Golden Saber Martial Arts School, Ghost Market

A moment later, Qi Lianyong and the others sat down in the living room.

The two unpleasant guests were brought to the area in front of the door and left there, where fine snowflakes drifted down, covering their hair.

The two of them were dressed quite warmly, so they wouldn't get cold anytime soon.

Chu Tianshu put the cat on the table, washed his hands, found a paper cup, threw in some tea leaves, and went to the hot water dispenser to make tea for everyone.

Qi Lianyong brought several people, two men and three women, the oldest appearing to be in their thirties and the youngest only in their early twenties.

They all exuded a sharp and capable aura, not only appearing to be quite skilled, but also likely possessing considerable experience and having blood on their hands.

However, when they looked at the cat, their expressions softened considerably.

The short-haired girl in her early twenties even took out a bag of cookies to feed the cat.

"Teacher Xiaobai, I always tell you not to run around outside of school, but this time you got dragged all the way here. Are you scared now?"

Chu Tianshu handed over the tea, which the short-haired girl took and quickly said, "Thank you."

"So, you are the ones who lost this cat."

Chu Tianshu looked at Qi Lianyong, "Master Qi, this cat can actually box!"

Qi Lianyong laughed heartily and said, "Yes, otherwise why would we call him Teacher Xiaobai?"

"I heard this cat was left behind by a former headmaster of our Golden Saber Martial Arts School."

"That headmaster of student affairs had no children, so he named his cat Bai Mei. In 1996, he sacrificed his life while cooperating with a crackdown on organized crime, leaving behind only this cat."

"The school has been keeping this cat. After 2000, everyone discovered that the cat was becoming increasingly intelligent and even understood the head of student affairs's most prized skill, the art of shrinking bones and splitting tendons. It could change its body shape and even fight, and it did it with great skill."

Qi Lianyong blew on the tea leaves to open them and took a sip.

"The new students all loved watching him practice boxing; it was a fun and educational experience, and many of them started calling him 'teacher.'"

Golden Saber Martial Arts School?

Chu Tianshu recalled that he had also heard of this martial arts school.

In the last century, the Metaphysics Association of the Jianghuai Greater Region had three organizations that were most prominent and influential.

Golden Saber Martial Arts School is one of them.

They have branch schools in many places, similar to vocational schools. After selecting promising talents, they teach them more advanced martial arts skills, and they can obtain a diploma similar to a junior college diploma.

After graduation, jobs were basically guaranteed, so it was a semi-official organization.

Chu Tianshu asked, "Master Qi, didn't you run your own boxing gym? When did you join the martial arts school?"

"Opening my own boxing gym would certainly be good, but joining a martial arts school offers me a much wider range of possibilities."

Qi Lianyong lamented, "Although my boxing gym doesn't have to worry about making a living, it can only take in so many disciples, and I can't find a single one who can surpass me."

"At least, within the same timeframe, your progress should be no less than when I was younger, but unfortunately it isn't."

"At that time, the martial arts school contacted me and talked to me several times. I thought that firstly, the treatment and status were good, and secondly, it would be easier to find good students when I went there to teach."

"I've been working there for several years now."

Chu Tianshu's heart stirred slightly. "Golden Saber Martial Arts School, there must be many experts there, right?"

What defines an expert?

Qi Lianyong laughed, "Among ordinary people, those who have 'gotten the hang of Aperture Opening' are all experts. There are plenty of such people at the main campus, but even among them, I can still be considered an expert. It's all about comparison, just for my own amusement."

"However, our principal is widely recognized as a master."

"He's not only skilled in martial arts, but also in perfumery, medicine preparation, tailoring, garden design, and musical instrument making. Sometimes, he can even substitute for math and physics teachers."

Qi Lianyong took a small box out of his pocket, pressed the button next to it with his thumb, and the lid of the box opened.

There was a blue worm inside.

Chu Tianshu couldn't recall its name, but it resembled a praying mantis, though it lacked its two famous forelegs.

"These are Azure Smoke Insect; they love to sniff out fragrant smoke and usually perch on incense burners with openwork designs."

Qi Lianyong explained, "Teacher Xiaobai always likes to wander around the principal's office, getting covered in the spices the principal concocts. This allows him to use the insect's extraordinary sense of smell to track his whereabouts."

"Otherwise, it seems like this group of thieves just happened to be passing by and did a quick heist. They're all unfamiliar faces, so we might not be able to find any clues."

Chu Tianshu looked at the insect and saw no magical aura about it.

It seems to be a gifted animal, which, combined with the breeder's advanced pharmacological knowledge, allowed it to be domesticated.

This is not surprising; with the advancements in medicine today, some research labs are capable of editing biological genes.

That wasn't magic, but to those unaware of the details, its effects were no different from magic.

"These two thieves are ruthless. One looks like he practices martial arts, and the other knows magic; they're quite powerful."

Chu Tianshu said, "I originally planned to cripple them, interrogate them, and hand them over to the police station."

"Since you're here, I might as well hand it over to you. I've heard that all the teachers at Golden Saber Martial Arts School are certified, and they can liaise with the provincial department when necessary. It's safer to leave it to you."

Qi Lianyong nodded.

At that moment, the short-haired girl turned around.

"Teacher Xiaobai said he escaped from a large truck on the highway. There were four people on the truck: two driving, two guarding the cargo."

Chu Tianshu looked at the Bai Mei cat.

The cat didn't even meow; it just made some gestures, nodding and shaking its head. How could it understand that?

The Bai Mei cat noticed his gaze, meowed, and let out a long, drawn-out meow.

The short-haired girl looked at Chu Tianshu in surprise. "Teacher Xiaobai is very close to Mr. Chu."

Chu Tianshu chuckled.

After the bone-shrinking transformation, the name clearly carried a sense of strength, but now it's just pretending to be young.

"Guard the goods?"

Qi Lianyong stood up and asked, "What kind of goods? Live or dead? Objects?"

The Bai Mei cat shook its head twice, then nodded.

"Are they artifacts, ritual implements? A lot of them?"

Qi Lianyong's expression turned serious. "Could it be a gang supplying goods to the Ghost Market for cultivators?"

Chu Tianshu's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

There's a saying in every industry about a "Ghost Market," or black market, which refers to a place where goods of dubious origin are traded secretly.

The Ghost Market for cultivators belongs to the most bloody and cruel category.

My grandfather told me that the Ghost Market in the last century contained many evil magical artifacts.

Those who obtained their wealth through tomb raiding, extortion, theft, and robbery have all become relatively restrained.

The ones with the deepest, most intense crimson color were the newly crafted evil magical artifacts.

Human trafficking using Livestock Transformation sorcery, organ trading through manipulation and incitement...

The end point for many things lies in the Ghost Market of spiritual practitioners.

In the last two or three decades of the last century, many campaigns, which could be described as battles, were launched to crack down on the Ghost Market.

Chu Tianshu's grandfather's youthful vigor was dampened not only by his advancing age but also by witnessing the battles in the Ghost Market several times.

The old man deeply abhorred those evil and heretical practices.

However, given that he was a medical student, at that time he could only do logistics work at most.

The few combat techniques derived from medical skills, along with the miscellaneous moves he had learned in his life, were simply not enough to qualify him for such a thrilling battle.

Everyone knew he would have been more valuable staying in logistics, so he reluctantly stopped there.

That became a glorious memory he could never forget, and it also prevented him from ever trying to move forward again in his later years.

Even if the Ghost Market still exists within the cultivation community, its scale is likely far smaller than before.

Chu Tianshu's eyes showed a look of reminiscence. After a moment, he came back to his senses and looked at the two people.

Qi Lianyong strode over, flipped the burly man with the scar on his nose over, and turned him face down onto the snow.

The strong man's arms were both grabbed by Qi Lianyong and pulled behind his back like an eagle spreading its wings.

The next moment, the burly man suddenly opened his eyes, which were bloodshot, and a clattering sound like a falcon pecking at rocks came from his throat.

Veins quickly bulged from his neck to his face, his head was held high, and his face was flushed red, clearly indicating that he was in extreme pain.

Chu Tianshu could see that Qi Lianyong's hands were actually trembling and twisting slightly.

The force traveled throughout the strong man's body, causing many of his muscles to twitch and twist.

"I've only learned this set of ' Tendon-Separating and Bone-Dislocating Hand from the Eagle Claw Fanzi School a few years ago. Although I'm only at 40% proficient, it's enough to make you experience all the flavors of life, from sweet and sour to bitter, spicy and salty, causing pain, itching, numbness, and even explosions all at once."

Qi Lianyong said, "Even the toughest man, with the highest pain tolerance, can't resist this kind of kung fu."

The burly man's face no longer held the ruthless look that had appeared when he attacked Chu Tianshu, the look that had been so fierce.

Large tears welled up in his eyes, snot and saliva streamed down his face, and he trembled, unable to utter a word.

Qi Lianyong waited another three seconds before releasing his right hand.

The burly man immediately began to gasp for breath.

Before he could catch his breath, Qi Lianyong grabbed his right hand again.

"Tell me, where are you going to take our stolen cat? Why did you attack the homeowner so violently? How many accomplices do you have?"

"Tell me the truth, and I'll stop; otherwise..."

The burly man cried out weakly, "No, no, I'll tell you everything."

This person can easily use vicious weapons on others, but cannot withstand such force himself.

He poured out the story like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

It turned out they had indeed amassed a whole truckload of goods, mostly loot from tomb raiding inland, which they intended to smuggle out to the coast to supply the Ghost Market.

They go there once a year, and this year, on the way, they accidentally discovered a Bai Mei cat that was extremely intelligent. They knew that such a cat, if kept alive and sold at the Ghost Market, could fetch a high price.

So they secretly attacked the cat, did it, and left.

The group had a rosy plan: the truck would go straight onto the highway and head towards the coast to smuggle people across the border.

Unexpectedly, due to the cold weather, they have been stuck in traffic on the highway multiple times in the past two days.

This time, we've been stuck in traffic for most of the day, unable to move forward or backward.

That section of the highway was two or three meters higher than the ground on both sides, and the guardrails were sturdy.

Even if you wanted to find a way to leave the highway, it wouldn't work.

The two guards responsible for watching the carriages felt so stuffy that they came down to get some fresh air.

The Bai Mei cat seized the opportunity and escaped from its cage.

They knew the cat was intelligent and perceptive; it wasn't a big deal if the cat escaped, but if it leaked information about what happened in the carriage, it would be a huge problem.

Therefore, as soon as Chu Tianshu said that the cat belonged to a relative, the burly man couldn't wait to kill him.

As for their gang, there were five core members, four of whom were responsible for escorting the goods.

The leader maintained a secretive style, never joining them in anything except tomb raiding, yet he knew everything about how much merchandise they sold and how much revenue they made each time.

"A major case!"

Qi Lianyong scoffed, "Tomb raiding and smuggling, selling treasures overseas, and you're even facing murder charges, aren't you?"

"Great! With you all taken down, I can already see another batch of banners and bonuses beckoning!"

(End of this chapter)