A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248

by Translator: Johnchen

  Chapter 120: Scheming to Seize a Gang

  “He did not mention the time, but from the way he spoke, it appears that it’s going to be not too long from now. As for the meeting place, it seems like it was not mentioned.” Sun Ergou said as he scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed.

  Han Li frowned. Apparently, the information that Sun Ergou possessed was not one hundred percent accurate. There were definitely some aspects that were overlooked.

  Han Li bowed his head and pondered for a while. Suddenly, he had an epiphany and thought of a brilliant idea.

  He cautiously gave Sun Ergou a once-over, then abruptly smiled and said, “Sun Ergou, I’m very pleased with the way you handle affairs recently, especially the major contribution you’ve made with the latest information. As a result, I am prepared to reward you heavily!”

  When Sun Ergou heard this, he was so elated that his face brightened up subconsciously.

  Sun Ergou never would have thought that a few pieces of information would merit the appreciation of this esteemed Young Master and lead to a reward. It seemed that handling affairs for this person was truly refreshing. Although he didn’t know why Han Li would reward him so handsomely, Han Li wouldn’t give him a large amount of gold and silver treasure, would he?

  Sun Ergou couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild.

  “Do you have any interest in becoming the Commander of the Fourth Level Gang?” Han Li’s question was so earth-shattering that Sun Ergou’s surprised face changed so drastically, and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

  “Young Master must be joking and teasing this servant! This servant has little ability and character, how could I qualify to be a Commander?!” Sun Ergou muttered sullenly.

  “Why not? With me supporting you from behind, even a small group like Fourth Level Gang would be easy to obtain! Or are you willing to just be a minor gang leader and take care of the harbor for the rest of your life?” Han Li said cajolingly as he laughed softly.

  When Sun Ergou heard this, many expressions crossed his face. There was surprise, fear and mostly excitement.

  As a man, who would not imagine himself being surrounded by beauties one day? Having all the authority in his hands and being able to control someone’s life or death…what a marvelous idea!

  Buried at the bottom of his heart, Sun Ergou’s innermost ambition was lightly ignited by Han Li’s few words. But Sun Ergou still had a few qualms and thus did not immediately agree with Han Li.

  “The martial arts of our Commander and the three great Protectors is certainly not weak. Can Young Master be certain that he can subdue them?” Sun Ergou asked tentatively in a low voice.

  “Subdue them? Haha, what’s the use of that? Just kill them all!” Han Li said coldly as he regarded them with little importance.

  Sun Ergou couldn’t help but to shudder when he heard this. This Young Master’s killing intent was truly too great! If he did not agree, Sun Ergou was afraid that he might be dealt with immediately.

  “Since Young Master speaks highly of this servant, this servant’s life is bound to Young Master. I will listen to and obey your every command.” Under Han Li’s coercion and persuasion, Sun Ergou was finally willing to take some risks.

  “Good, this is how it should be!” Han Li nodded his head in satisfaction.

  “Give me your Commander’s most recent movements.” Han Li asked willfully.

  “There is one that is noteworthy. Recently, he has been going to the Eastern City’s most popular brothel, the Clear River Brothel, every afternoon. He has been entranced by the leading girl, Xiao Jinzhi. However, the three great Protectors would also accompany him, so I’m afraid it might be a bit hard to deal with. Why not wait for a few more days and find a better opportunity?” Since Sun Ergou had already agreed with Han Li, he would immediately do everything he could for sake of his life and glory.

  “No need. Since we already know the time and place, taking their small lives will be very easy.” Han Li mentioned causally.

  “But once they die, you’re afraid you won’t have the capability to take over Fourth Level Gang, correct?”

  “Yes. Within the gang, this servant is only a minor leader. There are many other who have higher ranks and better qualifications than me” Sun Ergou said shamefully.

  “Don’t worry, if I said I’d make you the Commander of the Fourth Level Gang, you’ll definitely be the Commander. I will temporarily dispatch Crooked Soul to watch over you. He can get rid of all those that rebel against you and be your personal guard for the time being.” Han Li declared confidently.

  Afterwards, Han Li rushed to the room next door and knocked calmly three times. A short moment later, Crooked Soul appeared in front of them.

  “Keep this close to you and conceal it well. As long as you have this object on you, Crooked Soul will obey all your orders. He will get rid of your enemies and help you ascend to the position of Commander.”

  Han Li took out the Soul Luring watch from his bosom. He caressed it softly for a while, then handed it over to Sun Ergou.

  Although the person holding Soul Luring Watch was not the master of Crooked Soul, he could still command Crooked Soul. This was another method of control on Crooked Soul that Doctor Mo taught Han Li. Furthermore, if the former owner dripped his blood essence onto the Soul Luring Watch, other people would not be able to tamper with it. Hence, Han Li was not afraid that Sun Ergou might have evil plans or other intentions.

  Sun Ergou had personally seen Crooked Soul’s display of his mighty power, so he was especially surprised to receive the watch, increasing his courage drastically.

  “Many thanks to Young Master’s great kindness. This servant will definitely repay this favor with my life!” But Sun Ergou was very clever. He knew that despite being the Commander of the Fourth Level Gang, he was actually just this Young Master’s puppet. Thus, whenever there was an opportunity, he would fervently express his loyalty.

  “Head back and prepare first then! Once that Commander is dead, you should take advantage of the confusion and assume control of Fourth Level Gang. But you must remember this: send me the fellow who saw the Immortal couple. I want him unharmed as I have things to ask him. Did you get that?” Han Li’s last sentences were very strict, clearly attaching great importance to this task.

  “Please be at ease, Young Master. This servant will definitely send him to you in one piece. I will absolutely not disappoint Young Master!” Sun Ergou immediately patted his chest and vowed with devotion written on his face.

  “As long as you understand, then that’s good. Bring Crooked Soul along with you then. The next time you see me, you will already be the Commander!” Han Li told him without batting an eye.

  “This servant will retire now!” Sun Ergou noted Han Li’s notice to leave and tactfully retreated out of the house with great speed. Crooked Soul followed closely behind.

  The moment Sun Ergou left the house, Han Li stood up. Within the house, Han Li turned in a semicircle and suddenly let out a prolonged mellow whistle. Then, from the outside, the Cloud-Winged Bird dived in and landed on Han Li’s shoulder.

  Han Li extracted a bottle from his bosom and poured out the Cloud-Winged Bird’s favorite Yellow Chestnut Pill, which he gently fed to the bird. Then he softly said, “Little fellow, catch up with the person who just left the house. If he leaves the city walls to escape, immediately return and tell me.”

  When the Cloud-Winged Bird finished listening to Han Li’s words, it chirped intelligently and proceeded to fly out of the window, disappearing into the sky.

  Chapter 121: Clear River Brothel

  Shen Zhongshan’s current mood was quite good. He was currently sitting in a private room of the Clear River Brothel and embracing an exceptionally beautiful girl, using his large hands to grope her delicate body in a vulgar manner.

  Maybe it was due to Shen Zhongshan’s impatience, but his handling caused the gorgeously enchanting maiden to giggle nonstop.

  “Miss Jin, I th
ink you should just submit to our Gang Leader already! This is the first time our Gang Leader has been so infatuated with a woman. He came here in such a hurry even though the gang’s affairs have not been completely dealt with.” The person who said this was a dark fatty who wore loose-fitting gray garments. His waist was as large as a bucket, and his legs were twice the size a normal person’s. After speaking, he was somewhat gasping for breath.

  “That’s right, Miss Jinzhi! Our Gang Leader has visited your establishment every afternoon for five days in a row and spent a large sum of money! Furthermore, you profited quite a bit. You only let our Gang Leader embrace you for a while and never let him spend the night with you even once. This just doesn’t make any sense!” The one who spoke this time was a middle aged scholar with a mole on his face. His eyes exuded a hidden fierceness, making him seem like a scheming person.

  Currently, besides Shen Zhongshan, there were three other people in the room. They were none other than Fourth Level Gang’s three Great Protectors.

  The dark fatty was “Mad Fist” Qian Jing. Disregarding his oddly plump size, he was actually extremely proficient in the “Berserk Eighteen Strike” and had killed many reputable experts.

  The Confusian scholar was “Malicious Scholar” Fan Ju. Even though he practiced a very swift and fierce “Snow Wind” sword technique, what made his name famous worldwide was his dark heart, fierce methods, and sinister intentions.

  Standing at one side was a dark-clothed person who had not spoken a word since the start. He was the strongest out of the three Great Protectors, “Throwing Dagger” Shen San. His unique skill of sending out eighteen throwing daggers in succession had previously helped Shen Zhongshan get rid of many experts who pursued a vendetta against him. In addition, Shen San was also Shen Zhongshan’s distant relative. Thus, he was the one Shen Zhongshan regarded the most highly in the Fourth Level Gang.

  Just like Shen Zhongshan, each of the three Protectors had a pretty girl sitting in their embrace. But these girls were nothing like the girl in Shen Zhongshan’s embrace. She was delicate, charming, flirtatious and finely developed in figure.

  At this moment, when the giggling little Jinzhi heard “Mad Fist” and “Malicious Scholar” Fan Ju’s words, her eyes immediately began to tear up, as if a teardrop might fall at any moment.

  “When Master Fan and Master Qian speak like this, you are wrongly accusing Jinzhi. The moment others see Master Shen, they would immediately know that he is a hero! To be able to fly together and nest together with Master Shen, that is all that Jinzhi wishes for!”

  “However, both of you also know that my body belongs to Clear River Brothel. Without the brothel’s Elderly Lady Wang’s approval, if Jinzhi were to leave and receive patrons without permission, I will be beaten to death. Why doesn’t Master Shen go and ask Elderly Lady Wang? If she agrees to let Jinzhi receive patrons, then I will definitely wait upon Master Shen diligently tonight.” The lead prostitute of the Clear River Brothel spoke in a sincere tone of sweet reasonableness and looked at Shen Zhongshan with extreme adoration.

  Her words seemed quite believable yet fake at the same time, making Qian Jin and Fan Ju look at each other speechlessly in dismay.

  Of course they had asked for the price of spending the night with little Jinzhi. Using the excuse of little Jinzhi having never spent the night with a patron before, Elderly Lady Wang demanded an exorbitant price that made Gang Leader Shen Zhongshan’s heart skip a beat. Thus, they had never reached an agreement.

  It was even more impossible to use force to negotiate. The Clear River Brothel was the property of Jia Yuan City’s third largest gang, the Heavenly Tyrant Sect.

  After hitting a snag with this giant red card, Qian Jin and Fan Ju could only vent their frustration on the Clear River Brothel’s girls who were in their arms. Only after groping them ferociously did they let the matter drop.

  “Hehe, many thanks to the two worthy little brothers for being concern about my affairs. But don’t worry, two days ago I made a great business deal. This small amount of money isn’t too much. On the contrary, you, beautiful lady, cannot go back on your words! You must properly wait upon this Lord Master when the time comes!” The lustful Shen Zhongshan said contentedly as he suddenly turned towards little Jinzhi, who was in his embrace, and nibbled her fragrant cheek.

  Shen Zhongshan was a huge man with very hairy arms and chest. His two arms were much longer than that of an average human. Thus, his whole person looked like a beast wearing clothes, truly so ugly that he could frighten people.

  A few years ago, this extremely boorish man used “Open Arm Punch”, a skill that he mastered to perfection, to kill the Fourth Level Gang’s predecessor, Gou Tianpo, and his trusted aides, the four great Warlords, thereby seizing the position as Gang Leader. Therefore, in the entire Jia Yuan City, he was definitely a part of the top ranking experts and must not be underestimated.

  “Master Shen”, Little Jinzhi appeared very bashful when Shen Zhongshan sneakily bit her cheek and behaved like a spoiled child in his arms, making Shen Zhongshan quite pleased with himself as he laughed heartily.

  Dong dong! Dong dong! Right in that moment, someone knocked on the door.

  “Who is it?” The dark fatty, “Mad Fist” Qian Jin was unhappy and shouted out the question in a bad mood.

  “I am here to deliver beverages to the gentlemen in the room.” The voice of a youthful male came through from the outside.

  “Then why are you taking so slow to deliver? I’ve already complained that there are not enough drinks!” The dark fatty spoke without thinking when he heard the reply.

  In the wake of Qian Jin’s words, a young man wearing servant clothes came in. The ordinary-looking youth was holding a tray with both hands. There were several dishes and two bottles of alcohol on the tray.

  “Quickly bring the alcohol here. I want to see how it tastes like!” Fatty Qian Jin was a typical drunkard. Thus his eyes immediately brightened up and he clamoured incessantly when he saw the two bottles of alcohol.

  “Yes, this servant will carry it to you!” This person, with an appearance of a young servant, walked forward a few steps and placed a wine cup on the table.

  The moment the fatty saw the wine cup, he immediately grabbed it in his hand and wanted to down it to taste its flavour.

  “Wait, fatty!” The quiet black-clothed person, Shen San, suddenly stopped Qian Jin from pouring the alcohol into his mouth.

  Chapter 122: Kill by Poison

  “What’s going on?” Qian Jin asked, baffled by Shen San’s warning. Due to his continuous trust in Shen San, he unconsciously stopped himself from drinking the alcohol.

  “The one who originally served the food wasn’t you but was someone else?” Shen San did not pay notice of the fatty’s misgivings but instead kept his hand on the saber at his waist and slowly stood. He coldly asked the young servant with the wine.

  “Because there are too many guests, Li Er went to another room to run some errands. I am his replacement. Uncle, what’s wrong?” This young servant was looking attentively at Shen San. His complexion turned completely white after a moment as he replied, completely fearful.

  Seeing this person’s expression, Shen San’s expression had somewhat relaxed; however he still seemed ill at ease. He turned his head to the little Jin embraced by Shen Zhongshan and asked, “Miss Jin, do you know this person? Is he truly a person from your Clear River Brothel?”

  “This…?” This amazing beauty showed an expression of embarrassment, but still somewhat awkwardly said, “I won’t conceal this from you, Grandpa Shen, This person does seem really unfamiliar, however, our Clear River Brothel contains over several hundred people. For this woman, having not seen someone before is not such a strange matter.”

  “Haha! Little San, aren’t you bothering Miss Jin? How could such a delicately sweet beauty recognize everyone beneath her? Could it be you believe that this person infiltrated this establishment as an assassin?” Shen Zhongshan unconcern
edly asked as he lowered his head onto the attractive woman at his side and took a few strong whiffs.

  “Boss, we make our livings on the blade’s edge. It would be to our utmost advantage to be careful!” Shen San face was expressionless and he sent a rigid look at the youth delivering the plate.

  “Hehe! This person’s footsteps are careless, and his eyes have no spirit. With a single look, you can tell he is no martial artist. If you still don’t feel at ease, I still have a method that will identify his authenticity.” The Malicious Scholar Fan Ju coldly laughed several times and darkly stated.

  Ever since he entered the Fourth Level Gang, he had long been dissatisfied with the trust Shen Zhongshan placed in Shen San as well as the claim that Shen San deserved the title of the Fourth Level Gang’s brains. He decided to disgrace Shen San rather nicely.

  “Oh, what kind of method? My old pal Fan, don’t hesitate to test it out.” Although Shen Zhongshan had said this with a very heroic appearance, he actually cherished his small life rather greatly. As a result, he immediately withdrew his previous remark and approved Fan Ju’s examination.

  “Since this person doesn’t know martial arts, if he truly wanted to harm us, he would have simply tampered with our food and drink. So let’s have him try it out and have the truth come to light!” The Malicious Scholar said with a card up his sleeve.

  “Brother Fan, good plan! Boy, first drink some of this wine for uncle and eat some of the food too. If you have the slightest hesitation, uncle will immediately wring your head.” The dark fatty Qian Jin applauded happily and then loudly berated the young servant.

  When the black-clothed man, Shen San, heard Fan Ju’s words, he truly felt that this method was truly not bad and did not speak any words of opposition. He coldly looked on as a bystander.

  As for that Shen Zhongshan and little Jinzhi in his bosom, they also had no complaints.