36: Chapter 36 Lord Wei's Treasure

Linshan Market Administrative Office.

Wei Baoquan and Ma Chi stared at the empty safe, their expressions stiff and dull.

After a long while, Ma Chi asked with a trembling voice: "My... my Lord, where... where is that... treasure?"

Wei Baoquan turned to look at him, his expression extremely gloomy. "Is this a question I should be asking you? Where is my treasure?"

Ma Chi was trembling with fear. "Did you place it somewhere else, My Lord, and simply forgot?"

"Bullshit!" Wei Baoquan roared. "Is there any place in this office safer than here? Where else would I put it if not here?"

"Then you shouldn't be asking your subordinate, right? How would I know?"

"Only you and I knew about this treasure. Only you and I knew it was placed here. When I wasn't around, only you had the authority to enter this room. The safe hasn't been opened since that day, and now it's gone. You tell me, isn't your suspicion the greatest? If I don't ask you, who do I ask?"

Ma Chi was so scared he almost pissed himself. "My Lord, you mustn't think like that! For the past ten years, I have been loyal to you; if I haven't achieved merit, I have at least put in the effort. Besides, only you know the safe's password, and I can't open it either!"

Wei Baoquan pointed at him, gritting his teeth, his fat face trembling. "You must understand, this is a birthday gift prepared for the Madam. I was counting on this item to show my face at the Madam's birthday banquet, to make the Family Head think highly of me, so I could get transferred out of this godforsaken place."

"I don't care what method you use; you must get the treasure back for me within three days."

"If you delay my major business, I guarantee that for every day of the rest of your life, you will pay the price for this matter!"

Ma Chi was inwardly cursing.

This Lord Wei was simply a pig. If he had really done it, he would have run away after stealing the item. Now that you've lost your item, you're taking it out on me and threatening to make me pay? Pay your grandmother's leg!

Although he was angry inside, he couldn't say that out loud.

Although Lord Wei looked like a pig, he was, after all, a member of the Wei Family, one of the four great wealthy families of Song City. No matter how incompetent he was, manipulating a small fry like him was as easy as play.

At this moment, a thought struck him, and he quickly said: "My Lord, besides you and me, there is one other person who knew about the existence of this treasure."

Wei Baoquan narrowed his eyes. "You mean... that kid, Tang Long?"

"Lord, you are wise!" Ma Chi flattered him and continued to stoke the fire.

"Back then, I felt this matter was suspicious. That kid came alone to trade with you, bringing such a valuable treasure. After the trade was completed, he hurriedly fled under the cover of night."

"Do you think it's possible that the thief had planned this long ago, waiting for you to get your hands on the item before coming to steal it?"

Wei Baoquan frowned. "But it was also that night that Mapu died mysteriously, and he bore heavy suspicion because of it. If it really was him who stole it, why would he pull such a stunt?"

"My Lord, if the thief truly had a plan, it must be someone familiar in the market. Even if they aren't by your side every day like your subordinate, they must be very familiar with Linshan Market and the Bounty Hunter group."

"Mapu's death could be due to uneven distribution of loot, infighting among the thieves, or perhaps he got in someone's way."

"In short, I feel that if we follow the trail of Mapu, we will definitely be able to find some clues."

"That makes some sense." Wei Baoquan nodded slightly, his expression softening a bit.

"Since there are clues, then investigate for me immediately! Still the same words: find the item for me within three days! Otherwise, you know the consequences!"

Another morning, by the side of a glacial river.

Tang Long had just pulled a millstone-sized clam onto the shore and chopped off the tentacles wrapped around his left arm, one by one. Then he pried open the shell, dissected the clam meat, and dug out a fist-sized blue clam pearl from the core.

This was a Level 9 exotic beast called a Hundred-Claw Clam. Not only was the meat tender and delicious, but the clam pearl it produced was also very exquisite.

Most importantly, by killing this Hundred-Claw Clam, his level had already risen to Level 9.

[Tang Long: Indestructible Calamity Seal]

[Realm: Qi Manipulation {Not yet entered the stage}]

[Level LV9: 318 / 25600]

[Spirit Energy {High}: 787 / 1100]

[Attributes {5 Unallocated}: Strength 25, Agility 19, Stamina 25, Spirit 36, Charisma 13, Spirituality 2, Legend 1]

[Vitality {High}: 10655 / 10655]

[Traits: Vitality Recovery {Medium} 1100 / hour]

[Resistances: Poison +5, Ice +6]

[Cultivation Techniques: Torch Spirit Breathing Method {Broken} {2021 / 3000}, Barbarian Blood Breathing Technique LV5 {3891 / 6000}, Aurora Breathing Method LV3 {18 / 2100}]

[Skills {1 Unallocated}: Detection LV9 {347}, Sprint MAX, Heavy Strike MAX]

[Special Skills: Barbarian Blood Tyrant Body LV1]

[Life Skills: Mining {Master}, Gathering {Proficient}]

[Task Issuance Authority LV1: Max tasks that can be issued 1, Task entry limit 1, Max completion count 100.]

Of course, in these past two days, Tang Long hadn't been idle in other aspects.

He had already pushed Barbarian Blood to halfway through Level 5, and his Strength and Stamina had increased significantly.

However, the price of upgrading Barbarian Blood was that his realm had dropped to the bottom, and even his Spirit Ring had shattered. The forty-plus fire spirit stones and spirit residue in his hands were all used up, and now he was dirt poor.

Fortunately, along the way, he had also accumulated quite a lot of prey.

There was an unnamed camp two or three kilometers to the south; he should be able to cash in some of it there.

Setting up a campfire, Tang Long used the large clam shell as a pot to fry and roast the clam meat. After a full meal, he packed up his large and small bundles, used the shell as a sled, and pulled it toward the southern camp.

This camp was not big, only a few hundred people, and most of the residents were just some old, weak, sick, and disabled, looking quite bleak.

And exchanging for supplies was not the main reason for Tang Long to linger here, but rather...

This location was exactly where the player camp near Song City was in his memory.

He was already Level 9; at Level 10, he could comprehend the next basic skill, but Level 10 skills required finding a career mentor in the camp and completing the first class transfer mission to obtain.

At this moment, there were clearly no NPCs or players here, which inevitably made him feel a bit disappointed.

Combined with the absence of the Blue Ridge canyon, he judged that the time had not yet arrived. Players had not yet logged in, and that canyon should not have formed yet.

What caused that canyon to appear, and when, he didn't know.

But at least for a considerable period, he could not count on the help of players.

While he was pondering, his arrival had already attracted the attention of quite a few people. Several old men gathered around, pointing at the things he was pulling with the shell.

"Good heavens, so many things!"

"There are over a dozen ice-blue clam pearls. This stuff probably requires killing a Level 7 or higher Hundred-Claw Clam, right?"

"That's right. This right arm of mine was clamped off by a Hundred-Claw Clam, and the clam pearl I got back then was only the size of an ox eye. Something as big as a fist must be at least a Level 8 exotic beast."

"This young man is extraordinary!"

"Indeed powerful, but... he looks unfamiliar."

"Young man! How is the clam meat sold?"

Tang Long stopped and answered with a smile, "Buy my goods, and the clam meat is free. Old gentleman, what would you like?"

"Besides these, what else do you have?"

Tang Long immediately opened his backpack and laid everything out, which made the few old men even more amazed.

"Good heavens! Such a big pile of Thorn Snake spines, how big a nest did you kill?"

"Four barbarian ox horns this big!"

"Look, these are the tail feathers of a Two-Headed Bat-Heron! Too beautiful, this stuff could probably sell for a lot of money in the city!"

"This wouldn't be the skin of a Blood-Striped Tiger, would it? Hiss! Young man, you hunted such a big Snow-Striped Tiger? Do you have the tiger heart, tiger gallbladder, and such?"

"I ate the tiger gallbladder, the tiger heart is here. The entire tiger spine, and the tiger skin is also whole, all here!"

"Why is your tiger heart missing a piece?"

"Hehe, I tasted it myself."

"How is the tiger bone sold!"

"You name a price, old sir."

"I can't afford the whole thing, is 1,000 per section okay? The tiger heart can be thrown in."

"Only want one section?" Tang Long looked at the tiger spine with seventy or eighty sections and shook his head. "Too little, buying so little and still wanting a freebie, that's not worth it. Does anyone want the whole thing? The price is negotiable!"

The old man was clearly unhappy. "You young man, are you sincerely selling things? In this small camp, who can take out 70,000 or 80,000 at once? If they had that kind of wealth, would they still be hanging around here?"

The old men nearby also echoed one after another.

"Exactly. No matter how good your things are, they won't sell for much in this place, and it's impossible to sell them all at once."

"Stinky brat, did you come here specifically to tease us poor old men?"

"Outrageous, there's no way to do business like this."

"1,200, I want a section, this price has already hit the ceiling! Sell or not!"

Regarding this Snow-Striped Tiger spine, Tang Long didn't know how much it was worth either.

His encounter with this Blood-Striped Tiger was also an extremely dangerous accident.

The beast was extremely vicious, but fortunately, he reacted quickly enough to successfully kill it in return.

After decomposing the tiger corpse, he found that this spine was very different from other parts, with a texture somewhat similar to jade, so he kept it. He didn't expect it to be so valuable.

The price offered by the poor old man definitely hadn't hit the ceiling, but what they said made some sense; it was probably very difficult to make big deals in this kind of place.

Seeing people Gathering more and more, but no one coming forward to negotiate, just pointing around.

Tang Long also looked left and right, searching for his target customers.

A hundred meters away, two men dressed in Bounty Hunter attire were also looking toward this place.

The bald, burly man among them was already editing a message on the communication device in his hand.

[Suspected discovery of wanted suspect Tang Long designated by Arrest Warrant No. 82823, positioning - 0451, 0122...]