novelraw Chapter 118
Chapter 118
From the contents recorded in the letters, Su Wangchuan gained a deeper understanding of the tailor shop.
The shop was located near the money house and Laifeng Pavilion. It was an intelligence outpost planted by the Nu Tao Gang within the county seat of Huishui County.
Whenever a fat lamb appeared in Huishui County, they would almost always show up near the money house or Laifeng Pavilion. The tailor shop would then be able to gather bits of intelligence.
When people from the Jianghu joined forces with the county office to mobilize troops for a suppression campaign, the tailor shop could also quietly pass along word, warning the Nu Tao Gang to stay alert.
Because of its low-profile nature, the tailor shop had never been discovered by the county office. Even after the Nu Tao Gang was destroyed, it remained intact and undisturbed—until Wang Yuehui followed the trail of the water gear and traced it to their door.
The letters documented numerous instances of the tailor shop reporting intelligence and helping the Nu Tao Gang obtain great wealth, as well as the rewards the gang granted the outpost.
After pondering for a while, Su Wangchuan rose and went to the temporary interrogation room in the inner hall.
The three assistants had already been tortured beyond recognition. They had confessed everything and were now only begging for their lives.
The shopkeeper was no different.
Su Wangchuan stepped in and stared at the tailor shop’s shopkeeper.“In the past few years, you carried out thirty-seven major operations. Each one brought considerable profit. The Nu Tao Gang rewarded you with anywhere from ten taels to thirty or fifty taels of silver each time. Yet you gave very little to those below you. Where did you put all that money?”
Having been a poor bachelor for more than a decade, Su Wangchuan was acutely sensitive to money.
At those words, the shopkeeper’s body trembled involuntarily. He hurriedly replied, “My lord! I usually spend money on drinking and women. I cannot save anything…”
“Is that so?”
Su Wangchuan sneered.
“Your three assistants did not say that. They said you were always the last to leave the shop and that you rarely went near women… If you refuse to tell the truth, your three assistants may live—but you may not see tomorrow’s sun.”
The color drained from the shopkeeper’s face. His eyes flickered, hesitating.
“My lord…”
“You truly will spare our lives?”
The shopkeeper raised his head, his voice trembling.
Su Wangchuan immediately knew there was hope. He said, “The Nu Tao Gang is gone. You are merely small fry with Quasi-Martial Artist cultivation. You cannot stir up any great waves. Killing you brings me no benefit. But if you disappear with all that money, I will feel as though I have let a tiger return to the mountains.”
“I will confess.”
The shopkeeper finally gave up resistance. He obediently revealed that he owned a secret property in Huishui County. He had set up a hidden compartment in a corner of its wall and had stored the silver he had saved over the years there.
Without hesitation, Su Wangchuan personally brought Chen Ergou to the property. Without alerting anyone, they retrieved the property deed and stacks of silver notes.
Two thousand taels of silver.
A property deed worth five hundred taels.
Su Wangchuan did not spare the shopkeeper and his three assistants.
From the intelligence of those thirty-seven operations, hundreds of people had died or been injured—among them the elderly, the weak, women, and children.
These four were cold and ruthless, capable of enduring loneliness, and meticulous in their schemes.
Su Wangchuan had no desire to release such people back into the world to cause further harm. That very night, he ordered Chen Ergou to take the four of them and sink them into the river, offering them up to the restless spirits of those wronged.
“Well done.”
Su Wangchuan rewarded Wang Yuehui with another fifty taels of silver.
Because of Wang Yuehui’s lead, they had eliminated the final outpost of the Nu Tao Gang remnants in Huishui County and acquired twenty-eight taels of gold, a tailor shop, and a property. Wang Yuehui truly was his lucky star.
“Thank you, Hall Master!”
Wang Yuehui himself had not expected the tailor shop to be such a big catch. Being able to secure his footing within the Yulong Gang’s Inner Sect and gain the protection of Hall Master Su Wangchuan was already enough for him.
The extra silver was an unexpected blessing.
“The manuals in the gang’s armory vault can be redeemed at half price. When you have free time, cultivate more and improve your strength. The stronger you are, the greater your chance of survival. You understand this.”
Su Wangchuan reminded him.
Wang Yuehui nodded respectfully.
“I understand. Recently, I have been cultivating 《Lightfoot on Grass》 and 《Gale Saber Art》. I have nearly reached a bottleneck. Now that I have your reward silver, I can purchase another First-Rank martial art…”
“Then cultivate 《Fish Scale Technique》. It is a body-protecting art. It increases defense and can preserve your life in danger.” Su Wangchuan deliberately guided him, as repayment for his loyalty.
Wang Yuehui was astonished and quickly cupped his fists in gratitude.
“Thank you for your guidance, Hall Master. I will purchase 《Fish Scale Technique》 at once.” His tone carried more sincerity and gratitude.
Su Wangchuan waved his hand.
“Go.”
Wang Yuehui withdrew.
Su Wangchuan sat in the courtyard that had once belonged to Hall Master Song Minshu.
On the stone table in the spacious courtyard lay the wooden chest seized from the tailor shop, along with silver notes and property deeds. Adding in the gold notes he had stockpiled during this period, the total value already exceeded one hundred and fifty taels of gold.
Su Wangchuan smiled and murmured to himself, “Among players, I should be considered relatively wealthy now.”
“Moreover, the reward the Gang Leader promised for encircling and annihilating the Qingyi Sect intruders has not yet been issued. Once that bonus is distributed, my funds will be even more abundant.”
“I can consider making a deal with Su Wan.”
His gaze turned distant.
Having too much money was not necessarily a good thing.
Without matching strength, money only made one a fat lamb.
“The most important thing now is to convert this money into strength. Ideally, I should purchase more Second-Rank martial arts, raise my attributes, and advance to Second-Rank Martial Artist as soon as possible.”
That afternoon, he logged out and went to the seventy-fifth floor to meet Su Wan.
Su Wan still looked like that bright, playful girl with freckles. There was a youthful air about her, mixed with elements of an HR uniform. She sat behind her desk, propping up her delicate chin, looking as though she had anticipated his visit.
“Hall Master Su.”
“I did not expect you to become a First-Rank Martial Artist and rise to power in Huishui County so quickly.”
“Congratulations.”
Su Wan slowly rose to offer her congratulations.
Su Wangchuan smiled faintly.
“In front of Supervisor Su, I am merely an ordinary employee. I have worked so hard only to survive well in the game and avoid having my account deleted without explanation.”
Su Wan seemed not to notice the edge in his words. She smiled.
“You came this time intending to conduct a large-scale silver transaction with the company, did you not?”
“Yes.”
Su Wangchuan nodded. “Supervisor Su mentioned before that as long as I conduct a large-scale silver transaction with the company, the company will provide intelligence support. I came specifically to inquire… What exactly counts as a ‘large-scale transaction’? And what form does this intelligence support take?”
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