NOVEL NEXT Chapter 44: Plan Before Action
Chapter 44: Plan Before Action
Upon arriving in Stone Town, Xu Lian noticed that all the houses were closed and only a few shops were open. The streets were filled with men, but not a single woman was in sight, suggesting that, like Green Bamboo Town, there was a taboo against women being out during the day in Stone Town.
Xu Lian entered a restaurant intending to have lunch, but lost his appetite when he saw the food swarming with flies.
After leaving the restaurant, he turned into a brothel, ordered a table of food and drinks, and began eating. The food in these “higher-end establishments” was clearly better than in the restaurant, at least it was cleaner.
The madam, whose face was smeared with makeup, relentlessly tried to introduce him to the girls. Xu Lian was too busy eating to even glance at her, dismissing her without interest.
The madam, however, was visibly disappointed. “Sir, where on earth did you come to our restaurant just to eat without bringing a girl with you? How can we do business like that? If we only make a little money from food and drinks, we’ll be forced to close down.”
Xu Lian thought for a moment and agreed with her. He took out a silver ingot and tossed it onto the table, mimicking Pei Heng’s tone, “Don’t bother me!”
With both the meal and the girl’s money taken care of, the madam immediately smiled with satisfaction and no longer disturbed Xu Lian.
“Now that I’m in Stone Town, how do I get my hands on Stone Marrow?”
After finishing his meal, Xu Lian sipped his tea and thought carefully.
Before coming here, he had already considered the situation, and now he was simply reviewing his plan to see if there were any gaps.
To be honest, he didn’t have a solid plan – he would have to adapt as things went on. After all, he knew very little about Stone Marrow. All he had heard from Han Du was that Stone Marrow, like Earth Flesh, was also a spiritual material mined from the quarries.
“In Green Bamboo Town’s quarry, if Earth Flesh is discovered, the overseer immediately shuts down the mine and reports it to the quarry patrol inspector. Once the Quarry Patrol Inspector arrives, they will take the Earth Flesh directly.
If the process for stone marrow in Stone Town is the same, then I must seize the stone marrow in the short time before the Quarry Patrol Inspector arrives.”
Xu Lian knew that timing was of the essence.
If he waited until the Quarry Patrol Inspector arrived, trying to steal it would be like sending himself to the guillotine.
With his Bone Refining stage strength, he certainly couldn’t match a Quarry Patrol Inspector from Stone Town. Even if they weren’t as powerful as the White Fox Quarry Patrol Inspector, he still wouldn’t be able to win.
After all, a Quarry Patrol Inspector was in charge of all the quarries in a city, so they must have at least Bone Refining power, right?
“The overseers are usually ordinary people, so as long as I catch the right moment, my chances of successfully capturing the stone marrow are high.”
Xu Lian wasn’t worried about the theft itself.
What worried him was when the stone marrow would appear. How long would he have to wait?
If it appeared like Earth Flesh, which only showed up every few years, he couldn’t afford to wait that long in Stone Town.
“Thinking here won’t help. I need to investigate on the ground to come up with a complete plan.”
Xu Lian left the brothel and asked around for the location of the nearest quarry. After learning where it was, he rode there on his donkey.
At the quarry, he saw miners working all over the mountain while overseers walked back and forth supervising them.
“If I want to understand the secrets of Stone Town’s quarry, the quickest way is to grab a manager and ask him.”
Xu Lian climbed to a high point to observe the quarry without getting too close.
His eyes focused on a few buildings inside the quarry, where the manager would probably be checking the accounts. He waited patiently.
After about half an hour, he saw a middle-aged man walk out of one of the buildings. His attire and demeanor set him clearly apart from the overseers and miners, making it obvious that he was the manager of the quarry.
“He’s the one.”
Xu Lian had his target.
The middle-aged man made a quick tour of the quarry before having a horse brought to him. He mounted the horse and seemed to be preparing to leave the quarry.
“Probably off to have some fun.”
This situation amused Xu Lian a bit. As someone who was also in charge, he was very familiar with the daily routine of a manager. It was normal for them to be idle and go off to have fun outside of working hours.
As for what kind of fun he was seeking, Xu Lian wasn’t sure. Everyone had different interests. Han Du liked to listen to music, and Xu Lian liked… women. He couldn’t say for sure what this quarry manager liked.
Xu Lian rode his donkey and followed the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man seemed to have no urgent business. He didn’t ride fast, and Xu Lian’s donkey followed at a leisurely pace.
When they arrived in town, Xu Lian saw the man’s horse stop in front of a courtyard, and the man went inside.
Curious, Xu Lian climbed up the wall and looked inside.
He saw the middle-aged man and several others gathered in a circle, with two large roosters fighting in the middle.
Well, well… it turns out that he enjoys cockfighting.
After watching for a while, Xu Lian lost interest. He rode away on his donkey. The town was crowded, and it wasn’t a good place to act.
He made his way to the road leading back to the quarry and waited there.
He knew that when it got dark, the middle-aged man would return to the quarry and announce, “Work’s over, open the storeroom and release the grain,” which was the usual practice for someone in charge.
He waited until evening.
Sure enough, just as Xu Lian had expected, the middle-aged man returned riding his horse.
Rip!
Xu Lian tore a piece of cloth from the man’s body and covered his face. With a leap, he shot out like a hawk grabbing a rabbit, and in one swift motion, he grabbed the middle-aged man by the back of his neck and yanked him off his horse.
To say that it was like a hawk grabbing a rabbit was inaccurate, because the middle-aged man was heavier than Xu Lian. However, as a practitioner of the Bone Refining stage, Xu Lian had great strength, and lifting a grown man with one hand was effortless.
“What are you doing?”
The middle-aged man was terrified, pinned to the ground and unable to move.
Xu Lian drew the sharp knife from his belt and pressed it against his neck. “I ask, you answer. If I hear a single lie, I’ll slit your throat!”
The middle-aged man dared not move. “What do you want to ask?”
Xu Lian confirmed his identity first. “Are you the manager of the nearby quarry?”
The middle-aged man replied, “Yes.
Xu Lian then asked, “How is stone marrow extracted, and how is it handed over to the authorities once it’s mined?”
The middle-aged man froze. “You want to steal the stone marrow?”
Xu Lian’s gaze grew cold, and with a slight flick of his wrist, the sharp knife drew blood from the man’s neck. “I am the one asking the questions. If you say anything else, I’ll kill you!”
The middle-aged man’s face turned pale with fear, but he didn’t panic. He maintained a degree of composure, proving that he was well suited for his position. “I’ll tell you, but after I talk, how do you guarantee you won’t kill me?”
“I’ve deliberately covered my face so you won’t recognize me. I do not need to kill you to silence you.”
Xu Lian spoke coldly at first, then smiled, “Do you have the right to negotiate with me? If you do not speak now, I will kill you right here!”
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment under Xu Lian’s sharp gaze, then replied, “All right, I’ll tell you. The stone extracted from each quarry is transported to the city’s port warehouse. There are people there who specialize in cutting stones, and there’s a certain chance that they’ll cut out the stone marrow.”
Xu Lian understood. Stone Marrow was cut from the stone itself, unlike Earth Flesh. This made things simpler; he could just go to the dock and steal it directly.
“Is there any stone marrow being cut at the dock warehouse right now?”
“I don’t know. I’m only the manager of this quarry. The people at the dock warehouse wouldn’t tell me if they were cutting stone marrow. How would I know?”
“How many guards are there?”
“There are three martial artists and dozens of swordsmen…”
Xu Lian asked a few more questions before beating the middle-aged man unconscious and tying him up with a piece of old vine.
If the dock warehouse hadn’t cut out any stone marrow, then it would have been a wasted effort, and Xu Lian’s actions would have alerted them. That would make it much harder to steal the Stone Marrow the next time.
He also had to consider whether the three martial artists guarding the warehouse were strong enough to pose a threat. It was an important factor to consider.