Chapter 37: The Price

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Chen Mu leaped over the courtyard wall and immediately saw bodies strewn beneath the trees.

Only one bald man lay out in the sunlight, his scalp gleaming with oil.

Chen Mu crouched down and searched him. To his surprise, he found two taels of silver!

A promising start!

He could not help turning expectantly toward the gang members beneath the trees.

Yet before long, Chen Mu walked toward the inner courtyard with a gloomy expression.

After two steps, he felt that something was still bothering him.

He turned back, dragged every one of the men out from beneath the trees, and threw them into the sunlight.

Then he carried the bald man into the shade and even arranged him in a comfortable position. After all, the man had paid for it.

Only then did Chen Mu stride into the inner courtyard.

There was another heap of gang members lying inside.

A quarter of an hour later, Chen Mu left Ascending Armor Alley with a ghost-headed saber in hand and a thoroughly depressed look on his face.

How could the dignified leader of a gang not have a single copper coin on him?

He had less money than his own underlings!

He had gone to Jie Jia for information and deliberately sought out the White Wave Gang’s headquarters.

He had hoped to make a windfall. Who would have thought that after all that work, he would end up with only four taels of silver in small change and a few dozen copper coins?

“And they still dare call themselves street toughs?”

“I’d make more money selling fish!”

“What a disgrace!”

Chen Mu was indignant.

The White Wave Gang’s monster-farming spot was finished.

He had wasted an entire gourd of Bewitching Incense for nothing.

“Hopefully this saber is worth something.”

As the weapon carried by a gang leader, it ought to be… probably rather valuable, right?

A gang leader without even a single copper coin did not inspire much confidence.

…

Inside the Zuo family estate.

The head of the Zuo family, Zuo Quan, sat in the main hall with a dark expression.

“Fifty thousand taels of silver from every household? That Taoist Qianshan is taking advantage of our desperate situation,” Zuo Sheng said, his expression equally grim.

“He is taking advantage of us. But if the county has no warding artifact to suppress the evil, none of us will sleep soundly,” Zuo Quan sighed.

“Especially since our family has already suffered from an evil spirit. Did that Taoist Qianshan not say so himself? Families like ours are the most likely to attract another one.”

“Hmph! I say he has ulterior motives!” Zuo Sheng said coldly.

“He may act against us?” Zuo Quan immediately grew worried.

“Father, we must make preparations early,” Zuo Sheng said, narrowing his eyes.

“What do you suggest, Sheng’er?”

“Move. To Nanyang Prefecture,” Zuo Sheng replied decisively.

“Move away… I’ll think about it. Let me think it over,” Zuo Quan said hesitantly. “Isn’t there also Clearwind Temple?”

“Clearwind Temple…” Zuo Sheng knitted his brows tightly.

Clearwind Temple had a great reputation, but no one could say for certain whether it possessed any real ability.

He did not want to entrust his life to others.

“I still recommend that we move,” Zuo Sheng said firmly after a moment’s thought.

“All right.” Zuo Quan frowned and pondered for a while before finally nodding. “You concentrate on your martial training. I’ll make the arrangements.”

His son was a martial arts fanatic. He had secretly practiced since childhood and managed to keep even his own father in the dark.

Outsiders all thought him a spoiled young master.

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Who could have imagined that he had forged an astonishing level of martial skill?

The last time the family was attacked by an evil spirit, his son had displayed overwhelming power. Only then had everyone learned his true strength.

He valued his only son, whom he had always doted on, even more than before.

“We still need to put on a show of cooperation with Taoist Qianshan. We cannot be the first bird to stick its head out,” Zuo Sheng said calmly.

“You have considered everything carefully, Sheng’er.” Zuo Quan nodded in satisfaction.

…

Chen Mu went out fishing once every two days.

With the Red Kestrel Body-Tempering Art, he had no need to worry about distance.

He replaced his two bamboo baskets with larger ones and kept changing his fishing spots along the White Wave River.

He also reached agreements with several restaurants, including the Eight Directions Tower in Bliss Ward.

He no longer needed to hawk his catch from door to door. He could simply sell the fish directly to these restaurants and eateries.

After a full month of busy work, he had saved more than twenty taels of silver.

He had the chaos of war and soaring prices to thank for that.

Otherwise, he could never have sold the fish at such a high price.

He no longer went looking for the White Wave Gang very often.

Robbing them was not nearly as profitable as catching fish himself.

“I’ll leave once I’ve saved two hundred taels,” Chen Mu thought unwillingly.

If not for the evil spirits causing trouble, staying in Green Mountain County would not be so bad.

He had martial arts to practice and money to earn. There were no disputes and no real troubles.

Every day, he could stay home grinding his proficiency and often prepare himself something delicious as a reward.

This truly matched Chen Mu’s ideal way of life.

“What a pity…”

A month passed, yet incidents involving wandering spirits continued to occur from time to time.

Chen Mu had no choice but to make preparations early.

…

Since he intended to leave Green Mountain City, Chen Mu began preparing for the journey while fishing and earning money.

Using durable, dirt-resistant gray cloth, he made two outfits suited for travel, along with two pairs of sturdy cloth shoes. He prepared dried meat floss, preserved meat, and dry rations that could be stored for a long time.

Whenever he had free time, he wandered around the cattle-and-horse market in the western part of the city. He planned to buy a mount.

The distance from Green Mountain County to Nanyang Prefecture was considerable.

With bundles large and small to carry along the road, some means of transportation was indispensable.

That day, he had just left the livestock market when he saw a crowd gathered beneath the gate tower at the market entrance.

A wooden board stood there, covered with numerous notices.

Donkeys wanted at high prices.

Breeding services for yellow oxen.

Inherited expertise in repairing horses’ hooves…

Chen Mu felt as though he had returned to his previous life and was once again looking at the small advertisements pasted on utility poles.

At that moment, a large-character notice had been posted in the center, and a government runner stood before the board, loudly making an announcement.

“Clearwind Temple outside the city is building an altar for a blessing ceremony and is now recruiting laborers throughout the city.”

“For the ritual, laborers must have been born in the first, seventh, or twelfth month.”

“Anyone selected will immediately receive either one tael of silver or one hundred and twenty pounds of white wheat as a settlement allowance.”

“Three meals will be provided every day, along with ten copper coins. Those willing to work should hurry to the east gate to register.”

The instant the runner finished speaking, a large crowd rushed toward the east gate.

Prices were soaring, and life was difficult.

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One hundred and twenty pounds of white wheat as a settlement allowance, with three meals provided each day—this was an excellent job for ordinary commoners.

Standing at the edge of the crowd, Chen Mu listened carefully.

“An altar for blessings?”

“Is this Clearwind Temple’s method of fighting the wandering spirits?”

“Has the county government finally managed to enlist Clearwind Temple?”

Chen Mu was delighted.

Could it be that he no longer needed to leave?

He very much wanted to see the outside world. But at the same time, he did not want to leave his familiar surroundings.

Perhaps that was why small people remained small people.

Chen Mu shook his head and cast away his tangled thoughts.

When he had first arrived in this world, he certainly would have rushed to sign up like the commoners ahead of him.

But now… the pay and benefits were simply too poor.

Avoiding the surging crowds in the streets, Chen Mu hurried home.

He needed to ask Jie Jia about it.

He had to determine just how capable Clearwind Temple truly was.

…

“I don’t know,” Jie Jia said indifferently.

Chen Mu stared at him in surprise.

“Using an artifact comes at a price.” Jie Jia glanced at Chen Mu.

“Feng Ren’s strength is passable. But to protect the entire city, no matter what kind of artifact it is, he cannot afford the cost.”

Chen Mu had heard of artifacts before.

But he had never expected that using them would come with a price.

“Do all artifacts require a price?”

“Can you go without eating?” Jie Jia countered.

Chen Mu understood at once.

It was like a fuel-powered car needing gasoline, a computer needing electricity, and a person needing food.

Artifacts possessed extraordinary abilities, but they consumed energy.

“What is the price of the Evil-Warding Mirror?” Chen Mu asked curiously.

The imperial court of Great Liang distributed these evil-warding artifacts officially. Nearly every large city at the county level or above possessed one.

“I don’t know. It seems to be connected to certain sacrificial rites,” Jie Jia replied uncertainly.

“Artifacts differ, and so do their prices. Some need water to drink, some need meat to eat, some need to be struck by lightning, and some need to be burned…”

Chen Mu listened with great interest.

He was extremely curious about such things.

At first, he had thought this was merely a world of martial heroes.

But with wandering spirits and artifacts appearing one after another, Chen Mu felt that the world still concealed countless mysteries.

“They’re quite picky, aren’t they?” Chen Mu said cheerfully. “What else?”

Jie Jia closed his mouth. Beneath his lowered eyelids, his eyes began darting toward Chen Mu’s money pouch.

Chen Mu immediately turned around and went to practice the Sleeve Sword.

After grinding away for more than two months, his Sleeve Sword was about to reach the third level.

As for information about artifacts, he could always ask around when the opportunity arose.

In any case, he was not going to let the old man profit from him.

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