The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS
Chapter 100 - 97 Trust

Chapter 100: Chapter 97 Trust

In the quiet room.

Qing Yu sat cross-legged, with his palms together in front of his lower abdomen, holding a blood-red object between them, which was the Blood Spirit Ginseng he had obtained from the Sixth Prince.

Originally, the Blood Spirit Ginseng was crystal clear, and its blood-red meridians, visible through its skin, resembled human blood vessels, which is why it was named Blood Spirit Ginseng.

But now, the once crystal-clear Blood Spirit Ginseng was nothing more than a thin layer of blood-colored skin, its essence all absorbed by Qing Yu.

"Sigh..." As the last bit of Essence Qi was absorbed by Qing Yu, he exhaled a breath of turbid air. Simultaneously, the Blood Spirit Ginseng in his hand also completely disintegrated into a pile of blood-red dust.

"The Alchemy of the Yin Yang Family indeed has its tricks..." Qing Yu felt the True Qi in his body, which had reached the Innate Third Level, and sighed.

The "Alchemy" in the "Yin Yang Technique" was not about smelting metals as literally implied but a theory of the Five Elements affecting each other. It involved Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and even manipulating the Five Elements.

Using the techniques he obtained, Qing Yu infused True Qi into the Blood Spirit Ginseng, transforming its medicinal power into pure Primordial Energy for his own absorption.

Waving his hand to disperse the remaining dust, Qing Yu stepped out of the quiet room. Outside his room, his subordinates had organized the recent significant news from within the Divine Capital and placed it on the table for Qing Yu to review.

As the distribution network for Longevity Powder expanded, Qing Yu reaped tremendous benefits. The villa he now occupied outside the Divine Capital, as well as certain appliances for practicing "Alchemy" in the quiet room, were all acquired with funds generated by sales of Longevity Powder. After all, the main consumers of Longevity Powder were the wealthy elite, and among those addicted to Longevity Powder, how many were not prodigal sons?

Moreover, the tiered membership system Qing Yu proposed, where the more subordinates developed, the higher the purchasing level of the superiors became, had turned buyers of Longevity Powder into an intelligence network covering the Divine Capital, providing Qing Yu with countless pieces of information.

"However, this network has almost been exposed..." Qing Yu glanced at the paper placed on the top of the stack on the table.

It detailed that Xu Mingfeng, a once prominent son of the Xu Family, was discovered dead by the servants in his residence a day ago. Before he died, he seemed to have been in an extremely joyful state, leaving a smile of genuine happiness on his face even in death.

This peculiar death had already attracted a government investigation. Xu Mingfeng’s faded status was no reason for someone to kill the son of Physician You Guanglu. Yes, kill—after all, the circumstances of the death were truly strange, and Xu Mingfeng’s facial expression of joy was completely inconsistent with his current situation. Plus, if you are so joyful, how could it possibly be suicide?

"It was a homicide, their guess is quite accurate..." Qing Yu said with a light chuckle.

As the provider of Longevity Powder, how could he not know the cause of Xu Mingfeng’s death? Xu Mingfeng obviously overdosed on drugs and killed himself in a high state.

The government’s investigation was bound to uncover the network of Longevity Powder consumers tied together in an upline-downline system. Tracing the vines, they might be able to trace back to the originator by following the leads.

But Qing Yu was not at all worried; having built this network, he had prepared for the possibility of being traced. Even if they found the person at the origin of the network, they couldn’t implicate Qing Yu, not even Feng Jiu.

The one at the very beginning—the now-famous Pharmacist in the circles—was the endpoint of the myriad, intricate paths. This was the price to be paid for killing Xu Mingfeng. You see, the look on Xu Mingfeng’s face as he died in ecstasy was something anyone with knowledge of Longevity Powder would guess the reason for at a glance, and it was bad for business. If the Pharmacist wasn’t made the scapegoat, he would be the next to die high.

Besides the information on Xu Mingfeng, the rest were mostly gossip, such as students from Mountain River Academy competing in the brothel, and someone’s concubine running off with a lover...

As the intelligence network was relatively new, it mostly contained trivial matters. There was nothing about the happenings in the Imperial Palace or within the other Prince Mansions, the kind of information Qing Yu wanted to know.

"No news about Han Wenxin; hasn’t Luo Yan made a move yet?"

It was as if it were some kind of particular karmic principle; no sooner had he thought about it than a servant reported that someone outside the villa had delivered a letter. Seeing the special symbol on the envelope, Qing Yu knew it was from Luo Yan.

"Where is the messenger?"

"He has already left."

"Mm, you may go."

After the servant had retreated, Qing Yu opened the envelope.

The letter contained only four words: Tonight, Guest House.

"Is this a sign of action to be taken?" Qing Yu murmured, stroking his chin.

The presence of Mountain River Academy meant that the outskirts of the Divine Capital were unlike ordinary towns, where inns and taverns were scarce. From the gates of the Divine Capital to Datong Mountain, along the cobblestone-paved road, there were as many inns, taverns, shops, and street vendors as inside the city.

There was even a sharp businessman who once sought to open a brothel at the foot of Datong Mountain, stirring quite a buzz at the time. Of course, that brothel endeavor eventually did not come to fruition.

The Guest House was located on the official road to Datong Mountain.

Today was the last day of rest for the month, and students from the Academy had to reach the Academy before midnight. Core Scholars were no exception. If Han Wenxin did not stick to his bad habit of avoiding the main roads in favor of smaller paths, he would surely pass by the Guest House.

"While it’s bothersome just to wait without knowing the exact hour..."

Despite his complaint, Qing Yu diligently made his preparations. He was quite interested in the prospect of a real confrontation with Han Wenxin.

...

In the evening, inside the Guest House.

Qing Yu approached a table where a young man in a blue shirt was sitting and directly took a seat, asking, "Would you mind sharing a table?"

The young man in the blue shirt frowned slightly at the stranger who had seated himself without invitation, ready to refuse.

"It’s me."

The familiar voice let the young man in the blue shirt recognize who was before him. "It’s you. I really didn’t recognize you; your Disguise Technique is indeed supernatural."

This time, Qing Yu was going to face Han Wenxin in earnest and naturally did not appear as "Meng De" but had adopted a new face.

Pale with dark circles under his eyes, he looked like someone who indulged excessively in drinks. In the middle of winter, he even held a jade fan, gently fanning himself, causing his face to redden from the cold wind. Yet, he kept the fan unfolded, slightly moving it in his hand—a typical playboy from the Divine Capital, a regular customer of Tianyue Workshop.

Qing Yu shook his head slightly without responding to Luo Yan’s praise. The extraordinary Disguise Technique was the creation of Wang Lianhua; he was but a user who embraced the principle of taking what was offered, unworthy of such an extraordinary title.

"Waiter, bring another set of chopsticks and some light dishes," Qing Yu called out loud.

"Right away, sir," the waiter replied with a robust voice.