21: Chapter 21 Great Harvest

The Spiritual Qi in the central waters of Qingyun Lake was chaotic, and with Yao Beasts roaming about, they didn't dare to enter the water to search. They could only watch helplessly as Junior Brother Wang Wu disappeared with the Storage Pouch, leaving no trace behind.

"Brother Hu, what do we do now? That Storage Pouch contained the Spirit Sand we saved up, as well as the tribute for the First Senior Brother!" The accomplice's eyes were also filled with fear.

The reason they were able to rob and kill those Utility Disciples on Qingyun Lake without being discovered by the Sect...

...was because of Lin Hao's protection.

However, every time they committed a robbery or sold blood, they had to give a fifty percent tribute to Lin Hao.

At the thought of Lin Hao's usual cold gaze and ruthless methods, Zhao Hu felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head.

"Kill those Utility Disciples, seize their belongings, and then sell their blood to Old Liu!" Zhao Hu's expression was terrifyingly gloomy.

The two accomplices took their longswords and walked toward the cabin.

...

Chore Residence.

Qin Changsheng slowly opened his eyes.

He discovered that his External Incarnation, Junior Brother Wang Wu, had been killed by the Yao Beasts of Qingyun Lake.

However, before Junior Brother Wang Wu died, he had already thrown Zhao Hu's Storage Pouch into the Storage Space.

With a thought, a coarse black Storage Pouch flew out from his own Storage Space.

Qin Changsheng circulated his Spiritual Qi and gently tapped open the seal of the Storage Pouch.

In the next instant, countless shimmering white grains of Spirit Sand poured out from the mouth of the pouch, piling into a small mound in front of him.

A flicker of surprise flashed through Qin Changsheng's eyes; he hadn't expected Zhao Hu to have so much Spirit Sand.

He sat on the ground and began counting the Spirit Sand.

"Twenty-three thousand grains!"

Qin Changsheng's eyes were full of astonishment.

Even for an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple, it would be difficult to obtain this much even after a lifetime of saving.

Yet Zhao Hu had acquired so much Spirit Sand just by robbing people on Qingyun Lake.

Besides the mountain of Spirit Sand, there were many ceramic jars at the bottom of the Storage Pouch.

Qin Changsheng picked up a jar, pulled out the stopper, and sniffed for a moment, discovering that these were all the blood of Cultivators.

At the very bottom of the Storage Pouch, there was also a neatly folded piece of letter paper. The paper was coarse but carefully folded, clearly a very important item.

Qin Changsheng reached out to take the letter and slowly unfolded it. He examined the handwriting by the moonlight; the script was sharp and powerful, carrying a hint of condescending Pressure. At the signature, the two characters "Lin Hao" were clearly written.

This was actually a letter written by Lin Hao to Zhao Hu.

Qin Changsheng's gaze narrowed as he read it word by word. The contents caused a ripple in his heart.

The tone of the letter was concise. It first urged Zhao Hu to hand over the agreed-upon Spirit Sand as soon as possible without delay.

It then emphasized and instructed Zhao Hu and his accomplices to restrain their behavior recently and not sell blood to evil Cultivators, acting with utmost caution.

Qin Changsheng understood now. No wonder Zhao Hu had been robbing within the Sect for all these years without anyone investigating.

It turned out he had Lin Hao's protection.

Qin Changsheng refolded the letter and placed it into his Storage Space.

At the very bottom of the Storage Pouch, there were also many Identity Tokens.

With just one look at these Identity Tokens, Qin Changsheng knew they all belonged to the Utility Disciples killed by Zhao Hu.

Originally, Qin Changsheng was worried about the identity of his External Incarnation, but with these tokens, the Incarnation's identity would naturally be easily resolved.

With a wave of his hand, the twenty-three thousand grains of Spirit Sand, the numerous Identity Tokens, and the Storage Pouch all flew into his Storage Space.

"Hu Nan!"

Qin Changsheng took out an Identity Token.

Qin Changsheng was very familiar with this Hu Nan; he was Qin Changsheng's fellow villager.

However, Hu Nan possessed Four Spiritual Roots and had also joined the Outer Sect.

Back at the Qingyun Tower, Hu Nan, Zhang Han, and the others had mocked Qin Changsheng together.

Qin Changsheng hadn't expected that Hu Nan would actually be killed by a Utility Disciple like Zhao Hu.

"I'll use Hu Nan's identity!" After some thought, Qin Changsheng decided to use Hu Nan's identity as an Outer Sect Disciple.

After all, Hu Nan was an Outer Sect Disciple and could access many things that he, as a Utility Disciple, could not.

Not only was there a monthly stipend, but he could also enter the Scripture Pavilion for free every year to select a Cultivation Technique.

He could also listen to the lectures of some Elders for free.

"First, I'll go to the market to find out when Hu Nan went missing!" Qin Changsheng made his decision.

...

Inside the market.

Qin Changsheng arrived at the Herb Shop and found Zhang Han.

Because Zhang Han didn't have enough Spirit Sand, he was working as a clerk in a Herb Shop.

"Customer, what would you like to buy?" Zhang Han walked over with his head down.

"Senior Brother Zhang!" Qin Changsheng said with a smile.

Hearing this, Zhang Han snapped his head up. After seeing it was Qin Changsheng, the impatience on his face intensified, and his tone was perfunctory and cold: "It's you. If you're not buying herbs, don't come here. I'm busy and don't have time to chat with you."

After saying that, he lowered his head to organize the herbs, not even sparing Qin Changsheng another glance, clearly unwilling to be bothered by him.

Qin Changsheng had long expected this attitude, and his face remained calm: "I'm not looking for you for anything else. It's just been a long time since I've seen a fellow villager, so I wanted to invite you to the Tavern ahead for a couple of drinks to catch up."

"Drinks?" Zhang Han's movements paused, and he suddenly looked up. The impatience in his eyes instantly vanished, replaced by a bit of surprise and a smile.

Zhang Han immediately asked the shopkeeper for leave before walking up to Qin Changsheng and saying, "Junior Brother Qin, I didn't expect you to actually know the rules!"

Qin Changsheng led Zhang Han toward the nearby Tavern.

The Tavern wasn't large, with a few simple wooden tables inside.

Utility Disciples usually drank here; a meal only cost a few grains of Spirit Sand.

Zhang Han didn't mind and directly found an empty seat in a corner.

Qin Changsheng called over the waiter and ordered a pot of low-grade spirit wine and a few side dishes, then waited quietly.

Before long, the food and wine were served. Zhang Han couldn't wait to pour himself a full bowl of wine and gulped down a large mouthful. A satisfied look appeared on his face, and he waved his hand at Qin Changsheng.

"Go ahead, there must be something on your mind if you're inviting me for drinks, right? We're fellow villagers, so feel free to speak plainly. As long as I can help, I won't refuse."

He spoke loyally, but his eyes showed a bit of shrewdness. Clearly, if Qin Changsheng's request was too troublesome, he wouldn't be willing to help.

Qin Changsheng said, "I just wanted to ask you, where did Hu Nan go? I went to the Outer Sect yesterday but didn't see him."

"Hu Nan... he went to Qingyun Lake to catch fish. Calculating the time, he's been gone for nearly five days." Zhang Han said.

"Qingyun Lake?" Qin Changsheng poured a cup of wine for Zhang Han and asked, "What did he go to Qingyun Lake to catch fish for?"

Zhang Han said, "What else? Because he took a fancy to a Magical Artifact and didn't have enough Spirit Sand."

"Later, he heard that catching Spirit Fish in Qingyun Lake could earn quite a lot of Spirit Sand, so he found a few people to go fishing there together. He said he'd wait until he sold the Spirit Fish to scrape together enough Spirit Stones to buy the Magical Artifact."

Hearing Zhang Han's words, Qin Changsheng decided to live in the Outer Sect using Hu Nan's identity.

After all, Junior Brother Wang Wu had swindled Lin Hao out of so many Spirit Stones.

With Lin Hao's temper, it was impossible for him to let Junior Brother Wang Wu go.

But with Hu Nan's identity, there wouldn't be so many concerns.

Additionally, with Hu Nan's status as an Outer Sect Disciple, he could go to the Scripture Pavilion to select a Cultivation Technique for free.

...

Outer Sect Main Hall.

First Senior Brother's Residence.

Lin Hao sat in the main seat, dressed in magnificent clothes, his eyes full of rage.

Zhao Hu knelt on the ground, trembling all over, his head bowed extremely low, not even daring to breathe loudly. His back was already soaked with cold sweat.