The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

“Two years apart, it seems that Young Master Lu has become even more handsome.”

“I think Director Yan looks a little haggard.”

Lu Jing met Yan Guangbo in a teahouse. The latter looked travel-worn, and was even wearing a raincoat, as if he had been rushing through the rain. Moreover, despite his young age, he already had wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and his skin was tanned to a bronze color.

“Don’t mention it,” Yan Guangbo said with a wry smile, “Recently, I don’t know why, there have been so many cases, and some of them are very strange. The world is becoming restless again. Many people in the court suspect that those demonic figures are about to make trouble. Wujiang City is a big city, and with Young Master Lu and Master Zhao sitting here, it hasn’t been greatly affected…

“When I came, I saw the charity hall you opened in the city… Young Master Lu, you can be considered as protecting this area. The people in the city will give you a thumbs up when they mention your name, praising you for your chivalry. I think it won’t be long before your title of Young Master will become Great Hero.”

“Charity hall… Sigh, it wasn’t actually opened by me,” Lu Jing said with a strange expression on his face.

Lu Jing himself was also confused when the charity hall in his name first appeared in the city. Later, after investigating, he found that Gu Caiwei had left a sum of money before leaving to have it done, and the prefect had also reported it.

So Lu Jing had no choice but to watch the Lu Charity Hall open.

In any case, the charity hall helps the poor and takes in homeless orphans, which is ultimately a good thing.

He couldn't shut down the charity hall just because he didn't really want to be famous. Besides, after killing Yama Xiao, he was already very famous in the city, and he couldn't keep a low profile even if he wanted to.

In addition, the charity hall was still okay. The coolies at the docks, like Niu Jiu and his group, were clamoring to build a living shrine for Zhang Sanfeng and Lu Jing, master and apprentice, and worship them with incense… That was really outrageous.

Later, Zhang Sanfeng came forward to stop the farce.

But now there are still portraits of Zhang Sanfeng and Lu Jing at the various docks in Wujiang City. The coolies will worship them every day before starting work, so that even newcomers to Wujiang City can recognize Lu Jing when he walks down the street. He is truly known by everyone.

Yan Guangbo picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip, and seemed to be lost in thought as he looked at the lively scene outside the window. After a moment, he continued,

“If it wasn’t opened by you, it must be related to you… Alas, this year there were heavy rains in the south, but a severe drought in the north, with thousands of miles of barren land, and many more refugees running here. With your charity hall, at least a few more people can survive.”

“Is the situation so severe?” Lu Jing was stunned.

“You don’t know, the imperial court’s control over those remote and desolate places is weak, and coupled with the disasters, some places have already become chaotic…

“The Investigation Division is almost overwhelmed. It has expanded a lot at the beginning of this year. I even wrote to you last month to ask if you were interested.”

“Oh, there was such a thing.”

“The imperial court is also anxious. The Emperor has issued an edict that experts like you will be appointed as directors upon joining, with a minimum rank of sixth grade. If you make contributions, you can be promoted. It’s a rare opportunity.”

When he first transmigrated, Lu Jing would have been very tempted to become an official and get a secure job, but now that his martial arts are accomplished and he is a well-known expert in the martial world, he no longer has such a high enthusiasm for becoming an official.

After all, he is doing well in Wujiang City now, and he has no interest in running to sell his life for the Emperor.

Seeing that Lu Jing only drank tea and did not answer, Yan Guangbo knew that the other party's intention would not change, and he could not force it. He could only cheer up and talk about the main business this time.

“Since you are unwilling to become an official, you can still help us a little… Same old rules, as long as you can catch the person, there will be a reward regardless of whether they are dead or alive.”

“Who do you want to catch?” Lu Jing became energetic again when he heard that there was money to be made.

He had already spent almost two-thirds of the ten thousand taels of silver in the past two years.

Although his internal energy had now reached a balance between income and expenditure, and he had stopped 'Falling into the Mortal World' for a while.

But recently, Lu Jing had taken a fancy to a body-protecting martial art similar to the Golden Bell Cover in Duobaoge. It was also a fifth-grade skill, and the price was not cheap, requiring 24,000 taels of silver.

So he had been thinking about where to get some more money recently.

As a result, he happened to see Yan Guangbo coming to his door.

After hearing this, Lu Jing felt that this opponent had come at the right time. The strength of someone who had just entered the second-rate level could hardly threaten him now, and it just so happened that he could use it to test what he had learned during this period.

Most importantly, there was a reward to be had.

Lu Jing had already seen Yan Guangbo hold out six fingers.

“Six thousand taels, the highest amount the department can approve. How about it, are you interested in taking a trip with me?”

“Where is he now?” Lu Jing asked without rushing to agree.

“Our informant reported that after killing the people, he went south all the way from Chuanzhong Prefecture, and the direction of his escape is towards Wujiang City. We may be able to intercept him before that.”

“How to intercept?”

Yan Guangbo took out a map, “If he wants to continue south, he has to cross the river. I have ordered the nearby docks to be heavily guarded. He will definitely be discovered as soon as he shows up. Apart from that…

Yan Guangbo pointed to a location on the map, “Here, I deliberately left a door open for him. This ford is forty miles north of Wujiang City. There are not many people there, mainly some villagers coming and going. Seeing that other places are heavily guarded, there is a high probability that he will go here.”

“We have already made the plan, but as you also know, the department is now severely short of people, especially experts. They have all been transferred to suppress the rebellion, and I have no one to use by my side, so…”

“Okay.” Lu Jing finally agreed, “I’ll take a trip with you. When do we leave?”

“The sooner the better,” Yan Guangbo breathed a sigh of relief, “You don’t actually need to bring too many things. We won’t go too far. And me and my people, we all carry dry food and water, as well as other things that may be used on the road.”

“Oh, I’ll go back to my residence to get my weapon,” Lu Jing said.

Half an hour later, Yan Guangbo, who was standing at the gate of the city, was a little dumbfounded when he saw Lu Jing walking towards him with a Zen staff.

“This… this is your weapon?”

“Yes, this was made with two hundred taels of silver. It weighs seventy-nine pounds, and it is all made of hundred-refined steel.” Lu Jing held the Zen staff that blacksmith Fei had carefully crafted for him.

“Okay.” After all, Yan Guangbo was a knowledgeable person. He had seen weapons that were even more unpopular than the Zen staff, so he quickly recovered from his initial surprise.

But soon he noticed something else, “Where is your horse? If you don’t have a horse, you can rent one at the post station.”

“No need, it’s only forty miles. I’ll use my qinggong to travel, I guarantee it won’t delay things,” Lu Jing said.

“…”

Yan Guangbo tried to say it as tactfully as possible, “We… if we walk fast, we may not have time for you to adjust your breathing and recover your internal energy.”

“I know, anyway, I’ll just help you catch the person, Lao Yan, don’t worry too much about other things,” Lu Jing said.