Zhao Changhe directly took out a silver ingot and placed it on the table.
San Niang’s eyes sparkled as she hugged the silver ingot to her chest and said with a smile, "Actually, it’s nothing special. They consistently come here to sell grain, and after selling it, they transport jewelry from the Western Regions back to sell. After many years, I’m afraid they’ve made a fortune."
Zhao Changhe said without a word, "That’s obvious even without you mentioning it."
"What is it that you want to know, then?"
"Their strength, the forces they regularly connect with here, and their network of relationships in the Central Plains—if you know, that is."
San Niang let out a silent chuckle. "Hey, are you from the Demon Suppression Department of Great Xia?"
Zhao Changhe’s face remained expressionless. "If I wanted to uproot them completely and eradicate them root and branch, of course, I would need to know this information. What does it have to do with the Demon Suppression Department?"
San Niang tapped the table with a smile. "You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? I’m just an innkeeper."
Zhao Changhe, observing the rhythm of her table tapping, cracked a slight smile, "Then I won’t bother you any longer."
San Niang looked at him with interest and retreated with a laugh.
Dinner had long since ended, and it was already dark, but the market was brightly lit everywhere. Standing by the window of the guest room and looking out, one could see a hundred miles of lights from countless households.
This wasn’t an exaggeration; it might even be an understatement.
The size of the market itself was one thing, but surrounding it were innumerable caravans each with their own encampment, all bustling with activity, moving goods in and out. Torches flickered, and the din of voices filled the air, audible even from afar within the market.
Zhao Changhe’s gaze shifted from the distant campfires back to the street outside the inn.
The two Qiao Family merchants, one had his teeth knocked out, the other had his hand crushed, and I originally expected them to immediately seek revenge. However, unexpectedly, they did not come, and all was calm.
Zhao Changhe believed that the opponents wouldn’t dare to march an army of a thousand into the market. The stationed forces of Tie Muer here were no joke, but gathering a few dozen men to cause trouble seemed manageable. It seemed that group brawls should be commonplace here, but not a single person had come.
It appeared that San Niang wasn’t boasting after all; her deterrent force was real.
She might ignore brawls inside the inn, but if someone really brought people from outside to attack her guests, it seemed that no one dared.
Zhao Changhe raised his hand and rolled his shoulder. Speaking of breaking hands today, even I was surprised by my own strength. It seems the fruit given by Xia Longyuan, the breakthrough to the Seventh Layer of External Skill, and the preliminary entry into the Blood Asura Body brought more change than I initially anticipated.
External Skill is all about the physique; after all, it’s about the strength and resilience of the flesh. Typically, these two elements progress hand-in-hand; a well-trained body naturally improves both offense and defense. However, due to everyone cultivating different techniques, there are certain unique characteristics.
For instance, I tend more towards offense, while someone like Situ Xiao tends towards defense. However, in reality, the difference isn’t too stark—if Situ Xiao’s defense is a hundred percent, their offense is at least eighty or ninety percent, not a case of high defense, low offense. And for me, it’s the reverse.
After all, we are all still within the scope of human capability. Human physicality has its limits...
But from now on, the distinctions will become more apparent.
I never possessed such immense power before; breaking through the First Layer of Mystical Gate wouldn’t cause such a frenzied increase in strength. It must be understood as the initial transformation of the body, and this kind of physique seems to be moving in the direction of "limitless strength," becoming non-human.
And this is merely the performance at the Seventh Layer of Mystical Gate. If one were to glimpse the Secret Treasure, or reach even higher levels? Could one move mountains and fill seas?
It can be imagined that if my direction is "limitless strength," then those like Situ Xiao would be "indestructible like Vajra," and the polarities of offense and defense have become distinctly different. It’s like the difference between the first and third brothers.
And how would the qualitative change of the Inner methods manifest?
Now I can understand Xia Longyuan’s performance; it seems there is a path to follow.
Zhao Changhe practiced quietly for a while longer, calculated the time until the night grew deeper, when many of the torches in the distance extinguishing. He then slowly got up and left the room, heading again to the tavern.
The tavern guests had all dispersed; San Niang rested her powdered cheeks on her hands behind the counter, looking bored, idly swinging her foot, kicking at a Persian cat by her foot. Each kick made the cat shiver, but like the persistent guests who lingered around her in the evening, it did not go away.
Hearing someone entering through the back door, San Niang listlessly looked up, and upon seeing it was Zhao Changhe, she slumped back onto the counter listlessly, "What now, buying liquor? Or is it Jiangnan cuisine?"
Zhao Changhe said, "Why can’t it be just to chat with you?"
"Come on, you were complaining that my fragrance was affecting your ability to eat."
"Didn’t I come anyway when you invited me?"
"When did I ever invite you?"
"During that time you knocked three times on the table." Zhao Changhe smiled. "There are no customers left, and you’re here all bored. Why not go to the gambling house you mentioned and play a few hands?"
"It’s too noisy," I said, "Just place during the day. It’s hard even to chat with someone."
Zhao Changhe nodded, "I feel the same way."
Then he plopped down in front of the counter and slapped down a piece of broken silver, "Bring two more jugs of osmanthus wine, the kind I had before tasted quite authentic."
San Niang’s listless look quickly vanished, and she turned around bubbly to get the wine. Find the newest release on novel~fire~net
Zhao Changhe laughed, "Is it so rare for someone to treat you to a drink? Look at how happy you are."
"No matter how many there are, who would complain about someone treating them?" San Niang efficiently grabbed two jugs of wine, poured for Zhao Changhe, and behaved like a lively young girl.
Zhao Changhe thought of the various brand-new, unopened phones listed on the online marketplace with the tag "gift from a puppy lover"—indeed, one can never have too many.
But then he heard San Niang add, "It’s like how you men never think you have too many women."
Zhao Changhe had just taken a sip of wine and almost spat it out at her words, his disguised old face feeling a bit flushed, "I didn’t come here to hit on you!"
"I know," San Niang drawled. "There are many who come here for information, especially lately, with more people from Central Earth around, asking about the military situation of the barbarians. Some time ago, a drunkard with a heavy sword hung around here for nearly a month, dead drunk every day. It took me dumping urine on him to get him to leave, and who knows where he’s dead now."
San Niang glanced at him sideways, "Do you understand? We don’t dare to sell just anything. After all, we need to make a living here, and if we don’t want to die, we must keep our mouths shut. We won’t sell military information, not even for extra money."
Zhao Changhe said, "Understood. But the thing you were halfway through telling me about, can we continue with that?"
San Niang said, "They are actually in contact with the manager of the Yellow Sand Market, Ubalu, the Great Khan’s trusted general. In the past, they used to transport the grain directly to the Yellow Sand Market. This time, I don’t know why they came with empty carts, presumably offloading somewhere along the way first."
Zhao Changhe thought for a moment, then handed over a silver coin, "Does Ubalu’s strength count as military info? Many people should know about it."
San Niang smirked sarcastically, "Just an ordinary chap of the Sixth or Seventh Layer of Mystical Gate, useless in battle. But what can you do, eh? The Great Khan’s favorite, not going to the frontlines, rather playing around in the back markets, hoarding supplies, and toying with women; isn’t that power enough?"
Zhao Changhe silently noted that at least he could be sure she wasn’t working for him.
As he pondered what he could make of this situation, San Niang suddenly asked, "What’s your name?"
"Wang Daozhong," replied Zhao Changhe.
"The Wang Daozhong from the Langya Wang Family, or just someone with the same name?"
San Niang eyed him suspiciously for a long while, then suddenly said, "If you really are from the Wang Family, I suggest you run fast."
Zhao Changhe blinked, "Why?"
"He Lei sent word long ago to the Tribes saying Wang Daozhong interfered with his affairs, warning the Great Khan not to trust the words of a Wang Family Envoy. Now that He Lei has died at the hands of Vermilion Bird, the Tribes are all speculating whether it’s related to the Wang Family—rumor has it that at the Langya sword-meet, the Holy Daughter of the Four Symbols Sect was also present; it seems likely that there’s an alliance between the Four Symbols Sect and the Wang Family."
Zhao Changhe nearly burst out laughing, but kept a straight face, "What does the Great Khan think?"
"I have no idea what the Great Khan thinks, I just know that if the Battle Lion Tribe finds out you’re here, they’ll want to fight you to the death."
"Is the Battle Lion Tribe nearby?"
"Not just nearby, but they’ve been having a tough time lately, with many eyeing them greedily, looking to swallow them up. If I’m not mistaken, this batch of grain from the Qiao Family was supposed to be sold to the Battle Lion Tribe... So where is it now?"
Zhao Changhe suddenly found the twists of fate quite amusing.
It seemed that even such unrelated matters could create inexplicable connections, as if invisible threads were linking everything together.
And this San Niang... didn’t you say you didn’t dare mention military affairs? Doesn’t this count?