Punches and kicks were exchanged in the Arena. The shadows of two martial artists intersected and the stench of blood spread out, clogging the nose. Just then, the two people fighting were wounded — No, it shouldn’t be said that they were merely wounded. Rather, they were already badly mangled as injuries covered their bodies.
Not long after, they exploded with qi. One twisted his body strangely, a cold light blossoming between his hands. The other closed his eyes and leaped vertically, turning his leg into a kick, which broke the former’s neck!
The one with the strange body technique promptly died, and the body of the one who jumped up suddenly swayed back and forth as he slowly walked off the stage.
Gu Zuo heaved a sigh of relief. He couldn’t deal with it anymore and rushed over.
Gongyi Tianheng directly crashed into Gu Zuo’s body. If Gu Zuo hadn’t practiced his cultivation method, then perhaps they both would’ve crumpled to the ground from such an impact.
Gu Zuo also didn’t mince words as he took out a rejuvenation pill with one hand and stuffed it into his patron’s mouth. Afterwards, he held his breath as he checked his patron’s health.
His clothes were completely ruined and his half-naked body had b.l.o.o.d.y holes all over. There were several deep wounds where one could clearly see bone, and there were even some that just missed the heart. It was clear that this was a desperate fight!
Fortunately, once Gu Zuo fed Tianheng the rejuvenation pill, it could be seen by the naked eye that the wounds’ recovery speed quickened. It was also fortunate that in spite of Gongyi Tianheng’s wounds, they didn’t bring about any internal injuries.
It was also because of this that the effects of the rejuvenation pill were near instant.
Gongyi Tianheng quickly steadied his breathing and supported his own weight before getting into a sitting position to meditate.
Gu Zuo silently sighed in his heart.
He could finally see — Patron, this was crazy...
It had already been half a month.
They’d been eating and living here for these several days. Besides fighting in the Arena, his patron had been healing and meditating off the stage. He basically hadn’t given himself the least bit of time to rest.
Because they were in a crowded, public place, it was impossible for Gu Zuo to refine medicine. As a result, he could only join Tianheng in meditation. He could’t do anything fishy at all. Whenever Tianheng beat his opponent and got off the stage, Gu Zuo was also responsible for going over and delivering medicinal pills — All the while keeping up the appearance of a little manservant.
At the same time, Gongyi Tianheng’s opponents were getting stronger, craftier, and with greater combat potential. Naturally, they were getting harder to handle. This made every one of Gongyi Tianheng’s triumphs miserable, and the injuries he received became more and more serious.
However, this wasn’t everything.
Tianheng’s improvement broke through Gu Zuo’s perceptions once again.
Gu Zuo could sense that every time his patron recovered from his wounds, his strength seemed to have a leap in development. No matter how much the Ghost Division spent to push the limits of its cultivated killing machines’ potential, with strength that was undoubtedly more terrifying, Gongyi Tianheng could still often be their match. Moreover, by sustaining moderate injuries after his victories — it was obvious that his patron was putting his life on the line every time. However, because his improvement speed was just too fast, it was like he was hiding his strength each match.
He absent-mindedly thought about it and he was greatly astonished. To compare the strengths of his patron now to the one in the Stampeding Oxen Mountain Range, the gap between them was more than two to three times!
It was the same for Meridian Condensing third stage and not entering the half step into the Xiantian realm. Could the gap in strength really be this large?
If it was just when they arrived at the stronghold... Gu Zuo’s facial expression was a little distracted. Compared to when they first arrived, that Ugly Bull who exchanged several blows before dying by his patron’s hands, if they fought now, wouldn’t he be aimmediately KO’ed [1]?
Thinking up to here, there was a rumbling boom in Gu Zuo’s brain.
Though his patron was so powerful, he still fought like his life depended on it... He wondered if he shouldn’t have entrusted the
Perhaps...
Gu Zuo clenched his fists.
After leaving this stronghold, he simply must make an attempt.
After Gongyi Tianheng finished regulating his breath, he returned to the shopkeeper to get a tile.
However, the opponent he met on the stage this time wasn’t like the killing machine before — This also wasn’t considered too strange. In the days leading up to here, he definitely couldn’t fight a killing machine every time.
After he quickly disposed of his opponent, Gongyi Tianheng left the Arena and waited his turn again.
Yet, the next fight still wasn’t a killing machine of the Ghost Division.
After that, the third match, fourth match, fifth match... After a whole day, there totally wasn’t a single worthy opponent.
Tianheng’s brows furrowed a bit. Immediately, he turned his head and his expression wasn’t happy: “How could all of them be such trash? Aren’t there any more powerful opponents?! Could it be that the magnificent Ghost Division doesn’t have any more?”
That wizened shopkeeper heard this and his face revealed a pained expression: “This young master’s strength is incomparable. We truly were unable to find an opponent who could beat the young master. We ask that the young master to be lenient on us.”
Gu Zuo: “...”
He felt that this dialogue had an undertone of a raging sea [2].
Gongyi Tianheng’s gaze flashed, showing a somewhat disdainful look: “Since it’s like this, then just forget about it. This young master’s stay here has been somewhat boring, so I’ll just leave.”
Then, he laughed grimly, “One’s reputation can’t compare to meeting in person. The Ghost Division only amounted to this.”
After he finished speaking, he turned around and left while taking large strides.
Gu Zuo cracked a smile.
He didn’t completely understand why his patron wanted to draw so much enmity [3]. This mouth was simply too rotten. Could it be that he was unafraid of the Ghost Division’s people ganging up on him once he left? Even if it was for the sake of staying in character, this sacrifice was rather large. Or could it be that his patron already felt that fighting the people here wasn’t invigorating enough, and wanted to employ a bunch of people to fight all at once?
He simply felt helpless.
What could he do when he started to worry over his tiny life...
However, the developing situation was nothing like what Gu Zuo thought.
Just as his patron took five or six steps out, the wizened shopkeeper suddenly shouted for him to stop.
“Young master, hold on!”
Gongyi Tianheng halted mid step: “You have something to say?”
The face of the wizened shopkeeper was eagerly attentive as a smile bloomed: “Young master, please don’t take offense. This old bag of bones wants to ask the young master about a certain matter. If the young master agrees, my Ghost Division wouldn’t be able to thank you enough...”
Tianheng looked a little interested, and opened his mouth charitably: “This young master will listen to your question.”
The wizened shopkeeper lowered his voice: “May I ask the young master what the name of those medicinal pills that were used for treating your wounds? Where can they be purchased?”
A scowl flit across Gongyi Tianheng’s face: “Why? Did you want to take these?”
The wizened shopkeeper promptly said: “That really isn’t the case. Young master, please calm down! This old bag of bones absolutely doesn’t have any intentions of prying. It’s simply that the young master also knows that my Ghost Division serves as the blade of the people. It’s unavoidable for some to die young. But if we had that kind of medicinal pill on hand, surely there’d be many more pitiful souls who could survive. With such medicinal effects, my Ghost Division is naturally willing to pay huge sums to purchase those pills. We have absolutely no intentions of taking them by force.”
Gu Zuo couldn’t help but silently curse: Acting as the blade of the people, huh? ...How big is your face?
Gongyi Tianheng’s expression relaxed: “Okay, there’s no harm in telling you all. This thing is the unexpected windfall of this young master’s subordinate pharmacist. It’s a rejuvenation pill of a higher grade. Compared to common rejuvenation pills, it’s seven to eight times better. If you want it, you can only get it from this young master.”
The wizened shopkeeper guessed this early on. At this given moment, he became even more polite: “Then, would the young master be willing to...part with his treasure and share some with us?”
Between the meaning of those words, that att.i.tude of his was practically crushed into the mud.
In the end, this was exchanged for Tianheng’s arrogant scoff: “It looks like your heart is sincere. Fine, I’ll share some with you. Fifty gold per pill. I’ll give you a thousand pills each month for fifty thousand gold. You only need to fetch them at the Luren Hall.”
Once he finished talking, he flicked his sleeve. He was unconcerned with the wizened shopkeeper behind him, who was still requesting more medicinal pills. He immediately left this place.
Gu Zuo couldn’t help but stare blankly.
Just then, his patron...made another business deal?
Even though fifty thousand gold wasn’t as huge a profit as when he fought, if left to acc.u.mulate over a long time, he’d accrue upwards of six hundred thousand gold. That could be considered a very good source of funds.
Could it be said that this business deal was already thought up long ago, or that it was decided upon just now?! Next to his patron, Gu Zuo’s IQ didn’t seem sufficient to be of use...
Similarly, Owl Nine had been accompanying them here for the past half month. At this time, he increased his presence once more, and deferentially sent them off.
After they pa.s.sed through the lengthy darkness, a group of people finally saw the sun in the sky again.
Afterwards, Gongyi Tianheng and the others got on a carriage and spent several days slowly strolling around and enjoying themselves in the city. Only when they seemed tired of it did they leave.
______
Enroute.
Under Dragon Two’s excellent carriage driving skills, there wasn’t any feeling of b.u.mps or jolts.
Gu Zuo sat next to Tianheng and couldn’t understand it at all.
He tried to restrain himself, but he still softly asked: “Young master Tianheng, why did you want to sell the rejuvenation pills to the Ghost Division? The Ghost Division are all a.s.sa.s.sins. If their mortality rates declined, wouldn’t they continuously expand? Isn’t this a little...”
Gongyi Tianheng reached out his hand to ruffle Gu Zuo’s hair. His voice was rather deep and magnetic: “The Ghost Division is a blade. And so long as someone has a need for that blade, they will never disappear. While murderers are the blade, wielding that blade is desirable, and people’s desires are endless. Ah Zuo, selling them the medicinal pills and selling them for the sake of those martial artists fighting for their lives is no different. And currently, we still can’t officially release our medicinal pills. Having such an underground channel to carry out our sales also is a way forward.
“I’ll only have to ask Ah Zuo to work hard... Each month you’ll need to refine over twenty cauldrons of rejuvenation pills. Naturally, those sold to the Ghost Division will have to be high grade rejuvenation pills.”
Tianheng’s voice was soft: “Can Ah Zuo do it?”
Gu Zuo thought about it, and nodded: “No problem.”
He understood that his patron was supplementing his means of making money [4]. Moreover, what his patron said was really reasonable. This world was different compared to the modern era. His patron understood this better than he did, so he needed to pay extra attention.
Thinking about this, Gu Zuo suddenly quivered: “Young master Tianheng, the Ghost Division profited a lot of money from our victories, but they lost dozens of elite a.s.sa.s.sins. We’ve also revealed such an obvious target as the upgraded version of the rejuvenation pill. If the Ghost Division wasn’t willing to let this go, what should we do?”
Gongyi Tianheng grinned meaningfully: “Something as precious as the pill’s prescription would certainly wouldn’t be taken out lightly. So, before the Ghost Division investigates it, they’d hate to start anything with us.”
Gu Zuo: “...”
So, that’s to say, this was also planned?
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[1] The author used the English letters “KO.” However, Tianheng is definitely killing his opponents instead of just knocking them out.
[2] 波涛汹涌 - Bo tao xiong yong, an idiom meaning a perilous situation.
[3] 拉仇恨 - La chou hen, colloquially known as “pulling or drawing aggro” in game terminology, but obviously this phrase doesn’t fit in this story setting.
[4] 拓宽财路 - Tuo kuan (broaden) cai lu (financial path).
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