Chapter 169 The Transmigrated Boy Used as Cannon Fodder (Sixteen) Part 1...

Lin You and Mo Kaiyang could afford a tael of silver for lodging, but they weren't fools. Even in the capital, such basic lodging wouldn't cost that much, let alone in a small town like this.

If it were an ordinary江湖人 (jianghu person, a person from the martial arts world), they would probably be concerned about saving face and just pay the money, even if they were being ripped off, they would still pretend to be generous.

Lin You and Mo Kaiyang lacked any awareness of being江湖人士 (jianghu figures, people of the martial arts world). They still had a modern mindset. In modern times, it would be truly shameful to be cheated out of money by such a trivial matter.

Seeing their expressions, the waiter showed no remorse for being caught overcharging them. Instead, he invited them inside, carefully closed the door, and then whispered:

“You two heroes are clearly people of great ability. Our house is indeed not worth a tael of silver, but anyone who lives in this superior house can obtain some secrets. These secrets are worth a tael of silver to others, but even ten taels of silver cannot buy them.”

After saying that, he moved closer to the two of them and lowered his voice by a third, "You two have come here to go to the Silent Forest to search for the Spirit Heart Fruit of the Mingxin Sect?"

Mo Kaiyang and Lin You exchanged a glance. The Mingxin Sect's information in their power distribution was not very detailed and did not mention this thing. However, if this fruit was delicious, it would be recorded in the food guide.

It's probably something that's not very important.

Seeing the waiter's mysterious demeanor, as if he had a earth-shattering secret, Mo Kaiyang still asked, "What is the Spirit Heart Fruit?"

Upon hearing his question, the waiter immediately displayed an exaggerated expression of surprise and asked, "You two don't know about the Spirit Heart Fruit? This matter has almost spread throughout the martial arts world."

After saying that, he kindly explained to the two of them, "In the Mingxin Sect, there is a treasure called the Spirit Heart Fruit, which only bears fruit once every ten years. Eating just one of these fruits can increase one's cultivation by ten years. You two have come at just the right time, as tomorrow is the day the Spirit Heart Fruit will ripen."

Mo Kaiyang blinked, then put on an exaggerated expression of surprise. "What a coincidence! Didn't you say the news had spread throughout the martial arts world? How come only a few people have come? Is it because everyone here is exceptionally skilled and looks down on my ten years of training?"

The waiter was surprised that after hearing this news, his focus was not on the Spirit Heart Fruit, but on asking such a strange question. Other people in the martial arts world he had met were all overjoyed and determined to get it.

Seeing that the two seemed uninterested in internal energy, and recalling their haggling over the room rate, the waiter explained, "Some heroes didn't come in person because they had other methods. If anyone obtains a Spirit Heart Fruit and is willing to sell it, they're willing to offer ten thousand taels of silver to buy it!"

The waiter held up one finger and gestured vigorously twice, his body language so practiced that he seemed to have acted out this kind of scene many times before.

Seeing that Mo Kaiyang and Lin You still didn't react, he coughed again, "Of course, if you two can afford this price, you can spend ten thousand taels to buy this Spirit Heart Fruit, but I'm afraid you..."

He looked the two men up and down, as if they were dressed poorly and couldn't afford the ten thousand taels of silver.

Mo Kaiyang and Lin You are currently wearing clothes bought from a tailor shop. The clothes are made of cotton and linen blend, which are light and breathable. They are not embroidered with any patterns. To the average person, they are only slightly better than those wearing patched clothes.

The waiter didn't want to use this method to test the two people's background. People in the martial arts world care a lot about their reputation. If they're not careful, they could easily get beaten up. If one of them is heavy-handed, he might even lose half his life.

Fortunately, these two seemed to have good tempers, and even if they were to beat someone up, they probably wouldn't kill them. Even with that thought in mind, he still couldn't help but move away a little.

This is practically risking one's life to carry out fraud to the very end.

Lin You and Mo Kaiyang certainly wouldn't hit anyone, and they didn't even show their anger. When they saw the waiter shrinking back, Lin You kindly helped him up.

Curious, she asked the shopkeeper, "The seller offers 10,000 taels, and the buyer pays 10,000 taels. Don't you middlemen take any commission? Isn't that just a waste of time?"

The waiter felt that if he continued talking, he might give himself away, so he smiled but didn't answer. Instead, he changed the subject and said, "If you two heroes aren't here to find the Spirit Heart Fruit, then I'll change your room for you?"

Someone this shrewd probably isn't a businessman; they don't seem easy to fool.

Just when the waiter thought he couldn't squeeze much money out of these two and was about to give up, he saw Mo Kaiyang take out a five-tael silver ingot and hand it to him.

"We are young and incompetent, so we definitely can't compete with the seniors. We can forget about the Spirit Heart Fruit, but we still want to hear the story."

Upon seeing the money, the waiter immediately beamed with joy. He reached out and lifted a decorative painting in the room, only to find that the wall was engraved with a map of the Silent Forest.

"The matter of the Silent Forest is nothing special. To put it bluntly, there are people guarding it. If they see someone who is a martial arts expert, they open the mechanism; if they are an ordinary person, they just let them pass."

The waiter gave the two a detailed explanation of the precautions in the Silent Forest, even knowing exactly where tigers roamed, which trees had poisonous snakes, what fruits on the road were edible, and where the water had been poisoned.

It's like a walkthrough for a game.

But Silent Forest is not a game, and when the waiter mentioned it, there was a hint of malice in his tone.

"If you two aren't planning on looking for the Spirit Heart Fruit, there's a rare herb in this Silent Forest that people offer three taels of silver for a single plant. There's also the heartwood of a certain tree, which costs ten taels of silver per pound, and a certain type of stone..."

The shopkeeper thoughtfully produced a purchase list, which not only listed the prices of various items but also included pictures. There were more than a dozen different items, giving people the illusion that money could be found everywhere in the Silent Forest.

He added that these things would only appear after a martial arts practitioner entered, and then the waiter considerately withdrew, leaving the two of them alone.

After he left, Mo Kaiyang and Lin You looked at the wall opposite the map. They exchanged a glance and realized something was wrong: someone was eavesdropping!

Mo Kaiyang tossed the purchase order aside, then picked up the quilt on the bed and looked at it with disdain, saying, "Sis, this store is such a rip-off! We spent so much money, and even the quilt is old and a bit moldy!"

He then casually opened the cabinet next to the bed. "This cabinet is made of shoddy wood, and it even has a hole dug out by a rat. If this can be called a superior room, the other rooms must be pigsties."

Mo Kaiyang reached out and shook the stool next to him. The wooden stool creaked. "Can anyone really sit on this thing? Are they planning to wait for us to sit on it, break the stool, and then extort money from us?"

Lin You spoke up to persuade her, "Alright, let's just make do for one night. We can always find another place tomorrow."

Mo Kaiyang was still indignant, saying, "The accommodations were one thing, at least they provided some amenities, but that waiter was so ungrateful! I gave him three extra taels of silver! He didn't even offer to be attentive, not even hot water or a hot towel. He's a real scoundrel..."

The waiter who was eavesdropping was completely bewildered. Hadn't he already told so much more? Others would have just given them a map and let them figure it out themselves, or even just led them into the room and let them find the map on their own!

The waiter listened to the man inside grumbling and nitpicking, while the woman occasionally offered a word of advice. The conversation continued until it all fell silent, and the waiter didn't hear them discuss anything about the Silent Forest.

Of course, he did gain something out of it; at least he knew that the two were not lovers but siblings.

That's right, with a mouth like that, how could that guy possibly find a wife!

The talkative Mo Kaiyang chatted with Lin You for a while, but they didn't come up with any results. They only planned to explore the Silent Forest again tomorrow before going to sleep.

The waiter who had been eavesdropping didn't sleep all night, and even as dawn broke the next day, he still couldn't believe that the two had actually fallen asleep.

His eyes were bloodshot from staying up all night, and before the two of them got up, he couldn't stay awake any longer and switched shifts with his colleague to catch up on sleep.

Xiao Fengming, who also hadn't slept, didn't need to catch up on sleep. He sat by the cold pool and fished all night long. Although he didn't catch a single fish, he had at least fed the fish half a pound of bait, so it wasn't a complete waste.

The original high-ranking members of the Seven Killings Demonic Sect were all purged, leaving only some lower-level members. Xiao Fengming also did not plan to recruit any more people to expand his power. Streamlining the manpower was a good thing, as it would make management easier.

As for how to support these people, the court is in chaos, which has naturally given rise to many villains. On Mo Kaiyang's advice, Xiao Fengming set up some crowdfunding boxes at several branch altars outside.

Each box was labeled with a notorious name, followed by a list of their crimes.

The box was guarded and only accepted copper coins, with a limit of one hundred coins per person. It was also restricted to ordinary people who did not know martial arts.

Once a box is full of copper coins, the Seven Killings Sect will come to claim your life. In just over a month, they have already filled more than twenty boxes.

The methods of killing were the Seven Killings Sect's specialty. Even the old gatekeeper had some skill. The people on the boxes were being watched by the Seven Killings Sect beforehand, so naturally none of them escaped.

The bloody human head was displayed on the box for seven days. Only after everyone had no objections would the Seven Killings Sect take away the box full of copper coins.

The box naturally contained the assassins' commission. The sect didn't take a cut; in fact, they were given a small badge for eliminating evil and their aliases were posted on a list.

The list of evil-eliminating figures does not judge people by their martial arts skills, but only by who has killed the most villains. The list is a popular topic of conversation, and some people even have their own admirers.

This seemingly useless action allowed the followers to rediscover their place in the world. They were no longer demons, no longer needing to live in darkness like rats in the gutter; they were heroes who were revered and admired.

After these actions, the reputation of the Seven Killings Sect improved dramatically. It was no longer a sect that people dared not even mention, and Xiao Fengming was even called Xiao Qingtian by some.

As a result, some merchants began to come to the Seven Kills Sect and voluntarily pay protection fees, seeking its protection. Some of the Seven Kills Sect's businesses also saw their business increase several times over. This money, collected by the sect, was more than enough to support everyone.

"The government does nothing, oppresses the people, yet allows a demonic sect to become the judge. Isn't this a tragedy of this world?" A cold male voice suddenly rang out, but Xiao Fengming didn't even lift his eyelids.

Although this place is still a forbidden area of ​​the Seven Killings Sect, and has been set up with formations and guards, it is basically a pipe dream to stop Yan Junke.

Seeing his old rival appear beside him, Xiao Fengming showed no wariness and instead said, "Can you please stop making so much noise? You're scaring my fish away."

Having been there for quite a while, Yan Junke, who had been watching him feed the fish for half the night, stared at him with a puzzled expression for a long time before finally asking, "Did a donkey kick your brain?"

Xiao Fengming immediately lost his composure, and jumped up with a flick of his fishing rod, shouting, "Hey, you surnamed Yan, do you want to fight again?!"

Yan Junke looked at his exasperated old rival and nodded, "Hmm, you look much normal now."

Before the man could get angry again, Yan Junke said seriously, "When I heard the news, I thought something had happened to you. Now that I see you're fine, then this is all your own doing."

Xiao Fengming calculated the time; from the moment this person heard the news to the moment he arrived, it was basically non-stop, traveling day and night without any rest.

Even with his high level of martial arts skills, traveling like this is quite exhausting. At least Yan Junke's usually meticulous hair is now somewhat disheveled.

In this world today, the only people who would care about Xiao Fengming's safety, besides that young friend he had just met, are probably his old rival.

Xiao Fengming's expression softened, and he was about to say something when he heard this guy say again, "You've never been one to think before you act, so how come you've learned to think this time? You must have received some guidance from someone. Who has such a novel idea? Introduce it to me!"

Having just regained his composure, Xiao Fengming, disregarding whether he might frighten the fish, drew his sword and began fighting.

"Yan Junke, you truly deserve to be called the number one 'shameless' guest in the world!" Xiao Fengming gritted his teeth and unleashed several moves in quick succession. His swordsmanship was fierce and his figure was elusive, but he did not gain the slightest advantage. He became even more irritable.