Reborn as a Hatrack in the Mystical Land-Chapter 603 - 60: Tall Trees Catch the Wind

Conch?

The Qing father and son looked curiously at the palm-sized conch, wondering why their subordinate had brought back this item, not understanding its purpose.

Just as Qing Zizhu was about to pick it up for inspection, the small conch expelled its inner flesh, and a man’s voice, eerily familiar, was heard.

"They’re nothing more than lowly mercenaries, each resembling bandits. Every time our Yanyue Chamber of Commerce’s steward went to the Xuan Beast Ridge, they groveled and begged to sell us their Dark Beasts, if it weren’t for our chamber, those mercenaries wouldn’t even have a meal to eat."

Bursts of hearty laughter accompanied the voice emanating from the parrot snail in Qing Zizhu’s hands.

With a clatter, the parrot snail in Qing Zizhu’s hands fell to the ground.

Qingfeng’s face turned green.

Qing Zizhu also wore a face full of terror.

This seemed to be a rant by Qing Zizhu during a banquet, where fueled by alcohol, he spouted nonsense alongside a group of dissolute young masters.

"How could this be, what the hell is this thing," Qing Zizhu, furious beyond measure, stomped the parrot snail into mush.

No wonder the chamber’s Dark Beast business had plummeted recently. Hearing such slanderous and demeaning remarks about mercenaries around the Xuan Beast Ridge, the hot-blooded mercenaries, including the local Mercenary Branch, began to boycott the Yanyue Chamber of Commerce.

The subordinate, with a face as long as a fiddle, lamented, "There’s no use stomping it anymore, crushing it won’t help. Who knows where this thing came from, it appeared overnight and quickly spread throughout the entire Xuan Beast Ridge. Whether it’s the Mercenary Branch or the taverns frequented by mercenaries, almost everyone has one in hand. Now, no mercenaries are willing to sell Dark Beast cubs and Dark Beast eggs to us; they’d rather sell them at lower prices to local Dark Beast shops."

With the "Death Lake Water" that can promote rapid growth, Yue Jinghua was able to breed thousands of parrot snails in just three days.

Every parrot snail could mysteriously appear in the most secluded corners unnoticed.

"You scoundrel, you’ve been set up," Qingfeng trembled with rage, slapping Qing Zizhu across the face like rain.

Qing Zizhu, struck by the blows, covered his head and scurried away, hurrying out of the house.

Brooding, Qing Zizhu found Zhan BeiAo, Long Jiuzun, and others and started drinking.

After venting about the incident, Long Jiuzun reminded him, "Zizhu, think carefully about when and where you said those words; there’s only a limited number of people who could’ve heard you speak up close."

Whenever Qing Zizhu went out, his entourage invariably included a number of Dark Practitioners with profound cultivation. It was not easy for others to approach him.

Only then did Qing Zizhu calm down and began to recollect his hazy memory. He remembered that he had said that sentence half a month ago at a chamber banquet.

The reason he mentioned the mercenaries was due to the complaints of a prostitute who accompanied him about a wealthy mercenary guest from Xuan Beast Ridge.

Caught up in the heat of the moment, he couldn’t help but make sarcastic and scornful remarks.

"It was Lady Fen Xiang, that accompanying prostitute belongs to her. Damn that woman, she dared to frame me," Qing Zizhu was so angry his face flushed red, and he wished he could confront Lady Fen Xiang immediately.

"Lady Fen Xiang bears no grudges against you, and you’re a major patron of theirs. If not for someone instigating behind the scenes, she would never have turned against you. I’ve heard that Lady Fen Xiang and a group of prostitutes reformed a few days ago, opening up a tavern on Linlan Street. Speaking of which, the house deed of that tavern used to belong to the Yanyue Chamber of Commerce," Long Jiuzun did not dabble in commerce, but he was closely associated with several major chambers of commerce in the Imperial City.

For years, the chambers of commerce in the Imperial City had been dominated by Yunhu and Yanyue. Yet, unbeknownst when, the influence of Linlan Street began to rise as well.

The major powers on Linlan Street, which used to be as scattered as loose sand, began to organize and the dilapidated houses on the streets were demolished and reorganized.

The local rascals also changed their appearance, wearing neat clothes and armor, maintaining order at street corners and alleys.

Those prostitutes once rumored to be diseased, somehow managed to obtain certification from Cheng Ying of the Imperial Hospital, proving they were free of illness.

The prostitutes transformed overnight into barmaids at the tavern, even their speech and mannerisms were entirely renewed.

If Long Jiuzun could ignore all the changes above, Cheng Ying’s involvement, however, left the Dragon Nine Clan feeling quite displeased.

He suspected Cheng Ying and that young man from the Duke Mansion had an affair.

"If not for my father telling me not to provoke that young man, I would definitely have someone kill him," in the eyes of Qing Zizhu and others, Yue Jinghua had always been sly as a fox, but only mediocre in cultivation.

"He is a scion of the Duke Mansion. Even if not the eldest son or direct grandson, he still holds a lesser title of nobility, killing him would only bring unnecessary trouble. Yue Jinghua, I always feel there is something off with this person’s name, but can’t quite put my finger on what it is just now," Long Jiuzun pondered.

"Brother Qing, why bother yourself, a tall tree catches the wind. As far as I know, there are already people eyeing the Duke Mansion," Zhan BeiAo said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

The situation on Linlan Street was very good, with the grocery store stepping onto the right track under Hong Yao’s management.

The tavern provided exclusive beer, and with Lady Fen Xiang’s networking skills, it quickly gained some fame in the Imperial City.

Shalman also took the initiative to propose opening a Mysterious Beast Store on Linlan Street.

Hong Shan proceeded to clear the debts of the Duke Mansion as Yue Jinghua requested.

One day, with nothing particular to do, Yue Jinghua visited the tavern to check on its operations.

Lady Fen Xiang wore a worried expression, and upon questioning by Yue Jinghua, it was revealed that the tavern’s liquor heads had been continuously stolen in recent days.

A liquor head is a concentrated spirit used for blending beverages, and the tavern had good sales on new drinks. However, the supply of hops needed to be transported through Bilun Avenue, which would take some time.

To cope with daily consumption, the tavern now sold drinks relying on liquor heads sent from Five Saints Town and Fengdan County.

"Last time, Lord Qianluo sent over more than five hundred barrels of liquor head. The normal daily consumption is about ten barrels. With the normal operation of the tavern, a total of over a hundred barrels were used. But the morning before last, when Xiaoqiang and his people went to move the liquor head, they found several barrels less. Yesterday morning, there were a dozen less, and this morning, a full fifty barrels less." Lady Fen Xiang had discovered this and immediately stationed people to guard strictly, but no matter how they protected, the liquor head continued to diminish.

If the remaining liquor heads continued to diminish at this rate, they might not last but a few more days.

Lady Fen Xiang was troubled and had not finished speaking.

Shalman also approached Yue Jinghua, "It’s terrible, the quality Snow Frog Eggs and Wind Messenger Eagle cubs that I had Qian Luo send over were stolen last night."

Hong Yao rushed over in a hurry, with an urgent look on her face: "The Hidden Dragon Rings in the grocery store, and the Summoning Holy Artifact from last time are gone as well."

After hearing this, Yue Jinghua knew the situation was serious. She thought for a moment and looked at Lady Fen Xiang, "Lady, Linlan Street is your turf, tell me, who do you think did this."

"Qian Chang, the clever thief Qian Chang," sighed Lady Fen Xiang.