My Journey to Immortality Begins with Hunting-Chapter 237 – Seizing Control Underground, Forging Weapons For Battle - Part 3
Chapter 237 – Seizing Control Underground, Forging Weapons For Battle - Part 3
Early December, the deeper winter brought thick snow.
It was approaching three years since Li Yuan had relocated to the Holy Tree Temple’s city stronghold.
Clad in a simple, hooded cotton coat, Li Yuan walked through the snowy streets. Everywhere he passed, people greeted him with a respectful smile, calling out to him.
Li Yuan responded in kind, returning their bows with a gentle smile.
Soon, however, he slipped into a hidden building within the Black Wolf Gang’s territory. The moment he pushed open the door, cold wind and snow gusted in behind him. Inside, 14 people rose instantly and greeted him in unison.
“Master!”
Pulling back his hood, Li Yuan dipped his head in acknowledgment. He strode to the large chair in the center of the room and sat down, a subtle shift in his bearing giving him a dark, imposing presence.
Of course, the grim atmosphere had as much to do with those gathered around him. Twelve were truly vicious criminals and killers with countless atrocities under their belts. Even if Li Yuan did nothing, their menacing aura made him look every inch the archetypal villainous lord.
Which was precisely why he felt no remorse using them. Glancing around at the circle of subordinates, he asked, “Have you found out anything about the matters I told you to investigate?”
Several of them came forward with their reports in turn.
“Master, I tracked down the wandering swordsmen who helped Jing Yunhe humiliate Cui Rou all those years ago. They were the ones who sold both the poison and information on Cui Rou’s whereabouts to Jing Yunhe. According to them, Jing Yunhe seemed completely unconcerned about any retaliation. He acted like he already knew how everything would end. One of them even recalled him bragging about how the temple master was backing him and he didn’t care even if the sky fell.”
Li Yuan cut to the chase. “Where are these people now?”
“Locked in our dungeon, Master. We have potent medicine in Silkfloss Province, enough to keep them alive, no matter how much they suffer. Heh heh heh...” Wang Heran, the leader of the Black Cloaks, said.
Another voice spoke up, “Master, about the ones who helped Jing Yunhe spy on your family last year, I’ve questioned them, too. Apparently, Jing Yunhe was utterly self-assured, with not the slightest hint of worry. In fact, he even spewed some...vile things.”
Li Yuan narrowed his eyes. “What sort of things?”
“Er... Master, I’ve got them half-dead in our cells right now. They dared insult the madam, so I’m making sure they can’t live or die comfortably. Heheheh. Right, we came up with 26 ways to kill them slowly. Which one would you like to pick?”
Li Yuan’s voice was calm. “If they have no more useful information, just kill them. They’re only repeating someone else’s insults, after all.”
“Yes, yes... Understood,” Ouyang Da replied. He was the elder of the dwarf brothers behind Night Breeze.
A sultry female voice spoke next, “Master, I’ve confirmed that the weaponsmith Zhu Ban has ignored any overtures from the Holy Tree Temple. He’s gone to the Red Lotus Cult’s territory and is already crafting spirit artifacts for their top experts. It seems he’s moving forward with whatever plans he has in mind. Oddly enough, though, the Red Lotus Cult itself appears to be in chaos. There are rumors of three other factions—Black Lotus, White Lotus, and Green Lotus—joining forces in that region.”
The speaker was Ying Mei'er, the femme fatale who publicly oversaw the Windfall Group yet secretly led the assassin organization Shadow Garden. She was alluring to the point of scandal and was known to have murdered many, sometimes poisoning her lovers in the midst of seduction. After all, who could resist the wealthy Windfall Group president’s riches and beauty? A mere crook of her finger, and her targets would happily climb into bed with her, never to leave alive.
The day Ying Mei'er tried her charms on Li Yuan, she succeeded in getting him onto her bed...only for him to bind her with the human-skin manacles.
Now, as she made her report, she giggled coyly, “Master’s gift has left Mei'er forever in your debt. I thought my strength had stagnated long ago; I never dreamed I could still improve. Hehehe.”
Then she added enthusiastically, “Oh yes, Master, about those weapons you entrusted to us to sell...they’ve been a huge success. With these marvelous weapons paving the way, we’ll soon be in contact with some of the more powerful leaders in the martial world. Once the time is right, we’ll arrange for them to meet you and receive your gift.”
“Excellent.” Li Yuan nodded. The rumored seventh rank weapons circulating on the market currently were all released by him. He had three aims in doing this—first, to bolster his own forces; second, to make money and increase his influence in the weapons trade; and third, to open up channels that would help him discover, identify, and eventually recruit the key players within those networks...expanding his information web even further.
As he listened to the latest batch of intel from all sides, Li Yuan couldn’t help feeling perplexed. He finally understood the warning left by Zhu Ban. He even possessed evidence far beyond what his father-in-law had ever managed to gather. But what could have caused the temple master—an old fourth rank martial artist who had lived for centuries—to turn over a new leaf? What was he really thinking? Li Yuan had no idea.
Still, he had made up his mind: once his external forces were sufficiently set up, he would quietly relocate his family out of harm’s way, or at least prepare a secure fallback.
With that thought in mind, he spoke. “Mei'er.”
“Yes, Master?” Ying Mei'er replied, her voice dripping with practiced seduction.
Li Yuan’s tone cooled. “Put away your flirtatious act. I’m not fond of it.”
Her expression stiffened. Gone was the seductive purring; in its place loomed the lethal aura of a seasoned killer. “Your orders, Master?”
“Have your Windfall Group accidentally connect with the Ginger Tavern. Start building a relationship. I might transfer the Ginger Tavern into the group’s umbrella.”
“Yes, Master!” She paused before adding pointedly, “I will treat the madam’s orders as though they were yours!”
Li Yuan gave a small nod, then turned to the leader of the White Horse Alliance, Han Tianxiao. novelbuddy-cσ๓
He spoke in a gentler tone, “I know your organization has always been very discreet. You even have a special refuge for those who should be dead in the public eye, yet don’t deserve to die.”
Han Tianxiao stepped forward. “Master, would you like me to prepare a hidden place for the madam and your family?”
Li Yuan nodded.
Han Tianxiao hesitated. “To tell you the truth, the entirety of Silkfloss Province is fraught with danger.” He glanced at the other sub branch masters and the vice leader. “I’m sure our friends from the Beggars Sect know this all too well.”
The Beggars Sect Winterwood Prefecture branch master, Wen Chengyun, chuckled. “We’re all one family now, no need to be so formal.” He turned to Li Yuan and added respectfully, “Master, Han Tianxiao speaks the truth. Out of the Great Zhou’s nine provinces, the only place that could truly be called safe is probably the most remote region of all—Cloudpeak Province, where snowy peaks dominate the landscape.”
Cloud Mountain... Li Yuan suddenly recalled the sixth rank couple, Han Feng and Leng Rou, who had come from there. He even had a token from the Snow Mountain Seven-Sword Alliance in Cloudpeak Province.
“All right,” he said. “Investigate Cloudpeak Province. If you find any major martial factions there, see if you can arrange a meeting with their leaders.”
“Yes, Master!”
“By the way,” one of his subordinates interjected, “shouldn’t we come up with a new name for this alliance we’ve formed?”
“No need. Don’t overcomplicate things.”
“Understood.”
˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙
That night.
Li Yuan lay in the warm comfort of his blankets. Today, he was sharing his bed with Xue Ning. Seeing the furrow in his brow, she asked no questions, only murmured gently, “Don’t push yourself too hard.”
He smiled. “Go on and sleep.”
As midnight approached, she drifted off, but Li Yuan remained awake, mind churning. He now had eyes and ears seemingly everywhere, yet he still couldn’t see into human hearts....or the true motives of a fourth rank figure with centuries of life behind him.
What happened? he wondered. What could have caused the temple master to...?
Elsewhere, in an unknown location.
“Zhu Ban, we verified it. That’s definitely Jing Yunhe’s head. The Jing Clan under the Holy Tree Temple in Skygarden Prefecture not only killed Jing Yunhe but also executed many of their own ne’er-do-well clan members.”
“...”
“Zhu Ban, the cult leader wants to see you. If you have questions, you can ask him directly.”
“All right,” Zhu Ban replied as he stepped away from a forge. “I do have questions.”
“Oh, and there’s good news. Our elite forces will soon launch ambushes on the Holy Tree Temple’s top experts. Your newly crafted spirit artifacts can be put to use.”
“Jing Clan, Guo Clan, Ma Clan...” Zhu Ban listed name after name. “Any clans I’ve mentioned, you’re free to kill them. But don’t use my weapons on anyone else.”
“Got it. Whatever you say.”
˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙
The next day.
It was still snowing.
A carriage pulled up outside Peach Blossom Alley. The messenger inside requested an audience with Li Yuan, bringing a commission from the Guo Clan.
Once upon a time, the Guo Clan patriarch had tried to wring a favor out of Li Yuan. Now the Guo Clan was offering 1,500 taels of blood gold in the hopes that Li Yuan would forge him a spirit artifact.
After all, the clan head of the Guo Clan needed it soon. He was about to head off to battle as an elder of the Holy Tree Temple.
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