Seems That Score of Yours Wasn't That Big After All

The sky was high and clear, the winds calm and the waters still. Aboard a large vessel, Wang Haichao, leader of the Great River Gang, stood at the prow, listening to his subordinate's report behind him. "Last night we raided seven of the Mountain Breaker Gang's strongholds in the outer quarter. The haul was massive!" "One tier-two monster beast tiger hide, over a thousand low-tier spiritual materials, and tens of thousands of spirit stones." "The brothers' personal spoils haven't been counted—per your orders, whatever anyone grabbed was theirs to keep." "Gang Leader, we made a killing this time!" Wang Haichao did not even turn around. "Just petty squabbling. We only got these spoils because we drew their attention into the mountains." Letting out a dispirited sigh, he patted the railing. "Xiao Gao, how were our casualties last night?" The subordinate called Xiao Gao was not tall in the slightest. Squat and stout, he bore a ferocious expression. His tight black garments fully accentuated the bulging muscles on his arms. "Minimal losses. Only a few dozen Qi Refining fourth- and fifth-layer gang members died. Not a single person at the seventh layer or above was even seriously wounded. Oh, Ding Yilong had some bad luck; he ran into Wang Yuan and the Broken Saber Guest rushing back from the mountains to reinforce. Between their two blades, they completely hacked apart his high-grade magical artifact and Spirit Turtle Shield." Xiao Gao spoke with a grin. If he looked menacing when solemn, smiling only made him look fiercer. Wang Haichao chuckled. "His losses really were quite heavy, then. Distribute a high-grade magical artifact from this haul to him! We can't have him without a handy weapon in future fights." With that, he frowned slightly. "Those two sabers of the Mountain Breaker Gang are getting a bit annoying." The Mountain Breaker Gang had thousands of members and nearly a hundred late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. Gang Leader Old Man Mi, like him, was a Foundation Establishment cultivator who rarely made a move in person. Typically, his top lieutenants handled affairs. The headquarters possessed two sabers, while the seven strongholds each harbored a man-eating tiger. Compared to the experts of those seven halls, the true thorn in the Great River Gang's throat was those two sabers. Mad Saber Wang Yuan, Broken Saber Xu Renke. Broken Saber Xu Renke had been famous for years, having drifted through multiple markets before finally being recruited by Old Man Mi to settle in Dahe Market. Yet Mad Saber Wang Yuan had cultivated for less than a decade. In his debut battle, he had relied purely on his own strength to jump tiers and slaughter several mid-stage cultivators who had tried to rob him. After that, he ventured into the mountains to hunt, clashing with others time and again, until Old Man Mi personally recruited him into the Mountain Breaker Gang. Yet after that, Wang Yuan had not done anything earth-shattering. On the contrary, over the years, he had been doing the dirty work for the Mountain Breaker Gang. Specifically selling second-hand magical artifacts and cultivation methods of dubious origin. It was not until recently, when he took on three opponents alone and brought back three heads of Great River Gang members, that people took notice of this man who had done dirty work for so many years. Initially, everyone assumed it was just dumb luck. Yet no one expected that over the following month, he alone with his saber would guard the mountain pass, throwing the Great River Gang into utter chaos. Cultivators of the same tier were no match for him; Luo Renjie of the eighth layer of Qi Refining had died by his blade. Even when a Qi Refining ninth-layer cultivator from the Great River Gang stepped in personally, after a grueling battle, they still proved no match for him. In just a month, he had thoroughly made a name for himself as Mad Saber. Even the Broken Saber Guest openly stated that Wang Yuan's combat prowess was not below his own, and that he had the potential for Foundation Establishment! It was precisely with the Broken Saber Guest's endorsement that Wang Yuan gained the reputation as one of the Mountain Breaker Gang's two sabers. Hearing the gang leader's words, Xiao Gao fell silent. As the number one man under the Great River Gang leader, he had always held himself in high regard. Against Broken Saber Xu Renke, he had an even chance at worst; if they clashed over vast rivers and waters, he was confident he could easily best his opponent within a hundred rounds. Yet regarding that Mad Saber, he was somewhat uncertain. He had heard that fellow was also quite skilled in naval combat. Why had such a figure appeared? He was already so fierce at the seventh layer of Qi Refining. If he cultivated to the ninth layer, wouldn't he dare challenge Foundation Establishment cultivators? "Never mind. We're just working for someone else. Someone will naturally come to deal with those two sabers." Wang Haichao stretched lazily and asked offhandedly, "Where's your little brother?" "Don't know. He said he wanted to get his hands on a storage bag, so he took part in the raid on the Mountain Breaker Gang's seven halls last night, but he hasn't returned yet." "You're not worried something happened to him?" "Haha, I gave him the Xutu Shield you gave me. As long as he doesn't run into someone at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, he won't be in any danger." Xiao Gao was not worried at all, adding, "Besides, he has a Divine Travel Talisman. If he wants to run, even a ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator couldn't catch him." Wang Haichao nodded. With a Xutu Shield and a Divine Travel Talisman, below Foundation Establishment, truly almost no one could threaten Xiao Gao's brother. "Alright then. Keep a close eye on gang affairs lately. The Mountain Breaker Gang might launch a counterattack soon, but our reinforcements will arrive shortly." Reinforcements? Did he mean experts from the Lianyun Merchant Alliance? Xiao Gao pondered thoughtfully. ... Dahe Market, inner city, in a small room inside the tallest building, the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion. Sun Shou was tearing into dried beef, popping small strips into his mouth. "Although it doesn't have much spiritual energy, the flavor is genuinely great. Xiao Luo, if you ever quit cultivating in the future and return to the mortal realm, you could open a beef restaurant. It'd definitely boom." Luo Chen gave an embarrassed smile. Return to his old home? Impossible in this lifetime. He did not even know where the road home was. Finishing the dried beef in his hand, Sun Shou clapped his hands, opening his mouth that barely had a few teeth left. "Alright, spill it. What do you need from me? Your rent isn't due yet." "I want to rent a house!" "Mm, renting makes sense. That southwest corner is too remote and dangerous. Speak up, where do you want to rent? Old man here won't eat your filial beef jerky for free; I'll find you a spacious and safe spot." As he spoke, he casually picked up a compass. Infusing spiritual power into it, dense points of light instantly flared across the compass—at first glance, there were nearly ten thousand. Yet with a wave of his hand, the dense lights dimmed by more than ninety percent. The ones still glowing were the vacant houses in the outer quarter. Luo Chen's eyes lit up. "Spacious?" "What, don't you trust your Grandpa Sun?" Sun Shou was a hundred and twenty-one years old, an outer disciple of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. Age-wise, he was indeed qualified to be Luo Chen's grandfather. Of course, Luo Chen did not mind. It was just a form of address; he called Old Daoist Chen "Uncle" every day anyway. As long as the man could rent him a good place, he would not mind calling Sun Shou "Grandpa" all day long! "I want to rent in the inner city!" "Inner city... let me see... Hm? Inner city?" Sun Shou looked at Luo Chen suspiciously. "Kid, you used to live in a half-a-spirit-stone-a-month room and rent a half-a-spirit-stone stall. Now you want to jump straight to the inner city?" Looking him up and down, he suddenly laughed. Different robes from before, and that faint hint of murderous aura. This kid must have pulled off a big score! And now he wanted to come to the inner city to enjoy himself. "Fine then. I'm not a man of empty words. Houses in the inner city require viewing on-site. I'll take you myself." Stowing the compass into his storage bag, he shakily got to his feet. Luo Chen hastily supported him by the shoulder, terrified the old man might stumble and drop dead on the spot. Who knew what sins he had committed in a past life—at such a ripe old age, instead of retiring comfortably in the sect, he had run out to this backwater hole to work. Truly working till old age, dedicating his entire life to the sect! ... "Is this house big enough? It's close to Tianxiang Pavilion. A young lad like you probably hasn't tasted womanly flesh yet." "Too expensive." "What about this one? The previous tenant was a body refiner from the sect. There's plenty of room even for daily physical workouts—definitely big enough." "Too expensive." "Looks like you want something cheaper. The northern part of the city is cheap enough. I'll take you to have a look." ... Two hours later. Sun Shou brushed off Luo Chen's hands and huffed angrily, "Seems the score you pulled wasn't that big after all! Why come squandering your money in the inner city?" Luo Chen argued self-righteously, "There are gang fights every single day outside! I'm afraid I'll end up a corpse on the streets by accident." "Fine! My word is my bond. I will definitely find you a big house!" Sun Shou gritted his teeth and led Luo Chen deep into the alleys. After winding through twists and turns for who knew how long, with female cultivators occasionally appearing by the roadside to greet Old Man Sun warmly, the view suddenly opened up. A single-courtyard siheyuan appeared before them. Entering the main gate and bypassing the spirit screen wall, Sun Shou marched straight toward the longest and widest room. "Here it is. The reverse-facing room. Largest area. Squeeze in, and fitting seventeen or eighteen people won't be a problem." Luo Chen surveyed the room with satisfaction. The floor area was no smaller than his previous place with the small yard. The only drawback was the lack of natural light, giving it a somewhat gloomy feel. "How many spirit stones?" "Rock-bottom price: ten low-grade spirit stones a month. One month's deposit, three months upfront." One month's deposit plus three months upfront meant shelling out forty spirit stones in one go. Truth be told, it stung a bit. Yet finding such a spacious and cheap house in the inner city was genuinely hard. If Sun Shou had not been intimately familiar with all the properties in Dahe Market, an ordinary person would never have found this place. "In addition, there's a monthly management fee of one spirit stone, and one spirit stone for night soil collection." Luo Chen's eyes went wide. "A management fee? What's that for?" Old Man Sun rolled his eyes. "Someone has to dispose of the waste you generate, don't they? If neighbors don't get along and fighting is forbidden, you'll end up coming to me to mediate sooner or later, so shouldn't I get a little compensation?" "But..." "No buts." "Then night soil collection?" "Do you want to defecate and urinate anywhere like in the outer quarter, where the stench of piss and shit is thicker than spiritual energy?" Fine! I concede! When living under the Jade Cauldron roof, one had to bow one's head! "Oh, there's one more thing to remind you." "There's more?" Luo Chen clenched his fist, but remembering that this old man was at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, he softened again. Can't beat him, definitely can't beat him. Sun Shou pointed at a pile of firewood by the entrance of the main northern hall opposite. "If you want to cook with a fire, remember to burn smokeless firewood. If it generates smoke, I suggest you rent a smoke-collecting magical artifact from me." "Ah? Why is that?" Luo Chen was utterly dazed. "Hah, where are we? This is the inner city, a cultivation ground built atop a tier-one spiritual vein. If there's too much turbid air, do you still want to cultivate or not?" Even the cultivation world practices environmental protection?! In a daze, Luo Chen received a magical artifact from the old man called something like the Pale Smoke and Sparse Rain Pavilion. Square with a pointed roof, it could simply be installed at the threshold between inside and outside when in use. After signing a lease and paying forty-three spirit stones, this large room belonged to Luo Chen for the next four months. As he saw the old man out, Luo Chen asked offhandedly, "Even if the lighting is a bit poor, it shouldn't be this much cheaper than other houses of the same size, right?" "Guess why?"