool me? Well, once I get that hundred million taels of gold, I'll kill him."

With a "crack‑crack" laugh, Wu Tie slapped the loafer unconscious, then in a couple of moves scraped clean the few scattered silver coins on the two loafers, shoved them head‑first into the drainage ditch at the alley mouth, and strode away.

The loafer left waiting outside the alley lingered a while, then slowly walked in.

Suddenly seeing his two companions plunged head‑first into the sewer, the loafer let out a strange yell, hurriedly dragged their water‑logged upper bodies out, administered emergency aid, and barely managed to revive the two who were about to suffocate.

"This damned bastard……" the two loafers, their seven orifices filled with filthy water and waste, reeking half‑dead and vomiting nonstop, cursed angrily.

"My gambling stake for tonight……!" the two loafers spat for a while, felt their empty pockets, and screamed again.

The three loafers glanced at each other; with cultivations no higher than the Chonglou Realm, they could only sigh and glance up at the sky.

This group of theirs is really unlucky.

However, the retainers of Lord Hu act with extreme meticulousness. Besides this group of three Chonglou Realm unlucky fellows placed openly, there is, secretly, a team of six Life Pool Realm tracking experts, and furthermore a Fetal Storage Realm adept skilled in tracking and concealment has been deployed.

The three groups cover for each other, responding from afar; in this tight-knit system, no one has ever escaped their surveillance.

Especially Wu Tie, acting so swiftly, has thoroughly messed up this group of theirs, leaving them half-dead; the news has surely already spread, and more surveillance teams have probably already been deployed.

Wu Tie swaggered out of Golden Flower Prefecture City and headed straight for White Bristle Mountain outside the city.

Along the way, Wu Tie kicked up wind and sand, black winds rolling, dust pervasive; his bearing was no different from that of an old black bear that had become a spirit.

White Bristle Mountain's main peak rises a hundred li, its range stretches thousands of li, serving as the northern barrier of Golden Flower Prefecture City.

Within White Bristle Mountain grow countless varieties of water pine; the trees stand straight, their needles extremely long, the bluish-white needles resembling countless cold glints radiating outward; when the wind blows, pine waves roll, and cold glints surge across the hills, hence the name White Bristle Mountain.

In White Bristle Mountain, flora and fauna are abundant, and a nest of White Flower Snakes has taken residence.

This White Flower Snake is also a heaven-earth rare species, huge in size, possessed of boundless strength, and moves as swiftly as the wind; it is innately of the dragon kind. Ordinary birds and beasts, lacking great opportunity, find it hard to awaken spiritual wisdom in a lifetime. Only the White Flower Snake clan, once they break out of their shells, know how to drink the mist and inhale the qi, understanding how to absorb heavenly and terrestrial primal energy to temper themselves.

Within three to five years, they awaken their spiritual wisdom.

After a hundred years of cultivation, they become experts.

A thousand-year-old White Flower Snake is already a mighty being of the Fetal Storage Realm.

Moreover, it is rumored that a ten-thousand-year-old White Flower Snake hides within White Bristle Mountain.

Furthermore, the elders of the White Flower Snake clan understand reason, know when to advance or retreat, merely guard White Bristle Mountain and never venture out to cause trouble.

Thus, whether it's Golden Flower Prefecture or the surrounding prefectures, no one bothers to expend effort against the White Flower Snake clan; over the years, everyone has lived in peace, even forming some tacit understandings.

Even the lord of Golden Flower Prefecture City, seeking a thousand-year-old White Flower Snake to cure his illness, could only have the black market put out the word to buy it at great price, without mustering a great force or using official power to act against the White Flower Snake clan.

Wu Tie, treading the gale, made his way all the way to White Bristle Mountain.

He, head held high and chest out, rode the wind over a dozen mountain peaks; ahead, a snowy-white stream trickled by, and on a large stone beside the stream lay two white-flower snakes as thick as a bowl's mouth and over two zhang long, their bodies straight, lazily basking in the sun.

These White Flower Snakes are silvery white all over, with dark silver cloud-like patterns on their surfaces, light and dark alternating, their whole bodies glowing.

They lack the sinister, evil, terrifying appearance of ordinary snakes; their aura is relatively peaceful, and their looks are warm and approachable.

Judging by their size, these two White Flower Snakes are merely a dozen years old, roughly equivalent to the first or second tier of the Chonglou Realm; among the White Flower Snake clan, they are just tender youths who have only recently awakened their spiritual wisdom.

Wu Tie glanced askance at the two White Flower Snakes, then rode the wind past over their heads.

The two White Flower Snakes suddenly lifted their heads, stared wide-eyed at Wu Tie, but showed no particular reaction.

Behind them on the cliff, within a cavern several zhang in diameter, a silvery-white snake head about a zhang in size slowly emerged, coldly glancing at Wu Tie. This is a White Flower Snake over a thousand years old, and the two smaller snakes below are its juniors.

Wu Tie traversed mountains and ridges all the way, encountering many White Flower Snakes along the route.

Yet Wu Tie did not lay a hand on any of them, instead casually picking some miscellaneous herbs.

The White Flower Snakes have also come to an understanding with the cultivators of Golden Flower Prefecture: as long as human cultivators do not enter the mountain's core, they allow them to come and go freely.

Wu Tie wandered through White Bristle Mountain for three to five hours, and finally found his target.

Several scouts sent out by Lord Hu stared wide-eyed in shock, incredulously watching Wu Tie shoulder a large white snake and leisurely ride the wind back toward Golden Flower Prefecture City.

That was a white snake, but merely an ordinary, mutated giant python!

This fellow shows not a trace of having cultivated; it is simply an ordinary beast that has not awakened its spiritual wisdom.

How could this be any kind of thousand-year-old White Flower Snake?

Wu Tie simply carried the large white snake, and the White Flower Snake clan along the way showed no reaction, letting him barge through and leave White Bristle Mountain.