Something’s Wrong with This Game — I Became a God by Mining!

Yang Ling didn't foolishly run straight to the Wangzhi Medicinal Shop. Instead, he found an opportunity to meet with Zhao Zheng privately.

"I thought you'd actually gone back to the Blazing Gold Mine."

Zhao Zheng's expression held a hint of amusement. "Planning to explain to me about the Centenary Refined Vermilion Gold Throwing Daggers?"

"This subordinate has been training in Heaven's Will Divine Blade, and my flying daggers aren't enough."

Yang Ling replied honestly.

"If they weren't enough, buying three to five hundred would've been one thing. But why did you buy five thousand? If it were five thousand hand crossbows, you'd immediately be branded with the crime of rebellion!"

Zhao Zheng laughed in exasperation. "I cleaned up this mess for you this time, but if you go wild again next time, don't blame me for pretending not to see!"

Yang Ling nodded sheepishly, then shifted gears, his expression turning serious:

"Fourth Prince, this subordinate actually has important information to report this time."

The Fourth Prince didn't waste words.

Yang Ling relayed the clues he knew one by one, without directly mentioning the Blood Hand Scholar, since he couldn't explain the source of his information.

"So it really was Zhao Qing who sold the fire oil. But the fact that this involves the Wangzhi Medicinal Shop makes things troublesome..."

Zhao Zheng's brows furrowed slightly.

"Fourth Prince, does the Wangzhi Medicinal Shop have deep backing?"

"When the Pharmacy Guild Master was young, he spent several years working at the Wangzhi Medicinal Shop."

"It's precisely because of that connection that the Wangzhi Medicinal Shop has been able to firmly hold the top position among medicinal shops in Xiangfeng Prefectural Capital all these years!"

Zhao Zheng added: "Beyond that, the daughter of the Wangzhi Medicinal Shop's Grand Shopkeeper is married to Xu Wenjun, the Director of the Third Division at the Command Division of the Capital Ironclad Department."

"If not for this relationship, how could that Grand Shopkeeper have gained entry to the prefectural yamen and met with me and Third Brother?"

"Xu Wenjun again? So he has an Upper Fifth-Rank master as a son-in-law and a Third-Rank Grandmaster Supreme as a father-in-law..."

Yang Ling gasped sharply inwardly.

With such background and connections, no wonder even Zhao Zheng had to tread carefully around them.

"Well? Now that you know the fire oil is connected to the Wangzhi Medicinal Shop, do you still intend to investigate?"

Zhao Zheng asked with a wry smile.

"What if this subordinate wants to investigate?"

Yang Ling considered for a moment, then replied.

Zhao Zheng stared at Yang Ling for a few seconds of scrutiny, then suddenly asked:

"Why do you want to investigate? The dead were nothing but vagrants. Although there's something strange about this matter, are these vagrants worth you offending the Wangzhi Medicinal Shop and the backers behind it?"

Yang Ling gave an embarrassed smile: "If the Fourth Prince says not to investigate, then this subordinate won't."

"..."

Zhao Zheng was stunned for a long moment, then shook his head helplessly:

"Why are you throwing the question back at me? Back at the Water Qilin Cave, I never saw you being this slippery."

He paused, "But being slippery has its advantages. I was worried that, having become a Sixth-Rank Expert at such a young age, you'd become arrogant and look down on everyone. That would've led to a fall sooner or later."

"Does the Fourth Prince mean..."

Yang Ling leaned in closer.

A sharp glint flashed in Zhao Zheng's eyes:

"Investigate. We must find out the reason. These vagrants were born in Zhao State. Bound by the law, they're vagrants without identities. But the blood flowing through their veins is that of Zhao State's citizens!"

"Furthermore, I also want to know why someone from the Wangzhi Medicinal Shop would target this group of vagrants, and what benefit the deaths of these vagrants could bring them."

"With those words from the Fourth Prince, this subordinate will get to the bottom of this no matter what."

Yang Ling clasped his fists in a salute.

Zhao Zheng said: "That's easier said than done. You have no law enforcement authority here, so you'll have to investigate secretly. Don't expose yourself before you get results."

"If you're exposed and they ask me about it, I won't admit I asked you to investigate."

"You'll need to clean up your own mess."

"Fourth Prince, please rest assured. This subordinate is very good at cleaning up!"

Yang Ling nodded.

The Fourth Prince's current attitude surprised him somewhat, yet it also felt perfectly reasonable.

From their earlier interactions at the Water Qilin Cave, Yang Ling already had a favorable impression of this prince.

After subsequently meeting Xu Wuji, that impression had unconsciously deepened even further.

"I am King Zhao's disciple, and Zhao Zheng can be considered my junior. Wherever I can help him in the future, I should support him more."

Thinking this, Yang Ling's gaze toward Zhao Zheng softened a few degrees.

"This young man's eyes are resolute, and he's not afraid of the powerful. Not bad."

Zhao Zheng thought to himself.

He considered for a moment, then offered a reminder:

"Although I heard from Director Zhao Xun that you personally killed Upper Sixth-Rank Mingxin, you still need to be careful. The Wangzhi Medicinal Shop may well have Sixth-Rank experts stationed there."

"After all, the various rare exotic herbs and flowers that pass through the Wangzhi Medicinal Shop each year are worth more than you can imagine."

"Fourth Prince, please rest assured. This subordinate has the ability to protect himself."

"That's good. How many days do you think it'll take to get results?"

How many days for results?

Yang Ling thought it over. In five more days, the new month would arrive.

At that time, the Beginner Skeleton Cave Dungeon would open again, and he'd have a month to train inside.

Then he could also make another trip to the Devour Heaven Palace dungeon.

"I need to focus on the dungeons, so it's best to resolve this matter within five days."

"If the Blood Hand Scholar has already left the Wangzhi Medicinal Shop, there's nothing I can do. But if he's still there, things will be easy."

Thinking along these lines, Yang Ling clasped his fists:

"At the fastest, a month. At the slowest, two months. There should be results."

"No. You need to focus on opening the mine. If there are no results within a few days, I'll have Shi Xin take over the investigation."

Zhao Zheng refused very bluntly.

Yang Ling: "Understood!"

...

Late night, Wangzhi Medicinal Shop.

Two figures stood in the silent courtyard. One wore purple robes, his beard and hair completely white.

The other appeared to be in his forties, with a rather refined and scholarly appearance.

"This time, things were handled quite neatly. But to be safe, you need to leave and lay low for a while."

The purple-robed elder spoke slowly.

The scholarly-looking middle-aged man nodded gently:

"I'll go lay low. But what about the things you promised me?"

"The Three-Hundred-Year Crimson Blood Vermilion Fruit. Take it."

The purple-robed elder handed him a wooden box.

The recipient took it, opened it for a glance, and then his figure transformed into a ghostly shadow as he vanished from the courtyard.

Yang Ling silently followed, keeping his distance.

With his perception locked on, there was no way he'd lose the trail.

"Can the Immortal God Sect really make the Wangzhi Medicinal Shop work for them? Does that bastard Luo Kai really have that kind of ability?"

A flicker of doubt suddenly arose in Yang Ling's mind.

He had initially thought the deaths of those players were orchestrated by the Immortal God Sect.

Now he couldn't help but suspect whether the Immortal God Sect had merely borrowed someone else's influence to threaten him, claiming the deed as their own.

This kind of thing happened often with some terrorist organizations in the real world.

Before long, the Blood Hand Scholar had quietly left the Prefectural Capital and reached the outskirts of the city.

The city walls could stop ordinary Ninth-Rank Experts, and even Eighth-Rank martial artists couldn't silently scale them and escape at night.

But for an Upper Sixth-Rank expert like the Blood Hand Scholar, ranked twenty-third on the Black List with attributes comparable to Mingxin's, the ten-zhang-high city wall was nothing more than a decoration.

The garrison soldiers couldn't detect his movements at all.

Yang Ling still hung a hundred meters behind the Blood Hand Scholar.

Even when his foot stepped on dead leaves, not a sound was made. After he passed, those leaves would turn to powder.

This was all thanks to the Ethereal Steps.

Deep in the mountains, the Blood Hand Scholar stopped in front of a wooden cabin.

Yang Ling had hoped following him might lead to encountering Luo Kai, but right now his perception told him the cabin was empty.

This place was probably the Blood Hand Scholar's safe house.

"In that case, I'll just capture him and question him."

With this thought, Yang Ling went all out. His Agility, reaching five hundred points, combined with Treading Emptiness from the Ethereal Steps, made his figure even faster than a crossbow bolt!

"Who!?"

The Blood Hand Scholar's expression shifted as he spun around and threw a punch!

"Too slow!"

Yang Ling's feet moved like lightning. With a few light taps, the Blood Hand Scholar's limbs were instantly disabled, and his entire body collapsed to the ground.

"Lower Fifth-Rank!? Lesser Master!?"

The Blood Hand Scholar was terrified out of his wits. But when he used the moonlight to make out Yang Ling's face, he was stunned:

"It's you!? How could you possibly have such abilities!?"

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