After waiting a moment and realising nothing more could be squeezed out, Yu Qing reached up to the compartment he was lying under and pulled down a piece of cloth. “Take a look, there seems to be nothing in this shop. How can a few pieces of cloth be enough for concealment? Provide something else as well.”
The cloaked man replied, “It is good enough that we could get this shop for you. Figure out the rest yourselves. By the way…” He then turned to Baili Xin. “We do not have much money either. Remember to return this shop when you are done with it. Leave it in a safe place and make contact. Someone will come to collect it then.”
Baili Xin nodded and gave a soft “Mm.”
Seeing the cloaked man about to leave again, Yu Qing called out to stop him. “One more question. Have you heard of the ‘Qilin Ginseng’?”
The cloaked man, who had just turned to leave, paused and looked back. “You did not come all the way here just to look for that thing, did you?”
Yu Qing denied it. “Nothing of the sort. We heard some people from the ‘Scorpion Gang’ in the city discussing it earlier. They seem to be looking for it.”
The cloaked man said, “It is better that you are not. According to those who have seen it, that thing moves on the ground as fast as a galloping Qilin and can burrow through the earth. It comes without a shadow and leaves without a trace. Even the strongest individuals in this world could not catch it and eventually had to give up. Do you really think some random gang stands a chance?”
It can burrow through the earth? The junior brothers exchanged a glance.
For the cloaked man, it was not a place to linger. Taking advantage of their momentary distraction, he pulled the door open, stepped out, glanced left and right, and vanished into the night.
With a space now vacant, Nan Zhu, who had been sitting in the lower compartment, immediately crawled out and squeezed in next to Baili Xin, breathing in her fragrance.
After the shop grew quiet again, Yu Qing fixed his gaze on Baili Xin and asked, “Who is above you in your organisation?”
Baili Xin shook her head. “I truly do not know.”
Yu Qing pressed, “Then how do you communicate?”
Baili Xin answered, “By letter.”
“Where are the letters sent?”
“I cannot say.”
“…” Yu Qing was speechless.
In short, the three brothers fell silent. They each ran through the list of fellow disciples who had left Linglong Temple in their minds, trying to figure out who had the highest probability. However, no matter how much they thought, they could not imagine which fellow disciple could have achieved such great success, able to make immediate arrangements in Kuilei City upon receiving a message.
Then again, it was true that they genuinely felt more at ease with Baili Xin this time. Although those fellow disciples had left Linglong Temple and they had been separated for many years, they still believed those people would not do anything to harm them.
Ultimately, it was Baili Xin who broke the silence. She shook the metal medallion and the paper containing relevant information in her hand, asking, “Who will be this ‘Hua Shang Fei’?”
When it came to physical labour, Mu Aotie, who was inside, replied, “I will carry it.”
Unexpectedly, Yu Qing refused. “Forget it. Let the Seventh do it.”
Nan Zhu widened his eyes. “Why me?”
He certainly did not want to carry such a shop around. As the senior brother, the heaviest physical labour should not fall to him. Anywhere you go, the least qualified do the dirty and tiring work.
Yu Qing explained, “Your body type is too obvious. If we mix together, the chance of being recognised is much greater.”
Nan Zhu immediately retorted, “That is not how it works. If someone can truly recognise you, it has nothing to do with whether I am with you or not.”
Yu Qing ignored him and spoke directly to Baili Xin. “When we are running around outside, you will just hide inside this shop. Try not to show your face.”
Baili Xin said, “It is fine. I will still go with you.”
Yu Qing spoke bluntly. “Without your bow and arrows, your usefulness is limited. Carrying your bow and arrows openly on your back is too conspicuous. A female master archer is even more conspicuous than the Seventh’s body type. If you really walk with us, you will just become a burden.”
Nan Zhu’s eyes lit up, and he quickly advised, “Yes, the Fifteenth makes a valid point. Baili, we must consider the bigger picture.”
Thus, Baili Xin fell silent, tacitly accepting the arrangement.
Nan Zhu also reached out and took the items from her hands. He hung the metal medallion, representing the identity of a Mountain Porter, around his neck and said cheerfully, “From now on, I, Nan, am the Mountain Porter Hua Shang Fei. I never thought I would have a day where I could be a Mountain Porter.”
Yu Qing casually added, “Fat on Flowers.”
Upon hearing this, Baili Xin could not help but burst out laughing.
Nan Zhu’s face immediately darkened, and the look he gave Yu Qing was somewhat ominous.
Yu Qing slowly turned his head away. He also realised he had made the wrong joke. Normally, it did not matter how he mocked the Seventh for being fat, but he could not say it in front of Baili Xin. He could not make the Seventh lose face, otherwise the Seventh would truly lose his temper.
He reached out and touched the walls and windows of the shop, testing the weight of the assembled panels to change the subject. “This shop is not very good.”
A good ‘Tianya Pavilion’ was quite expensive. The lighter and more solid it was, the more expensive it became. The materials used were highly particular. It was said that the most expensive set of ‘Tianya Pavilion’ weighed less than ten jin. What kind of concept was that?
As for the one in front of them, a casual estimation suggested it would exceed three hundred jin.
For a Mountain Porter who travelled the world, this difference in weight had an extraordinary impact.
Nan Zhu snorted. “It is good enough to use. Why be so particular when we are poor?”
Yu Qing was just making a remark. It was not him who had to carry it anyway. He turned and called out, “Ninth, let us go.”
Mu Aotie immediately crawled out.
Nan Zhu paused and asked, “Where are you going?”
Yu Qing replied, “Where else? Naturally, to gather intelligence. We cannot all squeeze into this shop. If we all stay here, we will be blind. You stay here and put up the sign to buy ‘three-legged crows’. The Ninth and I will go outside to gather information.”
The shop door was pulled open, and two figures left one after the other, returning to Kuilei City to wander around.
The shop was now an environment where a lone man and a lone woman were alone together, which was exactly the situation Nan Zhu preferred.
Previously, even when they were in Youjiao Port, whenever Nan Zhu tried to get close, Baili Xin could always find an excuse to decline. Now, she had no choice but to be alone with him.
Of course, official business could not be delayed. After the two of them familiarised themselves with the shop, they lit the red lantern at the door and wrote a glowing sign for acquisitions: One million taels for one three-legged crow!
At dawn the next day, the various Tianya Pavilions gathered at the foot of Kuilei City began to pack up and leave, their destinations unknown.
Nan Zhu climbed onto the roof of his own shop and looked around, feeling a bit unsure of what to do next.
Fortunately, it was not long before two familiar, strolling figures appeared. Yu Qing and Mu Aotie, who had wandered the city all night, returned.
The two, having strolled all night, had gained absolutely nothing. No one knew exactly where the three-legged crow would appear.
More importantly, no one in the city was familiar with them. They were complete strangers. Furthermore, they did not look like wealthy people of high status. Since the two were unwilling to spend money generously, no one engaged in deep conversation with them. They had to find an alternative method.
Thus, the two returned to the city crestfallen.
When they arrived at the shop door, Nan Zhu jumped down. Since there was no one around and the other visible shops were quite far away, he asked bluntly, “How did it go?”
Yu Qing sighed. “Not well. Let us find a way first.”
Nan Zhu pressed, “Find what way?”
Mu Aotie replied, “Find that man named Cao.”
“What?” Nan Zhu widened his eyes. “You do not really want to join a gang, do you?”
The reason for his shock was that they already belonged to a sect. As disciples of Linglong Temple, what would it mean to go and mix with a gang? Did they really want to conquer the world in Kuilei City?
He also suspected the two fellows wanted to look for the Qilin Ginseng. He had similar thoughts himself. If they could make a fortune along the way on this trip, what would be wrong with that?
It did not need to be said aloud. He knew his two junior brothers definitely had the same idea. They would certainly not miss an opportunity to make a side profit.
Yu Qing said, “What is there to be so surprised about? We are in an unfamiliar place. Let us just blend in for now. Let us go. It is not certain yet. Let us see what the situation is with that man named Cao first.”
He and Mu Aotie walked off first.
Nan Zhu turned back and nodded to Baili Xin, who was peering out from inside the room. He then crawled under the small house, placed the carrying pole on his shoulders, grabbed a mechanism connecting the locking pins of the four legs, and pulled it. The pins withdrew, the four legs immediately stopped bearing weight, and the entire load instantly fell onto his shoulders.
He then repeatedly pulled a rope to retract the four legs, and pushed the pin mechanism again to prevent the four legs from dropping down.
He hoisted the entire small house onto his shoulders, turned around, and shook his fleshy body as he strove to catch up with the direction Yu Qing and the other had gone.
Thinking that Baili Xin was being carried on his shoulders, he could not help but grin crookedly with a sense of happiness.
To the east of Kuilei City, outside the eighteenth toll gate for entering and exiting the city, a group of several dozen people had gathered, seemingly discussing something.
Yu Qing jumped onto a rock, climbed up to get a better view, and spotted Cao Dingkun in the middle. He immediately gave a hand signal to Nan Zhu, who was following behind carrying the house.
Cao Dingkun had seen Nan Zhu. It had only been a day, so he probably still had an impression. It would be inappropriate for him to discover that Nan Zhu had turned into a Mountain Porter again.
Receiving the signal, Nan Zhu immediately stopped approaching. He lowered the four legs to rest and watched helplessly as the Fifteenth and the other headed towards the crowd.
Outside the crowd, Yu Qing called out over the people, “Brother Cao.”
A group of people, all carrying weapons, turned around at the sound. Cao Dingkun, who was in the crowd, also craned his neck to look.
Yu Qing pulled out a piece of paper with half of the character ‘Cao’ on it and waved it to signal them.
Mu Aotie also pulled out his half of the paper. They had kept them on their persons and not thrown them away.
“Oh, here come some more who want to join the ranks.”
Someone immediately came over, pulling out a stack of torn papers from their sleeve to match the contact token with the two men.
There was no other intention. Although the Scorpion Gang was rapidly recruiting, they were not indiscriminate. They could not possibly accept just anyone, nor could they accidentally recruit enemies.
Their screening method was simple. They did not accept those who actively sought them out. They relied entirely on their own experience and judgement to select people. If they felt someone was suitable, they would invite them, such as Yu Qing and his companions.
“No need to check.” Cao Dingkun walked over, pushed down his companion’s hand that was searching for the token, and stepped forward to pat Yu Qing and Mu Aotie on the shoulders. With a look of appreciation, he said cheerfully, “These two brothers look like dragons and phoenixes among men at first glance. I have an impression of them. I invited them. There is no need to check the joining token.”
Dragons and phoenixes among men? The crowd’s gazes first swept over Mu Aotie, and then successively settled on Yu Qing’s small moustache. Someone curled the corner of their mouth in a noncommittal sneer.