Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Seventy: There are gangsters everywhere.

So, they were after the fat man's money. But it's alright, a kid trying to earn a living in this dangerous place called the Southern Wilderness, and not just for free, is doing a good deed.

Moreover, since they were newcomers and completely clueless, they needed someone familiar with the situation to guide them.

Xiao Chong reached out and patted the little boy's head, then asked with a smile, "Alright, I was just looking for someone who knows this place well. You can come with us for now. By the way, what's your name?"

“You’ve come to the right person. My name is Ahui. I’m considered an old hand here, and I know everything about this place.” The little boy named Ahui jumped up happily, but after landing, he said expectantly, “But you still have to pay. You have to pay first.”

Xiao Chong took the silver pouch from the fat man, pulled out a five-tael silver ingot, tossed it to Ah Hui, and laughed, "Is that enough? If not, we can discuss it."

Ah Hui took the silver, did a somersault on the spot, and said repeatedly, "That's enough, that's enough. Actually... you don't need this much."

He said he couldn't use it, but he held the silver tightly in his hand, showing no intention of returning it.

Xiao Chong smiled and said, "Then let's go back to the cloud boat first, and then you can lead us to the camp and tell me the details of this place."

“Okay.” Ah Hui agreed and ran ahead in the direction from which Xiao Chong and the others had come.

Back on the cloud boat, Xiao Chong and Situ Mingyue gave an order, and the eight cloud boats roared into the air. Guided by Ahui, they quickly flew to the camp assigned to them by the Heng family.

This time, without waiting for Xiao Chong's instructions, the hundred-man mining team quickly jumped off the cloud boat, some setting up camp and others establishing fortifications, busily and orderly getting to work.

Situ Mingyue also hurriedly went to her own residence to direct her entourage to arrange everything.

Seeing that everyone was doing their jobs and he was the only one who was idle, Xiao Chong pulled Ah Hui over and sat down to chat with him.

"Ahui, how long have you been in the Southern Wilderness? Aren't your family worried about you starting work at such a young age?"

When Xiao Chong asked about his family, a sadness flashed in Ahui's eyes, and the excitement he felt after earning money dimmed considerably: "I have no family anymore. When the spiritual veins were first discovered in the Southern Wilderness, I came here with my parents and was among the first pioneers."

"Has something happened?" Xiao Chong asked with concern.

"My parents were lone pioneers, without family protection, so it was much harder and more dangerous for me than for others."

"That time when we went into the mountains, we encountered wild beasts. My parents died in the jaws of the beasts while trying to protect me," Ahui said, tears streaming down his face.

He was a child with a tragic fate. Xiao Chong thought of his own background and felt a pang of emotion. He then silently stuffed the money bag that he hadn't yet returned to the fat man into Ahui's arms.

He changed the subject, saying, "Take them all. Now tell me about the basic situation here, such as whether there's anything I need to pay special attention to or take precautions against."

Ah Hui put away the money bag, wiped away his tears, and said, "Everything here is decided by Mayor Hengshan. In Tiannan Town, no one dares to mess with you, but it's not certain once you leave Tiannan Town."

Especially after entering the depths of the Southern Wilderness, there are not only powerful wild beasts, but also bandits who specialize in robbing pioneering teams. They kill, burn, and commit all kinds of evil deeds.

However, if you can afford it, you can hire some top-notch bodyguards. They have a good reputation, and I heard that the mayor of Hengshan Town vouches for them, so basically no one dares to mess with them. But their prices are outrageously high; they'll take half of your earnings as their commission.

"There are actually people doing this kind of work? And the price is really too high." Xiao Chong looked surprised, and he really wanted to join the glorious profession of bodyguard or thug.

"Also, within Tiannan Town, minor frictions, verbal altercations, and even physical fights are all possible among the various factions. But murder is definitely out of the question; the town mayor of Hengshan would expel you from the Southern Wilderness and confiscate all your property, including your vehicles."

Ah Hui took Xiao Chong's silver and felt he should explain in more detail. After thinking for a moment, he added, "Also, there's a group of scoundrels in town who extort money from newcomers. These people are all connected to bandits in the mountains, so it's best not to get into a conflict with them."

"There are gangsters everywhere!" Xiao Chong asked, somewhat exasperated. "Doesn't Hengshan care?"

“As long as no one is killed, Mayor Hengshan will generally not bother with it,” Ahui whispered in Xiao Chong’s ear, out of a sense of responsibility. “I heard from the rumors that the mayor has accepted bribes from them.”

"Damn it, not only are there gangsters, but also protectors. It's a typical case of collusion between officials and gangsters!" Xiao Chong cursed under his breath.

Seeing Xiao Chong's indignant expression, Ahui touched the money pouch in his arms and carefully warned, "You're a good person. I was afraid you'd suffer a loss, so I secretly told you this. But I won't take responsibility after this moment."

Xiao Chong smiled and said, "Thank you for the kind reminder. You should go back now. I might need to ask you something later."

"Hmm." Ah Hui felt that he had done enough for the money in his pocket, so he agreed and got up to leave.

Just then, a miner who was setting up barracks outside ran in, shouting in a panic, "Something's wrong! A group of people are causing trouble in the camp! You'd better go and take a look!"

Huh? So fast? The camp isn't even set up yet, and someone's already showing up at the door! Do they think I'm easy to bully?

"Let's go out and see who's so blind!" Xiao Chong stood up abruptly, called to the fat man and Yin Feng and his son, and headed out of the camp.

Outside the camp, a dozen miners were confronting a group of burly men.

Upon seeing Xiao Chong emerge, a bald man with tattoos on both arms, a fleshy face, and a scar on the corner of his mouth stepped forward from the crowd.

Pointing at Xiao Chong, who was walking at the front, he said, "New here, huh? Have you paid your respects and paid protection money?"

If you want money, just say you want money. Why all this pretense? And this "paying homage to the powerful" thing? Should we chop off a chicken's head and burn yellow paper money instead? But since it's about paying homage to the powerful, let's do it the proper way.

Xiao Chong clasped his hands in a fist salute and shouted, "Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger, Moha Moha!"

What's going on? This is too profound, I don't understand it at all! The scarred man was stunned and looked at his brothers behind him in confusion, but everyone was also confused and no one could explain it to him.

Taking this opportunity, Xiao Chong asked Ah Hui, who was following behind him, "Who are these people?"

"It's that gang of thugs I just mentioned. This guy with the scar on his face is called Brother Xiong. He's one of their little leaders," Ahui whispered, shrinking back a bit.

Are you Cao Cao? You arrived the moment you mentioned him? You can't even answer such a famous slang term, you're not very good!

Seeing the other person's puzzled look, Xiao Chong muttered to himself and shouted again, "Why is your face yellow! And then red again!"

The scarred man was completely dumbfounded. He turned to look at his companion again, but still received no answer.

"Stop talking nonsense and pay up! Otherwise, Brother Xiong will demolish your camp." The scarred man felt ashamed of his ignorance, but his shame turned into anger.

"That's right, that's the style of the underworld. But when did the underworld start resorting to forced demolitions? Isn't that the job of the all-powerful urban management officers? How unprofessional!" Xiao Chong was very worried about the future of this group.

"Considering you've just arrived in the Southern Wilderness and haven't earned any money yet, I'll give you a discount. Just pay ten thousand taels of silver." Seeing that Xiao Chong was hesitant to pay, the scarred man said impatiently, "Hurry up and stop dawdling. There's another family waiting for us over there."

If it were ten or eight taels, I'd consider it a good deed. But ten thousand taels? Why don't you just rob someone? Maybe that would be easier.

Xiao Chong's face darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "No!"

"You guys are refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit," the scarred man said, his face changing as he turned and said, "Brothers, tear down this camp!"

"Yes, Brother Xiong!" the burly men shouted in unison, drawing their swords and ready to fight.

What a scoundrel! How dare he be so arrogant! You should know I have martial arts masters among my men!

Xiao Chong glanced at Yin Changkong, preparing to teach him a lesson and show him how to be a proper gangster.

The scarred man's Yuan energy fluctuations were faint, making it unclear whether he was a fool or a hidden master.

Better safe than sorry. Xiao Chong glanced at Yin Changkong again, pointed at the scarred man, and asked Yin Changkong softly, "What realm are you in?"

"What a load of rubbish!" Yin Changkong said contemptuously.

That's good! With that thought, Xiao Chong drew his Immortal-Slaying Sword with a clang and charged straight at the scarred man.

Just then, a woman's voice called out from afar, "Brother Xiao, what's all this noise? Has something happened?"

Xiao Chong stopped in his tracks and looked up to see Situ Mingyue and her brother rushing over through the crowd.

"Oh, it's nothing. They're just a bunch of scoundrels trying to extort money. I was just about to reason with them," Xiao Chong said casually.

"Hmm, when did you become such a peaceful person?" Situ Mingyue was very skeptical of Xiao Chong's words.

Before Situ Mingyue could ask any questions, the scarred man suddenly stepped forward, pointed at her and said, "Little girl, you've come at the right time. Pay your protection fee at the same time, so Brother Xiong won't have to go through all that trouble again."

Situ Mingyue hadn't received any guidance from Ahui and was unaware of these intricacies, so she was momentarily stunned.

But Situ Jiannan was older and a powerful figure in the Situ family. He understood all this perfectly well. He didn't say anything, but simply drew his longsword and began to wildly brandish it.

"what……"

One by one, the burly men were sent flying, lying on the ground groaning in agony.

"You...you dare to hurt Brother Xiong's men, you'll regret it!" The scarred man was taken aback when Situ Jiannan attacked without even saying a word of politeness, pointing at the other man and shouting loudly.

"Crack!" The sword flashed again, and the scarred man's bald head was smashed into the ground by the sword, splattering blood everywhere.

"Enough with the nonsense." Situ Jiannan sheathed his sword, looking at Xiao Chong's astonished face with a smug expression.