Immortal Realm’s Smuggling Kingpin - Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Don’t Treat a First-Grade Official Like He Isn’t A Cadre (2)

Luo Qian faltered and a wry smile quickly surfaced. “Sir, you’ve really thought highly of me. I am a Tribulation Immortal, my arms cannot lift, and my shoulders cannot carry. I’m really more scholarly than a scholar. What use would you have for me?”

Zheng Daoguang shook his head and said, “No, in my opinion, not one amongst all my advisors can compare to you in terms of intelligence. Although we have not interacted much, your previous analysis that hit the nail on the head left a very deep impression on me. Someday, you will certainly be an extraordinary person!”

Luo Qian still shook his head. “Sir, not that I don’t know what’s good for me, it’s really because I still have a business to do. Look…”

“It’s alright. A secret supervisor is the Dark Arrest Council’s secret agent in the Immortal Realm. It is a requirement that these people are hidden in the marketplace. You can handle your business while working for the Immortal Court.”

Once he said this, Luo Qian was rather tempted. Although it was merely the lowest grade First-Grade official position, he would still be an official regardless of the rank. In this case, the Imperial Guards would have to give it some thought before they touched him, right?

Zheng Daoguang could tell that he was already moved. He acted while the circumstances were favorable and said, “The Dark Arrest Council is different from the Imperial Arrest Council. Every institute head reports directly to the Magistrate and possibly even straight to the Heavenly Courts. The amount of power you get is far beyond your imagination. With this identity, it would also be an additional safeguard for your shop.”

Luo Qian was finally convinced by him. “Alright, since Sir thinks so highly of me, I would truly be failing to appreciate your kindness if I were to continue making excuses.”

Zheng Daoguang was delighted. “Alright! This is your token; keep it well. There is a unique Immortal array inside it. Only your Immortal power can make it display the number that represents your identity. You are number one—the first secret supervisor under my charge!”

Luo Qian wasn’t an indecisive person. After thinking through the benefits that this position could bring him, he immediately decided to accept it. Zheng Daoguang placed the black token in his hands, and Luo Qian bowed down very obediently. “Thank you, Sir, for your support!”

Zheng Daoguang quickly helped him up. “I believe I won’t be wrong about a person. Who knows, I might even need your support in the future.”

“Hmph!” At the entrance of the cave, Chen Chong sneered in disdain.

…

With this delay, he did not have much time left. The people that Zhao Xihe were inviting might be arriving soon. Luo Qian made an urgent trip to the Human Realm but did not smuggle Coca Cola because he’d thought of another good idea.

…

On Mountain Feng Tong, at the entrance of the newly built medicine hall stood a gigantic medicine furnace. Inside it, blue flames danced while curling white fog drifted at its mouth. A faint herbal aroma lingered within thousands of meters around. The medicine furnace was embossed with three big words, ‘Luo Medicine Furnace.’

That’s right; this was the main branch of Luo Medicine Hall. The new shop was about to open. Du Lengning bustled about without stopping, purchasing all the necessities for the shop’s opening. He also needed to send invitations to all the rich men’s sons of the Immortal Realm whom he had intentionally befriended, telling them to be sure to turn up so as to boost their prestige and influence. Of course, right at the bottom of the Superior-class jade invitation board was a sentence in small print: After the opening ceremony has ended, I will host a banquet at Hovering House.

With just this one line, everyone had an unspoken mutual understanding.

Hovering House was on the Twelve Offshore Continents’ Dong Yao Continent. It was a small building that was suspended above an isolated cliff next to the sea. At the same time, it was also an extremely famous ‘sexy dance house’ in the Immortal Realm.

Li Fei’er was busy entertaining those sisters of hers. This had been Luo Qian’s suggestion. Don’t think that they were just some young ladies. The Immortal Realm certainly had no lack of lascivious men. Even wilful girls like Li Fei’er had a considerable number of admirers. Their arrival would bring a huge gang of playboys who wanted to compare their wealth in front of their sweetheart.

Three days later, Zhao Xihe indeed came as promised. Following behind the hill-like Clearwater Kirin were three old men with sullen looks. There was at least one thing that Luo Qian could be sure of—Bi’er was indeed very arrogant. These three people seemed to be Zhao Xihe’s friends; their identities weren’t simple, yet Bi’er did not allow them to ride on its back.

“Xiaoqian…” Zhao Xihe gestured to him. “Come, welcome the three masters quickly.”

Luo Qian was overjoyed. He would already be really satisfied if Zhao Xihe could get just one master for him. To think Zhao Xihe had dragged three people here in one go! An expert on the Heaven Roll was indeed not for brags!

Luo Qian went forward and said respectfully, “Thank you, masters, for coming so far. I am ashamed!”

Zhao Xihe jumped off the Clearwater Kirin. Seeing the three old men’s halfhearted behavior toward Luo Qian, he fumed with rage. “You three old fellows, are you really ignoring our friendship?”

The three old men gave Zhao Xihe a helpless glance. The flushed elder in the middle with a short mustache said, “Old Zhao, it’s not that we don’t value our friendship. For such a matter, a disciple of ours would be enough to handle it, but you had to drag us here. Never mind then, you brought three of us at one go, y-you…”

Zhao Xihe whispered secretly to the trio. “This is the first time this little brother of mine is asking me for help. Of course, I’ve got to get it done in style. Hey, you three old fellows. If you won’t help, don’t dream about drinking my Spirit Monkey Wine in the future!”

Zhao Xihe was a Beast Cultivator. Other than his own beast, he also reared a considerable number of precious beasts of the Immortal Realm. One of them was a Golden-Haired Spirit Monkey that was skilled in using Immortal fruits to make wine.

This was a ‘sure-kill trick’ for Zhao Xihe amongst his old brothers. This gang of brothers would gather without prior agreement at Zhao Xihe’s cave abode every three years to play chess and drink wine. It had already become a habit. If they did not get a drink after three years, they would feel uncomfortable all over.

The trio was helpless. “Old Zhao, if I had known it would come to this, I shouldn’t have been tempted by you back then and drank the wine…”

Zhao Xihe raged. “What do you mean tempted by me? Have you people forgotten about the foul things you did that year? Finding an excuse to draw me away as a bunch of you ran into my cave abode, ransacked through everything, and found the wine. By the time I got back, the Spirit Money Wine that I’d saved up for 10 years was wasted by you people!”

All three of them had a share in the scandal then. The trio’s faces were hot after Zhao Xihe exposed their deeds to their faces. They quickly said to Luo Qian, “What is it? Say it quickly.”

Luo Qian explained his idea; the three masters stood around that VIP reception room of his and started discussing in detail.

Luo Qian slowly retreated to one side and asked Zhao Xihe, “Old Zhao, you’ve yet to introduce the three masters to me.”

Zhao Xihe said, “The flushed one in the middle with a short mustache is Xin Yezi. The one on the left in short-sleeved cotton clothes is Unskilled Labor Old Man. The one on the right with the longest hair is Tong Dongtong Old Man.”

“The-these three are expert craftsmen ranking in the top ten of the Immortal Realm…” He didn’t speak about the other two. Luo Qian’s Fushan underground palace’s entrance was still being guarded by one of the creations of Xin Yezi—who was in the middle—Nine Realms of Smoke and Chaos.

Luo Qian was greatly taken aback. Even Du Lengning and Li Fei’er were greatly respectful after learning of the trio’s identities. The little chili no longer dared to be unruly; the Immortal workers around also displayed utmost courtesy after finding out their identities. They worked hard on their duties, hoping to be lucky enough to be picked out by the three masters and be imparted one or two unique skills. With that, they would be able to benefit from it forever.

Since the three masters had agreed, they naturally had to give their best. This was the masters’ instinctive act of ‘cherishing their feathers.’ After all, it was a piece of work made with the three of them joining hands. If they did not produce a product considered outstanding in the Immortal Realm, it would be doing a disservice to their great titles.

Zhao Xihe also did not treat his old friends shabbily. He ordered the Clearwater Kirin to return and bring a jar of Spirit Monkey Wine, preparing to serve his old friends. In the end, when the Clearwater Kirin carried the wine back from his cave abode, there was only half a jar left! The Clearwater Kirin’s eyes were slightly red; it was also slightly shaky when it walked.

Zhao Xihe was enraged and chased it, wanting to hit his own beloved beast.

Luo Qian quickly shielded it. Unfortunately, the Clearwater Kirin still suffered a slap on its bottom.

The Clearwater Kirin, with its huge body, hid coweringly behind Luo Qian; it looked very comical.

Luo Qian spread his arms to stop Zhao Xihe and said with a smile, “Elder Zhao, don’t be mad. At most, I’ll just go buy another jar of good wine.”

Zhao Xihe fumed. “This rascal is becoming increasingly bold recently. It’s been all spoiled by you.”

Luo Qian grinned while Zhao Xihe shook his head helplessly and went to his three old friends holding that half-jar of wine.

Luo Qian turned around and tossed a Spirit Accumulation Pill. The Clearwater Kirin swallowed it at once very cooperatively. Luo Qian chided as he laughed, “You’ve gotten bold now. You even dare to drink Elder Zhao’s wine secretly…”

The Clearwater Kirin roared softly and affectionately bumped Luo Qian repeatedly with its big head.

“Oh, no!” The human and beast were frolicking when they heard Xin Yezi, who was at the building site, shout.

Luo Qian quickly rushed over with the Clearwater Kirin. “Master, what has happened?”

Xin Yezi dejectedly threw the piece of Immortal Jade in his hand down. “Just a breadth’s difference, just a breadth’s difference…” As he spoke, he shook his head ceaselessly.

Unskilled Labor Old Man, who was at a side, saw Luo Qian’s baffled manner and explained. “There is a probability of success in crafting and setting up arrays…”

Luo Qian had already understood. He smiled and said, “It’s okay. We still have time; we can try again.”

Xin Yezi nodded and said rather apologetically, “Buddy Luo, I’ve wasted plenty of your materials. I…”

Luo Qian quickly said, “I’m already extremely grateful that you are willing to help. If you continue being so courteous, I will be so ashamed that I’ll have to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.”

After this failure, Xin Yezi and company became even more diligent. Their considerations were very comprehensive; the array formation that was developed was far more ingenious than the first. Luo Qian had also obtained benefits out of misfortune.

However, this incident taught Luo Qian that the risks of crafting and setting up arrays were extremely great. Even expert craftsmen like Xin Yezi—who ranked amongst the Immortal Realm’s top ten craftsmen—experienced failure, let alone Xiao Xiangzi. It was clear that relying completely on experience was not secure for this profession.

Finally, everything was in order for the medicine hall. The VIP reception hall was also completed.

The three masters’ work was unveiled. Elderly Tong explained rather excitedly to Luo Qian, “We named this array formation ‘Mirror in a Mirror.’ Amongst the Immortal Realm’s nine dimensions, there is still one more dimension. With this array formation, as long as the Immortal Jade has enough energy, even a Ninth-Order Immortal can forget about entering!” Having created such a remarkable work, even the three masters were quite proud of themselves.

Luo Qian was delighted. He promptly bowed. “Thank you very much!” Nothing was more worrying to him than his own safety. With this array formation, even if the Imperial Guards came chasing after him, he would be able to escape as long as he hid inside and had enough space and time. After all, he just needed a breath of Immortal air to escape to the Human Realm. What else was there to fear?

That night, Luo Qian held a banquet to entertain the three masters and Zhao Xihe. The enormous Clearwater Kirin accompanied them outside the door. Numerous chicken drumsticks and bear paws were continuously thrown out of the restaurant’s window. The Clearwater Kirin opened its mouth wide and accepted all of them without missing a single one.

…