169: Fight

Without changing his expression, Jiang Hanwen continued to walk forward, stepping into the main branch of Tianyuan Residence.

As he entered the restaurant, a handsome face emerged from the shadows. With a flick of his brush, Jiang Hanwen's face appeared on a scroll.

Zhong Yunzhou looked at the two Guest Elders behind him:

"Let's go, back. This is the shopkeeper of Cangwu Bookstore, not a stranger."

Jiang Hanwen was eating in a private room on the second floor of Tianyuan Residence, gazing out at the distant intersection.

It wasn't just about confiscation; they also directly sent people to stake out, waiting for a rabbit by a tree stump.

It seemed that those behind the scenes might not only be the Wang Family, famous for Alchemy, but also others.

To be able to injure himself, he had to be at least in the Ningquan Realm.

Plans couldn't keep up with changes. His plan to make money with immortal water had to be altered, from testing the waters to a gradual approach.

You have your clever stratagems, I have my countermeasures.

Let's wear each other down and see who can't hold on first.

For twenty consecutive days, Jiang Hanwen made no moves. He Cultivated at night and guided people to make money during the day, not delaying anything.

The streets fell into an eerie silence, with oppressive dark clouds in the sky, making it stiflingly hard to breathe.

The news of the immortal water was like water stains after rain; a gust of wind blew, and nothing was left.

Jiang Hanwen wasn't in a hurry. He was eager to make money, but compared to safety, money was like dog shit, not worth mentioning.

No news, no trace, not even a single new bottle of immortal water.

The Wang Family and the Zhong Family met again, both with unpleasant expressions.

"We checked all the pharmacies in the city; none had any issues, and those four families also showed no activity."

Wang Cheng's face was dark. His Family had asked the City Lord's Mansion for help, spending real silver. Now that the person behind it hadn't been caught, they were at a huge loss!

The thought of wasting money stuck in his throat, making Wang Cheng feel uncomfortable all over.

"What, are you questioning our Zhong Family's intelligence?

Wang Cheng, could it be that your Wang Family caught the person and doesn't want to admit it?" Zhong Xiaoran mocked.

"Our Wang Family acts with integrity. If you don't believe it, go investigate yourself. What's with the verbal sparring!" Wang Cheng's gaze was sharp, looking as if he was about to make a move.

"See, you're getting agitated again.

I was just joking.

Now it seems your Wang Family just made a move. That person doesn't even dare to show his face, so he must be in the Qi Induction Realm.

Everyone outside says he left, but I don't believe it.

City Name is a good place now; outside, it's under military control. Any Loose Cultivator caught outside the city will be forced to take poison pills and sent to the front lines to search battlefields.

That person is so timid, it's impossible for him to leave. I estimate he changed to a new identity that doesn't attract attention.

On our side, we've broken into smaller groups and spread a net to catch him. On your side, just let—"

Mid-sentence, Zhong Xiaoran looked towards the door.

Everyone followed his gaze.

"Third Master, we have news!"

A distant shout rang out.

"Come in!"

The Family guard who came to report cupped his fists.

"Third Master, Young Master Yun sent word that several thousand bottles of immortal water were found in the east of the city, along with traces of activity. Several houses were also burned."

"Send people to blockade the city's east intersection, let's go!" Zhong Xiaoran slapped his hand down and rushed out of the courtyard like an arrow leaving a bowstring.

The Wang Family members followed closely, afraid that the Zhong Family would get there first... The Zhong Family's gate opened, and two hundred Family guards poured out, rushing towards the east of the city.

The common people on the roadside were startled.

"Huh, what's going on?"

"Could it be an attack from outside?"

"Quick, go home!"

...On the second floor of a teahouse a hundred meters from the Zhong Family, Jiang Hanwen's lips curled into a slight smile. So besides the Wang Family, there really was a Zhong Family.

Xia Zhijie's side really needed a push to be effective. He actually managed to extract information from a vegetable seller's errand boy, not bad.

East City, you can take your time going there.

Jiang Hanwen turned and walked straight north.

Selling half, giving away half, he left five thousand bottles of immortal water in the North City at an incredibly low price of ten taels.

He sold all the immortal water to Mortal Shedding Realm Loose Cultivators, not a single bottle to any Family power.

Among these Loose Cultivators, someone would surely be unable to resist informing, after all, providing information was worth ten thousand taels of silver.

Jiang Hanwen knew this, but he continued, even deliberately leaving a self-proclaimed 'Old Apothecary'.

Tit for tat, he couldn't let these two families always be the ones making moves. He had to make a move himself, to tell them he hadn't run away, and to make the two families continue.

Until they became numb to the existence of immortal water, like boiling a frog in warm water.

This kind of thing couldn't be rushed; it had to be slow, like carving a flower, with a steady hand, step by step.

Time and patience, Jiang Hanwen had both, no rush.

In the evening, news of the immortal water appeared again.

The next day, the Loose Cultivators in the North City were thoroughly searched by the Zhong Family, recovering over three thousand bottles of immortal water.

On the rooftop of the same building, Zhong Xiaoran overlooked everything, a bloodthirsty smile like a wolf appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Zhong Yunzhou, standing beside him, was cautious and dared not speak loudly.

He knew that with this expression, his Third Uncle wanted to kill someone.

Just now, immortal water was discovered again in the East City, still only sold to Loose Cultivators. The difference this time was that all transaction locations were indoors.

Loose Cultivators were knocked unconscious right after the transaction, and when they woke up, the person had long disappeared, making it impossible to trace.

"Third Uncle, the three burning courtyards have been clarified.

The landlord sold them two days ago; he deliberately led us there to divert our attention."

"Yunzhou, this little bastard is treating us like monkeys. Tell me, what should we do next?"

Zhong Yunzhou's tone was firm, uttering a single word:

"Kill!"

"How to kill?" Zhong Xiaoran pressed on.

"To be able to divert our attention, he must know about our Zhong Family.

Let's not hide it. From today onwards, issue an order to the entire city: anyone who does business with him is an enemy of our Zhong Family.

First, cut off his retreat, then investigate the East City."

Zhong Xiaoran shook his head in disappointment:

"Boy, you're still too naive. You can't just talk about emotions; you have to look from a higher perspective.

Our Zhong Family wants to deal with him because of money.

If we continue to drag this out and can't find him, we'll only lose money.

Moreover, haven't you noticed? These two times, ten thousand bottles of immortal water came out, several times more than before.

But there's not a peep from the Wang Family about the Spiritual Plant matter.

This proves that the bastard made the stuff before he even made a move.

He knows we'll try to seize it, deliberately forcing us to offend those Loose Cultivators.

We, the Zhong Family, don't care about public sentiment, but we can't truly incur public wrath.

Now the Wang Family is only looking for medicine, not providing manpower, so they can't help at all.

If we continue, do you think, from the Family's perspective, it's still necessary to keep wasting time on him?"

Zhong Yunzhou pursed his lips, a little displeased, and said resentfully:

"Third Uncle, we've been staking out for so many days. Outsiders don't know, but we ourselves are clear.

Are we just going to abandon this?"

Seeing his Third Uncle remain silent for a long time, Zhong Yunzhou's tone softened, and he sighed:

"Third Uncle, I understand. I won't deal with the immortal water matter. I'll go arrange for action on that side."