The God of the Human Realm!

Chapter 10 Lord of Guiling Mountain
The sun is warm and the autumn scenery is delightful.

Located in Yangquan County, southeast of Linjiang Prefecture, the town has a long, uneven cobblestone street.

Hong Yuan wore a bamboo hat and a neat gray outfit. He stood tall and straight, with a back like a spear. His face and hands were painted with ginger yellow to conceal his true appearance. He walked unhurriedly through the noisy and bustling crowd.

Listening to the hawkers' cries all around him, Hong Yuan walked along, taking in the shops and houses along the street with great interest, secretly comparing them with those in Qingxu County.

The two counties are adjacent to each other and their county towns are about the same size. However, Qingxu County benefited from the convenience of the canal, with more wharves and a more developed salt and iron industry, which attracted a large number of merchants to settle down. As a result, the city is cleaner and the market is more prosperous.

Although the two county towns are only forty or fifty miles apart, Hong Yuan has been studying since childhood and is well-versed in poetry and classical literature. He is oblivious to what is happening outside his window. The few times he has left the city were when he went to the countryside with his father to collect rent. Therefore, this is the first time he has arrived in Yangquan County.

He looked around and suddenly spotted a pancake shop on the street ahead. The shopkeeper was a woman in her thirties. Her round, smiling face was flushed red by the rising steam. Although her clothes were patched, they were not dirty, and her fingers were very clean. He immediately took out his money and bought two pancakes.

He took a bite of the steaming hot pancake. The texture was a bit rough, but it was fresh out of the pan and the wheat aroma was quite strong. Hong Yuan didn't fuss and swallowed one pancake in a few bites. He then picked up another one and chewed it slowly.

Unconsciously, I recalled what happened last night.

Shortly after coming into contact with the gray stone gate, the thin old man brought clean clothes. Hong Yuan changed into them and went to sleep fully clothed. He didn't know how much time had passed when he vaguely heard Wu Duxiong, Yang Erhu and the old man talking upstairs.

The three of them were staying in a room on the second floor of the restaurant, not the room above Hong Yuan's head, and they were speaking very quietly. But Hong Yuan had amazing hearing, so he could still hear their conversation.

During their conversation, Wu Duxiong and Yang Erhu recounted their experiences after entering the 'Azure Phoenix Wonderland'. The old man was very dissatisfied with them for not catching even a big fish and even scolded them a few times.

Wu Duxiong immediately retorted, adding, "He's not one of your subordinates, so don't try that on me."

The old man quickly apologized, changed the subject, and inquired about Hong Yuan's identity.

During their conversation, the three revealed an organization called the 'Dragon King Society,' and the thin old man was one of the contacts of the Dragon King Society.

Yang Erhu and Wu Duxiong got in touch with the Dragon King Society and, with their help, discovered that Qin Ziyue was trapped in the 'Biwu Immortal Realm'. They even found that many of their plans to infiltrate the 'Biwu Immortal Realm' were secretly orchestrated by the Dragon King Society.

'The Dragon King's Meeting...'

'Yang Wu and his companion are not subordinates of the Dragon King Society. The Dragon King Society must have some grudge against Wei Zhenzhu's side, or perhaps they are enemies. They somehow learned that Yang Wu and his companion were investigating Qin Ziyue, and thus conveniently used them, perhaps also intending to use them as pawns.'

Yang Erhu and Wu Duxiong clearly understood this, but since it was advantageous to their actions, they didn't mind being used.

'But the Dragon King has expended a great deal of effort without achieving his goal. Will he really give up so easily?'

Hong Yuan thought to himself.

He is now on his way to the 'Yang Family Martial Arts School' located in Quanshui Lane.

After having breakfast this morning, the group left the town without delay and headed straight for Yangquan County.

At the county town gate, Hong Yuan, Wu Duxiong, Yang Lie, and Qin Fuzi all slightly disguised their appearances and entered the town in batches. According to Wu Duxiong, this was purely unnecessary and would at most delay Wei Zhenzhu's investigation.

Moreover, now that they have left that so-called 'fairyland' and lost their home advantage, they may not need to be too wary of Wei Zhenzhu.

Firstly, Wei Zhenzhu suffered a severe injury and needed to recuperate for a period of time. Secondly, there were local strongmen in Yangquan County, so it wouldn't be easy for Wei Zhenzhu to expand her influence, at least not in the short term.

They might as well send a small group of thugs to infiltrate secretly.

Wei Zhenzhu could certainly seek help from Zhou Wenjie, the Salt and Iron Judge. Zhou Wenjie's power was indeed considerable, but how should she put it?

They turned a blind eye while things were going on, and now that things have gone too far, they're asking Zhou Wenjie to clean up their mess? Isn't that treating him like a human being?
Although Wei Zhenzhu is a fat pig, at least the ownership of this fat pig is still in Zhou Wenjie's name!
Hong Yuan couldn't eat anymore.

Hong Yuan casually tossed half a pancake to a lazy yellow dog basking in the sun on the street corner, then his gaze shifted and settled on a rather impressive pharmacy.

The pharmacy is named "Guilingtang". It is located at the most bustling crossroads in Yangquan County, facing south with a spacious storefront.

Two strong men stood on either side of the shop, lazily basking in the sun. But whenever a noisy vendor, beggar, or vagrant approached, they would immediately shout and curse at them, driving them away.

Hong Yuan glanced inside and saw that the front hall was spacious, with a huge medicine cabinet almost reaching the ceiling.

Behind the counter, a dozen or so doctors, dressed in well-fitting dark blue cotton shirts, were either reading medical books while sipping tea or chatting and laughing with others. Only one or two were seeing patients, so they weren't particularly busy.

The reason why Hong Yuan paid attention to Guilingtang was simple: it was his good brother's business.

The good brother who sold him out was named Huang Shaotang. His father, Huang Yihe, also had the title "Master of Guiling Mountain".

The Huang family had been a prominent family in Qingxu County for generations, owning a large amount of land, shops and connections. By the time of Huang Yihe's generation, due to his business acumen, the Huang family's momentum soared, and they almost monopolized 70-80% of the medicinal herb business in the county.

How much money can you make just by seeing a doctor and consulting a doctor?
When the original owner was in the academy, he often heard that the Huang family acted domineeringly. They not only coerced famous doctors to join Guilingtang, but also colluded with officials to suppress farmers and drive down prices. If anyone resisted, they would lose an arm or a leg, or be beaten to death or maim without mercy.

At the time, he was on good terms with Huang Shaotang, and the fat man's honest face was quite deceptive, so he didn't take him seriously.

Looking back now, it's clear that Huang Shaotang deliberately befriended Hong Yuan, who was one of the best students in the academy. Once Hong Yuan was no longer of any use, Huang Shaotang simply sold him out to extract one last sum of money.

I truly love my family and friends!
'The Huang family is indeed very wealthy; I never expected that Guilingtang would even open a branch in Yangquan County…'

Hong Yuan clicked his tongue, a smile on his face, and walked straight ahead.

"Back in the academy, Huang Shaotang and I were like father and son, a fact known to all, witnessed by hundreds of students. I rightfully deserve a share of the Huang family's business."

'It's said that Huang Guiling is almost seventy years old. At that age, it's not unusual for him to suddenly fall ill and die. My good brother was so heartbroken that it's not unusual for him to die young either...'

(End of this chapter)