Nine Transformations of the True Spirit

Three months later, in Luo Zhenwu's mansion.

"Gang leader, you have to make the decision for me! Hall Master Chen has to use three bottles of Jingyuan Dan every month. Not to mention selling the rest, it is not even enough to supply the hall leaders and deputy hall leaders in the gang! If this continues , I, Shennong Hall, don’t do anything anymore, just make elixirs for Hall Master Chen!”

Luo Zhenwu looked at the angry leader of Shennong Hall in front of him and said in surprise:

"Is this happening? Hall Master Chen has to use a Jingyuan Pill in one day?"

The master of Shennong Hall said with a look of sorrow and anger on his face:

"Yes! This is simply a fantasy. I don't know how much Hall Master Chen has corrupted from it! He is from Baibing Hall. If he really wants to make money, he should go to Hou Yan to get it, but he comes to take advantage of our Shennong Hall. What's going on?"

Luo Zhenwu frowned and said:

"This matter is indeed a bit strange, but Hall Master Chen has stayed behind closed doors for the past few months. He practices martial arts diligently every day. He doesn't spend much money on weekdays. There is no need to be greedy for elixirs."

Seeing Luo Zhenwu still defending Chen Yuan, the leader of Shennong Hall suddenly stood up and said angrily:

"If the gang leader thinks that I am exaggerating, I will confront Hall Master Chen right now! Three bottles of Jingyuan Dan, with a market price of 1,800 taels of silver, and a cost of at least a thousand taels, were all taken away by him! And there is no essence. With the sale of Yuan Dan, all of Gang Jin’s regular customers were snatched away by Ji Shi Tang, and the sales of other elixirs also dropped. The monthly loss was at least three thousand taels of silver, and the reputation was gradually ruined. Who would make up for these losses? ? It’s true that Hall Master Chen has made great contributions, but Shennong Hall is not the only one who has benefited. I should not be taken advantage of!"

Luo Zhenwu hurriedly comforted him with gentle words:

"Hall Master Qi, please be patient. Let's do this. I'll go find Hall Master Chen and ask you what's going on. Then I'll give you an answer. How about that?"

Hall Master Qi sat down again, but he was still aggrieved:

"I'm not stingy, but Hall Master Chen relied on the gang leader's promise to blatantly covet the elixir, which is too much! Our Shennong Hall is willing to provide Hall Master Chen with two bottles of Jingyuan Pill every month. No more will be enough, otherwise Other hall masters come to me and ask for three or four bottles of elixirs every month, so how can Shennong Hall still operate?"

"Don't worry, I will definitely give you an explanation..."

Luo Zhenwu comforted Hall Master Qi with a few more gentle words.

After Hall Master Qi left, Luo Zhenwu frowned and fell into deep thought.

He had placed several eyes and ears among the servants of the Chen Mansion and knew the situation of the Chen Mansion very well.

After Chen Yuan came back from the Chimang Mountains, he stayed at home, practiced martial arts diligently, and lived a simple life.

Not only did he not touch the two maids he sent carefully to find, but the food was also the same as that of ordinary wealthy people, except that there were more meat dishes and no delicacies.

Not in love with power, not greedy for beauty, not lustful for life.

Why would such a martial arts idiot want to be greedy for elixirs?

Luo Zhenwu's expression changed, and his mind surged. Suddenly, the housekeeper came to report that Hou Yan was visiting.

Luo Zhenwu calmed down and stood up to greet him.

But as soon as he walked out of the main hall, Hou Yan walked over quickly, his face gloomy.

After he saw Luo Zhenwu, he curtly saluted and said urgently:

"Gang Leader, I just received news that the No. 3 workshop outside the city was attacked last night. Fifty-six craftsmen, ninety-four apprentices, thirty guards, and twenty-seven handymen and cooks were all killed and injured. The value of one Four thousand taels of ironware disappeared!"

Luo Zhenwu's expression changed:

"What exactly happened? Tell me in detail!"

"According to the rules, workshops outside the city must send people to the city every morning to report yesterday's progress, but today the accounting office of Workshop A3 did not enter the city, so I sent Wu Ding to check, only to find that the workshop was burned down, and the craftsmen and apprentices , the guards, and the handymen were all killed and injured.”

Luo Zhenwu's eyes shot out a fierce light and said:

"Were there any traces found at the scene?"

Hou Yan said without hesitation:

"No, but it must be the work of the Sanjiang Gang! There are Neijin deacons in charge of the Class A workshops, and the escort team is equipped with strong bows and crossbows. It is impossible for ordinary gangsters to do such a clean job, and the bandits in the Chimang Mountains can't After leaving the mountain and looking at Yuzhou, only the Sanjiang Gang has this strength."

Luo Zhenwu nodded and said:

"It's almost the same. Last month we just smashed up two of their gambling dens in Sweetwater Lane, killing more than 20 people. It seems like this is their revenge."

Hou Yan gritted his teeth and said:

"It's a pity that they did it too cleanly. There are no clues at the scene. Otherwise, if they were reported to the government, they would be uprooted. This is a major case involving two hundred people!"

Luo Zhenwu sneered and said:

"Give it up. The Sanjiang Gang has long fed the navy on the Yongping River with money. How could it possibly leave traces? Maybe the navy is dealing with the aftermath."

Hou Yan sighed and said:

"I was also eager for quick success and quick success, so I built Workshop No. 3 on the bank of the Yongping River, but I forgot that it was the territory of the Sanjiang Gang, giving them an opportunity to take advantage of it."

Luo Zhenwu waved his hand and said:

"It's not your fault. Workshop No. 3 can use water power to blow wind, and also built a wharf. The iron materials shipped from Lanzhou and Xingzhou are directly unloaded in the workshop, which saves a lot of effort and makes good iron weapons. , can also go down the Yongping River and be sold to other states, making a lot of money for our gang. If it were me, I would choose here..."

As he spoke, his tone slowly became serious:

"The Sanjiang Gang is becoming more and more arrogant. They have climbed up to Jia Zhizhou, snatched away the shipping business of Yongping River, and inserted their hands into the medicinal materials business. Now that Jia Zhizhou has been transferred to other places, they are still not satisfied, and have inserted their hands into Yuanping River. Xing, he also covets my Fuhu Gang’s iron-making business!”

"This is the foundation of our Fuhu Gang. How can we allow others to spy on us! Since the Sanjiang Gang is so ungrateful, we don't have to hold back anymore. Let them see who has the final say in Yuzhou!"

Hou Yan looked happy and said:

"The gang leader is wise! Jia Zhizhou is a thing of the past, and now it is Yan Zhizhou who makes the decision. Although he is not from Yuzhou, he has been an official in Yuzhou for a long time and has a deep friendship with the gang leader. He will definitely make the decision for us."

Luo Zhenwu shook his head and said:

"It's all about the jianghu. If it gets brought to the official stage, you'll be downgraded. I'll write a letter later, and you can take another three thousand taels of silver and send them to Yan Zhizhou's mansion. All he has to do is turn a blind eye." , just close one eye, and we’ll do the rest ourselves.”

"I will obey the gang leader's instructions!"

Hou Yan took the letter and left. Luo Zhenwu thought for a moment and left the house.

…

When the housekeeper found Chen Yuan, he was practicing martial arts in the backyard.

Upon learning of Luo Zhenwu's visit, Chen Yuan reluctantly gave up and followed the housekeeper to the living room.

In the past four months, he practiced martial arts diligently every day, never leaving home and forgetting to eat or sleep.

With a sufficient supply of Jingyuan Dan, Chen Yuan progressed very quickly and had reached the peak of Gangjin, with full energy in his Dantian.

Just spend a few more days and polish it, and then you can try to break through.

In half a year, from first entering Gang Jin to reaching the peak of Gang Jin, this is something unheard of in the world.

At this critical moment, Luo Zhenwu suddenly visited, interrupting Chen Yuan's process of polishing the Qi in his body. Naturally, he was a little dissatisfied.

But before he reaches the peak of his cultivation, he still needs the supply of elixirs from the Fuhu Gang, and he cannot show off in front of Luo Zhenwu.

When he arrived at the living room, Chen Yuan had already put on a smiling face, cupped his fists and saluted:

"Er Niu has met the gang leader. I was practicing martial arts in the backyard just now, so I couldn't greet him personally. I ask the gang leader to forgive me for my neglect."

Luo Zhenwu looked solemn and said:

"No need to be polite, it's me who disturbed your martial arts practice, but something big happened in the gang and the situation was urgent, so I had to make this trip."

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed and he asked:

"I wonder if something happened to the gang, could it have anything to do with me?"

Luo Zhenwu smiled bitterly and said:

"This matter has nothing to do with you, but it is related to the face of our gang..."

He told the story of the attack on Workshop No. 3 in detail. When Chen Yuan heard about it, he was furious and slapped the case:

"This is unreasonable! The Sanjiang Gang has gone too far to bully others. We must not allow them to continue to act recklessly and harm the lives of our disciples!"

Luo Zhenwu said:

"I thought so too, that's why..."

"Gang leader, I think we should mobilize the elite of our gang and give the Sanjiang Gang a hard blow, a tooth for a tooth! Hall Master Hou has profound skills and superb martial arts. If he takes action personally, he will definitely be able to capture him!"

Before Luo Zhenwu could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Chen Yuan.

He spoke righteously and with a look of indignation on his face, which even shocked Luo Zhenwu.

But he quickly came to his senses and said:

"You don't know something. Hall Master Hou suffered a hidden injury in his early years and hasn't done anything with anyone for a long time. The two deputy hall masters traveled with the convoy in person. Hall Master Qi and Hall Master Liu each have their own responsibilities. I just want to return the favor. There’s no manpower either.”

Chen Yuan looked regretful and said helplessly:

"Then the Sanjiang Gang can only continue to be proud for a while. When the two deputy hall leaders come back, they can avenge their dead brothers."

Luo Zhenwu frowned slightly, stared at Chen Yuan, and finally stopped being secretive:

"If we wait until they come back before taking action, who will take our gang seriously? I want to leave this matter to you. What do you think?"

Chen Yuan was startled, then smiled and said:

"My strength is low, so I'm afraid I won't be able to take on this important task. The leader of the gang should hire someone more capable."

Luo Zhenwu's eyes flashed as he stared at Chen Yuan and said with a smile:

"Hall Master Chen has divine power and is even stronger than the demon tiger. The Sanjiang Gang is a bunch of rabble, how can they be your opponent? Could it be that... Hall Master Chen is unwilling to contribute to the gang?"

Chen Yuan lowered his head and pondered for a while, then said:

"The gang leader has his orders, and I dare not disobey him. I just want to ask the gang leader for his clear warning. I know that several hall leaders and deputy hall leaders in the gang have some doubts about me, so I dedicated myself to Liuyang Kung, practicing martial arts, and not participating in the affairs of the gang. To avoid causing misunderstanding is not to avoid responsibility.”

Thanks to Taoist Heiyun and two book friends for the reward!