I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 172 Eighteen levels of combat power, three hundred strands of demonic energy!

When Xie An rode his horse to the vicinity of Xueling Market, it was already early afternoon.

The scorching sun had just passed overhead, and the air was still scorching and dull.

He had only arrived three miles outside the Blood Ridge Market when the roads were already crowded with merchants. Horse-drawn carts and porters carrying goods were everywhere, causing traffic jams.

Xie An had no choice but to dismount, hold the reins, and walk slowly along with the crowd.

Since the Demon Suppression Office seldom appeared before the villagers, even though Xie An was wearing an official robe, no one could recognize him at first and thought he was just a son of an official. No one came up to greet him, but just avoided him intentionally.

Xie An walked slowly forward while listening to the merchants' discussions.

"Mr. Yuanwailang is really going too far. He even raised the rent again. If this continues, we won't be able to do business anymore."

"We have to come here to trade. We have to buy seafood, cloth, rice, and meat from here. If we are caught secretly buying from other places, not only will the goods be taken away, but we may also be beaten. Several peddlers have been beaten to death for this!"

"Back when the county government concentrated all the goods from the six surrounding towns here for distribution, it really provided us with convenience. But now that the market has grown in size, they've started to jack up prices and force people to buy and sell. It's become unbearable to live like this."

"..."

After some inquiries, Xie An finally got a general idea of ​​the situation at the Xueling Market:
Today's Xueling Market is the equivalent of a wholesale center in the past. Trade was difficult for rural residents, who often went to the city to buy goods and then sold them back in the countryside, earning a hard-earned living. Of course, some larger shops, with owners who had their own supply channels, fared relatively well. For most shops and peddlers, however, it was simply a matter of earning the difference between running errands and making a living.

The county government's original intention was probably good: to bring together businesses from six or seven surrounding towns to create a market and wholesale center. People would come here to buy goods and then sell them elsewhere.

It has indeed improved efficiency.

But this also led to the formation of a monopoly.

The official in charge of the market, who held high office, raised prices arbitrarily and even hired a group of thugs to beat up disobedient vendors.

For those doing business, this is a disaster.

The Giant Whale Gang...

It really is a cancer.

After walking for a few miles, Xie An arrived at the Xueling Market.

Rows and rows of shops lined the streets. There was an endless array of shops and vendors. In the distance, it connected to the Huai River, where a wharf had been built. Many cargo ships were unloading at the wharf, and the porters formed a long line.

Compared to four years ago when Xie An was the head of Baiyu Hall, the scale has expanded by more than several times.
This place is where Xie An first entered the world of martial arts.

We have been together for four years and the feelings are still very deep.

Coming back again, it feels like returning to the old house.

Xie An strolled around the bustling market for a while and couldn't help but sigh: "It's really powerful to have the government intervene and upgrade. The government can mobilize the greatest resources to reform the local market."

This is something that Xie An, the "former hall master", could never do.

"If Brother Wei were still alive, he would definitely be pleased to see this scene." Xie An recalled the past, his heart warm and desolate.

At this moment, a pleasant voice was heard.

"Sir, come in and have a drink."

Xie An turned around and saw a woman in thin clothes standing at the door of a theater with red lanterns hanging on it, winking at him.

Xie An's body shuddered, then he refused with a smile: "I have something to do today."

The woman refused to give up. "A glass of wine won't take much time. I can also dance to entertain you."

Xie An took out a piece of silver and threw it to the soliciting girl, "Another day."

The woman was overjoyed and immediately bowed to express her gratitude, "Thank you for the reward, Master."

Xie An nodded and walked forward.

It is said that one should not hit a smiling person. Xie An did not despise such women who made a living in the world. Instead, he felt more pity and care for them.

We are all just trying to make a living, so please help if you can.

There's no need to show off your authority.

As for drinking wine and other things, Xie An was not very interested in it at his age. However, as his health continued to improve, he became more interested in it than he was eight years ago.

If I find my old colleagues, it wouldn't be impossible to get a few girls to drink with me when we all get together...

The Daqian Dynasty was very patriarchal. In this world, rich and powerful men were truly the bosses. Not only did they have three wives and four concubines, but it was also common for them to have affairs with other women.

If Xie An were a few decades younger and more capable, he might have lived a similar life. But now, Xie An has little interest in these things.

After strolling around but failing to find his old subordinates, Xie An went to the blacksmith shop of Liang Xiang, Liang Zhi's cousin.

The shop, which was originally quite large, has now become extremely desolate. It has a bad location and the lime on the adobe walls has fallen off, revealing the yellow mud inside.

A man with half-white hair sat behind the anvil, gnawing on a hard steamed bun with his head down.

Suddenly, the man saw someone approaching, and without looking up, he said casually: "It's closed this month, go to another shop."

However, the guest did not leave, but came closer.

Liang Xiang finally looked up and saw a somewhat familiar face, but he couldn't recognize it.

"It's me, Xie An, who's from Shopkeeper Liang." Xie An spoke.

Liang Xiang stared at Xie An for a long time, and then seemed to have finally recognized him. He suddenly put down the steamed bun and stood up, "Xie Tang...Master.

Ah Ba, quickly boil some water to make tea. Go to the drawer on the left side of the desk and take out my treasured Maojian tea.

Liang Xiang excitedly welcomed Xie An in for tea, and at the same time asked a waiter to get some tea.

While Liang Xiang was making tea, Xie An looked around.

The anvil was rusty, the bellows hadn't been used for a long time and were covered in dust. Liang Xiang himself had aged considerably and walked with a limp.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xie An couldn't help but ask, "Manager Liang, what's wrong with your leg?"

Eh.

Liang Xiang sighed and told the story.

It turned out that within a year of Xie An's departure four years ago, the Tiger and Wolf Sect had sold the Blood Ridge Market to the Giant Whale Gang. Soon, the Blood Ridge black market was upgraded to a market, and everyone's business experienced a period of rapid growth. But soon... Mr. Huang started to raise the rent, drastically increasing the shop's rent and even hosting banquets under the guise of the gang. If the shop didn't receive gifts, it would go bankrupt.

Last month, Mr. Huang celebrated the birthday of his horse. Liang Xiang, lacking the money for a gift, was ordered to close his business for a month. To make ends meet, Liang Xiang took on a few private blacksmithing jobs, but when he was discovered... Mr. Huang broke his left leg.

At the end of the story, Liang Xiang, a fifty-year-old man, couldn't help but shed tears.

"Ah, compared to the time when Master Xie was young, life is completely different now. It's unbearable." Liang Xiang pulled Xie An's sleeve, tears streaming down his face. "Especially for an old merchant like me, we are despised and suppressed by Mr. Huang. Several old shopkeepers have been driven to death by Mr. Huang."

Xie An felt emotional.

This is what happens in troubled times.

Especially in remote areas, if the common people met a good official, they could still get by. But if they met an official with bad intentions, it would be a disaster.

There is no way to seek justice.

Xie An had seen this kind of phenomenon many times before, but this time it involved a place where Xie An had worked before and a group of old friends, so Xie An felt it more deeply.

After Liang Xiang calmed down, Xie An asked, "Where are Liang Zhi and the others?"

Liang Xiangdao said, "Brother and the others were assigned to patrol. They do all the dirty work. A while ago, they offended Li Huwei and were severely beaten."

Xie An pondered for a moment and said, "Brother Liang, please go and get them all here. Also, which is the best restaurant here?"

……

Dusk.

Blood Ridge Market, Red Dance Tower.

A private room by the window on the second floor.

Xie An and his old friends gathered together, clinking glasses and drinking and chatting.

Liang Zhi, Wang Xiang, Zhang Lin, Zhou Xing, and Lin Yun were all present.

Because of the alcohol, everyone talked about the sad things in the past with tears in their eyes.

Four years ago, when Xie An was the head of the hall, everyone was in high spirits. But now, everyone was extremely frustrated, with gloomy brows and full of despair about life.

Lin Yun took the initiative to pour a glass of wine for Xie An. "After you disappeared, your two disciples came to look for us many times. We also asked for help many times and even went to Dayin Mountain several times privately, but we couldn't find you. Now that Brother Xie is safe and sound, that's great. As your eldest brother, I am happy from the bottom of my heart.

However, the current Blood Ridge Market is different from the past, so Brother Xie should look for another job.

It just so happened that Wang Xiang, Zhang Lin, Liang Zhi and others also left this dangerous place.

As for me, I will die here of old age. At worst, I can go down and accompany Brother Wei as soon as possible."

As he spoke, Lin Yun filled everyone's bowl with wine, then filled a large bowl for himself and drank it all in one gulp. "Brothers, after this dinner tonight, you will all go your separate ways. I, Lin Yun, wish you all great success in your future endeavors."

Everyone looked sad, but they didn't force themselves and picked up their glasses to drink.

Only Xie An remained silent, looking at his old colleagues who had worked together for many years. Scenes from the past flashed through his mind.

Finally, Xie An revealed his purpose, "Everyone, there's no need to be so depressed. I came here to destroy the Giant Whale Gang."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone turned to look at Xie An, filled with doubt. Liang Zhi said, "Boss, the Giant Whale Gang is incredibly powerful. Even Meng Hu from the Tiger and Wolf Sect was defeated by them. Boss, don't force yourself on us. We're all worthless. If you hadn't appreciated us back then, we'd all be toiling away. Boss, please don't act rashly now."

Wang Xiang said, "That's right. The boss treats us well, and we all know that. We naturally can't let the boss take any risks."

Xie An took out a token and placed it on the table.

Everyone came over to take a look, and then seemed to think of something, and suddenly looked at the official robe on Xie An.

The knowledgeable Lin Yun finally realized something, "Xie brother...you are..."

Xie An said: "Yes. Qingwu Demon Suppression Division, fifth-grade general division."

hiss!
The entire box suddenly fell into dead silence.

Wang Xiang was the first to recover. "Congratulations, Boss! I've always said you were blessed with good fortune."

"It has to be the boss. Congratulations, boss."

Everyone was sincerely happy for Xie An, and the disappointment they had just felt disappeared, and they started drinking more.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

Xie An then turned to business. "By the way, Li Chonghe and Li Fushan of the Giant Whale Gang are both dead. Why hasn't the Blood Ridge Market been affected yet?"

Logically speaking, both leaders of the Giant Whale Gang are dead.

The internal situation should be chaotic, especially the Blood Ridge Market, the core of the Giant Whale Gang. It's definitely not as orderly as it is now. This is also what Xie An has been puzzled about along the way.

The Giant Whale Gang wouldn't run away, so Xie An naturally didn't act rashly.

Before taking action, you must at least understand the enemy's situation.

Liang Zhi sighed: "This Mr. Huang is not ordinary..."

After listening to Liang Zhi's story, Xie An finally understood what had happened.

It turned out that Li Chonghe and Li Fushan also wanted to become the members of the Xueling Market. However, because they had criminal records in the underworld, it was difficult for Zhou Li to make it happen.

Although "Yuanwai" is not a formal official position and is a non-staff member, it is still an official position and must be registered.

In desperation, Li Chonghe and Li Fushan found a trustworthy sworn brother with a clean criminal record to serve as the official.

Mr. Huang's original name was Huang Silang.

He is very capable and good at business.

Even Li Chonghe and Li Fushan were no match for him, and he also recruited a large number of subordinates.

That is why the Xueling Market was able to maintain its operation after the deaths of Li Chonghe and Li Fushan.

"Where is Huang Silang now?"

"He lives in the other courtyard where the boss used to live, but that courtyard has been expanded. It's called Silang Mansion. Outsiders are absolutely not allowed to enter without permission."

……

It was a dark and windy night, and the market was about to close.

The entire Blood Ridge Market became deserted.

Only the patrolling boys and the cleaning guys were left.

There was a big red lantern hanging in front of the door of Silang Mansion, and the two stone lions placed at the door were particularly magnificent.

Xie An took Wang Xiang and a few others out of the restaurant and slowly came to the gate of Silang Mansion.

"This is the official's residence. No one is allowed to enter without permission." A strong man guarding the gate saw Xie An and his group, raised the knife in his hand, and spoke coldly.

Xie An stood in front of the group and said calmly, "Is Silang in there?"

"The master is having a meal... How dare you call him Silang..." The man was about to draw his sword, but found that he couldn't pull it out. At first glance, Xie An was actually in front of him.

"You...how dare you trespass into Silang's mansion...huh, huh..." Before Menzi could finish his words, his neck was pinched.

Xie An exerted a little force and his neck broke.

"The Demon-Suppressing Guards will be here soon. You wait here. I'm going to meet this Huang Silang." Xie An left a word and jumped four meters high, climbing over the wall to go inside.

When he entered the mansion, he found it empty and without any guards.

He sneaked all the way to the backyard and finally heard a sound. Xie An went over to see, and the scene in front of him made Xie An stunned:

In a room in the backyard, four children were tied up. They were all skinny, obviously having not eaten or drunk anything for a long time, but their skin was very healthy.

A round-faced, fat man in a dark golden robe walked into the room and glanced at the child. "You've been hungry for three days. All the impurities in your body have been expelled. It's just the right time for Master Dog to eat."

After saying that, the round-faced man bowed to the back and said, "Master Dog, supper is ready."

"Ok!"

A rude and deep voice came.

The ground shook with a clattering sound, and a two-meter-tall monster with a dog's head and a human body came over. It licked its mouth, looked at the four children with greedy eyes, and nodded repeatedly.

"You did a great job, Silang. Li Chonghe and Li Fushan are dead, so be it. I will protect you from now on. You take care of the entire Giant Whale Gang and continue to work for me."

Huang Silang bowed his hands and thanked him, "Thank you, Master Dog. Silang will serve you wholeheartedly."

"Well, you've served me well. Not to mention the Giant Whale Gang. Even the Heaven Sword Society and the Tiger and Wolf Sect, I can deal with them for you!" The dog demon stepped on a six-year-old chubby white girl with his powerful paws. Regardless of the girl's crying and begging for mercy, he picked her up, opened his bloody mouth, and was about to bite her.

This scared the children and made them scream.

Huang Silang, however, looked at them with a smile on his face, "Why are you crying? Being able to offer food to Master Dog is the blessing you have earned in eight lifetimes. Die soon and be reborn into a good family soon."

At this moment, a man suddenly jumped down from under the eaves, stood at the door, and said lightly, "Hey, that yellow-haired dog, wait a minute."

The dog demon that was about to bite the girl to pieces suddenly stopped and turned back angrily, "What I hate most in my life is being called a dog, especially by someone with yellow hair..."

Before he could finish his words, the man rushed up and slashed at him with a knife.

The dog demon couldn't say any more and raised its paws to block. Suddenly, there was a "bang" sound, and a powerful force was set off, shattering the ground within a radius of several meters, and even the doors and windows were shattered with a "clang clang".

Ok?
Xie An frowned.

Seventeen levels of Mingyu Gong and Hanlu were unable to kill the dog demon in one go?

That is comparable to a seventh-level martial artist.

This was Xie An's first encounter with a real monster, and also his first time fighting with one. Xie An had originally planned to observe it for a while, but the dog was determined to eat people.

Even so, Xie An had roughly estimated the strength of the dog demon through his five senses and knew that it was no match for him.

However, since it was Xie An's first time facing a seventh-level martial artist, he was still a little uncomfortable with the experience.

A small Giant Whale Gang actually hooked up with a dog demon that is comparable to a seventh-level martial artist. This is really incredible.

No wonder Huang Silang dared to be so arrogant. Even though the two leaders of the Giant Whale Gang were dead, they were still able to continue running the entire Blood Ridge Market and ensure that there was no chaos inside. It turned out that he had such a trump card.

Where did the monster come from?

I've never seen it before.

Huang Silang was furious. "Who are these thieves who dared to break into Silang's house and discovered the existence of Master Quan?"

"Master Dog, we can't keep this person here. If someone finds out, it will be disastrous."

"Of course. He dares to call me a yellow-haired dog. I will never tolerate him!" The dog demon suddenly threw the little girl aside, his eyes bloodshot, and ran towards Xie An.

Although it was big in size, it was incredibly fast, leaving only a trail of afterimage. In the blink of an eye, it was in front of Xie An, and its claws, containing seven levels of internal energy, grabbed him down with a bang.

No matter how you look at it, Xie An is about to be torn into pieces.

The eighteenth solar term is Frost Descent.

In an instant, Xie An's skin became somewhat transparent, and his body speed increased. He dodged the dog's claws and circled behind the dog demon.

not good!

The dog demon cried out in his heart that something was wrong and was about to turn around to resist, but he felt a chill on the back of his head.

Then, the powerful aura of the dog demon receded like the tide, and its body fell limply to the ground. "No, no... I am a demon..."

Bang.

The dog demon fell in a pool of blood with a big hole in the back of his head.

The blessing of Mingyu Gong's Eighteen Frosts was too terrifying. Xie An's fingers were as hard as steel, and it was no problem for him to pierce his head suddenly.

Not to mention the seventh-level dog demon, even an eighth-level martial artist would die on the spot if he didn't understand the characteristics of Mingyu Gong.

"How is this possible! Master Dog is comparable to a seventh-level martial artist, and he was killed in an instant?" Huang Silang was so scared that he ran away.

"They say the sooner you die, the sooner you will be reborn into a good family." Xie An was about to kill Huang Silang in an instant, but when he passed by the dog demon's corpse, the white Taoist talisman in his head suddenly vibrated.

[300 wisps of fairy energy detected! ]

Ok?
Does this work too?
(End of this chapter)