Published at 19th of November 2020 09:34:48 PM
Zhuo Zhibo also sneered just like he would normally . “It’s good that he’s alive . That’ll save me a trip, and I’ll be able to take his life personally . I’ll be able to vent what I’ve pent up . ”
“Are you going to kill him as soon as he returns?” Qian Rongzhi’s smile was hidden deep within her pitch-black eyes . She was ready to watch a fascinating show .
However, Zhuo Zhibo said instead, “I’ll need to put further thought into this matter . ” Despite being the commander, he was not bold enough to kill a Hawkwolf Guard in public . Afterwards, he sneered, “But he’s still under my command, so do you think he’ll be well off? I’ll show him just whose command this Hawkwolf Guard office is under . ”
Qian Rongzhi said, “Is there anything on this mountain, in Jiaping city, that doesn’t belong to you? Even I’m no different . ”
Zhuo Zhibo let out a hearty laugh . He would continue watching over Jiaping city until the day he died; he was just like the iron hawk, watching over everything .
When the Clear River twisted around the mountain once more, Li Qingshan directly leapt off the boat . Under a series of cries from the people on the boat, he climbed up the cliff face .
He returned to his residence first and set Xiao An down before going to see Zhuo Zhibo . He wanted to see just how this commander Zhuo would treat him now .
Li Qingshan clasped his hands . “Subordinate Li Qingshan greets commander Zhuo . ” That was what he said, but he stood with his chest held high, standing as straight as an arrow . He showed no respect at all .
Zhuo Zhibo no longer tried to act all polite either . He questioned coldly, “Why didn’t you return immediately after completing the mission?”
Li Qingshan answered in a manner that was neither too humble or arrogant, “I obviously had matters to attend to . ”
Zhuo Zhibo became even more displeased . To think that someone who was about to die would still be bold enough to act so arrogantly . “I’m deducting half of your contribution . You can leave!”
He had actually lost half of the contribution he had earned after so much difficulty . That was equivalent to several dozen Qi Gathering pills . Anyone would be irritated by that .
Li Qingshan held back his anger . He did not try to dispute it . He just turned around and left . He also could not kill a Black Hawk commander on this mountain .
As soon as Li Qingshan left the office, he ran into Ge Jian .
However, Ge Jian had been waiting for him . He sneered as he said, “Li Qingshan, do you really think you’re a big deal just because you killed an old man who had a foot in the grave? How dare you speak to the commander like that? Now you know the consequences, don’t you?”
Li Qingshan said, “You really are a good dog raised by Zhuo Zhibo . ”
He said that with confidence . Obviously, he did not need to worry that Zhou Zhibo, who was in the office, would miss it; the latter’s face darkened .
“What did you say?!” Ge Jian lost his temper after being insulted right to his face . This was no longer the first time Li Qingshan had humiliated him . He had only endured it because he was worried about the latter’s backing .
Li Qingshan mocked, “To think that you would be bold enough to bark at me here!”
Ge Jian choked up . Originally, he wanted to infuriate Li Qingshan . As long as Li Qingshan attacked him first, there would be grounds for Zhuo Zhibo to interfere . But indeed, without Zhuo Zhibo, where would he get the courage to provoke Li Qingshan? This fellow was a monster who had killed a fifth layer Qi Practitioner .
Li Qingshan waved his hand . “Come, let’s go to the front, and you can tell me clearly . I’ll let your scheme succeed for once . Let’s see whether Zhuo Zhibo comes to save you or not . ”
Ge Jian would never follow him . Once that happened, even if Zhuo Zhibo’s plan succeeded, he would be dead . He tried to put on a front . “D- don’t be cocky . I’m looking forward to the fate that you’ll suffer . ”
Li Qingshan did not spare an additional glance at him . He made his way to the library . Just when he was about to climb up the stairs, he was stopped by the old man who guarded the library . “Who let you up?”
Li Qingshan said, “I have contribution, so of course I can go up!”
“Move . The library is currently under maintenance . Miscellaneous people are forbidden from entering . ”
Li Qingshan’s eyes narrowed, and he frowned slightly .
All the old man felt was an invisible pressure against his chest, so heavy that he struggled to breathe . He forcefully endured it . “What, do you plan on forcing your way in?”
Li Qingshan slowly raised his right hand . The old man gulped as all of his muscles tensed up . His measly amount of true qi that had been eaten away by the passage of time began to circulate furiously . He could feel that as long as Li Qingshan tried, he could launch a devastatingly terrifying attack . Under the tremendous pressure, he did not even have the confidence to receive a single attack from him .
However, all Li Qingshan did was pat the old man’s shoulder . “Take care!” Afterwards, he turned around and left the library .
The old man broke out into a cold sweat and breathed heavily as he leaned on his knees . He had wandered the jianghu for many years, but he had actually been frightened by a half-grown junior . He was utterly humiliated . He yelled at Li Qingshan, “You’re the one who should take care!”
What Li Qingshan experienced afterwards was basically the same . There were no spiritual artifacts or pills . The contribution he had earned after great difficulty became a meaningless number .
Li Qingshan wanted to exchange for a new Wind-entwining blade, but he was turned down . Originally, Hawkwolf guards could exchange their weapons destroyed in missions for free . However, none of these people said that he did not deserve to . They just came up with various reasons to shrug off his request, but unless he gave them a beating, there was no other way for them to yield to him .
These important places that held items and wealth were obviously under the control of Zhuo Zhibo’s trusted subordinates . As a matter of fact, there was not even a need for Zhuo Zhibo to say anything . All he needed was a signal and that would be enough to prevent Li Qingshan from accessing anything in the Hawkwolf Guard .
In the end, Li Qingshan arrived before an extremely old building, with one, large word on it—Falconry . This was where the Hawkwolf Guard issued missions . It was probably the only place on the mountain not under Zhuo Zhibo’s control .
It was not that he was unable to control . Instead, it was because there were no spiritual artifacts or pills here . There were just a pile of troublesome missions . However, exchanging the contribution from the missions for actual things required Zhuo Zhibo’s permission .
Li Qingshan smiled . As long as this place was still open to him, all was well . To him right now, whether it be spiritual artifacts or pills, none of them were urgent . What he required the most right now was in the falconry .
There were a few Black Wolf guards accepting missions in the hall . When they saw Li Qingshan enter, they immediately fell quiet . Their mouths moved soundlessly as they communicated via true qi . They discussed between one another silently .
Li Qingshan made his way over to the counter . The envoy in black stood up in a hurry and said politely, “Sir, you’ve just returned . Do you plan on going out again?” On this small mountain, there were not a lot of secrets . He had heard about the disagreements between Li Qingshan and Zhuo Zhibo, but he was afraid of disrespecting Li Qingshan as well .
Li Qingshan said, “I want to see what missions there are . ”
The envoy in black immediately took out a thick book . “Please have a look, sir . ”
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The book was dark all over as if it was covered in countless layers of filth . It also seemed like the colour of congealed blood . It felt ominous just from a single sight of it . However, it shone with a gentle glow, and as he held it in his hand, it gave off a slight warmth .
Li Qingshan said, “This book is probably pretty old . ”
The envoy explained obediently, “It has existed since the office was established in Jiaping city . It’s probably over a millennium old . ”
Li Qingshan said, “Then it really is quite old . Does this book have a name?”
The envoy said, “This is just a low grade spiritual artifact used to record missions . It does not have a formal name, but the people of the jianghu call it the blacklist!” Although he was just an envoy, he naturally revealed pride as the person in charge of the blacklist .
Li Qingshan said, “The blacklist? Why’s that? What’s the story behind it?”
The envoy said, “That’s because names that make it onto the blacklist will definitely die . ”
Li Qingshan smiled, “Dearth, old age, illness, and death go hand in hand . Even if you don’t make it onto the blacklist, you’ll still die . ”
According to his knowledge, the White Lotus Mother who had sacrificed two hundred thousand people should have made it onto the list as well . She even required a mighty White Hawk Commander like Gu Yanying, a Golden Core cultivator, to personally take action . However, Gu Yanying still seemed to have failed to bring her to justice . At the end of the day, it was still all about strength in this world . Nothing was definite .
However, to the people of the jianghu, it basically was a list of death considering the fact that it was written by Qi Practitioners . Afterwards, Li Qingshan realised the things he was about to do next was quite similar to what the White Lotus Mother had done . However, he was on the side of law, moving as someone carrying out the law . He had the license to kill .
Although the envoy was displeased by Li Qingshan’s joke about the blacklist, he was afraid to rebuke him . He just told Li Qingshan about how to use it .
Afterwards, Li Qingshan understood why it was called the blacklist . He would see a string of names with each page . There were normal names among them, as well as strange daoist or dharma names . It was used in a rather similar fashion to mental maps . All he needed was a thought and the list would be arranged according to different criteria .
These criteria included the amount of contribution, the danger level, the strength of the opponent, the estimated gains, and so on . If he selected one of the names, he would receive a set of extremely detailed information, including their cultivation method, spiritual artifacts, area of activity…
Li Qingshan sighed inside . The Hawkwolf Guard really was a major organisation that had existed for several millennia . There was rigour to the organisation, and they were fully-equipped . This information had basically simplified the steps of investigation, allocating all the work that could be completely by ordinary people to ordinary people . Afterwards, they would confirm the crimes and make the list so that the Hawkwolf Guard could hunt them down one by one .
Every single Qi Practitioner was a powerful master who stood above many, with longevity as their greatest objective . Cultivating and practising qi was their greatest priority . There was not a single Qi Practitioner who would waste their time on these miscellaneous tasks, being ordered around by others like servants . Otherwise, no matter how great the benefits of the Hawkwolf Guard was, it would still not be an attractive occupation to Qi Practitioners .
“Once you’ve chosen your mission, sir, there will be a file that you can read up on whenever you’d like . The information in there is all the most detailed information our leads have obtained . However, we cannot ensure that it will be completely accurate . You’ll need to adapt to circumstances,” the envoy gave a warning as a formality .
“Of course,” Li Qingshan replied . With a thought, the list was now ordered according to descending strength . He glanced at the name at the very top—the Zombie Daoist, sixth layer Qi Practitioner . He was on the list for capturing living people and turning them into zombies en masse . The danger level was extremely high, and the contribution that came with the completion of the mission was actually as much as twelve thousand points .
But clearly, there was no one who could complete this mission apart from Zhuo Zhibo and the Black Wolf commander who had never shown himself . Of course, Li Qingshan possessed the strength to complete it, but he only paused on it slightly before flipping further until the last few pages .
The last few pages of the blacklist mostly contained the names of gangs and sects, not the names of individuals . These were places like the Black Wind stronghold . They no longer possessed a single person that was worthy of being regarded as a single target by the Hawkwolf Guard .
Afterwards, Li Qingshan chose his missions .
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The envoy was stunned . “Sir, do you really plan on accepting these missions?”
Li Qingshan nodded without any hesitation at all . “Go retrieve the files . I’ll be setting off right now . ”
The envoy instructed some people in a hurry, and before long, other envoys brought over stacks of documents . Many of them seemed extremely old, with dust floating around in the air near them . Clearly, they had only just been wiped down .
Li Qingshan placed all the files and documents into his hundred treasures pouch and left immediately . As soon as he made it out the door, a few Black Wolf guards hurried over . “What mission did he choose?”
Afterwards, they looked at one another, stupefied .
“What is the kid planning?”
“Carrying out justice and protecting the weak? Don’t kid with me . ”
“No matter how many missions he completes, he won’t get anything in exchange for it as long as he doesn’t have commander Zhuo’s permission . ”
In the main office, Zhuo Zhibo drank tea leisurely . “So what’s the kid up to . ”
Ge Jian smiled, “The kid ran around, but he has nothing at all . ” His anger had finally eased up slightly .
Zhuo Zhibo placed down the tea cup . “Toying around with him before we take his life isn’t necessarily bad . I’d like to see just how much longer he can endure this for . ”
Ge Jian said, “I think he’ll have to endure it no matter what . ”
At this moment, a Black Wolf guard walked in hurriedly, “Commander, that kid has found a reason to leave the mountain!”
Zhuo Zhibo said, “Oh, he wants to avoid me? What mission did he accept?”
The Black Wolf guard said, “More than one . ”
“How many?”
The Black Wolf guard said in a strange manner, “He accepted twenty-seven missions . ”
“What! Bring them over . ” Zhuo Zhibo took the mission document, which had a dense list of the missions that Li Qingshan had accepted . However, the contents of the missions surprised him very much, not because they were too difficult, but because they were too easy .
The pirates of the Water Snake gang, the horse bandits of the Giant Deer valley, and so on . All of them were missions that the Hawkwolf Guard had accumulated over time but could not be bothered completing .
That was because the targets in the mission were all just ordinary people of the jianghu . At most, these people would be carrying around some silver on them, while spiritual artifacts and pills went without saying . And because they were far too easy, the contribution they offered was as low as it could be . At most, new Black Wolf guards would just use it for practise before never looking at them again . They would much rather remain on the mountain and cultivate instead .
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As an office of the lowest tier within the Hawkwolf Guard, black iron, they were completely composed of Qi Practitioners, and they primarily targeted other Qi Practitioners . They mainly served as a deterrent force to martial arts practitioners .
As a result, this led to the formation of a tiny vacuum of law in the system . This place was called the jianghu .
Ge Jian said, “If that’s the case, he has managed to find another reason to leave Jiaping city . ”
Zhuo Zhibo snorted . “If he wants to do the manual labour, let him do so . ”
By now, Li Qingshan had already left the mountain . He calculated in his mind that completing these missions should roughly amount to a thousand people .
This was his main goal: to help Xiao An rebuild his body . For the sake of this goal, he could temporarily put aside everything else .
Right now, his choice in joining the Hawkwolf Guard seemed to be more and more correct . Otherwise, where else was he supposed to ask about bad people? And, if he committed a massacre against ordinary people as a Qi Practitioner, even if they were all bad people, it would attract a great deal of attention . It might have even earned him a spot on the blacklist, which would force him to oppose the government .
It was simple now . The information provided by the Hawkwolf Guard was extremely detailed . Every single person who could make it onto the blacklist of the Hawkwolf Guard through their cultivation method and martial arts alone were sinful, and they all occupied a single region for most of their lives, so they were very easy to find . All he needed to do right now was to go find them one by one with his license to kill, and then kill out a bloody path from dawn till dusk . 1
Li Qingshan placed his hand on the porcelain jar on his waist and thought to himself, Don’t worry, Xiao An . Very, very soon you’ll be able to breathe air, taste delicious food, feel warmth, and smile just like the other children .
Li Qingshan did not directly leave the city . Instead, he paid a visit to the government office first . He wanted to exchange the several million taels of silver on him for some Qi Gathering pills . He could feel that he would be gone for quite some time after this departure, and his enemies would not be carrying hundred treasure pouches . They would not be a ready source of Qi Gathering pills . He also gained a deeper understanding as to why the Hawkwolf guards were reluctant to hunt down these annoying insects .
Zhou Wenbin saw Li Qingshan, and his eyes lit up, “You’re already at the second layer . You’ve been progressing much faster than I expected . ”
Li Qingshan said, “Thank you for your concern, sir . With a powerful enemy right by my side, I obviously cannot tarry . ”
Zhou Wenbin said, “As long as you know . I heard you killed Qian Yannian in a direct confrontation?”
Li Qingshan said, “I just got lucky!”
Zhou Wenbin said, “Even if it were all luck, it’s still an unbelievable achievement for a second layer Qi Practitioner to kill a fifth layer Qi Practitioner . Though, I must warn you again that sixth layer Qi Practitioners are completely different from those at the fifth layer . ”
Li Qingshan nodded . Afterwards, he thought of the various things that Xiao An could do . If he was measured according to the standard of Qi Practitioners, he was at the sixth layer or even higher, and he was as swift as lightning with boundless strength . Even if a low grade spiritual artifact landed a blow on him, it would fail to injure him at all . He was much more powerful than regular sixth layer Qi Practitioners . If he really became involved in battle, and it was a Qi Practitioner’s duel where he could not use the Skull Prayer Bead, all he had to do was rush over and forcefully pierce the protective true qi and dig out their hearts; he would win just like that .
The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had completely exceeded the powerful abilities of this world . The further Xiao An progressed, the more evident his terrifying strength would be .
Zhou Wenbin said, “Although the Sect of Clouds and Rain has expelled Zhao Liangqing, they’ve sent people to investigate . You’ve probably caught their attention . People from sects often don’t have any qualms when they go about their business, so do be careful . ”
Li Qingshan said, “Thank you for the warning, sir . I will be careful . ” The Sect of Clouds and Rain had lost their business in Jiaping city, as well as a master who was about to break through to the sixth layer . A reaction like this was expected .
Zhou Wenbin said, “Nothing good will come out from striving for a moment of glory . Why don’t you take my advice and go to the School of the Hundred Thoughts to cultivate for a while? You can avoid him temporarily, and once you’re no longer a fledgling, would you still need to fear a measly Zhuo Zhibo?”