Gu Long's World: Starting with the Legend of Chu Liuxiang

After seeing Ying Wanli off, Jiang Fengyue bought some materials for disguise and returned to the inn. He began to disguise himself in front of the mirror, based on the image of Gou Zichang in his mind.

Half a day later, Jiang Fengyue's face had become a hook-shaped face. Combined with his ability to imitate other people's voices, even if others could tell that he was in disguise, they would never recognize him as the real person.

He then went to the market and bought a large box, adding a few stones inside to create the illusion that there was something in the box.

After doing all this, Jiang Fengyue left the town and came to a riverbank. In the middle of the river was a giant ship. If you asked the people nearby, they would tell you with a timid look that it was the ship of Hai Kuotian, the leader of the Purple Whale Gang.

Jiang Fengyue settled down by the river. He found a fisherman and bought his house for five hundred taels of silver. From then on, the fisherman was no longer a fisherman.

Every morning, Jiang Fengyue would sit on the riverbank, staring at the boat in the middle of the river, until night fell.

The Purple Whale Gang Leader's flagship was naturally a fine ship—sturdy, magnificent, and enormous. With the waters shallow near the shore, such a large ship could only be moored in the middle of the river.

Jiang Fengyue's life was not boring while he was monitoring the ship. He would often practice his sword to prevent his hands and feet from rusting.

The fisherman's house was filled with fishing tools; he hadn't taken these things that had once sustained him. Jiang Fengyue used a harpoon to catch fish in the river, then came ashore to grill and eat them.

That day, as he was eating grilled fish as usual, a small boat appeared in his field of vision. There were several people on the boat, and they were heading towards the boat in the middle of the river.

Jiang Fengyue dared not delay, went back into the house to get the box, went to a small boat left by a fisherman on the shore, and rowed towards the center of the river.

As Jiang Fengyue approached the giant ship, he activated his White-Clad Divine Ears and heard arguing sounds coming from the ship.

A man said he wanted to sell himself, and a woman offered five thousand taels of silver.

Jiang Fengyue knew that the two must be Zhang San from "Kuaiwang" and Jin Lingzhi, the youngest granddaughter of the Jin family.

The closer Jiang Fengyue got to the giant ship, the clearer the sounds from above became.

Zhang San said, "If no one else makes an offer, I will sell it to this young lady."

Jiang Fengyue used her internal energy to send a message from afar: "You're Zhang San from 'Kuaiwang'?"

He had already figured out how to gain the trust of everyone on the ship: by spending money. If people know you're rich, regardless of how you got your money, they'll look at you with more respect.

Zhang San said, "That's right, it's genuine, no doubt about it."

Jiang Fengyue said, "Alright, I'll offer six thousand taels."

Jiang Fengyue's words surprised everyone on the ship.

No one could have imagined that someone would actually be vying with Jin Lingzhi to buy Zhang San's product.

Jiang Fengyue was imitating Gou Zichang's voice, and neither Chu Liuxiang nor Hu Tiehua on the boat recognized him.

Jin Lingzhi was furious and shouted, "I'll offer seven thousand taels!"

Jiang Fengyue smiled and said, "I'll offer eight thousand taels."

Jin Lingzhi said, "I'll offer nine thousand taels."

Jiang Fengyue said, "I'll offer ten thousand taels."

Jin Lingzhi was the most beloved granddaughter of the Jin family. No one had ever dared to take anything from her since she was a child. She angrily said, "I'll offer eleven thousand taels."

Jiang Fengyue slowly said, "I will offer twelve thousand taels."

Zhang San was stunned, never expecting to be so valuable.

Jin Lingzhi, unconvinced, shouted, "Fine, I'll pay..."

The young man standing next to the golden lingzhi suddenly interrupted, "Wait a minute, you can't just make a deal like this. If you're sincere, you should at least show some real gold and silver."

The young man, with his flowing robes and dashing demeanor, was Jiang Fengyue's guess that he was Ding Feng, the eldest disciple of the Bat Prince.

Zhang San chimed in, "That's right, I only accept cash transactions and absolutely do not allow credit."

Ding Feng said, "In that case, before either of you makes a bid, you should show the money to this friend Zhang."

Jin Lingzhi took out a stack of silver notes from her bosom and said, "Is this enough?"

Ding Feng glanced at it and laughed, "Of course it's enough. These are silver notes from Shanxi Liyuan Bank, just like cash."

Standing to the side, the leader of the Purple Whale Gang also spoke up, saying, "If that's still not enough, I have some silver here. Miss Jin, please use it as you wish."

The Purple Whale Gang Leader is incredibly wealthy; the fact that he could say such a thing is practically equivalent to having cash.

Ding Feng chuckled, "What about the friends on that other ship?"

Jiang Fengyue slowly said, "You probably think that Zhang San and I colluded to deliberately inflate the price, is that right?"

Ding Feng smiled and acquiesced.

Jiang Fengyue took out a large stack of silver notes from the box he brought, which was obviously much thicker than Jin Lingzhi's silver notes.

Jiang Fengyue said, "These are silver notes from Shandong Wantong Money Shop, roughly 500,000 taels. Is that enough?"

Ding Feng was also taken aback, not expecting Jiang Fengyue to possess such a large sum of money. He forced a smile and said, "That's enough."

Jiang Fengyue said calmly, "If that's not enough, I have some amazing treasures in this box that can be used to offset some of the money."

Jin Lingzhi's face was a little pale, but she still gritted her teeth and shouted, "Thirteen thousand taels."

Jiang Fengyue said, "Fourteen thousand taels."

Jin Lingzhi said, "Fourteen thousand five hundred taels."

Jiang Fengyue said, "Fifteen thousand five hundred taels."

Jin Lingzhi said, "Sixteen thousand taels."

Jin Lingzhi was truly in a dilemma; she couldn't refuse to bid, so she had no choice but to reduce the price to five hundred taels per pound.

Jiang Fengyue said calmly, "Twenty thousand taels."

Jiang Fengyue could afford any amount of money. The more extravagant he appeared, the more Ding Feng would trust him, and the better he would be able to expose Ding Feng's conspiracy.

Upon hearing the exorbitant price, Jin Lingzhi angrily retorted, "Why do you insist on buying it?"

Jiang Fengyue asked, "Why must you insist on buying him, young lady?"

Jin Lingzhi was stunned for a moment. She couldn't figure out why either, so she could only shout, "I'm happy. As long as I'm happy, I don't care if I throw tens of thousands of taels into the river to kill the water ghost."

Jiang Fengyue smiled and said, "Since you're happy, I'm happy too. Why don't we continue bidding?"

Ding Feng suddenly interjected, "I may already know the purpose of this friend's visit."

Jiang Fengyue's smile remained unchanged as she said, "Please speak freely."

Ding Feng said, "Everyone in the martial arts world knows that Zhang San of 'Kuaiwang' is an expert in watercraft, and his shipbuilding and navigation skills are unparalleled in Jiangnan. Having a Zhang San is already better than having a thousand or even hundreds of sailors. Your eagerness to find talent suggests that you might be planning to go to sea?"

Jiang Fengyue clapped her hands and said, "That's right, I do have plans to go to sea, so no matter how high the price is today, I want Zhang San."

Ding Feng said, "If that's the case, then I have a word of advice to offer."

Jiang Fengyue said, "Please speak."

Ding Feng said, "The sea is unpredictable, and the risks of sailing there are incomparable to those in the martial world. If you don't have anything urgent to attend to, it's best not to go out to sea."

Jiang Fengyue sighed, "But I absolutely have to go this time."

Ding Feng asked, "Why?"

Jiang Fengyue said calmly, "Have you ever heard of a notorious den of iniquity on the sea?"