Chapter 440 I'm a drug dealer, not a human trafficker
The one who just called out was Ji Meng's third brother, Ji Hongxing.
Ji Hongxing covered his mouth and nose with one hand, disgusted by the smell of mud and bitter medicine around him. He said to Ji Meng, "Hurry up and clean up those poisonous insects that died on the road. If you leave them any longer, they will infest with maggots and smell terrible. Go quickly."
Ji Meng did as instructed without saying a word.
Three large brown jars were placed on the muddy ground, containing the medicinal insects and poisonous insects to be traded.
Due to transportation and climate reasons, many of the insects used in the medicine died, and even without opening the lid, a foul stench could be smelled.
Ji Meng reached into the jar and grabbed a handful of medicinal insects that were now just shells, throwing them on the ground. The shells were full of pus.
"Why throw it on the ground? Throw it in the water!" Ji Hongxing cursed.
Ji Meng then threw the fallen insect shell into the water, and Ji Hongxing shouted to the other person, "Xiao Wu, go check if there's any movement at the entrance."
Xiao Wu responded and waded through the shallow water toward the dark blue-green well in the swamp.
"Third Young Master! We can hear sounds coming from the well! It should be soon!" Xiao Wu called out as he turned around.
"Hurry up and pack! Don't delay the delivery." Ji Hongxing also walked towards Qingjing.
Yu Sui said to Mei Liangyu, who was holding an observation microscope beside him, "So the Black Castle was composed of the insect-making technology provided by the Xun family of Nanjing, the site provided by the Dan Kingdom, and the medicinal materials provided by the Ji family of Qingyang?"
Mei Liangyu didn't reply. Yu Sui turned to look at him: "Is it your observation mirror that sees it more clearly, or my light core?"
"Oh." Mei Liangyu silently put away the observation mirror.
Yu Sui asked, "Do you see that well?"
Mei Liangyu shrugged: "I can't see it."
They were far from the Ji family caravan, unlike Gu Gan who had to risk getting close. Yu Sui could see clearly with the help of the Five Elements Light Core, while Mei Liangyu could only see tall reeds as far as the eye could see.
Yu Sui pulled him along by the hem of his clothes. After walking for a while, she asked Mei Liangyu to look at the well with a viewing mirror.
Mei Liangyu said, "I still can't see it."
Yu Sui said disdainfully, "The mirror from the mechanical workshop is no good."
"It was built by the Situ family, not by me," Mei Liangyu immediately distanced himself from the matter.
Yu Sui made him lower his head and said, "I'll give you one of my eyes." Mei Liangyu stopped him and pushed her hand, which was being used for the spell, back.
“Then neither of us will be able to detect danger up close. You keep an eye on the front, and I'll keep watch nearby,” Mei Liangyu said.
Soon after, five people dressed in black robes and emanating a cold aura emerged from Aoi.
All five wore black masks that were pressed tightly against their faces, making it impossible to see any outline of them.
The only way to tell them apart is by the numbers engraved on the foreheads of their masks.
These five people happen to be numbered consecutively, from six to ten.
The five of them stood at the well opening without taking another step. Masked Liu waved to Ji Hongxing and called out, "Things!"
Ji Hongxing had someone carry over jars filled with medicinal insects. The other men in black masks opened the lids to inspect the goods and took out the medicinal insects to repackage them.
Mask Liu Jian had no problems and handed the large box in his hand to Ji Hongxing. It was full of currency notes that were valid in all six countries.
Other daily supplies are also being inventoried, but Mask Six paid the money after confirming the medicine insects.
Ji Hongxing, the masked man, beckoned to the side, and the two walked aside to speak privately: "Lord Zhu wants a few beauties. Can you bring them over within three days?"
Ji Hongxing said with a forced smile, "I'm a drug dealer, not a human trafficker."
"I'll give you this amount." Ji Hongxing, the masked emperor, stretched out his hand, his voice tinged with worry. "The matter is urgent, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you to do this. Lord Zhu has been in a bad mood these days and has already killed several people."
Ji Hongxing: "If he wants it, he can just go to Xiangshan City himself. Why bother to find someone to send him in?"
Mask Six lowered his voice and said, "If he could get out, he would have done so already. It's a special time right now, so it's not convenient for him to leave."
Special time?
Ji Hongxing raised his eyebrows: "Okay, it's no big deal."
We can just go back to the brothel and grab a few people.
Masked Six thanked him and returned from the well with the goods.
Yu Sui released the five elemental light cores and they all entered the well. The light cores were shattered shortly after entering due to the violent wind below.
She threw five or six light cores into the well, sending them rushing forward, but they couldn't avoid the air currents.
The wind that strangled the five elements failed to harm Black Mask and the others in the slightest.
Yu Sui said to Mei Liangyu, "I should have let you take a look earlier to see if it was a problem with their clothes, so that we could avoid being strangled by the qi wind."
"Can't the light core go down?"
Yu Sui nodded and told Mei Liangyu about the deal between Mask Six and Ji Hongxing. Ji Hongxing would probably go back to the city to find someone later.
As soon as she finished speaking, Ji Hongxing stepped out of the water and said to Ji Meng, "Go to the city and bring back a few brothel women. Pick the prettiest ones."
Ji Meng paused, then asked, "When?"
Ji Hongxing said, "Bring it back within three days."
Ji Meng nodded and led the other two out. "Wait, I almost forgot," Ji Hongxing called out to them, "It's better to pick someone younger, someone who's lived longer. It's a special time inside, so we won't always be asked to do this kind of thing."
"...How small do you want it to be?" Ji Meng asked.
Ji Hongxing said impatiently, "Twelve or thirteen years old, as long as he looks presentable."
Ji Meng left in silence with his head down.
Ji Hongxing casually took out the wind-listening ruler and tapped it. This wretched place wasn't even within the Communication Institute's jurisdiction, so they couldn't even play with a wind-listening ruler.
He hoped that Ji Meng would go and come back quickly, finish this matter, and then leave to go drink and have fun with Sheng Fei, who was still waiting for him in Xianlan City.
Gu Gan watched Ji Meng obediently leave, his expression turning cold. Xun Zhiya sighed, "Without you, he wouldn't have had the courage to rebel against anyone else."
“He betrayed me first,” Gu Gan said coldly.
Xun Zhiya said, "Should we stay here, or follow Ji Meng?"
“That well should be the entrance to Black Castle. The people inside have to rely on people outside to transport supplies. I just don’t know what secrets that well holds,” Gu Gan said. “Follow Ji Meng and ask him if he knows anything.”
Xun Zhiya hesitated and asked, "Will he tell us?"
Gu Gan said indifferently, "Then it's not up to him."
Yu Sui did not intend to take action and waited for Gu Gan to find out the information.
The two followed Ji Meng and watched him return to Xiangshan City. They then sent the other two to the brothels in the city to find the person Ji Hongxing wanted.
Meanwhile, Zhao Xiang and Pu Heng also arrived in the city with Lan Du. Pu Heng wasn't so heartless as to kill a child, especially since Zhao Xiang's father had once saved him.
Pu Heng tried to get information about the person behind the scenes from Zhao Xiang, but the girl was very tight-lipped and didn't reveal a single word.
On the surface, he said he wouldn't ask anymore, but before leaving, he said he was going to deliver some things to the villagers and went to find the old village chief to ask him who taught Zhao Xiang the Nine Schools of Thought.
The old village chief said he didn't know either. Pu Heng then asked again, worried that Zhao Xiang would have no one to take care of her. He learned that after the Zhao family's accident, Zhao Xiang had been living at her teacher's house.
The young teaching couple were from out of town, staying temporarily and running a very inexpensive school. But when Pu Heng asked the teachers' names, the old village chief couldn't remember them no matter what.
Pu Heng then asked other people, and everyone knew of the existence of this young couple, but they all had amnesia and did not remember their names, or they gave completely different names.
Faced with such a bizarre situation, Zhao Xiang gritted her teeth and didn't say a word.
Pu Heng investigated the villagers' situation and concluded that the person behind the scenes had used a famous master's nine-class technique to control the characters, distorting or diluting people's memory of the person's name.
This kind of low-level technique is very useful against ordinary people, as it may make them forget it for the rest of their lives. However, it will have a much smaller impact on sorcerers, who will remember it in three to five days.
Using such a low-level technique on one person wouldn't be a big deal, but so many people in Xiangshui Village were affected, so the strength of the person behind this should not be underestimated.
Faced with Pu Heng's puzzled expression, Zhao Xiang repeated her previous statement: "I won't tell you anything!"
Pu Heng shook his head, not pressuring her. The person behind this had long anticipated that he would ask the villagers.
After bringing Zhao Xiang into the city, he went to the Imperial Orchid Bureau and, in front of Zhao Xiang, handed over all the orchid poison. After leaving the Imperial Orchid Bureau, Pu Heng asked Zhao Xiang, "Do you believe me now?"
Zhao Xiang kicked a pebble on the ground, raised her eyebrows and said, "I don't believe it! Yu Lan Si also has your accomplices!"
Pu Heng said, "I am not one of Xuan Kui's people, nor do I deal in orchid poison. I was doing this for someone else, but Dean Wan did not sincerely want to cooperate with me. Instead, he sent me away, wanting me to die in my hometown."
He explained it to Zhao Xiang again.
Zhao Xiang's little brain couldn't possibly understand these complicated matters. She simply followed Yu Sui's instructions, keeping a straight face and saying, "I don't believe it!" no matter how Pu Heng explained.
Pu Heng rubbed his forehead helplessly, looked at Zhao Xiang's stubborn expression, opened his mouth but could only sigh: "Forget it, let's go eat."
Zhao Xiang became more obedient when she heard about food, because she didn't have a penny on her, but she was hungry.
Pu Heng took Zhao Xiang to Wan Qi's clinic. Facing the dumbfounded Wan Qi, he pointed at Zhao Xiang and said, "I'm here to ask you for a meal."
Wan Qi looked at Pu Heng in disbelief and lowered her voice, saying, "I already said that, and you still came to my door. Aren't you shameless?"
Pu Heng was speechless after being scolded. He held back for a moment, but before he could reply, Wan Qi looked at Kong Yiyi who was coming downstairs. Before Kong Yiyi could draw her sword, Wan Qi immediately dodged and shouted, "He came to me on his own! It has nothing to do with me!"
Pu Heng did see Xing Chun following Kong Yiyi down. He was stunned and almost failed to dodge Kong Yiyi's sword.
Zhao Xiang couldn't see the speed at which Kong Yiyi drew her sword at all; she only felt a fierce aura flash in front of her, which made her tense up in fright.
Pu Heng was driven back into the street. He composed himself and said, "I'm just here to entrust this child to your care. Her parents are both gone, and I'm afraid her life would be in danger if she stayed with me."
Wan Qi glanced at Zhao Xiang. Yesterday, he was wondering if the mysterious person had followed him to the clinic, and today Pu Heng brought Zhao Xiang over.
"Did you come here on your own?" Wan Qi asked Zhao Xiang.
Zhao Xiang shook her head.
Wan Qi: "You see, Zhao Xiang doesn't want to come here."
Pu Heng: "Can you bear to see her wandering alone outside?"
Wan Qi, with a deadpan expression, said, "So you just left the person here with me? You didn't even pay me, and you expect me to do things based on just a few words? Do you think you're still in Taiyi?"
“I can give you money if you want,” Pu Heng said.
Wan Qi said, "What I want is not money."
Pu Heng, still unwilling to give up, wanted to use Zhao Xiang to test Wan Qi to see if he was really as ruthless as he had said last night.
"Don't be shameless," Kong Yiyi said to Pu Heng. "It's one thing for you to enjoy doing bad things, but what's the point of always trying to drag others down with you?"
Xing Chun seemed uninterested in their noise, his hands tucked into his sleeves as he stared blankly into space.
Pu Heng said to Kong Yiyi, "I know you want to find Shi Yuezhen, and I also know where Black Castle is."
Upon hearing this, all three people in the room turned to look at Pu Heng.
Kong Yiyi looked at him suspiciously. "How did you know?"
“I did treat orchid poison for Xuan Kui, but it’s over now.” As soon as Pu Heng finished speaking, he heard Kong Yiyi scoff. He continued, “When I was helping Xuan Kui transport goods, I learned that there was a kind of medicinal herb called Qing Ning Xue. Not only was Xuan Kui buying it up in large quantities, but another group of people also wanted it. The two sides often bid against each other or fought over the source of the goods for more than ten years.”
"Because the laws in Dan Kingdom are lenient, many medicine merchants like to import goods from Dan Kingdom, transship them, and then trade them. There are also many black medicine organizations that like to set up their medicine refining bases in Dan Kingdom."
Kong Yiyi snapped, "Get to the point!"
Wan Qi said, "Is the Black Castle the one that's competing with Xuan Kui for the Qing Ning Xue medicinal herb?"
“I had Shen Liu inquire about it. Most of the caravans that buy Qing Ningxue are in Dan Kingdom, and their destination is Xiangshui City. It is a medicinal herb that can survive and thrive in extremely cold climates, and the colder the temperature, the better its medicinal effect.”
Pu Heng remained unmoved and continued to explain calmly: "At first, I thought it was another base for Xuan Kui to make medicine, so I sent Shen Liu and the others to investigate it secretly. As a result, they almost lost their lives, but they obtained the clues of Black Castle and Snow Mountain."
"Everyone in Taiyi knows that Shi Yuezhen possesses the Abyss of Vipers. It's only a matter of time before it gets out. If the organization that researches the Abyss of Vipers still exists, they certainly won't let go of this precious specimen, Shi Yuezhen."
“I know clues about Black Castle. I’ll lead you to find the people. It’s much better than you wasting your time like headless flies.”
"What do you want?" Wan Qi asked him. "To let me take Zhao Xiang in?"
Apart from Kong Yiyi, Xing Chun and Wan Qi, who were in the room, were very familiar with Pu Heng's ways. He threw out Shi Yuezhen as bait because he was sure they would take the bait, and then he would give his terms to get what he wanted.
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