Chapter 349 - 264: She Has Never Eaten Candy

Chapter 349: Chapter 264: She Has Never Eaten Candy

An enemy who couldn’t be killed by ten, twenty, or even a hundred punches might not withstand a single Tenfold Shocking Fist!

The terrifying vibrations unique to the Shocking Fist were like a blunt weapon, capable of shattering every bone in a person’s body!

Relying on his peak comprehension, he re-examined the Night Divine Fist.

As expected, the Fist Technique advanced.

[Visualization Martial Arts, Night Divine Fist, Master Level → Expert Level (7/12,000)]

He intuitively grasped countless joint-locking techniques.

When he performed the Night Divine Fist again, it felt different from before.

The Black Mountain King he was about to face was at least a Senior Sixth-Grade Master.

Overestimating his enemy to be safe, Tang Wen treated his opponent as a Peak Sixth-Grade Master like Huang the Seventeenth Lang, and now he felt no fear.

In terms of defense: [Visualization Martial Arts, Golden Jade Demon Body (Four Skills Combined), Master Level (10/18,000)]

The Master Level Golden Jade Demon Body was many times stronger than before.

In terms of speed, his Instant Step was already at the Expert Level.

In terms of offense, he had the Tenfold Shocking Fist, the Dark Profound Technique, the Sword Gang, and the Visualization Saber Technique—Heaven’s Edge.

That morning, he emerged from his seclusion, satisfied, and went to a meeting.

The meeting of all the city’s top brass was held in the Inner City.

Tang Wen arrived with Hu Qi and Hu Li.

Today’s meeting was held at the Chen Family’s estate.

Tang Wen had no interest in the business summaries and administrative discussions of the various great families. He simply sat in his chair, calmly sipping his tea.

Hu Li, on the other hand, was all ears, her expression serious, though it was unclear if she understood any of it.

Hu Qi had also taken a seat and was busy eating roasted chicken and drinking wine.

Ganshan City had been stable for a long time, and its council meetings were always routine affairs.

Although this year had seen the upheaval with the White Tiger Tribe, the division of power among the major factions remained the same as in previous years. Each family spoke for half an hour until the sun was high in the sky, and with that, the official business was concluded.

Everyone sat in silence, their gazes drifting, intentionally or not, toward Tang Wen.

They were clearly waiting for him to speak.

Tang Wen seemed not to notice. He reached out to stroke a large, white, Fifth-Grade cat, looking as relaxed as if he were just there to sunbathe.

"Ahem!" Huang San couldn’t hold back any longer. "Young Master Tang, I was just wondering, when will the members of the White Tiger Tribe be heading underground to stand guard?"

SWISH!

Hu Qi’s head snapped up, his Heavy Pupils flashing like lightning as he stared at the speaker. ’What does he mean? Go underground to stand guard? Would I still be able to eat chicken every day then?’

Huang San didn’t dare meet his gaze, keeping his eyes fixed on Tang Wen.

"There’s no hurry. Haven’t the families failed to deliver the information about the underground yet? Once it arrives, I’ll discuss it with the members of the White Tiger Tribe and we’ll see what the best way to set up our defenses is," Tang Wen said with a smile.

Huang San scoffed inwardly. "The information will be delivered to your residence today. I hope Young Master Tang will make the arrangements as soon as possible. Don’t keep us waiting too long!"

"Of course, of course," Tang Wen chuckled.

’As for whether you’ll be waiting long, that’s not for you to decide.’

’Besides, what’s considered a long time?’

’The White Tiger Tribe sent Fifth-Grade Masters. A Fifth-Grade Master might need three to five months just for a single session of closed-door cultivation.’

’Is waiting three to five months really that long?’

Tang Wen didn’t think so.

’It seems the Huang Family is still restless!’

’Are they just trying to use the White Tiger Tribe’s power to suppress the underground, or do they have other plans?’

After the meeting, Tang Wen returned to the gang headquarters and shared his thoughts.

The core members of the Black Water Gang were also troubled.

Their ties to the White Tiger Tribe were the deepest.

It would be best if these ten Fifth-Grade Masters didn’t have to enter the Underground Caves to stand guard. After all, with them in the city, ready to be dispatched by Tang Wen at any moment, it was as if the Black Water Gang had gained ten extra Fifth-Grade Masters.

If they entered the Underground Caves, where would the Black Water Gang find them when they needed help?

They were supposed to stand guard in shifts, with half going down at a time. But the White Tiger Tribe was united as one; if some went down to suppress the demons, the ones who remained above would be worried about them.

In effect, the duty of guarding the underground would tie up all ten of the White Tiger Tribe’s Fifth-Grade Masters.

But if they didn’t enter the Underground Caves, it would be hard to justify.

After all, the White Tiger Tribe was taking a full ten percent of Ganshan City’s total income, and the condition they had agreed to was to send people to guard the Demon Cave.

If they didn’t go underground to stand guard, it would be a loss of face for all the major powers.

Tang Wen ignored all that and asked, "Is the Huang Family resigned to this?"

Shui Qianjun looked at his star disciple. "If it were you, would you be resigned? They were once the Supreme Emperors of Ganshan City, but the tables turned overnight. Now they have to defer to others and offer up twenty percent of their income as tribute. Would you be resigned?"

Tang Wen smiled. "For this kind of thing, we don’t need evidence, do we?"

All the core members of the Black Water Gang present shared a knowing smile.

Shui Yun squeezed her junior brother’s hand. "Of course not."

Tang Wen nodded. ’As long as I suspect the Huang Family is up to something, then they are up to something.’

’But I can’t just use brute force for this.’

’The Huang Family won’t dare make any moves in the near future anyway.’

’They’ve lost two Fifth-Grade Masters recently. Once that news gets back, they’ll have enough on their plate to deal with.’

"Senior Sister, I need to go on a trip," Tang Wen said to Shui Yun as they lingered behind after the small meeting.

"For how long?" Shui Yun straightened his collar with her delicate hands.

"Uh, ten or twenty days?"

"Won’t you miss the New Year then? Is it about the Bai Family’s business?"

Tang Wen didn’t hide it. "It’s about my old camp."

"Oh?" Shui Yun was a little curious, but she felt relieved.

She had heard Tang Wen mention that the strongest person at his old camp was a Sixth-Grade Master. His trip should be perfectly safe.

A faction with only a single Sixth-Grade Master couldn’t even compare to the Black Water Gang; it wasn’t even as strong as one of the gang’s large-scale mining camps.

"There’s a neighboring camp. I’m going to wipe it out, which will save trouble later," Tang Wen stated succinctly.

Shui Yun nodded. "If your old camp is willing, they could also move and settle near Ganshan City."

"I’m afraid they’re too used to living in the wild and won’t want to come."

The two of them spoke for a little while longer.

Shui Yun returned underground to continue her secluded cultivation.

Tang Wen took Hu Qi into the city. Strolling leisurely down the bustling streets, he threw around gold and silver, buying everything that caught his eye and having it sent home.

He certainly didn’t have to do such menial labor himself, and it wouldn’t be wise to use his Void Stone in public.

By now, there was hardly anyone in the city who didn’t recognize his face.

When he bought something, the merchants would deliver it to his residence themselves.

At Tang Wen’s residence.

Watching the cartloads of goods being brought in, the female steward was astonished. "Since when does the Young Master have time to go shopping?"

No one answered.

Tang Wen didn’t return until dark.

The items he had bought in his shopping spree had already been sorted and packed into various wooden chests by the female steward, Shu Mei, and several maids.

Shu Mei came forward, took his arm, and asked curiously, "Young Master, I can understand buying rouge, powder, women’s clothes, hairpins, and shoes... but why so much candy?"

Following her finger, there was a separate chest filled with all kinds of sweets.

There was a row of golden sugar figurines, several boxes of snow-white milk candies, and red and green fruit drops...

It wasn’t just the steward, Shu Mei, who was curious; Liang Yu and all the female guards were just as intrigued.

’The Young Master doesn’t even like sweets. Why did he buy so much candy today?’

Tang Wen rubbed his nose, his expression softening. "I don’t think I’ve ever told you all... I have an older sister. Her name is Tangtang. She’s lived for more than a decade, but she’s never once eaten candy."

’Tangtang... When our parents gave her that name, they must have hoped her life would be a little sweeter.’

His two personal concubines’ eyes went wide.

"The Young Master has a sister?"

"How come we’ve never heard you mention her?"

Having spoken his dear sister’s name, Tang Wen was suddenly overcome with an impulse—an urge to return to the camp and see her at once!

Without another word, he began loading the wooden chests before him, one by one, into his Void Stone.

He placed the chest full of candy right on top.

Once everything was done, he clapped the dust from his hands and couldn’t help but gaze toward the north.

「Far away in the northern lands.」

Tiny specks of snow drifted down from the sky.

They lacked the beauty of snowflakes, looking more like the smallest possible grains of rice.

"It’s snowing!"

It’s unknown who shouted it first, but the sound was followed by a chorus of opening doors, sliding windows, and barking dogs.

Then, the entire Flame Camp erupted in celebration.

The pellets were small, but they were undeniably snow.

After a year-long drought, was it finally coming to an end?

Whether it was ending or not, it couldn’t stop the people’s excitement as they cheered and ran about wildly, heedless of the cold!

In a small courtyard, a slender girl danced for a while with several of the house’s maids before happily wheeling out a small cart bearing the words "Tang Family’s Roujiamo."

The aroma of roasting flatbread filled the courtyard.

Clear footsteps sounded from outside the gate.

"Sister Bing? Is that you, Sister Bing? You’re finally out of seclusion!" the girl cried, skipping over to greet her.

"Yes, I’m out! And just in time."

A tall woman with long, slender legs walked into the courtyard.

The two women held hands and laughed for a moment, then both turned to gaze toward the south...