Chapter 6: 006 Master

"Master! Master!" Tang Meng walked over cheerfully, pulling Tang Ying along.

"Master! Tang Meng has come to visit you!"

"Master!"

Tang Meng called out several times, but the old man acted as if he hadn't heard, not even lifting his head.

"Master! If you keep ignoring me, I'm going to find someone else!" Tang Meng's voice sank, a hint of cunning flashing in her bright eyes, and she prepared to walk away.

"How much is the price this time?" The old man finally spoke slowly, still focused on the surface of the river.

"One hundred taels. Interested?" As Tang Meng spoke, she took a purse from her sleeve and weighed it in her hand; it was very heavy.

The old man gave no reaction.

"Two hundred taels!" Tang Meng said helplessly.

The old man remained motionless.

"Three hundred?"

"Four hundred!"

"Five hundred!" Tang Meng gritted her teeth.

The old man finally looked up, and his fishing rod jerked upward instantly. By the time Tang Meng snapped out of it, the large bag of silver in her hand had been hooked away.

Seeing this, Tang Ying marveled inwardly. As expected of an Elder of Kongshan; he hadn't been able to see that movement clearly at all.

Tang Meng had stayed in Kongshan for several years when she was a child, though she wasn't sure how she had encountered this money-grubbing Elder who had already been expelled from Kongshan.

"Haha, it was heavy, wasn't it?" Having succeeded in her scheme, Tang Meng laughed loudly.

"You brat, your wings have grown hard, haven't they! Daring to play your Master!" As the old man spoke, he poured all the stones from the purse in his hand into the dark river.

"Every single time it has to be such a high price. Are you even my Master?" Tang Meng curled her lip.

"Even brothers settle accounts clearly, let alone master and disciple," the old man said with a straight face.

"Your disciple is merely asking you for information regarding a certain matter," Tang Meng said, acting pitiful.

"You, you've already injured the person, and yet you still can't catch them?" The old man stroked his pale long beard.

"Master knew?" Tang Meng was startled. She indeed had injured the Jade-Faced Wood Fox last time, but she had failed to capture him. She had come to find her Master specifically to ask how to catch him.

"Go back. Someone surnamed Luo came to ask about it. That Jade-Faced Wood Fox is not from the Western Realm; your Master cannot help you." The old man lowered his fishing line again.

Luo Shang? The Constable Luo who was well-connected in both the legal and underworld of the Imperial City? Why was he even more anxious than she was?

Tang Meng smiled and said, "I'm not asking for your help, I just want something from you: Ink Poison."

Master did not act easily, and furthermore, she would not easily ask him to act.

"Ink Poison?" The old man was clearly interested.

"Look at this!" As Tang Meng spoke, she tossed the object she was clutching in her hand toward him.

The old man caught it steadily and opened his palm. It was nothing more than an ordinary pearl—not perfectly round, and lacking luster.

However, the old man frowned. This pearl looked ordinary, but an expert would know at a glance that it was produced by a Merfolk. Merfolk tears turn into pearls, and the shape and color of the pearl change according to the Merfolk's emotions. Looking at this, the owner of this pearl must have been in a very complicated state of mind!

Merfolk? How had the Merfolk, who hadn't appeared in the Abyss Continent for hundreds of years, appeared again?

The old man tucked the pearl into his sleeve, smiled, and said, "Use this pearl to buy it."

With that, he pulled a small black porcelain bottle from his robe and tossed it to Tang Meng.

Tang Meng opened the bottle and sniffed; her brow suddenly furrowed tightly, and she hurriedly replaced the stopper. If it weren't absolutely necessary, she wouldn't use this stuff.

"Thank you, Master. Your disciple is leaving now." Tang Meng was now thoroughly satisfied.

The old man had long since returned his focus to his fishing hook, motionless, as if Tang Meng had never been there, as if no one could disturb him.

Tang Ying had seen this Master with Tang Meng a few times and had long since grown used to his eccentricity. In their few meetings, this old fellow had never spared him a single glance.

"Tang Meng, are you sure that Jade-Faced Wood Fox is a Merfolk..." A single Merfolk pearl could not prove anything.

"I'm sure!" Tang Meng blurted out without a second thought.

"Then you plan to..." Tang Ying looked at the small black porcelain bottle in her hand, feeling a faint sense of unease. So this was the reason she had sought her Master?

"Mm, I'm also forced into this. This Ink Poison carries a fishy, rotten stench, so it certainly won't be accidentally ingested. Don't worry." Tang Meng hooked her arm around Tang Ying, always liking to be physically close like this; that was how brothers should be. She had always treated Tang Ying like an older brother—if only he were her real brother, how wonderful would that be!

"If it's not a Merfolk, won't all this effort be in vain?" Tang Ying was always cautious; he never fought a battle without absolute certainty.

"Oh, I can guarantee he is a Merfolk, a hundred percent certain Merfolk!" Tang Meng was absolutely positive.

Tang Ying knitted his brows, and just as he was about to speak, they reached the exit of the Western Realm.

A tall figure slowly emerged from the darkness. Upon closer inspection, it was a man wearing a tall hat and black clothes and trousers. A long, bright red tongue hung down, and his face was ferocious, looking exactly like the legendary Black Impermanence.

Tang Meng instinctively hid behind Tang Ying again.

"Who goes there?" the Black Impermanence asked fiercely.

"A living person," Tang Meng replied.

"Where are you headed?" the Black Impermanence asked sharply again.

"The Western Realm," Tang Meng replied.

"Leave the toll," the Black Impermanence remained fierce.

This time, Tang Meng obediently pulled out ten taels of silver and handed them over.

The Black Impermanence weighed the silver, and only then did he open the tomb gate to let them pass. Just as he was about to vanish, he turned back, glanced at Tang Ying, and laughed, saying, "Who was it that came last time?"

"A busybody," Tang Ying replied, still displeased.

Only then did the Black Impermanence curl his lip and vanish into the darkness.

Tang Ying pulled up his mask, feeling a lingering sense of unease. Although the people in the Western Realm never cared about matters on the surface nor meddled in others' business, they had still been too careless this time. His existence was something that only the Tang family should ever know.

***

Note to readers

Recommended friend Wu Fei's new book "The Emperor's Shadow Concubine": Just when you thought the other party was entirely in your grasp, you find yourself already fallen deep within. New book, worth adding to your collection.