Chapter 50

"How is it? Any news?"

The woman was clearly injured; her face and lips were somewhat pale.

Manager Wu sighed and shook his head slightly, "I sent people to investigate every day, but there are no secret marks left by the Incense Master in any of the places."

The woman gritted her teeth, "Could it be..."

"Impossible!"

Manager Wu said in a deep voice, "With the Incense Master's martial arts and sorcery, as long as he isn't surrounded by experts from the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect, where in the world can he not go?"

"Besides, there is the Cockscomb Snake God protecting him. No matter how many knife-wielding bandits are on the mountain, he could kill them all in a single night."

"I reckon he's just been held up by something."

"What you say is also right."

The woman nodded, but her eyes were still full of worry, "Ever since the Sect Leader failed his promotion, the sect has been torn apart. Several Incense Masters have developed ulterior motives. If this continues, I'm afraid we will be defeated one by one by the imperial court."

Manager Wu's eyes were firm as he shook his head, "Hmph, let them be carefree for a while longer. As soon as the Incense Master succeeds in his promotion, he will be able to integrate the Divine Sect and clear out the rebels!"

"I'm afraid there will be chaos in Xianyang City recently. And that traitor Chu Shan sent a bunch of beggars running around everywhere; he must know something. You stay here peacefully and absolutely do not go out."

The woman nodded and then asked, "Something happened in Chang'an, and that Yuan Qu is coveting us from the side. Is this Incense Hall not going to be able to be held?"

"Rest assured."

A flash of fierce light crossed Manager Wu's eyes, "Originally, I was at my wit's end, but now that the martial world in Xianyang City is about to be in chaos, it's just the right time to fish in troubled waters!"

…………

The night grew deeper, and the candles in the side room of the Asking Dao Hall were bright.

"Come, let's have one!"

Sha Lifei picked up the wine in the bowl and downed it in two or three gulps. He wiped his mouth and clicked his tongue, "That Wu fellow is really rich, willing to use this aged Xifeng old wine."

Wang Daoxuan also took a sip, squinting his eyes as he said, "Not bad. Sour but not astringent, sweet but not cloying, bitter but not sticky, spicy but not stinging to the throat, fragrant but not stinging to the nose—it truly is the 'Five Absolutes'."

Having won the ring match today, Li Yan was naturally in a better mood. He bit off a piece of chicken leg, toasted the two with a bowl of wine, and laughed, "Don't worry, as long as the Xianyang matter is settled, we can safely take on jobs. From now on, eating well and drinking well will be a matter of course!"

"I'm waiting for those words!"

Sha Lifei laughed heartily and picked up the wine jar to refill his own, "I'll finish mine, you two drink as you please."

Anything said was just an excuse; he was just craving this wine and wanted to drink more.

"Look at your lack of ambition."

Li Yan laughed in spite of himself, then looked at Wang Daoxuan, "Daoist, you have been storing your spirit for a long time; you should have a chance to build the second floor, right? I wonder how much money it needs?"

Wang Daoxuan was stunned and hurriedly shook his head, "The urgent matter is to help you perform the ritual to build the floor first, to prevent your stored spirit from dissipating and wasting your efforts."

Li Yan naturally couldn't say he had the Great Luo Dharma Body and didn't have this concern, so he said seriously, "I am still young, no rush. And in our current situation, only if your Daoist practice advances further is it the best choice."

"I am still a layman in many things. Even if I built the floor, practicing sorcery is not a one-day task. You should go first, Daoist."

A flash of emotion crossed Wang Daoxuan's eyes, and he no longer declined. He said in a deep voice, "The items needed for the ritual for the first two floors can all be bought with silver."

"But starting from the third floor, heavenly spirits and earthly treasures are indispensable. When performing the ritual, different treasures also provide different enhancements to supernatural powers."

"I am skilled in surveying Feng Shui and can find Earth Marrow, which is more conducive to identifying Feng Shui terrain. If I can find Cloud Moss, the power of my incantations can be enhanced."

"Neither of these two things is rare; there are people selling them among the Mystic Sect Dharma lineages in Chang'an City. It's just that the price is high. But if you can hire a treasure-seeker to help, the price can be cut in half, though it takes time to search."

"Why think about so much?"

Sha Lifei waved his hand, "When the time comes, we'll do a few big deals and let you both build your floors at the same time. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"By the way, how much does it cost to build a floor? Is five hundred taels enough?"

Wang Daoxuan laughed in spite of himself, "To build the first floor, besides the Dharma artifacts that need to be purchased, one also needs to rent the spiritual aperture of Mount Taibai. Even counting on the low side, it would take a thousand taels."

"One... thousand taels?"

Sha Lifei immediately fell into a daze.

"Yes."

Wang Daoxuan sighed, "These things don't count for much to the orthodox Mystic Sect and Dharma lineages, but some small folk traditions have to prepare from the very beginning to avoid finding a suitable disciple but being unable to pass on the Dharma."

"Many traditions have been interrupted because of this..."

Just then, Li Yan frowned slightly, signaling the two to be quiet.

Since storing his spirit, his supernatural powers had been brought under control. Usually, he closed them with Yin incantations and couldn't smell those special odors, but his sense of smell was still astonishing.

He could smell several foul odors outside the courtyard wall.

He had a memory of this smell: the stench of sweat mixed with the rot of food, and the fishy stench of poisonous insects.

It was those people from the Beggar Sect who came from the mass grave!

He didn't expect that before the Zhou family's retaliation came, these guys had found their way to the door first.

Li Yan whispered a few words to the two, then slowly opened the door and came outside the courtyard with Sha Lifei.

He picked up a few broken bricks from the side of the flower bed, while Sha Lifei put his hands on his hips, took a deep breath, and cursed angrily, "Where did you little thieves come from? Take this!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Yan threw the broken bricks over the courtyard wall.

Several muffled groans immediately sounded from outside the wall.

It was indeed several evil beggars from the Xianyang mass grave.

They heard Li Yan was heavily injured, so they came to launch a sneak attack under the cover of night.

These evil beggars were also acting on impulse and hadn't informed their leader, Old Manshan, all because the one Li Yan killed that day was their sworn brother.

Of course, they were also extremely careful.

Two of them were skilled in driving poisonous snakes and insects, carrying cloth bags filled with black snakes and poisonous scorpions from the mass grave.

They didn't expect to be discovered by Li Yan as soon as they got close.

Several people were smashed until their heads were broken and bleeding, but this also stirred up their ferocity. Regardless of anything else, they tore open their bags, intending to throw the poisonous snakes and insects into the courtyard. Although there was a wall in between, Li Yan guessed what these people wanted to do based on the smell. He sneered in his heart and immediately pressed his hand on the hilt of his knife.

As the thought of storing his spirit arose, the tassel of the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin immediately shook.

That day at the mass grave, he already knew the weakness of these things: because they were tainted with Yin Sha Qi, they were equally afraid of various demon-suppressing objects.

Sure enough, the poisonous insects and scorpions in the bags immediately rioted.

One evil beggar had just untied his bag when a poisonous snake flew out and bit him right on the nose.

The other one didn't fare any better; a large poisonous scorpion darted out and stung him directly on the hand. The cloth bag fell, and the remaining scorpions crawled everywhere.

"Ah——!"

"Run!"

Screams rang out, and several evil beggars endured the pain and ran away as fast as they could.

At Li Yan's signal, Sha Lifei didn't chase after them but stood in the courtyard laughing heartily, "A few petty thieves, daring to come and find trouble with your Grandpa Sha? Serves you right!"

After saying this, the three prepared to return to the room.

!.

They knew this was just a small interlude.

Although the Beggar Sect had many people, they were a mixed bag, and those who truly took action were only the core members.

And they had a biggest hidden danger: the Beggar Sect nest itself.

Among those ordinary beggars, there were many pitiful people, and even young beggars who had been abducted by them and subjected to "harvesting and folding" (mutilation for begging). They were forced to beg every day and were beaten at every turn, living a life worse than death.

If too many core members died, those beggars who had suffered so much bullying would likely revolt immediately.

The only thing they had to do now was to preserve themselves as much as possible before this storm subsided.

However, before they even entered the room, Li Yan turned his head back, lost in thought.

"What's wrong? Is someone coming again?"

"It's nothing. It's just that someone is more impatient than I imagined..."

…………

In the dark alley, footsteps were chaotic.

Several beggars stumbled while fleeing, taking black detox pills from their bodies and stuffing them into their mouths.

They kept complaining to each other.

"Didn't you say that Sha Lifei was just a straw bag?"

"Everyone said so, and I haven't fought him myself..."

"Stop arguing, let's find a place to rest first, so the poison doesn't attack the heart..."

However, no sooner had they left the alley than four or five men suddenly jumped out from both sides, holding long sticks and crouching low to sweep them off their feet.

Bang, bang, bang!

Several crisp sounds accompanied by the sound of cracking bones, and the evil beggars immediately fell to the ground screaming, clutching their legs and wailing, "Grandpa, we won't dare again."

"A few masters, please stop. We are from the Beggar Sect."

"From the Beggar Sect?"

In the darkness, a middle-aged man slowly walked out. He had dark skin, a full beard, wore a sheepskin jacket, and had a long whip tucked into his waist.

Looking at the few beggars, he smacked his lips, "People from the Beggar Sect, when did you become the lackeys of the Zhou family?"

"Speak!"

Before the beggars could quibble, those men in black rushed up and slapped them across the face, one after another.

The beggars were beaten until their faces were bruised and swollen. Knowing they had encountered ruthless characters, they had no choice but to tell everything about the mass grave matter.

"So that's how it is."

The man in the sheepskin jacket sneered, "That brat was faking illness. I thought he was a timid coward, but it turns out he's also a restless one."

"Take them back. Send a post to the Beggar Sect tomorrow and tell them that if they want to live, they should stay far away from Xianyang during this time!"

"Yes, Chief."

Several men in black immediately stepped forward and dragged the Beggar Sect people away like dead dogs.

In the darkness, the voice of the man in the sheepskin jacket rang out:

"Go, tell Old Master Zhang that the fish didn't take the bait..."

…………

In this world, there are always some who are happy and some who are sad.

Just as Li Yan and the others were drinking wine and eating meat, the Zhou family was shrouded in gloom.

Inside the mansion's side room, the candles were bright.

Zhou Bai lay on the bed, wrapped in bandages and splints. His face was flushed, his eyes tightly closed, and a pungent medicinal smell radiated from all around.

At this time, all Eight Vajras of the Zhou family were in the room.

Wang Yao, who was skilled in medicine, frowned as he took the pulse, then shook his head slightly, "His life is temporarily preserved, but his internal organs are injured, and his bones and fascia are broken. I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to practice martial arts in the future..."

Hearing this, Zhou Peide's face immediately turned ugly.

His fists clenched until they cracked. He suddenly turned around, leaped over, and grabbed Yuan Qu by the throat, pinning him against the wall as he said coldly:

"Yuan fellow, before the ring match, what did you do to Zhou Bai!"

Yuan Qu's face turned red from being choked. Just as he was about to speak, he heard an old voice ring out from outside: "Why bother him? It was my order."

The others were shocked and hurriedly turned around to bow:

"Greetings, Master!"

(End of chapter)