Stealing gold

　　While the sergeants of the army discussed the incident, the way they looked at Teng Qingshan in the distance changed as well.

　　Strength was always respected and worshipped.

　　“The offensive power of Lieutenant Bai Qi’s final spear technique was astonishing, but who would’ve thought that Brother Qingshan could actually break it so easily? Moreover, the shock even blasted the Lieutenant Bai Qi’s weapon out of his hands!” The tall and lean centurion, Wan Fanxiang, exclaimed.

　　“Among the younger generation, Qingshan is probably within the top three.” Centurion Tian Dan added.

　　Right at this moment, Teng Qingshan, holding his Reincarnation Spear, walked over.

　　“Brother Qingshan, your last spear move was much stronger, compared to your fight during the competition. It seems like you were hiding your true strength back then.” Tian Dan greeted him with a few words of praise. Teng Qingshan smiled while replying, “Brother Tian Dan, at that time, I hadn’t practiced the Vigor of the Reckless Bull, so my strength was weaker. The Vigor of the Reckless Bull is much more powerful than the secret technique I cultivated in the past!”

　　“You cultivate the Vigor of the Reckless Bull?”

　　The other four centurions were somewhat shocked.

　　Once the body’s inner strength became abundant in supply, one would definitely need his own secret technique in order to become a First Rated Warrior. Tian Dan, Wan Fan, and the other four centurions thought that Teng Qingshan would have his own unique secret inner strength technique by now.

　　“Of course I relied on it. Otherwise, how else would I have been able to improve so much?” Teng Qingshan said.

　　“Then, what stage did you reach, and how much power did you receive?” Tian Dan asked.

　　“The eighth stage.” Teng Qingshan replied.

　　The four centurions looked at each other dumbfounded!

　　The Vigor of the Reckless Bull’s power was strong, but it was difficult to cultivate. In order to cultivate to the eighth stage, nearly all of the eight extra meridians needed to be open.

　　“No wonder!”

　　“I’m afraid Qingshan ate some genius treasure fruit.”

　　The four centurions finally understood why Teng Qingshan had became so strong.

　　Seeing this scene, Teng Qingshan secretly nodded, and thought to himself, “I can’t hide my strength completely in the Black Armored Army. It’s necessary to expose a bit, in order to get entrusted with heavier responsibility! The eighth stage of the Vigor of the Reckless Bull should be able make all of the powerhouses of the Postliminary Realm take me seriously.” This was the reason why Teng Qingshan had exposed the power of 50,000 Jin in a single moment.

　　The eighth stage of the Vigor of the Reckless Bull could use inner strength to instantly shoot out 50,000 Jin of strength.

　　With this level of strength, Teng Qingshan had the confidence to fight any powerhouse of the Postliminary Realm! As for his real strength, he would only use it when facing real danger!

　　……

　　The recent duel between Teng Qingshan and Lieutenant Bai Qi rapidly spread over the entire mining area in secret. The sergeants of the Black Armored Army and the assisting guards looked at Teng Qingshan in a different light. They both respected and admired Teng Qingshan, especially the soldiers of Yi City — they were extremely proud!

　　Since Teng Qingshan was from Yi City, the soldiers from Yi City would of course be proud!

　　Nighttime!

　　Within the darkness, where neither the stars nor the moon shone, fires were lit around the mining area. Night watchers were standing guard and patrolling.

　　A young man was lying inside a messy bush, and his flashing eyes were looking at the patrol in front of him, “Why aren’t these soldiers tired? Can’t they go to sleep faster?” Anxiety spread inside this man’s heart. He’d entered this mine to work as hard labor, yet what could this meager wage be counted for?

　　While panning gold and seeing all those shiny pieces, of course he’d get tempted.

　　All the gold that was panned had to be handed over to the team leader, and then taken all together to the warehouse. He was a team leader, and had secretly hidden a little gold every day. Every day, he’d hidden one to three Qian of gold (5-15g), so that the soldiers of the Black Armored Army wouldn’t find out. After saving for two months, he’d collected one Jin and two taels of gold.

　　Twelve taels of gold was 1200 taels of silver. If a commoner were to earn twenty taels of silver per year, it could be counted as pretty good. These 1200 taels of silver were worth a lifetime of work!

　　Clenching his teeth, this man had prepared for two months, and tonight, he’d decided that he’d grab the gold and run away.

　　“F*ck, whether I die or get rich, everything will be decided today.”

　　The current patrolling guards turned their backs, and walked toward the western side.

　　“It’s now or never!”

　　He clenched his teeth!

　　Whoosh!

　　Gathering all of his strength, this man fiercely dashed past the first patrol line, before immediately lying down in a slightly hollow, but shallow hole. In fact, if the patrolling soldiers were to take a careful look, they’d be able to see him. However during these late hours, the patrolling soldiers’ eyes had become dull from tiredness.

　　As long there were no loud noises, they wouldn’t pay attention.

　　After breathing out twice, this man didn’t dare to make any big noises, and stubbornly looked at that tree in the distance.

　　“My luck is really good. I haven’t been discovered after running past the first line of death.” The man secretly rejoiced. To the hard laborers, this patrol line was called the line of death.

　　“My luck might not be so good afterwards, and I’ll need to run away in a single breath. Right now, it’s so dark that I can’t even see the five fingers of my hand. As long as I run to a place where there are no fires, I have a possibility of making it out.” The man took a deep breath and gathered his strength, before his whole body dashed forward. Like a vigorous leopard, he crazily rushed down the hill.

　　Whoosh!!

　　During this moment of life and death, the man ran away at an unprecedented speed! He only felt strong wind whistling past his ears. Suddenly –

　　“Gold thief! Catch him!” A loud shout could be heard.

　　Almost!

　　This man felt his heart twitch, and his face was burning up. In this crisis of life and death, his running speed had been unexpectedly fast. Before the soldiers in the surroundings were able to rush over and surround him, the man had already snuck into the darkness at the foot of the mountain.

　　“Catch him, pursue him! You bunch of worthless trash, so many people and you can’t even stop a gold thief!” A brawny guy with a black beard roared angrily.

　　“Catch him!”

　　“Don’t let him get away!” Numerous soldiers started to rush downhill while holding torches.

　　At this time, Teng Qingshan who was wearing a black gown, walked over. Teng Qingshan usually didn’t sleep at night, instead cultivating to improve his body. After hearing that something was happening, he immediately felt that something was amiss.

　　“My Lord.” The brawny fellow with the black beard cupped.

　　“Hu Tong, what’s going on?” Teng Qingshan asked. Having stayed in the mine for the past few days, Teng Qingshan had gotten to know many people. Hu Tong was the captain of the Huafeng City army.

　　He could be considered a big shot in Huafeng City, but in front of the Black Armored Army, Hu Tong cleverly behaved well.

　　With frustration, Hu Tong said: “A gold thief! There are no ways to prevent it, since gold moves the will of the people. Although a lot of gold thieves have been caught and killed, many people still try to steal!”

　　“How many gold thieves have there been in this mine?” Teng Qingshan asked.

　　“This mine has somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 hard labourers, and every year over a hundred people steal gold and attempt to escape. However, the ones who truly manage to escape are less than ten.” Hu Tong said with a sigh, “In this chaotic world, some people don’t fear death, and getting one Jin of gold is worth risking their lives over. If they manage to escape, they can go back home, marry a good young wife, and have a comfortable life.”

　　If the escape failed, it would mean death.

　　If it was successful, it would mean wealth.

　　Teng Qingshan secretly shook his head, “They’re really betting their lives!” Then he walked towards his residence.

　　“How’d it go? Did you catch him?” Hu Tong shouted.

　　“My Lord, he was almost caught. I managed to cut him with my sword, but that punk ran too fast. Since it was too dark outside, that punk managed to escape, and we couldn’t’ find him anymore.” The soldiers walked back discouraged. Hu Tong immediately cursed, “You bunch of worthless ants, it’s only been a month since the beginning of this spring and we already have our first run away.”

　　……

　　The days within the mine continued like this.

　　The hard labourers worked every day, and either crushed ore sieves, or panned gold. The soldiers and the Black Armored Army sergeants went on patrol to supervise. Teng Qingshan practiced his spear arts, unlike the other four centurions who were more fortunate, and worked the hardest. He was responsible for the mining area where the responsibility was the heaviest. He didn’t dare to be negligent during a single day.

　　Gold already made people crazy, not to mentioning Purple Gold.

　　In less than a month that Teng Qingshan was staying there, there were two more attempts to steal Purple Gold, but none of them made it out alive. Around the Purple Gold mining area, the guarding was the strictest. The difficulty of running away was much more difficult when compared to the other mining areas.

　　To the Gui Yuan Sect, losing several Jin gold every year was nothing.

　　However, losing Purple Gold would cause them to feel pain in their heart.

　　“My Lord, I will return to Huafeng city for a while and come back tomorrow. Does My Lord want something? If so, maybe I can bring it for My Lord?” In the morning, the captain Hu Tong saw Teng Qingshan practicing his spear skills, and walked towards him to ask warmly. In Hu Tong’s eyes, Teng Qingshan was young and possessed astonishing strength. His prospect was boundless, and if he curried good favour now, it would only bring benefits in the future.

　　Teng Qingshan took a look at him and smiled, “Please help me bring some Yang He wine!”

　　Teng Qingshan liked drinking wine, but Teng Qinghu liked it even more.

　　“No problem.” Hu Tong smiled and his full beard fluttered.

　　……

　　Huafeng City, Evening, Hu Tong’s residence.

　　“Brother Dong, you’re putting me on a fire to roast. If this matter gets exposed, I’ll bear a heavy burden.” Hu Tong put down his wine glass and looked at the man opposite him. The fellow sitting opposite Hu Tong was seven Chi tall — which could be regarded as a short stature — however his eyes were still rather sharp.

　　This kind of sharp look from this slippery and deceitful youngster confirmed to Hu Tong just how ruthless the opposite party really was!

　　He was a young man who’d just barely reached 20 years old, and heaven knew how many people were already slaughtered by him in Huafeng City.

　　Even the city army captain Hu Tong could feel his heart go cold while he faced this young man.

　　“Brother Hu, there are 5200 taels of silver in banknotes first, and after the matter is finished, this brother will thank you again.” The young man touched his nose and said with a smile, “Everything that needs to be done, I have already told Brother Hu. You should know… during this matter, you won’t be in any danger. Even if an accident happens, if I don’t name you, who’ll know about you being involved? Even if I give up your name, you can say that I had a grudge against you, and that I wanted to intentionally frame you. You’ll be absolutely free of danger.”

　　“Relax, Brother Hu. Don’t you already know how I, Dong Yan, get things done?” Dong Yan said.

　　Seeing the 5200 taels of silver in banknotes, Hu Tong slightly squinted his eyes, and then reached out to grab it, before putting them in his bosom, “Alright, Brother Dong, looking at our past friendship, I’ll help you this time! However, when will your people descend the mountain?”

　　“On March 28! I already introduced that brother to you previously. You know him! There shouldn’t be any problems.” Dong Yan said.

　　“On March 28? Relax, on that day, even if I don’t sleep, I’ll handle the things for you.” Hu Tong gave a short laugh, “However, I can only help you with that one thing — I won’t worry about anything else.”

　　“Brother, that one thing is the most important thing. Come, let’s toast.” Dong Yan raised his glass with a smile, while an inexplicable light flashed through his eyes.