Chapter 40: Return (1)

The True Jade Pavilion.

A laborer in the tower was taking a nap out of boredom.

At that moment, Tang Zhen walked in from outside. Seeing the laborer’s appearance, his expression sank, and he said sternly, “Lazy and listless. Why don’t you take a look at yourself? If you don’t want to work, then get out of here!”

He shook his sleeves, then walked inside.

The aforementioned laborer was stunned. He glanced at a laborer next to him and said, “What happened to him? Why’s his temper so explosive?”

Another laborer gave him a stare and said, “Fourth Young Master went to the Scarlet Mountain Range. Two days before, a hundred days had elapsed.”

“So what?”

“You’re an idiot.” The latter smacked the back of that laborer’s head, “The Scarlet Mountain Range is a very dangerous place. For him to not have returned two days late, it’s difficult to know if he’s still alive! Do you think head storekeeper could be in a good mood? Grow some tact. If you don’t want to run into trouble, do your work seriously.”

That laborer quickly retracted his lazy attitude, as if he had awoken from a dream, and began to focus on his work.

Tang Zhen’s mood truly was very sour.

Starting from yesterday, Tang Zhen had been awaiting news from Su Chen.

Unfortunately, the person that the Su Clan had commissioned to wait at the entrance had waited for two days without seeing a trace of Su Chen.

The later that Su Chen returned, the lower his chances of survival would be.

Two days was more than enough to cause many people’s hearts to go mad.

“Sigh. That kid couldn't have actually died there, could he? Psh, what am I saying. That kid is very bright. Of course nothing will have happened to him,” Tang Zhen comforted himself.

“Head storekeeper, there's a guest outside who says that he has some precious goods in bulk and wants to meet with you privately in the pavilion’s room?” A laborer reported from outside.

Precious goods and private meeting in the pavilion’s room were all jargon. It basically meant that there was a shipment of high value that was relatively uncommonly seen. The transaction needed to be conducted individually in order to conceal his identity.

Tang Zhen really wanted to say that he had no heart to do business today, but in the end he suppressed those thoughts and said, “Invite the guest in.”

After a brief moment, the laborer brought a person in.

That person wore clothes made of coarse cloths, and his body was covered with a beast hide. His head was covered by a bamboo hat. The hat was placed low over his face, so that one could not see his face. On his back was an extremely large sack, almost large enough to contain two people.

Upon seeing this, Tang Zhen politely gestured to the guest and said, “Esteemed guest, please have a seat. What would you like to sell today?”

The guest replied with a gravelly voice, “Beast hides.”

Upon hearing this voice, Tang Zhen was clearly dazed. He looked at the guest with some suspicion as he said, “Just beast hides?”

“There are also some Beast Bones and medicinal herbs,” the guest said concisely.

Tang Zhen’s eyes began to gleam.

He stared at the guest. “Where did you get them?”

“In the Scarlet Mountain Range.”

“How long ago?”

“The past hundred days.”

Tang Zhen instantly stood up. “How much does this esteemed guest want?”

“However much storekeeper Tang wants to give is enough.”

The voice returned to its normal way of speaking as it spoke that last sentence.

Tang Zhen immediately recognized the voice. He grabbed the guest’s bamboo hat and tilted it back, revealing Su Chen’s familiar face.

“You little brat, you actually dared to mess with me!” Tang Zhen punched Su Chen, the anxiety in his heart relieved.

Just as he was laughing loudly, Su Chen “shh”ed him, reminding him not to make too much noise.

Su Chen let out a low laugh, “How could I dare to mess with head storekeeper? I had no choice but to do so.”

Tang Zhen was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

“Just like I said, I have many precious goods that I want to sell in bulk that I need to discuss with you in private,” Su Chen smiled gently.

He then took off the bag on his back, placing it in front of Tang Zhen, and opened it.

Tang Zhen was instantly stunned.

“This is a Mirage Lynx hide, the buckteeth of a Giant Bear… this is a hide of black scales. My goodness, is this a Rainbow Tiger’s skin? Unfortunately it’s quite damaged, but it should be enough to make a few layered jackets or waistcoats...... Heavnes, so many beast hides, and they are all Vicious Beasts. Did you rob another clan's store?” Tang Zhen didn’t dare believe his eyes.

However, after a moment he understood. He stared at Su Chen and slowly said, word by word, “These were all killed by you?”

Su Chen nodded his head. “There's a total of thirty-seven Vicious Beasts here. In addition, there are also the hides and bones of a few common Wild Beasts that I simply couldn't carry back with me. I have placed them in a cave out in the wild. Later on, you can send some people to go retrieve them.”

“How did you do it?” Tang Zhen stared at Su Chen, dazed.

These were Vicious Beasts, existences as powerful as Qi Drawing Realm Origin Qi Scholars. They were not easy to kill, yet Su Chen had gathered so many. Even if he weren't blind, shouldn't this still have been impossible?

“This is precisely the secret that I want to keep hidden,” Su Chen gently laughed.

Tang Zhen instantly understood. “You don't want the other Su Clan members to know that you received so many benefits?”

“I don't wish for many people to know apart from you, head storekeeper,” Su Chen said as he spread out his hand. A vortex of wind began to spiral on the palm of his hand.

The wind vortex itself was not that special. As long as one could control Origin Energy, anyone could do the same.

What was special was what the wind vortex implied.

Even Tang Zhen, who did not cultivate, instantly understood. He said with joyful surprise, “You're an Origin Qi Scholar!”

Su Chen nodded his head. “This is also a secret.”

“The young miss, she…… has a good son.” The old man felt very bittersweet. He thought for a moment, then asked, “Do you want to tell your mother about this?”

Su Chen shook his head. “There’s too many people surrounding her. Who knows if Su Keji or Yan Wushuang’s people are near her? It won’t be good if news of this matter spreads. Thus, it’s best to not tell her for now.”

Tang Zhen let out a sigh, placing his hand on Su Chen’s shoulder. “Your mother always was concerned for you, but she doesn’t know that her son has already begun to grow.”

“From how I see it, this is only the beginning,” Su Chen replied.

————————————

Half an hour later.

Su Chen finished taking his bath, then switched out for a clean shirt. His appearance had changed from that of a savage living in the wilderness to his usual graceful, princely outfit.

Sitting in his seat, Su Chen relished the tea that Tang Zhen had soaked for him. After suffering for a hundred days, he had to admit that upon returning to the flourishing human realm, things that he had previously taken for granted had suddenly become much more precious to him.

“What are you planning on doing next?” Tang Zhen asked.

“Let’s take care of this business first, then I can openly return to the Su Clan,” Su Chen said.

“The sale is already complete. Does Young Master want to complete the transaction using pure gold or Origin Stones?”

The values of pure gold and low grade Origin Stones were roughly equal. It was just that their usage circles were different.

“I am already an Origin Qi Scholar, so let's use Origin Stones.”

“Okay, there’s a total of thirty-seven Vicious Beast hides, and their sizes and grades are different. I’ll just count it as one Beast Hide is equivalent to one Origin Stone. The total is thirty-seven Origin Stones. Everything else I will buy for three, so the total is forty Origin Stones. What does Young Master think?”

Su Chen laughed, “Then I can only thank head storekeeper.”

Complete low grade Vicious Beast hides were usually sold for one Origin Stone each. These prices also usually only applied to larger Vicious Beasts. Smaller Vicious Beasts like the Mirage Lynx were generally worth less. However, Tang Zhen had bought them all at the price of a complete beast hide. Thus, selling one’s items at the store of one’s own clan was a very good thing. If Tang Zhen didn’t say anything about the origin of the items, the price would not have decreased. Instead, they could have cooperated and fairly and openly made this exchange. Instead of entering the palace, it would enter one’s own private storages.

Having taken care of business, Su Chen said, “While I was gone, how have my family and household been doing?”

Tang Zhen shook his head. “Everything's still fine. However, because you hadn't returned by the appointed date, your mother has been worried sick. If possible, you should return to your house as soon as possible to relieve her.”

“I'll go there in a bit.”

“That's right, we discovered the person who was instructing Lou Yi. However, we have not yet made a move towards him, and we have not been able to determine who was commanding him.”

“Okay, leave it to me. That's right, what happened to Lou Yi’s son?”

“He had no money to repay his debt. Thus, his hands were cut off, and now he is a cripple…… From today onwards, Lou Yi no longer needs to worry about that son of his.”

Su Chen was silent.