The imperial guards represented the Imperial Family, so there was no difference between coming to blows with the imperial guards and committing treason.
Ling Han grinned, then said, “Since that grandson wants to play, then let’s just join him in his game. Anyways, I’m quite free right now! Let’s go to the Earth and Water Faction first, and first deal with this group of lackeys.”
Liu Yu Tong was even dizzier at this, and said, “The Faction Leader of the Earth and Water Faction, Yang Tian Du, is in the Spiritual Ocean Tier!”
“En, so we have to go to the Heaven Military Hall first,” Ling Han said with a smile.
There were many lone cultivators in Rain Country, and they did not have any party behind them to support them. However, cultivation was a very expensive venture, so then, where did they get their money from?
Naturally, through working for others.
For example, they may choose to serve as guards for travelling merchants or collect bounties after killing some villainous characters or gather ingredients that their employer required. As time pa.s.sed, there was a place and organization that was specifically formed for lone cultivators to get missions, and that was the Heaven Military Hall.
Anyone could enter the Heaven Military Hall. One only had to register his personal information, and would be then able to obtain missions and begin his way to earn money. Of course, the Heaven Military Hall was even more welcoming of the wealthy to post missions here. It was a bit like the auctioneer’s house. After a mission had been completed, the Heaven Military Hall would collect a portion of the rewards as fee for their service.
Lone cultivators, as their name suggested, usually moved alone and were thus like a sheet of loose sand. However, if they actually managed to cooperate with each other, they would become a party that should not be taken lightly. Thus, in the process of the formation of the Heaven Military Hall, there was also involvement of the Imperial Family. They were not only able to take a share of the profits, they also sent out a large amount of manpower as surveillance to avoid someone secretly gathering these lone cultivators together to become a force that could threaten the authority of the Imperial Family over the country.
Thus, the Heaven Military Hall has become more and more official, and there was an increasing government-approved quality about the place.
However, there were still some things that were not appropriate to be registered on the records. There were some who would be receiving their mission requests in the underground, but that would mean there was no security provided. It was possible that the employer may not pay for the completed mission, or it could also be possible that even after completing the mission, there was no money received. One could only bear the risks on his own.
There was only one rule in Heaven Military Hall: everything could be done if there was enough money.
Ling Han went to the bank first to cash in his monetary notes, then headed towards the Eastern part of the Imperial City. That was where the Heaven Military Hall was located.
Liu Yu Tong followed at Ling Han’s heels, a worried frown over her face. Though the Earth and Water Faction had a bad name, as if they were detested gutter rats, the Faction Leader was an authentic Spiritual Ocean Tier elite. If one wanted to oppose this kind of powerful character, there was definitely a need to at least get the help of one elite of Spiritual Ocean Tier, or perhaps even a few.
Once one managed to reach the high level of Spiritual Ocean Tier, would a martial artist still need to be a mercenary? He could simply join a powerful party and take the position of an Elder and would only need to cultivate every day. It was even fine if he decided to laze around and not cultivate; he only needed to step out and take action occasionally whenever he was needed.
And what was the point of hiring a few hundred Gus.h.i.+ng Spring Tier martial artists? Against an opponent in a high layer of Spiritual Ocean Tier, they would only be mowed over in a single move.
Hu Niu, meanwhile, was completely carefree, running all over the place, playing and laughing.
“d.a.m.n girl, where’s your guardian!” An angered voice was heard, attracting Ling Han’s attention. The voice belonged to a st.u.r.dy man who had a streetside stall, and who was currently shouting angrily at Hu Niu.
Apparently, Hu Niu had b.u.mped into some of his merchandise, but that was also because he himself had taken up too much s.p.a.ce, and had placed his merchandise all the way onto the street, making it unavoidable for those who wanted to pa.s.s to actually have to circle around his stall. The little girl, due to a moment of inattention, b.u.mped into a few of his items.
Hu Niu was naturally not easily bullied. She bared her teeth and glared back at the st.u.r.dy man, her ferocious nature on full display.
Ling Han walked over, rubbed Hu Niu’s head, and asked, “What is it?”
“Your little girl made my things fall over, so you must pay the compensation!” the st.u.r.dy man said, his stare fixed on Ling Han. While he spoke, four similarly tough-looking men stepped out behind him. They all crossed their arms in front of their chests, smirking coldly.
Ling Han understood now. That man must have deliberately arranged his merchandise in such a way that they would cover a large part of the street. Once anyone accidentally b.u.mped into his merchandise, he would take advantage of the opportunity and jump out immediately to ask for compensation. The other four men were naturally his accomplices, and were there to add pressure to his threats.
Ling Han’s eyes swept over the merchandise that the man had laid out. They were all counterfeit items. Some of what looked to be ginseng was actually mere carrots that had been joined with the top of a ginseng root. Some gold items were worthless, as their insides were filled with bra.s.s, and the joint was very obvious, so how could they possibly deceive his eyes?
He was just about to give these five people a little lesson when his eyes were attracted by a strangely shaped rock, and he could not help but ask, “What is the price of this rock?”
The stall keeper was about to fly into a rage, but when he saw that Ling Han seemed interested in buying one of his merchandise, he could not help but smile, and answered, “I’ll give you a cheaper price, 1000 silver coins.”
“1000 silver coins? He’s gone crazy from wanting money, hasn’t he?”
“That’s right. That’s just a piece of worthless sc.r.a.p. Even if it was an excellent Rain Flower Stone, or a Heaven Song Stone, that kind of size would only be worth about a hundred plus silver coins.”
“Hush, they’re from the Earth and Water Faction. You mustn’t enrage them!”
“They’re always here bullying the locals, and no one will actually step out to handle them!”
There were some pa.s.sersby who could no longer stand by and watch and immediately spoke out in rebuke, but there were others who revealed the ident.i.ties of the five hooligans and advised them to watch what they said.
“F*****, if you guys dare speak any more nonsense, I’ll chop you all to death!” The stall keeper glared and showed off a fierce expression. The four men behind him all smirked coldly. Those who had spoken up in rebuke s.h.i.+vered, and indeed, they did not dare to speak any longer.
“Brother, this is an Exquisite Spirit Stone. Just look at how bizarrely shaped it is. It is an odd item that has been naturally formed in this way!” the stall keeper boasted.
“I don’t like it!” Ling Han shook his head. After he found out that these people were from the Earth and Water Faction, he had the impulse to play a terrible joke on them.
“Don’t like it?” The stall keeper laughed coldly. “If you don’t like it, then why had you asked about it? Are you trying to play around with me? It’s too late now. Whether you like it or not, you’ll have to buy it now!”
“What a bully!”
“How can he force a sale like this!”
“Who asked them to be from the Earth and Water Faction? In the past, someone had previously reported the crime, but when the imperial guards came, it was completely useless. Instead, the imperial guards chatted and joked around with them.”
At the side, there were some who had began exclaiming in rebuke about the injustice, but there were some “experienced” locals who revealed the truth of the matter helplessly. These local ruffians were completely secure, knowing that they had backing.
Ling Han pretended to be scared, and asked, “I’m not buying, are you going to beat me up then?”
“Heng, this little girl pushed over a few of my items, and you wasted my time. If you buy this rock, then we’ll forget all about the matter. Otherwise… hehe!” The stallkeeper gave a signal, and the four men behind him simultaneously pulled out a dagger each and began to play with it. The threat was more than obvious.
“Don’t be hasty!” Ling Han waved his hands hurriedly and said, “I’ll buy it, then.”
“Good!” The stallkeeper smiled coldly. When he saw Ling Han behaving so weakly and so easily bullied, his greed could not help but swell, and he said, “The price has risen now, it’s 2000 silver coins!” He glared fiercely at Ling Han, and asked, “What is it? You don’t want to pay?”
“Here,” Ling Han said as he handed over two monetary notes, each worth 1000 silver coins.
“Hahahaha!” The stall keeper laughed pompously. This brat had to be a fool from some rich family; he actually handed over the money so obediently.
“Is this rock mine, now?” Ling Han asked, smiling.
“It’s yours! It’s yours!” the stall keeper waved him off. He had discovered this rock in his backyard a few days ago. Because it was very weirdly shaped, and had a bit of ornamental value, he had taken it out to sell it. His initial motive was naturally to deceive some fool into buying it off him, but he never thought that he would actually be able to sell it off for 2000 silver coins.