137: Chapter 137 Fishing Again

In a dilapidated and crude tea shop by the roadside, Lin Qing continued to bow his head and sip the very mediocre coarse tea.

As footsteps approached, four figures slowly emerged from the shadows of the alley, surrounding Lin Qing's tea table.

The four stood in tricky positions, blocking all of Lin Qing's escape routes, staring at him with fierce, malevolent eyes.

Faced with their intangible pressure, Lin Qing remained calm throughout, sipping his coarse tea in a leisurely manner, without the slightest hint of panic.

By now, the impoverished people and scattered Martial Artists on the surrounding streets had long since retreated far away, leaving this open space. The tea shop owner also hunched his body and hid in a distant corner of the wall, not daring to get close.

However, there was not much panic on their faces; they just stood in the distance, watching with numb expressions.

Suijin City was, by nature, a chaotic place of lawlessness where the strong preyed on the weak; these people were long accustomed to street Gangs blocking the road to rob others.

The four people surrounding Lin Qing were all 5th-rank Cultivators, and the scar-faced man leading them had even reached the Peak of the 5th rank.

Such a lineup, if placed in Great Qi, would be enough to establish a medium-sized force.

But in this chaotic place, they could only be reduced to low-level thugs for a Gang.

Seeing that Lin Qing remained as stable as a mountain, the savagery on the four men's faces grew more intense. The scar-faced leader took a step forward, stared fiercely at Lin Qing, and shouted sternly:

"Kid, have you paid the fee for flying in the air within the jurisdiction of our Xuan Sha Hall?"

Lin Qing raised his eyes to look at them and asked indifferently:

"How much?"

A flash of greed crossed the scar-faced man's eyes, and he immediately opened his mouth wide:

"Five thousand Spirit Stones!"

Lin Qing did not hesitate. With a flash of spiritual light from his fingertip, a pile of crystal-clear Spirit Stones stacked up on the old tea table.

The glistening Spirit Stones instantly dazzled the eyes of everyone around. Faint gasps of surprise came from the onlookers, and the sound of people sucking in cold air rose one after another.

"Hiss—what a huge fortune!"

"Where did this naive fool come from? He just gave away five thousand Spirit Stones like that?"

"Is he scared silly?"

The four thugs from Xuan Sha Hall also looked at each other, full of astonishment.

They often engaged in such activities, but this was the first time they had encountered someone so straightforward.

Those with weaker cultivation usually showed bitter faces and bargained; those with a bit of backbone, even if they compromised and paid in the end, would inevitably be filled with resentment.

This was the first time they had met someone as crisp and decisive as Lin Qing.

After a brief moment of shock, the greed in the scar-faced man's heart surged. He immediately put on a cold face and spoke again:

"There is also an entry fee; you need to pay that as well."

Lin Qing remained calm:

"How much?"

"Ten thousand Spirit Stones!"

As soon as the words fell, another pile of Spirit Stones was stacked on the table.

The scar-faced man's heartbeat became increasingly rapid:

"You absorbed our Spiritual Qi; you need to pay a Spiritual Qi usage fee!"

"How much?"

"Fifty thousand Spirit Stones!"

Lin Qing took out another large pile of Spirit Stones. The table could no longer hold them, and the crystal-clear Spirit Stones rolled all over the floor with a clatter.

In just a short moment, a total of sixty-five thousand Spirit Stones had been handed over casually, without him even blinking an eye.

By this point, the scar-faced man and the others finally snapped out of their greed. The excitement on their faces faded rapidly, replaced by a chill that seeped into their bones.

Being able to cultivate to the 5th rank in this chaotic place, the four were by no means as stupid as they appeared on the surface.

Cold sweat slid down their cheeks. They knew they might have kicked an iron plate this time.

The scar-faced man could no longer maintain his fierce posture. He quickly bowed and cupped his hands, looking terrified, his voice trembling:

"Young... Young Master! This lowly one has eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai! We won't take it, we won't take a single cent! Please take the Spirit Stones back!"

The other three thugs also lowered their heads, silent as cicadas in winter.

Lin Qing's gaze swept over the four of them indifferently, then he waved his hand and retrieved the scattered Spirit Stones back into his Storage Ring.

After doing all this, he said:

"Get lost!"

The four acted as if they had been granted amnesty, turning and fleeing in a scramble.

The onlookers also dispersed instantly, each acting as if nothing had happened, pretending to be busy with their own affairs, fearing they might attract Lin Qing's attention.

The tea shop owner hiding in the corner of the wall also carefully moved back to the tea stall, his limbs stiff as he continued to boil tea.

Having achieved his goal, Lin Qing stood up, ready to leave the tea shop.

As soon as he moved, the elderly tea shop owner's body instinctively trembled.

Lin Qing glanced at the old man who was nearing the end of his life, did not pay, and turned to leave.

But before leaving, he secretly cast a miniature Healing Spell on the old man, quietly soothing away the old man's chronic pain.

It was not that he was overbearing, using a Healing Spell to pay off a debt without the other person's consent.

Rather, the smallest denomination of currency he had on him now was a Spirit Stone. For this old man nearing the end of his life, a single Spirit Stone would not be an Opportunity, but would instead attract the covetousness of evil-doers.

The chaotic phenomena of Suijin City were deep-rooted, with Gangs carving up territory and the strong preying on the weak. Even if he wiped out the Xuan Sha Hall today, tomorrow another Red Sha Hall or Black Wind Hall would replace them.

For the new forces to gain a foothold, they would inevitably harvest these commoners first, which would only make life even harder for the grassroots population.

Weighing the pros and cons, preserving the existing order was actually the best choice for the moment.

The root of the suffering in this border region was never any single Gang or group of evil people.

It was the territorial tug-of-war and doctrinal slaughter between the Chuyun Immortal Sect and the Xuanye Demon Court that had lasted for thousands of years.

Amidst the contention and maneuvering of these two top forces, all the suffering was ultimately pressed onto the ordinary people of this border region.

But this suffering could not be simply blamed on the Chuyun Immortal Sect.

Within the territory governed by the Immortal Sect, established as nations, although not everyone was peaceful and prosperous, there was at least the most basic social order.

The Immortal Sect even issued quotas for Sect assessments every term; even Cultivators from remote, small countries had the chance to join the Sect.

Just like Sun Shaoping and the others, who only had 4th-rank cultivation when participating in the assessment—if they were in an Empire closer to the Immortal Sect, they would struggle to even pass the domestic preliminary selection.

The Immortal Sect had never abandoned this chaotic land.

Once they retreated, the flames of war would spread all the way, and the next chaotic land would become the current territory of the Immortal Sect.

And if this territory were to fall completely into the control of the Xuanye Demon Court—which cultivated Disciples by using the Gu method—the situation of the common people here would only be even more miserable.

Ultimately, the only way to completely end the suffering of this land was to completely destroy the Xuanye Demon Court.

Lin Qing suppressed the emotions in his heart and went to the city center to find an inn that looked decent. This inn was clearly owned by some force, but Lin Qing did not care about that and casually opened a guest room.

Inside the room, he sat cross-legged on the bed, but his Divine Thought had already followed the four scar-faced men to the headquarters of the Xuan Sha Hall.

The headquarters of the Xuan Sha Hall looked unremarkable, just an ordinary marketplace gambling den.

The four scar-faced men passed through the gambling hall, avoiding the noisy crowd, and made their way to the backyard with familiarity.

The courtyard here was quiet and elegant, with well-arranged flowers and trees. Although it could not be considered magnificent, it was peaceful and refined, completely out of place with the dilapidated and chaotic streets outside.

After whispering a few words to the guard Disciple, the guard Disciple stepped forward to knock on the door and report:

"Hall Master, Scar-face requests an audience, claiming he has an important matter to report."

A low, heavy middle-aged voice came from inside the room:

"Enter."

The door pushed open, and the four scar-faced men walked into the room cautiously, standing with their heads lowered.

On the main seat facing the door, a young Young Master in brocade clothes was reclining, his eyes closed, letting the two maids on either side gently massage his shoulders and back.

And beside a blue stone table on one side of the room sat a slightly plump middle-aged man with a steady face and sharp eyes; he was the Hall Master of the Xuan Sha Hall.

The Hall Master raised his eyes to look at Scar-face and asked in a deep voice:

"What matter do you have to report?"

Scar-face hurriedly stepped forward and reported the events that had just occurred in the tea shop in full detail.

After listening to the whole story, the Hall Master's expression grew grave. He turned to look at the brocade-clad Young Master on the main seat and cupped his hands to ask for instructions:

"Young Master, this matter is suspicious. What do you think?"

The brocade-clad Young Master, who had been resting with his eyes closed, finally opened his eyes slowly at this moment, a trace of profound brilliance flashing by in an instant.

He whispered softly:

"Someone is fishing here!"