“It was nothing but luck. Deputy Commander Fan was simply unused to fighting in the water,” said He Lingchuan. From Nian Zanli’s expression alone, he could tell the man only half believed him. After all, Fan Sheng had been famous for years, and his fists were notoriously hard. The odds of him losing to a seventeen or eighteen-year-old upstart were vanishingly small.0

The style in Lingxu City was exaggerated to the point of absurdity. Everyone was a born braggart. A man with two parts skill in hand could easily boast it up to ten. Even some threadbare wretch drinking in a grimy little fly-speck tavern by the market would dare claim he was about to close a business deal worth tens of thousands of taels. So if Nian Zanli did not believe him, what was strange about that?0

He Lingchuan offered no further explanation and merely turned to Fushan Yue. “Did you find anything?”0

Fushan Yue shook his head.0

“Heavenly Rain Tower is about to auction off an aged blood-infused vine.” He Lingchuan immediately said, “Want to go take a look?”0

“What’s there to look at?” Fushan Yue replied. “I’m not a rabbit. Herbs don’t interest me.”0

“The scale-shedding disease of aquatic races has to be treated with medicine made from the fruit borne by aged blood-infused vine.” Back in Panlong City, He Lingchuan had occasionally helped A’Luo gather materials, so he was not unfamiliar...0