Immortality by Merit and Sin Coins

Chapter 54: Chapter 512: What Are You Surprised About?

”Master Lin...”

Dong Cheng’s face was flushed red with excitement.

’Right now, I’m probably the most respected young wolf in all of Black Water City.’

’Look at this so-called pack of Fierce Wolves. They don’t even dare to look our way.’

Even though he knew they feared Master Lin, he still got to experience the feeling firsthand.

’Even the Tiger has to show Sifang Street some respect!’

”Not bad. The food was good. Is there anything else?”

Lin Shu picked up a clean white cloth from the table to wipe his mouth, his expression showing little emotion.

Seeing this, Dong Cheng couldn’t help but stare blankly for a moment.

Master Lin had just effortlessly resolved such a huge problem, yet he didn’t seem particularly pleased.

”There’s nothing else. You can head back for now.” Zhao Ang forced a smile.

He knew more than the average hall member. He was aware that the young man didn’t have any so-called powerful backing.

It was more like Xia Mingtang had struck a deal with someone, forcing him to swallow his anger and offer some benefits.

Although Zhao Ang didn’t say it aloud, he inwardly felt that this young man was a bit tactless.

’When someone gives you a Treasure Medicine for free, you should at least say thank you.’

”Alright then, I’ll be going.”

Lin Shu nodded and rose lazily, heading for the exit of Fuman Restaurant.

After he left, the atmosphere in the room finally relaxed. The men ordered the Shopkeeper to bring a new table of food and wine.

Yan Jin was silent for a moment. She hadn’t said a single word since sitting down at the table.

But because of this, she had keenly noticed the strange look that had flashed in the young man’s eyes.

Without a word to anyone else, Yan Jin quietly got up and left the restaurant.

The hall members cast a curious glance at her before quickly looking away.

Heh, now the atmosphere was even more relaxed.

***

The sky grew dark, and the streets were deserted.

Lin Shu strolled along, stretching lazily. He thought to himself, ’We’ve eaten, we’ve drunk. Isn’t it time to get down to business?’

’There’s no way a mere door could block this Immortal Descendant’s Spiritual Sense.’

”What did I eat?” Yu Sheng was stunned. ’Didn’t I just borrow your five senses to get a little taste?’

”Besides, didn’t he listen to that busty woman and decide not to hold a grudge against you? He just asked you to help deliver something...”

The little one was quite perplexed, but after her grumbling, she obediently reported, ”He’s at Late-stage Qi Cultivation, but his Immortal Flavor is a mess. He’ll probably never reach Foundation Establishment in this life. With a scent that chaotic, his techniques are likely mediocre and don’t match his Realm.”

’As long as she wasn’t getting beaten up, her Spiritual Sense is pretty accurate.’

Yu Sheng pondered for another moment before adding, ”But his Cultivation is still much higher than yours. Even though you managed to cobble together half a move of an Upper Three Grades Claw Technique, you’ll have no problem defending yourself if you really fight him, but winning will be difficult.”

”...”

With a Heart Thought, Lin Shu touched the Essence Blood within him and retracted most of his five senses, leaving just enough for her to help him survey their surroundings.

The results the little cub got were about what he had expected.

Gu Nanzhi had also said that the members of the White Tiger Hall were all Loose Cultivators.

Although Yu Sheng didn’t know that his White Bone Burial Soul had been successfully completed, it didn’t make much of a difference.

The gap in their Realms would be difficult to bridge with a single Immortal Technique.

With that thought, Lin Shu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

According to Gu Nanzhi, the Cultivators in the city were all a bit crazed, which was why the Government Office had a hard time controlling them.

This was actually quite easy to understand.

Take the Purple Flood Dragon Constables, for example. Their monthly salary was a mere forty taels, while a Fierce Wolf of the same Cultivation could earn at least ten or twenty times that.

Under these circumstances, if you didn’t want them to be corrupt, you had to use something to keep them in line.

’Will they be punished by the Court after the city is opened?’

’No one even knows what the future holds, so who would care about that? If the rules were truly enforced, this group would just defect to the Black Water Gang.’

By that same logic, the White Tiger Hall should be even crazier.

But this Tiger, surnamed Xia, had been surprisingly calm and patient today.

This didn’t mean he was rational; it just meant his buttons hadn’t been pushed yet.

Liu Zhen’s death was only a matter of face. The things that could truly drive the Tiger mad were those that affected the Elixirs in their furnaces.

For instance, the ”Immortal Elixir” he had stored on his street.

”Hm?”

Lin Shu slowly halted and looked behind him.

A figure in a green robe emerged from the darkness of the night, stopping a short distance away.

Yan Jin looked up and said bluntly, ”She came to see you, didn’t she.”

”Who?” Lin Shu feigned curiosity.

”Gu Nanzhi.”

”You two know each other?”

”Not well, but we’re from the same family... Don’t try to get information out of me.” Yan Jin finally realized what he was doing.

She pursed her lips in slight annoyance and said softly, ”I’ll say what I want to say on my own.”

The Government Office turned a blind eye, and Xia Mingtang was unwilling to show his face. In Black Water City, Yan Jin could only think of one person who could make both of those things happen.

”Not well, but from the same family?” Lin Shu was a little confused.

”I’m talking about an Immortal Family. She and I were both disciples of the Chen Family of Anren Prefecture in Yongzhou. We came from the same master, but we didn’t have much contact back then. We just both happened to get trapped here.”

”We had a bit more contact later on within the city, but we’re still not what you’d call close.”

Since the one surnamed Gu had already sought him out, Yan Jin fell silent for a moment, then decided not to hide anything. After all, it wasn’t some major secret.

”Are there many Immortal Families here?” Lin Shu noticed a detail.

When mentioning their Immortal Family, Yan Jin had specified Anren Prefecture, whereas Yu Sheng had just said Yongzhou.

’It’s not just a different way of speaking; it doesn’t flow right.’

”Not many, but not few either.”

Yan Jin stated the obvious, then continued, ”The Chen Family are only Scattered Immortals. They can’t compare to those Half-Life Immortal Families...”

”Half-Life Immortal Families?” Lin Shu suddenly interrupted.

He had already come across this term from the system prompts and from Yu Sheng’s earlier words.

Hearing this, a strange expression appeared on Yan Jin’s face. ”They are beings whose names are recorded in heaven and earth, who possess an Immortal Position, and can even influence the fate of an entire province. The Yongzhou Yu Family, for example. Their family holds the position of Mountain God.”

”Oh my god...”

This exclamation didn’t come from Lin Shu, but was a childish voice that rang out in his mind.

Yu Sheng murmured as if her eyes had been opened to a new world, ”Mountain Gods are that respected?!”

The corner of Lin Shu’s eye twitched twice, and he almost laughed in exasperation.

’I was trying to get more information out of Yan Jin, but I ended up tricking the little chick instead.’

’Seriously? You’re the one who’s surprised?’

’So all that stuff you swore up and down before, about sweeping through Yongzhou, that was all just pure nonsense, wasn’t it?’

Lin Shu took a few deep breaths, glad that he hadn’t believed the little cub too much back then.

”A single Mountain God can influence the fate of an entire province?” He quickly composed himself and asked the question on Yu Sheng’s behalf.

”Yongzhou is mountainous and located in the Border Region. The mountains serve as a natural barrier. As the Mountain God, the Yu Family’s Immortal Descendants serve in the Court, guard the frontiers, and control many affairs such as salt and iron. Their status is naturally extraordinary.”

Yan Jin didn’t want to talk about such common knowledge anymore.

She shook her head gently, reorganized her thoughts, and took something out from her robes. ”Gu Nanzhi won’t kill for you,” she said coolly. ”Since you were able to kill Liu Zhen, I’m guessing you’ve already entered the Mid-stage and have finished your Qi Absorption.”

”Before and during Mid-stage Qi Cultivation, it’s only called Qi Absorption. Only in the Late-stage can it be called Qi Cultivation. This is the process of infusing Immortal Fate into your Spiritual Qi. Once all your Spiritual Power is imbued with an Immortal Aura, you can attempt Foundation Establishment.”

”Even without an Upper Three Grades Technique, this bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills can help a Cultivator refine more than ten wisps of Qi. I have no use for it anymore, so you can have it.”

Seeing the young man make no move, Yan Jin added, ”I brought it from the outside. It wasn’t refined by the White Tiger Hall, so you don’t have to worry about any of those disgusting things being inside.”

’Take it, take it...’ Yu Sheng was so anxious she was rolling around on her bed.

Lin Shu didn’t reach for it. This woman was acting like a Pill Boy, just handing out elixirs.

The Qi Replenishing Pill last time was one thing, but this elixir sounded much more valuable. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

”There has to be a reason, right?”

”Knowing Gu Nanzhi’s personality, if she chose to help you, it means you’re useful to her. Besides keeping an eye on this city for her family, there’s only one other thing she wants to do.”

Yan Jin averted her gaze, and a thick haze of confusion appeared in her eyes that usually held a fierce light:

”If you’ve found a way... could you... take me out of here with you?”

”...”

After listening quietly, Lin Shu finally understood the situation.

’So this Silk Wolf has no idea that Chang Yi took the ledgers.’

’She saw me coming from the South Suburbs and connecting with the County Captain, and mistakenly thought it had something to do with the lockdown of Black Water City.’

After a few breaths, Yan Jin looked back at him and tossed the elixir over. ”If I’m wrong, then I’m wrong. This is useless to me anyway,” she said flatly. ”I hate that pack of Tigers. Fortunately, I don’t need their shoddy elixirs, so I don’t have to associate with them.”

”It seems to me you hate them too.”

The woman turned and walked away in the other direction. ”If you run into any trouble, you can find me.”

He was the first person she had met in the Black Water Gang who showed displeasure at a gift from the White Tiger Hall.

’Refining Immortal Fate into Spiritual Qi... so that’s why Cultivators have that Immortal Flavor Yu Sheng mentioned?’

Lin Shu stood in place, rubbing the Jade Bottle in his hand.

’So this is the path after Mid-stage Qi Cultivation.’

’This Silk Wolf said she has no use for Spirit Gathering Pills anymore. Does that mean she has already reached the end of the Qi Cultivation Stage?’

’No wonder the sense of danger I got from her was so intense.’

If she really had that kind of strength and was willing to show it, she could indeed solve a lot of his problems.

At this thought, Lin Shu suddenly smiled.

He didn’t actually hate the Tiger.

Because from the moment the man dared to covet his things on Sifang Street, Lin Shu had already made a plan.

He was just a bit short on Merit Coins right now.

’The birthday banquet in three days...’

’Since everyone in the gang needs to bring a gift to the celebration, I’ll have to think about what that pack of Tigers likes the most.’

When he thought about it, it was nothing more than various living ”Treasure Medicines.”

Thinking of this, Lin Shu decisively ignored Gu Nanzhi’s warning.

Using the name of a Foundation Establishment Stage County Captain to bully others was indeed satisfying.

But right now, he just wanted to earn this sum of Merit Coins.

And then collect that hefty sum of Sin Coins!