Chapter 91: What’s Going On

When Xu Shiye arrived, several Helmsmen and Guardians of the Devouring Sea Gang were present. With Willow Lake City tense and dangerous, they had been holed up in the fort. Until the trouble passed, they didn’t even dare visit their townhouses, wanting to avoid unnecessary hassle.

The gloomy man sitting at the east end, holding a soft, clinging woman in his lap, was Lin Yiji. As the Helmsman second only to Chief Lao Chao, he surveyed the cold leftovers on the table. He poured wine down his throat with a cold laugh, breaking the silence. “I took a glance at the ledger earlier. The offerings from Willow Lake City have gotten smaller once again. Those greedy bank managers have grown braver by the day. If we hide away for a few more days, they might just toss their lot in with the Academy!”

The other Helmsmen lounging nearby chuckled coldly. “We’ve had a run of bad luck recently. It’s no surprise things turned out this way. Right now, those Jianghu drifters flooding into Willow Lake City see us lying low and refuse to leave. They’re practically itching to establish their own reputations right here. Even some small merchants and bosses who’ve paid us tribute for years are dragging their feet on their dues…”

Everyone understood their situation. The Devouring Sea Gang had once been Willow Lake City’s number one gang, dominating both the lawful and lawless worlds. Their ferocious reputation was unmatched… until several months ago. Then, a string of bad luck hit, and they suffered multiple setbacks!

First, they set their sights on the Fang Family’s business, targeting the Twelve Continuous Docks. Not only did they fail to capture it, but they also got bloodied, losing face. Then, just days ago, Academy Disciples snatched a whole boatload of women right from their grasp. That was another blow to their Jianghu reputation. Combined with their recent low profile and unwillingness to cause trouble, outsiders unaware of the details saw the Devouring Sea Gang as a shadow of its former self.

“Great Leader,” one Helmsman finally blurted out cautiously, “the whole city is searching for that Human Elixir. Why aren’t we moving? The City Governor himself has promised a hefty reward…”

Lao Chao, seated at the head, shot him a cold look.

The Helmsman instantly ducked his head, falling silent, though a hint of regret remained on his face. Similar expressions lingered on others in the room.

Both sides of the city desperately sought the Human Elixir. The City Governor had even offered substantial incentives for the gang’s help. Yet, surprisingly, Lao Chao issued strict orders, forbidding any involvement.

This not only cost the gang a chance to get rich quick but also displeased the City Governor’s office.

No one could fathom Lao Chao’s thoughts.

“The Human Elixir reeks of darkness. We’re better off staying away!” Sensing the dissatisfaction among the leaders, Lao Chao remained silent for a while before slowly speaking. He grabbed a wine jug, taking several deep gulps. His eyes turned faintly red, like a beast eyeing its prey, as he added with chilling menace, “But don’t worry. Willow Lake City is too chaotic right now. We all need to lay low. Once this storm blows over, plenty of fat sheep will be waiting for us to butcher…”

Some things were hard to explain to the rank and file. Sometimes, you just had to paint a big promise.

He scratched his thick-bearded, fierce-looking face and sneered. “When that time comes, the good days end. The first one to fall into our hands will be the Fang Family… riding high on their sudden fame right now.”

“The Fang Family?” The other Helmsmen exchanged shocked glances. “But didn’t we hear recently that…”

“Hah! Well, we’ve learned something useful after all,” Lao Chao chuckled coldly twice. “I got word. I thought the Fang Family was protected by some powerful figure, but it turns out their Second Son just pulled a fast one. He handed the Twelve Continuous Docks over to the Academy, murking the waters. Outsiders couldn’t see through it, but the City Governor spotted it clearly. Once this fuss dies down, the Fang Family will be perfect for us to restore our dominance…”

Upon hearing this, the group glanced at each other before erupting into loud laughter.

They had taken a huge, scary loss trying to seize the Fang Family’s Twelve Continuous Docks earlier, truly believing they were up against a powerful backer. Now, learning the truth, it seemed almost laughable. Perfect timing. With the gang needing to reassert its authority after the trouble passed, the plump Fang Family fortune would be just right to devour!

Just as the Helmsmen and leaders cheered up, the atmosphere warming as they ordered fresh feasts dragged up, ready to drink their fill, Xu Shiye, sitting off to the side examining pills from a bundle, suddenly made a quiet, puzzled noise — “Huh?”

All eyes snapped to him. He held one pill, staring at it with an extremely odd expression.

“Old Ghost Xu, where’d you bag that trinket?” several Helmsmen teased. “You don’t even know Qi Refining. Why fiddle with a Qi Refining Pill?”

“That thing isn’t cheap. Where’d you steal it from?”

……

Ignoring the jokes, Xu Shiye gathered a few pills and hurried over to Lao Chao. “Some thugs waylaid a few travelling merchants,” he whispered. “I’ve already ordered them whipped… They seized a few Qi Refining Pills. Handed them in according to the rules. I examined them. Oddly, these pills possess excellent quality, almost top-grade Spirit Pills. But this one’s the strangest…” He passed a white pill nestled in a small purple box to Lao Chao. “I’ve seen plenty of Qi Refiners’ gadgets, even a few Treasure Pills. But this pill here… I truly can’t figure it out. Could you take a look?”

“Those scum… acted again?” Lao Chao’s voice was icy. Yet another breach of his prohibition.

It was inevitable. With the Black Water Fort’s vast operation, him keeping his men’s actions curb for this long was a feat. At least they knew to pick out the valuable plunder for tribute, showing they still respected the rules.

“Later, pick out a few of the little bosses involved and have them killed. Set an example…” Lao Chao commanded coldly as he casually took the Qi Refining Pill.

Like inspecting any pill, he scratched the waxy coating with his fingernail, making a small slit.

Cutting the wax coating and sniffing the contents was perfectly normal.

Men below plundering goods and picking the best for tribute to the Black Water Fort was perfectly normal.

But this time, something abnormal happened.

The moment the waxy coating split, dazzling light erupted, filling the entire hall with an extraordinary fragrance.

Lao Chao’s face went white as a sheet. “Whoosh!” He nearly dropped the pill entirely. “HOW CAN THIS BE?”

……

“Crack…”

Rain had fallen over Willow Lake City for a long while. Although not heavy, it hadn’t stopped.

The sky, perpetually gloomy and overcast, seemed choked with thick, heavy black drapes of cloud continuously shifting overhead.

By now, both the common citizens and Qi Refiners of Willow Lake City were accustomed to such weather. Yet on this day, amidst the haze of mist and gentle rain filling the seemingly quiet sky, a startlingly bright bolt of lightning suddenly slashed across the horizon.

Like a giant blade cleaving through the ink-black sky, it split it in two. And the direction this lightning bolt pointed ended precisely… at the Black Water Fort outside the city walls.

“Whoosh!”

Countless Qi Refiners sensed it simultaneously. At that very instant, they looked up instinctively towards the sky.

“Baa…”

In a small gazebo perched on a hill in the northwest corner of Willow Lake City, Academy Dean Gongyang Yanqing and an elderly man in black and another in white sitting beside him were all startled awake by the flash of lightning and the cry of a goat.

Turning their heads, they saw a blue goat suddenly open its dark eyes. It fixed its gaze silently toward the east… towards the place the lightning diagonally pointed.

A shadow passed over Gongyang Yanqing’s eyes as he exchanged a look with the two elders beside him.

……

Also precisely at that moment, within the City Guard Office…

Above a round, pure white jade platform easily ten yards across, eight Divine Talismans floated gently at each cardinal and ordinal direction. Just before the lightning flashed, perhaps even simultaneously, the Divine Talisman hanging in the southeast quadrant ignited spontaneously on its own! Its flame transformed into a tiny firebird that shot urgently towards the southeastern horizon!

Bai Huali, the City Governor, who had sat motionless in his great hall armchair for three days, sprung to life at this exact moment! His eyes snapped open! In an instant, his form streaked out of the main hall, chasing the path of the tiny firebird as it raced through the encroaching darkness straight for the Black Water Fort.

……

Many similar events unfolded simultaneously.

In another corner of Willow Lake City, a man had confined over a dozen wandering spirits nearby. The moment Lao Chao scratched the pill in the Black Water Fort, these spirits seemed violently agitated. Silently wailing, they surged desperately toward the southeast.

……

Elsewhere, before one man, a piece of blue incense was burning. Its smoke, which had been rising straight up, was suddenly and strangely drawn. Without warning, it began twisting and flowing determinedly… toward the southeast.

……

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A moment of utter silence descended, as if time itself had frozen.

Then, the very next instant, within and outside Willow Lake City, from every direction, countless figures soared into the air, flying headlong toward the Black Water Fort!

Now in the last few days, the number of Qi Refiners searching for traces of the Human Elixir had exploded within Willow Lake City.

Whether it was the Academy wanting to retrieve the Elixir and slightly offset the crime of their Instructor refining a Human Elixir; or the City Governor desperate to recover it and finally close the whole bloody case; or those rogue cultivators hoping to trade finding it for a hefty reward – maybe even busily hiding the thought of finding it for themselves in a dark corner of their minds – all were constantly on high alert.

No one knew exactly how the Elixir thief originally managed to spirit the Human Elixir away right from under everyone’s noses. Yet, they all understood one thing clearly: The Human Elixir was different from common Spirit Pills or Treasure Pills. Its aura was enormous, even rivaling that of a Divine Elixir! It was incredibly difficult to conceal! If even a sliver leaked out, countless methods could instantly detect its location! Once spotted, all the converging Qi Refiners meant the thief had nowhere to run… truly a dead end!

Every Qi Refiner within Willow Lake City had prepared meticulously, lying in wait solely for the moment the Human Elixir surfaced…

And now… Sure enough, the Human Elixir’s aura had become exposed! Instantly, they seized the chance!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In every direction, countless Qi Refiners – some flying solo on swords, others advancing quickly in groups of three or five – descended upon the Black Water Fortress, its location merely an inked symbol on a map of Willow Lake City’s southern landscape. They moved like predatory fish stalking through ink-black waters: swift as shadows, silent as ghosts!

“Searched high and low, couldn’t find a trace… and yet here it is? The Human Elixir, hiding right within the Black Water Fort?”

“No wonder the whole city went berserk searching for it, only the Devouring Sea Gang stayed barricaded inside… it has been here all along?”