Chapter 52: Thunderstruck Jujube Wood
At the entrance of the old street near the Fertility Goddess Temple
“We’re here. This is the craftsman’s shop.” Wang Daoxuan pointed down the street and said, “All the famous craftsmen in Xianyang gather here. Even if they run workshops from home, they’ll still set up a storefront in this district.”
Li Yan turned to examine the surroundings. This world had many kinds of extremely advanced handicrafts. Ever since the imperial court had opened up the sea routes, overseas trade had flourished, and large workshops along the coastal provinces had sprung up like bamboo shoots after the rain.
The status of merchants was rapidly rising. But judging from the bits of information he had heard, much of the turmoil in the imperial court stemmed precisely from this.
Just as Zhang Shitong had said, the Zhou Family had fully withdrawn their forces in pursuit of stability. The Eight Vajras had all secluded themselves, and even the escort agencies under their command had stopped taking jobs.
Meanwhile, the people monitoring them had suddenly withdrawn that very morning.
Since that was the case, there was no longer any need for Li Yan to pretend to be injured. Following Wang Daoxuan’s guidance, he came to seek someone capable of crafting the Thundercloud Drum for him.
The Guanzhong Plains had a long history of drum music. Nearly every area possessed its own unique traditions. Coupled with the annual Drum King Contest held in Chang’an, countless folk music troupes had emerged, along with a large number of drum craftsmen.
Of course, an ordinary shop could never produce a Thundercloud Drum. Fortunately, Wang Daoxuan happened to know a craftsman from the mystic path.
The three of them proceeded down the street and soon arrived before the largest shop in the area. Above the entrance hung a plaque: Listening Pavilion.
Upon entering, they saw drums of all shapes and sizes hanging from the walls and shelves throughout the shop.
Wang Daoxuan asked the young shop assistant who came to greet them politely. “Is Elder Brother Wan here?”
The assistant clearly recognized Wang Daoxuan. He bowed respectfully and nodded. “The shopkeeper stepped out for a moment and will return shortly. Daoist Wang, please wait a moment while I prepare some tea for you.”
With that, he turned and entered the back room.
Seeing this, Sha Lifei lowered his voice and muttered, “Look at their attitude. Those bastards around the City God Temple really can’t compare. Every one of them looks down on people like we’re dogs.”
Back when Wang Daoxuan had fallen on hard times, the shopkeepers near the City God Temple had often mocked him. Unable to tolerate it, Sha Lifei had argued with them several times. Although helping the Spring Breeze Troupe successfully perform the spirit invocation ritual had restored some of Wang Daoxuan’s reputation, the news clearly had not spread far yet, nor had they gotten any major business.
Wang Daoxuan merely laughed and did not refute him. If he feared gossip and ridicule, he would not have spent more than a decade stumbling along the path and seeking the Dao.
Soon, the assistant returned carrying tea. Seeing Li Yan examining the drums on the wall, he quickly introduced them enthusiastically. “Fellow guest, our drums are the finest in Xianyang. We have all sorts of gongs and drums here, from Qin-Han War Drums, Wei Banner Drums, Ox-Pulled Drums, Flood Dragon Rotating Drums, and others. We can make them all. Many famous troupes custom-order from us!”
As he spoke, Li Yan suddenly frowned and turned around. He had scented a mixture of many animal scents blended together with incense smoke. It was clearly some kind of divine astral qi.
Sure enough, when he looked up, an old man was walking down the street toward them. He wore a black robe and stooped with a hunched back. His white hair gave him an aged appearance, yet the joints of his hands were abnormally thick, veins bulging like powerful pythons along his forearm.
He was followed by a simple-looking man with an honest face.
The moment the old man walked up to the shop, his ears twitched slightly. He burst into hearty laughter. “Which fellow cultivator has come to visit today? Ah, so it’s Daoist Wang...”
Though he seemed to be speaking to Wang Daoxuan, his eyes were fixed on Li Yan.
Wang Daoxuan smiled. “Elder Brother Wan, long time no see. Let me introduce you. This is—”
“No need for introductions. This old man naturally recognizes him.” Shopkeeper Wan looked at Li Yan and nodded. “Yesterday, this old man was watching from below when Little Brother Li displayed his might in the arena. Using a mantra to break a ritual, it was marvelous indeed!”
Li Yan was initially surprised, but quickly realized that Shopkeeper Wan had likely awakened a hearing divine ability, which explained how he had managed to hear his mantra amidst such chaos.
He hurriedly cupped his fists and bowed his head slightly. “You flatter me, Senior Wan.”
Shopkeeper Wan nodded. After hesitating briefly, he could not help but ask, “What treasure are you carrying on you, little friend? Why is the baleful aura so overwhelming?”
Li Yan immediately raised his brows. “Senior, what do you mean?”
Shopkeeper Wan sighed softly. “The clash of blades and warhorses, the wails of living beings. Prayers carried through incense smoke...”
That was Li Yan’s first encounter with someone possessing a hearing divine ability. Since the man had already sensed it, there was no point hiding it any further. He reached into his robes and took out the coin tassel.
Shopkeeper Wan’s eyes lit up, though he did not reach out to touch it. “The Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coins?! That’s some good stuff!”
He examined it carefully before shaking his head. “The method used for the exorcism knot originates from beyond the mountains. Either the maker was injured, or they carelessly rushed through the work. Otherwise, this old man would never have been able to hear anything from it.”
Li Yan asked, “Senior, do you have a solution to fix it?”
The Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin tassel was indeed useful, but inconvenient at times. Most importantly, it could not completely isolate its aura. According to Wang Daoxuan, truly good magical artifacts should be like heavenly treasures. They should appear ordinary when inactive, only revealing divine might once activated.
Shopkeeper Wan did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Wang Daoxuan. “I have watched you devote yourself wholeheartedly to seeking the Dao all these years, Daoist Wang. Now that fortune has finally turned in your favor, congratulations. May I ask what brings you here today?”
Wang Daoxuan replied casually, “We’re here to make a drum for Little Brother Li.”
Shopkeeper Wan asked, “Oh? Do you have blueprints?”
Since everyone present understood what they had to do, there was no need for concealment. Li Yan took out the illustrated manual for the Thundercloud Drum and handed it over.
After flipping through it once, Shopkeeper Wan understood and smiled. “So it’s the inheritance of the Sunset War Drum King. Back then, he shook Chang’an by using hidden force to strike the drums. It is truly a joyous occasion to see this art resurface.”
Li Yan couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up. “Senior’s insight is indeed extraordinary.”
“Extraordinary? Hardly.” Shopkeeper Wan smiled and shook his head. “The difficult part in crafting this drum lies in the materials. It requires top-grade wood and leather to withstand hidden force without shattering. Though it is not a ritual divine drum, it won’t be cheap.”
Sha Lifei hurriedly asked, “How much?”
Shopkeeper Wan pondered for a moment before speaking again. “The leather is easy enough, since it requires premium rhinoceros hide. Such materials were once quite rare, but ever since the sea embargo was lifted, those maritime merchants somehow brought back entire shiploads of the stuff. The prices became reasonable, so this old man had people acquire some.
“As for the drum body, jujube wood will suffice. But if it is to withstand hidden force, it must come from ancient trees growing within spiritual mountains with spiritual veins. Actually, this old man also has a suggestion.
“Since you have already entered the mystic path, little friend, you should understand the importance of artifacts. Since the materials are already rare, why not forge the drum into a spiritual artifact? It could even synchronize with the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coins. When activated with the ancient Qin-Han War Drum rhythm, it would surely become a powerful evil-suppressing weapon!”
Li Yan’s eyes lit up. “Please elaborate, Senior.”
Shopkeeper Wan explained, “All you need is aged Thunderstruck Jujube Wood as the core material. That would solve everything at once. I just so happen to know a treasure hunter who knows where some can be found. However, the mountains are filled with fierce beasts, and he lacks capable experts to accompany him. If you are interested, perhaps you could retrieve it together.”
“Oh?” Before he could finish, Sha Lifei immediately cried out, “Senior Wan, that’s not very honest of you. After talking so much, aren’t you just trying to get free labor out of us?”
Shopkeeper Wan immediately looked displeased. “What do you mean free labor? If you obtain that Thunderstruck Jujube Wood, wouldn’t you save on material costs?”
Sha Lifei clearly did not buy it and quickly followed up, “How large is The Thunderstruck Jujube Tree?”
Shopkeeper Wan fell silent for a moment before mumbling, “... It’s not small.”
Sha Lifei spread his hands and grinned. “There you have it. The biggest gain still goes to you. And if the thing were easy to obtain, why would you bother telling us about it?”
Shopkeeper Wan seemed momentarily stumped. After staring at Sha Lifei for a while, he finally sighed. “Fine. That thing truly isn’t easy to retrieve. If you can bring it back, this old man will craft the drum free of charge.”
Sha Lifei immediately cupped his fists. “Senior is truly generous!”
As the two haggled back and forth, neither Li Yan nor Wang Daoxuan spoke. They had agreed on this strategy from the beginning. With Sha Lifei’s thick skin and his habit of squeezing oil from even a corpse, he was the least likely to suffer losses in negotiations.
After a long while, the terms were finally settled, and the three of them exited the shop. Just as they stepped out of the old street entrance, a loud commotion erupted across the road.
Several groups of people were arguing and fighting outside a tavern. One side wore black martial robes with cowhide belts. They were clearly members of the White Ape Gang. The other group looked like laborers, reeking of sweat and dressed in rough workers’ clothing.
“Where’s the money?! What about our wages?!”
“Who the hell owes you anything? Go ask your foreman!”
“The foreman said you never paid him!”
“Heh! For this tiny bit of work? We never used to pay for it before!”
The moment tempers flared, both sides erupted into a brawl.
The White Ape Gang members were all well-built, with dragons and tigers tattooed around their collars and necks. Their fierce expressions made them look extremely intimidating. Yet the moment they exchanged blows, they were immediately beaten into screaming misery by several of the laborers.
Martial artists.
Li Yan understood at once. Whether it was the White Ape Gang or local gangs like the Iron Blade Gang, simply collecting protection fees and skimming passersby was nowhere near enough to survive.
They usually controlled various gray-market industries like gambling dens, predatory loan offices, brothels, human trafficking, and even salt smuggling. They would search for a piece of any source of profit.
When they hired laborers, they often refused to pay them afterward. Naturally, the labor foremen would not bear the losses themselves, so they pushed the burden onto these unfortunate workers and ordered them to collect the money personally.
But how would these poor laborers dare? Thus, the matter would usually end unresolved.
Now, however, these so-called laborers were most likely people from the jianghu in disguise, deliberately using those small incidents to escalate matters.
“Call more people!”
“Today we’re skinning those bastards alive!”
Humiliated in public, the gang members exploded in rage.
Soon, more than a dozen disheveled men came running from afar carrying clubs and short blades, cursing loudly as they rushed forward. Meanwhile, the laborers showed no fear whatsoever and charged straight at them.
The entire street instantly descended into chaos.
Li Yan and the others took the opportunity to leave quickly. Along the way, they witnessed several more disturbances. Traffickers were being beaten until their faces swelled; gambling dens were set ablaze; and there were even deaths occurring in the streets.
Sha Lifei clicked his tongue. “Old Man Zhang is ruthless. The Zhou Family may be hiding, but all the people living under them still need to eat. Those bastards are rotten to the core. Who knows what kind of trouble this will drag out.”
Li Yan pondered briefly before shaking his head slightly. “The Zhou Family isn’t stupid. They definitely have countermeasures prepared. The city is probably going to descend into chaos over the next few days.
“But that works for us. While the Zhou Family is too distracted to pay attention, we’ll finish our business first. Then we’ll disappear into the shadows and see what opportunities we can catch.”
Having settled on a plan, the three immediately returned to the Dao Inquiry Hall. The trip to retrieve the Thunderstruck Jujube Wood would involve all three of them. At the same time, they would also take away all their important belongings and use the chaos to disappear from the Zhou Family’s sight...
