Divine Envoy Kaben was an old fox who had practically attained enlightenment. He chuckled. "By seniority, you're actually my elder, but I know you don't like that, so I'll just call you..."
Nashan cut in. "Call him Boss... just call him Boss!" He had no idea what Kaben's status was, but even if he had, he would not have bothered with all that.
Old Beetle Nanzi Dong thought, Good grief, making His Excellency the divine envoy call him Boss-that's far too disrespectful. Tange was even more at a loss for words. Divine Envoy Kaben held an extremely high position among the Green Tribe. Even their great chieftain treated him with the utmost courtesy and would never dare offend him. But Tange was a nobody whose words carried little weight, so he could hardly say much. He watched the divine envoy nervously, afraid he might grow angry.
Kaben was still all smiles. "Hehe, Boss? Good! Boss it is... Boss, why do you want to fight Banshou Trading House? And who are you asking them to hand over? Perhaps there's been some misunderstanding. How about letting me talk to them?" His words were so watertight that Li Qiang felt he had nowhere to get a grip. But Li Qiang would never resolve this matter through someone else's hands. Such a debt of favor would not be easy to repay. He wanted to start playing dumb again.
Paben suddenly said, "I want to find that bastard myself... I..."
Li Qiang stopped him. "Paben, don't rush. Everything will be resolved. Don't worry, you'll get your chance to settle things with that bastard. Right now, all you need to do is cultivate properly. Everything else is your boss's business." Without realizing it, he too had begun calling himself Boss.
Li Qiang scratched his head and said casually, "Hmm, we've been troubling Old Beetle for quite a while. Isn't it time we said goodbye? Old Beetle, you have a guest. Take your time entertaining him. We'll be off." He stood and called, "All right, Hong Qian, Nashan, let's go!"
Nashan stood up, grinning. "I was bored to death! Great, let's go!" His response dovetailed perfectly with Li Qiang's cue.
Hong Qian was an honest man and could not help saying, "Martial Uncle, is... is this appropriate?"
Kaben found it amusing, but he was also very surprised. "So Hong Qian is from the Chongxuan Sect! Haha, wonderful!"
Li Qiang cursed Hong Qian nonstop inwardly. Deliberately making a fuss, he exclaimed, "Your Excellency didn't know? Ahem! Hong Qian, that's your fault. You can say so openly from now on. Your Excellency, please look after him in the future. We'll take our leave."
Everyone followed Li Qiang into the courtyard. Strangely, Kaben did not stop them, but instead escorted them outside with a broad smile. Looking at Li Qiang, he grinned so widely he could barely close his mouth. No matter how Li Qiang looked at him, his smile reminded him of the wolf disguised as Grandma.
Nashan muttered, "Boss, look at him. It's like he picked up a gold ingot on the road. That grin is ridiculous. If his ears weren't in the way, his mouth would stretch clear around the back of his head."
Li Qiang made a show of scolding him quietly. "Nashan, shut up! Don't disrespect the divine envoy." But he could hardly hide the smile tugging at his lips and had to turn his head away.
At the gate, Li Qiang said loudly, "No need to see us off! No need! Goodbye! Goodbye!"
Divine Envoy Kaben bowed. "Take care, Boss... Oh, right. I'll be visiting the Grand Alliance in a few days, specifically to pay my respects to the chairmen in charge. I'm sure you'll be there too, Boss. Haha." Li Qiang was thoroughly displeased. Kaben had found his soft spot again.
Reluctant to part, Old Beetle Nanzi Dong said, "Boss, I'll deliver the goods to the Grand Alliance in a few days. It's truly an honor to have met you." His admiration for Li Qiang came from the bottom of his heart.
Back at the Grand Alliance, the more Li Qiang thought about it, the more something felt wrong. He instructed Tange, "You and Zhao Zhi go back to the canyon and bring our people into the city quietly. Kubo, arrange the flying boards under the Grand Alliance's name. Don't clash with the army. Also, Kubo, arrange somewhere for them to stay. There are over a hundred of them altogether. Understood?"
Kubo had learned that Boss had another group of subordinates when Li Qiang ordered the armor, so he was not surprised. He immediately sent his men to carry out the orders. Kubo's position in the Grand Alliance was exceptional; even the chairman would not lightly challenge his instructions. All the preparations were soon proceeding in an orderly fashion, leaving Li Qiang very satisfied.
Once everything was arranged, Li Qiang called, "Kubo, let's take a look around Fengnan City. Hong Qian, Nashan, Paben, come along too. Hehe, everyone can relax a little." Paben did not particularly mind either way; he had been here quite a few times. Nashan was beside himself with excitement and eagerly agreed. Kubo gave each of them a black merchant badge, then handed Li Qiang a small square card.
Li Qiang asked curiously, "What's this?"
Paben spotted it from beside him and exclaimed in surprise, "A merchant association thousand-card!" Seeing Li Qiang's puzzled look, he added, "It's a money card. This kind of card is a status symbol. Ordinary people can't get one even if they have a million money units."
Li Qiang smiled. "Oh, so it's a money card. Kubo, you weren't planning to have your boss carry it around and pay for things himself, were you? Keep it yourself." He casually handed it back.
Hong Qian chuckled, while Kubo gave a wry smile. "Exactly what Master said. Ah... being the junior here... all that effort and no thanks." Paben kept shaking his head. It was his first time seeing anyone turn down such a card, especially one being given away for free.
The five of them went out the back gate onto the street and followed the main road toward the bustling commercial district.
Fengnan City's thriving commercial district lay on the western side of the city. Li Qiang found that commerce here was indeed highly developed. Although it was not as advanced as back home, it was much livelier than Heavenly Court Star.
He noticed something: their methods of commercial promotion were poor. There was almost nothing resembling advertising. At most, a small sign stood outside a shop, hardly noticeable at all.
A question suddenly occurred to Li Qiang. He stopped Kubo. "Kubo, do you know who would buy our perfume? I mean people with the potential to buy it."
Kubo wondered why he had suddenly thought to ask this. "Boss, there should be plenty of people who can afford it. I don't think selling it at a high price should be a problem."
"Not necessarily..." Li Qiang said as they walked. "They don't even know what perfume is. Why would they spend a fortune on it? If it were me, I wouldn't spend that money. So we've missed a step. Start handling this as soon as we get back."
Kubo simply did not know how to answer. Looking troubled, he said, "Boss, what should I do? I don't know how."
"It's simple. Just identify the people who might buy it and send people specifically to bring them some and introduce it. All you need is to let them know what perfume is," Li Qiang answered casually.
Not only was Kubo doubtful, but Paben and the others also felt it was unnecessary. Li Qiang smiled. "Trust me, you won't go wrong... Hey, Kubo, what kind of shop is that?"
It was a pet shop specializing in monsters. Outside stood a monster statue half a person's height. It looked somewhat like a spider, with eight long, hairy legs attached to a round body, only far larger than a spider. Highly curious, Li Qiang led the way inside.
Business seemed very poor. The shop was quiet, with hardly any customers. A man who looked like a clerk came forward and welcomed Li Qiang's party with great enthusiasm and exaggerated expressions. The street-facing shopfront was completely empty. The clerk led them straight into a passage and down underground, where they discovered an entirely different world.
Pet keeping had a long history on the Tanbang Continent. There were generally several types of monsters kept: cute monsters, mostly playthings for the wealthy and extremely expensive; ferocious monsters, used by ordinary people to guard their homes; fighting monsters, used specifically for gambling matches; and finally, Combat Beasts, introduced from the Western Continent and used in battle.
Some of these monsters flew through the sky, some ran on land, and others swam in water. Li Qiang felt as though he had entered a zoo. He had never seen almost any of them before. Paben, Hong Qian, and Kubo were all accustomed to such sights. Only Li Qiang and Nashan marveled like children, exclaiming in wonder again and again.
Nashan pointed at a monster a little over a meter tall. "Boss, this fellow looks fierce. Hey... buddy, what kind of monster is this? Tell us about it."
The monster's scales gleamed blue-green all over. It stood quietly inside its cage, but its eyes made it clear that it was a ferocious beast. It looked much like a tyrannosaur, except for a triangular spike on its head.
The clerk said, "This is a Swift-Armored Meng brought over from the Western Continent. It's a Combat Beast. Over there, it's a first-class military beast. This fellow is formidable on the battlefield. Would you like it? For seventy-six thousand money units, it's yours."
Thud!
Nashan sat down on the floor. "Give me seventy-six thousand money units and I'll live in the cage."
Paben shook his head. "Buying a Swift-Armored Meng now is useless. All you can do is keep it in a cage and look at it. They have to be trained from infancy. This one is an adult, so it can't be tamed. Besides, there are plenty of Swift-Armored Meng on the Western Continent. They aren't worth anywhere near that much."
Li Qiang suddenly said, "What's that? It's beautiful."
"That's a Sea Demon... but I've never seen one like this before either. Hey, shopkeeper, where did you get this Sea Demon? Why is it sapphire blue? All the ones I've seen were blackish gray, nowhere near this pretty," Kubo asked.
The clerk praised him. "You certainly know your stuff, sir. This Sea Demon is one of a kind. It's rare even in the Sea of Wronged Souls, and it flies much faster than ordinary Sea Demons. Hehe, we can discuss the price. I'll give you the best deal... hehe." He said nothing about where it had come from, merely smiling ingratiatingly, hoping the group would buy a little more. Business had been far too slow lately.
It was a little monster huddled in one corner of a cage formed from a defensive light grid. Li Qiang had kept small animals back home and liked both cats and dogs. Seeing the little Sea Demon trembling in the corner, he felt rather sorry for it and crouched down to examine it closely.
Sea Demons were monsters native to the Sea of Wronged Souls. They were extraordinarily capable flyers, the only monsters able to fly within the Wind of Fear. This one had a flattened, rounded body and a head somewhat like a bat's. Its blinking eyes shone with a faint blue light and held a look of despair. No wings were visible, and sapphire-blue feathers the size of fingernails covered its entire body. Li Qiang estimated it was only about the size of an ordinary adult cat.
"Open the cage. I'll hold it and take a look..." Li Qiang really liked this little Sea Demon.
The clerk jumped. "No... no... you can't. This isn't something you hold for fun. If it takes flight, no one can catch it. And if it bites you, that would be terrible..."
Li Qiang would not listen. "Open the cage! Don't worry about anything else." Kubo and the others were not concerned. Never mind a tiny Sea Demon Beast-even a Combat Beast would be no problem for Li Qiang.
The clerk looked nervous and hesitant, but in the end he could not resist the desire to make a sale. "All right, but you have to pay before I open the cage."
Li Qiang waved a hand, and Kubo immediately took out the merchant association thousand-card. "How much?"
The clerk was still watching Li Qiang anxiously. He thought his earlier asking price had been far too high and had scared the bald man out of buying. He must not frighten this young man away as well. "Hehe, this one is cheap. Only twelve thousand money units..." He stared at Li Qiang guiltily after speaking.
Li Qiang had not noticed the price he quoted. His attention was still on the little Sea Demon. "What? What did you say?"
The clerk hastily changed his tune. "The price is negotiable... negotiable... Ten thousand? Eight thousand? Five thousand, all right? That's the lowest price."
The near-tearful note in his voice snapped Li Qiang out of his absorption. He looked up and pointed at Kubo. "Get the money from him." Only then did the clerk discover that Kubo was actually holding a merchant association thousand-card. Now he truly wanted to cry.
Kubo grinned. "Five thousand is a fair enough price. Hurry up and open the cage." In truth, as long as Li Qiang wanted it, Kubo would have paid any amount.
Nashan laughed from the side. "They just make up prices here." The clerk cursed himself inwardly, but still had to force a smile. If he did not curry favor with such big customers, who else would he curry favor with?
The instant the light grid over the cage dimmed, a blue flash streaked out. The little Sea Demon shot from its cage like an arrow loosed from a bow, moving at an unbelievable speed. Li Qiang had already fixed his eyes on it. The moment it moved, he followed, every bit as fast.
The little Sea Demon's movements left Li Qiang awestruck. Like a fish swimming through water, it was unimaginably agile, stopping abruptly in midair and darting left and right. Li Qiang's movements were no less impressive. Not only were Hong Qian and the others surprised, but the clerk watched with his mouth hanging open. A person could actually make such swift, ever-changing movements in the air, and he definitely had no flying wings.
At last, Li Qiang caught the little Sea Demon in his arms. He laughingly scolded it. "You little thing, you're fast! All right, settle down... settle down! Ow! You bite too? Hehe, can't bite through, can you?" Holding it, he descended through the air step by step, as though there were stairs beneath his feet. He had learned that trick from Hou Pijing.
The little Sea Demon clamped its jaws onto Li Qiang's left hand, making angry "wurr, wurr" noises. The clerk was terrified. He knew that a Sea Demon's bite would take off a chunk of flesh at the very least, and might even break bones and tear tendons. He kept reassuring himself inwardly: The Sea Demon has already been sold. It has nothing to do with this shop.
"Shopkeeper, what does the little Sea Demon eat... Hey! What are you staring at?"
"You're all right? It... it's biting you! This... this has nothing to do with our shop!" the clerk answered irrelevantly.
Holding the little Sea Demon with his right arm, Li Qiang gently tugged his left hand. It immediately bit down harder. It was probably puzzled too: why could it neither bite through nor chew the thing in its mouth? Gradually, it ran out of strength. Its beautiful blue eyes rolled about ceaselessly, and it let go, turning its little head to look around.
Li Qiang inspected his left hand. A ring of white marks encircled the web between his thumb and forefinger. He gently stroked the little Sea Demon's feathers, letting a trace of True Essence Power flow through his hand. Apparently finding it very comfortable, it suddenly curled up, closed its eyes, and actually fell asleep in his arms, looking like a perfectly well-behaved baby.
Li Qiang smiled. "Hey, this little thing really is fun. Shopkeeper, what does it eat?"
The clerk looked at Li Qiang no differently than he would a monster. "Dried Black Zi and crystals... Oh, right, we have dried Black Zi here. Would you like some?" Seeing Li Qiang nod, he immediately hurried inside excitedly. Shortly afterward, he returned carrying a box and set it before Li Qiang.
"It actually likes eating crystals. What a peculiar little fellow." If his bracelet had not been filled entirely with high-grade crystals, Li Qiang really would have liked to give it one to taste and see how it ate it.
Dried Black Zi came from a small creature native to the Sea of Wronged Souls, somewhat resembling a sea cucumber. The locals called it Black Zi, and once sun-dried, it became dried Black Zi, the little Sea Demon's favorite food.
Smelling the dried Black Zi, the little Sea Demon began crooning softly. Li Qiang picked up a piece and held it to its mouth. Two tiny red claws emerged from the feathers on either side of its chest and gripped the dried Black Zi tightly as it began munching with crisp crunches. Watching Li Qiang's absorbed expression, Hong Qian suddenly gained an insight. He felt that he had been far too constrained in his cultivation.
The little Sea Demon ate very little and was soon full. It stretched, then closed its eyes to sleep again. The clerk brought over a soft bag for Li Qiang to put it in, and Paben took it. Li Qiang also bought a large quantity of dried Black Zi and stored it in his bracelet.
After making a circuit of the shop, they bought nothing else, leaving the clerk deeply disappointed.
Back on the main street, Li Qiang said with a smile, "In the past, I wouldn't have believed it even if you beat me to death-that there were so many strange things in the world, and that people even kept them for fun. Nashan, this place is much stranger than your hometown. Are you used to it?"
"Hehe, Boss, I take things as they come now. The Tanbang Continent is pretty good. The food's a little lacking, but nothing else matters. As long as I'm following you, I'm happy." He did not forget to offer Li Qiang a tall hat of flattery at the right moment and butter up his boss.
Kubo smiled. "The Western Continent has the most monsters. Now those are truly bizarre. You'll see when you go there someday, Boss. Master and I once faced off against a giant beast there. That was really dangerous."
Hong Qian smiled. "If you hadn't provoked it, it wouldn't have chased us relentlessly. You really infuriated me that time."
Li Qiang laughed. "Oh? Even cultivators couldn't handle it? If someone brought monsters like that to the Tanbang Continent for war, how could the other countries withstand them?"
Kubo shook his head repeatedly. "They can't cross the Sea of Wronged Souls. They're too big to transport."
Li Qiang said, "Every living creature has a juvenile stage. These giant monsters can't be that big when they're young. Couldn't you bring them to the Tanbang Continent and train them here?"
Kubo jumped. "Oh, Boss, that really could work. If a monster like that suddenly appeared on the battlefield, who could stop it? Let's hope no one thinks of it."
When they reached the intersection, Kubo asked, "Boss, which way? Over there is..." Before he could finish, a sudden change struck. Five streaks of brown light abruptly descended, and a deathly silence instantly enveloped the entire intersection.
Li Qiang looked closely and saw five tiny flags. He shouted, "Put on your armor and draw your weapons... quickly... Hong Qian, protect everyone! This is a Flag Gate Formation!"
Thick fog spread around them. A streak of dark-green sword light pierced the mist. Immediately afterward, several forces suddenly rose from the ground and bound Li Qiang tightly. Hong Qian and Kubo were already wearing their battle armor, while Nashan and Paben were still hurriedly putting theirs on.
Li Qiang realized that their opponents had planned this well in advance, choosing precisely the moment when they were least on guard. He was extremely anxious.
After all, Li Qiang was no longer the rookie who had first arrived on Heavenly Court Star. Through numerous fights, he had gained considerable practical combat experience. Those invisible forces had bound his body, but he could still move his hands.
His eyes locked on the incoming sword light. His hands swiftly formed hand seals, stacking three layers in succession. With no time to form the fourth, he roared, "Break!"
A multicolored rain of arrows burst from his hands. The instant the arrows met the sword light, rolling spring thunder seemed to sweep through the entire Flag Gate Formation. Amid the thunderclaps, the fog scattered and every trace of the sword light vanished, but Li Qiang still could not move.
Hong Qian sent out his flying sword. A string of sword flourishes flashed before the group, shielding them. He shouted, "Careful, Martial Uncle! They're plunderers!"
Suddenly, a pitch-dark shadow shot toward Li Qiang's back, silent and astonishingly fast. Paben happened to be standing behind him to one side. The sight nearly frightened his soul out of his body. Without even time to shout, he leaped up to block it with his own body.
Nashan, a little farther away, lunged over almost at the same instant. It was a spike over a foot long, gleaming with a dim blue light. It too seemed to be an unconventional Law Treasure. Paben's armor could not withstand it at all. With a muffled thud, the spike plunged viciously into his chest. He cried out and collapsed.
Nashan roared wildly, "Boss... Paben..."
Li Qiang turned his head and saw it. For an instant, his heart seemed to stop beating.
Nashan caught Paben in his arms. "Old Pa! Paben..."
Paben barely managed to lift his head, his eyes on Li Qiang. "Boss... help me find... my daughter..."
Li Qiang went berserk...