Huge welcome and thank you to our new Patrons: BrianBB20 and CC!
New story! Please support by adding to your collection! Thank you :)
------------------------------------------------------
Early the next morning, Chu Chengzhou headed to the vegetable market in the southern part of Nuoding City to scout the area.
It was now February of the 2631st year of the Douluo calendar. According to the original timeline, Tang San had already awakened his martial soul and would enroll at Nuoding Academy two months from now.
It was time to put the plan to drive away Tang Hao and his son into action.
However, before officially launching this plan, Chu Chengzhou needed to find someone to deliver an anonymous letter to Tang Hao.
He couldn't deliver the letter himself—someone else had to do it. Moreover, he couldn't show his true face while commissioning someone to deliver the letter.
What if Tang Hao, upon receiving the anonymous letter, questioned the courier? If the courier revealed Chu Chengzhou's identity, Tang Hao might come knocking on his door.
Additionally, he couldn't just pick anyone at random. What if they didn't follow the plan as intended?
Fortunately, these were minor issues that posed no challenge to Chu Chengzhou, who prided himself on being clever and resourceful.
The world of Douluo was not like modern society from his previous life, where logistics were highly developed.
Even though Nuoding City was a remote small town, the daily demand for grains, fruits, and vegetables was still substantial.
All the grains, fruits, and vegetables consumed in Nuoding City came from surrounding villages, and Holy Spirit Village, where Tang Hao resided in seclusion, was one of the supply villages.
At the southern vegetable market, there were bound to be vendors from Holy Spirit Village—or at the very least, traders with connections to villagers from the village.
By identifying which vendors were from Holy Spirit Village and then passing the message through a third party, all he needed to do was provide some compensation for their trouble.
Two days later, just as dawn broke, Chu Chengzhou left home dressed in a black robe and wearing a monkey mask, heading toward the southern vegetable market.
Though his black robe and mask clearly marked him as suspicious, it wasn't illegal. Besides, there weren't any overly enthusiastic citizens around to report him to the city guards.
Before even entering the market, Chu Chengzhou spotted a young beggar holding a broken bowl, begging for alms near the entrance.
Did early-rising beggars get fed?
The profession of begging existed even in modern society from his previous life, and in the ancient-like setting of the Douluo continent, it naturally persisted. Though not ubiquitous, there were certainly no shortages of beggars in Nuoding City.
"Boy, come here!"
In a hoarse voice, Chu Chengzhou beckoned to the young beggar.
"??? Me?"
The young beggar pointed at himself, confused.
"Yes, you. Come here!"
Chu Chengzhou nodded, reaching into his storage jade stone and pulling out two gold soul coins, tossing them lightly in his hand.
Seeing the two gold soul coins in Chu Chengzhou's hand, the young beggar's eyes lit up, and he hurried over.
"Soul master sir, what can I do for you?"
Staring intently at the gold soul coins in Chu Chengzhou's hand, the young beggar asked eagerly.
This mysterious figure in black robes seemed to have a task for him. With such generosity, he was likely a wealthy soul master.
"Smart boy! I want you to deliver a letter to someone inside the vegetable market. Do it well, and I'll reward you with one gold soul coin."
Satisfied, Chu Chengzhou nodded and laid out his request.
A simple errand certainly wasn't worth a gold soul coin, but Chu Chengzhou was playing the role of a generous master. A copper coin wouldn't suffice, and a silver soul coin would be beneath his status. A gold soul coin was just right.
After all, money was just an external thing—it wasn't something to lament losing.
Chu Chengzhou: This is half of my savings!
'Deliver a letter to someone in the vegetable market?'
The young beggar glanced back at the bustling market, utterly baffled.
Just a few steps to deliver a letter, and he still needed someone else to do it? No wonder soul masters were rumored to have eccentric temperaments!
"Do you accept?"
"I do!"
The young beggar immediately agreed.
This was a hefty sum of one gold soul coin! Just a short walk—why wouldn't he do it?
"Got it memorized?"
Chu Chengzhou instructed the young beggar.
The beggar nodded and repeated Chu Chengzhou's instructions verbatim.
"Good. I'll be following you from a distance, so don't get the wrong person!"
With that, Chu Chengzhou pulled out the sealed letter he had prepared and handed it over, along with a gold soul coin.
This gold soul coin wasn't the beggar's payment—it was meant as compensation for the villager from Holy Spirit Village whom Chu Chengzhou had selected.
At a vegetable stall in the market, Wang Dahe, a villager from Holy Spirit Village, was unloading fresh vegetables he had picked in the dark of night onto his ox cart.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Wang Dahe noticed a young beggar trotting toward him.
"Shoo, shoo! I'm dirt poor—I've got nothing to spare!"
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Wang Dahe tried to wave the beggar away.
"Are you Wang Dahe from Holy Spirit Village?"
The young beggar asked.
"Huh? Yeah, that's me. What do you want?"
Wang Dahe was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected this beggar to know who he was.
"A sir asked me to deliver this letter to Tang Hao, the blacksmith in Holy Spirit Village. This gold soul coin is your payment."
The young beggar handed over the envelope, though his face betrayed a flicker of pain as he parted with the gold soul coin.
If the "sir" watching from afar hadn't been present, he would have surely pocketed the coin meant for Wang Dahe's errand fee.
"Deliver a letter to Tang Hao?"
Tang Hao, the infamous drunkard and lazy blacksmith of the village, was someone Wang Dahe naturally recognized. But a lord from the city sending Tang Hao a letter—and with such a generous errand fee?
Hmph, how rare!
I never realized Tang Hao had connections with lords in the city?
"That's right. And the sir who sent the letter warned you not to open it privately, or you'll regret it.
"But once you deliver the letter, you can ask Tang Hao for another errand fee—he'll definitely give it to you."
The young beggar relayed Chu Chengzhou's instructions to Wang Dahe.
Chu Chengzhou had the beggar mention the second errand fee to ensure Wang Dahe wouldn't take the money without completing the task.
With the promise of another fee, the likelihood of Wang Dahe taking the money and not delivering the letter was greatly reduced.
As for whether Tang Hao would pay up?
That was none of Chu Chengzhou's concern. His purpose had already been achieved.
"Alright! I'll deliver the letter!"
Wang Dahe nodded, accepting the letter and gold soul coin from the young beggar.
Delivering the letter was a simple task, especially with the errand fee already provided—and the possibility of earning another fee from Tang Hao made it impossible to refuse.
Moreover, a lord who paid a gold soul coin for such a trivial task was clearly wealthy and influential, leaving no room for a common villager like him to decline.
Still, Tang Hao was poorer than him—could he afford another errand fee?
'Oh well, be content! If Tang Hao can't pay the fee, he can always make me a hoe instead.'
Wang Dahe thought to himself.
Clearly, neither Wang Dahe nor the other villagers of Holy Spirit Village realized the true value of Tang Hao's crafted tools.
To say the least, a hoe forged by the renowned Hao Tian Douluo, even if it was the most ordinary hoe imaginable, would fetch several hundred gold soul coins purely due to its prestige.
Otherwise, wouldn't it tarnish the reputation of the illustrious Hao Tian Douluo?
------------------------------------------------------
Double Chapters Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)