C9 The Red Bandits
At the approach of dawn, Shen Yih and Lih Wuji were on their way to the only market in Yangguan Town.
Although it was still in the early hours of the day, there was already a crowd of people in the market. Basically, all the warriors in Yangguan Town gathered here to buy Cultivation ingredients to help them improve themselves.
“Lord, if you’re looking for some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures… There are some hawkers and stalls in the periphery of the market that sell these. You won’t be able to get anything good from these stalls. They are not selling anything important. If you really want the good stuff, you need to go to the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce. This place is famous for having everything in Yangguan Town!” Lih Wuji was standing beside Shen Yih in a polite manner. He bent his smiling face down and said this.
“Four Directions Chamber of Commerce?”
Shen Yih’s memory beyond the house was hazy at best. He naturally knew little information about the Chamber of Commerce. Now that he heard this, he was eager to follow Lih Wuji to the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce.
Along the way, Lih Wuji could not keep his questions to himself and asked them one by one, “Lord, are you going to stock up on Cultivation Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures from our trip to the Chamber of Commerce so that you can participate in the Adulthood Ceremony competition?”
“I suppose so,” Shen Yih said breezily.
Lih Wuji was moved to ask, “Lord, what’s your confidence level in the Adulthood Ceremony?”
Shen Yih smiled right then. It seemed like Lih Wuji was still feeling a little worried about his decision to follow him. He wanted to learn more about his new ‘master.’
Shen Yih did not want to answer, but in the next instant, he said, “How much confidence do you think I have?”
Perplexed, Lih Wuji scratched his head awkwardly. After a long silence, he finally said, “Does my Lord want to hear me speak truth or lies?”
“Of course, speak only of the truth,” Shen Yih said.
Lih Wuji said in an earnest manner, “In all honesty, Lord, even though you are at the Seventh Layer of Spirit Opening Stage and can be considered a genius, you are still small potatoes in comparison to the others. In the past, if you are lucky enough, you might be able to stand out in the Adulthood Ceremony and be qualified to join the three major powers.”
“But this year, things have taken a different course.”
Shen Yih could not keep his curiosity to himself. “What has changed?”
“This year, there will be many geniuses from the Shen family who will be attending the Adulthood Ceremony. Of the four prefectures, coming from the southwestern prefecture is Shen Hong and the other is Shen Chongshan, who has already reached the Opening Spirit Stage Eighth Layer. One higher than you. Of course, we have yet to talk about the main character of the event,” Lih Wuji said.
“Oh?” At this point, Shen Yih could not hide his growing curiosity.
After taking a deep breath, Lih Wuji said, “This year’s main character is Shen Yuvyan.”
“Shen Yuvyan!” It was then that Shen Yih recalled something.
He was the number one genius of North Mansion!
The North Mansion didn’t bully the East Mansion as much as the other two southwestern prefectures, therefore, Shen Yih didn’t really have a bad impression of Shen Yuvyan. However, from what he heard, he knew that Shen Yuvyan was a very powerful genius.
“At only 18 years old, Shen Yuvyan has already leveled up to the Tenth Heavenly Layer of the Opening Spirit Stage. His strength is really immeasurable. Such talent is even stronger than some of the genius disciples of the Muyun Sect!”
Lih Wuji continued to say, “Basically, Shen Yuvyan is sure to be guaranteed one spot to enter the Muyun Sect. With his incomparable strength… Lord, to beat him would be wishful thinking. It could be said that this year’s Shen family Adulthood Ceremony… that everyone would be competing for the one slot because Shen Yuvyan had already coveted the other spot."
After having said that, Lih Wuji looked at Shen Yih’s expression, wanting to gauge how Shen Yih would react.
However, Shen Yih’s expression remained intact from start to finish, not showing any indication of anxiety, as if he had already put the matter about Shen Hong, Shen Chongshan, and even Shen Yuvyan to the back of his mind.
Lih Wuji could not help but frown when he saw this. The doubts in his heart were growing. Did he make the wrong decision by following this person?
If a genius did not know his own limits… Death would be inevitable.
However, Lih Wuji had yet to know the type of colossal genius that was standing before him!
“We’ve reached our destination!” At this time, Shen Yih stopped in his steps and looked around.
Four Directions Chamber of Commerce was considered an award-winning trading company renowned for its quality and premium merchandise. Shen Yih gave this little thought, but in the entire marketplace, it was given high regard.
“Martial Master Leh, you’re back!” The people of the Chamber of Commerce happily greeted Lih Wuji. They chose to ignore Shen Yih since they didn’t know much about him. Shen Yih rarely showed his face here.
As he heard this, Lih Wuji puffed out his chest in pride. He did not hesitate to say, “I’m with my Lord today to buy some treasures. Make sure to treat us well.”
“Lord?”
The group of female servants at the Chamber of Commerce were not familiar with Shen Yih. However, when Lih Wuji introduced him as his master, they right away straightened up and became more respectful.
Shen Yih could care less about these small matters. In fact, with all that he has experienced and seen, there were not a lot of things that could affect him mentally.
Without further word, he walked into the Chamber of Commerce and began to look around.
With Lih Wuji in the lead, this saved him a lot of trouble in the end.
“Was Lord able to find the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures you were looking for?” Lih Wuji asked curiously.
Shen Yih shook his head from side to side.
Shen Yih was in no rush. He walked from the first floor to the second, and after that, from the second to the third in no particular hurry.
Lih Wuji had no clue what kind of Cultivation Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures Shen Yih needed. Along the way, Shen Yih had passed by countless types of herbs that would prove helpful in Shen Yih’s current stage of Seventh Layer of Spirit Opening Stage Cultivation. However, Shen Yih walked past them without even a glance.
Finally, Shen Yih’s eyes fixated on a flower with four different colors.
“Rare Yimu Flower!”
Shen Yih’s arms were crossed and he hugged his shoulders tighter. His eyes lit up when he saw the spirit herb in front of him.
“How much is this Rare Yimu Flower?” Shen Yih asked in a straightforward manner.
The servant next to him quickly replied, “One Rare Yimu Flower is 30 Spirit Stones!”
This was very inexpensive.
Lih Wuji was puzzled by Shen Yih’s selection. “Lord, this Rare Yimu Flower is useless in the face of Cultivation. It’s just good-looking with a pretty name. It’s probably only good to please girls.”
Could it be that Shen Yih has not changed, and he was still the carefree and undisciplined person he was before, wanting to purchase this flower to woo a girl?
With a smiling face, Shen Yih said, “It’s not as simple as you think. The Rare Yimu Flower has a lot of uses.”
Lih Wuji saw that Shen Yih was confident in his words, but he really had no idea what other uses this flower had. He could not keep his curiosity under wraps. If Shen Yih’s words were true and this Rare Yimu Flower really had other uses, at least this meant that he was not wrong to have followed Shen Yih. Those three kowtows were not pointless in the end!
Just as Shen Yih was getting out his money, his face quickly turned red.
Shen Yih could not hide his embarrassment at the moment.
In his previous lifetime, there had never been a lack of Spirit Stones to purchase Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. However, he appeared to be in a different situation now.
The East Mansion had entered difficult times. With no valuable items at their disposal, Mansion Master was already feeling the tightening of the purse strings.
Nothing could escape Lih Wuji’s sharp eyes. When he saw Shen Yih’s hesitation, he immediately took out thirty Spirit Stones from out of his sleeve and handed them over to the servant. “Wrap up the Rare Yimu Flower for my Lord!”
“Not a problem!” The servant took the Spirit Stones and put them in her pocket.
Just as Shen Yih was about to take the Rare Yimu Flower into his hands, a howling cry suddenly sounded out. Then the sound of cursing erupted from below the Chamber of Commerce.
“Please don’t hit me anymore. I beg for your mercy. Fourth Master, I know what I did wrong. I really know now my mistake!”
Shen Yih looked outside a window and could see a young man being beaten ruthlessly by a group of strong men. His cries for mercy fell on deaf ears.
“It’s the Young Master of the Lee family, Lee Zongming!”Lih Wuji could not hide the surprise in his voice.
Shen Yih knew a little about the Lee family. The Lee family in Yangguan Town had as much notoriety as the Shen family. The one he had killed back in the Demon Beast Mountain also happened to be the genius of the Lee family, Lee Zongyun.
Lee Zongming and Lee Zongyun appeared to be from the same family. Their status in the Yangguan Town was not low, but why was someone from the Lee family being beaten on the streets?
“Who would be so bold as to beat up the people from the Lee family in Yangguan Town?” Shen Yih asked with a curious face, “In my memory, this Lee Zongming is not someone who you should mess with.”
Lih Wuji said in a bitter voice, “That entirely hinges on who he has offended. The one beating up Lee Zongming right now is from the Red Bandits, so this changes things.”
“Red Bandits?”
Shen Yih gave this some thought. He seemed to recall the name in his mind but knew little about them.
Howls of pain kept sounding out from below them. A few people from the Red Bandits continued to kick at Lee Zongming’s figure on the ground. Lee Zongming could only holler out in pain, but he did not dare lift a finger to fight back.
“The Red Bandits is one of the most powerful groups in the Hundred Thousand Demonic Beast Mountain that you should watch out for. Even though they are not as all-powerful as the three big sects, because of their muscle, the three big sects can't be bothered to stir up trouble with them!”
Lih Wuji said, “It’s because of this that the Red Bandits are becoming more and more unruly. They are the nightmare of all the major families in Hundred Thousand Demonic Beast Mountain. Every year some small families will find themselves destroyed by the Red Bandits. Some large families will not be able to escape their wrath either, having to hand over annual money to the Red Bandits.”
“Does our Shen family also have to pay the annual tribute?”
“Of course. However, the Red Bandits won’t go out of their way to stir trouble for the Shen family, since the Shen family has a genius affiliated with the Muyun Sect. The Lee family doesn’t have such luck. Not a single genius from their family has entered the Three Sects!”
Lih Wuji’s voice suddenly turned serious. “Lee Zongming just happened to offend Tan Si. He is the Red Bandit’s Young Master Hao’s lackey. You do not want to mess with Young Master Hao. Because of this Tan Si is unusually arrogant and bossy and no one dares to get in his way.”
“Young Master Hao?” Shen Yih asked again, “Who is he?”
Lih Wuji said, “Young Master Hao’s real name is Hao Yunhong. He is famous for being a womanizer. As the third Young Master of the Red Bandits, his strength is immeasurable. His favorite pastime is women. Even if he didn’t force a hundred beautiful women to go to bed with him, there would still be eighty of them who he did. All the big families were enraged because of this, but they didn't dare to say anything. Now, Tan Si has shown his face here. This Young Master Hao has most likely arrived in Yangguan Town as well. Yangguan Town’s luck has made a turn for the worst!”
“But no matter what, you don’t want to offend the Red Bandits. Let’s get going as soon as possible,” Lih Wuji advised wisely.
Shen Yih didn’t want to make any trouble either. He waved his hand around, getting ready to leave.
However, right at this time, the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard coming their way. Shen Yih furrowed his brows further. When he looked up, he found out that Tan Si had brought his crew from the Red Bandits over.
When he looked down, he could see that Lee Zongming was suffering from a lot of wounds. He was being carried back by a group of people representing the Lee family.
“I want to know where the waiter is.”
Tan Si right away shouted once he had arrived upstairs.
The servants of the Chamber of Commerce hurried to serve their new customers.
“Master Tan, what brings you around to these parts?”
“Give me your Rare Yimu Flower. I want a hundred of them. My Young Master Hao wants to weave these hundred Rare Yimu Flowers into the most beautiful wreath and give them to Lin Yingru!” Tan Si then slowly said, “You all better get what I want. Otherwise, your shop will be smashed into smithereens.”
“Okay!”
The servants of the Chamber of Commerce quickly began to fill his order.
“Lin Yingru?”
Shen Yih thought this to himself, Lin Yingru’s presence in Yangguan Town was already causing a lot of trouble. Why was her name attached to everything?
