Chapter 102: Gathering at the Ning River
Ning Zhuo controlled the boat-shaped Earth Rank magical treasure and arrived at the shore. He carried Ning Ruirui off the boat and walked toward the bank with her—this was not the pier he usually docked at.
“Father, where are the other uncles?”
Ning Ruirui still did not realize what had happened.
Ning Zhuo forced a smile at her:
“Ruirui, be good. The uncles all had things to do. The waves on the river are quite rough right now, so Father is taking you to a safer place.”
Carrying Ning Ruirui, Ning Zhuo moved quickly in one direction.
Very soon, he arrived at his destination, which was also the organization he served—the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce.
Ning Zhuo directly carried Ning Ruirui through the front doors of the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce and found someone he knew. He placed Ning Ruirui into her hands:
“Ziqiu, help me take care of Ruirui.”
Yu Ziqiu was Ning Zhuo’s friend in the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce.
Seeing Ning Zhuo in such a hurry, she was a little surprised:
“Ning Zhuo, what happened? You look so anxious.”
Ning Zhuo had no time to explain:
“I can’t explain for now. Please help me look after Ruirui. I need to go see the Chairman immediately.”
After speaking, Ning Zhuo patted Ning Ruirui’s head and lifted the Coiling Dragon Staff:
“Do you know where the Chairman is?”
Yu Ziqiu pointed upward:
“In the study upstairs, with the Prince of Jiyang...”
Before Yu Ziqiu finished her words, Ning Zhuo had already dashed out of sight.
Yu Ziqiu opened her mouth:
“So urgent? I didn’t even finish talking yet.”
Ning Zhuo ran to the study of the Chairman of the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce, adjusted his breathing, and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Ning Zhuo pushed open the door and saw the Chairman, Dong Li, sitting in his chair. He immediately blurted out in alarm:
“Chairman, something terrible has happened! Our goods were robbed by demonic beasts from the Ning River!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Ning Zhuo noticed that at Dong Li’s left side sat a distinguished-looking middle-aged man in a python robe, watching him with keen interest.
Ning Zhuo suddenly realized his slip of the tongue.
Seeing this, Dong Li introduced with a smile to the man in the python robe:
“Prince of Jiyang, this is Ning Zhuo, a river-runner of our Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce. He is a skilled man of considerable strength, and many of our goods are entrusted to his care for transport.”
Then Dong Li turned to Ning Zhuo:
“This is the Prince of Jiyang of the Great Qian Dynasty. He has been a guest of our Yongzhou Chamber these past two days.”
Ning Zhuo was shocked at the words—the Prince of Jiyang!
The man before him was actually a prince of the Great Qian Dynasty, a figure of incomparably high status!
Ning Zhuo hurriedly bowed in salute to the Prince of Jiyang.
The Prince did not rise from his seat but smiled at Ning Zhuo:
“Mister Ning Zhuo, judging from how anxious you were just now, is there something urgent you need to report to Chairman Dong? May this prince listen in?”
He made his request so openly.
“This...”
Ning Zhuo had never faced someone of such rank before.
Given the importance of the matter, he was at a loss and instinctively looked toward Dong Li.
Dong Li cursed inwardly at how the Prince of Jiyang was unwilling to avoid suspicion, but outwardly he smiled and said:
“Of course. Our Chamber has nothing to hide from the Prince of Jiyang.”
He then looked at Ning Zhuo:
“Ning Zhuo, what were you about to say?”
Ning Zhuo glanced again at the Prince of Jiyang and said:
“Chairman, the Black-Iron Spirit-Sealing Box you had me deliver to the Chamber was seized by demonic beasts from the Ning River.”
The Prince of Jiyang gave Ning Zhuo a glance. He knew that Ning Zhuo was still holding back and had not spoken the full truth.
After all, everyone knew the Black-Iron Spirit-Sealing Box itself was not precious—the true treasure lay within.
But he did not press further.
He was, after all, only a guest of the Yongzhou Chamber. Though his rank was exalted, the Chamber had no reason to treat him as their father.
A few secrets of their own were only natural.
“Bang!”
Dong Li’s sudden outburst confirmed the Prince’s suspicions.
“What did you say? You said demon, you said the Black-Iron Spirit-Sealing Box was taken by demonic beasts from the Ning River?!”
Ning Zhuo nodded.
Dong Li was instantly both shocked and furious.
“How could this happen? Didn’t I tell you to keep it safe? I entrusted the Black-Iron Spirit-Sealing Box to you on purpose! How could you handle it so poorly?!”
Ning Zhuo hurriedly said:
“Chairman, please don’t blame me now. We should head to the Ning River at once and talk on the way!”
“The ones who seized the Black-Iron Spirit-Sealing Box were a group of Nether-Tailed Profound Fish and an Earth Rank Anaconda Demon. They are still fighting over the box in the Ning River. If we hurry, we might be able to snatch it back!”
Dong Li could no longer waste time blaming him. He immediately prepared to call men to head for the Ning River.
At that moment, he suddenly remembered that the Prince of Jiyang was still in the room. He looked at the Prince with some embarrassment:
“Prince of Jiyang, I must apologize, as you can see...”
But the Prince was already staring at Ning Zhuo, three parts surprised and seven parts delighted:
“Just now, what did you say? What demonic beasts seized the box?”
Ning Zhuo was puzzled as to why the Prince focused on the beasts:
“It was over a hundred Nether-Tailed Profound Fish, two of which were Earth Rank demonic beasts, and also an Earth Rank Anaconda Demon. My crew on the boat were all killed by that Anaconda Demon...”
The Prince immediately rose to his feet:
“This prince will go with you to the Ning River.”
He turned to Dong Li:
“Chairman Dong, may this prince accompany you?”
Fearing refusal, he added:
“From what Mister Ning Zhuo said, it seems the demonic beasts in the Ning River are unusually strong this time. If Chairman Dong allows this prince to join you, I believe I can be of some help.”
Dong Li glanced at the Prince of Jiyang and instantly understood his intent from the excitement on his face.
The Prince had come to the Yongzhou Chamber precisely to seek an Earth Rank Python Demon.
Now, having unexpectedly heard about an Earth Rank Anaconda Demon from Ning Zhuo, he naturally would not let this chance slip away.
If Dong Li refused, he might offend the Prince.
After a brief thought, Dong Li nodded to the Prince:
“Then we may need to trouble the Prince later.”
The Prince revealed a satisfied smile.
After quickly agreeing, the group set out under Ning Zhuo’s lead toward the Ning River.
Among the three, the weakest was Ning Zhuo, but even he was a High-Grade Profound Rank cultivator.
Without Ning Ruirui as a burden, relying on their footspeed, they soon reached the riverbank.
At that very moment, Mo Lin had just slain two Earth Rank Nether-Tailed Profound Fish and was diving toward the riverbed.
“There, that’s the place.”
Ning Zhuo pointed toward where Mo Lin and the Nether-Tailed Profound Fish had appeared, the approximate location where his cargo ship had been in the river.
Although none of the three knew whether the demonic beasts had moved elsewhere during their battle, Ning Zhuo’s pointing carried a faint sense of “carving marks on a moving boat.” But since there was no better option, it had to do.
The Prince of Jiyang was clearly very interested in the Earth Rank Anaconda Demon Ning Zhuo had mentioned.
To him, python and anaconda were of the same lineage, and obtaining live scales from the anaconda suited his purpose just as well.
Thus, while Dong Li and Ning Zhuo were inwardly anxious about the Demonic Core inside the Black-Iron Spirit-Sealing Box, it was the Prince who struck first.
He soared into the air, directly to the center of the Ning River.
Bringing his hands together, he thrust them toward the waters, then suddenly pulled them apart with force:
“Open—for this prince!”
At once, the surging Ning River split open, forcibly torn apart into a fissure three meters wide!!