My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 38 Paper Man
Shengye Lane, inside a large mansion.

Zhang Ye, the leader of the Bailang Gang, had just paid a month's rent.

I didn't pay much, and I might have to move next month anyway.

The main hall of the inner courtyard.

Zhang Ye sat at the head of the table.

A burly man with a dark face was sitting on the lower left.

Behind him stood two equally burly men.

His demeanor and bearing were quite fierce.

"Chief Zhang, let's stick to the old rules. The grain and goods will leave the city tomorrow morning. My men will take over at the South Gate. Here's the deposit." The burly man with the dark face took out a gray cloth money bag and handed it to Zhang Ye.

Zhang Ye, with a full beard, hesitated for a moment, then didn't take it.

"What? Chief Zhang doesn't want to raise prices again, does he?!" The burly man with the dark face immediately darkened.

Their grain purchase price was already 30% higher than the market price.

In recent months, prices have increased twice more.

Zhang Ye still wants to raise prices; he's insatiable!

Zhang Ye hesitated, unsure whether he should speak.

Seeing Zhang Ye hesitate, the burly man with the dark face became furious.

The Aishan bandits were a group of desperate criminals.

Having been repeatedly manipulated and coerced, murderous intent rose in his heart.

They're just local thugs and gangs in the city.

They're good at playing dirty tricks, but when it comes to a real fight, they can wipe us out in the blink of an eye!

"No price increase," Zhang Ye said, calming the other party's anger. "It's just a change in payment method."

The burly man with a dark face frowned: "Cash on delivery, that's what we agreed on beforehand. It's impossible to pay in advance."

“No need to pay upfront. You just need to deposit the deposit and the full payment into Datong Bank,” Zhang Ye said.

“We don’t accept cash when doing business at our White Wave Gang’s headquarters,” Zhang Ye said sullenly.

The burly man with the dark face looked at Zhang Ye with a puzzled expression.

Where did these strange rules come from?

Suddenly he remembered a message sent by a spy within the city.

His expression immediately turned sarcastic: "I heard that the White Wave Gang was tricked and suffered considerable losses. Is that true?"

Zhang Ye's face darkened, and he remained silent.

"Hehe..." The dark-faced, burly man chuckled disdainfully.

They call themselves the number one gang in the city.

They're just a bunch of rabble!
Zhang Ye's expression was unpleasant, but he did not refute it.

"Would you like me to leave a few of my brothers to help you out?" The burly, dark-faced man chuckled, seemingly offering a kind offer.

Zhang Ye's face flushed red as he reached out to grab the ghost-head broadsword.

Touching the broadsword he had recovered from the ghost market, Zhang Ye's anger slowly subsided.

If you're not as skilled as others, no wonder people laugh at you.

This wasn't the first time he'd heard such teasing and mockery over the past few months.

“We don’t accept cash,” Zhang Ye repeated in a muffled voice.

The burly man with the dark face chuckled and stuffed the money bag into his pocket.

He really is a coward. He didn't even dare to put up a fight.

Zhang Ye's grip on the knife tightened unconsciously.

Instead of feeling the cold, hard hilt of the knife in my palm, I felt a swelling in my hand, like the congestion and swelling caused by increased blood flow after drinking alcohol.

That familiar feeling, it's happening again?!

For some reason, he even felt a sense of familiarity with him.

Fighting off his sleepiness, Zhang Ye smiled and looked at the burly man with the dark face: "Third Master, you don't have any valuables on you, do you?"

The burly, dark-faced man frowned at Zhang Ye, instinctively reaching for his chest. There lay the payment for the purchase.

Zhang Ye immediately laughed, a gloating laugh.

at dusk.

The members of the White Wave Gang's secret outpost gradually woke up.

Zhang Ye glanced at the table beside him, and as expected, the Ghost Head Saber was gone again.

"Looks like I'll have to go to the ghost market again."

The burly man with a dark face glared at Zhang Ye with an ugly expression.

Zhang Ye suppressed a laugh, stood up, stretched, and said casually, "We don't accept cash. Don't forget to deposit that deposit into Datong Bank later."

The burly man with the dark face reached into his robes, and his face darkened even more.

……

One side of the Zuo family mansion.

Inside the bedroom right next to the left family's courtyard wall.

Seven or eight gray cloth money bags were placed on the table.

In the pitch-black room, Chen Mu opened each item one by one and poured them out, his face beaming with increasing joy.

"I refrained from going for a month, and it really paid off!"

Most of the ordinary gang members brought some copper coins.

Both the big and small leaders had loose silver coins on them.

There was also an unsuspecting sucker in the room.

Chen Mu opened a large, bulging leather bag and poured out the contents.

The clinking sound of silver coins filled Chen Mu with delight.

There were seventeen or eighteen taels of loose silver, and more importantly, there was a silver note inside—one hundred taels!

Indeed, just like fishing, you can't keep fishing in the same place.

They need to be given a rest period to allow the fish to grow and develop.

"It's a pity that Chief Zhang is still stingy." Chen Mu touched the ghost-head knife next to the table and couldn't help but purse his lips.

"This knife looks familiar." Chen Mu glanced at it. "Isn't this the one I sold at the ghost market?"

This Zhang gang leader is quite nostalgic. He bought that knife back from the ghost market?
Chen Mu touched his chin.

"How about we sell this knife to him directly?"

"Without middlemen, is it a win-win situation for both me and him?"

Chen Mu ultimately regretfully gave up on this tempting idea.

I'm afraid that the big bearded man will get angry and embarrassed.

What if he doesn't want it anymore?
"It's time to leave Qingshan County."

With this money, his personal savings now exceeded three hundred taels.

Whether you're hiring armored soldiers or settling down in Nanyang Prefecture, it's enough.

"The city is becoming increasingly unsafe." Chen Mu sighed. He wanted to stay, but he didn't dare to.

In the past month, evil spirits have been causing trouble, criminals have been committing crimes, and all sorts of chaotic events have occurred frequently.

There are already signs of chaos in Qingshan County.

If another foreign enemy invades...

Ugh……

While feeling lost about his future, Chen Mu's ears suddenly twitched.

In the quiet courtyard, one could faintly hear voices!

……

"Master, we've found out. The Lengyue Garden where Zuo Sheng, the eldest son of the Zuo family, lives is right behind this wall," a pale-faced young man with blue lips whispered.

He wore a black Taoist robe, his face so pale you could see the veins, and his right hand was wrapped in a white cloth, faintly stained with drops of blood. "Yesterday at the county office, the other families started to waver, and it looked like we were about to collect the money and leave. It was all because of this Zuo Sheng's interference that things got complicated." The pale-faced youth's expression was sinister: "For this kind of person, you have to teach him a lesson!"

"Fool! Are you trying to kill your master?!" Taoist Qianshan hissed.
He had a full face and was in his forties.

Her hair was neatly combed back, with only a strand of silver-white hair hanging down beside her face on the right side.

"Making trouble for the direct descendants of the Zuo family is a warning to the Zuo family."

"Zuo Sheng is a ruthless guy who pretends to be weak but actually knows how to do something big. It's a waste of effort to cause trouble for him!" Qianshan Daoren said impatiently.

He learned through clandestine channels that the warding-off mirror in Qingshan County had gone missing, and that evil spirits were frequently appearing. County Magistrate Li Tai was recruiting talented and extraordinary people on a large scale.

He happened to have some tricks up his sleeve, and with a little effort, he managed to deceive Li Tai.

They were just about to use the pretext of performing magic to amass wealth when the Zuo family disrupted their plans.

"Master, please forgive me! Master, please forgive me!" the pale-faced youth cried in fear.

"Never mind." Daoist Qianshan said with a gloomy face.

"Left wins, then left wins."

"This man is considered the top expert in the Zuo family. Cripple him; it will serve as a warning to others."

As he spoke, the Taoist Qianshan clasped his hands together and chanted a spell in a low voice.

His voice was deep and rapid; though he was speaking alone, it sounded as if hundreds or thousands of people were whispering at the same time.

A ball of black energy, the size of a human head, appeared in front of the two people, gathered, and condensed inwards.

The black mist disappeared, replaced by a pale paper figure.

The paper figure is covered with fine black lines, resembling the meridians of the human body.

The facial features are cut out and sculpted, creating a lifelike shape.

Behind it is a bright red "Summer" character, as red as blood.

Upon seeing the paper figure, the pale-faced youth's face immediately showed fear, and he subconsciously took two steps back.

"Why are you running? Hurry up and feed the paper figure blood."

"Master, Master, I..." The pale-faced youth suddenly became incoherent.

"Hurry up!" The Taoist of Thousand Mountains stared coldly at the pale-faced youth.

The pale-faced young man felt a chill run down his spine.

The Taoist of Qianshan has more than one disciple.

Now only he remains.

Those disciples who dared to disobey him all disappeared, neither alive nor dead.

Gritting his teeth, the pale-faced youth pulled out a dagger, untied the white cloth from his right hand, and slashed it viciously across the still-unhealed wound.

Thick blood slowly gushed out.

The paper figures floating in mid-air resembled cats that had smelled fish.

It slowly floated into the palm of the pale-faced youth.

A gurgling sound, like someone drinking water, rang out.

The pale-faced youth's face grew even paler.

After a while, the paper figure floated up from my palm, its pale body turning into a bright red.

Looking at his pale-faced disciple, the Taoist of Thousand Mountains took out a black pill with a spicy smell from his bosom.

"Well done, have some."

"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!" The pale-faced youth swallowed the pill in one gulp.

His face immediately turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His eyes were bright and his whole being became excited.

"Master's Ascension Pill is becoming more and more wondrous!" the pale-faced youth complimented with an air of enjoyment.

The Taoist of Thousand Mountains smiled as he looked at his disciple, his face showing satisfaction, but his eyes were cold and devoid of any emotion.

At this moment, the paper figure, having absorbed the blood, seemed to come alive, and the entire paper became lively.

"Cuckoo..."

The little figure floated in mid-air, pointing its tiny finger behind the two of them, and then barked and howled wildly.

The master and apprentice suddenly turned around.

In the darkness, a figure was seen crouching low, crouching as it crept along the base of the wall under the eaves towards the wall.

"Who goes there!" the pale-faced youth roared.

Chen Mu froze, then turned to look at the two awkwardly: "I just got up to use the restroom, you guys continue, you guys continue."

"Didn't you say this was an abandoned house? How come there are people here!" Daoist Qianshan glared fiercely at his disciple.

The pale-faced youth panicked and immediately demanded of Chen Mu, "Who are you?!"

"Forget it." Daoist Qianshan suppressed his anger and glanced coldly at Chen Mu: "Go deal with him, don't delay important matters."

"Yes!" The pale-faced youth grinned maliciously at Chen Mu.

"I just happened to bump into you. Let's part ways here and go about our own business, shall we?" Chen Mu quickly calmed down.

These two people have a cold and sinister demeanor; they don't seem like good people.

Chen Mu didn't want to get entangled with it any further.

"You only have bad luck." The pale-faced youth ignored him and stared coldly at Chen Mu.

His right hand swept across his waist, and suddenly a soft, thin sword appeared in his hand.

Chen Mu quickly and logically advised, "It's late at night, and even the slightest noise will carry far."

"If we really start fighting, it might ruin everyone's plans."

"You think you can take me on?" The pale-faced youth sneered and walked calmly toward Chen Mu.

He followed the Taoist of Qianshan as he traveled all over the country.

His Xuanpin Sword Technique was as soft as water and as hard as a whip; countless so-called heroes had died by his sword.

If the two hadn't acted in secrecy, they would have made a great name for themselves long ago.

Chen Mu's heart tightened.

Strictly speaking, this was only the second time he had faced a martial arts practitioner.

I didn't feel anything when I taught those thugs a lesson before.

When they killed Sheng Hong, they were unprepared and just threw stones randomly.

Looking at the pale-faced young man approaching with a gloomy expression, Chen Mu felt uneasy: "There are two of them, which is a bit too many."

Chen Mu glanced furtively at the Taoist Qianshan, who seemed to completely disregard him. A sense of relief washed over him.

It's good that you're not paying attention to yourself.

Chen Mu felt a chill run down his spine when he glanced at the blood-red figure floating in mid-air.

Seeing the pale-faced youth getting closer and closer, he gritted his teeth and thought, "Throw a dart at him, if that doesn't work, retreat!"

He reached into his sleeve with his right hand and held an iron lotus seed in his palm.

"Come on." The pale-faced youth held his sword in his right hand and spread his arms in front of his chest in a welcoming gesture.

"Weren't we going to take action?"

"come here……"

Woo!
In an instant, a black shadow flashed past.

The iron lotus seed in Chen Mu's hand was like a bullet fired from a gun, suddenly breaking through the air between the two and passing through the white-faced youth's left chest.

Phew!

A spray of blood erupted behind the pale-faced youth: "You...you!"

puff puff!

Before he could finish speaking, two more holes appeared on the pale-faced youth's forehead and the corner of his mouth.

Fresh blood dripped down his chin.

The entire courtyard fell silent.

(End of this chapter)