Two More Treasures, a Whistle Staff and a Jade Pot

"Dragon Nest... Shi Er... Gaoyou."

"Zhang Shicheng, was it? If I went to join him, I could probably get by for a while. With a big brother like you vouching for me, the treatment should be decent."

Ge Xian's face brimmed with eagerness as he gazed at the middle-aged scholar before him.

He had looked at the Red Robe Monk the same way earlier, but then he had only been playing along.

This time, he was much more sincere.

Still, he knew that this world was nothing like the "Late Yuan and Early Ming" he had known in his previous life. Mr. Shi before him possessed a vast, surging qi, even more formidable than that of the young monk from the Maitreya Cult. He was certainly a powerful cultivator, and probably wouldn't retire to seclusion and write books in the future.

He felt some goodwill toward Mr. Shi and wanted to ask him more questions, but his own life mattered more.

Ge Dahualang didn't want to waste even this little bit of time, only for someone else's "contact" to show up looking for him. He couldn't bear to imagine what might happen then.

So he picked and chose, quickly sharing some of his information with the two men.

The reason he didn't tell them everything to get a bigger reward was simple: Ge Xian couldn't be sure that another spy contact wouldn't come looking for him. He had to keep some information in reserve, in case he couldn't handle what came next.

The original owner had been far too bold.

Ge Xian really had uncovered quite a few secrets these past few days, including things even the Yelü Tianzheng family had kept hidden.

Even revealing just a little was enough to make anyone's blood race.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished reporting, both men smiled with satisfaction. The middle-aged scholar known as "Shi Er" was especially convinced that the boy had great potential. It was a waste for someone like him to work as a spy; he ought to devote himself to cultivation instead.

Shi Er sized Ge Xian up, then glanced around the room. He reached into his sleeve and pinched out an object.

What a strange sight!

At first glance, it looked like a little wooden stick in his fingers. But in the blink of an eye, a dim light flashed, and it transformed into a black whistle staff, which he held out to Ge Xian.

"The information you've provided is highly confidential and quite useful. But I can't reward you properly here in Qiantang County, so take this for now."

"I refined this whistle staff myself. It can beat back wild beasts, and it can also blow out a sound that wards off evil. Ordinary evil spirits and ghosts can't come near you."

"We still have business to attend to at Sunset Mountain. Once it's done, I'll come find you in the city and formally lead you onto the Dao Path. It would be a shame to waste your talent."

After saying this, the scholar didn't bother to see whether Ge Xian would refuse. He left with the old fisherman contact, who hadn't had a chance to speak.

Clearly, they both believed that Bottom Layer types like Ge Huolang, who had talent but hadn't yet found a suitable Dao Path, would seize any opportunity that came their way. There was no chance they'd turn it down—and, as it happened, they were right.

Only Ge Xian knew he was an outlier. Or rather, only he thought of himself that way.

Two groups of spies had made contact, each representing one of the rebels of the Chaotic World, Liu Futong and Zhang Shicheng. Both had come and gone, each receiving some of Ge Xian's information and giving him a treasure for his protection. Both had said they would come back in a few days to take him away.

Holding the whistle staff and feeling the Blood Bodhi Prayer Beads against his chest, Ge Huolang couldn't help making a complicated face.

"With these two treasures, I can fight some weaker demons and cultivators in the Dao Entry Realm without even transforming into my Evil Dragon Aspect."

"One for offense and one for defense. Perfect."

"Tsk, I think I understand what the original owner was after now. He'd decided early on to play the field and squeeze something out of everyone?"

"Will there be a third group?"

Worried about what might happen, Ge Huolang didn't even dare test the power of his two new treasures.

He hurried back and wrapped up the whistle staff, placing it beside the pretty young woman's Soul Residence so that some of her qi might help conceal it.

Everyone knew Ge Huolang liked collecting strange creatures such as Female Fiends and Seductress Ghosts. Having a Broom Spirit in his room was perfectly reasonable, wasn't it?

After putting everything away, Ge Xian pretended to lie back down on the bed. In his heart, he wondered whether the two groups had avoided crossing paths earlier. If they had met, surely they wouldn't both have given him rewards.

Then he started wondering whether a third group might come looking for him.

If so, who would it be?

The Spy Organization under Ni Wenjun, or someone working for Zhu Hongwu?

"I don't know Ni Wenjun very well. I only know Chen Youliang, but he's at least a general. He wouldn't lower himself to wander around with spies."

"As for Zhu Hongwu, going to him would be the safest bet, if my memories from my previous life are right. Whoever comes, as long as I latch onto the right coattails and get along well, I'll have a bright future. I can think about how to deal with whatever trouble comes later."

"The problem is, this world is the Dayuan Dynasty, and it's full of Immortal Gods and demons. Even a county magistrate likes to carve the flesh off people's thighs. How could my memories from my previous life possibly be reliable? What does Zhu Hongwu have backing him that could let him take the throne in a world like this? Could he stand against the Myriad Laws Sect? Probably not."

"So I still have to judge things carefully for myself."

"Hm? Here they come..."

Ge Xian was wondering whose coattails he ought to grab when that familiar sensation came again.

This time, the newcomer was clearly a reckless sort.

Ge Xian had just gotten up and lit the oil lamp, but hadn't yet had time to open the door.

The thin wooden door was shoved open by the night wind. A beautiful Jade Porcelain Jar rolled into the room with a clatter.

By sheer coincidence, it rolled right to Ge Xian's feet and stood upright.

Its pitch-black opening pointed straight at him. Amid a series of creepy giggles, Ge Xian saw a face inside the jar, both comical and horrifying. Its features were all scrunched together, and it had a big red, booze-soaked nose, two huge buck teeth, and eyes reduced to narrow slits. Anyone who saw it would call it ugly.

The moment they met eyes, the original owner's memories stirred in Ge Huolang's mind, bringing with them a curious feeling.

That ugly face!

It really left an impression.

Ge Huolang had taken on so many spy jobs and met plenty of contacts. Nearly all of them had been utterly ordinary, the kind who vanished into a crowd in an instant. They'd also been strict about secrecy, so the original owner had never been able to guess which organization any given contact belonged to.

This fellow was the only exception.

When he had first recruited the boy, he'd taken off his official robes but carelessly forgotten to change his official boots. Even a young lad like the original owner had guessed that he must be a government agent.

On top of that, the fellow hadn't given the original owner a single benefit. He'd just offered empty promises:

"Young man, keep your eyes and ears open for me here in Qiantang County. Gather up whatever information you can."

"When I come looking for you again in a few days, if you can give me anything important, I'll make sure you rise through the ranks and get rich. You'll eat well, drink well, and have anything you want."

He was clearly a spy, but he had a fine talent for official bluster.

The stench of it was so strong that the original owner hadn't needed to think hard to figure out where the fellow came from.

But even Ge Xian hadn't expected him to look like this now. He'd been ugly last time, sure, but at least he'd been a "person."

Why was he stuffed inside a Jade Porcelain Jar now?

Ge Xian was about to say something when the ugly face in the jar spoke first.

"Heh heh!"

"Easy, young man, easy. This is a reward I got from my superior: a jar of Fat Monster Blood and a copy of the Pot Heaven Technique. With them, I easily and completely stabilized my Foundation Establishment Realm. Ordinary demons, cultivators, and wild gods in this realm aren't my match."

"But you haven't even entered the Dao Entry Realm, young man. If I talk to you like this, you probably won't understand a thing."

"Step back. I'll show you my true form."

The moment he heard those words, Ge Xian sensed trouble and hurried backward.

But the room was tiny. There wasn't anywhere to retreat to.

As soon as he reached the bed, the exquisite Jade Porcelain Jar suddenly exploded. The next moment, a huge ball of flesh appeared.

Like a mound of cotton, a plump, ridiculous "Humanoid Demon" covered in folds of fat filled almost the entire room. It left just enough space for Ge Huolang's bed. When he opened his eyes, all he saw was soft, petal-like flesh, as if no attack could hurt the creature at all.

The sight of it, and the sensation that came with it, let Ge Xian recognize the fellow's name and origins at once.

Not long ago, he had seen him mentioned on the final pages of Anle Zishen's Logbook.

"Fei Zhong, a clerk with the Jiangnan Zhejiang West Dao Supervisory Censorate."

"An utterly shameless wretch, without talent or virtue. A slave to lust, greedy beyond measure, and unspeakably stupid..."

"Even before I attained enlightenment, he often came to extort me. Because I feared the Supervisory Censorate's reputation, I had no choice but to hand over my wealth and shut the fat pig's foul mouth."

"Today, that ugly fat pig has come again, and he's even changed into a Demonic Body called Fat Monster... Heh, it certainly suits the ugly wretch. But even if the fat pig takes a shortcut, using the blood of a strange creature and a visualization secret art to cheat his way into Foundation Establishment, he still won't be my match after I attain the Dao."

"What a stupid pig. He has an official position in the Dayuan Dynasty and could use it to take advantage of the Myriad Laws Sect, yet he chose this path and cut off his own future. And he still wants to extort money and beauties from me? Hmph. He won't get so much as a single mouse hair."

As Ge Xian recalled these lines, his eyes shone.

This was the first time he'd come into contact with a proper government organization.

"The Political Investigation Department!"

"So that's where he came from. That actually works out..."

Now that he knew the fat pig's origins, Ge Xian instinctively thought of reporting a secret.

The Dayuan Dynasty was on the verge of collapse, but it hadn't fallen yet.

When he'd eavesdropped earlier, he'd clearly heard that even a Border Governor like Yelü Tianzheng had a powerful official called Bao Hanzhang opposing him.

In other words, if he reported that Lu Hualong and Yelü Yuyan, the Perverted Couple, were secretly trying to sell Qiantang County, the two of them would surely be in for trouble.

And the Political Investigation Department had the duty to oversee local officials.

Unfortunately, the thought vanished as soon as it arose.

The reason was simple: the clerk called "Fei Zhong" before him didn't look like a good person.

Ge Xian might report everything to him, only for the man to sell him out the very next moment.

The clerk from the Supervisory Censorate, spy contact Fei Zhong, had no idea how many thoughts had flashed through the young peddler's mind in an instant.

Seeing him stay silent, Fei Zhong assumed his "mighty and imposing" Demonic Body had stunned him.

The ugly face grinned and looked down at him.

"Young man, it's been a while. Have you gathered any useful intelligence?"

"If you have anything good, I'll keep my promise."

"I can't make you rise to the heavens in one leap and give you a Demonic Body as imposing as mine, but at the very least, I can recommend a suitable place for you to enter the Dao."

"Since you've awakened a Perception Talent, you'd be best off entering the Dao under the Kaiming Spirit God. I can write you a letter of introduction."

Ge Xian wasn't surprised to hear that.

He already knew that the Dayuan Dynasty had joined forces with the Myriad Laws Sect, and that its people had an entire system for rising through the ranks and cultivating.

Fei Zhong might be a mere clerk, but as a member of the Political Investigation Department, he'd managed to cultivate the power of the Foundation Establishment Realm. It was entirely possible he had connections like that.

But Ge Xian knew better than to think good things came for free. And after meeting Red Robe Monk and Shi Er, he found it hard to trust officials from the Dayuan Dynasty, no matter how low-ranking they were.

Even so, that didn't stop him from testing the waters.

Ge Xian unleashed his acting skills once more, putting on a delighted, nervous expression. Then he told Fei Zhong about some recent events in Qiantang County, gradually touching on hidden matters and eventually bringing up Lu Hualong, the Demon County Magistrate.

He recounted everything plainly, without passing judgment.

At the same time, he watched Fei Zhong's face, seeing the greedy clerk go from impassive to increasingly interested.

When Ge Xian said that the County Magistrate's Wife, Yelü Yuyan, was actually the madam of a Fox Whore brothel in the city, and that she often preyed on human girls, Fei Zhong first looked pleased, then shook his head and muttered, "No, no. The evidence isn't strong enough. It won't bring that pair of crooks down..."

Hearing this, Ge Xian's thoughts stirred. He couldn't help guessing that the power behind this fellow might be a political enemy of the Yelü Family.

After a moment's thought, Ge Xian continued, still pretending to be impartial.

"One day, I heard from Zhang Buzu and Zhao Wuyou, the Two Ghoul Generals, that Lu Hualong's fight with the Evil Cultivators from the Eternal Life Cult a while back was a sham."

"It seemed to be meant to cover something up."

"And the Two Ghosts also said that the rest of their brothers had gone far away, apparently to look for a buyer."

"What did you say?"

"Is all that information true?"

Almost as soon as Ge Xian finished speaking, a glint flashed in Fei Zhong's narrow eyes. His greasy, ugly face lit up with delight.

He looked down at Ge Xian as though he were a treasure trove, a great hero who'd won them a major victory.

"Good, good, good!"

"Young man, you're about to earn great merit."

"Stay with the Propaganda Team. Keep mixing with the Ghoul Generals under Lu Hualong. Keep gathering useful intelligence."

"Take this pot to protect yourself. Once the big job is done, you've heard of the Political Investigation Department, haven't you? It has plenty of power. The day I get promoted, you'll get a share of the soup too."

Fei Zhong was clearly in a hurry to leave. The moment he finished speaking,

there was a bang, and the ball of flesh he had become vanished, shrinking back into the Jade Porcelain Jar before Ge Xian's eyes.

Then four holes appeared in the jar. The fellow's arms and legs stuck out, and he began hopping and crawling in a way Ge Xian couldn't make sense of. He burst through the door, summoned a violent wind, and vanished into it.

When Ge Xian looked again, he found an identical Jade Porcelain Jar on his table. At the same time, he learned how to use it.

That's right!

This was a kind of escape treasure.

And the way to use it was exactly what Fei Zhong had just demonstrated when he left.