Chapter 99

It was still that luxurious mansion.

A portly middle-aged man sat in a grand armchair, flipping through a report in his hand. The content was not long, and he quickly finished reading it.

He frowned and said, "After investigating for these few days, is this all you have?"

There was a silence in the shadows.

The portly middle-aged man rubbed his temples forcefully, as if talking to himself, "The first appearance was in Tianshui City, at the foot of Lian Mountain... Lian Mountain..."

Suddenly, his movements paused, and he said, "Send someone to investigate everything about Lian Mountain."

This time, a voice came from the shadows, "Yes."

The portly middle-aged man continued, "Su Qingzhi, Xu Ruomei, Chu Xiyue... It seems this person has a fondness for beauty, which makes things easier..."

He quickly made his plans.

...

That night, in the city of Zhongzhou, the most popular courtesan, Yuan Zhenzhen, went to the Qian family's residence, presented a visiting card, and requested to see Gu Yang.

Yuan Zhenzhen was originally from the Imperial Music Bureau, but was later bought by a brothel in Zhongzhou for a large sum of money and became the top courtesan. At this year's courtesan competition, she won the championship.

No one knew that her true identity was actually a spy for the Internal Guard.

She was the daughter of a disgraced official, registered in the Imperial Music Bureau. If not for the Internal Guard's arrangement, how could she have been released from the bureau?

There were countless spies like her, scattered by the Internal Guard to monitor the world.

Yuan Zhenzhen, wearing a cloak, entered the living room and took it off, revealing her true appearance.

When Gu Yang saw the real courtesan, he felt somewhat disappointed.

Although she was already very beautiful and had an outstanding demeanor, she still fell short compared to the women on the Red Beauty List.

It had to be said that the Red Beauty List was indeed the pinnacle of beauty in this world.

Among the women he had seen, those on the Red Beauty List truly outshone all others.

The courtesan before him was indeed beautiful, but compared to Su Qingzhi, she lacked a touch of arrogance. Compared to Cao Yiyi, she lacked a touch of coquettishness. Compared to Xu Ruomei, she lacked a touch of coldness. Compared to Chu Xiyue, she lacked a touch of beauty.

However, Gu Yang did not show his disappointment on his face. He asked curiously, "Miss Yuan, I wonder what you need from me?"

Yuan Zhenzhen, having been trained in the Imperial Music Bureau and working in a brothel, was adept at reading men's minds.

As soon as she met this man's eyes, she敏锐地察觉到他对她并无兴趣。

她心中不由大奇，不是说此人喜好美色吗？

Yuan Zhenzhen's mind raced, but her face remained calm. She made a deep bow and said, "Actually, I am here on someone else's behalf to ask you a few questions."

She abandoned her original seduction tactics and directly stated her purpose.

She had encountered men who ignored her beauty before, and using those tactics would only make them dislike her.

"Really?"

Sure enough, Gu Yang's interest was piqued when he heard her words. He asked, "I wonder who sent you?"

Yuan Zhenzhen looked troubled and said, "Please don't make it difficult for me, sir."

"Alright, I won't ask."

"Sir, do you really intend to get involved in the Qian family's affairs?"

When Gu Yang heard this, he guessed who had sent her and thought, "Finally, they've come."

He smiled and asked, "Are you here to persuade me?"

"I am just a woman of the brothel and have no such qualifications. I am here to gauge your thoughts."

Gu Yang found her quite remarkable for being so straightforward about her mission. He asked, "What do you think?"

"These past few days, the Qian family's young lady has been contacting people from two merchant houses, seemingly trying to sell their shares. I boldly guess that she is acting on your behalf."

Gu Yang praised her, "You are very smart."

He did not deny it. Qian Xiyun's actions were not a secret. This world was full of smart people, and it was not surprising that they could guess.

Yuan Zhenzhen seized the opportunity and said, "If you are willing to leave Zhongzhou City, I can arrange a fair price for you."

Gu Yang shook his head, "This offer is not enough. I and Miss Qian are partners who have faced life and death together."

"What do you mean?"

"More money!"

...

"He wants money?"

In the luxurious mansion, the portly middle-aged man was surprised by Yuan Zhenzhen's report.

To him, this was almost like giving him a way out.

Money, to a martial artist, was the least useful thing.

But he found it quite challenging.

The reason the palace wanted to take action against the Qian family while the Sword Saint was still alive was to get the silver in the Four Seas Bank.

The Four Seas Bank had branches throughout the Great Zhou Empire, and each branch had a large amount of silver stored in its vaults. It was an unimaginable sum of money.

Originally, the Empress wanted to withdraw some of the silver from the vaults. But the old man stubbornly refused.

This was his way of ensuring his survival.

Now, both the Qian family and the Four Seas Bank were in the hands of the Internal Guard, and the silver from the Qian family and the Four Seas Bank in Zhongzhou City had already been withdrawn.

In other words, he had no money at all now.

How could he satisfy Gu Yang?

It was really a headache.

The Empress had just given instructions to not tangle with Gu Yang, to avoid delaying the major plan.

Even the Empress was wary of this person.

He said, "It seems I can only get some money from elsewhere..."

Zhongzhou City had many rich people.

...

Two days later, Gu Yang sold the shares of the two merchant houses, totaling three million taels.

He had never been as wealthy as he was now, and his mood was excellent.

Exchanging this money and selling Qian Xiyun's merchant house would be more than enough to break through to the First Rank.

"Miss Yuan is indeed reliable."

After receiving the money, Gu Yang praised Yuan Zhenzhen's efficiency.

The shares originally worth two million taels were sold for three million, and this premium was a sign of the sincerity of the force behind her.

Yuan Zhenzhen said, "I hope you will keep your promise."

Gu Yang smiled, "Don't worry. Tell the person behind you that I will leave tonight."

He never intended to stay in Zhongzhou City for long.

These past few days, he had seen Qian Xiyun face setbacks everywhere and knew that she would likely not be able to win against her step-brother.

Given Qian Xiyun's character, she would not give up easily, and the struggle would only intensify.

Gu Yang did not want to get involved.

His connection with Qian Xiyun was worth only three million taels.

Just as Gu Yang was about to leave, he suddenly heard Yuan Zhenzhen say, "I want to make a private deal with you."

"Really?"

He asked with interest, "What kind of deal?"

Yuan Zhenzhen took out something from her person and said, "This is a family heirloom map, passed down from ancient times. My father spent over a decade researching countless texts and finally found the location marked on the map. According to his theory, this should be the site of an ancient immortal sect."

An ancient immortal sect?

Gu Yang was genuinely interested, but he was more curious, "What do you want to exchange for this map?"

Yuan Zhenzhen said, "I have a younger brother who works as a servant in the Imperial Martial Academy in the capital. I only ask that you take him away from the capital, free him from his lowly status, and teach him a martial art for self-defense. I will be content."

"Aren't you afraid I'll take the map and ignore your brother?"

"Your act of bringing Miss Qian to Zhongzhou City and slaying a First Rank martial artist has already spread throughout the world. I trust you."

So, a good reputation does have its benefits.

Gu Yang said, "Alright, I'll help you. What's your brother's name?"

For him, this was not a difficult task.

Anyway, he had to go to the capital eventually.

"Thank you, sir. His name is Yuan An. He entered the academy five years ago, and he has a red mole on his left arm." She then handed the map to Gu Yang.

...

Gu Yang kept his word and left Zhongzhou City that night with Lily and Han Mengling, each riding a horse, disappearing on the official road.

His departure made many people in Zhongzhou City breathe a sigh of relief.

On the way back, Gu Yang continuously exchanged silver bills for silver, recharging his system.

However, this time, he felt something was wrong.

The Four Seas Bank seemed to be short of silver.

When he tried to exchange a few ten thousand taels, the bank manager said it would take two days.

Almost every bank was the same, which was a problem.

Over ten days, he visited over ten places and only managed to exchange over 600,000 taels.

"It doesn't make sense. Including the silver I exchanged earlier and the silver I stole recently, it should be over a few million taels. It can't be that the Four Seas Bank is already empty, right?"

Gu Yang felt there was a problem.

He thought the more likely reason was the internal conflict within the Qian family.

This made Gu Yang uneasy. If the Four Seas Bank went bankrupt, these silver bills would become worthless.

He did not rush to meet up with Chu Xiyue and the others. He took a detour, visiting more banks, and it took him a month to exchange 3.7 million taels of silver, recharging his system.

The system's balance reached 3.9 million.

However, Gu Yang was still somewhat worried, "I didn't expect to face a money shortage before reaching the First Rank. In the future, it's best to receive silver directly, not silver bills."

With a sufficient balance, that night, after bathing and burning incense, Gu Yang opened the simulator, planning to break through to the First Rank in one go.

[Do you want to use the life simulator? Using it once costs 100,000 gold.]

"Yes."

[At 22 years old, you are already a Second Rank cultivator. In Zhongzhou City, you killed the First Rank martial artist Xing Kun with one strike, shocking the world. You are hailed as the first Second Rank martial artist.]

[One month later, the top of the Heavenly Pride List, Yi Yi, came to challenge you. After a few dozen moves, he was about to be killed by your blade. At the brink of death, he broke through to the First Rank and used the Heavenly Saint Sect's ultimate technique, Infinite Rebirth, to kill you on the spot. You died at the age of 22.]

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