Volcanic Age

Chapter 159: The Classical Gardens of Suzhou (1)

Zhou Xuchuan's heart warmed with emotion. He never expected the worst sort of genius who only knew how to shout "Traps! Mechanisms!" all the time would think of him this way.

Remembering Zhuge Shengji's usual antics made Zhou Xuchuan's emotions swell even more. A gentle smile formed unconsciously on his lips.

"This insignificant merchant will believe you and follow you, too!"

Li Yicai declared in his usual boisterous tone. However, his voice sounded a little different from usual.

His eyes, often filled with a hint of sycophancy, were now as calm as a still lake, yet as cold as ice.

"Even if it's all a lie, it doesn't matter to me. How can I not trust you, knowing who you are? Please let me know whenever you need help. I'll gladly take on any losses for your sake, Great Hero. Although, I hope you'll keep it modest enough so that I don't lose everything. Ehehehe."

As expected of the Merchant King! For a moment there, Zhou Xuchuan tensed up. Li Yicai could sometimes become an entirely different person when it came to money.

Money matters; gold spoke volumes, and money was everything. That was the sole principle driving Li Yicai, the future Merchant King, forward.

Li Yicai only planned and acted under the divine concept known as gold, or more correctly, "profit." This point would never change.

To him, that was his life. How he'd die. His life philosophy, his entire being!

Zhou Xuchuan didn't have to worry about getting betrayed by Li Yicai. In fact, the future Merchant King could be trusted more than anyone as long as an appropriate compensation was provided. He'd never break this relationship of "trust" in that case.

However, this relationship was also a double-edged sword. It was uncertain what might happen if the compensation wasn't enough.

As long as the Gold Will Merchants weren't driven into bankruptcy, Zhou Xuchuan shouldn't have much to worry about.

Li Yicai built up this business during the Era of War and Chaos with no help from anyone, but in the current timeline, Zhou Xuchuan helped him out in various ways.

Zhou Xuchuan was instrumental in Li Yicai forming connections with the Murim Alliance back in Guizhou. There was also the Three-Eyed Godly Thief's inheritance. Without those, the 'current' incarnation of the Gold Will Merchants would've never come to be.

The recent troubles with the Red Forest should also be counted. If one calculated the debt in its entirety, Li Yicai could never repay it all, no matter how hard he tried.

However, from this moment on, our relationship will change if the Gold Will Merchants are destroyed.

As long as one didn't bare any fangs toward the emperor or the government officials, the odds of one's business going under should be minimal. However, that story would change when the opponent was the Dark Heavens Association.

No matter how thorough the preparations were or how many steps ahead Zhou Xuchuan was, any number of things could destroy Li Yicai's business.

If he lost the Gold Will Merchants because of this fight, Li Yicai could view all the financial and physical help Zhou Xuchuan had provided as compensation and reset their relationship and trust level to zero.

I must not forget. Loyalty means little to the Merchant King. I must remain cautious of how he always pursues benefits over everything.

Zhou Xuchuan approached Li Yicai despite knowing that. Actually, Li Yicai being this kind of person was what gave him the confidence to entrust with this matter in the first place.

Li Yicai would never betray Zhou Xuchuan as long as his business remained safe. However, no one knew what would happen if the Gold Will Merchants went bankrupt.

Maybe he'd start doing business with the righteous and evil factions, Two Demonic Factions, or even the Dark Heavens Association. And Zhou Xuchuan would also be one of Li Yicai's customers.

"I also don't really care if your story is true or false," said Wu Qu. He kept his arms crossed before his chest, his tone calm. "I'll simply follow you, my benefactor."

Wu Qu had sworn loyalty after Zhou Xuchuan saved his daughter's life. Whether it was in the past life or this one, Wu Qu's motivating force, the one thing that gave meaning to his life, was valuing grudges and favors. This rule was absolute.

"I thought you might be joking, but you were serious."

Tang Hui's icy words broke Zhou Xuchuan's train of thought.

Well, I wondered if I should tell this woman or not, but…

Zhou Xuchuan had hesitated most about telling Tang Hui the truth. He at least understood what made Luo Xiaoyue, Zhuge Shengji, Li Yicai, and Wu Qu tick. Even if he was wrong about that, he still trusted them deeply.

However, he still knew little about Tang Hui. When they first ran into each other, Zhou Xuchuan had cocked his head in confusion.

Their first encounter hadn't left a good impression, Tang Hui harbored a grudge, a resentment, and showed up this time for a chance to get even.

Still, their relationship grew more amiable after spending time in each other's company. Zhou Xuchuan was convinced that he no longer needed to distrust her.

Tang Hui had assisted him on various occasions and even kept the matter of the Phantom Bow Swordsman a secret.

Zhou Xuchuan had dispatched some Phantoms to monitor her, just in case, but Tang Hui didn't do anything suspicious.

What sealed the deal in Zhou Xuchuan's eyes was how capable Tang Hui was.

She was already one of the best in poison arts in the Central Plains, and her martial prowess was at the top of the younger generation, so it'd be a waste of time to question her in that aspect.

As befitting a daughter of the Tang Family, Tang Hui's pride was no joke, but it didn't interfere with her judgment.

Beyond that, she had other advantages, such as her medical knowledge, the ability to acquire information, and even a considerable experience in Gangho.

If she doesn't say something mean for a day, her tongue will develop sores, sure. Despite that rotten personality, though, her abilities are still top-notch.

Her cultivation, intelligence, and status as a direct descendant of Sichuan's Tang Family made her a perfect candidate.

It was a mystery to Zhou Xuchuan why someone as capable as her had disappeared without achieving anything significant during the Era of War and Chaos.

"Do you believe me?" he asked.

"Of course not." Tang Hui replied while shaking her head, her eyes closed.

"You've been hiding so much all this time. This whole thing could easily be another one your schemes. Besides, other than your words, you don't have any evidence. Anyone believing you without question needs to get their head examined."

Yup, that's the normal response.

This was the reaction Zhou Xuchuan had expected from her. In fact, the reactions of the first three were the odd ones.

Everyone had their own reasons for following him, but Zhou Xuchuan wasn't sure about Luo Xiaoyue and Tang Hui. Luo Xiaoyue still seemed only half convinced. Meanwhile, Zhou Xuchuan couldn't even tell if Tang Hui was half convinced or not from the look on her face.

"Okay, so…"

Tang Hui slowly opened her eyes.

"I'll decide if what you're saying is true or not. I'm still bound to that wager, after all."

Tang Hui's frowned, clearly irritated at the memory of that wager.

"I see. That's all I can ask for," Zhou Xuchuan replied, smiling in satisfaction.

Luo Xiaoyue asked, "Then, when will you start, Senior Brother?"

"Good question," Zhou Xuchuan said, rummaging under his clothes and pulling out a book.

"There's nothing written on the cover?"

Zhou Xuchuan smiled. "If I'm to explain what this is, it's something like Meng Gang's diary."

Meng Gang had sought the Dark Heavens Association's help to avoid the government's watchful eyes, but it was nothing more than getting some help. He didn't trust the secret organization enough to do anything else with them. It'd be safer to say he remained extremely cautious.

He constantly suspected the Dark Heavens Association of having ulterior motives and feared they might sell him out to the government. His paranoia kept their relationship tenuous most of the time.

To protect himself, Meng Gang made careful preparations, ensuring that he could counterattack at any time—or even flee if necessary.

"Is this that something you speak of, Senior Brother?"

"That's right. Starting from the names of all the spies that have infiltrated the Red Forest, the list of merchant associations and security companies connected to the Dark Heavens Association…"

Such a thing might be meaningless to a layman, but to an enemy of the Dark Heavens Association? It was an invaluable treasure, indeed. No spiritual medicine or artifact could compare to this book. All the information contained within was more precious than pppppppMeng Gang kept strict records and hid it so meticulously.

"I see, I see! Such a list makes sense. The Dark Heavens Association would've preferred that certain security companies and merchant associations be spared from falling victim to banditry, after all."

Li Yicai muttered while rubbing his rounded chin, the light in his eyes blazing even hotter than before.

"I'll leave the dealing with that side of business to you, Head Merchant. I'll provide you with all the related information, so take everything they own."

"Ehehehe, it'll be my pleasure!"

Li Yicai's eyes were burning at the prospect of increasing his fortune.

Zhou Xuchuan flipped the page of Meng Gang's 'diary.'

"Out of all the information here, this is the most important one. The one about the secret branches."

****

The darkness was so deep that nothing could be seen. Like an abyss, it felt bottomless.

"Haha…"

Laughter rang out from within this pitch-black darkness. However, the owner of this laughter didn't sound pleased at all.

"Hahaha!"

The laughter grew louder and louder.

"Ahahahaha!"

The laughter grew loud enough to shake the surroundings. As a matter of fact, it was louder than a Shaolin's Lion Roar.

"…!"

Blessed Existence struggled to hold back the blood rising in his throat, the power of the laughter causing a minor internal injury.

He used his only remaining arm to prop his torso up from the floor so that he wouldn't collapse.

It wasn't only Blessed Existence, however. Other than the Head of the Archives, who was on his feet until sweat… No, blood oozed from his heels, other heads of the Seven Stars divisions remained prostrating while holding their breaths.

Their dantians below their navels stung and buzzed, causing throbbing pain. Indescribable terror washed over them, but they all endured it.

Making any sort of noise, or even trembling a little now, could get on their master's nerves. No one could predict what might happen afterward!

"Don't you find this rather amusing?" The Association Lord suddenly stopped laughing and asked. "I am curious as to how that young man keeps foiling our plans."

"Please kill me!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Blessed Existence slammed his forehead into the ground several times. Blood began to seep from his brow by the second hit.

"Uh-huh! Stop. Your brain is precious to our organization. It won't be good for us if your head gets injured."

"I apologize for failing to consider your magnanimity! Please execute this useless one!"

He had failed.

"Useless? I don't know why you'd say that. It's not as if our organization has been directly harmed, now is it? Only some pathetic leader of the bandits has died. That is all."

He failed. Failed. Failed!

Although there was no direct harm, Blessed Existence had still failed.

Initially, his plan was to crush the Gold Will Merchants that dared to refuse the Dark Heavens Association's invitation and seize all of their power and benefits before they had a chance to become a dominant force in commerce.

So, he entrusted this task to the Red Forest bandits. At the same time, he also asked the bandits to eliminate Zhou Xuchuan.

But it all ended in failure. Not a single problem got resolved. Even worse, the top boss of the Red Forest, which was one of the Association's collaborators, had died. With his death, the Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest began bucking out of control like a wild stallion.

Even if Blessed Existence wanted to build a new bridge, it'd have to wait for a while.

He prepared that pawn to counter any unexpected event in the future. But now it was gone. It'd be a long while before he could use it again.

"Zhou Xuchuan, is it? Zhou Xuchuan, Zhou Xuchuan…"

The Association Lord continued to repeat the name of the saboteur, a clear note of displeasure in his voice.

"We thought he was some brat who'd chase after the Tang Family's wench, but in reality, he was a tiger hiding its sharp fangs? How amusing, indeed."

Zhou Xuchuan was involved in all the recent events taking place in Gangho. His actions so far had been quite surprising.

Despite being only nineteen years old, he already achieved three, no, four heroic feats when most people would spend their entire lives achieving just one.

Most notably, he fought alone against Meng Gang, a man who used to serve as a general in the frontlines before changing his identity as a Murim cultivator.

With this, Zhou Xuchuan confirmed that he was no longer a problem the Association could dismiss. That one man caused the Association to lose control over the Red Forest, and all the preparations made for the war went out the window because of him.

"The thief who stole our organization's spiritual medicines, the graverobber who destroyed Ominous Demon's tomb, and finally, Mount Hua's Zhou Xuchuan!"

The Association Lord slowly raised himself from his throne. The sheer pressure from his presence caused the six remaining Seven Stars to shrink back like turtles.

"Capture all three. No matter what, capture them all! If you can't capture them alive, it'll be fine to kill them, too. But bring them to us!"

"We obey!"

The six remaining Seven Stars roared out their replies.

I will kill them all!

Blessed Existence gritted his teeth. Nearly uncontrollable rage burned fiercely in his eyes.

No, merely killing them isn't going to be enough for me!'

Nothing could've shaken his rational mind, yet it shook for the first time. The tidal waves of emotions proved too strong for him to remain calm.

Whether it's your family, lover, or friends! I'll find every single thing related to those three and… and…! All of them will be…!

All of them!

I'll hurt you all until you beg me to kill you!