Jin Chang's Secret

"Let me tell you, this is what they call the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. We gave them the lead, they then wreaked havoc in the middle, and then it was our turn to clean up the mess!"

In the woods, Li Shaojun was clearly unable to contain his smugness.

He's so good at stirring up trouble and then using death to escape.

As long as no one has any grudge against him enough to desecrate his corpse, Li Shaojun's methods are virtually invincible.

It has clearly been successful again.

Hearing the shouts, cries, and sounds of fighting within the Beast Taming Sect, he reached out and peered out.

"I've been a guest at the Beast Taming Sect before, and Sect Master Su Fang even received me and pointed out many of the intricately laid traps!"

Besides his keen observation skills, Li Shaojun was also able to safely climb the mountain thanks to his past experience.

As long as he doesn't step into any of the beast traps carelessly tossed by a disciple, he'll basically avoid the Beast Taming Sect's large traps.

"Once these people start fighting amongst themselves and flee in all directions, they'll trample on this side and that side, and whatever they took will have to be returned!"

Li Shaojun did not trigger the trap, but the many heroes and warriors who took the treasure and fled might not have.

He spoke smugly of his little plan, already intending to gain a small advantage.

"The imperial court must be eyeing the Beast Taming Sect's horse-taming techniques. I'm not greedy for that, and you shouldn't try to take it either, lest you invite trouble. The Beast Taming Sect doesn't have many other good treasures. The best one is probably the token for controlling spirit beasts, followed by some bone artifacts. Don't underestimate those bone artifacts they keep. If they encounter a cultivator skilled in incantations, those things from the Beast Taming Sect can become incredibly rare treasures!"

Li Shaojun advised Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding not to choose items that looked valuable, as the truly valuable things for cultivators were those that seemed insignificant.

"If there were gold or silver, I would still take the money," Zhang Xuezhou said sullenly. "You have no idea how hard it is to make money these days. I've worked my butt off in Chang'an City and only managed to scrape together a little bit of silver."

"Isn't making money a simple thing?" Li Shaojun asked curiously, "Why do you want to make money yourself?"

"Because no one else will make money for me," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"I never expected this, I really never expected this!"

Li Shaojun clicked his tongue twice.

He never expected that Zhang Xuezhou, who had him completely under his thumb, would actually suffer a financial setback.

For Li Shaojun, money was the last thing he needed to worry about.

For example, he would put a donation box in his Daoist temple, and every day a steady stream of worshippers would put money into it, while others would bring him rice and meat.

Of course, collecting money from these donation boxes is just a small part of the scheme. If he needs more money, he has to use his cultivator abilities to achieve his goal.

In short, Li Shaojun has never worried about money in his life.

If he sees someone's half-ounce coin on the ground, he's too lazy to even bend down and pick it up.

Li Shaojun lacked only the items required for cultivators, such as top-tier magic Law Treasure, top-grade pills, talismans, array stones, spirit jade, and so on. His pursuit in this regard was virtually limitless.

The gold and silver that Zhang Xuezhou liked were worthless in his eyes.

"What do you mean you didn't expect? Anyway, you'll collect the bones and I'll collect the money. We won't conflict with each other," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"You're right," Li Shaojun thought for a moment and agreed.

If their needs don't conflict, that would be ideal.

He looked down on gold and silver, and Zhang Xuezhou clearly didn't think much of the Beast Taming Sect's bone Law Artifact either.

After all, Zhang Xuezhou had pulled off a major heist at the Yedie River Holy Land, the stronghold of sorcerers, so he had absolutely no intention of doing that kind of business again.

The bones and artifacts Zhang Xuezhou retrieved were also useless, and they would take up even more space in his already small storage bag.

"It's not that there's no conflict between two groups, but there's also no conflict between three groups!"

A soft voice came from the woods. Zhang Xuezhou was about to say that Rong Tianding was right, since more people meant more shares, but he quickly realized that something was wrong with the voice.

As Zhang Xuezhou's gaze swept across the area, he saw Jin Chang's body emerge from the shadows of the woods like a snake.

He was startled when he saw Jin Chang staring into his eyes.

"You little rascal, you actually fooled me!"

When Jin Chang's voice came through, Zhang Xuezhou realized that his transformation had been ineffective.

His nemesis in cultivating the aging technique is Jin Chang and others. These people are familiar with the aura of his cultivation technique, and anyone who gets too close will be detected.

"Who are you, hero? Your Technique Method seems to resemble that of a senior I greatly respect?"

Zhang Xuezhou opened his mouth and immediately began to flatter him.

Even if he discovered Jin Chang's cover-up as soon as he entered Niutou Mountain, he couldn't admit it at that moment, lest he be questioned by Jin Chang.

"Are you calling me...?"

Before the demon in the sleeve could finish speaking, Zhang Xuezhou used the power of his cultivation level to suppress it completely.

"I... you don't even recognize me?"

Jin Chang shook his head, then rubbed his face, revealing his appearance when he was with Zhang Xuezhou and the others.

"Senior Jin Chang, it really is you! I was wondering why this Technique Method seemed so familiar," Zhang Xuezhou said happily.

"Ah... it's me!"

Jin Chang wanted to question Zhang Xuezhou, but Zhang Xuezhou interrupted him first, leaving Jin Chang at a loss for words.

"I never expected that we could still recognize each other so accurately even though we've changed our appearances. That's wonderful!" Zhang Xuezhou said. "I've always thought of you, senior!"

"Hey, you weren't like this before!"

Zhang Xuezhou's respectful and polite greetings were so overwhelming that even Jin Chang couldn't resist.

But when he saw the two slightly bewildered old men beside him, he came to his senses and realized that Zhang Xuezhou were likely a reminder to the two of them.

"Li Shaojun should recognize me," Jin Chang retorted. "He wouldn't do anything reckless in front of me!"

"Your puppet form is ever-changing; I'm afraid no one knows your true appearance to this day. How could I possibly recognize you with my limited abilities?" Li Shaojun replied helplessly, "If I hadn't been reminded, I wouldn't have known it was you."

Zhang Xuezhou's quick groveling likely stems from his past mistreatment in Jin Chang, and Li Shaojun, correspondingly, doesn't want to cause trouble.

"I want to seize the Beast Taming Sect's secret manual to gain entry into the Class A chamber!"

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun's awkwardness, and with another old man glancing around suspiciously, Jin Chang quickly explained his purpose.

"My needs don't conflict with yours, so we should be able to cooperate," Jin Chang said.

"But you shouldn't need our help to do this kind of thing, right?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully.

With the ability to Following Like a Shadow Technique, Jin Chang is truly a vengeful spirit. Once Jin Chang sets his sights on someone, few will realize that someone is hiding in their shadow, let alone targeting Jin Chang.

Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but be somewhat surprised that Jin Chang, with its such methods, still needed to seek cooperation.

"I've had a lot of bad luck lately, and recently I was even beaten up by a monk from West Ox Hezhou. I'm looking for a way to change my fortune," Jin Chang said. "Coincidentally, I've heard some secret news these past few months!"

"Secret?" Li Shaojun asked with interest.

"What news?" Zhang Xuezhou asked suspiciously.

"I heard someone say that there's a strange book called 'The Tomb Classic' in the Wenying Pavilion's Jia-zi room. The techniques recorded in this book can sweep away bad luck and grant wishes," Jin Chang said in a low voice. "This is a secret I finally discovered, so don't spread it around!"

"Oh?"

"OK!"

Li Shaojun and Zhang Xuezhou nodded in agreement, one with a question in his mind and the other with a puzzled expression. Rong Tianding followed suit with another nod.

"Then, as long as you can assist me in obtaining the inheritance of the Beast Taming Sect and submitting it to the King of Huainan's Household, I am willing to share it with you," Jin Chang said in a low voice to Zhang Xuezhou. "Especially you, if you are worried about this matter, you can go to the Jiazi Room in my place and recite and write down this set of 'Tomb Scriptures'!"

"Aha!"

Zhang Xuezhou chuckled.

Jin Chang's secret is no secret at all. Before Zhang Xuezhou could even secretly reveal any information about the tomb scriptures to Jin Chang, the people Dong Zhongshu had arranged had clearly already done their job.

Their wishes have all been fulfilled, yet Jin Chang still treats this place like a treasure, making the pace of handling this matter a beat slower than usual.