Advice

Long San drank a bowl of qi-replenishing, blood-nourishing medicine, then lay exhausted on his bed.

He wanted to sleep, but waves of pain from his left arm pricked him like needles, making it impossible for him to close his eyes.

"Ding Feng, Ding Feng! A mere mud-legged drifter from the jianghu—if not for..." He gritted his teeth in secret, the cold light in his eyes flickering uncertainly.

Knock, knock!

"Who is it?!"

Long San's expression changed, and his hand gripped the hilt of the saber beside his bed.

He had already given orders that any matter could be handled by the stewards below. If there was something major, they were to consult old master Long Tianwu, who was stationed here. They were not to disturb him while he recovered from his injuries!

"Shopkeeper Long, it has been a long time. I have come specially to pay you a visit."

A cool, detached voice sounded.

"Young Master Jiang?"

Long San was startled. To slip past all the defensive arrangements of the Four Seas Merchant Guild and reach this place without a sound—such lightness skill was truly startling to heaven and earth.

Long San said gravely, "Young Master, please come in so we may speak."

Creak~

The door opened, then closed again. A youth in blue robes stepped inside at an unhurried pace. Unlike other infiltrators, he wore neither mask nor disguise, appearing openly and aboveboard.

"Earlier, Ding Feng of the Brocade Dragon Merchant Guild came to my place with Lu Hou, the 'Earth-Treading Tiger,' one of the Seven Tigers of Fierce Tiger Stronghold," Jiang Ding said.

"So it was indeed him."

Long San sneered. "The Brocade Dragon Merchant Guild has always had murky ties with bandits like Fierce Tiger Stronghold. They call themselves a merchant guild, but they are better described as a den of thieves. If they had not opened a path through the connections above East Spirit Prefecture, they would have died without even bones remaining long ago."

"Those people deserve to be called merchants?"

Jiang Ding neither approved nor disapproved of the business philosophies of the two sides. "I came this time to ask Shopkeeper Long about Fierce Tiger Stronghold. There will surely be repayment in the future."

"It is nothing, merely a small matter."

Long San unconsciously touched his left arm, which was already gone.

"Fierce Tiger Stronghold rose to prominence ten years ago. Its chief, East Mountain Flying Tiger Lu Jingtian, has reached Inner Qi Perfection. His Flowing Moon Saber is wielded with such mastery that it seems miraculous. He forcibly entrenched himself at a key passage on the trade route between East Spirit Prefecture and Chizhou, and every merchant guild passing through has to pay them a toll."

"Sometimes, when they do not care to follow the rules, they take both the people and the goods."

"The merchant caravans traveling through East Spirit Prefecture have suffered deeply because of them."

Jiang Ding asked, "Doesn't the Prefectural Lord or the Tang Family, Marquis of Zhen Dong, care?"

Blocked trade routes damaged the Tang Family's interests, and by far more than a mere toll.

"They have dealt with it before. A great army was sent to suppress them, but the people of Fierce Tiger Stronghold hide whenever trouble is brewing. East Spirit Mountain is high and its forests dense; no one even knows where Fierce Tiger Stronghold is hiding."

Long San said mockingly, "The only way would be to send out all their Inner Qi elites, choose the right moment, and charge into the stronghold. So long as the Seven Tigers' heads fall to the ground, how would those mountain bandits dare continue resisting?"

"But Marquis Zhen Dong's Estate has enjoyed wealth and glory for more than three hundred years. The Marquis himself is only at Inner Qi Perfection, and the Inner Qi experts beneath him are mostly relatives by marriage or old retainers. Who would be willing to lead a small group deep into the mountains to exterminate bandits?"

"Lu Jingtian is also well-behaved. Attendants are sent with offerings from time to time, and so the matter has remained like this."

"Is the Blue Fluorescent Butterfly at Fierce Tiger Stronghold?"

"It must be there, without doubt."

"Do you know Fierce Tiger Stronghold's approximate location?"

Long San was startled. He carefully studied the youth in green robes before him for a long while before saying, "After so many years, Fierce Tiger Stronghold's approximate location is no secret. I can give it to you, Young Master."

"I have one word of advice. Young Master, your future is vast and your background profound. Do not lightly venture into dangerous ground."

That was all he could say.

Just as Jiang Ding coldly regarded the Four Seas Merchant Guild's casualties, Long San also hoped Jiang Ding could cause Fierce Tiger Stronghold some trouble. As for the consequences, he did not care.

"Is the Four Seas Merchant Guild willing to accept this?" Jiang Ding asked.

Long San fell silent.

After a long while.

"We have accepted it."

His voice was dry as he shook his head in bitterness. "Uncle Wu suffered internal injuries. More than half of the men he brought were killed, and those remaining are all wounded. As for me, I am nearly crippled."

"In the short term, the Four Seas Merchant Guild has no choice but to submit."

"The Long Clan rose through trade. We do not need to exhaust everything like ordinary martial sects to maintain our own prestige, lest outsiders mistake us for having declined."

Jiang Ding pondered for a moment.

"I need some people—just over twenty. Their strength does not matter. They only need to be able to transport some goods back. Would that be possible?"

"They need not be merchant guild elites. Of course it is possible."

Long San's body jolted, and he sat upright.

After agreeing on a time with Long San, Jiang Ding slowly strolled home. There were many pedestrians along the way, yet they all unconsciously overlooked his existence.

When they thought back afterward, they would only remember a figure passing by, without knowing what he looked like.

"The Minor Breath Concealment Art seems to have become much easier."

Jiang Ding circulated the complex internal energy route of the martial technique, and small insights surfaced in his heart.

Cultivation realm truly was the foundation of every spell and move. So long as one's realm rose, learning and practicing anything would become faster by a notch.

By his estimate, the Minor Breath Concealment Art was not far from advancing from proficiency to minor accomplishment.

Once it reached minor accomplishment, it would meet the basic requirements of a Reconnaissance Infantryman. With Reconnaissance Camouflage, it could initially block cultivators' divine sense.

Not far from the little shop, Jiang Ding frowned.

A familiar graceful figure stood there prettily, around one and a half meters tall, a snow-white sword hanging at her waist as she occasionally gazed into the distance. Han Lin and Huang Deyou stood nearby, attending her excitedly.

"Young Master Jiang, are you well?"

Gong Caiyu's eyes lit up as she spotted the figure in the distance.

This was also one of the drawbacks of the Minor Breath Concealment Technique. It could only make one inconspicuous, like rotten wood or withered stone, but it could not make one optically invisible. It was still difficult to avoid someone deliberately searching for him.

"Miss Gong, it has been a long time."

Jiang Ding nodded and led her into the rear courtyard.

He had a somewhat favorable impression of this woman. After being saved, she knew to offer compensation. But she was clearly entangled in trouble, which would bring him inconvenience, and so he did not like that.

"Thank you for saving me before, Young Master. I also knew you had come to East Spirit. Since I knew you preferred peace and quiet, I did not wish to disturb you further." Gong Caiyu explained briefly, then her little face turned serious. "Young Master, do you know that danger is approaching?"

"Is it because of the Blue Fluorescent Butterfly?" Jiang Ding was not surprised either.

"Yes."

Gong Caiyu said softly, "My martial uncle told me that heavy profit moves people's hearts. Several famous figures in East Spirit Prefecture City have joined this disturbance. If there is no need, Young Master, it would be best for you to move into the inner city. Troops are stationed there; even Inner Qi experts would not dare act recklessly."

"If you are able, it would be best to leave this whirlpool as soon as possible. My father once told me that those famous figures may look kind and benevolent, bearing the demeanor of seniors, but once they have the chance, they eat people without even spitting out the bones."

Her expression was exceedingly earnest.

"Mm, thank you for telling me, Miss Gong." Jiang Ding nodded.

If not for the Blue Gold Potion, he would have fled far away the moment he detected hostility.

Gong Caiyu gave him more instructions, then hurriedly bid him farewell and left. It was clear that she was very busy—she had to teach the new disciples of the Seven Profound Sect and maintain her own uninterrupted cultivation.

"Master, trouble may be coming."

After she left, Huang Deyou hurriedly knocked and entered. "Young Sect Master Gong is the Young Marquis's fiancée. For her to rashly visit an unfamiliar man, the slightest carelessness could lead to a great calamity. Master, you must not take this lightly."

"Take a gift to the estate steward and casually mention this matter."

Jiang Ding had not overlooked the risk either. "Gong Caiyu is the young sect master of the Seven Profound Sect, a jianghu person. Who knows how many men she meets every day? It cannot be that something happens with every one of them."

"Can you meet the estate steward?"

"I can, Master. Ever since we began opening the mountain in cooperation with the Four Seas Merchant Guild, many important figures have looked upon me more highly." Huang Deyou cupped his hands.