Unlimited employment

Chapter 211, Section 210: [Xiong Ba]

"Blood Skull Immortal Gu? That's quite a nice gift."

The Blood Skull Gu in the hands of the Xiong Gang Leader looked like just a dead skull, but it wasn't cold to the touch; instead, it had a smooth, warm feel.

Its neat teeth and sunken eye sockets that gleamed red light exuded a captivating charm, telling others that it was a living creature.

Since it was a gift from a guest, Chief Xiong didn't stand on ceremony. He grabbed it in his hand, exhaled his true energy to cover the surface of his skull, and slowly refined it.

Months ago, Chief Xiong received definite news from the Governor-General of the Waterways: the high transportation costs of the Grand Canal over the years had accumulated much dissatisfaction among the Emperor and the Cabinet.

A major war between Korea and Japan gave the Ming Dynasty an excuse to suppress local powers and restart maritime transport.

According to the usual practice of the imperial court, with the current example of maritime transport of military supplies, it is inevitable that the policy of abolishing the canal system and replacing it with the sea system will begin after the war ends.

The livelihoods of millions of grain transport workers depend on them.

Along this man-made canal, everyone from high-ranking officials whose robes were embroidered with birds and beasts to the ragged boatmen pulling boats along the way ate from the same pot.

Now that this pot is about to be overturned, what should we do?
Officials could spend money to pull strings and get transferred, but the canal gangs, who depended on the canal transport for their livelihood, had nowhere to go.

Fortunately, even though they had been broken up into many pieces, the various branches of the Canal Gang still maintained very close ties.

Recently, those gang leaders have been secretly contacting each other frequently, trying to raise money to influence the central government and change its mind.

Just as they were arguing about how much each group should contribute, some envoys sent by Konishi Yukinaga, the commander of the Japanese forces in the Korean War, suddenly landed on the Yangtze River and appeared in several branches of the shipping guilds in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

They came up with a solution that could just break the canal gang's predicament.

"In my land of the rising sun, due to the frequent occurrence of various natural disasters such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis, the people's beliefs gave birth to the Yamata no Orochi, a demon that represents calamity."

After this demon was slain by Susanoo, some of its bones and scales were left behind, and disasters often occurred at the places where its remains were placed.

Our lord sent us here to place the remains of the Yamata no Orochi at a crucial point on the canal's dragon vein, causing the canal to temporarily silt up and dry up, thus delaying the northward transport of your country's various supplies to Korea.

Of course, the canal is only temporarily closed, and it will be restored to its original state as soon as the remains are retrieved.

If your country loses this war and North Korea becomes our territory, our fleet will be everywhere in the Bohai Sea, making maritime transport extremely unsafe. Your country will then have no choice but to continue relying on inland waterway transport.

"If this plan is implemented, both of us will benefit."

Upon seeing that Chief Xiong had accepted the gift, Kujo, standing to the side, beamed with joy and hurriedly began his impassioned speech.

The Linqing branch is one of the top branches of the Canal Gang, and the other party's attitude is extremely important to them, which is why they are willing to give away a precious Immortal Gu.

Having recovered from his moment of dejection, Takeda quickly added his own words.

"My companions and I traveled north along the canal in disguise, and we saw so many boat trackers shouting their work songs as they pulled the boats. They were working so hard."

Even such a hard-earned livelihood is being shattered by the Ming Dynasty's corrupt policies, which is something even I, a foreigner, cannot stand by and watch.

Ordinary people's lives matter too.

The Ming Dynasty is moving too fast; it should wait for its people.

"Chief Xiong, you are the protector of those hardworking and kind people. Our Land of the Rising Sun acknowledges your righteous deeds and is willing to help you protect their livelihoods."

With his face covered in shoe prints, Takeda delivered these high-sounding words with an air of righteous indignation.

The gang leader looked at him with a meaningful expression, secretly quite fond of these two hypocritical foreigners.

After making contact with these messengers of Konishi Yukinaga, the previously disorganized canal gang quickly reached a consensus through correspondence and determined their goals.

First and foremost, the Ming Dynasty must not lose this war against Japan.

If victorious, the Ming Dynasty, riding the wave of its triumph, will establish a port in Korea, and the entire Bohai Sea will become the Ming Dynasty's inland sea, clearing all obstacles for future grain transport by sea.

But defeat is not an option. If we lose, Japan might take the opportunity to invade the heartland of the Ming Dynasty, plunging the Canal Gang's territory into chaos.

This is not the situation the canal guild wanted to see.

Maintaining the current situation, where grain is transported via the Grand Canal and Japanese warships are causing trouble overseas, is in the best interest of the grain transport guild.

This decision was a blatant act of treason, but it was the collective will of the Grand Canal Gang, and no one could change it.

In the world, there are only individuals who betray their class, not classes that betray their class.

Of course, they would still pool their money to influence things in the imperial court.

After all, in this corrupt Ming Dynasty, everyone has to be well if you are well and I am well.

The reason why Chief Xiong deliberately made things difficult for the other party was simply to gain more initiative in the upcoming conversation.

As for obtaining the Blood Skull Gu, it was purely an unexpected gain.

Seeing that he had already made his move, he decided to stop while he was ahead, and with a smile, he spoke kindly to the two of them.

"Your suggestions are indeed very insightful."

For the sake of the common people's livelihood, I am willing to consider the matter of injecting demon bones into the dragon vein of the Linqing section of the Grand Canal.

Flattery knows no borders. Kujo and Takeda exchanged a glance and immediately began to compliment each other in unison.

"A golden carp is no ordinary fish; it will transform into a dragon once it encounters wind and clouds. A hero trapped by the times is like a dragon trapped in shallow water, unable to take flight for a time."

This war between our two countries is a testament to your brilliance.

Leader Xiong, since ancient times, those who win the hearts of the people win the world. You are willing to establish a destiny for the people, and you will surely rise to prominence and soar like a dragon in the heavens.

With the Blood Skull Gu in hand, he refined his relatives, greatly increasing his strength, and in one fell swoop, he reorganized the Canal Gang, achieving great things.

The Linqing Canal Gang is the fifth canal gang to have come to their doorstep, following the example of Kujo and Takeda.

He spoke these lines, which were specifically designed to flatter the leaders of various sycophantic gangs, with remarkable fluency and ease.

Sure enough, the gang leader seemed to have been tickled and burst into laughter.

"Thank you for your kind words. I, Xiong Ba, may one day truly become a dragon."

After talking for so long, the two sides finally had a basic understanding of each other's temperament, allowing the conversation to truly begin.

In the empty Yaochi Water Pavilion, with no one else present, Kujo and Takeda taught Xiongba how to use the Blood Skull Gu in a harmonious conversation. Xiongba then learned the details of influencing the dragon vein with the demon's remains to ensure that Japan would not cheat in this regard.

After all, the canal was the lifeblood of the grain transport gangs, and if it were maliciously damaged, it would be a huge problem.

The conversation continued into the afternoon, and the two sides agreed on a time to cut off the canal. Xiong Ba successfully obtained a bone from the Yamata no Orochi, and Kujo and Takeda then took their leave.

It is worth mentioning that Takeda, who had vowed to save Minako from her suffering, never once asked for a priestess during the entire conversation.

Watching the two Japanese men disappear around the corner of the courtyard under the guidance of the guards, Xiong Ba took out the Blood Skull Gu from his pocket.

"I am already over seventy years old this year. With my aptitude, I would not have had the opportunity to advance to the fourth rank before I die."

But the appearance of this Gu worm has brought a glimmer of hope to my life, but..." Thinking of his children and grandchildren surrounding him, Xiong Ba hesitated for a moment.

But after a long silence, the hesitation in his eyes gradually faded and turned into a resolute ruthlessness.

"Although being refined is very cruel, those who achieve great things throughout history do not concern themselves with trifles. Perhaps this is just a hurdle I must overcome on my path forward."

My family members have been under my protection for many years and have enjoyed a life of wealth and luxury. They should have no regrets in their lives.

Now, they must feel deeply honored to be able to contribute to my spiritual practice.

……

That evening, Xiong Ba invited all the members of his family, young and old, to a grand family banquet at the family's residence.

After a hearty meal and drinks, he took out the Blood Skull Gu in front of everyone and unleashed its innate power, summoning a sky full of blood-red light.

Regardless of their cultivation level, those attending the banquet were utterly powerless to resist under the glow of the blood-red light.

Xiong Ba watched helplessly as his own children, grandchildren, and relatives, near and far, were melted away, their flesh and bones dissolved, leaving only their skins, turning into blood-stained human skin bags.

Then, the skin burst open with a bang, turning into streams of filthy blood that flowed into the gaping mouth of the Blood Skull Gu.

Blood shimmered on the skull, and the blood flow was absorbed and transformed, giving rise to two pools of light wine-red liquid in the eye sockets.

"I can smell it, is this the aroma of blood brew?"

With tears welling in his eyes and a sorrowful expression, Xiong Ba took a deep breath and eagerly brought the Gu worms close to his face, drinking the two pools of liquid into his stomach.

Once the blood wine, made from the blood of one's closest relatives, enters the stomach, it transforms into wisps of warm current that rapidly spread to the surrounding area.

Wherever the warm current passed, his strength did not increase, his body did not become lighter, and the true energy in his meridians remained the same as before.

But Xiong Ba knew that everything had changed.

The hidden changes occurring deep within his cells gave his will a faint indication of distorting reality, opening up the possibility of going further.

After enjoying the strange changes that had occurred to his body for a while, Xiong Ba looked up at the courtyard covered with human skin.

The once large family of over two hundred people is now reduced to a few wives who married into the family, sons-in-law who moved in, and a few members of the original clan who should have died.

Just now, the horrific scene of the gang leader massacring his relatives caused these survivors to flee in terror, but they were all captured and brought back by the gang members who were guarding the area.

Xiong Ba looked at these people who were not related by blood and said with regret.

"What a misfortune for my family! If I hadn't activated the Blood Skull Gu, I probably would never have known that my Xiong family had so many bastards born to outsiders."

Since I have absorbed the bloodline of the entire clan and bear the consequences of their lives, I have an obligation to cleanse the clan of its filth.

As he spoke, his gaze sharpened, and he first saw his daughter-in-law holding the child.

With a sweeping motion of his hands, he pulled his daughter-in-law and his previously doted-on grandson into his grasp, then grabbed their skulls and interrogated them.

"Tell me, you slut, who gave birth to this bastard child with?"

……

“You are Konishi Yukinaga’s people.”

"They wanted to influence water transport by placing the remains of demons in the canal, and indirectly affect the war situation in Korea."

"Hanako in the Jade Pool is very graceful, and Izanami, whom she plays, is also very noble."

"Director Konishi has given a firm order: the fifty-three shipping guilds on the canal must be dealt with and the shipping cut off by next month."

"Today, you have given Xiong Ba a Gu worm that can refine the bloodline of its own kind to improve its aptitude."

Dozens of miles north of Linqing City, on an inconspicuous cargo ship on the canal, Kujo and Takeda, both wearing headbands, were slumped in pain in the cabin.

Chen Sheng stood before them, seemingly lost in thought, and said...

"Before I set off to find you, I happened to hear that the boss was going to hold a family banquet. Judging by the time, he should have already used that Gu worm."

Because of the issue of the child's bloodline, the affair between the former and the widow of the third young master has probably been exposed.

In this way, I became irreconcilable enemies with Xiong Ba.

"In that case, let's go back and kill him."

This intelligence came as a complete surprise, but Chen Sheng remained calm.

Because, after advancing to the third tier, the original development plan of eliminating Xiong Ba was formulated to be extremely stable.

A cultivator who cultivates one Dao technique to the second level is a second-level cultivator; a cultivator who cultivates seventy-two Dao techniques to the second level is also a second-level cultivator, but the difference is that the latter's magical power will be seventy-two times that of the former.

Therefore, with his current strength, he has at least a 70% chance of killing Xiong Ba even if he were to fight someone of a higher level.

It's okay to launch the plan ahead of schedule.

Thinking of this, Chen Sheng picked up Kujo and Takeda with both hands and directly activated the [Soaring Cloud] technique to fly south.

Flying over flat fields, winding canals, and high city walls, we arrived near the gang's headquarters and saw Xiong Ba hovering in the night sky.

At the same moment, Xiong Ba noticed Chen Sheng flying towards him, and the Kujo and Takeda he was carrying.

Although he didn't know what had happened, his mind raced, and he asked in a deep voice.

"Fang Yuan, I trusted you so much, yet you had a child with my daughter-in-law. You really don't know what's good for you."

If you're so capable of capturing these two foreigners, it seems you've been hiding your true strength!

As the old saying goes: gambling leads to theft, and adultery leads to murder.

Considering the mysterious death of my third son, it's very likely that his death is related to you.

"I will definitely kill you to avenge him."

The killing intent in the heart of a third-level cultivator is astonishing.

As soon as Xiong Ba had a murderous thought, marks like sharp blades appeared on the scale-like green tiles of the surrounding rooftops.

Chen Sheng was taken aback by these words and laughed as he asked a question in return.

"If I'm not mistaken, you should have just wiped out the Xiong family. The gang leader's biggest enemy should be yourself."

"That's a mediocre view. After merging with the bloodline of a clan, they live in my body."

Xiong Ba's eyes widened, and he slapped his palm forward. The Three-Part Returning Origin Qi he had cultivated for decades transformed into a clear, flowing palm, which slapped straight forward.

(End of this chapter)