I'm Already the Richest Man, Why Did My System Just Arrive?

Chapter 230: Chapter 156: Figure from the Back

”Go north?” Chu Chengfeng’s expression turned strange. He patted Zheng Xiu’s shoulder. ”If you trust me, Brother Chu, you should just stay put in the inn for the next few days. Don’t go out, lest you lose your life. After all... swords have no eyes.”

Zheng Xiu frowned. ”Brother Chu, why would you say that?”

”You’ll find out if you just wait a bit.”

Chu Chengfeng shook his head, smiling but not answering. He led Zheng Xiu to a teahouse next to the inn.

The teahouse had private booths on the second floor.

Though they were called private booths, they were really just a bit quieter than the first floor.

The waiter wiped their table with a filthy rag, casually swiping away the grease stains.

Zheng Xiu’s eyebrow twitched. The table was so dark you couldn’t tell at first glance, but when the waiter wiped it, the rag clearly came away with a layer of dark red, crusted blood.

”A pot of plain congee, a jar of yellow wine, and a few side dishes. And be quick about it! My brother was throwing up all night, and now he’s starving.”

Before long, the food Chu Chengfeng had ordered arrived.

Zheng Xiu’s stomach rumbled; he really was hungry. He ladled out a bowl of hot congee and ate heartily, pairing it with the refreshing cold side dishes.

”Brother Chu, you said earlier that I shouldn’t leave the inn, that I might lose my life. Why is that?”

”No rush, no rush! Eat first, we’ll talk after. Hahaha!”

Chu Chengfeng never used a cup when he drank. With a flick of his finger, the force alone sliced a piece off the wine jar’s seal, leaving a cut as smooth as if made by a knife. He then tilted his head back and poured the yellow wine down his throat, GLUG, GLUG, GLUG, as if it were water.

The front of his robes was soon soaked, and he reeked of alcohol, but Chu Chengfeng paid it no mind. After downing more than half the jar in one go, he let out a long, drunken belch, wiped his mouth forcefully with his long sleeve, and slammed the jar down on the table. ”That’s more like it!”

After sating his thirst, Chu Chengfeng looked at the stunned Zheng Xiu across from him and offered the jar. ”Younger Brother Gongsun, you really won’t have a drink?”

Zheng Xiu shook his head in refusal. ”I’m not much of a drinker.”

Chu Chengfeng looked regretful. ”What a pity!”

After a few bowls of warm congee settled his stomach, Zheng Xiu felt much better. He then asked his question again.

Chu Chengfeng didn’t keep him in suspense this time. He walked over to the railing and beckoned to Zheng Xiu.

”Brother, come take a look.”

Zheng Xiu did as he was told and went over.

”Look at the market. Do you notice anything unusual?”

Chu Chengfeng smiled faintly, pointing at the bustling market below.

”Unusual?” Zheng Xiu followed Chu Chengfeng’s finger and looked down.

The market was bustling, but other than that, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

”Oh, silly me, I forgot. *Hic*~” Chu Chengfeng suddenly slapped his forehead, letting out a puff of alcohol-laden air. He first pointed to a few beggars in tattered clothes in the market.

Those beggars were thin and gaunt, their feet bare. Each held a broken bowl as they went from shop to shop, knocking on doors.

”Please, have some pity! We haven’t eaten in days! We’re begging you, sir, spare a bite to eat!”

”Where did you stinking beggars come from? Scram!”

The beggars were met with one closed door after another.

Chu Chengfeng chuckled meaningfully. ”Beggars usually plead along the streets. It’s not their practice to go door-to-door. They’ve broken the rules of their trade.”

Zheng Xiu was puzzled. ”Beggars have rules for their trade?”

”Of course they do.”

”Brother Chu, are you trying to say...?”

”They’re looking for something. And look over there, at that young lady’s waist.”

Chu Chengfeng then pointed to a young lady running a street stall. She was fair-skinned and beautiful, around sixteen years of age, with a delicate and fresh look that was exceptionally alluring.

’It’s very slender,’ Zheng Xiu thought, but what he said was, ”One should not look at what is improper!”

’Gongsun Mo’s memories aren’t very honest, it seems.’

”I was telling you to look at her waist, at what’s wrapped around it. See it? That bulge. There’s something hidden there, obviously a weapon like a Soft Whip or a Soft Sword. Here in the Shu Region, I might not know much about Soft Whips, but a Soft Sword... Heh! Who doesn’t know that the women of Ruyi Square wield their Soft Swords with a perfect blend of hard and soft, in ever-changing forms? She probably doesn’t want anyone to know her origins, preferring the hindrance to drawing her sword over letting anyone notice where she’s from.”

”Now look at that old man selling sweet potatoes. His hands are covered in calluses, and the middle knuckles of his pinky, ring, and middle fingers are especially swollen and deformed—the unmistakable mark of practicing the Six Harmonies Palm. The Six Harmonies Gang, who usually run their shipping business around the Jiangnan region, have actually come to the Shu Region. Interesting.”

”And look at the one rolling dough. Who uses a pair of Fine Steel Short Rods to roll dough? That’s the Double Flower Silver Rod. It was ranked ninety-seventh on the Weapon Manual last month but dropped out of the top hundred this month. Those must be the two ’Double Flower’ Thugs from the Changle Gang in Yangzhou, famous for their twin rods. The Changle Gang... even a mob like them dares to wade into these muddy waters. Hahaha!”

Zheng Xiu’s face went pale. ”Quieter, quieter! Brother Chu, don’t be so reckless, you’ll stir up trouble.”

”What do I have to be afraid of!” Chu Chengfeng scoffed. ”If I were afraid of trouble, I wouldn’t have stepped in to help you yesterday. Even if he did hear me, he wouldn’t dare get angry, nor would he dare say a thing. What’s there to fear from them?”

Chu Chengfeng had every right to be so arrogant.

First, there was his strength: he was ranked thirty-eighth on the Weapon Manual. Second, there was his background: he was the Third Young Master of Meihua Manor.

’Although neither my own memories nor those of Gongsun Mo could tell me what being ranked thirty-eighth on the Weapon Manual or what Meihua Manor truly represented, judging by Chu Chengfeng’s conduct, he had to hold a significant position in the Jianghu—the kind that allowed him to act with impunity.’

Chu Chengfeng had a sharp eye. He was intimately familiar with the major sects and families of the Jianghu, and he effortlessly pointed out more than a dozen Martial Artists hidden among the common folk in the market—and those were just the ones trying to conceal their identities.