"What's so urgent?"
Chen Zhuo glanced at the large bundle on Fatty Sun's back, growing even more puzzled.
"It's important. I'll explain on the way."
Sun Fei deftly untied the bundle, took out a black robe, and handed it to Chen Zhuo.
"Use the back door."
Though Chen Zhuo was still confused, Fatty Sun probably wouldn't lead him into a trap. He simply closed the courtyard gate and set off.
At this hour, the Yamen was serving lunch. The two of them hardly encountered anyone along the way, and slipped out through the back door without a sound.
They headed north at a brisk pace and soon reached the northern outer city.
Sun Fei found a tavern called Cloud Gathering Pavilion and led Chen Zhuo straight inside.
They went into a private room on the second floor, ordered some food and wine, and sat down.
"Gentlemen, your food and wine are all here. Please enjoy."
Before long, the waiter brought out the food and wine.
Sun Fei tossed him a silver ingot and instructed, "Don't let anyone disturb us."
"Yes, yes, of course."
The waiter bowed and scraped as he left.
Chen Zhuo glanced at the exquisite dishes on the table and asked, perplexed, "This is the urgent matter you mentioned?"
Sun Fei picked up a large piece of meat and shoved it straight into his mouth. Speaking indistinctly, he countered, "Eating and sex are human nature. Eating comes first. How could a meal not be important?"
Chen Zhuo laughed in spite of himself and said nothing.
He didn't touch his chopsticks either. Instead, he turned to survey their surroundings, finally letting his gaze settle downstairs.
There was a gambling den downstairs.
The memories of the bloody battle he had once fought outside that very gambling den came flooding back, scene after scene.
Chen Zhuo quickly came back to himself and merely smiled at the memory.
What drew his attention to the gambling den today wasn't his past, but a scent.
"There seems to be a faint trace of demonic aura."
Chen Zhuo's nostrils twitched. His gaze was like a sharp sword, as if it could pierce the gambling den's curtains.
A demon beast?
Or a human demon?
The demonic aura was too faint, and the gambling den was too far away. He couldn't see inside, so he couldn't determine where it came from.
From the beginner level to proficiency and then mastery, the Demon-Seeking Art's ability to detect demonic aura depended primarily on distance and the aura's strength.
The lower the rank of a demon beast, the stronger its demonic aura.
And the farther away it was, the harder it was to sense its presence.
Human demons also had different ranks. But the scent of those who had replaced their blood with demonic blood carried a distinctive, foul stench that was easy to recognize.
"Half an hour from now, the Long River Gang will invite quite a few influential figures from the inner city to this gambling den for a few items to be put up for auction. One of them is this year's slot at the Northern Suppressing Faction."
"The Long River Gang has already announced that whoever holds the Spirit Jade containing demonic blood will be entitled to a slot."
Seeing that Chen Zhuo had noticed something strange about the gambling den, Sun Fei stopped keeping him in suspense and went straight to the reason they had come.
"A slot at the Northern Suppressing Faction... can be sold publicly?"
An auction was, of course, a sale to the highest bidder.
Chen Zhuo's fingers twitched, and his eyes lowered.
He knew the Yamen was rotten, but he hadn't realized it had decayed this far.
The Northern Suppressing Faction was recruiting talent from county-level Yamen runners for the first time. Even if the Yamen had deliberately favored some young master, he could understand. For example, the one sitting beside him.
Who wouldn't use connections if they had them?
If he had any, he would too.
But Chen Zhuo had never expected that a slot like this would be handed over to a gang outside the Yamen for public sale.
There was no way Magistrate Liu didn't know what was happening in the city, yet he was turning a blind eye.
"Perhaps... Liu is on the Long River Gang's side to begin with. That's the only explanation that makes sense."
With that thought, Chen Zhuo asked,
"Is the information reliable?"
"Absolutely."
Only after Sun Fei had eaten a whole chicken leg, meat and bone alike, did he continue. "It came from Old Qian, my family's steward. He's been with us for over thirty years. He's trustworthy."
Chen Zhuo pondered for a moment, then suddenly thought of another question.
"A slot at the Northern Suppressing Faction is so important. Why wouldn't the Huang Family of the Long River Gang keep it for themselves?"
Sun Fei had hardly stopped eating, but when Chen Zhuo asked, he answered without reservation, if somewhat indistinctly.
"Mm... You haven't been at the Yamen long, so you probably don't know. Someone in the Huang Family passed the provincial government's examination a few years ago and went to the Capital, where they've already taken up a post at the Northern Suppressing Faction."
"By my reckoning, it's been more than three years."
Chen Zhuo was surprised. "The Huang Family has someone like that?"
Sun Fei shrank his neck. Fear flickered in his eyes as he gritted his teeth and said, "That woman, Huang Zhen'er, is Huang Yuan'er's eldest sister. But she wasn't born to Huang Tianhe's principal wife, so she and Huang Yuan'er don't get along."
"That woman has excellent martial bones and decent talent, but she's far too ruthless. She's no good."
Watching Fatty Sun's expression shift, Chen Zhuo guessed he had probably suffered at Huang Zhen'er's hands. Otherwise, he wouldn't look both afraid and eager for a fight just at the mention of her.
He suddenly thought of the Braid Girl who sold Spirit Fish.
Her martial arts were also impressive, and she had a knack for fishing up Spirit Fish.
"Let's go. I arranged a carriage in advance. We can put on the robes once we get in."
Sun Fei casually wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth. He hardly looked like the son of a wealthy family.
He got up to leave, but Chen Zhuo shook his head.
"What would we go in there for?"
"To buy the slot, obviously," Sun Fei blurted out.
Chen Zhuo picked up the wine pot, filled Sun Fei's cup first, then poured himself one.
Raising his cup with a smile, he said, "Thank you for your generosity, Brother Sun, but I appreciate the thought. There's no need to buy it."
"Come on, bottoms up!"
When Sun Fei saw Chen Zhuo drain his cup first, he immediately followed suit, though he was still completely baffled.
"You won't buy it? Don't you want to go to the Northern Suppressing Faction?"
"Of course I do. It's just..."
Chen Zhuo paused, then turned his gaze back to the gambling den below. His eyes grew cold. "A slot like this doesn't have to be bought. We can't just hand a pile of gleaming silver to the Long River Gang."
"Steal it?"
Sun Fei rolled the idea over in his mind, then uttered one word.
Chen Zhuo smiled. "Brother Sun, you really are a kindred spirit."
"The carriage driver is one of your people, right? Give him a robe and send him into the gambling den. You and I will wait here. Once things are settled inside, we'll find that person and have a nice little 'talk.'"
"Good!"
Sun Fei agreed without hesitation. "Brother Chen, you really do think on your feet. We'll do just that. We'll get the slot and make the Long River Gang eat crow."
Chen Zhuo smiled and nodded. Seeing that Sun Fei had swept all the dishes clean, he called out, "Waiter, bring us another identical spread!"
When the time for the auction arrived, more than a dozen carriages gradually gathered outside the gambling den.
The people who climbed down from them were all wrapped in black robes, their original appearances hidden.
They all went inside the gambling den.
Among them was the driver who worked for Sun Fei.
"I explained everything to him clearly. He has a Signal Arrow. Once he's confirmed the location, he'll send us a signal."
Sun Fei had arranged everything swiftly and efficiently.
Between mouthfuls of meat, Chen Zhuo even cupped his hands to him.
As for this matter,
before, he would have been more cautious and might not have risked it.
But this involved the Northern Suppressing Faction, and he had broken through to Aperture Opening. He could afford to act with a freer hand.
"I'm going to take a nap."
After polishing off the food in a few quick bites, Chen Zhuo slowly closed his eyes.
As he waited, he quietly began circulating the Qi Circulation Method.
As True Essence flowed through him, the world's spiritual energy gradually gathered, stirring his clothes though there was no wind.
Feeling a breeze brush his face, Sun Fei couldn't help wondering in surprise,
"Hm? Where's this breeze coming from?"
Before you continue