Orchid Causes and Scattered Fruits, Every Effect Has Its Cause

Orchid Causes and Scattered Fruits, Every Effect Has Its Cause

After resting for a while and calming his surging emotions,

Yu Chen rose to his feet, dragged the silver-white beast's corpse behind him, and walked toward the gathered martial wanderers.

This sight made the short-sleeved burly man and the others' hearts leap into their throats again!

Across the vast snowy ground, the man in the black mask dragged the beast's mountain-like corpse, leaving a messy trail of blood through the snow. He looked savage and terrifying.

Gulp.

The tall man among the wanderers swallowed and looked at the short-sleeved burly man. "Boss, this lord isn't so bloodthirsty that he plans to slaughter all of us too, is he...?"

The moment he spoke, all but the short-sleeved burly man unconsciously took a step back.

—Though the masked man before them looked thin and frail, far less imposing than martial artists like them who trained their bodies to the extreme, the sight of him smashing that forest overlord, which had been turning into a demon, to death with two resounding punches had left an indelible impression—and terror—upon them.

So now, though Yu Chen had clearly saved them, the fear they felt toward him far outweighed their gratitude.

"Probably... not."

The short-sleeved burly man could not make heads or tails of Yu Chen. He could only judge from his actions that his purpose had likely been nothing more than to suppress and kill the beast.

He perfunctorily reassured his frightened subordinates, stepped forward, and cupped his hands. "Xie Qing of the Zhengqing Gang thanks... Senior, for saving our lives!"

On the path of martial arts, the accomplished came first.

Thus, Xie Qing, the short-sleeved burly man, saw nothing wrong with addressing Yu Chen, who was obviously far stronger than him, as Senior.

But hearing it, Yu Chen felt dazed.

Once upon a time, he had been merely a gravekeeper from a criminal household—insignificant, humble, and without a voice.

Yet Xie Qing, the short-sleeved burly man before him, was one of the foremost figures of Weishui's underworld. With a few words, he could send hundreds or thousands to brave fire and water for him. He himself was an Innate Grandmaster, fully capable of fighting ten opponents alone.

The two of them had once belonged to entirely different worlds.

But now, in this boundless snowfield, this underworld leader lowered his head before Yu Chen, utterly earnest and utterly respectful.

It truly made one... sigh with emotion.

And all of these changes stemmed from the Scripture of Deliverance, from his transformation and strength.

Yu Chen remained silent, thinking of all sorts of scattered, unrelated things. But to Xie Qing and the other martial wanderers, this scene made them scarcely dare breathe!

Though Yu Chen had indeed saved them just now, in their eyes, this Senior shrouded head to toe in black had not uttered a single word from beginning to end. They had no way to guess at his temperament.

What if he was some moody monster? No one could guarantee that he would not slaughter them all for amusement...

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

The martial wanderers could practically hear their own heartbeats pounding like drums.

At last, Yu Chen came back to himself, looked at Xie Qing, and gave a slight nod in response.

Only then did Xie Qing let out a breath of relief, as did the men behind him.

"Senior saved our lives today. Xie Qing and my brothers are grateful beyond measure. Should Senior ever have need of us, Xie Qing and the entire Zhengqing Gang will brave fire and water without hesitation!" Xie Qing cupped his hands again and spoke solemnly.

After saying this, seeing no response from Yu Chen, he and the many martial wanderers bowed, preparing to head down the mountain.

As for the silver-white beast and the Wang Household's reward, they no longer dared entertain any thoughts about them.

But just as Xie Qing and the others turned around, Yu Chen suddenly coughed.

At once, the wild and unruly martial wanderers fell silent as cicadas in winter, turning back obediently like children in a schoolhouse.

Their hearts pounded like drums!

Especially the lively tall man among them. His lips went dry and a chill ran down his spine!

For although he could not see Yu Chen's eyes beneath the Infernal Ghost Mask, he could still sense that the other party seemed to be looking at him.

—That was hardly something to be happy about.

After all, at this moment, Yu Chen was far more terrifying in their eyes than the silver-white beast, the overlord of the forest.

"Senior..." Xie Qing lowered his head too and forced himself to ask, "Do you have any further instructions?"

Yu Chen cleared his throat. His hoarse voice emerged through the Infernal Ghost Mask. "Take this beast down the mountain."

Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

Xie Qing, drenched in sweat, suddenly understood.

Senior was probably having them carry the beast's corpse down the mountain. A master like Yu Chen likely did not care to do such trivial chores himself.

"May I ask, Senior, where should we deliver it?" Xie Qing called for several martial wanderers to lift the beast by its limbs, then asked.

"Wang Household Manor," Yu Chen said again.

Xie Qing froze.

Could it be that this Senior still had his eye on Old Master Wang's reward?

Yet despite his doubts, he did not dare ask further. He only continued, "Rest assured, Senior, we will certainly deliver it. The Wang Household's reward will also be respectfully presented to you afterward!"

Yu Chen nodded. "Tell the Wang Household master that this beast was slain by your Zhengqing Gang."

Hearing this, Xie Qing froze, and so did the other martial wanderers.

What did that mean?

This Senior did not want to show his face?

Amid their confusion, they heard Yu Chen say again, "The reward goes to me. The discounts at the Wang Household Shops go to you."

In that instant, Xie Qing and the martial wanderers were first stunned, then... overwhelmed with joy!

After Yu Chen had saved their lives, they had long stopped harboring any thoughts about Old Master Wang's reward!

After all, having picked up their lives again was already an immense blessing!

But from what this mysterious Senior meant, the Zhengqing Gang would receive the credit for slaying the beast and could exchange it with the Wang Household master for those discounts?

What kind of pie-from-the-sky good fortune was this?

For a moment, Xie Qing was struck so dumb that his head spun.

"Thank you, Senior!!" He took a deep breath, then actually dropped to his knees in the snow and bowed!

On the surface, Yu Chen continued to wear the same calm, ancient-well-without-ripples expression and nodded.

Only after the martial wanderers thanked him several more times did they drag the beast's corpse down the mountain.

Yu Chen remained alone in the silent mountain forest for a while. Only after the Zhengqing Gang had completely descended the mountain did he head toward Qingfeng Mausoleum.

And his decision to hand the tiger's corpse over to Xie Qing had not been a spur-of-the-moment whim. He had planned it long ago.

Back when he had left Wang Household Manor and parted ways with Xie Qing's group, Yu Chen had secretly used a Paper Crow to observe the martial wanderers discussing their plan to subdue the beast.

Thus, he knew that the Zhengqing Gang was not hunting the beast for the hundred taels of silver, but for the "discount" Old Master Wang had promised: all medicinal pastes and similar goods purchased by the Zhengqing Gang at the Wang Household Shops would be half price.

As it happened, even wearing the Infernal Mask, Yu Chen did not want to openly collect the hundred taels himself—a master who had slain the silver-white beast would surely put every major and minor force in Weishui City on alert. Even if his identity remained a mystery, he would inevitably be tracked and investigated from every direction.

Yu Chen had no desire to be roasted over a fire like that.

All he wanted was the reward. The discount was as useless to him as chicken ribs, so he might as well return a favor.

Indeed, Yu Chen had another reason for doing this: the Zhengqing Gang had once helped him.

Earlier, from Old Mister Zhao's diary, Yu Chen had learned that his becoming a gravekeeper at Qingfeng Mausoleum and obtaining a job to keep himself fed had only been possible because Old Mister Zhao had pulled some strings.

And Old Mister Zhao's connection had also left traces in Yu Chen's memory of the death lantern: it was one of the Zhengqing Gang's core members.

After all, in the entire county, probably only the Zhengqing Gang, which controlled eighty percent of Weishui's labor, could so easily extend its hand into gravekeeping work nominally overseen by the yamen.

By coincidence, the person Old Mister Zhao knew was none other than the lively tall man who followed Xie Qing.

—Earlier, his feeling that Yu Chen had been looking at him had not been an illusion.

How could a schoolhouse teacher of such lofty character and integrity have connections with a gang member?

It turned out that when Old Mister Zhao had served as a registrar in the yamen, the tall man had still been young. He had gotten into a fight and been brought before the court.

Old Mister Zhao had been the registrar then and possessed some influence. Seeing that the tall man had been the one bullied, he spoke to the county magistrate and had the tall man's punishment waived. The tall man remembered the matter thereafter, and the two thus came to have dealings with one another.

One more thing worth mentioning: those fragrant and erotic illustrated books Old Mister Zhao had owned had also been procured by the tall man. Otherwise, as a schoolhouse teacher, Old Mister Zhao likely would have had no way to get his hands on such things.

In short, that was the whole story.

On one hand, even wearing the Infernal Mask, Yu Chen did not want to collect the reward openly and draw attention to himself.

On the other hand, Xie Qing and the Zhengqing Gang's martial wanderers likely never imagined that, because they had casually given a bite to eat to a boy from a criminal household at the request of a schoolhouse teacher, they would receive today a benefit enough to make every gang on Southside Old Street green with envy.

Every sip and every peck may have been preordained; orchid causes bear scattered fruits, and every effect must have its cause.

That was precisely so.

(End of this chapter.)