Chapter 396 - 180: Senior Brother
Chapter 396: Chapter 180: Senior Brother
"Elder Zhou."
Steward Sun hurried over and whispered a few words to him.
"What?!"
Zhou Wansen instantly lost his composure, his voice cracking as he cried out in shock, "Old Sun, are—are you serious?! Chen Cheng... he really condensed his Ninth Pillar of Blood Qi?! And... and he defeated Dong Chuo?! A-Am I still dreaming?"
...
「Yunlei City, Zhang’s Trading Company.」
The atmosphere in the hall was incredibly tense. Master Zhang Wenhui’s face was grim, his ten fingers gripping the armrests of his chair so tightly that his knuckles trembled.
The young miss, Zhang Yu, paced back and forth in the courtyard, her face clouded with worry.
Their Zhang’s Trading Company was Du’s Trading Company’s most important partner in Yunlei City.
Du’s Trading Company transported goods to Yunlei Prefecture City, and after resupplying, they would then transport goods from Yunlei City to Yongzhou Prefecture City.
More than half of the goods being transported on the return journey came from Zhang’s Trading Company.
Because of this, Zhang’s Trading Company had suffered the greatest losses from this caravan robbery.
Originally, the Zhang Family had a Peak Nine Pillars of Blood Qi Tributor Martial Artist who would escort the caravan out of the Yunlei Prefecture’s territory every time.
However, Zhang Yu had recently gotten into a conflict with this Grand Tributor, and he had refused to provide escort, which led to the current disaster.
Zhang Yu hadn’t slept in days, and her face was so haggard it was nearly colorless.
"Miss Zhang! Boss Zhang!"
Just then, the caravan’s Big Pot Head, Old Ma, rushed back.
"Uncle Ma! How is it? Is there any reply?"
Zhang Yu rushed forward anxiously.
"No..."
Old Ma shook his head.
"I just came from the Patrol Office. Two days ago, I pulled some strings to use an official messenger pigeon to send an urgent letter to the Mountain and Sea Sect, asking Ning Chong and Su Bing for help... I just asked at the Patrol Office. There’s no reply..."
"This... Sigh..."
Zhang Yu let out a long sigh. She looked completely deflated, her shoulders slumping.
Zhang Wenhui shot to his feet, strode out of the hall, and said grimly,
"We can’t delay any longer. I’m going to the Dong Family for help. As long as they’re willing to step in, this matter can definitely be resolved."
"Father! You can’t!"
Zhang Yu quickly tried to dissuade him.
"The Dong Family has allied themselves with the Yunlei Commerce Association. Their appetite is terrifyingly large now. Going to them for help is like asking a tiger for its skin!"
"You think I need you to tell me that?!"
Zhang Wenhui berated her furiously.
"If you hadn’t offended Sun Honored Elder, would we be in this mess? Asking a tiger for its skin is better than losing everything!"
"But..."
Zhang Yu was struck speechless. The conflict back then hadn’t actually been her fault.
But saying that now was useless.
This time, the Zhang Family had practically emptied their coffers to invest in a batch of extremely valuable goods. As long as it reached Yongzhou City safely, they would have made a massive profit.
But now that the goods had been stolen by mountain bandits, if they couldn’t get them back, going bankrupt was almost a certainty.
Of course, they could ask the Dong Family for help, but the final outcome probably wouldn’t be much better than bankruptcy.
"Boss Zhang, wait!"
Old Ma quickly spoke up.
"Last night, I took the liberty of sending another urgent letter by carrier pigeon. I sent it to Young Master Chen Cheng."
"Him?"
Zhang Wenhui’s brow furrowed. He said,
"I remember you mentioning that on the way north, he had only just condensed his Eighth Pillar of Blood Qi. At the Mountain and Sea Sect, he’s an Outer Disciple at best..."
"It’s useless even if he comes. Otherwise, I would have had you send him a letter two days ago... Enough. Stop wasting time. I’m going to the Dong Family now!"
"Excuse me, is Ma Daguo here?"
Just then, a voice came from the courtyard gate.
Old Ma glanced over, his eyes lighting up.
"Miss Huang? What are you doing here?"
The newcomer was none other than Huang Jiao.
Behind her were six young men and women carrying swords and sabers. Each one had a formidable aura, exuding the pressure of a Martial Arts master.
"It’s like this. I and these six like-minded partners have formed an Assassin Alliance."
Huang Jiao said,
"We just went to the Patrol Office to accept a mission and heard that the caravan was robbed. We wanted to come over and see if you needed help."
"We do! We do!"
Before Old Ma could respond, Zhang Wenhui had already stepped forward to greet them. He looked the group up and down, his eyes filled with admiration, and asked politely,
"...I was just wondering about the Cultivation Realms of these six?"
"All seven of us are Nine Blood Secret Martial Artists."
Huang Jiao pointed to two of the young men beside her and said,
"These two are both at the Nine Blood Late Stage."
"Excellent, excellent! Wonderful!"
Zhang Wenhui nodded repeatedly, his face beaming with joy.
"If the seven of you are willing to take action, you can definitely make those dogs on Grass Vulture Mountain spit out all the goods they stole!"
"Boss Zhang, let’s not beat around the bush."
Huang Jiao said,
"If you want us to act, besides the reward from the Patrol Office, you’ll have to pay an additional fee. It’s not much, just two thousand taels per person."
"This..."
Zhang Wenhui froze.
Two thousand taels per person wasn’t a lot, but there were seven of them.
A total of fourteen thousand taels was no small sum.
The key was, where was the Zhang Family supposed to find that much cash right now?
"Father, if it’s really not possible, let’s just wait a bit longer."
Zhang Yu urged in a low voice,
"Maybe when Young Master Chen arrives, he’ll be able to help..."
"Wait for what?"
Zhang Wenhui snapped irritably,
"Ignore seven Nine Blood Secret Martial Artists and wait for a Lower Rank Eight Blood to save the day? I think you’ve really lost your mind!"
"Miss Huang."
Zhang Wenhui said in a heavy voice,
"I accept your terms. However, I can’t produce that much money right this moment. I’ll need you to grant me some time."
"No problem. You can have as much time as you want. However, it’ll cost you extra."
Huang Jiao smiled.
"An additional five hundred taels per person, per month."
"This..."
Zhang Wenhui grit his teeth hard.
"Fine! It’s a deal! As long as the seven of you can retrieve the goods, I, Zhang Wenhui, will scrape the money together even if I have to sell my last pot and pan!"
The seven of them exchanged a smile and set off immediately.
...
「Noon. The sun was high in the sky.」
Chen Cheng reined Huang Feng to a stop in a patch of shade.