The Jiang Family

Shao Yancheng wasn't unfamiliar with the Black Bodhisattva. When he'd first returned to Ping City from Jinmen, he'd heard of this mysterious organization. Some foreign compradors and church bishops had shown their faces in its ranks... though always in places where they had no business being.

Du Wenyuan had proposed using this organization to boost Luo Bin's reputation, granting him a tremendous name and drawing the attention of Cao Jichuan, Cao Hua's son. It was indeed a good idea... After all, the chilling rumors about Cao Jichuan had been circulating in Ping City for many days:

He took pleasure in torturing martial arts prodigies to death, along with other people blessed with extraordinary talents in various fields.

"It's a workable plan. The Chen Family may be on the verge of collapse, but a starving camel is still bigger than a horse—especially with Chen Du in Jinmen. He's a vicious one..." Shao Yancheng said slowly.

Jiang Lin nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Du Wenyuan didn't know much about Chen Du, so he asked, "Chen Du, Chen Tianren's eldest son? If he's enough to make you wary, he must be no ordinary man."

"Wenyuan, you haven't been assisting my Jiang Family for long. Chen Du is difficult to deal with not because his martial arts have reached Profound Mastery, but because he holds a high position in an organization in Jinmen—and has a good master..." Jiang Lin said with a smile.

Du Wenyuan rubbed the teacup between his fingers, his eyes narrowing to slits. "The Gushang Peace-Waves Society?"

Shao Yancheng's expression turned slightly grave as he nodded. "That's right."

Of everyone in the Jiang Family, Shao Yancheng was undoubtedly the one most familiar with this organization, which had its fingers in every corner of Jinmen. During the years he'd scraped by there, he'd witnessed its protectiveness toward its own and its bloody methods time and again. Since the Chen Family was going to fall, it was best to let it fall slowly.

Underhanded, unsavory tactics would only give others something to hold against them. It wasn't worth the risk. They only needed to target Luo Bin, the martial arts prodigy who was growing at an astonishing pace.

Jiang Lin seemed to suddenly remember something. He frowned and asked Du Wenyuan, "What's that old Daoist Jia Yao been up to lately?"

"Hmph. I suspect he has ulterior motives. He pretended to pledge himself to our Jiang Family, but in his heart he's still on the Pei Family's side... That old bastard Pei Song has also reconnected in Tianhai with an old flame from his youth. She has considerable influence there, and the Pei Family has managed to gain a slight foothold in the city.

"With backing like that, he won't be easy to bring over to our side..." Du Wenyuan said coldly.

Tianhai lived up to its name. It was one of the first major cities in Great Xin to be colonized. Miles of foreign concessions, warlord garrisons, foreign settlements... Most of the latest fashions in Great Xin had spread from places like these.

Tianhai also had another, special name: the Demon Capital.

That name cast an even more mysterious veil over the city. Whether Jiang Lin or Du Wenyuan, both were old men who had lived through the "Jiashen Void" and survived the collapse of the previous dynasty. What they knew of Tianhai came only from scattered scraps of hearsay.

This vast city was not only full of danger, but also rife with all manner of temptation.

The "Succubus Den" beneath the foreign concessions, the haunted mansion and ghost bride left behind by the former dynasty's royal estate... Both had become central figures in the city's most infamous ghost stories.

Jiang Lin rose and gazed out at the night in Ping City. "Spirit Binding and General Commanding is a fine technique. That old Daoist refuses to teach it, but never mind. It would be stranger if he readily passed on such an extraordinary art... I also had him look into the Chen Family's Yellow Court Inner Landscape technique, and he gave himself away.

"He's an honest man, and not much of a talker. We'll simply stop using him for now."

Du Wenyuan and Shao Yancheng both nodded.

Jiang Lin continued, "We should strip Ran Shaohua of a little of his authority. He's a fence-sitter, so it's best to keep an eye on him. Yancheng, gather in the men you've planted in the Shuo Gang and begin taking over its internal affairs."

"Yes."

The next morning.

Luo Bin tucked the blanket around Wen Li, who was dozing with her head resting in the crook of his arm, then quietly got up and went into the courtyard. He sat cross-legged on a stone stool, reflecting on the peculiar fragment of insight, Burning Breath of Fire, that the Luo Fire Mourning Feather had given him the day before.

He had circulated his energy and practiced his technique for a long while. He could sense even the slightest change throughout his body, yet Burning Breath of Fire had brought about no obvious change. He'd also brought up the Crimson Panel, but the information displayed was still the same as before.

There was no separate entry for the fragment of insight.

"I can't make heads or tails of it. For now, I'll just put it aside and wait until I get the chance—or some opportunity comes along—to stir up this fragment of insight."

Then Luo Bin brought up the panel again.

[Luo Bin]

[Realm: Golden Skin Pass, Perfected]

[Techniques: White Ape Through-Arm Fist (Second Layer, 2/6), Primordial Stance (Third Layer, 5/20)]

[Essence Soul: Water Ghoul · Phantom]

[Modification Points: 2]

[Spirit Charm: 472]

[Techniques: Pure Yang Body-Forging Technique (Third Layer, 5/20), White Ape Through-Arm Fist (Minor Mastery, 1/80)]

Luo Bin stared at the glaring number 472 in the Spirit Charm column, his grin stretching from ear to ear. His heart began to pound. The Spirit Charm brought by a single Luo Fire Mourning Feather was worth as much as all the food and heavenly treasures he'd consumed over the past few days.

Beneath the waters of the Fu River at Yingchuan Ferry, Luo Bin had memorized the appearance of that feather with its dark red sheen. Thinking back on it now, it looked like a feather shed by some kind of bird, though it certainly hadn't come from an ordinary one.

It must have been left behind by a monster on the level of the Flood Dragon rumored to live in Pengze Lake.

At his current level, at the age of sixteen, he was still a nobody. If an opportunity was delivered right to his mouth, he'd be a fool not to take a bite. Besides, the Luo Fire Mourning Feather had lain beneath the waters at Yingchuan Ferry for many days, and no one had gone to retrieve it. He'd only discovered it because his senses had been enhanced by Crimson.

That was how he'd caught the faint, unusual fragrance.

"But since I absorbed the Luo Fire Mourning Feather with Crimson, none of its faint fragrance clung to my body."

Having worked out the reason, Luo Bin felt a little more at ease. He'd thought about the old man and young man Chen Tianren had met in the Chen Residence yesterday. The faint fragrance they shared with the Luo Fire Mourning Feather had come from the young man.

Since the feather had converted into so many Spirit Charm points, it must have been a rare treasure. If Crimson hadn't been able to absorb the Luo Fire Mourning Feather and he'd carried it around himself, the fragrance coming from his body would surely have attracted trouble.

Especially from that old man and young man.

"If Chen Tianren had to meet them in the council hall, they can't be ordinary..."

Luo Bin shook his head, clearing away the distracting thoughts. He began calculating how to spend this unexpected fortune. After all, more than four hundred Spirit Charm points was already a huge sum for him. It would even be enough to push him to Jade Bone Pass in a short time, then let him practice and master several more superior martial arts techniques...

Just as Luo Bin was pondering, the door creaked open. Wen Li appeared, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush and her eyes still heavy with sleep. After Luo Bin had tended to her twice, her complexion was now far better than before.

That ripe, alluring feminine aura of hers was exceptionally captivating.

"Bin, you only come to see me once every few days. Why didn't you sleep a little longer?"