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Chapter 233 - 226 Inventory of Gains 1
Chapter 233 - 226 Inventory of Gains 1
Chapter 233: Chapter 226 Inventory of Gains 1
The commander leading eight thousand warriors was killed, and upon learning this, the Nine Insect Gang would definitely be enraged and shocked.
The young woman who had fled saw a youth suddenly appear and with a single stroke, killed Lord Song Zan. After her initial horror, she looked closely and recognized the youth as someone very familiar.
“It, it’s you!”
She had identified the youth as one of the individuals who had helped her smuggle herself out the previous night.
She thought that all had fallen victim to the Nine Insect Gang’s evil clutches, but to her surprise, this unremarkable youth had successfully escaped from the gang’s encirclement and pursuit.
“Better run for your life!”
Qin Niu had already swiftly knelt down to loot the body of the deceased.
His actions were practiced.
In the blink of an eye, he had stripped it bare.
Even the body of the colorful spider wasn’t spared.
By the time he finished looting, the woman was still standing there in a daze.
Her clothes were torn in several places, and her white undergarment was somewhat indecent. Especially the upper garment, which seemed to have been violently ripped, as the laces near the neckline were all destroyed.
“Do you wish to fall into their clutches again?”
Qin Niu’s tone was indifferent.
“No, not at all. Thank you for saving my life, kind sir.”
Remembering the consequences of falling into enemy hands, her complexion shifted slightly.
“I estimate the enemy will soon discover their leader has been killed, so you should start running if you don’t want to be caught. Remember, if you want to survive in this world, you must abandon your naive fantasies. The safest is to keep your fate in your own hands.”
With that, Qin Niu took a set of coarse cloth clothes from his basket and threw them over.
“If you don’t want to die, it’s best to wait until you escape this place before changing into this outfit.”
After speaking, he paid no further attention to the woman and headed straight in the direction of escape.
The woman hesitated slightly before fleeing in the direction he had gone.
She had cultivated the Step-Method Martial Skill and, although not as skilled as Qin Niu, was nonetheless fast.
Still, the gap between the Acquired Realm and the Innate Realm was significant.
The distance between Qin Niu and her grew increasingly wide.
“Kind sir, may I have your name?”
“I didn’t save you expecting repayment!”
Only a cold sentence drifted back as the figure moved farther away.
She too gritted her teeth and hurried forward in her bid to escape.
With Lord Song Zan killed, the enemy furious, if caught by them, her fate would be unspeakably miserable.
Qin Niu ran wildly along the way, blending with the night like a wild horse.
Up ahead, he could see dwellings.
The terrain gradually leveled out, revealing many fields suitable for farming.
The crops looked thriving.
Unlike the entire territory of the Black Tiger Gang, which suffered from a locust plague, this place was at peace without any insect disaster.
They say ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do.’ Having fled for a night, Qin Niu guessed he was safe.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, he planned to change into the attire of the local people.
He chose a brick-and-tile house that looked quite imposing and hopped over the wall to enter.
Inside the house, he could hear the panting of the man and woman.
Being extraordinarily powerful, Qin Niu naturally didn’t consider a few ordinary individuals worthy of concern.
After stealing two sets of the male owner’s clothes and changing into one, he left the other in his basket for later use, then continued on his way.
Although it was safe now, having killed an enemy commander, he had undoubtedly incited the rage of the Nine Insect Gang’s higher echelons.
A storm of fugitive hunting was bound to sweep across all directions.
By dawn, he had successfully reached Hundred Leaf Town.
The common folk here, many of whom were like him carrying large baskets, wrapped their heads with scarves and wore attire very different from that of the people in the Black Tiger Gang’s territory. Some women directly carried their babies in the baskets on their backs.
Others, who didn’t use baskets, carried their children on their backs with cloth straps.
Qin Niu had already put on the local clothing, including a wrapped headscarf, blending in with the crowd.
Having grown up in a remote valley, he didn’t even need to disguise himself, moving among the crowds as just another commoner.
New to this foreign place, he took in the local customs and lifestyle.
Hundred Leaf Town was much larger than he had imagined, at least half the size of Black Tiger City.
That Insect Master who had passed away many years ago, even after death, still silently contributed to the land that nurtured him.
The excellent development and economic prosperity of Hundred Leaf Town, bustling with people, owed much to the Green Demon.
A large influx of outsiders into Hundred Leaf Town—what was it they all sought?
They had all come for the Green Demon Bee.
Perhaps many would lower their goals, content with capturing just one of the Green Demon’s discarded special bee species.
Insect Masters from various regions, or those aspiring to become masters, flocked here in droves.
Then there were the young masters and mistresses, the sect experts, all coming to travel and to witness the strength of the Green Demon Bee, which could exterminate the Seven Stars Sect Leader.
They wanted to see for themselves the environment where the Green Demon had once lived and to understand what kind of surroundings could nurture such a formidable super Insect Master.
The influx of these people stimulated the town’s various economies.
Initially, only the inn business boomed.
Over time, it developed into a comprehensive market for Insect Masters.
You could buy anything there.
“Insect Jars for sale, Insect Jars for sale, pure copper crafted Insect Jars, they won’t wear out for a hundred years.”
“Adventurers looking to catch wild bees on the mountain, look no further! We have all kinds of protective gear available to prevent stings. These are lifesaving artifacts at crucial moments, all for a low price. Welcome to choose and purchase.”
“Just last night, braving the mountain dangers, I caught Green Winged Giant Bees. Take one home for just ten pieces of silver.”
Qin Niu admired the dedication of the street vendors he saw on both sides of the street.
As soon as day broke, they had already taken their places and begun peddling their wares.
“Brother, are you here to hunt for treasures? I have a scroll of the Green Demon Bee Cultivation Technique, only for thirty pieces of silver. With it, you’re guaranteed to become the second Green Demon.”
A sneaky-looking man squeezed up to Qin Niu’s side.
He mysteriously pulled out an antiquated book with yellowing covers from his clothes, clumsily inscribed with the words ‘Green Demon Bee Cultivation Technique’.
Such obviously fake stuff, and yet he dared to try to fool Qin Niu.
He just coldly glanced at the man and then continued walking without saying a word.
Under his gaze, the man’s spirit trembled as though he had fallen into an ice cellar. Watching Qin Niu’s retreating figure, his face was filled with fear.
Hundred Leaf Town’s visitors seeking adventure came from all walks of life.
Among them were not a few powerful individuals.
The Innate Realm was indeed worthy of the title ‘powerhouse’.
Qin Niu didn’t rush into the mountain, instead, he found an inn to stay in.
He didn’t choose a small, money-saving inn because it was too easy to end up in a bad establishment. Traveling alone, it was better to be more cautious.
The cost of staying in a larger inn was much higher, but safety was guaranteed.
He booked a standard room, which was indeed not cheap, costing a hundred and twenty wen per night, meals and hot water included.
The room was fairly spacious, and the bedding was very clean.
Through the window, one could see the street outside.
Having traveled for two days, he was utterly exhausted and desperately needed a place to rest well. If he wasn’t already at the level of the Innate Realm, he probably wouldn’t have been able to hold up.
Once he locked the room door, he could finally check the treasures he had scavenged from Sir Song Zan.
The man hadn’t been wearing his coat when he chased after that woman, so Qin Niu had assumed he wouldn’t have much on him. Only after taking stock did he realize he had underestimated the caution of such an important figure.
A total of thirteen Gold Notes were scavenged, the lowest denomination being a hundred taels. There was one worth five hundred taels.
Add that up, and it came to one thousand seven hundred taels worth of Gold Notes.
Converted, that’s seventeen thousand taels worth of silver.
There were also more than thirty silver notes, totaling twenty-one thousand six hundred and fifty taels.
Just adding up the Gold Notes and silver notes, it came to a whopping thirty-eight thousand six hundred and fifty taels of silver.
That was nearly twice the total net worth of Qin Niu.
It seemed impossible for a military commander to carry so many silver and Gold Notes on his person.
In this era, it wasn’t common for everyone to deposit their silver or gold into banks.
Normally, storing silver in a bank incurred a fee.
Eor big patrons, it depended on the situation.
Some banks lacked silver and needed large deposits, so they’d offer big patrons certain interests or other benefits.
Almost forty thousand taels of silver was by no means a small amount of money.
Even in Black Tiger City, there weren’t many families that could produce forty thousand taels worth of ready cash.
Upon carefully reviewing the information on the silver notes, Qin Niu had an epiphany.
It turned out that a good half of these silver and Gold Notes had actually come from banks in Black Tiger City.
As a military commander, Sir Song Zan had snatched up young and beautiful women for his own enjoyment and also pocketed a large portion of the riches scavenged by his soldiers.
Killing him and getting these silver notes was like avenging the smugglers of Black Tiger City.
There had already been several days of fighting.
Quite a few batches of smugglers must have been captured by now.
These thirty-eight thousand taels were plundered from the possessions of several hundred smugglers.
Those smugglers were truly pitiable, having sold their properties and intended to escape to the Nine Insect Gang to live a good life. They thought they were clever, but ended up as fattened sheep in the eyes of others.
One comes, one gets slaughtered.
Beyond the Gold and silver notes, Qin Niu also acquired a book on controlling insects, a scroll of a Cultivation Technique called “The Mighty Divine Strength of the Five Sacred Peaks,’ and a volume of a Step-Method Martial Skill called ‘Misty Rain Traceless Step.’
He also got half a Tiger Symbol Token and a Nine Insect Command.
The Nine Insect Command read, “Song Zan, one-star protector.”
He had actually killed a protector?
Yet, this Song Zan didn’t seem as powerful as Old Master Huang.
It’s worth noting that Old Master Huang was just a high-level executor.
It seems that Song Zan must have been the weakest protector of the Nine Insect Gang.
The Mighty Divine Strength of the Five Sacred Peaks, when cultivated, grants immense power. In its advanced stages, as long as one’s feet touch the earth, one can have unending strength.
This kind of Cultivation Technique can’t be said to be the best, but it’s definitely much stronger than average.
Qin Niu didn’t need more Cultivation Techniques for the moment. It was a good choice to keep it for selling or for his subordinates to cultivate.
Probably worth at least two thousand pieces of silver if put up for sale in the Supreme Sea.
What really interested him, though, was the Step-Method Martial Skill.
He had long wanted to acquire a skill in steps and movements, but had never had the chance.
Obtaining one now made him very happy.
After a brief overview, it seemed, once mastered, one could transform into a fleeting shadow—without a trace when coming or going.
Seemed decent enough.
First, sleep. After a good rest, he would consider learning this martial skill..