Chapter 58: Death Cave
With the finger bone in hand, life became much simpler for Ji Yuan and Qiu Qianhai.
By day, they sailed out to collect spirit stones; by night, they returned to cultivate using the spirit stones.
Moreover, Ji Yuan had secretly opened a small door between their two rooms, silently sharing the effect of his [Cave Dwelling] with Qiu Qianhai.
If it had been something with a risk of exposure, he naturally wouldn’t have done it.
However, this Level 1 [Cave Dwelling] only increased the spiritual energy concentration at night by twenty percent.
Qiu Qianhai hadn’t even noticed it.
He simply remarked that cultivating with spirit stones was really damn extravagant and that his cultivation progress had become significantly faster.
That evening, Qiu Qianhai returned after selling off the Cold Iron Sand.
Ji Yuan waited for him on the boat halfway back.
When he saw him approaching, Ji Yuan shared his thoughts.
“For the next few days, let’s stop selling here on Qingbo Market. We’ve been selling for several days in a row, and I fear someone might be watching us. Let’s store up for a few more days, then go sell at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion in Jingde Market nearby.”
“Alright.”
Qiu Qianhai nodded, then took out a piece of sugar candy from his storage pouch and popped it into his mouth. As he savored the sweetness on his tongue, he spoke slowly:
“That spot we found these past few days is pretty good, producing around four jin a day… Let’s do this. Let’s dig for another four days, then head to Jingde Market to sell.”
Four days… Ji Yuan figured that after these four days, it would be about time for him to return.
This time when he returned, Ji Yuan planned to go into seclusion, the kind where he wouldn’t step out until he reached the late stage of Qi Refinement.
“Sounds good.”
“Tomorrow, let’s put in extra effort and search thoroughly. I still feel there’s a death cave nearby.”
“……”
The next evening.
On the shore of Qingbo Market, two middle-aged men, one tall and one short, sat on a dilapidated black-roofed boat.
Both were from Huaiyin Market, so they had a good relationship. One was named Sun Dazhi, the other Deng Lang.
Back when they were still in Huaiyin Market, the two often engaged in robbery and banditry. Later, they ran into someone tough and were driven to Heishui Market.
When the price of Cold Iron Sand went up, they came to Qingbo Pond to strike it rich.
“Why didn’t those two come today?” Sun Dazhi raised his eyebrows. “Could it be that today’s yield was poor and they didn’t find much?”
“Heh, Sun, you should know how cunning those two are. They split up on the very first day. If we hadn’t happened to find out they were staying on the same island, we wouldn’t have noticed their connection at all.”
“I reckon they’re just afraid that showing up too often will attract the attention of kind folks like us, so they’re planning to wait a few days before coming back.”
Deng Lang stroked the stubble on his chin. “Or they might be playing it even safer and heading to another market to sell the Cold Iron Sand.”
“So what do we do?”
Sun Dazhi spread his hands.
Between the two of them, Deng Lang, at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement, usually made the decisions, while Sun Dazhi, at the sixth layer, wasn’t much of a thinker.
“Heh, that depends on whether you want to make a move.”
“Of course I do. Damn it, they’ve found a death cave and are pulling in several jin of Cold Iron Sand a day, earning sixty to seventy spirit stones. Who the hell wouldn’t be jealous?”
After speaking, Sun Dazhi hesitated a bit. “But with our strength… it might be a bit tough. That guy at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement looks pretty steady—he doesn’t seem easy to deal with.”
“What’s so hard about it? We just need to find two more people.”
“Who?”
“To take down a sixth-layer cultivator safely, the best bet is to bring in the ‘Twin Heroes of Qingbo.’ They’ve made their living as bandit cultivators and would definitely be interested in something like this.”
“Both of them are at the sixth layer, and they’re stronger than us. If we bring them in… we won’t get much of a share.”
Sun Dazhi was a little reluctant.
“Well, that’s true…” Deng Lang glanced at him. “How about this—we observe for another two days while also looking for other suitable candidates. If either of those two ends up alone, that’d be perfect.”
“Alright, that works.”
After they finished talking, Deng Lang excused himself and left.
He sailed alone on the waters of Qingbo Pond, silently pondering… Given how cautious those two were, they would probably leave Qingbo Pond in another two days.
He couldn’t afford to wait any longer. If he waited, the meat already in his mouth might slip away.
Sun Dazhi had a grand name—Dazhi, meaning “great ambition”—but in reality, he was a man without any.
He didn’t have enough strength, yet he was unwilling to share the profits.
Deng Lang had seen this clearly long ago, so he simply decided to abandon Sun Dazhi and go find the Twin Heroes of Qingbo on his own.
Speaking of the Twin Heroes of Qingbo, they were quite famous.
No one knew which market they had originally come from. It was only known that they were brothers named Liu Da and Liu Er.
Back when the price of Cold Iron Sand hadn’t yet risen, the two had already been cultivating in Qingbo Pond. They specialized in a joint attack technique and had once killed a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator together at their peak.
Thus, even late-stage cultivators in Qingbo Pond would give them some respect.
They didn’t live on Qingbo Market but on a slightly more distant island called Han Chi Island. When Deng Lang arrived, he happened to see the two returning on their magic boat.
“Brothers! Brothers!”
Deng Lang called out with a smile from a distance, signaling that he meant no harm.
The Liu brothers, who looked somewhat alike, slowed their boat. “Deng Lang? What are you doing here?”
“Of course, I’m here to talk business with you two,” Deng Lang approached with a respectful cupped-fist salute and added, “The kind of business that makes a fortune.”
“Oh? Who’s your target?”
Someone like Deng Lang wouldn’t show up unless it was about profiting from the dead. What other kind of fortune could there be—mining?
“Let’s talk on the island, on the island.”
Deng Lang was afraid of being seen here.
The Liu brothers exchanged glances. “Alright.”
……
A while later.
After hearing Deng Lang’s account, the Liu brothers exchanged another glance. “You’re sure they can dig three or four jin of Cold Iron Sand a day?”
“Positive!”
Deng Lang replied with certainty, “I and Sun… I’ve observed them for several days, without a doubt.”
“I reckon they’ve likely found a death cave.”
“That’s not impossible.”
After Liu Da spoke, he lightly tapped his knee with his finger. “But my brother and I haven’t done banditry in years… How about this—give us a day to think it over. Come back at this time tomorrow, and we’ll give you an answer. How’s that?”
“Well… alright then.”
Deng Lang didn’t have the guts to refuse. Since they had said so, he could only take his leave.
As for what Liu Da had said, he didn’t believe it for a second.
They hadn’t done banditry in years?
Heh, it was probably more like days.
Most likely, they had other matters to attend to and couldn’t spare the time. Otherwise, with their nature, they would have agreed right away.
But as soon as Deng Lang left Han Chi Island, a sudden realization struck him.
Those two bastards weren’t planning to ditch him and take the job themselves, were they?!
Deng Lang abruptly turned around, staring at the beast-like island behind him.
Damn it, if he had known, he wouldn’t have revealed the two newcomers’ location.
But Liu Da had pressed him so hard earlier that Deng Lang hadn’t dared to refuse.
After Deng Lang left, Liu Er immediately said, “Big Brother, it’s definitely a death cave. Without one, such a yield wouldn’t be possible—several jin of Cold Iron Sand a day… that death cave must be pretty big.”
“Mm.”
Liu Da nodded confidently.
“Pack up. Let’s go straight to find those two newcomers.”
“Alright.”
Liu Er wasn’t surprised by Liu Da’s decision.
Following Deng Lang’s suggestion might earn them something, but how much could they really get?
However, if they found the two newcomers and forced them to reveal the location of the death cave, that would be a true windfall.
Besides, since they already knew who the newcomers were… was there any need to share the spoils with Deng Lang?
If he dared to complain, they’d just kill him along with the rest!
……
Meanwhile.
Somewhere deep underwater in the dim waters of Qingbo Pond, two dark silhouettes huddled together. One of them murmured in a low voice:
“I told you, there’s definitely a death cave here!”
——
PS1: Don’t worry, there won’t be any cliché plot where they just discovered a death cave and immediately get robbed.
PS2: It’s the last week on the new book ranking. Please support with monthly and recommendation votes. Let’s hit the rankings! Thank you in advance!