Chapter 459 - 410: Family Crest (2)

Chapter 459: Chapter 410: Family Crest (2)

"I wouldn’t dare presume to instruct you."

Liu Chaoyuan glanced at Zhao Lin. "This young friend here has seen an emblem but doesn’t recognize its origin. I know you’re knowledgeable and well-versed in these matters, Brother Chen, so I’ve brought him to you for an appraisal."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yiliang’s face lit up with interest. He waved for the two of them to sit. "Oh? In that case, I must have a look."

Zhao Lin took the opportunity to pull out the slip of paper, unfold it on the table, and respectfully push it in front of Chen Yiliang.

"I happened to see this symbol by chance, but unfortunately, my eye isn’t sharp enough to recognize its origin. I ask for Senior Chen’s guidance!"

Chen Yiliang picked up the paper slip, studying the symbol for a long moment before frowning. "Are you sure you haven’t missed a detail in your drawing?"

Zhao Lin couldn’t be certain, of course. Even Tang Zhengquan hadn’t gotten a clear look. He replied, "I only caught a fleeting glimpse of it, so there may be omissions. Please, Senior, correct me."

Chen Yiliang took a brush from its holder, added a dot in front of the crescent moon, and asked with a smile, "Think again. Was it like this?"

Zhao Lin feigned a moment of recollection and nodded. "Yes, there was a dot."

Chen Yiliang leaned back in his chair, speaking with complete confidence. "That’s more like it! This is a clan emblem from the Earth Dark Sect!"

Zhao Lin’s heart jolted. Everything suddenly became clear, and he understood why the symbol had felt so familiar.

He had killed fourteen cultivators from the Earth Dark Sect, and one of them had worn this very symbol on their robes. Two years had passed, and the memory had grown fuzzy, but with Chen Yiliang’s reminder, it all came rushing back.

’Those sons of bitches. I hadn’t even gone looking for trouble with them, and now they’ve come knocking on my door.’

Zhao Lin suppressed his turbulent emotions and said impassively, "Please enlighten me, Senior Chen!"

Chen Yiliang stroked his beard and said unhurriedly, "Zhen’an Hall has a branch in the Earth Dark Sect’s territory of Jiangdu. I was stationed there as the master for five years, so I have some knowledge of the local cultivation families."

He pointed to the upper part of the symbol and asked, "What does this part look like to you?"

Zhao Lin thought for a moment and said, "It originally looked like a crescent moon, but with the added dot, it strongly resembles a Yin-Yang Fish from the Eight Trigrams, though there’s only one."

Chen Yiliang clapped his hands. "Correct, it is a Yin-Yang Fish! The Earth Dark Sect sent envoys to our sect to study the Daoist arts years ago, and they copied this Yin-Yang Fish, naming their version Gou Yue."

"The Gou Yue is quite popular within the Earth Dark Sect, and many clan emblems incorporate its design. So, if you see this Gou Yue, it’s almost certainly related to the Earth Dark Sect."

Liu Chaoyuan, confused, interjected, "But the Yin-Yang Fish come as a pair, representing yin and yang. That is the Celestial Dao. Why does the Gou Yue only have one half?"

Chen Yiliang gave a scornful smile. "That, Younger Brother Liu, is where you are mistaken. When you plagiarize something, you have to alter it a bit so you can claim it as your own. The Earth Dark Sect has pulled that stunt more times than I can count."

Liu Chaoyuan asked again, "Then what do the three plum blossoms at the bottom mean?"

Chen Yiliang said, "The Earth Dark Sect reveres antiquity. They favor pines, bamboo, plum blossoms, and orchids, or powerful, ferocious beasts."

"Families with long, storied histories all have their own crests and clan emblems, and the designs are mostly drawn from these themes as symbols of status and identity."

"From what I understand, the cultivation families in the western region of the Earth Dark Sect’s territory favor plum blossoms for their family crests. As for which specific family this is, I can’t be sure."

Zhao Lin folded the paper slip and bowed solemnly. "Master Chen, your reputation is well-deserved. You are truly learned and knowledgeable. Your words have cleared the fog for me and brought sudden enlightenment. I am deeply grateful for your lesson!"

As he spoke, he took out a five-hundred-Spirit Coin Silver Note from his robes and placed it on the table. "This is for taking up your time from seeing patients. I hope you will accept it."

It was the custom in the marketplace that one had to pay a consultation fee when asking for an appraisal on any treasure. Zhao Lin had inquired about Chen Yiliang’s consultation fees outside and had given him double the price.

Chen Yiliang nodded and didn’t refuse. He charged a fee for seeing patients, and appraising items was no different.

Liu Chaoyuan smiled. "It seems we came to the right person."

Now that the matter was clear, Zhao Lin didn’t delay any longer and rose to take his leave.

Chen Yiliang walked the two to the door and suddenly said, "Young friend, while your meridians are firm and resilient, which is a good thing, it also makes cultivation several times more difficult than for an ordinary person."

"The first Spiritual Acupoint of the Seventh Layer is one of the three most difficult to break through. With your aptitude, you can forget about succeeding without at least a year or two of effort."

Zhao Lin was taken aback. ’Is he giving me a diagnosis now?’ he thought. ’And this whole spiel sounds like something a charlatan would say.’

He then heard Chen Yiliang continue, "If you wish to cultivate faster, I can write you a pill formula. After taking it, you’ll save at least half a year of time."

Zhao Lin gave a calm smile and said, neither servile nor overbearing, "Thank you for the advice, Senior. However, I would like to try on my own first. If the need arises, I will certainly come to seek your guidance."

Chen Yiliang watched the two leave, stroking his beard and muttering to himself, "Interesting. My little trick has always been foolproof, but I seem to have failed this time."

Outside the medical hall, Zhao Lin took out a Silver Note. "Elder Liu, please accept this."

Liu Chaoyuan waved his hand dismissively. "I was merely the middleman. I didn’t do much. Let’s just forget it."

Though his words said to forget it, his eyes were glued to the Silver Note.

Zhao Lin chuckled inwardly and said seriously, "Without you as the middleman, I wouldn’t have been able to get any answers. You must accept it."

’It’s a major social faux pas to be deeply grateful to strangers while taking help from acquaintances for granted. Besides, Elder Liu was a senior; I couldn’t let him make the trip for nothing.’

"Alright, then. But just this once."

Liu Chaoyuan happily pocketed the Silver Note.

Returning to the Golden Core Hall, Zhao Lin went straight to the rear courtyard, brewed himself a pot of Spirit Tea, and pondered how to solve his current predicament.

The situation was now crystal clear. This was retaliation from the Earth Dark Sect.

’I’ve been staying in the marketplace this whole time, so the Earth Dark Sect couldn’t find an opportunity to strike at me directly. Instead, they disguised themselves as bandits and hijacked the cargo.’

’What should I do next?’

’The cargo is definitely gone for good, and reporting it to the sect won’t yield any results.’

’I don’t have any hard evidence. Tang Zhengquan’s testimony alone isn’t nearly enough to prove the Earth Dark Sect was behind it.’

’Then again, I did kill fourteen of their elite cultivators, so this bit of retaliation is hardly surprising. The real problem is that I’m on their radar now. How am I supposed to do business in the future?’

As he was turning the problem over and over in his mind without finding a solution, Gu Dezhao entered the rear courtyard and said cautiously, "Shopkeeper Zhao, we’re almost out of Spirit Tea and medicinal pills."

Zhao Lin put down his teacup and asked, "How long can our current stock last?"

Gu Dezhao replied, "I just checked the warehouse. Three days at most."

Zhao Lin thought for a moment, then said, "In that case, order another shipment. Use the same list as last time. Go to the vessel post and hire an escort team to guard the transport."

The marketplace had specialized escort teams for transporting goods, similar to the security agencies of the mortal world.

The escort teams’ Spiritual Vessels had outstanding offensive and defensive capabilities, their cultivators were experts in the art of killing, and you could even hire a Foundation Establishment cultivator to oversee the mission.

Correspondingly, the fees were quite expensive. Usually, only the larger stores could afford them, or several shops along the same route would pool their resources to hire a single team.

The shop’s Spiritual Vessel had been destroyed, so this was the only way to transport goods.

Gu Dezhao said, pained by the expense, "Hiring an escort team is too expensive. Why don’t we borrow a vessel from another shop? I’ll go back to transport the goods myself. Surely we won’t run into bandits again, right?"

"No!"

Zhao Lin refused flatly. "We can’t take any more risks. I’d rather spend the extra money and ensure the goods arrive safely."

’Others might not know the reason for what happened, but I know it perfectly well. Since the Earth Dark Sect dared to strike once, they won’t hesitate to do it a second time.’

’If we lose another cargo vessel, the last two years of work will have been for nothing, and my standing with Lu Yuanxiu will plummet.’

Gu Dezhao hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from Zhao Lin. He could only nod in agreement. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked, "Should we inform Dean Zhou about this?"

Zhao Lin was silent for a moment. "I’ll be the one to inform him."

After speaking, Gu Dezhao remained standing in place. Zhao Lin asked, "Elder Gu, is there something else?"

Gu Dezhao said, "The shop’s funds are a bit tight. Since the cargo vessel is damaged, we might as well sell it for a reduced price. We can at least recover some of our losses."

Zhao Lin felt a headache coming on. He waved his hand. "Do as you see fit, Elder Gu."