Meteorite Copper

"Is this your home?" Ye Yun stared in disbelief at the elegant two-story house beside the street. He never would have imagined that Gu Dahai, a local tyrant who threw his weight around in the countryside, would own such a refined house in the bustling part of town.

Seeing his reaction, Gu Dahai hurriedly explained in a careful voice, "This is the family property my parents earned. But over the years, they couldn't stand the gossip, so they moved to the estate I bought for them outside the city. I'm the only one living here now."

Ye Yun nodded and walked in through the front gate.

Only after entering did Ye Yun realize there was nothing particularly valuable in Gu Dahai's home. The furniture was old, with much of the paint peeling off. What surprised Ye Yun most was that the house even had a small courtyard. A tiny pond sat in its center, with several koi swimming in it and lotus blossoms floating on the surface. Fruit trees grew around the pond, and two of them were laden with small, unripe fruits that looked especially appealing.

"I didn't expect a place like this to be hidden away here. I guess you really can't judge a person by appearances!" Ye Yun couldn't help remarking as he looked at the courtyard.

Gu Dahai answered with a mournful expression, "Great hero, I didn't make this. My father built it this way especially to please my mother. After my parents moved to the estate, I left it unchanged as a keepsake."

"Fair enough. Looking at it, this doesn't seem like something you could have come up with." Ye Yun nodded and turned toward the house.

After looking around for a bit, Ye Yun lost interest in Gu Dahai's home and returned to the back courtyard. He stopped beside the little pond and, without turning around, said, "All right, I've seen the place. Now we can talk business. Have you decided what you'll use to compensate me for my losses?"

Gu Dahai knew the crucial moment had arrived. This seemingly harmless young nobleman was unlike anyone he had met before. Not only was he highly skilled in martial arts, he also didn't care about the rules—if he wanted to beat you, he'd beat you. Gu Dahai was genuinely afraid that whatever he offered wouldn't satisfy the young master and that he'd be killed on the spot.

Gu Dahai gritted his teeth and said quietly, "Please wait a moment, young master. I'll get it right now." With that, he turned, lowered his head, and lifted a flagstone by the back-courtyard entrance. He reluctantly pulled out an oilcloth bundle from underneath it.

"Young master, this is a martial arts manual I came across by chance. Everything I've achieved is thanks to it. Unfortunately, I can't read, and I didn't dare ask anyone to translate it for me. Otherwise, I'm sure I could have achieved even more."

"Oh?"

Ye Yun turned around with a look of surprise and studied the oilcloth bundle with interest.

Seeing this, Gu Dahai lowered his head and respectfully handed the bundle to Ye Yun, his eyes full of reluctance. But he knew Ye Yun was far stronger than he was, and there was nothing he could do to resist.

Inside the oilcloth was a slightly yellowed book. The cover bore three imposing characters: Thick Earth Art. But after opening it and looking inside, Ye Yun quickly lost interest. It was a cultivation technique with an earth attribute, but it only went as far as the eighth level of Jade Purity. His cultivation had already reached the eighth level of Jade Purity, so this technique was of no use to him.

Although Ye Yun didn't care for the technique, it was a priceless treasure to Gu Dahai. It was fortunate he hadn't taken it out to be translated; otherwise, his family would have been destroyed long ago. After all, not every sect was called the Qingyun Sect. This manual alone could establish a small sect. If it got out, Heyang City would likely be swept up in a storm of bloodshed.

Ye Yun flipped through the manual briefly, then casually slipped it into his robes. He had no intention of telling Gu Dahai the truth; otherwise, Gu Dahai would probably regret it so much that he killed himself.

After putting the manual away, Ye Yun nodded at Gu Dahai and said, "I'm satisfied with what you've given me. Let's consider what happened earlier settled. Now I have something to ask you. You must answer truthfully."

"I'll answer truthfully, young master." Gu Dahai had seen his share of storms, and quickly composed himself.

Ye Yun gathered his thoughts and said calmly, "I'd like to know if anything strange has happened in Heyang City. Also, are there any objects in the city with unusual powers? You're a local big shot, so you must know plenty about these things."

Gu Dahai hadn't expected Ye Yun to ask about this. He was taken aback, but then figured that extraordinary people often had unusual interests. After thinking for a moment, he began respectfully, "There are quite a few strange happenings in Heyang City, but most are just rumors. Many are made up by people with ulterior motives to conceal their real intentions. The strangest story going around lately is the haunting at Master Liu's house in the east of the city." As he spoke, Gu Dahai couldn't help swallowing. Even a burly man like him felt uneasy about ghosts.

"Apparently, on a rainy night three days ago, the neighbors suddenly heard strange, chilling cries coming from Master Liu's house. But there was thunder and heavy rain, and it was the middle of the night, so nobody got up to investigate. When the rain stopped the next morning, the neighbors saw that the Liu household was eerily quiet. After discussing it, several of them went together and pushed open the front gate, which had been left ajar. Only three of them ran back out. Two had been scared out of their wits, and another made it through the gate, shouted, 'Ghost!' and then spat blood and died. He turned into a pool of blood and gore right there. Even the expert summoned by the authorities didn't dare go in. He only walked around near the gate before retreating. In the end, they just sealed off the Liu residence and hastily closed the case."

"Oh? So there really are ghosts?" Ye Yun was very interested. He'd never seen a ghost in his life. Tian Buyi and the others had seen some, but most had been associated with demonic cultivators; they'd never seen any wild ones. In this world, a person's three spiritual souls and seven mortal souls dispersed soon after death, so it was very difficult for them to form a ghost, a being made of a soul and resentment. Most ghosts were deliberately created.

"I-I don't know, young master," Gu Dahai said awkwardly.

Ye Yun nodded. "All right. Go on."

"Yes, young master." Gu Dahai nodded.

Ye Yun had interrupted Gu Dahai's train of thought, so he took a moment to gather it before continuing. "Young master, I don't know of any other strange happenings. As for the rare treasures with unusual powers you mentioned, someone of my standing wouldn't have any way to get near them. But I do know that Boss Chen of the Fierce Tiger Gang in the east of the city has a piece of Meteorite Copper. I learned that by chance once, and I doubt more than three people in all of Heyang City know about it besides me."

"Meteorite Copper? That's a good find. How did Boss Chen get it?" Ye Yun's interest was immediately piqued. One of his reasons for coming down the mountain was to find natural treasures to make a magical treasure of his own, and Meteorite Copper was undoubtedly a good material.