Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 528: Chapter 528 Unrestrained and Unscrupulous

The three Cultivators weren’t particularly thirsty, but while humans could endure it, horses could not; hence, they walked over and called for the waiter to give the horses some water.

Inside the teahouse pavilion, Feng Jun drew a cigarette and then asked, “Waiter, has Hu Yuandao of Yunzhou City died?”

“Mhm,” the waiter nodded, “Heard he ran into an assassin outside the city, and after getting home, didn’t last long and died… Such a shame, he was one of the good men in Yunzhou City.”

“What assassin are you talking about?” a man nearby spoke up. He was tall and portly with a full beard, because the weather was too hot, he stripped to the waist and leaned against a wooden stake, dozing off.

Upon hearing the waiter’s words, he slowly opened his eyes, grabbed the tea bowl beside him and took several big gulps, then lazily glanced at Feng Jun, “If you give me a rolled cigarette, I’ll tell you what happened.”

The rolled cigarettes from Mount Zhige are currently sold exclusively by the Yu Family and Mi Family, because tobacco in Huaxia is a state monopoly, it’s a hugely profitable trade, bringing it to this realm makes it a typical luxury item.

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A single cigarette could be exchanged for more than half a pound of tobacco, which could pretty much be considered robbing money.

Yet there really were people who fancied this sort of thing, so although Feng Jun’s tobacco business wasn’t big, it still affected the surroundings, and even Qingdai County, two thousand miles away, had people who recognized it.

Feng Jun passed a cigarette over, “Go on, tell me.”

“Hu Yuandao offended a bigwig in the government,” the portly man lit up the cigarette and spoke lazily, “Having played the hero for twenty years, he should have known when to stop. He didn’t know how to restrain himself, his influence grew larger and naturally, he got in someone’s way.”

Feng Jun wanted to know something else, he had no interest in why Hu Yuandao died, “There must have been someone who made their move, who did it?”

He hoped it was the work of someone from the Wonderful Hand Pavilion, then he could use this as a lead to continue investigating.

“Listen to me slowly,” the portly man gave him an unsatisfied glance, “You see, it’s still Hu Yuandao’s fault. No matter how famous you are in the jianghu, can you really contend against the government? Now look… not only is he dead, but his sons are either dead or have gone mad.”

Pan Renjie’s eyebrows rose in interest, “He’s dead, and his descendants are still suffering consequences?”

“Hu Yuandao had many friends, eh,” said the man, taking another puff of his cigarette, “perhaps even knowing some Innate Experts. If you leave the roots after cutting the grass… are you waiting for the Hu Family to invite experts for revenge?”

Pan Renjie was wholly captivated by the story, “But now… isn’t Sixth Master still alive?”

“Elder Hu… haha,” the man laughed indifferently, “he married a good wife. Out of respect for the Qian Family’s sake, no one in the government bothers the Hu Family anymore, but the estate of the Hu Family, sooner or later, will have to bear the Qian name.”

“It’s a struggle for inheritance,” Shangguan Yunjin understood as well, but she wasn’t interested in these matters, “We’re friends of Hu Yuandao… grievances have their rightful claimants, we just want to know who killed him.”

“Want to know? Heh,” the man gestured with his mouth to a direction, “There, ask them.”

At the city gates, dust billowed as seven or eight horses galloped towards them, not yet reaching the teahouse pavilion when the knights leaped off their mounts and rushed over hurriedly, their movements exceptionally agile, “Who is it? Who’s looking for Hu Yuandao?”

A person dressed as a servant pointed at Feng Jun, yelling loudly, “It’s those three…”

Seeing this, Feng Jun and his companions exchanged a glance and immediately sprung out of the teahouse pavilion, jumped onto their horses, and rode off at high speed.

Amid the sound of galloping hooves, even their hearty laughter could be heard.

“Arrest House on duty,” shouted someone loudly, and others cursed, “Shut it, get on your horses… Chase!”

The trio sped off for more than ten miles, taking a couple of turns, until the dust behind them was no longer visible, and then they pulled the reins to stop their horses.

“If it weren’t for not wanting to alert the Wonderful Hand Pavilion, I would have finished them off without breaking a sweat!” Shangguan Yunjin expressed her vexation, “They’re just asking for trouble.”

She wasn’t very angry, just felt a sense of blockage in her thoughts; nobody would think Cultivators would be afraid of the constables.

Then she rolled her eyes, “How about we capture a few constables? They might know where the branch of the Wonderful Hand Pavilion is.”

The Wonderful Hand Pavilion wasn’t as blatant as Hundred Flowers Tower, with their mountain gate closed to outsiders, and their main business wasn’t assassination but collecting treasures. They were most infamous for their greed for treasures and various thievery techniques.

Of course, the Wonderful Hand Pavilion didn’t lack means of assassination, but generally speaking, they valued secrecy. This was one of their five major branches, the location of the Eastern branch, and it wasn’t easy to casually inquire about their headquarters.

However, what Shangguan Yunjin said did hold some practicality—the Arrest House was a place mixed with all sorts of people, also a place where information is gathered.

It was quite possible that the local Arrest House knew the location of the Wonderful Hand Pavilion branch.

Pan Renjie saw it that way too, and after thinking for a moment, he spoke up, “Why don’t we slow down a bit and see which constables are faster, then capture and interrogate them in a secluded location?”

Feng Jun shook his head, he didn’t approve of this method, “Capturing constables isn’t a problem, but that’s still a bit too flashy…”

He was thinking about how to explain his thoughts when Shangguan Yunjin spoke up again, “Alright, then let’s make a smaller commotion… I have a suggestion.”

What she wanted to do was actually not low-key at all, consisting of identifying a large courtyard and barging in to capture people.

This approach was quite unorthodox, but she mentioned that in the past, elder brothers and sisters from her sect would often do this when encountering tricky issues—since they didn’t reveal their identities, let the other party guess wildly, and it wouldn’t tarnish the name of Cultivators.

After thinking about it, Feng Jun had to admit, it actually was a good method. Bursting into private homes to capture people could be attributed to mountain bandits, enemies, various forces, and possibly… Cultivators.

“After we grab the person, we’ll just leave. As for the main culprit… who do you think it will be?”

“But that… why do I have to be the one to grab the person?”

Shangguan Yunjin provided an explanation, “Feng Daoist Friend, only you are both a martial cultivator and innate…”

Feng Jun had no choice but to pinch his nose and accept it. He broke into four mansions in succession and brought back eight hostages that appeared to be important figures.

Elder Brother Pan entered the state of Worldly Trials again. He was responsible for the support, and outside each grand estate, he used the dialect of Qingdai to announce the criminals’ presence, “The heroes of Liang Shanpo are at work, be careful of blind swords and blades…”

Some didn’t believe this assertion, like the manors’ bodyguards who directly gave chase, intent on rescue.

However, Pan Renjie and Shangguan Yunjin were certainly not to be trifled with. Dignified cultivators, deigning to masquerade as thieves had already given mortals enough face, but should anyone dare to chase after them, they would hesitate not to cut them down with a slash.

Daring enough to kill… The heroes of Liang Shanpo dare to kill, and cultivators dare even more.

After all, you chose this job as a bodyguard knowing the risks. When you picked this profession, you should have anticipated such a day.

After storming into four mansions, Pan Renjie and Shangguan Yunjin had killed three people.

The fifth mansion wasn’t particularly luxurious, but… it was vast, the architecture was majestic, and it even had bunkers and arrow towers.

The guards of this house were also extraordinary, issuing a warning from afar, and even signaling with Ming Di.

But what did three cultivators care about such things? They slaughtered their way through as if chopping vegetables.

Pan Renjie and Shangguan Yunjin weren’t martial cultivators, but they were at mid-stage Qi Refining. How could ordinary martial cultivators possibly harm them?

Feng Jun was at the forefront, wielding the Spirit Blade, and with three strikes, he shattered the protective formation.

He stood atop the arrow tower and shouted, “The person in charge, come out! The heroes of Liang Shanpo want two hostages, and don’t bring anyone insignificant… After tearing up the tickets, we’ll have to come back and grab people again; it’s trouble for you, and it’s trouble for us!”

Instantly, many rushed out from the rooms into the courtyard, each armed and glaring at him fiercely.

Then, escorted by three or four people, a man in his sixties stepped out, speaking unhurriedly,

“The heroes of Liang Shanpo? Never heard of them, but my Qian Family is not without roots. If the heroes are short on funds, just speak up, and we can offer something. But if you think the Qian Family is easily bullied, you are gravely mistaken.”

This Qian Family was indeed extraordinary. With just one glance, Feng Jun spotted four or five martial masters.

The next moment, he flew above the courtyard, scoffing, “The Qian Family, is it? Hu Family’s problems have erupted!”

The people present were terrified, “Is he actually an innate expert?”

The old man was also stunned, then his face turned pale as he spoke tremulously, “The Hu Family… my Qian Family has done nothing to them.”

“Noisy,” Feng Jun casually slashed, bringing down the large arrow tower—as it was mainly made of wood—and then he pointed the tip of his blade forward, “Old man, come with me. Bring another person in charge, and let’s have a proper talk.”

This one strike fully demonstrated his strength, for there are indeed differences in power even among innate experts.

The old man’s face grew even whiter, “Esteemed sir, my Qian Family is… related by marriage to the Tongcheng Su Family, a clan within the Family Alliance. If you have any orders, we can discuss them.”

“The Su Family… how terrifying,” Feng Jun bared his teeth in a sneer, “I’ll count to three. If no one in charge shows up, I’ll slaughter everyone in this courtyard. Of course, you may choose not to believe me.”

“One, two…”

“Esteemed sir, please wait,” someone shouted. A middle-aged man with a young teenager rushed over from the rear court—the teenager was about fourteen or fifteen, and the middle-aged was in his early forties, with intermediate-level martial master cultivation.

The middle-aged man stepped forward, giving a respectful salute, “I am Qian…”

“Shut up, I’m not interested in the name of a bit player,” Feng Jun raised a hand and pointed, speaking coldly, “You’ll do. And this old man, come with me.”

The teenager shouted out, “Spare my grandfather, I’ll go with you…”

“Noisy,” Feng Jun raised a hand, swinging his blade, “Die!”

Seeing this, the middle-aged man, without a second thought, threw himself in front of the teenager, instantly drawing out a shield and placing it in front, yelling, “Esteemed sir, please have mercy…”

Clearly, he must have had a Storage Talisman. Otherwise, such a large shield would not appear out of nowhere.

Then, a flash of yellow light enveloped him, and he activated a Golden Armor Charm.

(Updated to this point, calling for monthly votes.)