A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Chapter 1-Chapter 200)

A mountain cannot hold two tigers, let alone this minuscule dock. As a result, the two gangs have had tense relations since. After several conflicts over merchant customers, their relationships grew even more vile. Whenever the two gangs saw each other, they would sneer in contempt and shove each other aside, falling short of a full-on conflict.

If the subordinates acted in this manner, then what was there to say about the greatest beneficiaries of the business here, Sun Ergou and Black Bear? These two figures looked at each other with great dislike. However, as the young gang leaders, these two knew that the Iron Fist Group and the Fourth Level Gang were allied gangs. They had united to fend off the comparatively larger “Poison Dragon Gang”. As a result, although the two had wanted to drive the other away from this place and monopolize the dock, they could only restrain themselves for the time being. However, they accumulated resentment and fury against one another and vented their feelings through their subordinates’ verbal conflicts. Their exchange of insults had become a common occurrence that took place every morning.

As a matter of fact, Sun Ergou’s subordinates did not even wait to initiate a conflict. Many clever, eloquent subordinates struck back without a trace of politeness.

“Do you know what animal is the most stupid of them all?”

“Bears!”

“Which of bears are the most stupid?”

“Black bears without a doubt!”

“Ha…”

When Black Bear had originally heard his own subordinates ridicule the other party, his face wore a proud expression. However, his elated face darkened after hearing these words. Sun Ergou started to smile. Pleased, he patted the shoulders of several subordinates to further encourage them.

Black Bear’s subordinates were not to be outdone. Those on Sun Ergou’s side were not polite either. A great deal of filthy words spurted out from both sides. Everyone became each other’s old grandpa, and neither side feared the other. Naturally, the conflict at the dock was not pleasant to hear. Vulgar unpleasantries of all kinds were exchanged.

As the leaders of their respective gangs, Sun Ergou and Black Bear cooly looked at each other. Since they were people with status, they naturally could not join in the abusive, quarrelsome racket.

Just as these two sides’ mouths and tongues were about to dry, saliva suddenly splattered. One of Sun Ergou’s subordinates cried out in alarm, “A boat is drawing near!”

These words roused Black Bear’s near one hundred cursing subordinates, who all exhaled in surprise. They all stopped making noise and immediately turned their gazes toward the river bank. After all, shining white silver was far more attractive than the fleeting verbal delight.

However, when Black Bear’s group looked toward the boat in the dock, they were somewhat disappointed. It was only a small flat boat. At best, it would only have three to five merchant customers, which was not a large amount of business at all.

This was not surprising, given that this dock was rotten and small. In addition, its location was far from the city. Under these circumstances, it was only natural that no big boats would come here. However, during peak season for trade and commerce, other docks would have no space for large boats, so merchants would have no choice but to disembark here.

After this small boat stopped at the dock, two people climbed off board. One appeared to be a common youngster about seventeen to eighteen years old. The other was a large man at least two heads taller than an ordinary person.

The youngster wore a common azure garment, and a small yellow bird perched on his shoulder. Just as he stepped off board, he looked around. He had the appearance of a rural villager that had entered the city for the first time. The huge man wore a green gown and a mantle over his head. His facial appearances were unclear because he wore his clothes in a strange manner. The huge man followed close behind the youngster, refusing to fall even a step behind. Based on his appearance, it seemed that he was a servant.

The huge man and the youngster were actually Han Li and Crooked Soul; they had traveled on the road for three consecutive months before arriving at Doctor Mo’s homeland.

TL Note: This is the start of Book Two. You're in for a great ride.





Chapter 101: Troubles Brought Upon by Riches


Han Li had traveled in a southeastern direction from his hometown and rushed straight towards the Lan Province.

On the way, he had met with other travelers, but when they arrived at the bustling city streets, Han Li had left their company to take a shortcut on a path that ran through the desolate wilderness. He didn’t face much danger even halfway through the journey. In fact, the only slightly dangerous incident he had encountered was when he had met several hungry wild wolves during his stay at some remote region in the vast wilderness. Although the wolves were the ones hunting Han Li, they ended up as Han Li’s dinner instead.

Han Li had traveled through two other provinces before finally arriving at Lan Province with a body covered in dust.

The moment he entered the Lan Province, he was amazed by the massive water channels he saw, sprawling from one end to the other and accessible from all directions. After all, he came from a region where there was mostly just mountainous wilderness. There weren’t many places to see small lakes, not to mention big lakes and canals. As for drinking water, they would usually obtain it from wells or small creeks.

Thus, Han Li was extremely interested in the boats and crafts that were sailing on the water canals. In the end, because of his curiosity and obsession, he had spent some money and rented a small boat, savoring the taste of his virgin sailing experience.

After ten days of pleasant sailing, Han Li had arrived at Jia Yuan City, which was mentioned in Doctor Mo’s will, and sailed into an unremarkable dock.

The first impression the dock gave Han Li was that it was far too decrepit.

The dock was constructed entirely from simple wooden panels. Not only was the place narrow and crude, but rotten baskets and broken bags were also strewn about, making the dock incomparably dirty. Standing on the two bamboo piers at the sides of the dock were several tens of barechested men who wore only short pants and emitted a strong odor from their sturdy builds.

Currently, all these sturdy males were staring unblinkingly at him and Crooked Soul. Not only that, but there were also some who even revealed a fervent look in their eyes. Han Li was surprised for a moment, but he immediately smiled faintly.

Before disembarking from his small boat and descending onto the dock, the boatman had warmly reminded him that inside Jia Yuan City, the pier had an unwritten rule: no matter the amount of cargo that a passenger brought, he had to hire a porter from the pier to help him. If not, the passenger would face negative, unkind treatment from the harbor gangs and might even get beaten up.

Since this was Han Li’s first time here, he had no intentions to disrupt the social customs, so he honestly asked, “I need to hire a porter. Is there anyone available?”

Sun Ergou retracted his sight. From his previous inspection, he could already tell that the youth who had just left the boat was a young master from some rich clan. Not only that, but also the giant man was most likely his bodyguard. This type of pair was frequently seen throughout the year whenever young masters from wealthy clans came to visit Jia Yuan city. These young masters were often here to expand their horizons and spend their money before going back to boast. Thus, there wasn’t much to be bothered about them.