Chapter 107: Chapter 103: Top of the List, Conspiracy_1
Three days later, the night came under a moonless heavy cloud.
Outside the Gao Family’s Martial Cuisine Manor, suddenly an imposing man appeared, carrying a bamboo basket on his back and walking towards the Manor.
"Halt."
A few men from the Qiu Family surrounded the man.
A sharp blade was held against his throat.
The man’s face turned pale, fear was apparent across it. He raised his hands and pleaded, "Spare me, good fellows. I really have no silver."
Without saying a word, one of the Qiu family men drew his blade, cutting the strap of the bamboo basket. He looked into the basket and found it empty.
The faces of the Qiu family men darkened, one of them angrily bellowed, "Who asked you to wander here with a basket on your back in the middle of the night? Are you courting death?"
"Spare me, good fellows. Hi, another man gave me five taels silver, told me to walk around here with this bamboo basket and that would be it. I thought it would be a great chance to earn money and couldn’t resist it, so I came. I know nothing else."
The man pleaded desperately.
Just at that moment, from all directions, dozens of men, each carrying a bamboo basket on his back, approached the Gao Family’s Martial Cuisine Manor.
"Damn, stop them."
"Halt."
Men from the Qiu and Zheng Families who were hidden in the dark, rushed out, trying to stop these people.
But with the sudden appearance of dozens of men, the forces of the two large families were clearly insufficient causing the situation to devolve into chaos.
Under the cover of the night, Lu Yan carried a bamboo basket several times larger than before, quietly approached Gao’s Martial Cuisine Manor, and then, in a single leap, he entered the Manor.
"Who is there?"
As he entered the manor, a few martial artists acting as guards spotted him.
"Gentlemen, I am here to deliver abalone."
Lu Yan replied with a smile, he smoothly pulled out a silver ticket worth thirty taels and handed it to the lead guard, saying, "This is for a drink for the gentlemen, I would kindly ask you to show me the way."
Resisting a smile, the guard glanced at the silver ticket, and his face immediately brightened. He said, "Okay, the original is to deliver abalone, come, follow us."
As he said this, the silver ticket had already slipped into his sleeve.
Lu Yan followed these guards, walking through the corridors and arriving in front of a study room.
"Sir, someone is here to deliver abalone..."
The lead guard reported.
"The deadline has passed, what abalone is to be delivered? Let him go."
From inside the study, an old voice came.
"Sir, I have quite a lot of abalones here, nearly several hundred jin..."
Said Lu Yan.
The guards jumped in shock, looking at Lu Yan with disbelief.
The study room fell silent for a while, then the old voice said, "Ah, it’s you. I have been waiting for you for several days, come in."
Lu Yan pushed the door and entered.
The study was spacious, with a desk made of pear blossoms. An old man with silvery white hair sat behind the desk, looking curiously at him.
"Old man Gao Xuhai, manager of the Gao Family’s Martial Cuisine Manor, how should I call you?"
The old man asked.
"The younger generation is Wei Tao."
Lu Yan naturally couldn’t report his real name, nor could he use the name ’Lu Shanchuan’, so he fabricated a name.
Of course, this name is not randomly fabricated, at least the surname has a certain meaning.
Wei, which easily connects people to the Wei Family in Li’an County.
After all, in the six regions of Lingdong, there are not many with the surname Wei.
Invisible, it makes people a little more daunting.
"Wei... Are you from the Wei Family in Li’an County?"
Gao Xuhai asked.
"The war is intense, and I have no time to be distracted, it is only me who could come."
Lu Yan sighed, his brows furrowed, as if he was remembering some sad events.
"Your ability is indeed impressive, playing the great families in circles."
Gao Xuhai said with a profound meaning.
"Senior is overpraising, as I am alone, I have to use some means, otherwise, it would be difficult to succeed."
Lu Yan sighed.
"Alright, the process doesn’t matter, our Gao family only cares about results. Whoever brings the most abalone wins, show me your abalone."
Gao Xuhai stood up.
Lu Yan handed over the bamboo basket to him.
Gao Xuhai called two people over, pouring the abalone into several large barrels. After verifying that there were no errors, they weighed them in portions, and the final total was four hundred and twenty jins.
"According to the price, a hundred taels per jin, the total is forty-two thousand taels of silver."
Gao Xuhai first took out an account book to record, then presented a stack of gold and silver tickets.
In this world, one tael of gold is equivalent to ten taels of silver.
Gold tickets with a face value of five hundred taels, eight of them.
The rest were all silver tickets.
A total of forty-two thousand taels of silver was transferred.
With a little more on the side, he could afford to buy the Jade Bone Tiger.
Yes, according to the prices in previous years, one Jade Bone Tiger could fetch a price of up to fifty thousand taels.
It was a horrifying price.
In fact, the efficacy of the Beast King Bone-Protecting Soup alone, which is made from the Jade Bone Tiger, to break through the Martial Marquis, is a little bit better than the Mutated Heart Meat, but not much better.
At most a ten percent higher success rate.
But its price is four to five times higher.
But scarcity makes things valuable.
Mutated Heart Meat, in the six regions of Lingdong, is still fairly abundant. Even in the Martial Marquis level families, it commonly appears.
But the Jade Bone Tiger, only the Gao Family has it, and one Jade Bone Tiger can only be made into one serving of Beast King Bone-Protecting Soup.
For an Innate Martial Body to advance, one needs to use the Beast King Bone-Protecting Soup.
Due to the intense competition, the price naturally soars.
After the silver was paid, Gao Xuhai took out another account book, recorded on it: Wei Tao, handed over 420 jins of abalone, first place.
Lu Yan glanced at it.
He saw the quantities of abalone that other families had delivered recorded on it.
Aside from him, the most was the Ouyang Family, two hundred and sixty jins.
Li Family, two hundred and ten jins.
...
These feudal lords, as expected, were all above two hundred catty.
If he didn’t make a move, he certainly wouldn’t make it into the top two.
Gao Xuhai generously let Lu Yan see it, these would be published anyway, otherwise, how could he convince the crowd.
After writing it down, Gao Xuhai took out a special wooden token and handed it to Lu Yan, saying, "In three days, bring this token to buy the Jade Bone Tiger. Remember, we only recognize the token, not the person. If you lose the token, you must bear the consequences."
Lu Yan could understand; after all, there were many in this world who were proficient in disguise.
"Thank you, elder."
Lu Yan cupped his fist, hid the token close to his body, and excused himself to leave.
Lu Yan first leaped onto the surrounding wall and then quickly rushed to the distance using his body movement skills.
Even if he was discovered by the people of the Qiu and Zheng families, they couldn’t keep up with his speed and were quickly left behind.
Lu Yan made several rounds outside before returning to the inn.
All was well, now he just had to wait for three days.
...
The next day, night.
Li Family’s separate house, Li Wenlong, Li Wenjie, Li Wenyan, the three Martial Marquises, secretly received a guest.
The person was actually Gao Xuhai, the manager of Gao Family’s Martial Cuisine Manor’s kitchen.
"Several years have passed, elder, your demeanor remains the same. The younger generation toasts to you."
Li Wenlong stood up and raised his glass with utmost respect.
"I am old and my potential has been exhausted. There is no hope for me to become a Grandmaster in this life and I won’t live for many more years. On the contrary, you gentlemen are in your prime years, there is still hope for you to become a Grandmaster."
Gao Xuhai picked up his glass and took a sip, sighing faintly.
"Elder, you’re still as robust as ever, Qi-blood is strong, living for several more decades is surely not impossible."
Li Wenlong said.
"My nephews, speak straightforwardly. Why have you come to see me today?"
Gao Xuhai said.
"Elder, I heard that some interesting things happened outside the Martial Cuisine Manor last night. Did that mysterious man go and turn in the squid?"
Li Wenlong asked.
"Yes."
Gao Xuhai nodded.
"How much weight?"
"Four hundred and twenty."
The faces of the three Martial Marquises of the Li family changed.
Four hundred and twenty catty, definitely taking the top spot. Are the Li family going to lose this chance to get Jade Bone Tiger?
But this time, their desire to purchase the Jade Bone Tiger was unyielding.
Because, this time they were buying the Jade Bone Tiger for Li Cangxin.
Li Cangxin, Li Canglin’s younger brother, one of the future Clan Leader successors, Li Wenxuan’s son, has a powerful Innate Martial Body and three times the Qi-blood of ordinary people.
"Elder, this Millennium Ginseng was acquired by Lord Wenxuan and you are the recipient."
Li Wenlong took out a wooden box, its fragrant scent wafting out as soon as it was opened, revealing a six-inch-long ginseng.
Gao Xuhai’s eyes lit up, a burning desire in them.
This Millennium Ginseng was a very rare spiritual medicine. If cooked with the heart blood of a second level Monster King and consumed, it could extend one’s life by five years.
The value was even higher than the Mutated Heart Meat.
It was extremely rare in Lingdong. There was scarce availability, making it priceless.
"I’ve heard that the Li family’s Clan Leader is aging and his lifespan is not long. Li Wenxuan has the Millennium Ginseng, but he didn’t give it to the Clan Leader, instead, he gave it to me. Hehe."
Gao Xuhai chuckled, his eyes already devoid of any fluctuations.
"We didn’t intend to hide anything from you, elder. Our Clan Leader has already consumed the Millennium Ginseng. The Ginseng is only effective the first time, and it won’t have any effect if consumed again."
Li Wenlong said.
"Speak out then. Giving such a precious treasure, what do you want from me?"
Gao Xuhai was straight to the point.
"Elder, we really can’t keep anything from you."
Li Wenlong flattered for a moment, and then stated his purpose: "I want to acquire a qualification to buy the Jade Bone Tiger."
Gao Xuhai’s face remained tranquil as if he had guessed the intentions of Li Wenlong and others, he said, "But the top two spots have been decided, and Li family only ranks third, it’s difficult."
"Elder, who is that mysterious person?"
Li Wenlong asked.
"He claimed to be Wei Tao." Gao Xuhai said.
"Wei Family of Li’an County?"
Li Wenlong looked intrigued.
"Wei Family? Hehe, most probably a false name. Moreover, the person is in disguise, probably a special martial art to aid in the disguise. I’ve lived for over a hundred years and seen all sorts of people. It’s not easy to deceive my eyes."
Gao Xuhai scoffed coldly.
"Since he’s alone without any background, I believe the elder can make some modifications."
Li Wenlong tentatively asked.
Gao Xuhai pondered for a moment, then grabbed the wooden box with the Millennium Ginseng and slipped it into his sleeve.
Li Wenlong and others faces lit up with joy.
"Elder, I heard that you’ve given out your token. How are we going to handle it?"
Li Wenjie curiously asked.
"That token, is made of wood. In the process of making it, I put a corrosive insect in it. As soon as the corrosive insect is activated, it will explode and corrode the token."
Gao Xuhai said.
"Elder’s foresight is truly admirable."
Li Wenlong and the others commended him.
"It’s nothing, it’s only being precautious. Also, we didn’t meet today."
Gao Xuhai said.
"Of course, we’ve been practicing martial arts all day today, haven’t met the elder."
Li Wenlong and others echoed in unison.
Gao Xuhai showed a satisfied smile.
Not until late at night did Gao Xuhai stealthily leave the Li Family’s separate house.
After returning to his residence, Gao Xuhai first hid the Millennium Ginseng properly, then lit a special incense.
The fragrance of this incense could spread ten miles once lit.
As long as it was within ten miles, the corrosive insect could smell it, and as soon as it smelt it, it would explode.
