Chapter 435 (1): Name in the Story

The divine general reverted back into an adorable, miniature fiery dragon that wrapped itself around her wrist, and it immediately fell into a state of slumber, snoring gently as it did so. During this battle on Hibiscus Mountain, it had devoured two Golden Core Tier earth immortals and a young man carrying abundant martial fortune, and it was feeling a little stuffed.

Right at this moment, Ruan Xiu asked Palace Minister Song a question that caught him completely off guard: "Can I take some Hibiscus Stones back to the Dragon Spring Prefecture? I want to open a seal and feng shui stone shop in the small town."

Palace Minister Song had always been renowned for his mental astuteness in the Great Li Empire's imperial court, yet even he was struggling to figure out the reasoning behind this request from Ruan Xiu, and after some contemplation, he smiled as he replied, "As long as you have enough space in your minimization treasure, you can take the entire Hibiscus Mountain with you if you'd like."

After receiving this answer, Ruan Xiu immediately instructed Dong Gu and Xu Xiaoqiao to begin chipping away at the mountain. While the two of them were serving as manual laborers, Ruan Xiu turned to Palace Minister Song and said, "Rest assured, Mr. Song, I'll see to it that you won't have come all this way for nothing.

“As long as we're still taking the same route back to the Great Li Empire, I'll help you find three suitable candidates, and the three of them combined should be able to make up for a single... What was his name again, Xu Xiaoqiao?"

"Han Jin," Xu Xiaoqiao replied from afar.

"That's right. The three of them combined won't be inferior to Han Jin," Ruan Xiu promised. "The first one will be the grandson of the old pastry salesman at the Green Parasol City city lord temple, he's the one that's closest to us. The second one will be the little girl that I gave that piece of candy to at the candy stall in the Sweet Dew Monastery of the Stone Brush Nation, that adorable little girl with the apple-red cheeks.

“The final one will be a local boy that I met at the Carriage End Ferry Station. At the time, I'd bought a large bag of yellow osmanthus dried persimmons. He challenged me to an eating contest with those dried persimmons, and in the end, he developed a toothache from eating too many and ran crying back to his parents."

The three Great Li Empire sticky rod officials were left in disbelief upon hearing this. Was this meant to be a joke?

To their surprise, Palace Minister Song agreed to this arrangement without any hesitation.

"Once Mr. Dong and Ms. Xu have collected enough Hibiscus Stones, we'll return to Green Parasol City to find that child by the name of Tong Shan."

The sticky rod officials were very reassured to hear this. The fact that Palace Minister Song had made the effort to remember the boy's name clearly indicated that he had to have been a diamond in the rough.

Ruan Xiu cast her gaze toward Palace Willow Island, and as she did so, the miniature fiery dragon on her wrist also opened its eyes and turned in the same direction.

Certain descendants of ancient true dragons were born with the innate desire to devour their own kind, and in the distant past, such aggressive beasts were generally the primary targets slain by traveling sword immortals.

All of a sudden, Xu Xiaoqiao said, "Senior Sister, Master has instructed us to keep an eye on you, and unless it's for official matters, you're not permitted to..."

Her voice trailed off here as she took a glance at the black-robed Dong Gu.

He was the one who had forcibly broken through the protection formation of Hibiscus Mountain by revealing his true form, and in the process, he had sustained some very severe injuries. Not only had a tusk of his been snapped, he had also lost at least four to five decades' worth of cultivation base.

Xu Xiaoqiao clearly didn't dare to relay the conclusion of Ruan Qiong's instruction, so it was left to Dong Gu to finish her sentence, and he concluded with a stern expression, "Fool around."

A disappointed look appeared on Ruan Xiu's face as she sighed, "Fine, I'll hold off for now then."

Dong Gu, Xu Xiaoqiao, and Palace Minister Song nodded collectively in response.

Ruan Xiu was rather amused by their synchronized actions, and she chuckled, "What are you three doing? Imitating pecking chickens?"

The young sticky rod official who was already enamored with her was instantly entranced by her vibrant smile.

————

Ape Crying Street was the street specially reserved for the sale of immortal artifacts in Pond Water City, and at this moment, an azure-robed old man that was rather unremarkable in appearance and aura was walking along the street. He looked just like any ordinary old man from the average wealthy family, and he was rubbing a snowflake coin between two of his fingers while inspecting the wares being sold around him.

He did a lot of looking, but refused to buy anything. Many strange people and events were often observed on Ape Crying Street, so no one really paid much attention to him.

The old man arrived at a shop, and the shopkeeper had recently been leading a blessed life. At the moment, he was sipping some wine by himself while dining on a pair of side dishes, namely salt-brined peanuts and shredded whitebait, the latter of which was a specialty local product of Bamboo Scroll Lake. The shopkeeper didn't even bother to raise an eyelid as the azure-robed old man entered his shop.

The old man appeared rather disappointed as he exclaimed, "You managed to sell that Great Replica Qu Huang sword and that painting? You must've found some gullible fool to scam!"

This shop had been passed down for generations, and the current shopkeeper was a strange and enigmatic man who wasn't really cut out for business.

The average shopkeeper would've been quite displeased to hear such a disparaging remark, but the old shopkeeper was very intrigued, smiling as he replied, "They were bought by the same guy, an outsider. I wouldn't say he got scammed. He knew that he was buying, and those two things simply caught his eye."

"Not bad at all. You're nowhere near the businessman your great-grandfather was, but you're way luckier than him. I thought those two things would've been gathering dust here for at least a hundred more years," the old man chuckled.

The old shopkeeper took a glance at the old man out of the corner of his eye, then scoffed, "You sure make yourself sound like some big shot. Are you one of the island masters? But all of the island masters that are worth anything are currently on Palace Willow Island, what are you doing acting all cocky in my shop?"

"All of the island masters are eating and defecating on Palace Willow Island? It must've turned into a complete shithole by now then," the old man said in a concerned manner.

The old shopkeeper was rather amused to hear this, and he replied, "Those immortals aren't like us, so I'm sure Palace Willow Island won't be reduced to a giant toilet. Besides, who cares what an abandoned place like Palace Willow Island will become after the election is over?"

"I do," the old man sighed.

The old shopkeeper became even more intrigued upon hearing this, and he beckoned to the old man as he offered, "Care for a drink? It sounds like you have a story to share."

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I'm not drinking that, that stuff's not much better than sewage," the old man replied with a shake of his head.

"Suit yourself then," the old shopkeeper scoffed. "You know what? I'm kinda fond of your shitty personality. Take a look and see if there's anything in my shop that catches your eye, I'll give you a 10% discount."

The old man waved a hand in refusal and left the shop.

After that, he wandered through the entirety of Ape Crying Street. It had been too long since he last returned to Bamboo Scroll Lake, and it was already completely different from the place that he once knew, with not a single familiar face to be seen. After leaving Ape Crying Street, he arrived in a peaceful alley in Pond Water City, and after opening the gates at the end of the alley with a key, a serene manor was revealed.

Even though it had been uninhabited for a very long time, it was periodically cleaned in very meticulous fashion, so all of the structures and paths remained completely spotless.

The old man arrived at a waterside pavilion, then opened the window to listen to the sound of the flowing spring water striking rocks outside.

Around an hour later, a portly old man with no reputation to speak of in Pond Water City arrived outside the waterside pavilion, then extended a respectful bow as he declared, "Junior Wang Guanfeng pays his respects to Patriarch Liu."

The old man turned around with a smile as he asked, "You're the great-great-grandson of Wang Shuibu from the Stone Brush Nation, right? Come in and take a seat. I am indebted to your Wang Clan. The past leaders of your Wang Clan are more familiar with my personality than even some of the young people in Bamboo Scroll Lake right now, so there's no need to be so rigid and formal in my presence."

The waterside pavilion was completely unadorned with the exception of several white cushions laid out on the ground. In spite of his relatively unknown status, Wang Guanfeng was actually even wealthier than the lord of Pond Water City, but at this moment, he was seated on a cushion in a tense and rigid fashion. He knew better than to relax and let his guard down just because the old man was treating him with benevolence.

The old man asked some questions about events that had taken place in Bamboo Scroll Lake over the past century, and Wang Guanfeng answered the questions one by one.

After hearing about the recent events that had unfolded on Palace Willow Island, the old man smiled as he said, "Even at the Wasp Tail Ferry Station, I've heard of Liu Zhimao and Gu Can."

After carefully selecting his words, Wang Guanfeng explained, "Right now, the Great Li Empire and the Luminous Vermilion Empire are using Bamboo Scroll Lake as a medium to try and exert dominance over the other.

“We've placed our bets on Cyan Gorge Island, the Luminous Vermilion Empire appears to have chosen the alliance consisting of Azure Mound Island, Heavenly Governess Island, and Millet Grain Island. The one overseeing the proceedings is a ninth tier swordsman from the Luminous Vermilion Empire's imperial clan, and he has some ties with Oriole Island.

“However, we haven't been able to find out exactly where he's been hiding. I presume there are conflicting opinions in the Luminous Vermilion Empire's imperial court on whether they should be trying to kill or win over Gu Can. Hence, certain powers of the Luminous Vermilion Empire have already taken a big fall as a result of the failed assassination attempt in Pond Water City earlier.

“Liu Zhimao remains at the Nascent Tier with no signs to indicate that he'll make a breakthrough anytime soon, while that flood dragon of Gu Can's has also reached the Nascent Tier, and it's so fearsome in battle that even Liu Zhimao has to be wary of it. Perhaps ultimately, Bamboo Scroll Lake will be split between Liu Zhimao and Gu Can, but of course, that's only if you remain a passive bystander, esteemed patriarch."

"I hear that this Gu Can is supposed to be invincible across Bamboo Scroll Lake, is that right?" the old man asked with a smile.

It seemed like an innocuous question, but a careful look immediately appeared on Wang Guanfeng's face as he asked, "Are you saying that we should place our bets on the Luminous Vermilion Empire instead, esteemed patriarch?"

The old man shook his head in response.

"I implied no such thing. Gu Can and that Nascent Tier flood dragon of his are the main reason behind Liu Zhimao's recent rise, so let's just allow him to occupy the position of Bamboo Scroll Lake's ruler of the cultivation world for now. Whenever Gu Can dies, everyone will immediately turn against him, and Bamboo Scroll Lake will fall into the same hands as those who were in power two hundred years ago."

An amused smile then appeared on the old man's face as he chuckled, "Since when did the cultivators of Bamboo Scroll Lake become so cowardly? To think that they would allow a mere brat to walk all over them."

"The Luminous Vermilion Empire has most likely considered trying to win over Gu Can in order to keep Liu Zhimao in check. Otherwise, they wouldn't have allowed Gu Can to run amok like this. However, that flood dragon of his only took three years to progress from the Golden Core Tier to the Nascent Tier, and such an astonishing rate of growth has left all of us reeling a little," Wang Guanfeng explained.

The old man clearly wasn't the type of person who liked to blame his subordinates, and he nodded as he replied, "It's not your fault. Some time ago, I was traveling with a pair of my friends, and I mentioned this matter to them in passing.

“Even with their lofty cultivation bases and extensive knowledge and experience, they were also stunned by what they had heard. Betting on Liu Zhimao is fine. If you're not worried about losing the entire wealth of your Wang Clan by listening to me, then I suggest you bet everything that you have on him. As for that Gu Can, I'll kill him myself when the time comes, and all you'll need to do is turn a blind eye and wait to reap the profits."

Wang Guanfeng gulped nervously.

An indifferent look appeared on the old man's face as he continued, "Seeing as all of us are vagrant cultivators, no one's life is more precious than anyone else's, so no one should be able to do as they please from beginning to end. That's not something that abides by the rules of Bamboo Scroll Lake or my own personal rules."

Wang Guanfeng knelt down and kowtowed to the ground.

Bamboo Scroll Lake was a lawless place, but it wasn't a place without rules. It was just that the enforcer of the rules had been absent for far too long.