188: A hundred ways to be rude to you
“Qing Ge, there’s a problem.”
Zhao Hongxiu was the team leader.
Although it was her first time in the Prosperous Land, she knew that usually,
the vendors in this place would swarm any approaching foreign caravan, like madmen, to promote their products.
The result:
When they learned the caravan was from Shiji Prefecture, all the small vendors left.
This was very strange.
She immediately reported it to Chu Qing.
Upon hearing this, Chu Qing also felt a bad premonition.
After a moment of thought, he said:
“Tell the caravan not to enter the Prosperous Land for now.”
“Yes!”
Zhao Hongxiu arranged for the caravan to set up camp.
Chu Qing went to find Madam Shi.
Inside the carriage:
Madam Shi was meditating.
Seeing Chu Qing, a hint of joy appeared in her eyes: “What’s wrong?”
Chu Qing recounted what had just happened.
Madam Shi frowned and said, “It seems Zhou City doesn’t welcome us!”
“It’s inconvenient for me to show my face. Arrange for someone to investigate why the vendors aren’t trading with us.”
Chu Qing nodded. He called Zhao Hongxiu to inquire about the situation.
Zhao Hongxiu was cautious. She took a dozen strong men, armed with sharp blades, and entered the Prosperous Land.
One minute… ten minutes… an hour… Zhao Hongxiu didn’t come out.
Chu Qing frowned.
He jumped onto a carriage and looked towards the Prosperous Land.
He found that the Prosperous Land was bustling with people coming and going.
But Zhao Hongxiu and her group were nowhere to be seen.
He then called some servants and said:
“You all go in with whistles and bring Zhao Hongxiu and her group out.”
“If anyone blocks you, blow the whistle.”
“If anyone threatens you, also blow the whistle.”
These servants had all trained over ten Iron Tendons; ordinary people were no match for them.
Moreover, after their quarrying experience, their obedience was very high.
Chu Qing felt at ease using them for this task.
“As you command!”
More than twenty servants, with iron whistles in their mouths and sharp blades in their hands, entered the Prosperous Land with a grand Aura.
Pfft!
Chu Qing jumped onto a large flag. With his toes on the flagpole, he could overlook one-third of the Prosperous Land.
He saw the servants enter the Prosperous Land, asking around.
Some people pointed and gestured.
The servants kept walking towards the center of the Prosperous Land.
A few minutes later, they entered a pavilion over ten meters high.
One minute… ten minutes… half an hour… The servants never came out.
At this moment, Chu Qing felt a chill run down his spine.
The Prosperous Land before him was no longer the place he had once strolled through casually.
Instead, it was a monster that could devour people.
“Devouring my people?”
“Who is targeting me?”
“The money house whose black gold I forcefully exchanged in large quantities?”
“Or… Zheng Zhixiang?”
Whoosh!
Chu Qing took a deep breath.
He jumped down the flagpole and went to Madam Shi, explaining what had just happened.
Madam Shi was stunned.
This was the first time she had encountered such a thing.
She didn’t know how to respond.
“What do you plan to do?”
Chu Qing was silent for a moment, then said, “You watch over Madam Jin outside.”
“I’ll go to the Prosperous Land and have a talk with someone!”
Madam Shi nodded.
Although Chu Qing hadn’t fully cultivated his Golden Bone yet,
he already had over three hundred Golden Bones.
His strength was an Anomaly.
If he were determined to escape, only someone of Zheng Zhixiang’s level could trap him.
And how many Zheng Zhixiang’s were there in the Prosperous Land?
A moment later, he instructed Nangong, “If the situation turns bad, send Madam Jin to Prefecture City!”
Nangong nodded.
A few minutes later:
Chu Qing stepped into the Prosperous Land.
After many days, re-entering the Prosperous Land, his mindset had changed.
When he first came, he had come with the intention of causing trouble.
He was fearless.
The subsequent two times were simply to exchange black gold.
He didn’t linger in the Prosperous Land at all.
This time, he truly observed the Prosperous Land:
The entire Prosperous Land was divided into a grid shape by streets.
The bluestone roads were wide, with shops on both sides; behind the shops were residences.
Pavilions over ten meters, or even dozens of meters high, were everywhere.
Any random spot here was more prosperous than Shiji County.
And this was just a corner outside Zhou City.
How prosperous must the real Zhou City be?
Chu Qing strolled through the streets.
He noticed that when people here saw him, they all hid.
Even the shops that were constantly calling out to customers fell silent.
As if they were afraid he would come to their door.
“Interesting!”
Chu Qing smiled.
Although he didn’t know who his opponent was, the fact that they could control the Prosperous Land alone and make the people here afraid to speak to him meant that his opponent was not simple.
Soon, he arrived at the pavilion where the second group of servants had disappeared.
This was a restaurant.
People came and went, bustling with activity.
The waiter at the door was diligently greeting customers.
Chu Qing casually asked, “My servants went in. Can you call them out?”
The waiter looked bewildered and said:
“Esteemed guest, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Chu Qing smiled, didn’t press further, and turned to leave.
The waiter was confused.
He quickly ran inside and told the manager.
The manager calmly said, “It’s even better if he doesn’t ask.”
“We just need to complete what the master assigned.”
“Yes!”
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Chu Qing strolled through the streets.
Although the surrounding crowd was surging,
he felt a sense of isolation.
He wanted to buy a candied hawthorn skewer to bring back for Madam Jin.
However, the old man selling candied hawthorns directly threw his goods on the ground and said with a forced smile, “Sorry, guest, the candied hawthorns are all gone!”
Chu Qing was silent and turned to leave.
As soon as he left, someone gave the old man a handful of silver.
The old man happily carried his candied hawthorns and walked away.
Wandering around, Chu Qing felt a trance.
He felt as if the surging crowd around him had all become ethereal.
Their bustling activity had nothing to do with him.
If he forcibly joined, all the bustle would immediately disperse.
The Prosperous Land wasn’t large, covering only about two kilometers.
Chu Qing walked a circle but found no trace of Zhao Hongxiu and her group.
“It seems that normal methods won’t find anyone.”
His thoughts raced, and he casually grabbed a Thugs and asked:
“Where’s your boss?”
“I want to see him!”
The Thugs trembled but feigned composure and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Chu Qing sighed, leaned into his ear, and whispered:
“Listen, I’ll let you go in a moment. You lead the way to your boss.”
“Otherwise, people will die.”
At this moment, the Thugs wanted to cry.
Damn it, if he had known, he would have just stayed home.
Now what?
At this moment, Chu Qing released him.
He even personally straightened his clothes and said, “Go on, lead the way.”
“Don’t test my patience.”
The Thugs was afraid of death.
He spat fiercely and then ran off.
Chu Qing’s legs moved, like a praying mantis, swiftly moving.
He closely followed the Thugs.
Before long, the Thugs stopped in front of a large courtyard.
He gave Chu Qing a deep look, then ran off.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Chu Qing knocked on the door.
Inside the gate, there was silence.
Chu Qing was not discouraged and continued to knock.
One minute… five minutes… Thump! Thump! Thump!
His knocking frequency was neither fast nor slow.
Ten minutes… The gate suddenly opened.
A Thugs, with a wry smile, said, “Master Qing, we are all small fries, why go to such lengths?”
Chu Qing smiled and said, “Where’s your boss?”
“I want to see him.”
The Thugs sighed and had no choice but to lead Chu Qing into the courtyard.
Inside the courtyard:
A young man in plain clothes was practicing his saber.
He was the Cloth-Clad Saber Master.
His saber light was dazzling, like a spinning wheel.
A Thugs stood by, splashing water on him.
The result:
All the clear water was blocked by the saber light.
The swirling saber light truly repelled all splashed water.
“Good saber technique!”
Chu Qing clapped.
Whoosh!
The Cloth-Clad Saber Master’s wrist flicked, and the long saber, carrying a cold gleam, grazed Chu Qing’s ear and plunged into a nearby large tree.
Thump!
The blade pierced through the tree, humming loudly.
The Cloth-Clad Saber Master looked at Chu Qing and said through gritted teeth, “Master Qing, this time my men didn’t provoke you.”
“Why did you have to come to my door?”
Chu Qing smiled and said, “Well, my friends are lost.”
“You control so many Thugs, you’re a local boss.”
“It’s reasonable for me to ask a local boss for help!”
“So, I had to come to your door!”
The Cloth-Clad Saber Master had a headache.
He said aggrievedly, “Master Qing, I’ve restrained my Thugs; they wouldn’t dare trouble your people.”
“If they’re lost, I can’t help!”
“What’s more… we’re not local bosses; we’re just lackeys of a big family!”
“Master Qing, we only know how to cut people, not find them; please find someone more capable!”
Chu Qing smiled.
He walked step by step to the big tree and pulled out the long saber.
Shake!
The saber light flickered.
“Listen, I wanted to give you some dignity, which is why I calmly—came to visit.”
“If you don’t want dignity… I have a hundred ways to make you lose it!”
“Remember, a hundred ways!”
The Cloth-Clad Saber Master — was silent.