Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 444 The Enemy is in the Dark, We are in the Dark
When Manager Zhang saw Lu Zheng arrive, he quickly led his men to the adjacent reception room and personally poured him some spiritual tea.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Your Chamber of Commerce is doing very well."

Manager Zhang sipped his tea to moisten his throat and said leisurely, "It's alright, just hard-earned money."

Manager Zhang paused, then whispered, "Don't be fooled by the high prices of our goods; we don't make much profit. The bribes from above are unavoidable..."

The superiors that Manager Zhang mentioned were not the higher-ups in the Great Merchant Guild, but rather the divine officials of Ghost City.

Those who exist are the ones who sit back and collect huge sums of money.

He, Zhang, was just an ordinary person working for a god, and he didn't get much benefit from it.

Manager Zhang reached into his robes and handed over a list. "There are some rare spiritual items in Ghost City that are not commonly seen outside. I had someone prepare a list, which contains many good things, some of which are treasures that outsiders wouldn't even know are for sale without connections."

As a branch of the Grand Merchant Guild in Guizhou, the shop would quickly learn of any treasures Guizhou had for sale.

Manager Zhang added, "If you want to buy it, I can ask someone to bid for it, which will be much cheaper than if you do it yourself."

Lu Zheng didn't pay any attention to such things, but Manager Zhang thoughtfully prepared a shopping list for him. As expected of a businessman who can do business in such a place, he was very considerate.

Lu Zheng looked at the list; it contained high-level spiritual items, each with detailed descriptions and valuations.

Among them were scholar's artifacts, which, judging from the description, were probably unearthed from some large tomb.

Lu Zheng quickly glanced at it and put it away.

He took out the letter and said, "I came to see the steward to ask him to send some letters."

Upon hearing this, Steward Zhang couldn't help but ask, "Immortal Master, please tell me, where should it be sent?"

Lu Zheng explained that he sent the letters to several different locations, not just one, to prevent any loss along the way.

Manager Zhang quickly wrote it down and then pondered it over.

After a while, Steward Zhang spoke up: "The journey is quite long. If we send a letter using teleportation, it will cost quite a few spirit stones."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "No problem, just tell me the price, and I need the letter sent as quickly as possible."

Seeing this, Manager Zhang whispered a price.

Lu Zheng remained calm and simply waved his hand, taking out a small pile of spirit stones.

Manager Zhang's eyelids twitched, and he thought to himself that this person must be very wealthy, as he was really willing to spend so much money to send a letter.

Manager Zhang solemnly accepted the letter and said, "Don't worry, our Chamber of Commerce will definitely deliver the letter."

"By the way," Steward Zhang paused, then asked cautiously, "if I may ask, are you from Anguo?"

Most of the letters Lu Zheng sent him were addressed to Anguo, which made him wonder about the origins of the two men.

Lu Zheng nodded and said calmly, "I came from Anguo."

Upon hearing this, Steward Zhang couldn't help but whisper a reminder: "Then be careful, don't reveal your identities. I don't know why, but lately the government has been cracking down hard, they're looking for people from Anguo..."

This was news that Manager Zhang only learned about. Seeing that Lu Zheng was from Anguo, he kindly reminded him.

As for why he didn't report it, he wasn't stupid enough to offend such a powerful cultivator.

Lu Zheng's eyes flickered slightly. "Are you looking for all the people of Anguo, or are you referring to a specific one?"

Manager Zhang shook his head and said, "I don't know about that. I guess something's happened between the two countries, so they're targeting the people of Anguo. But you're cultivators, so it shouldn't concern you much..."

Lu Zheng could tell from Steward Zhang's expression that he wasn't lying; he probably just didn't know the inside story.

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "Thank you for the reminder."

"Oh, it's nothing," Manager Zhang chuckled. "In business, we value integrity. You're our savior, so we should be grateful..."

Manager Zhang added, "I've almost finished dealing with things here. I can leave Ghost Prefecture a few days earlier so I can mail your letter as soon as possible."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "No need to rush, it's just some ordinary letters to let friends know I'm safe. It's okay if it's a little late."

Upon hearing this, Steward Zhang said, "It's good that someone is thinking about me! After this business in Ghost City, I also need to go home and recuperate for a while. I really can't stay in this kind of awful place for long, it'll shorten my lifespan..."

Lu Zheng chatted with Manager Zhang for a few more minutes, learned about some things about the Daxing Chamber of Commerce, and then left the shop to stroll around the streets.

The weather was clear and the sun was shining brightly.

But the sunlight shining into Ghost City did not bring warmth; the city's yin energy had already dissipated the warmth of the light.

As Lu Zheng strolled along the wide street, he always attracted the attention of some demons and ghosts.

He was a living, breathing human being, and even with his aura concealed, he didn't resemble a demon or ghost, thus attracting some attention in the city.

A woman in flowing white robes gracefully approached Lu Zheng, looked him up and down, and said in a soft voice, "This young master is quite handsome. I am Zhong Qing. Would you mind coming to my residence for a visit? We are waiting..."

Before the woman could finish speaking, Lu Zheng had already stepped past her.

Zhong Qing raised an eyebrow upon seeing this; she had never encountered such an insensitive person before.

She flashed forward and blocked Lu Zheng's path again, giggling, "Young master, you must be an outsider. No one has ever been able to refuse the person I want to invite."

The Zhong family of Guizhou was a large clan in the city, and even in the entire Chu Kingdom, the Zhong family was a noble family.

The Zhong family of Guizhou was a branch of the Zhong family of Chu, holding a prominent position in Guizhou City and backed by divine officials. Nearby, passersby, demons, and ghosts alike turned their heads, watching the spectacle with great interest.

This woman from the Zhong family is not someone to be trifled with. Anyone she takes a liking to, whether human or ghost, will inevitably have to make a trip to the Zhong residence.

It's a miracle if you're not completely drained after you get out.

Lu Zheng paused, looked at the woman in front of him who was not following the proper path, and said indifferently, "Sorry, I don't have time."

It's the first time I've ever seen someone harass a woman on the street in broad daylight.

Zhong Qing blinked and said with a smile, "What business does my lord have? I can help you..."

Lu Zheng's gaze was calm, and an aura of pressure directly enveloped the woman in front of him.

Zhong Qing felt a terrifying aura rushing towards her, and her face paled instantly. She quickly retreated a distance.

She thought she had met a man she could control, but the pressure he casually released was too much for her to resist, exceeding her cultivation level.

Lu Zheng ignored Zhong Qing and left the street.

Zhong Qing's face turned pale and then red, and she turned to look at the onlookers around her.

Upon seeing this, passersby all turned their heads away, pretending not to have seen anything, and prepared to leave to avoid provoking this person.

Zhong Qing said calmly, "You all saw that person just now. Whoever can find out his background will be richly rewarded by me."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up, and they dispersed to investigate.

Even though Lu Zheng had already walked away, he could still hear the commotion. He was surprised that the Zhong family woman was still making a scene. It seemed that she was used to being arrogant and domineering in this place.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but touch his face. His face had changed so much that it was now quite ordinary, yet he was still being targeted.

There are so few living people in this ghost town, it shouldn't be this bad.

I only came out to investigate the situation in Ghost State City, and I still encountered this kind of thing.

Lu Zheng shook his head and continued strolling on the street, ignoring the cultivators and demons behind him who thought they were secretly observing him, but who were already known to Lu Zheng.

After walking for a while, Lu Zheng suddenly disappeared, catching the group of followers completely off guard.

Soon, Lu Zheng arrived outside the government office in Guizhou City.

Even at the entrance of the government office, the surrounding yin energy was quite strong, and in some places inside the government office, the yin energy was even stronger than outside.

It's not surprising that ghosts often serve as underworld officials in this place.

The government office was tightly closed, and there were no guards at all.

Lu Zheng stood outside and looked at the notice board carefully, but didn't find anything special about the reward.

It seems that the actions taken against him are still not being made public.

This made it difficult for Lu Zheng to judge the actions of the Chu state's divine officials, and he didn't even know how many people were looking for him.

He only knew that once the Moon Goddess's avatar died, the Moon Goddess herself would definitely not let it go.

He has no good countermeasures for the time being except to hide.

Both sides are currently vying for power in secret, and neither knows the other's specific situation.

This is really troublesome... Lu Zheng shook his head slightly.

Fortunately, he had treasures on him for protection, which concealed the secrets of heaven and prevented the gods of Chu from easily figuring out his location.

Lu Zheng did want to leave the State of Chu, but his intuition told him that staying here was safer than trying to leave.

Having cultivated to his current level, Lu Zheng still has considerable trust in his sixth sense.

Lu Zheng glanced at the sacred mountain not far away. The new Moon Goddess had been here for several days, and he wondered what her strength was.

However, the arrival of the other party would obviously cause the Moon Goddess herself to overlook this place, which made Lu Zheng happy.

Lu Zheng did not linger outside the yamen and quickly left.

When he returned to the Daxing Chamber of Commerce, someone rushed over to greet him, saying they had important business to discuss with him.

Lu Zheng went to a living room and saw Steward Zhang respectfully receiving a woman, who was the Zhong family woman he had just met.

Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly. The other party had found this place so quickly, they must have already learned a lot from Steward Zhang.

But he wasn't surprised at all, nor was he worried about anything.

None of the members of the Dahang Chamber of Commerce knew his true identity.

Upon seeing Lu Zheng arrive, Zhong Qing quickly stood up and said with a smile, "Greetings, senior. I was quite impolite just now, please don't take it to heart."

Zhong Qing was shocked to learn that Lu Zheng had actually managed to lead the people of the Daxing Chamber of Commerce to escape the Yin soldiers.

She then realized that she was no match for Lu Zheng at all. He was probably from some powerful force and was not like he appeared. Therefore, her attitude changed a lot.

(End of this chapter)