Chapter 13
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Chapter 13: Fish Ridge River Market
"Father… Father."
Wang Wei Yang called out cautiously.
Wang Xiong furrowed his brows, feeling worse than ever.
Although Wang Lie had poor talent, he was still a second level of Gathering Qi cultivator, a presence that ordinary people felt could crush them.
He could handle many family affairs on his own.
But now he was missing, with life and death uncertain.
"Uncle might just be detained by the Yang Family; it’s not necessarily…"
"Hmph!"
Wang Xiong snorted coldly, "Have you seen Yang Guanfeng?"
"Uh… I haven’t seen him."
"Hahaha, that guy is a wolf that eats people without spitting out bones! Once he’s got you, there’s no hope for survival!"
Wang Xiong’s eyes glinted with menace, clearly having had dealings with Yang Guanfeng.
Wang Wei Yang felt a bit intimidated, "So what should we do now? The Yang Family won’t come looking for trouble, will they?"
Hearing his son say something so naive, Wang Xiong felt a pang of disappointment.
How could the Yang Family come looking for trouble? That would give them an opportunity to strike back!
Now that three days had passed without news, it was obvious the Yang Family had killed him and acted as if nothing had happened, while the Wang Family couldn’t express any dissatisfaction or even ask questions.
"Sigh… the Yang Family won’t come. This time we’ve fallen into their hands."
Wang Xiong sighed helplessly, "Until your brother returns home for a visit, you must not leave Baishi Town. Stay home and cultivate diligently, understand?"
"I understand, I know, Father."
After Wang Wei Yang left, a hint of fatigue appeared on Wang Xiong’s face.
Unlike Yang Guanfeng, who had a strong and reliable Old Yu by his side, Wang Xiong had built today’s situation by himself.
With the loss of a key member, how could he not feel troubled?
However, after a moment of lamenting, a trace of comfort appeared on his face.
Fortunately, both of his sons possessed cultivation potential.
His younger son was even favored by the sect and secretly taken up the mountain for training, which meant a bright future ahead.
"When it’s not favorable, it’s better to endure and retreat for now."
As the family head, Wang Xiong certainly lacked neither determination nor patience.
On the fourth day after Wang Lie’s death, the Yang Family opened their fourth shop in Baishi Town.
What surprised everyone was that the head of the Wang Family, Wang Xiong, personally attended to congratulate them. He seemed to have an instant rapport with the old cultivator from the Yang Family, engaging in lively conversation.
To outsiders, it appeared that the Wang Family had reached some sort of cooperation with the Yang Family.
But the true reasons were clear only to a few of them.
Little Pine Mountain, Yang Family’s Large Courtyard.
Now, the scale of the Yang Family had expanded several times compared to their time in Willow Leaf Town.
As a transit station between two towns, in addition to the original shops, the Yang Family had opened up thousands of acres of farmland and established a restaurant and a relay station for traveling merchant teams to eat and rest.
With these operations, the daily revenue had increased by forty percent, making their lives much more prosperous than before.
While managing agriculture and commerce, Yang Xiaolei also began training the family soldiers under Yang Guanfeng’s instructions.
In the future, the Yang Family’s influence and population would grow even larger, and it would be impossible to rely solely on family cultivators to solve every problem.
Cultivators were the family’s greatest combat strength; unless there was a major crisis threatening the family’s survival, they should not easily step into the fray.
Yang Guanfeng shared the incident of Wang Lie trespassing into the forbidden area with Old Yu.
Old Yu had no objections to his handling of the situation, but he was unsure about Chen Yang’s case.
“It just so happens that the market at Fish Ridge River is about to open. I will take a trip to find a formation master and set up a formation for the mid-stage of Gathering Qi. I will also inquire about the news regarding this stone,” Old Yu said.
Yang Guanfeng nodded, “That sounds good.”
Then the two began organizing things in the treasure vault of the forbidden area.
Since following Yang Guanfeng, Old Yu would go to the celestial marketplace at Fish Ridge River once a year.
This was to purchase resources needed for cultivation, while also selling some items to exchange for spiritual crystals to pay the dynasty taxes.
After counting, the Yang Family currently had a total of seventeen spiritual crystals, twenty-three Gathering Qi talismans, eight Healing Elixirs, one damaged spiritual weapon, and a bunch of miscellaneous materials.
These items were accumulated through years of hard work by Yang Guanfeng and Old Yu.
Compared to other families, the greatest wealth of the Yang Family was the existence of Old Yu.
He had once been a sect cultivator, well-read and experienced, with memories of certain cultivation methods and techniques from his previous sect.
Otherwise, with the Yang Family’s financial resources, they wouldn’t even be able to buy a single method to cultivate to the Condensing Essence stage.
To hire a formation master, it would cost at least twenty spiritual crystals.
The two calculated how to gather enough items to sell for around fifteen spiritual crystals.
“The remaining funds, Old Yu, you can decide how to spend them.”
“Master, don’t worry. I won’t let our family suffer losses.”
Old Yu tied the bundle to his waist and set off for Fish Ridge River that same day.
After three days of travel, upon seeing the familiar river, he felt nostalgic, saying, “Old friend, we meet again.”
In his younger days, he had enjoyed plenty of good times by this river, and every time he returned, it brought back memories.
Continuing west along the Fish Ridge River led to Moon Watching City, the only city nearby, which governed eight towns including Willow Leaf Town and Baishi Town.
Moon Watching City wasn’t very large, its city lord being a cultivator at the late stage of Condensing Essence.
At the same time, he was also the owner behind the marketplace at Fish Ridge River.
The marketplace was located on a small island in the middle of the river and opened once every quarter. Cultivators from all around Moon Watching City would come here to trade.
You could choose to walk across the river or take a boat, and Old Yu, at his age, naturally chose to take a boat.
“Old Yu, you’re here as well.”
He was recognized right away as an old customer upon boarding the boat.
The person greeting him was a cultivator from the Nanshan Li Family named Li Cheng.
The Li Family was larger than the Yang Family; the family head had achieved Perfected Gathering Qi, and conservatively estimated, there were at least ten cultivators in the family.
“Young Master Li, it’s been a long time,” Old Yu replied politely.
Although both were at the same level in cultivation, the other was much younger, with a bright future ahead of him.
“It has indeed been a while. I heard your Yang Family also moved out of the town?”
The Yang Family had relocated over three months ago, and all the surrounding forces were aware of it; it was no secret.
“Yes.”
Old Yu nodded, “It’s also thanks to our ancestors’ blessings that we have a child with decent potential who fortunately broke through to Gathering Qi.”
“I see, it’s definitely necessary to move out. Otherwise, the taxes would be too high to bear, much like the situation our Li Family faced back then.”
Li Cheng nodded and then asked, “So, Old Yu, what brings you here this time?”
Facing Li Cheng’s inquiry, Old Yu did not deliberately hide anything.
“Since the relocation, some formation issues have arisen. I’m thinking of hiring a formation master to re-establish things.”
“Oh? You’re also here for the formation? Then we can go together.”
Further inquiries revealed that Li Cheng was also here because his family had opened a new separate courtyard and needed to hire someone to set up a guarding formation for the late-stage Gathering Qi.
