After a satisfying sleep, Jiang Yichen had arrived in Gusu.
After Yi Zhongren and his group disembarked, they took the pre-arranged carriages and horses to head toward the Chrysanthemum Garden to discuss countermeasures regarding the spy incident that occurred on West Mountain Island with the old man, while also handing over the reinforcements brought from the island for the old man to use.
Yi Zhongren truly "kept his promise" and did not say much more to Jiang Yichen, telling him to first familiarize himself with Gusu City and then go find a person named Liu Qi, who would arrange what he needed to do next. However, he did not tell Jiang Yichen what Liu Qi did, what he looked like, or whether he was a man or a woman, leaving the completely bewildered Jiang Yichen to face this bustling world alone.
Gusu is the largest urban hub in a corner of Jiangnan, with a critical geographical location. Even a military power as strong as the imperial court cannot fully control this place, yet they still established military agencies here to command and deter the local area. The other various factions also value this strategic stronghold extremely highly, restraining and checking one another. Consequently, Gusu City can be considered a rare safe haven in the currently turbulent Jianghu.
This was also the intention behind Yi Zhongren letting Jiang Yichen start his Jianghu journey here; relatively speaking, it is a safe environment and an important strategic hub. Starting here to gain experience and familiarize himself, regardless of whether he can be used by the old man later, would be of great help to his growth.
Gusu City was built on the edge of a bay, with water and land routes running in parallel and rivers and streets adjacent to each other, possessing both the beauty of gardens and the splendor of mountains and rivers. The overall layout of Gusu City is roughly in the shape of the character "回". The magnificent Purple Xuan Hall sits like a tiger in the center of Gusu City, which is the symbol of the powerful imperial court's rule in the region, while the streets and shops surround it on the outside, separated by the bay.
Jiang Yichen's current location is a small ferry crossing in the suburbs at the southwest corner of Gusu, a certain distance from the city center. Now he needs to find a person named Liu Qi. How to find him is a problem. Should he just shout Liu Qi's name out loud right here? This is obviously something Jiang Yichen cannot bring himself to do. Should he follow the street and ask every pedestrian and shop one by one? Jiang Yichen does not really want to do this either, but it is the only method feasible for him...
Walking along the pedestrian path by the riverbank, he arrived at a jewelry shop and said to an old woman with graying temples: "Ma'am, do you know Liu Qi?"
He did not wait for an answer, but instead waited for a cleaning rag to be thrown directly at his face, along with a vigorous roar: "Who is your ma'am! You are the ma'am! Your whole family is full of ma'ams! Get lost! Don't hinder this old woman from doing business!"
The start was unfavorable, and passersby nearby snickered. Jiang Yichen ran away in a hurry, covered in dust and grime. This undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Yichen. He paced back and forth by a stone bridge for a long time, watching batches of passersby walk past, before biting the bullet and continuing to look for people to ask. Of course, his form of address became especially polite.
After more than half a day, with the sun high in the sky, Jiang Yichen had asked almost every shop on the entire southwest street of Gusu and even every passerby, yet he gained nothing. He had not a shred of information about Liu Qi. Exhausted and worried, he planned to find a restaurant to rest and recuperate before continuing his search for Liu Qi.
Unconsciously, he walked back to the ferry crossing where he had disembarked. He suddenly discovered a middle-aged man dressed like a boatman, wearing green clothes and a cloth vest, leaning against the bluestone steps and shaking his head, appearing as if he had just woken up. Catching a glimpse of Jiang Yichen watching him, he also began to observe him.
Their eyes met. Jiang Yichen was not used to making eye contact with others, so he avoided his line of sight and turned to walk toward the depths of the street. After taking a step, he immediately realized that he had not asked that green-clothed boatman earlier, and since the boatman had been there since he disembarked in the morning, it seemed he had missed him!
As expected, he was stupid beyond measure and careless to such a degree that he had actually missed the very first spot.
Turning back to walk toward the boatman, he felt as if he had bumped into something. The boatman was already behind him, observing Jiang Yichen with a seemingly smiling but not smiling gaze. With a questioning yet affirmative tone, he asked: "Chen'er? Are you looking for me?"
Looking at the man's insincere smile before him, it was obvious that he had seen the situation with the old woman selling jewelry in the morning. This person must undoubtedly be Liu Qi, but seeing that he was looking for him, he had unexpectedly just slept here? Slept! Slept!
His belly full of anger was about to erupt, and sparks could already be seen in his eyes. However, Liu Qi did not give him the chance to vent his anger, patting Jiang Yichen on the shoulder: "Chen'er, starting from here, you have stepped into Gusu City, and you have also stepped into the Jianghu. Take care on your journey. Also, that Little Brown Horse by the bridge head will be your partner from now on; take good care of it." After speaking, he did not wait for Jiang Yichen to speak and left in a dashing manner.
Jiang Yichen turned his head to look at the bridge head, where there was indeed a Little Brown Horse. Looking back, Liu Qi had already vanished without a trace. Regarding the experience of the first half of the day, Jiang Yichen was truly speechless. The person was gone, and there was nowhere to vent his anger, so he could only suppress the anger in his heart and feel depressed on his own.
After calming his thoughts and recalling everything that happened today, it was ultimately his own fault. Sigh!
Horses are prohibited in the Inner City of Gusu, and Jiang Yichen still needed to enter the Inner City to understand the situation, so he temporarily left the Little Brown Horse at the stable by the ferry crossing.
After tasting Gusu delicacies at the Wanhe Tower, Jiang Yichen decided to first enter the square in the Inner City to find the Gossipmonger, whom all passersby called the "Jianghu Know-it-all," to ask about information regarding the old man. He could not go looking for the old man like a headless fly.
Walking in the center of the street, Jiang Yichen looked around and suddenly caught a glimpse of a burly man with a thick beard, wearing a red vest, bare-chested, and pot-bellied, on a balcony of a building in front.
Such a familiar physique! Sha Qing!
It was indeed Sha Qing. At this moment, he was hugging a bewitching woman in revealing, silver-haired, purple clothing, flirting and discussing something.
He casually bought a conical hat by the street and wore it on his head to cover his figure. Jiang Yichen, with a pace similar to the pedestrians on the street, quickly approached the tavern named "Longquan" to which the balcony where Sha Qing was located belonged.
The street was bustling and crowded with people coming and going, and the sound was quite noisy. Separated by a floor, he could not hear the content of the conversation between Sha Qing and the woman clearly, so he still had to go upstairs to investigate.
There were not many guests upstairs, so Jiang Yichen chose a table closest to the balcony and sat down, casually ordering a few small dishes as a cover, listening attentively, and could vaguely hear the conversation between Sha Qing and the other person.
"Then it's settled, Master Sha." The silver-bell-like laughter of the silver-haired woman came from the direction of the balcony.
"Rest assured, beauty. If we can succeed at Taoyuan Town this time, the benefits will naturally not be lacking for you, and I will also promote you to an Incense Master." Sha Qing pinched the woman's flesh hard, took advantage of her, and then thought about the beautiful future ahead, feeling very pleased.
Taoyuan Town is the closest and largest village to the Chrysanthemum Garden where the old man is located, and of course, it is also one of the hidden spheres of influence belonging to the Righteousness Alliance. That place is the source of some of the daily necessities for the Chrysanthemum Garden, and the supply chain to the Chrysanthemum Garden will certainly not be small, but most importantly, it is the most basic line.
Originally, the Red Robe Cult had decided to let Sha Qing deeply enter the enemy's heartland to find the extremely critical shelter from the world, which is West Mountain Island. He was extremely unwilling, and if it were not for the pressure of the Cult Master's might, he would not have gone deep into the backyard of the Righteousness Alliance to stir up trouble.
Sha Qing is cunning and vicious by nature. Letting him hide in a dark place to control and command is his strength; letting him go to the Frontline to investigate intelligence and charge into battle is something he is extremely unwilling to do. To him, he only has one life, which is meant for enjoyment, not for taking risks. Perhaps after mixing in the bloody storms of the Jianghu for so many years and enjoying the romance for so many years, people become cowardly.
And the facts were just as Sha Qing expected. Last time, he almost died on West Mountain Island. If it were not for the fact that West Mountain Island had been living too comfortably for so many years and was too easy to infiltrate, if it were not for the fact that the person who came to scout the path was a youngster, and if it were not for the fact that the person who came to intercept was an old sick man, his old life would have definitely been lost there.
The hidden Den on West Mountain Island was discovered, but Sha Qing managed to slip away, which could be considered a temporary liberation, as he did not have to be on tenterhooks all day about being found by the old man's people, caught, and tortured.
After finishing sending the information to the sect, he decided to play this chess piece of the silver-haired woman to make a good profit and compensate himself.
As for the threat to clean up that youngster and the sick man, he had long forgotten it. Perhaps he would just point to others in the sect or other sects to go head-on with them. Sha Qing knew that the group of people on West Mountain Island were just lax, but if they really fought, it would cost a great price. It was enough for him to watch the fire from the sidelines; there was no need to participate and bring disaster upon himself.
The snake and scorpion woman—Hong Yue, the silver-haired woman before him, had already been his subordinate for five years in the Thousand Bamboo Forest not far from Taoyuan Town, laying a good Foundation. Now is the time for this Viper to come out of its hole. They used Bamboo Wine as a breakthrough point, step by step, and had already gained the trust of the people in Taoyuan Town. Now, with just one small action of his own, he could turn the inside of the Chrysanthemum Garden upside down!
When the time comes to make a great contribution, perhaps the position of Vice Cult Master, which has been vacant for many years, will have a master, and from then on, he can sit back and relax.
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