39: Chapter 39 Childhood Friend Comes to Borrow Money? Poisoned and Sent as an Undercover Agent!

Xiu Yun gripped the edge of the counter with both hands, his upper body leaning desperately forward.

"Fat shopkeeper, you're new here, so you don't understand!"

He was spitting as he talked.

"Brother Shen and I grew up together, thick as thieves! Back in the Central Province mines, we shared a single steamed bun!"

Hu Wansan moved his abacus half a foot to the side, eyeing the tall, thin man warily.

"The boss has never mentioned any old acquaintance."

"That's just Brother Shen being humble!"

Xiu Yun slapped the counter, sending several writing brushes rolling.

"Ask around in the Central Market; who doesn't know of my, Xiu Yun's, connections? Brother Shen opening a shop in such a bustling area must mean he's encountered some difficulties. I've come today to help him solve his problems!"

Hu Wansan snorted, his palm, as large as a palm-leaf fan, pressing down on the abacus.

"Solve problems? I think you've come to beg. If you want to buy something, pay up; if not, get lost."

Xiu Yun grew anxious.

He raised his voice and shouted toward the back hall.

"Brother Shen! Shen Ji! Your brother is here!"

Shen Ji sat in the master's chair, his fingers turning over a broken jade slip.

The shouting from the front hall was clearly audible.

Xiu Yun.

This kid actually had some talent for being a nuisance.

In the previous simulation, Shen Ji had used fake accounts to hook him into becoming a double agent, tricking Ling Xiao.

But that was a simulation; there was plenty of time to slowly train him.

Now, in reality, Ling Wuming had just died, and Ling Xiao's reach was already extending here.

There was no time to play loyalty tests with an egoist.

He had to use the fastest, most violent means.

Shen Ji fished a black porcelain bottle from his storage bag.

He poured out a jet-black medicinal pill the size of a longan, with a pungent, fishy smell.

Bone-Eroding Pill.

The kind of low-class trash used to control death soldiers in the black market.

The toxicity was overbearing; when it took effect, it felt like ten thousand ants gnawing at the bones, and it required a monthly antidote to suppress.

It was originally a trump card prepared for black market informants.

Shen Ji pinched the pill and lifted the bamboo curtain.

His boots stepped onto the blue bricks.

Xiu Yun turned his head, instantly piling a smile onto his face, and strode forward to meet him.

"Brother Shen! I've finally seen you! This shop is impressive!"

He opened his arms, making a gesture to give a hug.

Shen Ji didn't stop.

His left hand shot out, precisely gripping Xiu Yun's jaw and pressing down with force.

His bones made a crisp cracking sound.

Xiu Yun's mouth was forced wide open, and he gasped for air through his throat.

Shen Ji's right hand flicked his finger.

The pitch-black pill flew out, shooting straight into the back of Xiu Yun's throat.

His left hand followed through with a pat on Xiu Yun's chest.

The pill rolled down his esophagus.

Shen Ji let go.

Xiu Yun slumped to the ground, clutching his neck and retching violently.

Tears and snot flowed, and he vomited sour water all over the floor.

But that pill had already turned into a cold chill, spreading in his dantian, throbbing with pain.

"Brother Shen... what... what did you feed me..."

Xiu Yun raised his head, his face twitching.

Hu Wansan retreated half a step behind the counter, silently pulling out a rusted boning knife.

"Bone-Eroding Pill."

Shen Ji pulled over a long bench and sat down.

"On the fifteenth of every month, come to me for the antidote. If you're a day late, your bones will start to rot into a pool of black water from the inside."

The expression on Xiu Yun's face froze.

He stiffened in place.

"Brother Shen... we're old acquaintances! We've mined together! You can't be this cold-blooded!"

He crawled over using his hands and feet, trying to hug Shen Ji's leg.

Shen Ji kicked him over.

"How many spirit stones is our friendship worth?"

A heavy cloth bag was thrown onto the blue bricks.

The spirit stones collided with a crisp sound.

"Fifty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones."

Shen Ji tapped his fingertips on his knee.

"The Ling Family's second young master, Ling Xiao, is currently lacking people who can get things done. Take this money, grease some palms, and get close to him."

Xiu Yun's gaze fell on the cloth bag.

"Undercover? Brother Shen, the Ling Family is a dragon's den! Ling Xiao is ruthless; if I'm discovered, I won't even have a corpse left!"

"Don't go, and you'll die now."

Shen Ji stood up, looking down at him.

"If you succeed, you'll be Shens Shop's secret stake in the Ling Family. If you fail, or if you take the money and run, find a place to rot next month."

Xiu Yun's Adam's apple bobbed.

Run? Where would he find the antidote?

Don't run? Go undercover at the Ling Family, dancing on the tip of a knife.

But if he didn't take this job, he wouldn't even survive the night.

He grabbed the cloth bag on the ground.

"I'll do it! Brother Shen, I'll do it!"

Xiu Yun climbed up from the ground, patting the dust off his knees.

"Just watch me. I, Xiu Yun, might not be good at much else, but at digging for opportunities, no one in Yunzhou City can beat me!"

He turned and left.

His steps were huge, fearing Shen Ji would change his mind and shove another poison pill down his throat.

Hu Wansan watched that back disappear around the street corner, then tucked the boning knife back under the counter.

"Boss, this kid is full of tricks. What if he turns around and sells us out to Ling Xiao for the antidote?"

"He doesn't have the guts. No one can cure the Bone-Eroding Pill except me."

Shen Ji walked back to the back hall.

"This kid is a slippery eel, and Ling Xiao needs exactly that kind of person to bite others. Once he takes root, Ling Xiao's movements will be clear."

Mid-October.

East of the city, Drunken Immortal Restaurant.

Xiu Yun held a wine pot, pouring for the fat steward across the table.

Steward Zhao, the head of procurement for the Ling Family's outer courtyard.

"Steward Zhao, try this. It's Jade Spring wine aged for thirty years. I had to pull strings through eight layers of connections to get it."

Xiu Yun was all smiles.

Steward Zhao picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and smacked his lips.

"Brother Xiu, you've been quite generous with your spending these days. Tell me, what kind of position are you looking for?"

Xiu Yun leaned half a step closer.

"I'm new to Yunzhou and want to enjoy the shade under the Ling Family's great tree. I can do the dirty and tiring work, as long as I can serve tea and water for Steward Zhao."

His wide sleeve slipped.

Ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones slid into Steward Zhao's pocket.

Steward Zhao's movements paused, and the fat on his face relaxed.

"Sensible. Go to the outer courtyard's spirit herb warehouse tomorrow to report; start by counting accounts."

Three days later.

Outer courtyard spirit herb warehouse.

Ling Xiao, dressed in white, held a folding fan and was inspecting the place, surrounded by several stewards.

A batch of important spirit herbs had recently gone missing from the accounts.

Ling Xiao wanted to inquire personally.

Several stewards broke out in a cold sweat, fumbling through the ledgers and stammering.

Xiu Yun stood in the corner, clutching a stack of bamboo slips.

To get this opportunity to show his face, he had spent ten spirit stones to bribe the gatekeeper.

He tripped.

The bamboo slips scattered all over the floor.

Ling Xiao stopped, closed his folding fan, and pointed at the bamboo slips on the ground.

"What's going on?"

Steward Zhao was trembling with fear and was about to kick him.

Xiu Yun scrambled up, not bothering to pick up the bamboo slips, and reported a string of numbers directly.

"Second Young Master, three thousand catties of Red Flame Grass were put into storage last month, two thousand eight hundred catties were taken out, with a loss of one hundred catties. But there are only fifty catties left in the warehouse. The missing fifty catties were mixed into low-grade Fire Spirit Grass and sent to the shop in the south of the city."

Silence fell all around.

Ling Xiao walked up to Xiu Yun.

"What is your name?"

"This humble one is Xiu Yun, just arrived at the outer courtyard to help out."

"As a mere helper, how are you so clear about the accounts?"

Xiu Yun bowed even lower.

"I used to work in the mines; I've seen plenty of tricks where people switch things under the table. As long as I go through the accounts once and smell the warehouse, I can figure out the general situation."

Ling Xiao looked Xiu Yun up and down.

Venal, slick, showing a bit of opportunistic cleverness.

Just the right kind of dog to bite this group of old, oily stewards.

"Steward Zhao, this person doesn't need to stay in the spirit herb warehouse anymore."

Ling Xiao used his folding fan to lift Xiu Yun's chin.

"Come with me to the inner courtyard. I need someone sharp to run errands for me."

Xiu Yun's knees went weak, and he knelt on the stone floor.

"I am willing to go through fire and water for the Second Young Master!"

With his head hung low, Xiu Yun gritted his teeth.

The first step was a success.

October 28th.

Late at night.

Back courtyard woodshed of Shens Spirit Material Shop.

Shen Ji stood in the shadows.

A black figure vaulted over the wall and landed lightly.

Xiu Yun pulled off his black mask and panted heavily.

"Brother Shen, the antidote..."

Shen Ji tossed over a paper packet.

Xiu Yun caught it, tore open the packaging, and poured the powder into his mouth.

A cool sensation went down his throat, suppressing the pain in his dantian.

"How is the situation?" Shen Ji asked.

"Ling Xiao is truly not a human being."

Xiu Yun lowered his voice.

"He has been meeting secretly with several shopkeepers from the east of the city these past few days. I was responsible for guarding outside the door, and I heard a few things."

"Get to the point."

"They are planning to join forces to block Ling Feng's trading firm. They're cutting off supply sources and are also going to mess with the Market Management Bureau to directly revoke Ling Feng's business license. The time is set for the fifth of next month."

Shen Ji nodded slightly.

Ling Xiao finally couldn't hold back and was ready to flip the table.

"Well done."

Shen Ji fished ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones from his sleeve and handed them over.

"Keep watching; report immediately if there's any unusual movement."

Xiu Yun took the spirit stones and grinned.

"Brother Shen, don't worry. Ling Xiao has me specifically running errands to keep an eye on those shopkeepers now, so I'm very well-informed."

"Don't get cocky. He's suspicious by nature; he only uses you because you have no background. Don't actually think of yourself as his confidant."

Xiu Yun shrank his neck.

He stuffed the spirit stones into his chest and vaulted over the wall, disappearing into the night.

November 2nd.

Heavy fog.

North of the city, top-floor private room of the Guest Welcome Tower.

The soundproofing array was fully activated.

Ling Feng sat in the main seat, the table full of spirit food untouched.

He gripped his wine cup tightly.

The door was pushed open.

Shen Ji stepped into the private room and closed the door behind him.

"You came quite quickly."

Ling Feng poured a cup of wine and pushed it over.

"Received the news?"

Shen Ji sat down opposite him, not touching the wine cup.

"As for the Market Management Bureau, Deputy Commissioner Zhou Chengxuan has been refusing visitors since yesterday, and even returned my calling card."

Ling Feng slammed his wine cup onto the table.

Wine splashed out.

"That madman Ling Xiao! He wants to drive me to my death!"

He paced back and forth in the private room.

"Three trading firms in the east of the city have unilaterally torn up the supply agreements. They'd rather pay the breach of contract penalty than supply even an ounce of spirit herbs. By the fifth, once the license is revoked, all our shops will have to close!"

Ling Feng stopped pacing and pressed his hands on the table.

"That's a business where we split the profits four-six! Are you just going to watch?"

Shen Ji leaned back in his chair.

"If the plate is broken, we can just fix it."

He tapped his fingers on the table twice.

"Ling Xiao wants to play 'removing the firewood from under the cauldron'. Then we'll help him make the fire burn even hotter."

Ling Feng was stunned.

"What do you mean?"

Shen Ji stopped tapping.

"On the fifth, you take the initiative to go to the Market Management Bureau and return the license."