0p0 Chapter 470 The Hidden Currents of the Underground River Surge into Heavenly Revelation, The Ghost i
Chapter 470 The Hidden Currents of the Underground River Surge into Heavenly Revelation, The Ghost i
Su Muyu immediately understood: "Uncle Zhe wants to start with the wine?"
“That’s right!” Su Zhe nodded. “There are countless fine wines in the world, but very few can meet the discerning eye of Baili Dongjun.”
However, in Tianqi City, there happens to be someone who can brew a wine that even he cannot refuse.
Su Changhe's eyes darted around, and he suddenly realized: "Master Xie, the chief winemaker of Diaolou Xiaozhu!"
"Exactly!"
Su Zhe smiled, his smile carrying the calculating nature of an old fox. "I've heard that Xie Shi, the chief brewer of Diaolou Xiaozhu, is not only famous for his Qiulu Bai wine, but also skilled at brewing a wine called 'Zui Baxian'!"
This wine is usually not sold to outsiders. The owner of Diaolou Xiaozhu often stores it for his own consumption or to give to the high-ranking officials and nobles of Tianqi City to build relationships and smooth things over!
Moreover, Master Xie only brews three jars of "Drunken Eight Immortals" wine each year, a wine so potent that even immortals would fall from their celestial abodes upon smelling it. If we could obtain this wine, we could disguise ourselves as wine merchants and infiltrate Snow Moon City to seize the opportunity, making our actions much easier!
Su Changhe rubbed his hands excitedly: "Brilliant! Uncle Zhe is the best! Let's go to the Diaolou Xiaozhu now..."
"Go?" Su Zhe glanced at him sideways. "Is the wine for thanking your teacher something you can just buy whenever you want?"
A jar of 'Drunken Immortal Brew' is priceless; even if you wanted to buy it, you couldn't even dream of taeling its aroma without a thousand taels of official silver! This time, the organization has only allocated a paltry three hundred taels…”
He paused, his gaze falling on Su Changhe's face, and his smile deepened:
"Changhe, I heard that you squandered a lot of the silver that the Grand Eunuch Zhuoqing rewarded you with last time in Tianqi City these past few days, but knowing your personality, you must have kept a large portion for yourself."
Uncle Zhe, I won't ask for too much, let's round it up to one thousand taels, how about that?
Su Changhe's smile froze instantly, and he shook his head vigorously.
No! No! No!
Uncle Zhe, you flatter me too much! Where would I get any money? Look at this robe I'm wearing, it's all faded from washing! I even had to buy the wonton soup on credit this morning..."
Su Zhe didn't speak, but slowly took out a small notebook from his pocket, opened it, and read aloud:
On the seventh day of the fifth month, five thousand taels of silver were deposited into the Huatong Tianxia Money Shop under the name "Su Nan".
On May 11th, at Juxingmao Money Shop, 3,510 taels of silver were deposited under the name of Su An.
On May 13th, at Yuanheng Pawnshop, a jade pendant was pawned for 2,000 taels of silver, under the name of Su Cheng… Changhe, your alias 'Nan'an City' is quite clever.”
Su Changhe's face turned pale, and he looked at Su Muyu with a forced smile.
Su Muyu remained expressionless and simply said, "Changhe, the mission is more important. We're not in a hurry for the house in Nan'an City."
“Muyu, you…” Su Changhe said with a mournful face, knowing that he could no longer hide it.
He did indeed secretly save money, thinking that in the future he and Muyu would leave the Dark River, buy a big house in Nan'an City, and live a peaceful life for a few days.
He thought he had hidden his thoughts well, but he didn't expect that Uncle Zhe had already figured them out.
This also shows that there are definitely eyes watching the two of them in the dark river!
"Uncle Zhe, I... I saved up my coffin money..." Su Changhe tried to struggle one more time.
Su Zhe closed the notebook and sighed: "Changhe, Uncle Zhe knows what you're thinking. In the underground river business, who doesn't want to have a way out?"
But this mission was directly ordered by the Shadow Sect, and the patriarch gave it his all. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent this old man like me to go with the two of you!
This mission concerns the future standing of the Dark River in the eyes of the imperial court. If we handle it well, the patriarch will have more leverage when speaking to the Shadow Sect, and your lives as the younger generation might become easier.”
He glanced at the two of them, his tone growing increasingly somber: "Besides, do you think that just because I've been a 'puppet' for over a decade, I'm really penniless?"
My meager savings have long been converted into gold leaves and buried in various places. Retirement? How many people in the underground river actually live to retirement age? In our line of work, we focus on the present, gambling on tomorrow.
These words, spoken casually, sent a chill down Su Changhe's spine.
He looked at Uncle Zhe's deeply lined face and suddenly remembered that when this elder was young, he had single-handedly killed ninety-six masters with just a staff, making him a fearsome figure in the martial arts world.
Although he is now advanced in years and has tempered his sharpness, his ruthlessness and decisiveness have never disappeared.
"Uncle Zhe, I...I'll give it to you," Su Changhe said dejectedly, as if his spine had been ripped out. "But it's a promise, only one thousand taels! Not a penny more!"
"Deal!" Su Zhe said with a beaming smile.
The next morning, the three of them went to the "Huitong Tianxia" money exchange on South Street.
This money exchange truly lives up to its reputation as the largest bank in Beili; its facade is impressive, and its staff are highly capable.
The accountant behind the counter wore a monocle and his fingers moved so fast on the abacus that they were just afterimages.
Su Changhe shakily handed over the deposit slip, the words "Southern Jiangsu" on it looking particularly comical at that moment.
The accountant checked the seals and then glanced at Su Changhe's disguised face—he had changed his appearance to save money, and now looked like a wandering swordsman.
"Take one thousand taels and exchange it for silver notes?" The accountant's voice came from behind the counter.
"Exchange...exchange for five hundred taels of silver notes, leaving five hundred taels of cash."
Su Changhe responded listlessly, the silver was heavy, but it was more reliable than banknotes in critical moments.
The accountant nodded, took the deposit slip, and made a mark on it with a red pen.
To Su Changhe, that red mark was as if it had been cut into his own heart.
"Crack!"
With a soft sound, five hundred-tael silver notes were pushed out from the counter, followed by a heavy bundle containing fifty ingots of ten-tael snowflake silver.
Su Changhe took the banknotes and bundle, his hands trembling.
He seemed to see the upturned eaves of that three-courtyard mansion in Nan'an City crumbling and dissipating before his eyes.
Su Muyu silently took the bundle, and found it heavy in her hand.
He glanced at Su Changhe without saying a word, but there was a faint hint of complexity in his eyes.
Su Zhe stroked his goatee, but there was no smile in his eyes, only a deep, calm one.
He patted Su Changhe on the shoulder: "Let's go, we need to get down to business! Xie Shi from Diaolou Xiaozhu won't wait for us."
The three of them left the money exchange and blended into the morning crowds of Tianqi City.
Su Changhe glanced back at the golden plaque that read "Connecting the World" and cursed inwardly.
He knew that this thousand taels was probably just the beginning.
The path through the underground river has always been paved with blood and silver.
And the dream he held deep in his heart about Nan'an City seemed to have drifted further and further away.
Su Muyu walked beside him and suddenly whispered, "Changhe, it's okay! We can save up more money."
Hearing this, Su Changhe felt a little better and turned to look at Su Muyu.
Su Muyu stared ahead, her profile as cool and jade-like in the morning light, still expressionless.
But Su Changhe suddenly felt that the pain of losing a thousand taels of silver didn't seem so bad anymore.
He grinned, regaining some of his usual carefree attitude: "That's right! After we finish this job, we'll squeeze another sum out of that damned eunuch Jinxuan! Next time, I'll just deposit ten thousand taels!"
As Su Zhe walked ahead, he listened to the hushed conversation between the two juniors behind him, and the corners of his mouth under his bamboo hat curved slightly.
The underground river is icy cold, but at its bottom, there is always a little warmth.
But how long this warm current can last amidst the bloodshed and chaos, no one knows.
The watchtower is located at the street corner ahead. It is a three-story wooden building with flying eaves, bells hanging from the eaves, and wine flags waving.
The three of them, one in front and two behind, slowly walked into the most luxurious tavern in Tianqi City.
……