Chapter 162: Catering to Their Preferences
He didn’t touch a thing.
Tang Wen went down himself and restored everything to its original state.
Then, he quietly left the Beast Taming Garden, and the Sand Wolf returned to its den to sleep.
’A safe house?’
’Whose could it be?’
Lying in bed, Tang Wen was wide awake, his mind buzzing with energy.
The owner of the safe house had left no clues behind.
Tang Wen could only speculate about their identity.
His first thought was the original owner of the courtyard.
The elderly Vice Commander who used to live there.
But on second thought, that didn’t make sense.
The secret room contained medicine, money, and clothes.
It was clearly the setup for a "safe house" meant for a quick getaway.
’Since it’s a safe house, it should be in a sufficiently secure location.’
What was the point of setting one up in your own home?
’So, could it belong to Wu Hao or one of his subordinates?’
If one of them needed a safe house, it would mean there was something suspicious about their identities.
Thinking back on his recent interactions with them, Tang Wen felt this was unlikely.
That left only one last possibility: a complete unknown.
This was the most likely scenario.
The Beast Taming Garden was in a remote location, yet within the Black Water Gang’s sphere of influence, making it secure enough.
The previous owner of the courtyard was an old man.
He was called a Vice Commander, but that was just the gang giving him slightly better treatment.
In terms of actual combat prowess, he was just a Martial Artist.
Considering all these factors, even Tang Wen was tempted to build a safe house there.
At this thought, he began to wonder if he should also set up a few similar places for himself.
Even if he didn’t need them now, he definitely would once he started investigating the matter of the Bai Family’s exploration team.
However, this matter wasn’t urgent.
It could be put on the back burner for now.
From the very beginning, he had never expected to find anything here.
’I wonder if Miss Bai You Ruo would be angry enough to bite my head off if she knew what I was thinking.’
In Tang Wen’s mind, the most pressing matters at hand were twofold.
First, to figure out what kind of person could become a Perfect Extraordinary and fight above their Realm.
Second, to see if there was a way to obtain Extraordinary Blood Marrow.
He had drunk some of it before, after killing the Crocodile Turtle with the Sand Wolf King.
After withstanding its potent medicinal effects, his Constitution had improved dramatically.
Only later did he learn that consuming raw Extraordinary Blood Marrow was extremely dangerous.
A single misstep could cause one’s body to explode, resulting in death.
Not even an Extraordinary would do such a thing.
After all, Extraordinary Blood Marrow had many uses. To risk death by consuming it raw, even if one’s body could withstand it, was an outrageous waste.
「The next day.」
Tang Wen found a few of the more well-informed guys in his unit and had them inquire about the daily hobbies of Chief Instructor Zhang from the Martial Arts Hall.
Chief Instructor Zhang was an elderly Extraordinary.
He had long since retired from the front lines to become the Chief Instructor of the Martial Arts Hall.
But despite being the Chief Instructor, he rarely made an appearance.
It was a good month if he held a major lecture even once.
He was like one of those most famous university professors; the moment class ended, you didn’t even have a chance to ask a question before he was off campus, busy with other things.
He had asked around the gang a bit and learned that this Extraordinary Chief Instructor was not easy to talk to.
He was powerful, held a high position, and had many students and disciples both inside and outside the gang.
If he weren’t someone who disliked vying for power and profit, the gang might very well have an additional Vice Gang Leader by now.
Faced with such an old man, Tang Wen thought long and hard and concluded that if he wanted to get any real information out of him, he had to give a gift!
A gift tailored to his tastes!
Back home, he counted his few remaining silver notes.
He had no choice but to temporarily abandon his plans for secluded, arduous Cultivation and took Wu Hao and a few subordinates on a trip outside the city.
He secretly brought back two Middle-level Exotic Beasts and a group of Low-level Exotic Beasts.
The Middle-level Exotic Beasts were kept for breeding.
The Low-level Exotic Beasts were all disposed of.
Although they didn’t fetch a high price individually, their sheer numbers made up for it.
After his wallet grew fatter, Tang Wen was finally able to live the semi-secluded life he desired.
He immersed himself in Martial Arts daily.
Only in the early morning and late evening would he go next door to the Beast Taming Garden.
He would put on a show of doing some Beast Taming work.
In reality, the three measly Middle-level Exotic Beasts had been tamed long ago.
"Commander Tang, we found out Chief Instructor Zhang’s hobbies."
As they sat together for lunch that day, his well-informed subordinate reported his findings to Tang Wen.
After listening, however, he couldn’t help but frown deeply.
It wasn’t that Chief Instructor Zhang had no hobbies; the problem was, he had too damn many.
He loved beautiful women.
But not the kind that came from the Slave Pavilion.
He preferred wild beauties, preferably those with a certain status.
To put it bluntly, the stronger they were and the more they ignored him, the better.
Tang Wen summed it up: ’Isn’t he just an old simp?’
’What?’
’Got tired of the gentle ones?’
’Getting on in years, and his tastes have gotten more intense?’
Besides beautiful women, this Chief Instructor Zhang also loved fine wine, luxurious clothes, precious horses and carriages, and Exotic Beast Pets...
Fine wine was out of the question.
Whatever he could get his hands on, the man had probably already grown tired of drinking.
His students and disciples, all trying to curry favor with him, had likely sent him countless bottles.
Luxurious clothes and fine carriages were also not worth considering.
Tang Wen knew nothing about them, and besides, they sounded expensive just from the name.
Finally, there were Exotic Beast Pets, but there wasn’t much room to maneuver there either.
Over the years, this Extraordinary had already acquired numerous pets and Exotic Beasts.
A High-level Exotic Beast, the Black Blade Horse; a High-level Exotic Beast, the Sky-Soaring Eagle; a High-level Exotic Beast, the Warg...
Not only were they powerful, but each one was also magnificent in appearance.
’Alright, so much for gift-giving.’
’There’s no angle of attack at all.’
Tang Wen felt quite helpless.
「A few days later,」 an opportunity to attend a lecture arose.
Elder Li specially sent someone to inform Tang Wen.
The lecturer was also an Extraordinary Powerhouse.
The topic was how to comprehend the "Night Divine Fist."
Everyone attending the lecture was, like Tang Wen’s apparent strength, at the "Martial Artist Peak."
The content of the course was very basic.
But Tang Wen listened very attentively.
Every Extraordinary had their own understanding of the Night Divine Fist.
Even if it couldn’t directly enhance his combat power, the benefits to him were immediate.
After the lecture, he trained hard for seven days.
His Night Divine Fist Realm broke through.
[Visualization Martial Arts, Night Divine Fist, Beginner → Master (1/3000)]
What surprised Tang Wen even more was the change in his Martial Arts Realm.
[Martial Arts Realm: Initial Entry into the Extraordinary (Transforming)]
[Extraordinary Ability: Dark (Awakening Progress 3.01%)]
’So, 3% progress means I’m Extraordinary?’
In that instant, Tang Wen seemed to grasp the path to achieving "Perfect Extraordinary."
’Working in isolation won’t do.’
’Maybe I should ask someone?’
Two people popped into his mind: one was Bai You Ruo, and the other was Li Miao, the female Shopkeeper of the Four Seas Inn who had a certain "Wei Wu’s Style."
After some thought, he decided to write a letter to each of them.
He sat down, laying out paper and a brush.
The first letter was for Bai You Ruo.
He first wrote about his observations within Ganshan City, then moved on to the matter she was most concerned about:
[During my investigation into the disappearance of the Bai Family’s exploration team, I discovered a safe house containing Gold, Wound Medicine, a change of clothes... Is this consistent with the Bai Family exploration team’s methods?]
Of course, Tang Wen knew this safe house was almost certainly unrelated to the Bai Family.
But he couldn’t very well say in the letter that he hadn’t even started the investigation, could he?
After writing all that, he added the questions he truly wanted to ask at the very bottom of the letter.
[In the Cultivation of the Extraordinary Realm, what should one pay attention to?]
[How does one become a "Perfect Extraordinary" powerhouse?]
[...]
He filled half a page with similar questions.
That night, using the prearranged method of contact, he summoned a Blood Crow and sent the letter.
The second letter was for Li Miao.
For this letter, he would have to cater to her tastes.
It was time to write something with real substance!