Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Opportunity
Xu Guang couldn’t help but look at Tie Xiong’s son, examining him up and down, looking for anything related to the Dragon Blood Stone.
Iron Head was about four or five years old, still biting his finger, very impatient. After a while, he felt a bit annoyed, tugging at Yin Lele’s hand, "Mom, gemstone! Gemstone!"
Yin Lele gave Xu Guang a wry smile, "This child of yours!"
She was about to start.
Xu Guang stopped her, smiling, "The child is just lively, madam, let him be for now. In a few years, his nature will settle, and it’ll be fine."
Convinced by him, Yin Lele didn’t insist on punishing the child and took out a necklace from her bosom.
"Take your gemstone and go play on the side, don’t disturb me and your Uncle Xu Guang."
"This child picked up two stones from somewhere last year, and he always says they’re gemstones. He’s been scolded by his father several times and even lost one, causing quite a commotion at home. In the end, we had no choice but to find a small one and make it into a pendant for him. He even holds it to sleep at night."
Xu Guang’s expression was odd, and his gaze at Iron Head had already changed.
This little boy...
Could he be the child of destiny?
"Children are like this, madam, don’t worry. But this stone, Xu Mou is also quite interested in. I’ve been researching Feng Shui theories lately, and they say children are spiritually attuned. Maybe this stone truly is a treasure."
Upon hearing this, Yin Lele snatched the pendant from Iron Head’s hand and handed it to Xu Guang, "Then, Dharma Protector Xu, you must study it well."
Iron Head, having his treasure taken, immediately squatted on the ground and cried loudly.
Feeling a bit unwilling, Xu Guang squatted down, "Iron Head, tell me, where did you find this stone? I’ll have General Wei play with you."
While speaking, Xu Guang allowed General Wei, who had been wanting to come in, to enter the courtyard.
The massive shadow instantly enveloped a large area around the child. Almost immediately, he stopped crying, slowly raised his head, and opened his mouth slightly.
Then came an even louder wail, "Mom save me!"
Xu Guang: ...
He thought, General Wei isn’t that old either; they’re all the same age, they should be able to play together.
Iron Head, frightened by General Wei, curled up in Yin Lele’s arms, not daring to even show his head.
Of course, Yin Lele’s situation wasn’t much better either. If she wasn’t worried about Iron Head falling, she probably would have hidden behind Xu Guang by now.
A massive creature, nearly five meters tall and over ten meters long, stood in front of you. Even if it did nothing, the fear it emanated from its very core was enough to consume a person.
Xu Guang was speechless.
Fortunately, Yin Lele knew some information about the Dragon Blood Stone.
"That day, it should have been Iron Head’s father who took him out of the city to play. It seems he also brought a lot of fellow disciples and family members, and it was then that Iron Head found it in the mountains."
Yin Lele recalled.
The child’s ability to accept was indeed strong. Once he confirmed General Wei was not a threat, Iron Head looked like he wanted to play with General Wei but didn’t dare get close.
"Uncle Xu, do you really like this stone too? My dad doesn’t, and he threw away the gemstone I found."
Iron Head pouted, very unhappy.
"Uncle Xu likes it. Next time, I’ll take you outside the city, and we’ll continue to find gemstones, how about that?"
If it were someone else, Yin Lele would be reluctant to go to such a dangerous place as outside the city.
But if it was with Xu Guang and General Wei, then it didn’t matter.
Before Yin Lele left, Xu Guang took out ten taels of gold and handed it to her as the payment for the Dragon Blood Stone.
Unexpectedly, Yin Lele accepted it.
"This will be Iron Head’s funding for martial arts training later, so I won’t be polite with Dharma Protector Xu."
Saying this, Yin Lele unintentionally leaned closer to Xu Guang.
...
After Yin Lele left, she took Iron Head and avoided the crowd, carefully arriving at the front of a courtyard, her eyes cautiously scanning the surroundings before knocking and entering.
"How did it go?"
In the courtyard, a man was sitting, looking at Yin Lele with a smile.
Iron Head surprisingly knew the man and was filled with joy.
Yin Lele just shook her head, "That Xu Guang is too cautious, seems not interested in me."
She then recounted her meeting with Xu Guang to the man.
The man, upon hearing this, laughed, "When he asks you to leave the city, remember to tell me."
Yin Lele nodded, and a charming look flickered in her eyes.
A sinister smile flashed in the man’s eyes, "Iron Head, you go play with the big rocking horse at the back. I have to discuss some matters with your mother."
As he carried Yin Lele into the house, a thoughtful expression flashed in his eyes.
’Wei Shuangnian’s death, does it have anything to do with you? I wonder if the Celestial Register is in your hands...’
...
Black Market.
The Sheep and Deer Generals entered the duty room. The most important thing in the black market is stability, which requires strong individuals to maintain. Every night, the black market sends experts for duty.
This is the place where they take shifts.
Following the disappearance of Xie Peak, subsequent investigators Qian Jin and Xiang Gu, two black market tributers, also disappeared here.
The Sheep and Deer Generals were ordered by Su Yan to come and investigate in person.
"Before those three disappeared, was there anything unusual?"
The Sheep General, acting as the intellect of the duo, opened his mouth to ask.
The attendant following behind said, "No, the three lords all came from outside, and here they only have a few concubines. Those women have been watched over and haven’t left."
"Big brother, I feel something isn’t right. It’s a bit cold here, does it remind you of the time we were at the Mountain God Temple..."
The Deer General felt something and whispered in the Sheep General’s ear.
The Sheep General was startled.
The two of them were fugitives from South Wind Dao, escaping all the way to Zouchuan Dao after killing someone. Because they were on the run, they rarely took official roads and mostly traveled along mountain paths, encountering many extraordinary things along the way.
Among them were ghost legends.
"You mean..."
The Deer General nodded slightly, "It feels a bit like it. Why not... have Yan Gu try to find some people from the Daoist Sect to check it out."
The Sheep General didn’t immediately agree but walked a few steps closer inside. He suddenly felt a chill and a feeling of dread, which became more pronounced the closer he got to the inner hall of the courtyard.
Gradually, his burly frame broke out in a fine layer of sweat. He felt as if an invisible, cold hand was crawling over his body, the palm icy, with a clammy sensation.
It was like... the hand of a corpse!
The Sheep General’s expression changed drastically, and his body was suddenly enveloped in a bloody light, which was the Seventh-Grade Blood Armor.
Streams of white steam rose from his body, quickly turning into black mist.
He stumbled backward, exiting the inner hall.
"Let’s go, have Yan Gu seal this place off, absolutely no one can come in anymore."
...
"Is it really those things?"
Su Yan’s expression was heavy.
Running the black market wasn’t easy. Once the news of ghosts spread, the reputation that the black market had built over the years would surely plummet.
"Could it be someone is up to mischief?"
The Sheep and Deer Generals, being simple-minded, remained silent upon hearing this.
Su Yan didn’t expect them to answer and merely squinted her eyes.
"First, have someone seal it off. Starting tomorrow, you two personally inspect it every day. No one else can go missing."
After giving her instructions, Su Yan pondered on how to resolve this tricky situation.
Having run such a large black market, she was naturally experienced and knowledgeable. As the Great Zhou Royal Family’s disappearance dragged on, occurrences of ghosts seemed to increase, as if the presence of the Royal Family really could intimidate the world’s ghosts.
The ghosts in this black market were indeed well hidden, having existed for who knows how many years. They’ve gained some power, enough to unsettle even the Seventh-Grade Sheep and Deer Generals.
However, she wasn’t too anxious. Among the Thirty-Six Great Bandits, one was skilled at suppressing evil spirits using the Divine Worship Technique. With the upheaval in the Iron Armor Sect, she had already contacted Zhai Kong, planning to sell some things to the Iron Armor Sect for a big profit.
When the time comes, she’d leave it to Zhai Kong to resolve.
...
Even though Xu Guang was eager to search for the Dragon Blood Stone outside the city, he restrained himself.
For now, Tie Kuang and Liu Ning hadn’t returned, and outside the city lurked remnants of the Wei Family and the Four Directions Guard. A man of noble character does not stand under a dangerous wall, so he temporarily curbed his impulse.
Moreover, staying at the Iron Workshop was also part of his mission. He needed to guard it as best as he could in the absence of Tie Kuang, in exchange for the Zhu Family’s independence.
As for Yin Lele, he had a vague feeling something was off with her and decided to let her wait for now.
Another two days passed, and Xu Guang even suspected that the people from the Wei Family and the Four Directions Guard had realized that the Iron Armor Sect’s base was a hollow fortress and gave up any plans of raiding it.
It was very quiet indeed. The disciples under his command smoothly took over the businesses, shops, and fields of the other two families.
The newly acquired Dragon Blood Stone was not as large as the one previously given to him by Tie Xiong, and it had a rather exquisite silver ornament on it. Xu Guang removed it and casually tossed it into the storage room.
General Wei, with some fodder in his mouth, directly swallowed the Dragon Blood Stone.
Then he sought out Xu Guang, asking him to use the Encourage skill.
Xu Guang felt a bit helpless.
After using it twice, General Wei still felt it wasn’t fast enough. Humans and animals are the same; once they taste the good, they can’t get used to the bad.
Xu Guang resignedly looked at his panel, seeing his experience points break through the two-thousand mark again.
He was accustomed to saving enough experience for the White Crane Longevity Technique to level up, in case he needed to forcefully break the mirror in an emergency.
Nevertheless, General Wei’s growth was equally important.
So he upgraded the Encourage skill to Level 4.
The Level 4 Encourage skill had extraordinary effects. With Xu Guang’s current spiritual power, he could use it twice a day.
General Wei siphoned off Xu Guang’s energy, feeling the Dragon Elephant Blood boiling within, and was finally satisfied. The dragon scales on him became finer and exhibited some peculiar changes, as if he could faintly control the air around him.
However, the change wasn’t as immense as when he first inherited the Dragon Vein.
Just as Xu Guang picked up the Feng Shui book again, preparing to continue studying it,
a message appeared on the panel.
[A job change opportunity has been discovered. Would you like to switch to Feng Shui Master?]
A pleasant surprise!
Xu Guang was tempted to rush up and kiss General Wei because becoming a Feng Shui Master involved a vast amount of knowledge, and after nearly two months, he still couldn’t make the transition.
Who would have thought that spending a large amount of experience on General Wei today would immediately result in a level-up!
Could it be that he had been too stingy before?