Chapter Two Hundred and Forty Two – Bao Yi

“When did Nan Sheng Village become this prosperous?” Lei Peng looked around, full of curiosity.

It was not just him. The other people were also looking around with curiosity. The news that Clear Sky Sect was opening a market at Nan Sheng Village had passed through Little Mountain Jie already. The intentions of Clear Sky Sect was clear in everyone’s minds. However, the situation was stronger than the people, and resistance would be ineffective.

Large numbers of xiuzhe flooded Nan Sheng Village, causing Nan Sheng Village to become the most prosperous area of Little Mountain Jie. This was of great help to Lei Peng and his procession. From every angle, their procession was not too eye-catching.

The leader was Xie Shan. Xie Shan had past experience as a leader, and he was skilled in creating relationships with people. Gongsun Cha had appointed him as the leader of the troop for this mission.

After seeing the many wonders of Boss and Head, and after multiple bloody battles, Xie Shan’s mentality had changed greatly. The little thoughts that he had before had faded. He was clear that even if he was the leader, he could not reach the present level of success. Lei Peng and the others were willing to follow Zuo Mo not because they had been conquered by Zuo Mo’s dominating aura, but because they found that their present lives were better than before.

For the great majority of people, this was enough.

The procession was fifteen people. The person with the highest cultivation was Xie Shan, ningmai third stratum. The person with the lowest cultivation was Nian Lu, ningmai second stratum. At a glance, this group did not show any signs of power.

But Xie Shan was full of confidence in the mission this time.

All fifteen people were old-timers of the camp, and were very good at teamwork, but what made him so confident was that all fifteen people, including him, had comprehended “essence!”

Xie Shan had led many xiuzhe before, and had never encountered such a strong group. No, he had never even heard of one. There wouldn’t be so many xiuzhe that had comprehended “essence” in Clear Sky Sect’s disciples.

Fifteen xiuzhe that had comprehended “essence,” this was definitely a terrifying amount of power!

He felt strangely excited every time he thought that he was leading such a group.

Before the appearance of the sword formation, there had only been five xiuzhe in the camp that had comprehended sword essence. Up until now, there had been thirty people that had gone into the sword formation, and nine that had comprehended “essence!” Of the nine, eight had comprehended sword essence, and Lei Peng, who practiced a sabre scripture, comprehended a sabre essence. The one with the most unique situation was Zong Ru. Zong Ru had recovered from his previous wounds, and naturally comprehended fist essence. He was the only person of the group who had comprehended “essence” without going through the sword formation.

This was another reason why these people were willing to follow Zuo Mo. Nothing could be more persuasive to these people than the increase in strength. Why did they join big sects? It was to increase their strength, and breakthrough at an earlier time. Due to personality issues, most of these people had negative experiences with other sects. They were very clear of the scheming and plotting that occurred inside the bigger sects.

In the camp, as long as you put your best in to train, and were not afraid of death when you fought, you would receive a corresponding reward. With spells, talismans, the sword formation, and formations, everyone’s strength was flying ahead.

These fifteen xiuzhe who had comprehended “essence” were the elite fighters of the camp. Xie Shan believed that as long as they did not encounter a jindan, their safety was guaranteed.

Xie Shan did not worry about the problem of safety at all. What he was thinking about was if he could finish the mission more beautifully.

But before that, he planned on visiting a familiar acquaintance of his.

This old acquaintance of his was called Bao Yi who was a black market business man that could buy anything. Before, he could always get some ling grains, and was famed in the profession.

“Boss Bao,” Xie Shan cheerfully gave a greeting. To avoid attracting unnecessary attention, he had come alone.

Bao Yi was both thin and tall like a stick of bamboo. When he saw Xie Shan, his eyes instantly lit up as he said in a warm voice, “Head Xie, what wind blew you here? Come in, please sit! Please sit!”

———

He had made a few transactions with Xie Shan before. The two of them were quite familiar with each other. He knew that Xie Shan had about one hundred people under his command. Customers like this were primary targets of attention. However, it had been quite a long time since Xie Shan had come. He had actually feeling that it was a pity since he had assumed that XIe Shan had been killed. He hadn’t expected the other man to still be alive. For him, this was a good matter.

“Why is it so empty here?” As Xie Shan walked in, he looked around and asked in puzzlement.

Bao Yi’s face instantly wrinkled. “Oh, there’s nothing to do. Now that Clear Sky Sect has come to directly trade, the business of us little people have become harder.”

“Oh, isn’t the Clear Sky Sect doing large business?”

Bao Yi explained, “Clear Sky Sect only does transactions with big factions, but it isn’t possible for anyone to do business with small groups. Without jade disks, it is impossible to buy ling grains.”

“With Boss Bao’s skill, getting a few jade disks should be easy.” Now, Xie Shan was really puzzled. Bao Yi’s network was extremely complex and broad. He had ties with people from all levels of society. It should not be hard for him to get a few jade disks.

Bao Yi grimaced, “When a person is unlucky, they will even choke on water. The Chief, Elder of Clear Sky Sect Outer Hall, He Xiang, and I had a little conflict in the past.”

Xie Shan finally understood. He acted to frown. “So it’s like that. Then this won’t be easy to do.”

“Yes, exactly.” Bao Yi’s face was mournful as he sighed. “I had come to Nan Sheng to see if there were any good opportunities. It’s a coincidence that Boss Xie is also here. After two more days, I’m leaving.”

He managed to rouse his spirits. “Does Boss Xie want to buy something? I have a bit left, not too much, but the quality isn’t bad. If Boss Xie is interested, I can give a price and you can take the lot.”

———

Xie Shan’s mouth continued to talk as his mind whirled furiously. If Boss wanted to build a city, then he wanted to do something big. He was not ignorant. He knew that it was not so easy to build a city. This Bao Yi might be a bit black-hearted but he was an expert at business who also had hate towards Clear Sky Sect.

It was the first time Xie Shan had been given an important task. Naturally, he wanted to perform well. If he could accomplish a great service, Boss probably would not refuse him if he went and asked for a thread of Golden Crow Fire.

The mission this time was to find xiuzhe that knew how to build a city, but if he could find some more talents, wouldn’t his service be greater?

He had been a leader for a period of time, and naturally understood more as to how to think of problems from the perspective of a leader.

———

Seeing Xie Shan did not seem to be interested in his wares, Bao Yi’s heart became even more bitter. This recent while, the matter of He Xiang and he having previously had a conflict had somehow passed around. His business had instantly dropped and no one came to his doors. How could he not know what had gone on in the shadows?

“If this place does not want to keep ye, there naturally are places that can keep ye! Old Bao, there’s nothing to be said about your abilities. We’ve made more than one transaction before, and we know each other very well. What about it, do you have any interest in helping this brother?” Xie Shan smiled cheerfully as he looked at Bao Yi.

Bao Yi gazed with slight shock at Xie Shan. Xie Shan had spoken so plainly that he knew what it meant. But it was that bluntness that shocked him. Xie Shan might have one hundred people, but in Little Mountain Jie, that was only a little faction. Right now, his tone was so grand, had Xie Shan struck it rich?

He was very familiar with Xie Shan and knew that Xie Shan was not an arrogant and irrational person.

As he thought inside, Bao Yi asked in return, “Does Boss Xie not care about worsening your relationship with Clear Sky Sect?”

Xie Shan chuckled. “Old Bao, don’t probe. I dare to say this because I have some certainly.”

Bao Yi’s expression became slightly wary. “If this little brother goes, what will I do?”

“Of course it is to do your old occupation, business.” Xie Shan thought for a beat before saying, “However, I don’t dare to promise you. It depends on what Boss is going to say.”

Boss! Bao Yi was shocked. There was someone else behind Xie Shan! It definitely would not be a weak power if it had managed to take in Xie Shan. He examined Xie Shan, and saw the confidence that naturally spilled out when Xie Shan mentioned his boss. Also, this power did not seem to be very afraid of Clear Sky Sect. This puzzled him. He could not think of any power in Little Mountain Jie that was not afraid of Clear Sky Sect.

Xie Shan was a clever person. Seeing Bao Yi, he knew what the other was thinking, and roared with laughter, using his words to enlighten Bao Yi. “Why is Boss Bao wavering? I cannot think of any situation that is worse than the present one!”

Bao Yi thought, that was right, what could be worse than his present situation? Since the other already knew he was on bad terms with Clear Sky Sect yet still dared to hire him, then he had to have some form of support. He had some savings but everyone knew how that he and Clear Sky Sect were on bad terms. They probably had already started scheming against him.

Clear Sky Sect might restrict fighting in Nan Sheng Village, but if he was robbed, it was very likely that Clear Sky Sect had been acting against him up in the shadows.

After thinking it through, he did not hesitate any longer. “Since Boss Xie holds Bao Yi in such esteem, I’m not one to not recognize what is good for me. From now on, please take good care of me!”

“Ha ha! That’s fine, fine!” Xie Shan’s mood instantly rose.

Bao Yi smiled. “We didn’t come here this time for the ling grains, right?”

The word “we” instantly tightened the distance between the two people. Xie Shan was very satisfied that Bao Yi had entered his role so quickly. He raised a thumb up at Bao Yi. “Old Bao is so smart. Boss heard that many xiuzhe were gathering in Nan Sheng Village, and told me to come to see if we can hire some talents.”

He decided to reveal some information to Bao Yi. He had come to see Bao Yi originally to find some information, but out of consideration for safety, he had not directly said that he was looking into the xiuzhe of the village.

Bao Yi said in a deep voice, “What kind of talent does our boss want to hire? This little brother has stayed for a while at Nan Sheng Village and might know something.”

Xie Shan’s eye lit up. “Anyone that has one skill.”

Bao Yi had a general understanding. This boss that he had never met before had an extremely strong base, and his ambitions were not small. These days, in Little Mountain Jie, the days of any kind of xiuzhe other than combat xiu were extremely difficult.

Since he had decided to enter the other’s group, Bao Yi decided he needed to perform well.

In any organization, in order to be recognized, the simplest method was to let the boss see your abilities, and understand your value!

“Do we have enough manpower?” he asked.

“Enough.” Xie Shan was full of confidence.

“If it is like that … …” Bao Yi’s heart rose, and he said hatefully, “then we shall do something big!”

Translator Ramblings: The mystery female is not Xiao Guo or any other female previously seen in the story. Xiao Guo is not so talented that she could become more powerful than Zuo Mo is at present. She’s not a genius like Wei Sheng and she cannot advance so rapidly that she could break through the yao blockade herself.

Not much Zuo Mo, but he is the focus of everything. Xie Shan really wants to get a good position in Lil’Miss Zuo Mo’s army. Also, fifteen people that comprehended essence. In the Wu Kong Sword Sect disciples, there were only the three weirdo monsters. So Zuo Mo is now commanding Wu Kong Sword Sect * 5 but he has no jindan so Wu Kong Sword Sect will win in a face off.

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