Chapter 244: Handover and Retreat

In ancient times, one city was one state, which is why there is also the term "city-state."

The importance of cities to human civilization is self-evident, especially after the Celestial Instruction of Martial Dao, as cities sprang up everywhere like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

For those who practice boxing and martial arts, a city represents resources, environment, and opportunity.

Better to have than not, better to be big than small—this is the standard by which martial artists choose their location.

Zhang Huaimin would rather bash his head until it bled than leave the Fucheng, and this is the reason why.

Although he did not say it aloud, Zhou You guessed that it might be related to the influence brought by the Nine Cauldrons of the Celestials.

The origin of the Martial Dao miracle comes from the descent of the Celestials, and the Nine Cauldrons are the witnesses to that history, influencing the development of the Martial Dao.

Martial artists who want to pursue miraculous opportunities and breakthroughs must follow the traces of the Nine Cauldrons, which is to say, the distribution locations of the cities.

The larger the city, the stronger the strength of the city-builder, and the closer it is to the Nine Cauldrons.

The largest city on earth, and the holy land for countless martial artists, Dijing, was built by the hand of the Primordial Martial Saint; it is also the place where successive "Monarchs" ascended the throne to offer sacrifices to heaven, and furthermore, the fixed location where the Nine Cauldrons gather.

"Sigh, this is how my life will be; if possible, I want to go to Dijing to take a look."

Zhang Huaimin sighed softly, expressing the hope in his heart.

He felt melancholy for a moment, then said to Zhou You, "I have noted your kind intentions toward your elder brother."

"How about this, I have a Disciple who recently offended someone and needs to find a place to avoid disaster."

"I will bring him to stay here for a period of time, and once the situation stabilizes, I will return to the Fucheng."

Hmm, Zhang Huaimin still has a Disciple? Zhou You understood; Zhang Huaimin still couldn't bear to let go of this profit, so since he didn't want to come himself, he sent a Disciple to hold the fort and collect the local kickbacks for him.

Zhou You reminded him, "Big Brother, there are several sworn brothers in Golden Crane Mountain; one must be on guard against them."

"Hmm, I know; the Seven Birds Alliance, they are all third-rate goods."

Zhang Huaimin said, "Only Kongque Laoliu among them is outstanding, but recently he hasn't been playing with those losers either. Rest assured, they would never dare to touch my, Zhang Huaimin's, people."

The Disciple he sent over was a Weapon Master at the late stage of Blood Qi, who had also been having a rough time lately; after his master lost power, he had no backing and had offended a big shot he couldn't afford to provoke.

Although reluctant, the small town was a place to avoid disaster and could also save up some wealth, making it a good place to hide.

"Master Zhou."

Zhang Huaimin's Disciple, named Sun Ziyang, reported to the small town 3 days later.

He was very polite to Zhou You; although Zhou You was sworn brothers with Zhang Huaimin and should be called "Uncle" by seniority, no one took that part seriously.

"Lu Zhigang" was currently still at the middle stage of Blood Qi, and could not bring himself to make the other party act as a junior.

Sun Ziyang was experienced and capable in his work; after chatting for a few sentences, Zhou You knew this person could be entrusted with major matters.

Zhang Huaimin only showed his face at the beginning to let the town know that his successor was a proper Martial Master, and one of a higher grade than Golden Crane Mountain.

The one who would remain in the small town afterward would have to be Sun Ziyang.

When Zhou You and Sun Ziyang were handing over, they chatted quite a bit and learned that he was originally a Gate Guest for a Fucheng noble family, but had offended a sect Disciple during a competition, and even his master couldn't protect him, so he had to leave for a while.

Around the Fucheng, there were 6 sects of various sizes, among which was Dayin Mountain, where Wang Jianxiong came from.

These sect Disciples also entered the city to seek a living, distributing themselves across all walks of life, with involvement in guilds and noble families alike.

Using their fellow-disciple relationship as a bond, these sect Disciples were adept at sticking together, and their influence was great.

The small town once again welcomed a "change of dynasty"! "Lu Zhigang" resigned and asked his sworn elder brother Zhang Huaimin to take his place.

Zhang Huaimin was a Martial Master from the Fucheng whose strength was even above that of Golden Crane Mountain, and his reputation was illustrious.

The old gentleman opened up the situation on his very first day in town!

He was as sharp as ever, uninhibited by wine or women, forming a stark contrast to Lu Zhigang's nearly reclusive style; he accepted every invitation to eat and drink, and never refused any gifts or beauties sent his way. One has to say, this old man was a typical social butterfly!

The wealthy merchants and gentry in town all liked such down-to-earth big shots, and one after another, over a dozen people took him as their godfather.

Zhou You sighed endlessly; comparing people to others only leads to frustration!

Taking advantage of the time Zhang Huaimin and Sun Ziyang were out attending banquets, he began his final packing.

Over this period, he had used the town's channels to clear his accounts, liquidating most of the stolen goods from the Cloud-Touching Stronghold, and adding the kickbacks from these past few months, the weight of gold and silver in his hands had already exceeded a million.

Storing so much cash was undoubtedly the most foolish behavior.

Zhou You, one after another, purchased large quantities of grain, medicinal herbs, building materials, and other supplies through various commercial channels with real gold and silver, and privately transported them back to his hometown.

His grandfather and Zhou Laiwei received the supplies, stockpiled the grain and herbs, and began building a fortress near the mountains and water.

As the saying goes, a wily rabbit has three burrows; the hometown was one of the escape routes Zhou You had reserved.

The expenses for this were approximately 100,000 taels.

Besides this, Zhou You stockpiled a large amount of essential household living supplies—grain, oil, cotton, linen, firewood, tea, salt, and sugar—filling several large warehouses to the brim, conservatively estimated to be enough for 1,000 people to eat for two years.

What to do if he couldn't take it all? Gold and silver were heavy, and living supplies were bulky; transporting them required a lot of carrying capacity.

Zhou You took out a palm-sized pouch; it was exactly one of the 3 Hunger Pouches he had on hand.

He also had a pair of gloves made from Martial Master Skin, but this item was a Blood Qi Divine Weapon, not easy to refine, and to rashly dismantle it would be a waste.

Jiang Hua had taken away the corpse of the Golden Crane Mountain leader and promised to give him half of the skin and tendons/bones.

It was better to wait until the materials arrived to make a few more Hunger Pouches.

As for now...

Zhou You opened the pouch wide and shouted, "Collect!"

The astonishing suction force emitted from the pouch enveloped the boxes of gold and silver on the ground, and in an instant, they were swallowed into the seemingly bottomless interior of the Hunger Pouch, the weight of which only became slightly heavier.

Next were the bags of grain, medicinal herbs, cotton and linen fabrics, bundles of firewood, bags of salt, bags of sugar...

Hunger is the feeling of never being satisfied.

As long as the Hunger Pouch is opened, it will not stop no matter how much it swallows, until Zhou You actively closes the opening.

Although it is a one-time use item, its internal space is not restricted.

A moment later, the supplies in several warehouses had vanished from where they were.

This Hunger Pouch of Zhou You's became bulging, so he simply tied it to his belt to carry it close to his body.

As long as he lowered his lapels to cover it, no one who saw Zhou You would ever guess that he was carrying supplies capable of feeding a thousand people.

"The one million catties of grain in Gongliang City, along with the other supplies, should also be retrieved."

Zhou You still had a Hunger Pouch, and his mind was suddenly set in motion.

That batch of supplies was the bounty from a flower-plucking thief; because the target was too large and transport was inconvenient, it had been kept in the city all along.

Now that he had the Hunger Pouch, not a single grain of rice would be left behind.

In these times, the price of grain rises three times a day, making it more solid than real gold or silver; he absolutely could not let it go.

In the past, when Zhou You moved money and supplies, he had to carry them on his shoulders or in his hands; now with the Hunger Pouch, he could just pack everything away into a palm-sized bag—this was the superiority of a portable space.

If he were to go into the logistics business, other merchant firms would certainly have nothing left to eat.

(End of this chapter)