A Huge Sum of Money

Not long after Chen Zhuo departed, a group of fierce-looking men arrived at the Ghost Market, murderous intent radiating from them as they headed straight for the residence hidden within the bustling streets.

Leading the pack was a middle-aged man with a high bridge of the nose and hair split between black and white. He was broad-shouldered and thick-limbed, his back muscles bulging so prominently they looked like a pair of fleshy wings, straining the very fabric of his clothes to the point of tearing.

This man was none other than Huang Tiansheng, the younger brother of the Long River Gang's second-in-command, Huang Tianhe.

The moment they reached the mouth of the alley, they saw layers upon layers of people gathered around the narrow entrance, the crowd only growing larger by the second.

Several young girls, their clothes in tatters and bodies covered in blood and filth, were huddled in the center as the crowd buzzed with heated discussion.

"Whose daughters are these? How could they end up in such a state?"

"In this bright and clear world, how can such a horrifying thing happen in our Great Yong?!"

"Let's go report this to the officials. I refuse to believe there's no justice..."

"Shh! Watch your tongue! Don't be a busybody. You don't know who's behind this—do you have a death wish?"

Hearing these remarks, Huang Tiansheng's brow furrowed into a deep frown. With a wave of his hand, the burly men behind him stepped forward.

"Move, move, move! Nothing to see here."

Without a word of explanation, the men immediately began to disperse the crowd.

"Ouch! What are you doing?"

"You dare push me? Don't you know I run with the Long River Gang?"

"Stop hitting, stop hitting..."

The crowd initially resisted the thugs' rough tactics, but as a hail of fists rained down, they were quickly scattered.

Huang Tiansheng, his face dark and gloomy, didn't even glance at the wailing crowd or the pale, bloodless girls lying on the ground as he marched straight into the alley.

"Second-in-command."

As soon as he reached the residence, a man in gray robes hurried over to report exactly what had transpired.

Huang Tiansheng scanned his surroundings, his gaze landing on the three rooms with their shattered doors.

A single glance was enough to reveal that the number of women inside had been reduced by more than half.

Recalling the girls at the alley entrance and looking at the severed limbs and corpses scattered on the ground, a surge of rage rushed to Huang Tiansheng's head, his eyes beginning to flush with blood.

"How could you let him get away?"

The gray-robed man trembled, his voice shaking as he replied, "That man's strikes were vicious. My brothers were no match for him; even by risking our lives, we couldn't stop him."

Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed.

The burly men walked in, bringing the girls from the alley entrance along with them.

"Second-in-command, how should we handle these?"

Huang Tiansheng was already at the height of his fury. Seeing the girls in his subordinates' hands, he nearly lost his mind and erupted in a roar:

"Idiots! Idiots! Idiots!"

He cursed, lashing out with heavy slaps across their faces.

"Why did you bring them in here? Are you afraid people won't know we're the ones holding these people captive?"

"A bunch of fools!"

Everyone hung their heads in silence, not daring to utter a word.

"You..."

Huang Tiansheng took a deep breath, struggling to maintain his composure, but he couldn't help but bellow:

"What are you standing there for? Get out! Go find that man for me! If you don't find him, none of you are eating today!"

The men, as if granted a reprieve, scrambled away to resume their search.

"Two of you, go tell the Liansheng Sect about the situation here. Tell them to keep a close watch on every exit of the Ghost Market. They must find that man!"

After giving the order, Huang Tiansheng's expression turned increasingly cold.

"Go take a look over there."

The gray-robed man led Huang Tiansheng quickly to the room where Zhou Sheng had been.

When he saw the gruesome scene inside, his pupils contracted sharply.

"That man didn't carry any weapons. He snatched one of our swords and a dagger, but with just a few strikes, he cleaved Young Master Zhou's head in two."

Listening to the report, Huang Tiansheng carefully examined the two corpses. His eyes flickered, and his expression grew increasingly grave.

He stepped forward, bent down to pick up the long sword from the floor, and inspected it closely.

There were three distinct notches on the blade, each deeper than the last.

"Did you see what kind of technique he used?"

Huang Tiansheng asked in a low voice.

"It wasn't very clear."

The grey-robed man shook his head, then suddenly seemed to recall something and said hesitantly, "I exchanged one move with him before he kicked me flying. In my daze, however, I seemed to see his blade techniques—they looked like the ones commonly used by the yamen runners, yet not quite the same..."

"Zhengyang Blade Technique..."

Huang Tiansheng muttered to himself, a flash of blood-red light crossing his eyes.

"Where did he escape to?"

The grey-robed man pointed toward a high wall not far away and said, "He climbed over that. Many of our men have already gone in, but the alleys inside are a labyrinth, so we haven't finished searching yet."

"Search thoroughly. Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, you will dig him out for me."

"Yes."

As the grey-robed man turned to leave, Huang Tiansheng immediately ordered again:

"Send someone else to the yamen to notify Huang Yuan'er about this matter."

"Stall owner, how much for this piece of jade?"

"One hundred taels of silver."

"Are you joking? One hundred taels? Let's go, another black-hearted merchant."

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Chen Zhuo guarded the jade stall, acting as an incompetent owner.

The main reason was that he didn't understand the market; if he set the price too low, he feared he would be swarmed by onlookers, increasing the risk of exposure.

He simply set the prices high; after all, there were plenty of black-hearted vendors in the Ghost Market.

Just then, a burly man suddenly walked up to the stall and asked loudly:

"Have you seen anyone wearing a grey robe pass by here?"

Chen Zhuo looked up and said indifferently, "Customers come and go, and there are plenty of people wearing grey robes. I don't know which one you're talking about."

"Stop spouting nonsense."

The burly man cursed impatiently and turned to leave.

Chen Zhuo didn't say a word, letting the man go.

He scanned the street with his eyes, then immediately pulled his gaze back.

"The Long River Gang members—there are even more of them now."

Not long after, the sun gradually hung high in the sky.

Waves of heat rolled in, and many vendors, unable to withstand the high temperature, began to pack up their stalls one after another.

The flow of people on the street gradually thinned out.

Chen Zhuo also packed up the jade from his stall and brought it back into the room.

He opened the cabinet, took off the stall owner's clothes, stuffed them inside, and then put on the long gown and bamboo hat he had arrived in.

He placed the porcelain bottles scavenged from Zhou Sheng into his own bundle and counted the banknotes.

There were ten banknotes in total, each with a denomination of twenty taels.

Two hundred taels in banknotes.

Chen Zhuo's eyelids twitched, and his breathing grew heavy.

A massive fortune!

With just these two hundred taels, he had made a killing this time.

Not to mention the three bottles of demon blood.

"What's in this other bundle?"

Chen Zhuo's heart stirred as he looked at the other bundle on the table.

A tremor of excitement ran through him.

He reached out and opened it, and the contents made his heart race violently.

The gleaming white silver almost blinded him.

"No wonder that swordsman appeared in Zhou Sheng's room; it turns out he sold out that whole group?"

Chen Zhuo regained his senses and did a rough count, discovering that the silver in the bundle was worth at least as much as the banknotes, if not more.

"Murder and arson lead to golden belts"—the saying does not deceive!

This time.

He had hit the jackpot.