Chapter 52 Life and Death

The prison on the west side of the Qingshan County Yamen.

Every cell was crammed with prisoners.

Some were petty thieves from the streets, some were gang ruffians, and others were beggars in tattered clothes.

Almost all the idle vagrants of Qingshan County had been rounded up and thrown in here by Li Wenlin.

At this moment, Li Wenlin was leading a tall, thin old man deeper into the prison blocks.

"Is this the Longevity Gourd?" Li Wenlin looked greedily at the yellow-skinned gourd in the tall, thin old man's hand.

The yellow-skinned gourd was the length of a palm, its surface smooth and lustrous, crisscrossed with delicate silver grain lines.

"Can it really ward off evil, uphold righteousness, and brew the Wine of Longevity?"

"True longevity is naturally impossible," the tall, thin old man chuckled. "Prolonging life and health, however, is not a problem."

Li Wenlin nodded with reassurance. "Show me."

"As you command," the tall, thin old man said with a slight bow and an ambiguous smile.

A string of tongue-twisting incantations tumbled from his lips.

Silver threads flashed on the yellow-skinned gourd, and a puff of white mist billowed from its spout.

The white mist circled once in mid-air before plunging into the pitch-black cell.

After a short, sharp scream, the white mist flew back.

The tall, thin old man shook the gourd, and the faint sloshing sound of liquid came from within.

He pulled two jade wine cups from his sleeves and inverted the gourd.

A few drops of pale red liquid trickled out, resembling fine grape wine.

Even after shaking it vigorously until every last drop was emptied, it barely covered the bottoms of the two cups.

The tall, thin old man put away the gourd, drank one cup without a word, and handed the other to Li Wenlin with a look of pure bliss.

Li Wenlin took it with lingering skepticism and drank it down.

Before this, he had already tested the Wine of Longevity on several servants.

Having observed them for days without noticing any adverse reactions, he finally dared to drink it himself.

A wave of coolness spread from his stomach throughout his entire body.

A sensation of supreme comfort instantly rushed to his brain.

His thoughts became sharper and clearer than ever before.

Details he had previously overlooked were now as clear as the lines on his own palm.

More importantly, he could feel that the Body-Refining Technique, which had been stuck at a bottleneck for years, had actually loosened slightly!

"With enough Wine of Longevity, reaching the pinnacle of Marrow Cleansing is no longer just a dream!"

"Splendid!" Li Wenlin could not help bursting into loud laughter.

Li Wenlin swept his gaze over the cell packed with prisoners. "I'll leave this place to you."

The tall, thin old man smiled and nodded. "Rest assured, sir."

"Don't try any funny business with me," Li Wenlin stared fiercely at the old man. "Your grandson is still in my hands."

"Thank you for looking after him, Commander." The tall, thin old man lowered his head and bowed. "My grandson likes eating beef."

"Hah! Once the job is done, I'll have him fed beef for the rest of his life!" Li Wenlin laughed heartily and turned to leave.

The tall, thin old man straightened his back, smilingly watched the other's retreating figure, and called out loudly, "Many thanks, Commander!"

Once Li Wenlin completely vanished from sight, the tall, thin old man cheerfully spat out the bright red wine liquid he had been hiding in his stomach pouch.

"Wine of Longevity? Heh..."

He spun around in place, looking at the prisoners crammed into the cell, their faces filled with terror, and the smile on his face grew even more brilliant. "Tell me, how should I repay him?"

"Sending him to his death sounds good, hehe... hahaha!"

The yellow-skinned gourd burst open like a punctured balloon, and a mass of white smoke surged forth, rapidly permeating the entire prison.

A series of short, sharp screams rang out, followed by a stillness like death.

...

By the banks of the White Wave River. Chen Mou held an iron lotus seed tightly in his hand, staring nervously at the thick fog ahead.

The sound grew closer and closer, and the tremor of the ground intensified.

Sweat beaded on Chen Mou's back, and just as he was about to unleash the iron lotus seed,

a black horse broke through the thick fog.

A two-meter-tall, bald middle-aged man dressed in black with a stern expression rode on horseback, locking his gaze firmly onto Chen Mou.

The atmosphere gradually froze.

"You are Chen Mou?" the bald, brawny man asked coldly.

Chen Mou's heart skipped a beat, his expression entirely sincere. "I am not."

The bald, brawny man: "..."

Had he not already seen the portrait provided by Jie Jia, he almost would have believed it!

"You're not old man Jie's nephew, Chen Mou?" The bald brawny man looked speechless.

Nephew? Jie Jia was taking advantage of him!

"Ah, well, that's me." Chen Mou nodded solemnly.

The bald, brawny man: "..."

"He sure has a lot of relatives!" Glaring fiercely at Chen Mou, he barked, "Get to the back!"

The bald man puffed out his chest, riding his tall steed straight ahead.

Chen Mou obediently scurried to the side of the road, clearing the path.

The rumbling noise grew progressively louder.

Large carriage after large carriage emerged from the mist.

He had thought it might be some kind of monster, but it turned out to be a caravan.

Some of the carriages were ornate, others plain, but all were spacious and covered.

Dozens of flatbed carts followed behind them.

They were piled high with cargo, covered with oilcloths and bound tightly with ropes. Ferocious and sturdy guards flanked the sides.

"Get on the cart." A familiar, indifferent voice drifted from the thick fog.

At the very rear of the caravan, Jie Jia drove a black-lacquered carriage out of the fog.

Compared to the large carriages that had passed earlier, this one could only be described with the word shabby.

Jie Jia squinted, leaning casually and expressionlessly against the carriage frame. One leg was crossed on the carriage board, while the other dangled in mid-air.

Chen Mou hopped onto the cart and leaned against the carriage frame side-by-side with Jie Jia.

"Nephew, huh?" Chen Mou raised an eyebrow.

Jie Jia's eyes rolled as he shot Chen Mou a sideways glance. "Then... son?"

"Scram!"

In your dreams!

...

"Which benefactor's free ride are we hitching?" Chen Mou asked, nodding his chin forward and looking at the hazy caravan ahead.

"The Zuo family," Jie Jia said indifferently.

"Zuo Sheng's Zuo family?" Chen Mou's heart skipped a beat.

Was that young master also in the caravan?

That person knew very well that he had killed Daoist Qianshan.

Wasn't he going to cause trouble?

"Zuo Sheng isn't here; he went ahead to Nanyang Prefecture to scout the path." Jie Jia glanced at Chen Mou.

What was this fellow so nervous about?

Chen Mou let out a breath of relief.

He had no desire to run into that young master Zuo.

Leaning against the carriage, he stuck his head out to look behind them.

The fog was heavy, and not a trace of the sprawling Qingshan County city could be seen.

Reflecting on the past, a year and a half had passed since he arrived in this different world.

When he first came to this city, he was ignorant and panicked, encountering quite a few bad people.

Fortunately, he was clever, presenting several grand gifts in succession.

Through his own unique methods, he earnestly communicated with them and ultimately achieved harmony, thus managing to establish a foothold.

Leaving now, there was a tiny trace of reluctance in his heart, but it wasn't intense.

He was not the original owner of this body; ultimately, he was merely a passerby.

Pulling back his gaze, Chen Mou noticed three identical black-lacquered, covered carriages following closely behind.

"Who's in the back?" Chen Mou asked with curiosity.

"Relatives," Jie Jia replied calmly.

Chen Mou didn't believe it for a second. You're a lonely old man, what kind of relatives could you possibly have!

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he looked at Jie Jia with an incredulous expression. "These wouldn't be 'relatives' like me who paid money, would they?"

Jie Jia nodded calmly.

"No scheduling slots left?" Chen Mou glared at Jie Jia, speaking in a sarcastic tone. "Ha!"

"So that's why you dragged it out until today to leave! It turns out you didn't just take my escort commission."

Jie Jia remained completely serene, ignoring him entirely.

Chen Mou: "..."

"I was wondering why a tiny Qingshan County had so many assassin commissions!"

"Turns out you were just making up the headcount to pool orders?!"

Chen Mou was so angry he laughed.

"They're all acquaintances," Jie Jia said calmly.

Acquaintances?

Hard to turn down?

You're a top assassin lingering in the underworld, what kind of acquaintances do you have!

"Not mine, yours." Jie Jia tilted his head back toward the carriage behind them, speaking with ambiguous implication.

"My acquaintances?" Chen Mou rolled his eyes and, refusing to believe it, turned around to lift the curtain of the carriage.

A pair of bright, sparkling eyes appeared.

"Big Brother Chen?!"

"Hey! Did you bring any rice balls?"

Cheng Ming?!

Chen Mou peered further inside.

A plump middle-aged man in his forties gave an awkward, cupped-hand salute. "Young Master Chen, what a coincidence."

Du Huai, the chief constable of Qingshan County Yamen?

Back then, when the yamen used him as free coolie labor to draw wanted posters, it had been this man's doing.

The second-in-command of the yamen was running away too?!

Chen Mou looked toward the last burly man with an absurd expression.

Sideburns, bell-like eyes, black martial arts attire, tall and solidly built.

A ghost-head broadsword was strapped to his back. Meeting Chen Mou's gaze, he said heartily, "Brother, sharing a carriage all the way must be fate."

"My name is Zhang Ye, brother, and you are?"

That gullible gang leader of the White Wave Gang?

Chen Mou: "..."

They really were acquaintances, dammit...

Pulling down the curtain abruptly, Chen Mou leaned back against the carriage and closed his eyes.

At this moment, he didn't want to say a single word.

...

Xiaodong Mountain, the Ancestral Hall of Qingfeng Temple.

"Master, the human cauldron has been placed into the sacrificial altar." Chengyi walked into the ancestral hall and said to Feng Ren, who was seated in front of carvings of scriptures.

"Blood-sacrificing the Heartless Bell to harvest the vital energy of the entire city. Yi'er, tell me, have I gone wrong?" Feng Ren murmured, his voice ethereal and tinged with bewilderment.

Chengyi bowed respectfully. "Living for the Dao, dying for the Dao."

"The Dao? Heh..." A sorrowful undertone laced Feng Ren's voice. "Is this why you poisoned me?"

"You forced me to do this, Master," hatred flickered in the depths of Chengyi's eyes. "Without this, how could I obtain the Longevity Guide?"

"Without the Longevity Guide, I cannot master the Armor Soul, I cannot open the Heavenly Gate, and I can never witness true longevity." Chengyi's emotions grew increasingly agitated.

"Living for the Dao! Dying for the Dao! Master, you taught me that!"

"With Cheng Ming here, you didn't need it, you really didn't..." Feng Ren let out a long sigh, fresh blood beginning to spill from the corner of his mouth.

"Cheng Ming, Cheng Ming, always Cheng Ming! Was this Longevity Guide meant for Cheng Ming all along?!" Hatred surged in Chengyi's eyes.

"Heh... Longevity Guide? It is the Longevity Poison..." As Feng Ren opened his mouth, blood quietly spilled out, trickling down his chin onto his garments, slowly soaking into the ground.

Dark red bloodstains spread outward from beneath Feng Ren, growing larger and larger until they covered half of the ancestral hall.

"Don't blame me, Master, I only want to go and see that splendid world." Chengyi's eyes were bloodshot as a teardrop fell from the corner of his eye.

"Living for the Dao, dying for the Dao..." Within the ancestral hall, only that obsessively muttered whisper remained.

...

"Big Brother Chen, please, just give me some rice balls, I'm really starving." Cheng Ming poked his head out from behind the curtain with a cheeky grin, tugging at Chen Mou's shoulder and pleading relentlessly.

"Take it, take it, take it, take it! Stop touching me, I'm already annoyed!" Putting on a show of exasperation, Chen Mou fished a fist-sized cloth pouch from the bundle in his arms and tossed it to Cheng Ming.

Inside were five Inanition Pills.

"Thank you, Big Brother Chen!"

"When my master and senior brother come to pick me up, I'll have them treat you to a grand feast at the biggest restaurant in Nanyang Prefecture!" Cheng Ming beamed with joy.

"Go on with you, that chef probably doesn't even cook as well as I do."

"If you want to repay me, just have your master pay up directly!"

"No problem!" Cheng Ming said loftily. "You can fleece us as much as you want; my senior brother is loaded. Heh!"

Ahem, ahem!

Jie Jia coughed twice and suddenly turned his gaze toward Cheng Ming.

"Old Grandpa, what's wrong?"

"Those rice balls, I have them too," Jie Jia said with a beaming smile. "Would you like to buy some?"

"You can put it on my tab."

Chen Mou looked at Jie Jia with a deep sense of emotion.

He used to think Jie Jia's moral baseline for making money wasn't high.

But the reality was that he didn't have one at all.

You don't have a single rice ball of your own! You're even going to sell the ones you freeloaded from me?!

"No problem! My senior brother is so good to me! He gives me as much money as I want." Cheng Ming looked delighted.

"Put it on the tab! Put it on the tab!"