Chapter 134: Five Ghosts
Translator: StackThatCoin Editor: Hitesh
So, they had come to a conclusion on the exclusivity rights to the mines. However, because of Wu Qi's presence, the atmosphere inside the parlor was rather awkward. Although Wei Sanjue was old enough and had a very thick face, he too felt unaccustomed to this slightly awkward situation. Thus, after having a few more words with Lu Chengfeng, he rose and expressed his intention of leaving. Without hesitation, Lu Chengfeng quickly summoned Yan Fu, Lao Hei and every single person that had followed him since the beginning, lining up in two rows while sending the old man out from the mansion with the utmost respect.
Two coaches quickly dashed out from the alleyway opposite of the mansion's entrance. With his face filled with smile, Wei Sanjue boarded the coach, then poked his head out from the window, waved his hand affectionately at Lu Chengfeng and said, "Duke Yan Le, you don't have to send me further from here. So, we have our deal confirmed. I'll send my people to take over the management rights in a few days later. I hope Duke Yan Le can inform your people in advance."
Lu Chengfeng gave Wei Sanjue a deep bow, nearly having his arms touch the ground, while emotionally saying, "As it is an order from old mister, Chengfeng will complete it without any delay. Please rest assured, old mister, I'll make sure nothing goes wrong in the entire deal."
Two lanterns hung on the shaft of both coaches were lit up. Under the bright glow of them, the unique token of Wei Merchant, the two large laughing masques, looked rather eye-catching in the dusk. The coaches slowly went away. It happened that a troop of City Guards on the night patrol were passing by and they saw the two coaches. However, none of the soldiers made any reaction whatsoever, and simply let the two coaches pass by them. The curfew had already taken effect in Ji City, and it was obvious that Wei Sanjue's coaches had violated the order of curfew. But, it seemed the token of Wei Merchant possessed a unique function, which made these soldiers let them slip through the net.
"Money makes the mare go!" Upon witnessing this, Wu Qi couldn't help but shake his head. Wei Merchant had planted their men of sacrifice and spies inside of Scouting Office and Criminal and Justice Court. So, how could the City Guard avoid this? Perhaps, every single captain and soldier of all ranks in Ji City's City Guard had been fully fed by Wei Merchant.
While looking at Wei Sanjue's coaches going further away, Lu Chengfeng took a deep breath and said, "After all, he is a great benefactor to me. Although it seems like he is demanding me to repay his kindness, a drop of water given in need shall be returned with a burst of spring. Chengfeng is not an honorable man, but I would never conduct myself in an ungrateful manner, as such behavior is a disgrace. Wu Qi, from now on, this matter is dropped."
Wu Qi gave Lu Chengfeng a look, then nodded his head resignedly.
'This matter would have to be dropped from now on? Heh, surely it is easy for you, Lu Chengfeng, to say that. With the background and origin of this old man, and you as the 'goods' that he had invested a huge sum of money in fostering, it would not be that easy for you to conclude the relationship between you two. His surname is Wei, and he had used the smiling faces as the token of his merchant. With two large mouths of the masques placed side-by-side, not only they could be looked from left to right, but they could also be read from the bottom to the top, which means 'Lu'.[1]'
Yangdi Sou, what a Yangdi Sou! He was from Yangdi, his surname was Lu, and he was a merchant who loved to invest heavily in advance. Besides from the man who solely laid the foundation of Great Qin Dynasty - Lu Buwei, who else could he be? As even Lao Ai had been hiding inside Great Yan Dynasty for over two thousand years, how could he, Lu Buwei, not disguise himself in a different garb and run another deal in Great Yan Dynasty? Judging from what happened in Shi Martial Club, the foundation he established in Great Yan Dynasty was not necessarily weaker than Lao Ai.
In a trance, Wu Qi cast his glance at the coaches of Lu Buwei, which were now becoming smaller in his vision. Then, he spun and returned to Duke Yan Le's Mansion. He then shouted loudly, "Xiaobai, Xiaobai! Get a few of your men here, go outside the parlor and fish out the bracelet that old man Wei had thrown away. Tsk, he had discarded it himself. It’s not like I've accepted the gift from him. At most, it can be considered that I'm merely recycling the waste, and not owing him any favor! Hurry up and fish it out!"
Upon hearing the supremely shameless words of Wu Qi, Lu Chengfeng and a few other men had their faces turned unsightly.
Nevertheless, Wu Qi did not care what these guys were thinking about in their minds. He asked Meng Xiaobai to bring a few men and go fishing the bracelet in a few little streams outside of the parlor, while telling everybody that he was going to complete his homework of regulating his breath and circulating his cultivation at night. Then, he hastily rushed back to his own abode and tightly shut the door. After that, with a twist of his body, a clump of earthy gas immediately enveloped his entire body and brought him into the underground. Within a blink of an eye, he had reached to a distance of a few miles away.
Carefully, he traveled a few miles underground towards the direction where Lu Buwei went, and finally, he came stealthily and soundlessly underneath Lu Buwei's coach. The coaches did not travel fast, probably at the same speed as walking. Like a breeze, Wu Qi squeezed out from the underground and clung himself to the bottom of the coach while making no noise. Besides the grinding noises that came from the wheels and the ground, Wu Qi could only hear the trampling of City Guards that came from afar.
The two coaches of Lu Buwei had a rather ordinary appearance. They were made with wood, and merely coated with a layer of varnish. However, when Wu Qi had his palm touched on its surface, he immediately recognized that the wood used to construct this coach was a rare Acquired Spirit Object - 'Sound Insulation Wood of Thousand Valleys'. Not only was it tough and solid, but it could also withstand the attack of any middle tier and lower magical treasures, and was known for isolating any sounds and divine senses. Anyone who was below the realm of Heaven Immortal could never have their divine sense penetrate this woods, and could never hear the conversation inside the coach.
Twitching his lips while shaking his head, Wu Qi felt fortunate that he had found the Spirit Object of Innate Wood element before this, and had begun cultivating the Source of Wood Chapter. From the center of his palm, a thread of vigorous innate wood energy came out. It merged into the coach noiselessly, and in an instant, transformed into a giant web that enveloped the entire coach. It felt like the Sound Insulation Wood of Thousand Valleys were welcoming the arrival of Wu Qi's innate energy, as wherever his energy went, the wood would cooperate with it and make a slight adjustment to its internal structure. Thus, the coach that was supposed to isolate any sounds and divine senses was now like a huge box riddled with countless holes.
With that, Wu Qi was able to hear the conversation inside the coach, while his divine sense could clearly sense two men. It was between Lu Buwei and a young man.
Lu Buwei sighed heavily, shook his head and said, "For our business in Great Yan, Xiaoxiao is still too young and green, unable to undertake the tasks alone. Longfeng, in future, I'll need you to assist Xiaoxiao in carrying out her tasks. Supposedly, it was a rather simple task, yet she deliberately turned it into a dagger drawn situation, and even attracted that Nie Baihong from Heaven Breaking Sword Sect. It is not worthwhile. We're running a business, and harmony brings wealth. Why should we be involved in a fight?"
He sighed briefly, then continued saying with an indifferent voice, "At least, before we can harvest a sufficient amount of Spatial Breaching Spirit Gold, using them to construct Universal Teleportation Arrays of major and minor scale in every corner under the heaven, we have to avoid any conflicts and battles. Among all the juniors, only a handful of you are useful. Yet, I need you all to station in different kingdoms and empires. Even if my entire body is made from iron, how many nails could I produce out of it?[2]"
A short moment of silence lingered in the coach. Then, the young man, Wei Longfeng, spoke with a deep voice, "Please rest assured, Patriarch, Longfeng will assist Xiaoxiao with all my efforts, trying my best to prevent her from doing anything that exceeds what is proper. But, Xiaoxiao is the lineage granddaughter of Patriarch. How could Longfeng have the rights to restrain her?"
Lu Buwei tossed out a light golden token and said, "Take this token. When she is going too far, show her this and hold her in awe. Hmph, that Nie Baihong had forced her to pledge a vow with her nascent divine soul, asking her not to cause any troubles with Duke Yan Le anymore. Yet, in order to escape from the vow, she actually used one of the last thirteen 'Soul Replacement Puppet' found in our clan. What a mischief!"
Wei Longfeng did not comment anything on that. Meanwhile, Lu Buwei sighed briefly and continued, "This Soul Replacement Puppet is a rare and precious treasure, but she simply used it merely for a dispute caused by personal feelings. Although she had found Spatial Breaching Spirit Gold in the few iron mines in Duke Yan Le's fief, that couldn't justify her decision of wasting a Soul Replacement Puppet. With me personally attending to this matter, I've solved it with just a few words. So, why should she stir the matter into such a mess?"
He paused for a while, then said with a serious manner, "Yan Dan, Jing Ke and few other men from Great Yan Dynasty are not difficult to handle. However, that Wei Wuji, Tian Wen, Zhao Sheng, Huang Xie, each of them would swallow a man without even spitting out the bones. If I, the Patriarch, did not travel around and oversee the whole situation, our clan would have had long been devoured by them."
With a serious expression, Wei Longfeng looked at Lu Buwei and kept nodding his head. Lu Buwei breathed out a long sigh, shook his head and said, "I've used the technique of 'Great Portage of Five Ghosts' and traveled several millions of miles of distance. Yet, this secret technique could only be used for every half a year. The reason that I rushed to Great Yan is actually for that Spatial Breaching Spirit Gold. I think, I can only visit here again after a few years. It seems that Great Wei and Great Zhao have discovered the existence of each other, and both of them are now grooming their horses and drilling their troops, getting ready for the battle. For the next few years, I'll have to station myself there, trying to seek any opportunities within the messy situation. So, Longfeng, you've to be careful and cautious in managing our business in Great Yan Dynasty."
With utmost respect, Wei Longfeng kneeled down inside the coach, then he gave Lu Buwei two kowtows.
Lu Buwei nodded, sighed and said, "It is a pity that you're not from the lineage clan. As the clan rules were set by me, I can't break the rule myself so easily. Compared to Xiaoxiao and the other juniors, you're many times smarter and capable. Work harder and bring yourself more credits, so that I can make the exception in the Great Council of the clan and promote you into the lineage clan."
Wei Longfeng was moved by what Lu Buwei said, as he quickly gave the man a few more kowtows. Smilingly, Lu Buwei stroked his beard and accepted the gesture of appreciation. Then, his eyes blinked a few times as he pondered quickly in his mind. After that, he said again, "Put all our spies in Great Yan Dynasty into use now. I want a close monitoring of every movement of Ying Zheng and Bai Qi. Since they went into a secluded cultivation thirty years ago in Great Qin, I can no longer sense their aura in Great Qin's territory. I've no idea where have they went. Perhaps, they might be hiding somewhere here? It is highly possible!"
Once again, Wei Longfeng answered to his order respectfully. Lu Buwei nodded and breathed out a long sigh again. Then, after he repeatedly advised Wei Longfeng, glows of five colors: red, white, green, blue, and black, suddenly rose from beside his body.
Five little ghosts, each standing one foot and two inches tall, were seen squeezing out from this glow of five colors while making some hissing noises. With both hands, all five of them were holding on a dazzling, golden colored lotus platform, shoving it underneath Lu Buwei and pushing him up. Then, the rays of five colors started to spin, and suddenly, a pitch-black hole was ripped apart in the middle of the air within the coach. With sweat breaking out from their body, these five ghosts sprung and leaped into the hole. Within the blink of an eye, they had vanished into thin air together with Lu Buwei.
Wu Qi's pupils contracted. He was able to recognize this technique. It was the technique of Great Portage of Five Ghosts that was mentioned in Scroll of Stealing. When one cultivated this technique to an advanced level, the human body could be transformed into the body of a Heaven Ghost, which allowed him to travel through space freely without any obstacles. Obviously, Lu Buwei was yet to cultivate to the peak stage of the technique, as he still needed to keep five Heaven Ghosts to help travel his corporeal body through space.
Judging from what this old man said just now, he actually had established his businesses outside the Great Yan Dynasty's territory. Clearly, this technique of Great Portage of Five Ghosts had provided him a great help. While most of the cultivators of Great Yan Dynasty still had their activities constrained within the territory of Great Yan Dynasty, Lu Buwei had already roamed the world. Fortunately, he did not have an incredible cultivation, as he could only teleport a super long distance every half year.
"Lu Buwei, he is a formidable enemy!" Suddenly, the thought leaped into Wu Qi's mind. This old man had cast a net so wide that it simply covered the entire Great Yan Dynasty.
Most probably, the death of Yan Buji was really connected to Wei Merchant. What Lu Buwei wanted was not those few iron mines, but the Spatial Breaching Spirit Gold formed underneath those mines! So, this explained from where the Spatial Breaching Spirit Gold in Shi Martial Club came from. Presumably, Shi Tianmo had secretly kept some of it while helping Wei Xiaoxiao in managing her businesses.
Wu Qi pondered for a brief moment. Then, he pulled out the Sword of Greedy Wolf while making no sounds, thrust it out and poked through the bottom of the coach, penetrating the tip deeply into Wei Longfeng's body. The sword came right into his dantian, and with one swift strike, it ripped the entire Gold Core into pieces.
Never in the wildest dreams had Wei Longfeng thought that he would be assaulted in this place. Thus, before he could put out any counterstrikes, his Gold Core was shattered by Wu Qi. Like a raging river, all his blood essence and energies were rushing into Wu Qi's body. He was cultivating a Fire element technique, and had already attained the cultivation of beginner tier of Gold Core realm. The raging and violent energies of Fire element kept rushing into Wu Qi's Fire meridians, and within just the time it took to finish a pot of tea, all his energies were sucked out by Wu Qi.
Taking a deep breath, and with his eyes that glinted subtly with a glow of fire Wu Qi squeezed back into the earth while unleashing a tiny wisp of Divine Flame of Order and cast it onto the coach.
In an instant, the purple-green flame expanded and quickly enveloped the entire coach. In a very short amount of time, the coach had turned into falling ashes.
[1] Lu (吕) - In Chinese, a 'mouth' is written as 口, so when two mouths are stacking, they are written as 吕. The author is saying that by using the token of two laughing mouths, it actually represents the real surname of Wei Sanjue, which is Lu (吕).
[2] Even if my entire body is made from iron, how many nails could I produce out of them? - It means no matter how strong he is, he alone could not accomplish a great task, and would need a team of men to help him.