Cultivating for Immorality: I Evolved Martial Arts into the Immortal Path – Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Greedy Chu Liang

The pack of wolves fled, and the mountain forest fell silent.

Chu Liang and the others rested for a moment before continuing their journey to the county town.

Naturally, the corpse of the wolf demon was Chu Liang’s spoils, and no one else had any objections.

The rest of the journey was smooth, and they didn’t encounter any more danger.

At dawn, a glimmer of morning light appeared on the horizon.

The county town was already within sight.

“Let us part ways here.”

Chu Liang bid farewell to the martial arts hall disciples and didn’t enter the city with them. Instead, he planned to visit the black market first.

Qi Xiuliang cupped his hands, not asking why, and said solemnly, “Your Excellency, take care.”

“Yes, you too, take care.”

They parted ways.

Qi Xiuliang and the others returned to the county town.

Chu Liang, along with Qi Xiaoyu, entered the black market through a secret passage.

The black market was quiet in the early morning, with only a few stalls open.

Qi Xiaoyu returned the black steed to the black market and received some silver in return. He then said to Chu Liang, “Master Chu, I’ll be going back now. Shopkeeper Qi should be waiting for my news.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

“Master Chu, take care!”

Qi Xiaoyu changed into commoner’s clothes, shouldered a bag, and left through a secret passage.

Now, only Chu Liang, the donkey, and the blood-soaked wolf demon corpse remained.

The wolf demon had been dead for a while, but the strong smell of blood lingered.

“Friend, is this the corpse of a demon beast?” a stall owner asked, approaching.

“Yes,” Chu Liang nodded.

“Are you selling it?”

“I already have a buyer.”

“I’m willing to offer eight hundred taels of silver. What do you say, friend? If it’s less than the other buyer, I can add more.”

“No need to say more. I’ve already signed a contract with that person.”

“Alright then.”

Hearing this, the stall owner looked disappointed and returned to his stall.

Several other stall owners who were planning to come over and ask for the price also dispersed, not wanting to waste their time.

Chu Liang was waiting for Wu Dafu.

He had been buying the flesh and blood of a demon beast called the “Barbarian Elephant” from Wu Dafu frequently.

They had interacted a lot, and one could say they were now acquaintances.

Before long, Wu Dafu emerged from a room, his face still sleepy, as if he hadn’t fully woken up. He yawned and walked unsteadily towards his stall.

He had only taken a few steps when he sniffed the air, and his eyes instantly lit up.

“The smell of demon blood!”

His sleepiness vanished instantly.

Wu Dafu’s eyes widened, and he immediately saw Chu Liang, who was waiting for him.

A wide smile spread across his fat face as he hurried towards Chu Liang, saying, “Please, come with me, this way!”

“Alright.”

“Let’s talk in the secret room.”

Wu Dafu chuckled and led Chu Liang into a secret room.

Chu Liang entered the secret room and casually tossed the wolf demon corpse behind him. Due to the small space of the secret room, the smell of blood became even more intense.

“You are truly remarkable, killing a tiger demon and then a wolf demon in just two days.”

Wu Dafu was all smiles, showering Chu Liang with compliments and giving him a thumbs-up. “Old Wu admires you, admires you greatly!”

“Cut the crap, I’m short on time.”

“Alright…”

Wu Dafu chuckled and asked, “You came to the black market to sell this wolf demon’s corpse?”

“What else?” Chu Liang asked back.

“Don’t you need demon beast flesh and blood yourself?”

“If I need any, I’ll come back and buy it. It’s just inconvenient to carry it around now.”

“I see.”

Wu Dafu was a smart man.

He understood Chu Liang’s meaning without needing further explanation.

The wolf demon corpse was valuable and could easily attract unwanted attention.

Just like the tiger demon, it was ultimately a hassle to keep.

Chu Liang had wanted to try the taste of tiger meat, but in the end, he decided against it and sold the entire tiger demon corpse to Song Zhong and the others.

If he needed demon beast meat, he could just come to the black market and buy it in smaller portions.

Wu Dafu carefully examined the wolf demon’s corpse and then started inspecting it by hand, discovering many damages to the fur. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

“You should know that the inherent value of this wolf demon is less than that of the tiger demon, and its flesh and blood are also much less than the tiger demon’s. The fur is also severely damaged. Its value is probably only half that of the tiger demon,” Wu Dafu estimated the price, his tone sincere.

“Yes, I understand.”

Chu Liang nodded. He was aware of the wolf demon’s value.

Half of the tiger demon’s value, which was seven hundred and fifty taels of silver.

The eight hundred taels offered by the previous stall owner was actually quite reasonable.

Wu Dafu thought for a moment and then held up his fingers, showing a number to Chu Liang, and said, “How about this, eight hundred and fifty taels, how’s that? You and I are old friends, I won’t shortchange you.”

“Alright, let’s draw up the contract.”

“Hehe, it’s always a pleasure doing business with you!”

Wu Dafu’s smile was so wide that his mouth almost couldn’t close. He immediately took out two copies of the contract from his bosom.

Shortly after, both parties signed the contract.

◈◈◈

One party paid the money, the other delivered the goods.

The transaction was completed.

Wu Dafu was in a great mood. He immediately called someone to carry the wolf demon’s corpse to another secret room and then asked Chu Liang with a smile, “Have you had breakfast yet?”

“Not yet.”

“We can go to the county town together. I know a good breakfast place.”

“No need, I’m in a hurry.”

Chu Liang put away the contract and silver notes, not wasting any time, and quickly left the black market.

Outside, the sky was already bright.

Today was not a market day, so the county town was relatively quiet.

The shops in the county town were open as usual, and several breakfast stalls on both sides of the road were emitting billowing white steam, the aroma of breakfast wafting through the air. But there were few people on the road, and it was quiet.

“This is the first time I’ve seen the county town so quiet.”

Chu Liang led the donkey into the county town, looked around, and then headed towards the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall.

The Black Sword Martial Arts Hall was located in the northern part of the county town.

The cultivation technique taught in the hall was called 《Sinking Water Technique》, which included nineteen static stances and five dynamic stances.

This technique emphasized cultivating the mind and character. Most of the stance movements were dull and boring, balanced in all aspects, without any outstanding advantages or disadvantages. It was the safest technique in the county town.

Even if there were problems during cultivation, it wouldn’t completely cripple the practitioner.

Its accompanying martial skill, 《Sinking Water Sword》, was recognized as the closest to a third-rate martial skill in the county town.

“Anping County is, after all, a small place. There isn’t even a single third-rate martial skill.”

The morning breeze brushed his face as Chu Liang walked and pondered.

The donkey shook its tail, its hooves clip-clopping on the bluestone road.

“There might not be any on the surface, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any in reality,” Chu Liang thought to himself. “The black market master is always mysterious, perhaps he has practiced a third-rate martial skill. And then there’s the leader of the Qin Clan Merchant Guild…”

Without realizing it, he had passed through the entire southern part of the city and arrived at the northern area of the county town.

The morning sun shone brightly.

More and more people appeared on the road, and the atmosphere became livelier.

Looking ahead along the paved bluestone road, a martial arts hall stood prominently at the end of the road. The main gate of the hall was hung with a black plaque, and on the plaque were carved the four characters 【Black Sword Martial Arts Hall】.

The main gate of the martial arts hall was tightly closed, but faint sounds of martial arts practice could be heard from within.

At this moment, the little mouse’s voice sounded in Chu Liang’s mind.

“Master, someone is watching you. It’s that Wu Neng. He’s in a teahouse on your right rear.”

The little mouse was dutifully keeping an eye on the surroundings for Chu Liang.

Chu Liang’s expression remained unchanged, and he continued walking forward without a word.

Behind him on the right, on the second floor of a teahouse.

Wu Neng sat by the window, his face gloomy, his eyes sinister, like a vicious vulture, staring intently at Chu Liang’s back.

“Chu Liang, he actually came to the county town… Did Song Zhong call him here?”

He scanned the area and found that Chu Liang was alone.

If they were outside the county town, Wu Neng might have taken action immediately and captured Chu Liang.

But this was inside the city, under the jurisdiction of the county government.

“Looking at his direction, is he planning to go to the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall?” Wu Neng frowned. “That’s right, he hasn’t been a martial artist for long, he probably hasn’t even learned any martial skills. Now that he’s sold that tiger, he has money to learn martial skills… Damn it, that tiger should have been mine!”

The thought of Chu Liang eating up those one thousand five hundred taels of silver alone made Wu Neng uncomfortable.

Actually, even if he had gotten the tiger demon corpse, he would have had to share the money with the other martial artists in his demon hunting team. He himself would have only gotten a little over two hundred taels.

With his current abilities, he could earn two hundred taels with a little more time.

But he was still uncomfortable!

Moreover, because of Chu Liang, his younger brother Wu Qian had disappeared and hadn’t returned, and there was no news of him.

Wu Neng had originally planned to wait for the Martial Alliance’s investigation to conclude before immediately taking people back to Qing Shi Village to capture Chu Liang. He hadn’t expected to see him in the county town.

“Why are those officials in the Martial Alliance taking so long!” Wu Neng cursed inwardly.

“Brother Wu, what’s wrong? Why did your gaze suddenly become so sharp? Did you see an enemy?” a middle-aged man opposite him asked.

“Yes.”

“Oh? A real enemy?”

The man was surprised and followed Wu Neng’s gaze.

“Who is that kid? He’s so young, his strength must be average. How did he offend you, Brother Wu?”

“Chu Liang.”

“Oh… No wonder. It’s that kid who stole your credit.”

The middle-aged man suddenly understood and said, “Brother Wu, if you hadn’t severely injured that tiger demon, that kid wouldn’t have been able to take it down so easily. He might have even been killed by the tiger demon.”

“Yes, I wanted to capture that kid and bring him to the county town for a confrontation, but Song Zhong and the others kept stopping me!”

Wu Neng’s expression was unkind, his gaze still fixed on Chu Liang.

Actually, the tiger demon had nothing to do with him.

During that month-long search, he hadn’t even seen the shadow of the tiger demon.

But after returning to the county town, he claimed that he had severely injured the tiger demon. The others in his demon hunting team also said the same, claiming that they had contributed the most in fighting the tiger, but Chu Liang had ultimately stolen the kill.

Gradually, people started to believe them, like the middle-aged man in front of him.

“That kid is really greedy, eating up one thousand five hundred taels of silver all by himself. He doesn’t even think, if it weren’t for you, Brother Wu, he might not even be alive now.”

The middle-aged man put down his teacup, looked at Chu Liang, and a hint of disdain and dissatisfaction appeared in his eyes.

“Hmph, a greedy snake trying to swallow an elephant!” Wu Neng snorted coldly.

“Country bumpkins are short-sighted, most of them are like that.”

The middle-aged man suddenly beckoned to a servant beside him and said, “Looking at him, he’s probably going to the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall to learn martial arts. Alright then, I’ll write a letter and have someone deliver it to the hall immediately, telling them to kick that kid out.”

“This… Brother Qi…”

“No need to say more. I just don’t want to be in the same martial arts hall with such a selfish and greedy person.”