On his way to the warehouse with Vice Leader Zhao's waist token, Tang Wen grew increasingly curious about what the Blackwater Gang was salvaging.
And where had those Beast Taming Masters gone?
What did the peculiar artifacts in the Huang Family's Slave Factory look like?
And who exactly had set up the safe house next to his Beast Taming Garden?
...
One question after another popped up in Tang Wen's mind.
The waters in Mountain Chasing City were indeed murky.
He glanced at the Beast Taming Art on his Experience Panel, hesitating whether to take a risk.
With his current level of Beast Taming Art, he could borrow the vision of his beast companions.
However, this ability was so powerful that it placed high demands on Tang Wen himself.
Specifically, with his current mental strength, he would soon get a headache after using it for a short while.
And this was only when he was relatively close to the Blood Raven.
If he were too far away, he wouldn't be able to borrow the beast's vision at all.
Tang Wen speculated that improving his mental strength would alleviate this issue.
By then, he would be able to find out what the Blackwater Gang was salvaging.
"Ah! Commander Tang!"
"Brother Zhang, Commander Zhang!"
Tang Wen arrived at the warehouse.
The warehouse manager, Commander Zhang, recognized him immediately, and his eyes lit up with excitement.
"I knew you weren't an ordinary man! Look at you, becoming a commander in just a few days!"
Commander Zhang didn't hide his admiration.
"Haha, I should've treated you to a meal, Brother Zhang. But alas, I'm a busy man with a new task."
As he spoke, he revealed a waist token.
[Zhao!]
Commander Zhang's pupils contracted, and his heart began to race uncontrollably.
Last time, this Brother Tang had come with an elder's token and had him retrieve tens of thousands of taels of silver.
Today, he had brought the Vice Leader's token!
This!
At the warehouse entrance, a specialist verified the authenticity of Vice Leader Zhao's token.
Immediately, Commander Zhang wrapped his arm around Tang Wen's shoulder and led him into the warehouse.
In his eyes, Tang Wen was no longer just an ordinary commander.
He was an excellent partner!
"So, Brother Tang, what brings you here this time?"
"Extraordinary Blood Essence, Extraordinary Flesh, and medicinal herbs."
Commander Zhang swallowed hard. "H-how much do you need?"
As he spoke, he realized his voice was trembling.
Tang Wen smiled. "What's the limit of Vice Leader Zhao's authority?"
Buzz.
Commander Zhang's mind went blank, and he instinctively grabbed the nearby shelf.
This sentence! It sounded so familiar!
The goods on the shelf swayed, almost falling.
"Brother, you can't do this!"
"Haha, I'm just asking."
Commander Zhang held up a finger, shaking it as he said, "One... one and a half percent. Vice Leader Zhao can only access one and a half percent of the inventory."
"So, how much Extraordinary Blood Essence do we have?"
Commander Zhang's expression changed again, and he hesitated before leading Tang Wen to the same room as last time.
"This is one of them. There are three in total."
Tang Wen counted the special stone boxes on the shelves:
"One hundred and twenty-seven here. Three times that would be three hundred and eighty-one. One and a half percent of that is... fifty-seven units!"
Commander Zhang's heart and legs trembled in unison.
"Brother, you can't do this!"
"Can't I?"
Commander Zhang decided to be blunt. "Brother! Our gang has more than one Vice Leader, you know!"
Tang Wen chuckled inwardly.
As if I didn't know that.
But from the looks of it, this Commander Zhang was a fence-sitter, wasn't he?
Or perhaps he was the Gang Lord's confidant?
Tang Wen hadn't planned to take that much anyway.
It wasn't realistic.
Seeing that the atmosphere had been sufficiently built up, Tang Wen raised three fingers: "Thirty bottles!"
"This—"
Upon hearing the number, Commander Zhang's face showed a mix of toothache and reluctance.
Tang Wen continued, "Among them, ten portions of fresh Blood Essence, and also three thousand pounds of Transcendent flesh!"
Huh?
Commander Zhang blinked: Brother, did you miss some important details?
Tang Wen understood: "You take three bottles."
Commander Zhang, pleasantly surprised, still felt uneasy: "What about the rest?"
Tang Wen didn't speak, just shook his waist badge.
Seeing the shining "Zhao" character, Commander Zhang felt reassured.
After picking and choosing for an hour, the goods were loaded onto a cart and escorted by a team of guards to Vice Leader Zhao's residence.
In the tea room of Zhao's mansion, Tang Wen gently opened the stone box.
"What's this?"
"Transcendent Blood Essence, and five hundred pounds of Transcendent beast meat, already given to your steward."
Vice Leader Zhao's face immediately darkened.
Tang Wen was startled, could it be?
Was this man an incorruptible and upright official like the legendary Judge Bao?
He lowered his head, thinking of a countermeasure.
"Young man! Why not learn something good instead of this!"
Tang Wen's head sank even lower.
"Ah, let it be the last time."
Vice Leader Zhao sighed deeply.
Huh?
Tang Wen was startled again, and when he looked up, the large stone box on the table was already gone!
That box had contained a full eight bottles of Blood Essence.
Calming his emotions, Tang Wen added, "When collecting the supplies, the signature was under the orders of the Gang Lord and Vice Leader Zhao."
Vice Leader Zhao's eyes flashed, and he nodded slightly, then changed the subject: "Starting tomorrow, someone will teach you boxing every night."
"Thank you, Gang Lord!"
"Hmm, for this mission, you need to be clear in your heart..."
After leaving Zhao's mansion, Tang Wen went to Elder Li's residence.
He also presented a box and five hundred pounds of Transcendent beast meat.
The difference was that this stone box contained only five bottles of Transcendent Blood Essence.
After leaving the Li family, Tang Wen finally returned to his own courtyard.
By now, out of the thirty bottles of Blood Essence, sixteen had been distributed, leaving fourteen.
Among them, ten bottles were fresh Blood Essence.
Directly consuming it could enhance one's physique, provided one could withstand the agitation of the medicinal power.
The longer it was stored, the worse its effects, so Tang Wen drank one bottle that very night.
A stormy night passed.
By morning, the two women at home were almost unconscious.
[Physique: 9.60]
His physique had reached a new level.
At the breakfast shop, the owner served the food and complimented, "Sir, your complexion gets better every day."
Tang Wen smiled.
It was good that it was noticeable.
These past two days, the amount of yellow pigment used for facial disguise had been decreasing.
He planned to gradually restore his original appearance.
After all, once a disguise is exposed, no matter how much you explain, it's hard to clear things up.
Especially since Tang Wen couldn't withstand scrutiny.
A day of pretending to be a beast tamer passed.
In the evening, Tang Wen met the middle-aged woman sent by Vice Leader Zhao to teach him boxing.
She was plain-looking but had a fiery figure.
She was proficient in Cannon Fist, Crushing Fist, Coiling Fist, and Killing Fist.
She had nearly the strength of a peak Martial Master.
She taught earnestly, and Tang Wen acted diligently.
After all, his Mountain-Cracking Cannon Fist had already reached the expert level.
Although he couldn't master all boxing styles, he could easily understand related techniques.
He learned these basic boxing techniques quickly.
Even with repeated attempts to conceal his skills, he couldn't escape the "keen eyes" of the female instructor.
Seven days had passed, and the female instructor commented to Vice Leader Zhao, "A little genius in Martial Arts!"
"A little genius?"
"If the young masters from the inner city's prominent families are once-in-a-century geniuses, then Tang Wen is roughly a once-in-thirty-years talent."
Vice Leader Zhao smiled: that was no small praise.
He far surpassed the vast majority within the Blackwater Gang.
At the Lin Family.
Vice Leader Lin asked his grandson, "Have you met the master?"
"Yes, Grandfather. Master Zhou said that even if the gang could tame a Superior Water Sprite, retrieving something from the Emerald Water Pool would still be a near-death endeavor. Master Zhou gifted me three Green Water Pythons, all of which are Superior Exotic Beasts."
Vice Leader Lin couldn't hide his joy: "Heaven blesses our Lin Family!"
(End of Chapter)