Chapter 74 - Smuggle
Chapter 74: Smuggle
In the private room, the men and women who were originally with him had been all chased out by Chen Nian, and the only other person remaining was Xu Chengzhi, who Chen Nian had tied up as he lay unconscious.
Chen Nian was now respectfully waiting for Lu Xuan to return.
At this point in time, Chen Nian did not feel any resentment. Especially after he saw the arrogant Xu Chengzhi, which even he was slightly afraid of, easily lose to Lu Xuan, he did not even dare to feel discontent.
This Lu Xuan’s strength was far, far stronger than his, and unsurprisingly, his family’s warnings were justified.
“Speak, what did you want to tell me!” Lu Xuan found a seat and sat down.
“I wish to report something very important to Mister Lu!” Chen Nian took a careful look at Lu Xuan before he spoke up.
“What’s this important information?” Lu Xuan’s gaze swept across Chen Nian as he asked.
“Actually, this Xu Chengzhi is a disciple of the Flying Dragon Sect!” Chen Nian answered.
Lu Xuan furrowed his brow upon hearing this. Of course, he knew of the Flying Dragon Sect, as Chen Jiashang was one of their core disciples from the Chen family. The overseas branch of the Chen family wanted to use the mainland branch of the family as a springboard to extend their power into the mainland.
However, they were defeated by Lu Xuan!
And now, another disciple from the Flying Dragon Sect had appeared. Obviously, the Flying Dragon Sect had not let Chen Jiashang’s defeat dissuade them from their goals of entering the mainland.
Chen Jiashang had suffered a loss not long ago, and they had sent someone to contact the Chen family at once.
If Lu Xuan had not coincidentally beat him today, nobody would have known that the Flying Dragon Sect had actually sent more men to infiltrate the mainland.
“Your Chen family sure is bold. You’re well aware that the Flying Dragon Sect is a force currently being targeted by the Agency of Special Affairs, and yet you still dare to contact them!” Lu Xuan joked without any mirth while looking at Chen Nian.
Chen Nian felt the ridiculousness of the situation. If they had not bumped into Lu Xuan today, nobody would have spread this information.
Though the Agency of Special Affairs was very powerful, they were not omnipotent. The regular people who worked for them could not possibly keep tabs on these Cultivators.
“Mister Lu, please be understanding, this was not my fault!” Chen Nian explained. “What I am about to tell you is also related to this. The Flying Dragon Sect’s objective for entering the mainland this time is to smuggle a batch of power items and cultivation treasures out of the country!”
“Smuggle power items and cultivation treasures?” Lu Xuan knit his brow. The memory of such a thing also happening in his past life suddenly sprang to mind.
Ever since spirit qi had been revived, many things that were overlooked before had now become things worth smuggling. Among these, the most important objects were power items and cultivation treasures.
Especially because the Huaxia mainland once had a rich Cultivator culture before Liu Bowen later severed the dragon’s veins and cut them off from the world.
Still, there were many power items that remained in the world. They had escaped attention before, but with the revival of spirit qi, these power items had gradually regained some of their original magic.
Many Cultivators were drooling at the thought of these power items, and aside from Cultivators in the Huaxia mainland, many overseas Cultivators were also looking for them.
As for cultivation treasures, these included spiritual fruits like the Marrow Cleansing Fruit Lu Xuan collected before. They were also highly coveted by many overseas Cultivators.
Following this, the Agency of Special Affairs had issued a new regulation, forbidding the export of these items to foreign countries. Of course, this had not been drafted as a new law, as at this point, the world of Cultivators was still kept separate from the world of regular people. Ordinary people only got small glimpses of the existence of the world of Cultivators, and they had yet to become as knowledgeable as later generations would be.
So, of course, there was no clear-cut law, but all the factions knew about this regulation. Thus, most of the markets for power items and cultivation treasures went underground and turned into a smuggling ring.
“If they’re thinking of smuggling it out, then there must be someone willing to buy them. I hope it’s not your Chen family!” Lu Xuan looked at Chen Nian with a mirthless smile.
Chen Nian hurriedly shook his head, replying, “How is that possible? If our Chen family dared to do something like this, wouldn’t we just be courting death?”
Chen Nian hastily cut all ties with this matter. This was a completely separate affair from their previous cooperation with the overseas Chen family.
This year, many factions had started doing business overseas, and it was normal to have ties with foreign factions, though that was for regular exchanges.
The forces that wanted to extend their reach into the Huaxia mainland were not limited to the overseas Chen family and the Flying Dragon Sect, and there were many other factions trying to do the same.
They had just provided a channel for the overseas Chen family to come in.
If not for the fact that one of the Flying Dragon Sect members just happened to be marked by the Agency of Special Affairs, they would have been able to fly under the Agency’s radar.
However, the smuggling of power items and cultivation treasures was a serious offense.
After all, this was a deed which weakened their own countrymen and empowered overseas Cultivators. The Agency of Special Affairs would not let off anyone they caught easily, and if other Cultivators in the country knew about this, they would also turn hostile.
From the perspective of traditional Cultivators, such an act was blasphemous to one’s ancestors.
“Our Chen family is only interested in borrowing the overseas Chen family’s strength to accelerate our growth, and we wouldn’t dare participate in such a thing. I only just learned of this over dinner when Xu Chengzhi told me about it!” Chen Nian easily sold out Xu Chengzhi. “I’m also from Huaxia—born and raised—and would never do something that brought shame to my ancestors. When it comes to major issues like these, I can still distinguish right from wrong!”
Lu Xuan gave Chen Nian a side-eye, naturally understanding that he was just spouting nonsense. If he had not happened to meet Lu Xuan here by chance, Chen Nian probably would never have let the cat out of the bag.
Currently, Chen Nian was trying to absolve himself of all the guilt and avoid being a target of the Agency of Special Affairs, so he was betraying Xu Chengzhi right away.
Even so, Lu Xuan was not going to pick on him for this. He only cared about the results, not the process of getting them.
“Do you know where the trade is going to happen? What’s the trading location?” Lu Xuan questioned him.
“I know. It’s happening tomorrow night, at a warehouse in the outskirts of the city!” Chen Nian hurriedly answered.
This was all information leaked to him over dinner by Xu Chengzhi after he had had too much to drink and let loose a bit too much. It was now being used to redeem himself of all guilt.
“Very good. Tomorrow night, you will personally lead the way, so we can catch them all at once!” Lu Xuan said, nodding his head.
“Mister Lu, before this, Xu Chengzhi once hinted that the Flying Dragon Sect had sent a martial arts legend here, so I’m afraid it might be dangerous!” Chen Nian said in terror, without any of the pomp of the Chen family’s young master. He was still aware of the measure of his own strength. If he had to fight a martial arts legend, he probably would not survive a single blow and would be instantly killed.
The gap between their abilities was simply too great!
“Relax, I’ll be there to protect you. There’s nothing to be afraid of!” Lu Xuan said with a cold laugh.
Even if there were a martial arts legend, he would be helpless in front of Lu Xuan.
“Fine then!”
Chen Nian nodded in agreement. He had, at least, witnessed Lu Xuan’s power for himself.
Chen Jiashang, who had also been a martial arts legend, was no match for Lu Xuan, so he estimated that Lu Xuan must be one of the strong ones among the martial arts legends.