Chapter 82 - Visiting the Grand Craftsman’s Residence at Night
Chapter 82: Visiting the Grand Craftsman’s Residence at Night
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Chang’an, the capital of Great Xia, had always been known as the city that never sleeps.
There was no curfew here, so the main streets were still bustling with people and pedestrians even late at night.
Teams of city guards were constantly patrolling the streets. Near the palace, the patrolling guards became the Huben Troops.
Someone had once calculated that there were as many as 30,000 soldiers patrolling Chang’an every day.
With so many people patrolling the city, there was almost no blind spot in Chang’an.
Of course, no matter how tight the security was, it was not flawless.
As long as one was human, there would always be flaws.
Zhou Shu stood at the corner of the street and observed for the greater part of the night. He grabbed hold of the gap between two squads of patrolling soldiers. In the blink of an eye, he crossed the Zhu Estate’s high wall like a bolt of lightning.
Like a nimble cat, Zhou Shu landed quietly on the ground. He visualized the Five Mountains’ True Form in his mind, and his aura instantly became invisible, as if he had become a mountain.
At this time, even if someone passed by Zhou Shu, as long as they didn’t see him with their own eyes, they wouldn’t be able to sense him.
The Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form had endless uses. Although Zhou Shu was only at basic mastery, it was enough for him to travel the world and deal with some second-rate experts.
Zhu Chuanfeng’s mansion was gigantic, and there were countless servants inside.
Moreover, there were actually squads of guards patrolling his residence!
This old thief is really extravagant!
But upon thinking about it, Zhou Shu could understand why. How could there be no guards at a Grand Craftsman’s residence?
In a Grand Craftsman’s residence, there would definitely be many ranked weapons.
Ranked weapons were priceless. Without guards, a Grand Craftsman’s residence would be completely emptied out.
Indeed, even though he’s a Grand Craftsman, it’s impossible for there to be too many ranked martial artists as guards.
Ranked martial artists could already obtain official positions. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t easily pledge allegiance to anyone.
Of course, there would also be some ranked martial artists who became the guests of Grand Craftsmen in order to increase their strength. This situation wasn’t rare.
This was probably the case in Zhu Chuanfeng’s residence.
Zhou Shu activated the Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form, and his spiritual sense was extremely sharp. He could sense that there were a few places in the Zhu Estate that felt dangerous.
Those few auras resembled ferocious tigers hiding there. Once anything happened to the Zhu Estate, they would definitely erupt with unimaginable power.
Apart from this, Zhou Shu didn’t find many ranked martial artists among the patrolling guards.
Fortunately, I didn’t act rashly. If I really did try to assassinate Zhu Chuanfeng, I might not be able to succeed. Even if I did succeed, those dangerous auras might be able to stop me from leaving. If they manage to hold me back until the experts of the Imperial Court arrive, I might not be able to escape.
However, he hadn’t come here to assassinate Zhu Chuanfeng. As long as he was careful not to alert those auras, it wouldn’t be too dangerous.
Zhou Shu had never been to the Zhu Estate before. He didn’t know where Zhu Chuanfeng lived, so he could only follow the layout of the residence and search for a few places that Zhu Chuanfeng most likely lived.
He silently observed the patrolling guards. After two hours, he began to move like a ghost.
After he broke through to the ninth level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique, his physical strength had already reached an inconceivable realm.
What followed was the improvement of his physical fitness.
Even if he didn’t know any lightness techniques, the speed at which he moved was enough to make people flabbergasted.
One, two…
Zhou Shu followed his understanding of the layout of the estate and found a few places that might be Zhu Chuanfeng’s courtyard.
He searched a few places but found no trace of Zhu Chuanfeng.
Is the old crook not in his residence tonight?
Zhou Shu looked at the sky. It was already late at night. In four hours, it would be dawn.
If he still couldn’t find Zhu Chuanfeng, he would have no choice but to return.
I’ll search one last place. If I still can’t find him, I’ll come back tomorrow!
Before coming here, Zhou Shu had already made preparations for a long battle. It definitely wouldn’t be that easy to find evidence against Zhu Chuanfeng.
He had never thought that he would be able to catch Zhu Chuanfeng’s weakness with just one night visit.
Seizing the right moment, Zhou Shu pressed himself against the wall and quickly moved forward. He passed through two or three corridors before arriving at the next location.
The room was dark.
Zhou Shu leaned beside the window and listened for a moment.
There was no sound of breathing in the room. Zhou Shu could sense that the room was empty.
Sure enough, things aren’t that easy.
Zhou Shu wasn’t discouraged. He left the Zhu Estate carefully, leaving no trace behind.
In the following two days, every night, Zhou Shu would quietly leave his residence and sneak into the Zhu Estate.
On the third day, he finally saw Zhu Chuanfeng!
Zhou Shu started the Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form with all his might. It was as if he had become one with nature as he disappeared into the darkness.
If no one walked up to him and touched him, it would absolutely be impossible to discover his existence.
Not far away, Zhou Shu saw Zhu Chuanfeng through a window.
Sitting opposite Zhu Chuanfeng was a middle-aged man with an aura as deep as the ocean.
Very strong! The moment Zhou Shu saw the middle-aged man, he made his judgment.
This middle-aged man was definitely not weaker than the assassin he had killed with the Spring Embroidered Saber!
In other words, he was very likely a fifth-rank or even fourth-rank powerhouse!
He had almost discovered Zhou Shu when he approached earlier. Fortunately, Zhou Shu had activated the Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form in time!
Even so, the middle-aged man still carefully inspected his surroundings before returning to the house.
Zhou Shu was currently hiding in a dark corner. He drove the Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form to its limit, not daring to move. If the middle-aged man discovered him, it would be a huge battle.
Zhou Shu wasn’t afraid of fighting. After all, if they fought, he had a higher chance of winning.
But the monthly workshop examination was taking place tomorrow. If he still couldn’t find Zhu Chuanfeng’s secret, then he could only passively accept the challenge.
Even so, Zhou Shu wasn’t afraid. But he didn’t like the feeling of being led by the nose.
He preferred to keep things under his control!
Now that he had finally found where Zhu Chuanfeng was, he couldn’t give up so easily!
Zhu Chuanfeng looked at the middle-aged man opposite him and said in a deep voice, “Did you find out? Was Zhen Cai’s death an accident, or is someone targeting me?”
Perhaps it was because Zhu Chuanfeng was in his residence, he didn’t lower his voice.
“There are no external injuries on Zhen Cai’s body,” the middle-aged man said solemnly. “The way he died looks as though his soul was destroyed.”
“His soul was destroyed?” Zhu Chuanfeng frowned.
“The person who destroyed Zhen Cai’s soul without harming his body is at least a Grandmaster,” the middle-aged man said in a deep voice. “If a Grandmaster wanted to target you, he wouldn’t have attacked Zhen Cai. He would have just attacked you directly.”
No matter how one looked at it, a third-rank Grandmaster’s status was no less than a Grand Craftsman’s.
If a Grandmaster wanted to target Zhu Chuanfeng, there was absolutely no need to kill Zhen Cai. Not only would it not affect Zhu Chuanfeng the slightest, but it would instead seem petty.
“In my opinion, Zhen Cai’s death was a coincidence. He might have encountered something he shouldn’t have,” the middle-aged man said.
In a sense, this world was very dangerous. If one accidentally bumped into a scene where some experts were unwilling to be seen by others, then it would completely make sense even if they were killed.
“What bad luck!” Zhu Chuanfeng said with a gloomy expression.
Zhen Cai was one of his more capable subordinates. Now that he had died, he felt like there was a person missing from his side able to accomplish things.
“You’ve been lucky for twenty years. There’s nothing to be dissatisfied with,” the middle-aged man said coldly.
“What do you mean? You expect me to be unlucky?” Zhu Chuanfeng said angrily. “You’re my younger brother! If I’m unlucky, you won’t end up well either! It’s all because of my money that you are able to have your current cultivation!”
The middle-aged man lowered his eyes and said indifferently, “I didn’t mean that. What do you plan to do now?”
“Hmph!” Zhu Chuanfeng was still fuming as he said, “Tomorrow is the monthly examination of the Forging Division workshops. I’ve already made arrangements. When the time comes, the 0th Workshop will definitely be shut down. If that boy surnamed Zhou doesn’t want to become a Forging Apprentice with nothing, he can only bow his head to me!”
“Will it work?” the middle-aged man asked, confused. “The boy surnamed Zhou is only a Forging Apprentice. Can you really pass this hurdle by taking him in as your disciple?”
“You don’t understand forging.” Zhu Chuanfeng looked confident. “It’s precisely because this kid is a Forging Apprentice that he’s useful! If he were already a Forging Master, it would be difficult to handle.”
The middle-aged man frowned and seemed even more confused.
Outside, Zhou Shu was also confused, not understanding what Zhu Chuanfeng meant. What does he want from me?
To be honest, he still didn’t know what Zhu Chuanfeng was plotting. The Huben Saber, Hundred Refinements Ring Pommel Saber, Horse Slaying Saber, and Spring Embroidered Saber?
Although these four standard sabers could bring some benefits, it was impossible for a Grand Craftsman to take a fancy to them.
Apart from this, Zhou Shu couldn’t think of anything else that was worth Zhu Chuanfeng’s efforts.
The Legendary Armament Canon?
It was impossible for Zhu Chuanfeng to know of the existence of the Legendary Armament Canon.
Zhou Shu continued to listen.
“How’s the matter I asked you to do?” Zhu Chuanfeng continued.
“I’ve brought the weapon and stored it in the storeroom,” the middle-aged man said.
“Did you encounter any trouble?” Zhu Chuanfeng’s expression was icy.
“It’s all settled. There won’t be any problems,” the middle-aged man said. “Big Brother, it’s been twenty years. Let’s stop.”
“Stop? Tell me how to stop?” Zhu Chuanfeng said coldly. “Do you believe that if I stop now, our corpses will be hung on Chang’an’s city walls tomorrow!”
“Surely it’s not to that extent,” the middle-aged man said weakly.
“Not to that extent? Hmph, naive! You don’t have to worry about these things. Just do what I tell you to do!” Zhu Chuanfeng said coldly.. “Also, get a few people to keep an eye on that Zhou boy. Don’t let anything go wrong!”