Chapter 73: First Mission

Zhou You trained for four or five days and felt his cultivation progress steadily.

One day, he suddenly realized that the reason Li Hao had not returned to the training grounds during this time was most likely because he had found another place to practice.

The stone wall of the training grounds had collapsed and had yet to be repaired, and since Li Hao had secrets he did not wish to expose, he had no choice but to avoid Zhou You, his sparring partner.

"I should find some time to buy some stones and repair the grounds!"

Zhou You sought out an Apprentice in the Outer Courtyard, inquired about a stonemason in the city, and decided to strike a deal.

Then, Li Hao returned.

He was in good spirits, and the hidden injuries on his body seemed to have almost completely healed.

"Let's go, Big Senior Brother is calling for us; there is work to be assigned."

Without a word, Li Hao pulled Zhou You along to visit Big Senior Brother Lu Qiang.

"Hmm, you two are in good spirits. There is a matter I am arranging for you now."

"The tiger bones and other materials purchased by the martial arts hall are all bought from a group of hunters in Waishan, and the leader, Hunter Pan, is very influential in the mountains."

Lu Qiang's tone turned murderous. "However, these hunters have not been honest lately and are clamoring for a price hike."

He stared at Zhou You and Li Hao. "Go and persuade them; if you cannot persuade them..."

Having said this, he made a chopping motion with his hand; the gesture was filled with killing intent.

Zhou You understood immediately.

Raising prices—isn't that just robbery? Daring to stir up trouble on the master's turf; they must be tired of living.

"When you go out of the city to handle this, you can stay at the manor under the Master's name; don't worry about food and lodging."

Before they left, Lu Qiang gave Zhou You and Li Hao 10 taels of pocket money to cover their expenses on the road.

The old man not only had shops and properties in the city, but also a large expanse of fertile land outside the city, where he had built a manor and raised many tenant farmers.

Zhong Shaoying, who was always at odds with Shen Sijing, was born to a family of tenant farmers, and the local faction was entirely composed of tenant farmer descendants.

"Zhou You, we can only appreciate Big Senior Brother's kindness in our hearts."

Once they had taken their leave of the Big Senior Brother, Li Hao whispered to Zhou You.

"Try not to go to the manor outside the city, lest we be held back by others."

They belonged to Shen Sijing's camp and were at daggers drawn with Zhong Shaoying's group, and the manor outside the city was the other side's home turf.

On this trip to do work for the martial arts hall, the last thing they wanted was for any trouble to arise.

Li Hao meant that Senior Brother Shen's trading firm also had a foothold outside the city, providing food, lodging, and rest for passing merchant caravans.

"Before we leave the city, we will greet Senior Brother Shen and stay at the merchant caravan's stopover."

This was Zhou You's first time going on a mission, and he felt a sense of anticipation.

He had long heard that Zhengshi Xuitu were different from those who paid to attend trial classes and were often entrusted with important tasks.

Just like this 'persuasion' of the hunters attempting to raise prices, not only was there pocket money for expenses, but if it were handled well, there would be rewards afterward.

Li Hao was experienced after all, fully embodying the 'veteran guiding the newcomer' role, and he led Zhou You to prepare the dry rations, water bags, and all the odds and ends needed for leaving the city, spending seven or eight of the 10 taels of silver.

During this time, he discussed the details of the mission with Zhou You, specifically the situation regarding this group of Waishan hunters.

Butchers in the city and hunters outside the city were both groups prone to producing villains.

These two professions made a living by killing, and with sharp weapons in hand, once evil thoughts took root, the destruction they could cause far exceeded that of ordinary people.

The two major gangs in the city had hall masters who were former butchers; they recruited many Apprentices and hoarded wealth, possessing considerable power.

"That is the 'Zhen Guanxi' template, and an upgraded version of Zhen Guanxi at that, without the restraint of Lu Zhishen."

As for the hunters outside the city, they spent their days drilling through mountains and forests, fighting wild beasts, and living in harsh conditions; they were tough and resilient, but they had also developed a habit of disregarding life.

After all, the deep mountains and old forests, far from the civilized world, were the perfect places to kill and dump bodies.

Why were there often scattered skeletons and bones in the gullies and deep valleys of the mountains?

Except for a few who were woodcutters or tourists who had fallen by accident, the vast majority were traces of hunters who had been moved by greed to kill and dispose of their victims.

For some hunters, their prey was not just wild beasts, but also people.

Generally speaking, the distinction between the professions of hunter and mountain bandit was not as clear-cut as one might imagine.

"This group of hunters makes a living by hunting tigers and wolves, and the tiger skins, tiger bones, and other materials they obtain are all sold to the martial arts hall."

"This business has been going on for over a decade, and the prices have never risen."

"After all, with the Master's reputation here, petty thieves wouldn't dare to harbor crooked thoughts."

Li Hao analyzed the origin of this mission.

As early as the last time Mao Laoliu of the Jiba Martial Arts Hall brought his disciples to visit, he had mentioned the hunters' price hike in passing.

This matter was very unusual; although the hunters were fierce, they only acted like tyrants in Waishan.

Wang Jianxiong Laoye was the true local powerhouse, wealthy and influential, raising a group of tough and capable warriors.

If the hunters provoked him, not only would their business fail, but their very lives would be in danger.

"Could it be that they ate too much tiger gallbladder and their courage has grown?"

Zhou You also knew this was a joke.

A large part of the reason was that the martial arts masters of Su Cheng were successively intervening in Gongliang City, shaking the existing circles.

Bao Tiefeng's successful establishment of his hall had encouraged more and more challenges to other halls.

The martial arts halls in the city were recently exhausted from dealing with this, busy and overwhelmed.

It was highly likely that the group of hunters had spotted this opportunity and proposed a price hike, betting that the Jianxiong Martial Arts Hall would be too distracted to make things difficult for them.

Thinking of this, Zhou You looked at himself and Li Hao.

It seemed that was indeed the case; he and Li Hao, the two Zhengshi Xuitu with the least seniority, had both been sent out to do the work.

One had to know that those hunters were fierce and vicious, using every possible means to hunt wild beasts—setting poisoned bait, laying traps, shooting cold arrows, and sometimes even resorting to the genocidal method of setting fire to the mountains.

If anyone said they didn't have a few lives on their hands, no one would believe it!

Moreover, the mountain is the opponent's home turf, giving them a massive advantage; if a fight were to actually break out, it would be hard to say who would win.

However...

Zhou You knows that this mission is both a crisis and a challenge.

If he and Li Hao can handle it beautifully, the bonus will not be small, and perhaps if the old master is pleased, he might even bestow something upon them.

"Zhou You, I have a few pieces of Iron Armor here; tie them close to your body over your vital points."

Before setting off, Li Hao gives Zhou You five or six palm-sized, pitch-black armor plates; they are curved and matte, looking extremely high-quality.

Zhou You lightly flicks the armor plates with his fingertips, and a subtle vibrating sound rings in his ears; the defense is surprisingly good.

He guesses that these armor plates were dismantled from a complete set of armor.

Li Hao explains, "That gang of hunters uses poison arrows that are both vicious and lethal; the poison is refined, so even if there is no wound, it can seep into your body just by grazing your skin, causing you to lose your life without even realizing it."

"Use the armor plates to block arrows and protect your vitals; don't you dare capsize in the gutter."

Zhou You cups his hands in a salute toward him and takes two medicine bottles out from his bosom, "I also have some extra medicine; I'll share some with you."

He is not entirely unprepared, having specifically made a trip to Furen Hall to buy medicine.

Purple Gold Ointment is specifically for treating bruises and contusions; since the opponents this time have hunting knives and poison arrows, he added Golden Sore Medicine and Poison-Repelling Powder as well.

Just buying the medicine cost one and a half 10-tael gold bars.

It makes Zhou You want to change his profession and study medicine to sell drugs; this trade is simply profiteering!

The eldest miss, Hua Youxing, even specifically mentioned that if they gather precious medicinal herbs in Waishan, their Xingren Tang will buy them back at a high price and will not let him suffer a loss.

"Many thanks."

Li Hao is not polite either; he gifts the armor plates and accepts the medicine, which is a sharing of resources, with everything predicated on completing the mission.

The two of them are now fully prepared, leaving the martial arts hall to head out of the city.