Delivering a Letter, An Old Friend's Predicament

To rise quickly in a complex environment with insufficient strength, one could only rely on leveraging power.

However, how to leverage power was also a profound subject. If done poorly, it could backfire, leading to an even faster demise.

If it were the Chen Dengming before his transmigration, talking about leveraging power in this Cultivation World, attempting to negotiate with cultivators at Qi Cultivation level six with only level one Qi Cultivation strength, would be overestimating himself and making a fool of himself.

But the current Chen Dengming's life experience and wisdom were far beyond that of a naive young man from years past.

In terms of intelligence and vision, he was still the patriarch of the Chen Family in Nanxun Kingdom. He had only just entered the Cultivation World, and his strength was still lacking, requiring further accumulation.

Ever since deciding to leverage power, Chen Dengming had been wandering around, returning to the vicinity of his former humble dwelling.

He hadn't forgotten the woman who had lent him travel expenses and given him a meal before.

As expected, the residence he had previously rented was now occupied by someone else, and Xu Wei's adjacent humble dwelling was shut tight.

"She should be home at this hour."

Chen Dengming approached, about to knock on the door.

Heavy, unfamiliar footsteps sounded from behind the door.

His hand paused.

The door opened almost simultaneously, revealing a rough, weathered male face.

"You are... Ah, Immortal Master! Greetings, Immortal Master."

Chen Dengming glanced at the man in surprise, then peered into the inner room and asked, "Who are you? Have you seen Xu Wei?"

"Xu Wei?" The man looked bewildered, then shook his head. "Immortal Master, I don't know Xu Wei."

Chen Dengming's brows furrowed. After some questioning, he learned that this man had moved in three months ago.

Before that, the house had been vacant for several days, and the previous tenant had moved out earlier.

Calculating carefully, Xu Wei's departure seemed to coincide with his own departure from the Gathering Place.

Thinking this, Chen Dengming mused that Xu Wei might have moved away from this area out of fear, perhaps because he was being hunted or because of his earlier warning.

"I've implicated my neighbor," he thought to himself, turning to leave and heading towards the commercial district of Golden Character Workshop.

Xu Wei was originally from Golden Character Workshop, but due to her Mortal status, her position was very low.

Now that she had moved, it was only logical to search for her at Golden Character Workshop.

As a Mortal, it would be difficult for her to earn Spirit Grains.

Her lease period hadn't even ended when she suddenly moved, which must have incurred significant losses. With her travel expenses also given to him, where could she have gone now?

In this Rogue Cultivator Gathering Place, the only person he could still somewhat trust and entrust matters to was Xu Wei.

Besides finding Xu Wei, he also planned to personally visit Golden Character Workshop, meet its workshop master Xu Ning, and claim the 'credit' that the latter had promised him.

This wasn't him being arrogant, but a necessary step in his upcoming plans.

Many things, even if one didn't want the hassle, were unavoidable. This was the helplessness of being in the Martial World.

Sometimes Chen Dengming wished he could simply achieve immortality and live forever.

If he ran out of money, he wouldn't need to worry, he could earn it slowly. If his strength was low, he wouldn't need to worry, he could cultivate slowly.

Unfortunately, reality was harsh, and Cultivation was not romantic.

He still had to worry about trivial matters.

After all, to extend his lifespan, he needed to learn Cultivation Methods, which cost money. Resources were limited, and others would naturally compete with him. It was difficult to be completely detached.

As one of the four largest powers among the more than ten factions in the Rogue Cultivator Gathering Place, Golden Character Workshop occupied the largest and best territory within this gathering place.

The gathering place was divided into five zones: East, West, South, North, and Central.

Among them, the Central zone was the core area where the formerly depleted Spirit Vein was located.

The residual Spiritual Energy there was the most abundant. Golden Character Workshop occupied a quarter of the streets and houses in the Central zone.

Secondly, a portion of the shantytown in the West zone also fell under Golden Character Workshop's jurisdiction, and they collected residence fees.

Chen Dengming soon arrived at Golden Character Workshop's area in the city.

Here, people were lining up to pay their residence fees, just as it had been when he first arrived.

At the rear of the line stood two elegant, antique-style art buildings. However, this was already within the city limits.

Except for those working there or belonging to Golden Character Workshop, generally only cultivators could pass freely. Ordinary Mortals had to pay Spirit Grains to enter.

This further demonstrated how precious and scarce resources were in the Rogue Cultivator Gathering Place.

Mortals who wanted to enjoy resources and approach areas like the city center, where Spiritual Energy was abundant, had to pay Spirit Grains.

Chen Dengming was already a cultivator, so no one stopped him. He entered the city area and approached the two art buildings.

After the bustling night, these two popular art buildings had quieted down. The exhausted attendants were sweeping up the mess in front of the buildings early in the morning.

Some distinguished guests who had come to listen to music left the buildings with light steps, accompanied by smiling courtesans. They had entered with bulging purses, but left empty-handed, both their money and their energy drained.

Seeing Chen Dengming approach and sensing the Spiritual Might emanating from him, the madam did not dare to neglect him and quickly stepped forward to attend to him.

"Oh my~ Esteemed Immortal Master, you're in such a good mood so early in the morning?"

Chen Dengming glanced coldly at the madam, not saying a word.

The madam's flour-dusted face stiffened. She quickly slapped her own mouth in apology with a smile.

Chen Dengming stated his purpose directly.

"Looking for Miss Xu Wei?"

The madam's expression flickered slightly. After assessing Chen Dengming with a poker face, she forced a smile and said, "Immortal Master, this Miss Xu Wei is famously stubborn. If you're looking for her…"

Stubborn?

Chen Dengming thought to himself. He really couldn't tell. Xu Wei, who always stammered when talking to him, didn't seem stubborn at all. He said indifferently, "Stop with the nonsense. Since she's here, bring her to see me. I like people who are stubborn with me."

The madam was speechless, her expression odd, but she didn't dare to delay.

Seeing that Chen Dengming had no intention of going inside, she quickly turned and went to fetch someone with a smile.

As the madam of this Golden Character Workshop's entertainment house, she was naturally a part of the Golden Character Workshop. Ordinary cultivators wouldn't dare to easily control her. However, she was ultimately a Mortal and didn't dare to provoke a cultivator over a trivial matter of finding someone.

Although she didn't show any emotion, Chen Dengming had already sensed something was amiss.

It seemed Xu Wei had offended someone. This madam was reluctant to let him see Xu Wei, only agreeing under pressure.

Chen Dengming couldn't help but recall the swelling on Xu Wei's face the last time he saw her, his brows furrowing.

"Immortal Master, you… you, Young Master Chen."

At the entrance of the entertainment house, Xu Wei, who had been summoned, opened her mouth slightly. Her eyes widened in astonishment as she stared at Chen Dengming's familiar face. She immediately covered her mouth, afraid to call out his name. After glancing around nervously for a moment, she looked at Chen Dengming in surprise, her apricot eyes blinking, and stammered.

"You, how did you… already break through to…"

Chen Dengming nodded with a smile and said, "That's right, Sister Xu. I broke through some time ago and only returned today."

Xu Wei quickly waved her hands. "Please don't, Immortal Master. You are now a cultivator. I am merely a Mortal and cannot be addressed by you like this. Immortal Master, please just call me Little Xu."

Although she said this, the anxiety in her heart eased. Her gaze towards Chen Dengming was filled with joy and admiration.

She secretly thought that now that Young Master Chen had become a cultivator and returned, his status was different. He should be highly valued by the higher-ups of the Golden Character Workshop, and the wanted notice on Hutong Street should pose little threat to him.

"Call you Little Xu."

Chen Dengming frowned, thinking of the reality and gap between Immortals and Mortals in this world. He sighed inwardly and smiled.

"Calling you Little Xu feels a bit awkward. I'll just call you by your name. I've come not only to repay your kindness for giving me travel expenses that day but also to ask for your help with something. I wonder if you have the time and if you are willing."

Xu Wei, who had been feeling apprehensive about the address, was now surprised. Her beautiful eyes curved into crescents. She curtsied and said, "Immortal Master, you are willing to trust me. I am naturally willing to help, but I fear I lack the ability."

"Ah!"

Chen Dengming waved his hand to stop her and said, "The matter I need your help with is not difficult. I just need you to deliver a letter for me, a letter to the Lüo Family."

"Immortal Master He, that's the one downstairs. You see…"

At the same time, in a room on the third floor of the entertainment house, the window was open. The madam, with a fawning smile, greeted an old man and then pointed to Chen Dengming, who was talking to Xu Wei on the street below.

The old man looked downstairs, observing the disheveled figure of Chen Dengming and the broken saber on his back. He mused, "When did Xu Wei become so familiar with a cultivator?"

The madam said with difficulty, "This servant truly doesn't know. For the past three months, this girl has been living in the house. Her wages haven't even been enough to cover her rent, and she owes a lot. If it weren't for that gentleman taking a liking to her…"

"Hmm?"

The old man's eyes flashed with displeasure.

The madam immediately shut her mouth, trembling like a cicada in winter.

The old man said lightly, "This girl Xu Wei is quite talented among this batch of courtesans. Her low-grade Spiritual Root is valuable. Originally, I planned to train her into a cultivator and send her to the mansions above to entertain those lords, or to cultivate her into a courtesan queen and sell her at a high price. Unfortunately, since they need someone now, we have no choice but to use her. Recently, tell her to interact less with others, especially cultivators, lest this girl overestimates herself and causes trouble."

"Yes!"

Just as the madam took her orders, she suddenly exclaimed, "Ah, look, that girl is leaving!"

The old man frowned, his gaze falling unhappily on the street below.

Just then, Chen Dengming turned his head, and his gaze also shifted upwards. His eyes were imposing.

As their eyes met, a spiritual might seemed to clash between them.

"Only Qi Cultivation first layer."

The old man's eyes narrowed, and he let out a cold laugh. "Fellow Daoist, you are privately letting a girl from my Zanhua Tower leave. Isn't that against the rules? This is Golden Character Workshop territory."