Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 291: Ying Five

Originally, Zhao Changhe thought that a high-ranking figure like Ying Five would be elusive and, should he appear, would exude a cold and imposing aura. Unexpectedly, Ying Five not only came to visit him in person, but even spoke in a cheerful tone with him, showing no airs at all.

Zhao Changhe instantly took a liking to him. “I would not dare trouble the fifth lord. Please come in.”

The door opened, and a kind-looking, smiling middle-aged man stepped in. He even bowed first before saying, “Young Master Zhao, in this battle at Yanmen, your might shook the world. Such a young and outstanding talent brings joy at first sight. If only people like Sha Seven could learn to be even just half of you!”

Zhao Changhe blinked. The demeanor of the other party came off to him like that of a friendly businessman, smiling and offering high praise on their first meeting.

Yin Five was a bit chubby but had a handsome face, which made him seem rather cute and endearing.

Is this really the person ranked eighth on the Ranking of Heaven? Could this just be Sha Seven in disguise?

Well... We at least have the same view on Sha Seven. Great minds do think alike.

Ying Five, infected by Zhao Changhe’s blinking, also blinked and then smiled. “Young Master Zhao, do you think I appear like a businessman?”

“Erm...”

“Well, why wouldn’t you think I could be one?”

Zhao Changhe scratched his head. “Because... I thought you would be more mysterious? Also, being on the Ranking of Heaven makes you seem quite intimidating.”

Ying Five casually sat in the chair Cui Wenjing had just vacated. He leaned back comfortably and said leisurely, “But no matter how mysterious a businessman is, he’s still a businessman. We just deal in different trades than others... Putting on a stern face isn’t exactly good for business.”

Zhao Changhe smiled and said. “That makes sense.”

No wonder everyone from Sha Seven to Lady Three, including Jin Nine, the head of the gambling house in the capital, did not put on stern faces. It seemed that this approach came from the top, subverting his own understanding of intelligence organizations.

Right, his business really does span nations. He even collaborates with the temple to look for secret realms.

Thinking of this, Zhao Changhe knocked his head. “Fifth lord, you’re here for the secret realm in Rocky Mountain, right? The entrance is actually at—”

Ying Five waved his hand. “No rush, I’m just here to visit you. I did not come here to demand anything from you. That would be rather unbecoming, wouldn’t it?”

“Uh... My injury is really nothing serious. I just need a few days of rest.” Zhao Changhe did not take the polite words at face value and quickly reported the formation halfway up the mountain.

After all, Yin Five mentioned having some good medicine different from the Cui Clan’s, and he claimed to be selling it for just one coin. But so far, he had not taken anything out. Just because he was smiling did not mean that he was easygoing. He clearly was not going to sell anything without seeing a down payment first.

“Big Dipper Formation, Black Tortoise Stone...” Ying Five listened to the location described by Zhao Changhe and was very satisfied. The story seemed perfectly credible. He stared at the ceiling for a long time, then suddenly chuckled. “So something belonging to the Four Idols Cult was inside, no wonder Lady Three was so concerned and invested in it.”

Zhao Changhe: “...”

It seemed that Ying Five was well aware that Lady Three was a member of the Four Idols Cult.

It appeared that as their goals might not necessarily conflict, they simply turned a blind eye to each other.

Nobody on the Ranking of Heaven was easy to deal with. Thinking they were easy to fool was a fatal mistake. Lady Three probably knew this well, given her and Vermillion Bird’s cautious natures. They knew to treat Ying Five with caution, maintaining a tacit understanding.

Ying Five suddenly said, “Earlier, I mentioned our business is quite unique... Perhaps you don’t know, but we’re actually quite similar.”

“Huh?”

Brother, you look like a chubby shopkeeper. How are you anything like me? Are you referring to our connections to the Four Idols Cult?

But then Ying Five continued leisurely. “A long time ago, a few brothers and I started the business from scratch without any capital. Does that not align with your mountain bandit days? We’re both like bandits, aren’t we?”

Zhao Changhe was speechless.

“Later on, as we fought for secret realms and pursued martial arts, we gradually shifted from treasure hunting to seeking ancient secrets, with our footprints all over the north and south. Isn’t that similar to the path you’re on now?”

Zhao Changhe secretly thought that this was not entirely accurate. It was just that the ultimate pursuit of martial arts led to similar goals. Their indifferent attitude toward worldly affairs actually resembled Xia Longyuan’s, if anything.

Ying Five continued, “Perhaps you think we are neutral, selling information to whoever has money. This is a bit of a misunderstanding. Our bases in Saibei, including Lady Three’s, have never sold military intelligence about Great Xia to the barbarians, let alone military supplies. On the contrary, we’ve supported Great Xia the entire time. You yourself have benefited from this, so you should understand.”

This actually surprised Zhao Changhe. “Fifth lord, don’t tell me that you actually have a sense of belonging to Great Xia?”

Ying Five laughed. “What do you mean by belonging... Considering Xia Longyuan’s actions, does he deserve our loyalty?”

At this point, his eyes finally showed a hint of disdain. Criticizing the number one in the world openly, especially when he could be the father of the person he was speaking to... This revealed the inherent arrogance of someone who had risen to the Ranking of Heaven from a background that put him on the same level as a mountain bandit.

But he quickly restrained himself and began smiling again. “When the ruler views the people as grass, the people view the ruler as an enemy. That’s all there is to it. Belonging? What an irritating word. Don’t mention it again.”

Zhao Changhe was speechless for a moment, and then asked, “Then what is your stance?”

“Humans are human because we have emotions.” Ying Five's expression softened as he spoke. “We brothers started from nothing, so we will always be brothers. Just like Lady Three is the sworn sister of her late brother. Whatever she chooses to believe in is her business. I don’t mind. If she wants to leave, we part on good terms.”

Zhao Changhe’s expression changed slightly.

Is this really someone on the Ranking of Heaven? I have never met anyone on the Ranking of Heaven who seemed so human, not even Old Cui, who prioritizes his family’s interests above all else, and he’s quite indifferent in other aspects.

On the other hand, Ying Five claims to be a businessman, the kind of person who prioritizes profits over loyalty, yet his values are so different from that...

Zhao Changhe almost doubted himself. Could this all just be sweet talk?

But he could not see why an individual on the Ranking of Heaven would need to perform such an emotional act in front of him.

“We were born on this land, so naturally, we would be averse to helping outsiders. Humans are emotional beings, it’s a simple as that.” Ying Five leaned back in his chair comfortably. “In the internal struggles among the people of Great Xia, I remain a neutral observer. Intelligence is sold to the highest bidder. It matters not to me whether they are the emperor or a rebel. You seem to think I resemble Xia Longyuan; I think it would be more accurate to say I resemble Bo[1]. The shamans of the temple have a similar attitude toward the tribes of the Grasslands.”

Bo was the shorthand for Bo’e, which was much more awkward to say casually. This was the title for the great shaman, not a name. In the language of the Grasslands, the profession was called Bo. Ordinary shamans were also respectfully called Bo, but there was only one that was the Bo’e.

Second on the Ranking of Heaven, Great Shaman Bo’e.

In this sense, they did bear some resemblance, although they were essentially still different.

“Alright, enough small talk.” Ying Five smiled. “I feel that you find it incomprehensible why I would come here to say all this... But remember, we are businessmen. Saying these things is merely to establish a baseline of understanding for future cooperation. Once you discard your preconceived notions about those on the Ranking of Heaven, this just becomes a normal business deal.”

Zhao Changhe finally snapped out of his daze. “Do you mean to say that you’ve got a big deal for me?”

“Exactly,” Ying Five said with a smile. “Speaking of intelligence organizations, we do not really count as one. It is just that our pursuit of secret realms requires a lot of information collection, and during this process, we accumulate a lot of information unrelated to secret realms but still valuable. We exchange this information for other needed information or monetary resources, which we then use to buy information about secret realms, creating a positive cycle that has led to our current state. But at our core, we are still focused on secret realms.”

Zhao Changhe nodded and said, “I more or less understand that.”

This also explained why Ying Five and those of his organization did not come across as stern or sinister like other intelligence agents. It was because they were fundamentally not intelligence operatives.

“So our real business is information about secret realms, or even buying the secret realms themselves,” said Ying Five. “Young Master Zhao, from Ancient Sword Lake to Huangsha Market, you have shown interest in treasures from secret realms but not in the ownership of the realms themselves. We are the opposite: we can forgo the treasures or maybe just require a specific item or another. What we truly want are the secret realms themselves.”

Zhao Changhe understood. “So then you believe that we can establish a long-term cooperation.”

Ying Five smiled and said, “Isn’t it a match made in heaven?”

Zhao Changhe was curious, “But I’m just one person, how many secret realms can I possibly find? A vast organization such as yours really sees value in cooperating with me?”

“Everyone has his or her own fate and affinity. Some people have a special affinity for women, some for wealth... I see that you have a particular affinity for secret realms. If I’m not mistaken, you also found a secret realm in Beimang, right? The number of secret realms you’ve encountered just in the past year may be more than most people see in a lifetime. Not cooperating with you would be foolish, don’t you think?”

Actually, Zhao Changhe felt that he had a special affinity for women. But as he thought about it, he realized that he indeed seemed to have some fate with this world’s secret realms.

Or rather... a penchant for ancient secrets and mysteries.

It was normal, considering his transmigration to this world was related to this.

From this perspective, his pursuit of ancient secrets made it sensible to establish a long-term cooperation with Ying Five. In fact, what he was after was primarily not the treasures in general but specific items and the ancient knowledge within these secret realms. As for the secret realm itself, what would he even do with it?

Thinking of this, he could not help but ask, “What do you intend to do with these spaces? Do you mind telling me?”

Ying Five said leisurely, “In your opinion, what is the biggest difference between now and ancient times?”

Zhao Changhe instinctively thought of the severed lineages leading to disconnected heritages. For most people, finding secret realms was about inheriting and succeeding those lineages. But then he connected it to the topic at hand, and his heart skipped a beat as he thought of something. “Do you mean to say that the biggest difference between now and then is that the current world is incomplete?”

Ying Five clapped his hands, clearly pleased. “Exactly! In fact, even ‘incomplete’ is an understatement of the current state of the world. According to my estimates, the world is at most 60% complete. Many spaces are unknown, and there might even be large tribes inhabiting these missing or lost spaces. If we could have those spaces rejoin the world and have the world return to 80% or even 90% completion, don’t you think the path of ancient gods and demons might be revealed?”

1. . Bo (博) referred to people with extensive and broad knowledge in ancient times. ☜