Inside the tent.
Li Tong, the Shao Fu Ling of the Ministry of Mountains and Seas, sat behind the command desk. He stood up, cupped his hands, and smiled, "I am Li Tong, Shao Fu Ling of the Ministry of Mountains and Seas of the Great Shang Dynasty. I greet the ancient immortal Lin Chikong!"
The eleventh-realm rogue cultivator, Lin Chikong, stepped forward and said, "Shao Fu Ling is too kind."
Saying that, he unceremoniously sat in the secondary seat beside him.
A group of centurions looked surprised.
...
"Speak!"
Lin Chikong said, "Who do you want to kill, and for what reason?"
Li Tong frowned, "The person we want to kill is named Lin Zhao, a little bastard from Tianchi Town. It is said that he has already become a fifth-realm martial artist. This little bastard's parents died when he was young, and now he is protected by Chu Huaixi of the Tianchi Army. Our Great Shang Dynasty has a nominal alliance with the Tianchi Army, so... I cannot act myself, so I wish to invite the old immortal Lin to finish this scoundrel for me."
Lin Chikong narrowed his eyes and said, "Answer my question, what is the reason for killing?"
"That little bastard!"
Li Tong said coldly, "I kindly wanted to recruit him to cultivate in the Ministry of Mountains and Seas, but he refused my good intentions and even violated protocol by refusing to kneel to me, a third-rank official of the court. Chu Huaixi is extremely protective and made me lose face on the Snow Domain Tianchi. Since that is the case, do not blame me, Li Tong, for being ruthless."
"Truly a third-rank Shao Fu Ling."
Lin Chikong gave him a thumbs-up and smiled, "You can say such petty, insidious, and venomous thoughts and intentions so openly. It seems the Shao Fu Ling is also a person of integrity."
Li Tong was stunned and chuckled awkwardly, "The old immortal flatters me..."
"Lin Zhao, his surname is Lin, and my surname is also Lin."
Lin Chikong said indifferently, "Therefore, to ask me to kill Lin Zhao comes at a great price."
"Old immortal, please speak!"
Li Tong said in a deep voice, "Chu Huaixi wants to protect him, but I will kill him right under Chu Huaixi's nose. Otherwise, I cannot vent my anger. Old immortal, please name your price."
Lin Chikong raised five fingers.
"Five hundred Qing Fu coins?"
A centurion cautiously asked.
Lin Chikong glanced at him, "For five hundred Qing Fu coins, do I need to make a move?"
"Fifty Fei Yu coins?"
Li Tong asked.
"Hmph..."
Lin Chikong smiled slightly and said, "Shao Fu Ling, you are so stingy. Fifty Fei Yu coins are hardly worth the trouble of me traveling all this way."
Li Tong said in a deep voice, "I understand, five Jin Zi coins!"
"Clever!"
Lin Chikong laughed, "But because his surname is Lin, the price is doubled. It requires ten Jin Zi coins. If the Shao Fu Ling can afford it, I will immediately prepare to kill him."
"Ten Jin Zi coins..."
Li Tong took a deep breath. This was definitely not a small sum. The value of these ten Jin Zi coins could almost buy a large piece of property in the imperial capital. Although Li Tong was a third-rank official, his salary for ten thousand years would not be that much money. Fortunately, he was the Shao Fu Ling of the Ministry of Mountains and Seas, a lucrative position. He dealt with the mountain sects within the Great Shang Dynasty and profited greatly. He could afford ten Jin Zi coins.
"Alright!"
Li Tong directly reached into his robe, took out ten Jin Zi coins, and placed them on the table one by one. With a gentle push of his chopsticks, he sent five Jin Zi coins towards Lin Chikong and smiled, "Half as a deposit."
"No, I want it all."
Lin Chikong waved his sleeve, and all ten Jin Zi coins were in his possession.
"You..."
Li Tong was shocked, "Old immortal Lin, this seems... not according to the rules, right?"
"Rules?"
Lin Chikong floated forward, flicked his palm, and a wisp of cloud smoke rose, condensing into a bloody palm. He instantly grabbed Li Tong's neck and lifted him into the air. Lin Chikong's expression was ferocious, and he laughed, "Whoever has the higher cultivation is the rule. You, a mere fourth-realm cultivator, have no right to talk about rules with me, an upper fifth-realm cultivator!?"
"Old immortal, you..."
Li Tong's face turned red, "Please... please spare my life, old immortal..."
The centurions were terrified, but none of them drew their swords. Anyone who drew a sword now would die. They were all smart people and didn't need to lose their lives for their superior, Li Tong.
Lin Chikong narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Shao Fu Ling, I am an immortal from the mountains... Why don't you, a mere Shao Fu Ling of a secular dynasty, kneel when you see me?"
Li Tong could barely speak, "I... I am willing... to... to kneel..."
"Hmph!"
Lin Chikong then dissipated his power. The moment Li Tong fell to the ground, he immediately knelt and kowtowed repeatedly.
"You are a true villain."
Lin Chikong looked at Li Tong and sneered, "However... I like true villains the most. Don't worry, having taken your ten Jin Zi coins, that Lin Zhao will surely die within a few days. Of course, you don't need to think that you bought me. You are not worthy. The real reason I want to kill Lin Zhao is very simple: I heard he dug up a sword on the Snow Domain Tianchi, and I want to see it."
"The old immortal is right, right..."
Li Tong kowtowed repeatedly.
"Useless!"
Lin Chikong floated away, leaving the people of the Ministry of Mountains and Seas dumbfounded.
...
A few days later, an old man came to the town. He was hunched, leaning on a cane, his clothes patched. He held a beggar's bowl and begged in the front street, but he never went to the back street. Perhaps he thought the people in the back street were too poor and he wouldn't get any alms.
He suppressed his cultivation aura to an extremely low level, appearing to be just a poor old man with no cultivation. Even Lin Zhao had seen him several times but had not noticed anything unusual.
One day, Lin Zhao was fishing on the bridge with Xiao Shitouxiao.
The hunchbacked old man from the front street finally arrived at the back street with his beggar's bowl. After getting a bowl of soup in the back street, he sat on a roadside stone to eat. Then, he ambled towards the stone bridge. From afar, the ancient sword on the young man's back seemed to emit a dazzling radiance!
The expression of this upper fifth-realm old immortal stiffened. A true treasure!?
For a moment, he became even more certain. Once he obtained this treasure, the path to the Great Dao would be within reach!
However, halfway there, a man in armor holding a horse blocked his path. The horse grazed on the left side of the small path, and the man stood on the right, holding the reins, which perfectly blocked the path.
"This..."
The old beggar looked up at the man and said, "Sir... Is there something?"
"Yes."
Chu Huaixi's eyes twinkled with a smile, "A dignified upper fifth-realm cultivator, why hide so much? Since you have come to our Tianchi Town, why not meet me, Chu Huaixi?"
"Wh... What upper fifth-realm?"
The old man looked surprised, "Sir, I don't know what you're talking about. Can you let me pass, sir? A horse owner cannot be unreasonable and make things difficult for an old man..."
"Hahahaha~~~"
Chu Huaixi stared at him and laughed, "You hide very well, but not well enough."
The old man still looked surprised.
"Hmph!"
Chu Huaixi moved aside, no longer blocking the path, pointed south, and said, "Don't go towards Baiyu Creek. Go down the mountain. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."
The old man meekly walked south.
After the old man left, Huang Tingyu rode over, dismounted, and stood beside Chu Huaixi, watching the old man leave.
"How is it?"
Huang Tingyu smiled, "Did you find anything out?"
Chu Huaixi frowned, "His aura is hidden very well. Only at a certain moment did I sense something. An upper fifth-realm cultivator entered the small town, but I'm not sure if it's him. I can only check the list of people entering and leaving the town. This person is the only one who recently arrived in town. But I can't be sure if he is an upper fifth-realm cultivator. If he is an upper fifth-realm cultivator, why would he disguise himself like this and sneak into town?"
"No need to doubt."
Huang Tingyu smiled, "He is indeed a Gui Zhen realm."
Chu Huaixi frowned, "Why are you so sure?"
"Because I am a sword cultivator..." Huang Tingyu smiled, "And my realm is higher than yours."
Chu Huaixi couldn't help but laugh, "If you, Huang Tingyu, were an upper fifth-realm sword cultivator, our Tianchi Army wouldn't need to be so submissive to the Great Shang Dynasty."
Huang Tingyu pinched his nose, "You don't believe me even after I told you."
...
On the mountain road down.
Lin Chikong remained hunched, his brows furrowed. He had used a magical artifact to suppress his aura to an almost undetectable level, yet why could that Sea-Crossing realm martial artist still sense him? However, Chu Huaixi's attitude was not so resolute. He probably wasn't sure if he was an upper fifth-realm cultivator. But the assassination of Lin Zhao had failed this time. He would find another opportunity next time.
He chuckled inwardly. Who was he, Lin Chikong? He always sought stability and was extremely cautious. If he didn't have this skill, he would have been killed by those orthodox cultivators long ago. He had lived for more than half his life and had done everything. For a secret treasure or artifact, slaughtering a mountain was common! In his glorious battles over the years, he had killed masters, taken their wives, annihilated entire families, and peeked at virtuous sect's saintesses and immortals bathing. He had done so many wicked things in his life, but Lin Chikong had never failed. Why? It was nothing more than "caution." Since that Sea-Crossing realm martial artist had seen through him this time, he would find another opportunity next time. Killing Lin Zhao was not urgent, and the boy's cultivation was not high. It was a matter that could be settled with a single spell.
As he was walking, a handsome man suddenly emerged from a mountain god temple on the mountainside. He wore white robes, had delicate features, a well-defined face, sword-like eyebrows, and starry eyes with a deep golden hue. He cupped his hands towards the old man and smiled, "This humble deity greets the old immortal of the upper fifth-realm. Would the old immortal like to come to the Mountain Lord's temple for a cup of tea?"
Lin Chikong was startled. He never expected to be recognized by this Mountain Lord. He immediately rode a cloud and transformed into a white light, flying down the mountain.
The Mountain Lord, Su Fu, watched the retreating figure. He didn't pursue, but merely waved his paper fan. In the next moment, the mountain and river qi swirled, and he instantly appeared at the foot of the mountain, seeing Lin Chikong flying towards him. He smiled, "Old immortal, why the hurry?"
Lin Chikong flew away again, ignoring him.
Su Fu frowned. He didn't force him to stop. After all, he was an old immortal of the upper fifth-realm, and he might not be able to defeat him. And he was saving that boy, was it necessary?
"Did I meddle unnecessarily?"
He fanned himself and muttered to himself with a smile.
...
Inside the academy.
Qin Suihan, who was reviewing the afternoon's chess game, slowly turned around and looked in the direction of the mountain. He smiled slightly, "Hmph, did you really think you were undiscovered? Don't come again next time, or I'll make you regret it."