Chapter 53: Harvest

The Luodi Money Guild had a remarkably advanced business philosophy. To expand its reputation, it pioneered the concept of a "brand mascot" and commissioned the renowned painter Xuan Daozi to design it. After three revisions, the initial sketch was ultimately chosen as the official mascot.

The initial sketch depicted a small, chubby pig holding coins, with a very appealing appearance.

With its brand mascot, the Luodi Money Guild indeed saw a significant increase in its recognition, achieving remarkable results. Many other businesses, upon learning of its success, quickly followed suit, each adopting their own unique mascots.

The Tofu Shop on Front Gate Street in Yanjiang Commandery was one such establishment.

Qin Yuanhao hadn't actually killed his subordinate. Calming down, he realized that his subordinate was diligent and never made mistakes; if the person couldn't be found, then they genuinely couldn't be found.

It couldn't possibly be the tofu shop's mascot causing trouble and spreading rumors.

"Someone so conspicuous couldn't be found? It seems a fellow demonic cult member is trying to frame me!" Qin Yuanhao sneered. He easily deduced that someone was intentionally pulling strings, though he didn't know who.

Such tactics were not uncommon in the demonic cult; Qin Yuanhao himself had previously sabotaged his own companions.

With so much time having passed and all clues gone, Qin Yuanhao could only accept this loss and quietly plan his revenge for later.

"Since he can't be found, there's no need to look any further."

Qin Yuanhao pulled out a stack of papers and a few silver pieces from his robe, tossing them to his subordinate.

This was also one reason he didn't kill him; someone needed to carry out the tasks assigned by the helmsman, and if he killed him, where would he find a replacement now?

"Tomorrow morning, gather the brothers. Go to the eight nearby commanderies and secretly disseminate these papers in the black markets. This silver is your monthly allowance and travel expenses. Is that clear?!"

"Y-yes, clear." The subordinate was startled by Qin Yuanhao's final shout.

"Louder."

"Yes, clear!" The subordinate straightened his back and yelled again, his neck flushing red.

The old woman next door angrily shouted, her voice clearly audible through the wall: "Do you know what time it is?! Why are you shouting?!"

The old woman's voice was even louder than the subordinate's.

A hint of killing intent flickered in Qin Yuanhao's eyes.

"Brother, that person is a Foundation Establishment cultivator living here in seclusion," the subordinate quickly explained. Many cultivators enjoyed experiencing mortal life; even the street vendors selling skewers might be cultivators.

Qin Yuanhao snorted coldly, said nothing more, and left.

The subordinate yawned, thinking, "The boss is finally gone," and immediately collapsed into sleep.

He had to get up early for work tomorrow.

The subordinate often received inexplicable tasks from Qin Yuanhao. For secrecy, Qin Yuanhao never told them anything, only instructing them to follow orders.

This time was no different.

Once the subordinate was sound asleep, Lu Yang emerged from the ground, took three of the papers, and followed Qin Yuanhao.

Qin Yuanhao had only come out to find his subordinate; after giving instructions, he returned home.

As Qin Yuanhao passed by the "One More Time" barbecue shop, he paused for a moment.

"I was only in seclusion for four days, and a new barbecue shop opened? And it's so popular?"

Qin Yuanhao considered grabbing a meal. A crowd was no deterrent; he could just cut in line. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator to grace such a humble establishment was already a favor; expecting them to queue was absurd.

Ultimately, Qin Yuanhao dismissed the idea. Barbecue was best enjoyed with many people to create a lively atmosphere; eating alone would lack much of the fun.

"Perhaps another time," he thought.

Qin Yuanhao returned home.

Lu Yang returned to help at the barbecue shop. As soon as he arrived, he saw Meng Jingzhou performing a stand-up routine, with customers cheering and shouting for an encore.

Lu Yang took a deep breath. "You two really want to make this barbecue shop big, don't you?" he thought.

Meng Jingzhou felt Lu Yang's piercing gaze and quickly shut up, dutifully serving as a waiter and ignoring the customers' calls for more.

After a long while, the customers gradually dispersed, and the barbecue shop finally became quiet.

The two 'chang' ghosts cleaned the grills and utensils, tallied the day's ingredient consumption, and estimated the next day's needed supplies. The three then sat on the second floor, discussing their earnings.

"How much silver did we earn today?" Meng Jingzhou asked excitedly, rubbing his hands. Starting a business from scratch gave him a great sense of accomplishment.

"Who said that's the kind of earnings I'm talking about!" Lu Yang slapped the table and glared. "Have you forgotten what we're here to do?"

"Open a chain of shops?" Mang Gu was still focused on expanding his family's business.

Ignoring the two blockheads, Lu Yang pulled out three papers and recounted the details of his tracking from that night.

"Blank paper?"

Meng Jingzhou examined one of the papers front and back but couldn't make anything of it.

Lu Yang also didn't know how to use the paper. "Qin Yuanhao had someone spread these papers in the black market, so there must be information on them; we just don't know how to read it."

"Is it a unique form of communication used by the demonic cult?"

Meng Jingzhou nodded, agreeing with Lu Yang's guess. "Very likely. These sneaky individuals always like to use codes or signals."

"This paper is for all demonic cultivators, and they can all understand it. With our Foundation Establishment vision, we can't see the text on it, and Qi Condensation demonic cultivators certainly couldn't."

"So the problem isn't with a code; it's with the paper itself."

Lu Yang thought for a moment and then held the paper over the charcoal fire.

"What are you doing?" Mang Gu asked, puzzled.

Lu Yang carefully toasted the paper, casually explaining, "I read in a book that if you write with sugar water on paper, no text appears after it dries. High heat is needed to remove the water from the sugar, revealing brownish text."

Meng Jingzhou and Mang Gu found this piece of knowledge quite interesting.

After about five minutes of heating, nothing appeared on the paper, so Lu Yang gave up on this method.

Lu Yang then summoned a small ball of water in his palm, violently squeezed it, and the resulting mist instantly sprayed onto the blank paper.

"Now what are you doing?"

Lu Yang explained, "Special liquids like shower gel and laundry detergent are highly absorbent. If you write with them, nothing is visible after drying. Only by sprinkling water on the paper can the text appear, due to the principle of varying absorption rates."

The Central Continent might seem ancient, but it wasn't. Due to the existence of magic, whether intentionally or by coincidence, many products not belonging to ancient times had appeared here.

Examples included the shower gel and laundry detergent Lu Yang mentioned.

Unfortunately, nothing appeared on the paper.

Lu Yang wasn't discouraged. He pondered for a moment and came up with a new idea.

"Since this is a communication method between demonic cultivators, perhaps it needs to be deciphered using their usual means?"

Lu Yang bit his thumb, and a few drops of blood fell onto the paper. The blood seemed to come alive, moving across the surface.

"Indeed, this is a demonic cult's method of refining paper; it can't be judged by normal means." Lu Yang breathed a sigh of relief, finally succeeding.

The blank paper seemed to have invisible grooves. As the blood flowed over them, it filled the indentations, forming text.

The text read: "First day of the fourth month: The Immortal Cult's Yanjiang Branch will recruit new members. The exact location will be announced one day prior to recruitment."