Chapter 431 - 268: Fine Prowess
Chapter 431: Chapter 268: Fine Prowess
"You’re right, Elder. We just finished moving everything over. The boss won’t know until tomorrow."
"I hope so..."
Hearing this, Chen Yi knew instantly that Liu Lang had sold out his identity as well.
’That damned Sword Madman.’
’Always doing these ridiculous things.’
Chen Yi’s eye twitched. ’Just you wait. I’ll beat you to a pulp tomorrow night!’
With that thought, he no longer hesitated and appeared inside the residence in a flash.
"I’m afraid I have to disappoint you, Brother Liu."
Liu Lang froze for a moment. When he realized what was happening, he leaped to his feet and bowed.
"Boss, my profound respects."
"It’s so late. Why aren’t you resting? What brings you here?"
"If you had an order, you only needed to send a messenger. I would have walked through fire and water for you."
Speak of the devil...
It was almost enough to make Liu Lang, a man who had seen his share of storms, turn and flee.
The others—Xue Duanyun, Zhang Sanhu, and Zhang Sihu—looked at Chen Yi with some hesitation.
For one simple reason.
Chen Yi still wore the handsome face of "Liu Wu."
But after seeing Liu Lang bow repeatedly, they followed suit with a grand salute.
"Greetings, Elder."
Chen Yi scanned the group. He considered reprimanding them but decided against it, simply waving a hand. "All of you, rise."
But when Liu Lang rose and met his eyes, he obediently lowered his head again.
"Boss, I didn’t mean to."
Chen Yi shot him a look and huffed, "Just stay here and keep bowing for now. I’ll deal with you later."
With that, he strode into the main hall, gesturing for Xue Duanyun and the others to follow and report.
Xue Duanyun glanced at the back of the man walking ahead, then at Liu Lang’s sheepish grin, and it seemed he understood something.
Before Zhang Sanhu or Zhang Sihu could speak, he quickly pulled them into the hall with him.
Leaving Liu Lang alone outside.
’Boss, I’m a renowned Jianghu elder with years of fame to my name, and you...’
’If you’re going to punish me, how can it be this simple?’
But simple was simple, and Liu Lang couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
At least it proved his earlier assumption was correct—even if the boss found out he had revealed his identity, he wouldn’t do much about it.
A blessing in disguise.
He knew just how formidable Chen Yi could be.
If Chen Yi had kept his anger hidden without letting it out, that would have been truly terrible.
’Alright then, I’ll just keep bowing...’
Chen Yi, for his part, paid no mind to Liu Lang’s thoughts.
Arriving in the main hall, he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the sacks piled high all around him.
"You’ve all worked hard."
Xue Duanyun bowed. "Eld— You are too kind, sir."
"My martial brothers and I are the Guards you hired. It’s only natural that we do our part."
Zhang Sanhu added, "You can rest assured, sir. We know what’s at stake and will absolutely not breathe a word of this."
Zhang Sihu, who only half-understood, nodded and grinned.
"Elder Liu Lang told us a few things earlier. We know that you are the famous ’Dragon Spear,’ who’s recently made a name for himself in Shu State."
"Say no more. From now on, whatever you tell us to do, we’ll do it."
"..."
Xue Duanyun and Zhang Sanhu exchanged a look, both knowing exactly what the other was feeling.
’Our junior brother Sihu still has no grasp of social graces.’
’Forgive him, Senior Brother. My brother is simple-minded. It’s a miracle he can string a coherent sentence together.’
Chen Yi watched the trio’s subtle exchange and a smile suddenly touched his lips. He waved his hand.
"Tell me what happened today."
’It seems Liu Lang revealing my identity ahead of time wasn’t such a bad thing after all.’
’At least, with their background as disciples of the prestigious Celestial Sect, Xue Duanyun and the others are showing me, their boss, proper respect.’
After a brief conversation, Chen Yi had a rough idea of what had happened during the day. He asked thoughtfully,
"Do you know who typically has access to Bone-Dissolving Powder?"
Xue Duanyun thought for a moment before replying respectfully, "Bone-Dissolving Powder is a potent poison formula from a past dynasty. It’s widely circulated in the Jianghu."
"All sorts of unsavory characters use it to dispose of bodies and erase evidence. Some Death Warriors from the Noble Families also carry it for self-defense."
Chen Yi grunted in acknowledgment and sat back in his chair, not asking any more questions.
’I had previously assumed the intruders were from the Ji State Trading Company.’
’But after hearing the three men’s description, I’ve overturned that conclusion.’
It was obvious. If the Ji State Trading Company had discovered someone buying such large quantities of grain, they wouldn’t have sent only three people.
And it was even more unlikely that no one would have gone to investigate the residence when those three failed to report back for so long.
’Death Warriors from the Noble Families...’
An image of Liu Hong surfaced in Chen Yi’s mind. ’Even if they weren’t his men,’ he thought silently, ’they must be connected to him somehow.’
He knew, after all, that Liu Hong was using Zhu Lingchuan to secretly spy on the Ji State Trading Company.
’Perhaps the people who came to investigate during the day were his.’
Xue Duanyun and the others were, of course, oblivious to his thoughts.
Seeing him silent for a long time, Xue Duanyun asked hesitantly, "Do you have any further instructions for us, sir?"
Chen Yi returned to the present. After a moment’s thought, he said, "I do have a few things for you to do, but..."
Before he could finish, he turned his head toward Liu Lang outside and called out with a half-joking, half-scolding tone, "What are you still doing standing out there like a post? Get in here."
"Coming!"
Liu Lang had been keenly listening to the activity inside. The moment he heard the summons, he appeared before them in a flash.
"Boss, what are your orders?"
"I will spare no effort and shrink from no sacrifice."
Chen Yi gave him an exasperated glare. "I’ll let it slide this time. But if there’s a next time, you’ll see how I deal with you."
’Thankfully, there’s still one identity he doesn’t know about.’
’Otherwise, it wouldn’t be long before I’d be hearing Xie Tingyun and Shen Huatang calling me ’Elder Liu Wu’ at the Spring Lotus Garden.’
Still, this whole affair served as a wake-up call for Chen Yi. ’Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I’ll have to make sure that fellow Liu Lang works alone from now on.’
’Lest he get me into trouble and sell me out in the process.’
Seeing this, Liu Lang knew Chen Yi wasn’t truly angry. He gave a sheepish chuckle and nodded. "Rest assured, Boss. There won’t be a next time."
Chen Yi shook his head at that and waved his hand dismissively. "Let’s get down to business."
He then took a thick stack of silver notes from his robes and handed it to Liu Lang. "I don’t care how you do it, but spend all of these by tomorrow."
Liu Lang took the notes and counted them, his eyes wide with surprise. "All of this... to buy grain?"
"That’s right."
"Coarse or fine grain, it doesn’t matter. It also doesn’t matter if you buy it from a grain merchant or not."
"I recall there are quite a few farming estates belonging to the great families outside the city. You can go ask if they’re willing to sell."
Chen Yi knew full well that the rising grain prices in the Prefecture City mostly affected the common folk.
In the short term, the Noble Families wouldn’t be affected in the slightest.
Take the Xiao Family, for example.
With the people of Tonglin Town to work their lands, the family estate sealed away grain in its storehouses every year. They were in no danger of running out.
The other Noble Families all had their own grain reserves, to one degree or another.
Even if only some of the Noble Families were willing to sell, he was confident they could acquire another large batch of grain.
Liu Lang understood after listening. He put away the silver notes and promised,
"Rest assured, Boss. If I have to, I’ll steal the grain for you by tomorrow."
Chen Yi grunted in acknowledgment. Seeing the darkness outside the window, he decided not to stay any longer.
As he rose and walked toward the door, he gave his final instructions, "I’ll have Wang Ji find another place to store the grain you buy tomorrow."
"As for what’s here..."
Chen Yi paused, his gaze sweeping across the room. "Seal up the grain here for now."
’Once the news about Asutai gets out tomorrow, grain prices are bound to skyrocket.’
’At that point, this grain—purchased at a relatively low price—will become my trump card.’
"You can make a big show of purchasing the grain tomorrow."
"But remember, you can’t use the name of Hundred Herbs Hall, nor can you use your own."
Liu Lang nodded in understanding and watched him leave the residence.
After a moment of silence, he spun around to face Xue Duanyun and his brothers, the fawning expression on his face completely gone.
"We’ll worry about tomorrow’s business tomorrow. No rest for us tonight, either. Let’s have a few drinks..."
If nothing else, he had to maintain his status as a Jianghu elder.
...
Chen Yi, of course, paid no mind to Liu Lang’s "remedial" actions. After leaving, he quietly returned to the Xiao Family estate.
What he didn’t know, however, was that as he passed the East Market Entrance, a figure was standing silently under the eaves, watching his retreating form.
The man was slender, dressed in a worn Daoist robe. Despite his graying hair, his face was surprisingly young.
At this moment, his eyes, fixed on Chen Yi, held a hint of appraisal.
’This young man... what impressive skills.’
After a pause, he averted his gaze to the night sky, his hands clasped behind his back.
’This Shu State is truly a land of heroes and wonders. It might be worth staying for a few days to have a closer look...’