Scripture of Days Past

In the Wang Clan Village, Zhang Haizhu was making his way toward Chu Qiguang's home with a basket full of coal on his back.

It was the middle of winter, but he was wearing only a short-sleeved shirt. Even so, his complexion remained rosy, the cold didn't seem to bother him at all.

As he walked through the Wang Clan Village and looked at the houses around him, a nostalgic expression appeared on his face.

Once upon a time, this was the future he had envisioned for himself. He would live in a peaceful village and work for a few years to save enough money to marry a wife.

"Can you be any slower? Hurry up and carry the coal into the yard!"

Zhang Haizhu looked up to see a little girl glaring at him with a disgruntled expression. He recognized her as Chu Qiguang's sister, Zhou Yujiao.

Why does Brother Chu have a sister with the surname Zhou?

Zhang Haizhu continued onward while Zhou Yujiao skipped joyfully alongside him.

Upon entering the courtyard, Zhang Haizhu spotted Chu Qiguang speaking to his mother about his upcoming journey to Shu Province.

"You look really happy," Chu Qiguang remarked upon seeing Zhou Yujiao's joyful expression.

Of course! Zhou Yujiao thought. I've been able to stay home and entertain guests these past few days without having to do any homework! How could I not be happy?

Just then, an ecstatic voice rang out in the distance.

"The Azure Sun Trade Association's stock price has risen again! It's gone up to five qian of silver per share!"

"What does that have to do with you? Only the rich people in the city can get their hands on those things. It's not like you can buy any even if you wanted to."

Zhang Haizhu had already learned about stocks after arriving at the Wang Clan Village. According to what he had heard, they were a surefire way to make money, increasing in value even while one slept.

Unfortunately, they had all been gobbled up by the wealthy and powerful, making them inaccessible to the average person.

Zhou Yujiao pulled out a large silver scarf and excitedly presented it to Chu Qiguang. "I made this for you! It's really cold now that winter has arrived, so I'm sure it'll come in handy!"

Chu Qiguang was rather taken aback by the gift. After stroking it, he discovered that it instilled in him the same sense of calm and tranquility that he felt when stroking a cat.

"Why are you giving me this? Did you do something wrong again?" he asked suspiciously.

Zhou Yujiao approached Chu Qiguang timidly, then said in a quiet voice, "I... I may have messed with the blood pool a little... Argh! Don't hit me! Mum, my brother's trying to kill me!"

***

Upon arriving at the blood pools, Chu Qiguang discovered that they had become interconnected.

Channels resembling thick blood vessels ran between them, allowing the qi and blood within to flow freely from one blood pool to another.

Chu Qiguang had named the largest blood pool, the one that had devoured the undying divine general, Blood Pool Number Zero. At that moment, the qi and blood within it was churning far more violently than before.

"What exactly did your sister do?" Qiao Zhi asked.

"She told me that she felt the power of a single blood pool wasn't enough, so she decided to connect them by making them grow and change form," Chu Qiguang replied.

Chu Qiguang pressed a hand down against one of the blood-vessel-like channels, which was about as thick as an adult's arm, and he could feel qi and blood rapidly flowing through it.

"Have the skilled workers in the village study these things and see if they can be useful," Chu Qiguang instructed. "Also, don't let Zhou Yujiao near the blood pools again. Actually, no. Assign her one of the blood pools to do with as she sees fit, but don't let her touch any of the others."

***

"I'll be leaving in a few days. Shu Province is very far away, so even with the Chongming Birds serving as our means of transportation, it'll be difficult to keep in touch."

Chu Qiguang was standing in the fields with his hands clasped behind his back, watching the planters at work, and he continued, "Wu Wei and Sun Bin have become increasingly brazen lately. They've even begun drawing nobles, members of the Vast Heavens Faction, and people from the nine border military bases into their money-making schemes."

Wang Cailiang nodded in agreement. Over the past six months, the stock price had risen extremely rapidly. Their initial investment of thirty thousand taels of silver could now be sold for at least twenty times that amount.

"There's no need to panic," Chu Qiguang reassured him. "The workers in the village have already built the first spinning mules, and I'm also acquainted with the new Provincial Thousand-Man Commander of Spirit Province, so perhaps I can even get the Demon Vanquishing Department involved. If I can draw the Demon Vanquishing Department in, then the emperor will become involved as well."

"The... The emperor?!" Wang Cailiang exclaimed.

"What're you getting so flustered about?" Chu Qiguang asked. "If we can get the emperor to make money with us, we'll have the most powerful backer under the heavens. While I'm gone, make sure you keep a low profile, and only use the strategies I've laid out for you in cases of emergencies."

Wang Cailiang nodded in response, then asked, "When will you be back?"

"I'll be gone for around three to six months," Chu Qiguang replied. "Of course, I'll visit occasionally by Chongming Bird. I'm traveling to Shu Province not just to find a path to the Dao Comprehension state, but also to see if I can establish another base of operations there. Shu Province is far away from the capital and rife with fiends, so it could be a land of opportunities for me."

"Oh, by the way, what's going on with Hao Xiangtong?" Chu Qiguang suddenly asked.

"I asked around, and apparently, Hao Yongtai incurred a great deal of debt from trading stocks," Wang

Cailiang explained. "The Hao Clan doesn't have enough money to repay his debts, so they decided to marry Hao Xiangtong off to Heavenly Melody Manor's Liu Clan. The Liu Clan is the wealthiest clan in Heavenly Melody Manor, and they're offering a betrothal gift of a hundred thousand taels of silver, which would be enough to cover Hao Yongtai's debts.

"Hao Xiangtong ran away from home, and she's most likely hoping that your connection to the Demon Vanquishing Department will be enough to intimidate her father into backing off."

"How much money does Hao Yongtai owe?" Chu Qiguang asked. "I consider him a close friend, so I should help him out wherever I can."

"I think he fell into some kind of trap," Wang Cailiang said with a shake of his head. "I heard that he owes eighty thousand taels of silver. If Hao Xiangtong doesn't marry into the Liu Clan, the Hao Clan will have no choice but to sell its estate to repay his debt."

"Eighty thousand taels of silver?" Chu Qiguang exclaimed. "I consider him a close friend, but not that close! I'll think of some way to help him out in a month or two, but for now, he'll just have to suffer."

***

Seventeenth year of the Yong'an Era, end of January.

After ensuring that everything in Hidden Fiend Village was in good order, Chu Qiguang set off for Shu Province.

Although it was the middle of winter, the cold didn't bother Chu Qiguang, Zhang Jitian, or Zhang Haizhu at all, as all three were accomplished martial artists.

Hao Xiangtong and Chen Gang were slightly more susceptible to the cold, but as second-state martial artists, they were also farung just fine.

There was one more member of the party, and it was Qiao Zhi, who was nestled comfortably in Chu Qiguang's lap.

High in the sky, at an altitude to great for Zhang Haizhu and others to see, a Chongming Bird flew overhead.

"You really like that cat, don't you, Brother Chu?" Hao Xiangtong observed. "You seem to take him everywhere you go."

"My family has been raising this cat for ten years, so I'm quite attached to him," Chu Qiguang explained with a smile. "If pets had been allowed on Jade Face Mountain, I would've taken him there as well."

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