Out of Seclusion

Immortal's Pavilion.

The finest—and only—restaurant in Guo Bei County.

This restaurant was not for dining, but for business.

Ever since Immortal's Brew had become wildly popular throughout Jiangnan, demand had always exceeded supply. Following Zhou Yi's suggestion, Chen Jinyu had specially built this restaurant for trading.

Each day, the restaurant displayed that day's production of Immortal's Brew. Merchants placed anonymous bids, and the highest bidder won.

The anonymous auction had not been Zhou Yi's idea, but a method Chen Jinyu had devised herself. The major merchants cursed her to the skies, yet obediently followed the rules.

The current market was such that anyone who obtained Immortal's Brew and transported it to the Thirty-Six Prefectures of Great Jing could at least double their money. If they had connections to smuggle it onto the northern grasslands, trading a jar of wine for its weight in silver was nothing unusual.

Ever since Immortal's Pavilion opened, it had been bustling for over a month. Yet today, something unexpected happened.

Two groups of men in different clothing had brazenly occupied Immortal's Pavilion. The moment they drew their weapons, merchants from all over obediently retreated outside.

The two men leading them both looked peculiar.

One had a smooth bald head covered in burn scars. He stood over ten feet tall, wore a string of Bone Rosary beads around his neck, and drank Immortal's Brew by pouring it straight from the jar into his mouth. He was a monk who had broken his vows.

His weapon was a Black Iron Staff, its shaft as thick as an adult man's thigh.

The other was short and thin, but his arms were exceptionally long. Both palms were as large as fans, blue-black like iron.

Sitting on a bench, he looked like a huge macaque, utterly ridiculous, yet no one dared laugh.

That was because both men were renowned in the martial world. The monk was Yuan Zhi, the Putuo Mountain Bandit Chief, while the ape-armed dwarf was Yuan Ji, the foremost expert of the Yan Mountain Water Village Eighteen Chain Strongholds.

Yuan Zhi possessed unmatched divine strength and was known in the martial world as the Mad Monk.

Yuan Ji's palm techniques were famous throughout the land, and martial artists called him the Divine Palm Immortal Ape.

Chen Jinyu stood on the second floor, her brows slightly furrowed as she quietly asked her second uncle, Chen Hong, "Even Grandfather is no match for them?"

"Our Golden Saber Sect has some influence in Guo Bei County, but in Jiangzhe, we can only be considered second-rate. Putuo Mountain's Assembly Hall and Yan Mountain's Chain Stronghold are comparable to first-rate sects even in all of Great Jing. Yuan Ji barged into our sect alone yesterday and severely injured the sect master. That was already a blatant warning. If we insist on resisting, it will bring disaster upon the sect."

Chen Hong sighed. "Immortal's Brew involves far too much profit. Today, it is the Assembly Hall and the Chain Stronghold. Tomorrow, it will be other sects. Before long, Immortal's Brew will no longer belong to us."

Chen Jinyu gritted her silver teeth. "Whoever dares touch Immortal's Brew, I'll fight them to the death. I refuse to believe that with all the silver I have, I can't hire enough experts!"

In half a year, Chen Jinyu had long ceased to be the little woman who had been married off to win Zhou Yi over. She had become a figure of considerable importance.

At first, she had relied on the Golden Saber Sect to rapidly expand her operation. Later, however, the Golden Saber Sect became less and less useful.

She was sociable and clever as a fox.

Many wealthy merchants who had spent their entire lives doing business were led around by Chen Jinyu by the nose.

"Ordinary martial artists might be hired with silver. But Yuan Zhi and Yuan Ji are both top-tier experts, and each commands a region of his own. Even the Zhenhai Guard of Jiangnan can do nothing about them."

The Zhenhai Guard of Jiangnan was one of the Six Guards of Jiangnan in Great Jing. It claimed to have fifty thousand sailors and fifty thousand infantrymen, and should have been Jiangzhe's strongest military force.

Unfortunately, the court's administration was rotten, and the military garrisons were even worse. Let alone one hundred thousand troops, the Jiangnan Guard could no longer even gather ten thousand old, weak, sick, and disabled soldiers.

Those ten thousand men did more than put on a show. The infantry also had to farm for their superiors. The navy had it slightly better, making considerable profits by transporting goods for merchants with its warships.

Putuo Mountain and Yan Mountain Water Village were the strongest factions in Jiangzhe. They called themselves factions, but in truth, they were bandits and water bandits with powerful martial arts.

"Even if I die, I won't let them benefit!"

Chen Jinyu knew perfectly well that all her wealth, glory, and power rested upon Immortal's Brew.

Before her marriage, no matter how intelligent or virtuous she was, she had only met Great Uncle Chen Xiangyan a few times. Now, whenever Chen Xiangyan faced her, he was polite and respectful, as though she were his equal.

Suddenly, a clear voice came from behind her.

"What do you mean, dead or alive?"

Chen Jinyu's face lit up when she heard the voice. Turning around, she found that it was indeed Zhou Yi.

Then Chen Jinyu gave a haughty snort. "So you finally decided to come out of seclusion, old man?"

"I happened to run out of ginseng and lingzhi, so I came out for some fresh air."

Zhou Yi rubbed his nose helplessly. This was truly the first time he had come out in half a year. The streets outside had changed so much compared to half a year ago that he had nearly gotten lost. He had needed to ask around before learning that Chen Jinyu was at Immortal's Pavilion.

Half a year ago, Guo Bei County had been a lawless place. Let alone merchants, even bandits had not dared come here to rob anyone.

Now, while he could not speak for other places, the several streets where wine was brewed were flourishing and changing with each passing day.

"Greetings, Master. Why weren't you practicing at this hour?"

Zhou Yi turned and bowed to Chen Hong. It was early morning, and given Chen Hong's diligence, he should have been meditating to cultivate or practicing stances to temper his body.

Chen Hong pointed downstairs. "With something this serious happening, how could I still be in the mood to practice martial arts? Though your master's skills are meager, I must at least protect Jinyu's life."

Zhou Yi looked through the window and understood most of the situation.

"Here to demand benefits?"

"Not just benefits. They want everything."

"They have quite the appetite. Who are they?"

"Heroes from Putuo Mountain and Yandang Mountain."

Seeing master and disciple exchanging questions and answers while leaving her standing to one side, Chen Jinyu could not help glaring at Zhou Yi. "Immortal's Brew is about to be stolen. Then we won't have money to buy hundred-year Spirit Medicine, and we'll have to eat bran and swallow vegetables every day."

Zhou Yi rubbed the top of Chen Jinyu's head. The seventeen-year-old girl did not even reach his shoulder.

"Mere bandits dare come to our door? I'll beat them all to death and offer them as sacrifices to Father."

As Zhou Yi spoke, he jumped directly out the window.

Chen Jinyu's expression changed. She reached out to grab Zhou Yi and cried in terror, "What are you going down there for? Give them the Immortal's Brew..."

By then, Zhou Yi had already landed on the first floor. His hand formed a claw as he lunged straight at Yuan Ji.

"Where did this green brat come from, daring to compare palm techniques with me?" Yuan Ji shrieked. His long arm moved later but arrived first, clawing toward Zhou Yi's chest.

Yuan Ji's arms were naturally extraordinary, both in length and strength.

After thirty years of dedicated study of the Heart Shattering Palm, one claw strike could pierce Greenstone. An ordinary person's chest would be pierced clean through.

Tearing through the chest and grasping the heart was Yuan Ji's favorite way to kill.

Zhou Yi joined his fingers into a blade and slashed back at Yuan Ji's arm.

Without a sound, Yuan Ji's forearm was cut into two pieces.

"Ah—"

Yuan Ji roared in fury, his left hand clawing toward Zhou Yi's crown.

Zhou Yi pointed at Yuan Ji's brow from midair, and a strand of Purple Sun Sword Qi shot forth.

Pfft!

A thumb-sized hole appeared in Yuan Ji's brow, then his entire head exploded, blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.

Zhou Yi frowned. "Three feet is still too far. I can't control the sword qi properly."

Purple Sun Sword Qi could be wielded at will only within a certain range. The farther it traveled after leaving the body, the harder it was to control.

At Zhou Yi's current strength, he could wield it freely within two feet. At three feet, it was no longer condensed enough.

When experts fought, victory and death were decided in a flash. Yuan Ji's head had exploded, yet Chen Jinyu had only just finished her sentence.

"...then give it to them. Your life matters more."

Chen Jinyu looked at Yuan Ji's gruesome corpse. After staring blankly for a moment, she suppressed her nausea and shouted angrily, "Husband, they bullied me! Hurry and kill them all!"

Zhou Yi looked at the dumbfounded Mad Monk Yuan Zhi and helplessly shrugged.

"Remember in your next life, don't provoke women. They hold grudges too well. Oh, and this isn't your fault. Who told you to be a monk?"