Stay Where You Are, Leave the Box, and We'll Spare Your Lives

The old hands who worked river transport at Green-Mud Ferry all knew that Cao Wanchun of the River Merchants Guild in the provincial capital was a man who had clawed his way up from the mud.

He had originally been the eldest son of the local Cao family of ship merchants. Twenty years ago, the Cao family owned more than a dozen cargo vessels and specialized in a downstream general-goods route. They had been figures of some standing at the docks.

That was until River-Crossing Flood Dragon seized Rocky Shoal, secretly colluded with the clerks of the river-transport office, repeatedly intercepted the Cao family's goods, and used the transit documents to make trouble at every turn.

The old master fell ill from rage and worry, then passed away. The Cao family scattered like monkeys when the tree fell, and their vast estate was picked clean in less than half a year.

Cao Wanchun did not blame Heaven or lament his fate. Starting out as a dockside tracker, he had carried cargo, run orders, crossed blades with river bandits, and spent twenty years drifting from place to place. Relying on sheer ruthlessness and a quick mind, he had clawed his way to the position of vice president of the provincial River Merchants Guild.

Over the years, he had secretly gathered men, cultivated connections in the martial world, and even sent people to contact experts in external cultivation. He had been waiting only to amass enough capital to open up the Rocky Shoal waterway, reclaim Green-Mud Ferry's river-transport agency rights, and offer some comfort to his father's spirit in Heaven.

But when news of the battle at Rocky Shoal reached him, he immediately overturned the plan he had spent years laying.

How long could he keep grinding himself to death on his own?

It was easier to sail with an official ship at one's back.

Patrol Officer Xu had leveled Rocky Shoal with a single sword strike. Even the natal flood-dragon Sha Qi that River-Crossing Flood Dragon had raised for more than a decade had been shattered. Such might was more useful than hiring ten external-cultivation experts.

Rather than force his own way through the water route, he might as well ride this favorable wind and attach himself to the Demon Suppression Bureau. Under the banner of the authorities, he could establish river-transport rules and clear the waterways. That would avenge his family's old grudge while also allowing him to rightfully seize Green-Mud Ferry's river-transport business.

He raised a hand and tapped the tabletop, ordering the steward outside, "Add another thirty percent to the gift list. And wrap up my Pill-Pattern Remnant Stone Tablet as well. Put it in a brocade box by itself."

The steward froze. "Master, you've kept that stone tablet for nearly ten years. They say it's some relic from an ancient cultivator's pill cauldron..."

"No matter how good a relic is, it won't produce silver sitting in a storeroom." Cao Wanchun spoke calmly. "Patrol Officer Xu has pacified Profound Yin Hall and explored the Sunk Tomb. Giving it to him makes it a hundred times more valuable than keeping it here."

"Remember, the remnant stone tablet is an important gift. Keep a close eye on it. There can't be the slightest mishap."

The steward bowed in acknowledgment and turned to make the arrangements.

Cao Wanchun gazed at the scattered sails on the canal beyond the window, his fingers slowly tightening.

Twenty years of pent-up frustration would finally see the light of day.

At the same time, in the main hall of the Green-Mud Ferry patrol office.

Xu Jin had just returned from Rocky Shoal. His black robes still carried a trace of dampness as he sat behind his desk, leafing through the confiscated smuggling ledgers.

Constables moved in and out of the hall, carrying seized goods with exceptionally light steps. Everyone knew that this young patrol officer had just slain River-Crossing Flood Dragon, and his Sha Qi was at its peak.

Wang Lei hurried in holding a scroll of documents from the merit office, his face alight with joy. "Brother Xu, the provincial capital's approval for your battle merits has arrived!"

"The battle at Rocky Shoal has been rated as a first-class merit: slaying the bandit leader River-Crossing Flood Dragon, wiping out the river bandits' armed force, uncovering a cross-border yin-object smuggling chain, and destroying Profound Yin Hall's downstream supply point. Converted total: three hundred contribution points, with a reward of eighty taels of silver. The merit office also specifically noted that your record in cracking two cases in a row was eye-catching, and the central bureau has you on file. Once the matter of sealing the Yin Domain is resolved, the formal decree for the first-class merit can be issued."

Xu Jin's hand paused over the ledger, but his expression did not change.

Earning battle merits after fighting was simply the natural order of things.

"Redeem all the contribution points," he instructed casually. "Three Pure Yang Pills and half a tael of Sun Essence Sand. Keep the rest in reserve."

Wang Lei's brush halted, and he could not help clicking his tongue. "Pure Yang Pills are in short supply. Normally, even getting one means waiting in line for an allotment, yet you're redeeming three at once... Then again, we'll soon be clearing Dark Harbor and sealing the pill chamber. You really do need to bring yourself to peak condition."

Xu Jin had his own calculations as well.

His gang qi had been tempered to sufficient strength, and his foundation at the eighth level of the Intent Comprehension Realm had long since been solid. Only his soul cultivation had failed to keep pace. That would be the greatest hurdle when he sought to break into the Grandmaster Realm in the future.

For now, he needed to push his physical body and gang qi to their peak and firmly consolidate his foundation in the Intent Comprehension Realm. As for his soul, he could only slowly seek opportunities.

After nightfall, in the rear courtyard's quiet chamber.

Xu Jin sat cross-legged. Three round Pure Yang Pills rested on a jade plate, while the Sun Essence Sand glimmered with fine golden light, like a handful of crushed sunlight.

He picked up a pill and swallowed it. Its medicinal power dissolved, becoming a scorching stream of pure yang that surged through his meridians.

Crimson-gold gang qi began to circulate in turn, refining the medicinal power layer by layer like a furnace. Under the washing force of the medicine, the walls of his meridians grew ever tougher, and his gang qi condensed another measure.

One pill, two pills, three pills.

After refining all three Pure Yang Pills, he took the Sun Essence Sand and slowly drew it into his dantian.

The fine grains of gold melted into his gang qi. His already blazing Molten-Gold Sword Aura gained several more traces of weight and solidity, and golden radiance flared brilliantly around his body.

The temperature in the quiet chamber climbed steadily. After roughly half an hour, the golden light gradually receded.

Xu Jin opened his eyes, and a flash of gold vanished from them.

Peak ninth level of the Intent Comprehension Realm.

His gang qi was sufficient, but his soul still needed tempering.

Once Dark Harbor was dealt with and the pill chamber sealed, he would have to find some opportunity to nourish his soul.

He pushed open the door to the quiet chamber. The night was deep, and the wind from the canal drifted in over the courtyard wall.

Wang Lei had been waiting beneath the corridor. Seeing him emerge, he hurried forward. "Brother Xu, the Cao residence has sent a calling card. Cao Wanchun, Vice President Cao of the provincial River Merchants Guild, wishes to visit and bring over some supplies as well."

Xu Jin nodded slightly.

He recognized Cao Wanchun's name. The Zhao Patron of Green-Mud Ferry was one of his men, so they could be said to have dealt with each other indirectly.

"Understood." He paused, then added, "Notify Zhao Hu and Qian San tomorrow. Have them check the terrain map of Dark Harbor in Reed-Blossom Marsh, as well as the deployment details for the ruined temple in the western outskirts. We leave on time in three days."

"Understood." Wang Lei noted each instruction down.

The night deepened. Beside the official road downstream toward Green-Mud Ferry.

The Cao residence's steward traveled through the night with two guards, escorting a black-lacquered wooden chest.

Inside were the generous gifts Cao Wanchun had prepared. The Pill-Pattern Remnant Stone Tablet had been wrapped in three layers of brocade and placed alone in the innermost part of the chest.

The steward walked with painstaking caution, glancing back at the chest from time to time.

His master had repeatedly stressed that this remnant stone tablet was the key to opening the door. It was more precious than gold or silver, and could not suffer the slightest loss.

When they reached the deepest part of the reed marsh, the wind suddenly turned cold.

A faintly fishy, chilling breath drifted over. The steward's heart lurched, and just as he raised his hand to warn the guards—

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several dark figures shot out from the reeds. Their faces were veiled in black gauze, and their fingertips gleamed with eerie white bone-light. They were unmistakably practitioners of Profound Yin Hall's Yin Bone Claw techniques.

"Stay where you are." The lead evil cultivator's voice was cold and sinister. "Leave the box, and we'll spare your lives."

The steward's expression changed drastically. He instinctively stepped in front of the wooden chest and shouted, "Who are you people?! Do you know that we belong to the provincial River Merchants Guild?!"

"The River Merchants Guild?" The lead evil cultivator sneered. "You're exactly the people we've been waiting for."

The two guards drew their blades and shielded the steward.

The lead evil cultivator clearly had no patience for further nonsense. Black Sha Qi wrapped around his Yin Bone Claw as he reached straight for the wooden chest.