Chapter Nineteen: Craftsman Yin: How Can We Afford to Establish Official Positions Without Money?

Wang Cheng had determined the identity of the treasure, but instead of opening it, he straightforwardly pushed it toward the Zhang brothers.

“This is your father's keepsake. Take it.”

Zhang Wu and Zhang Wen, seeing him still abide by the Blue Robe Pact, waved their hands in unison.

“How can we accept this? Chief, today the two of us were nothing more than helpers—we contributed nothing yet received your great favor. To take a share of the spoils now would be truly shameless. The Blue Robe Pact we made earlier is all well and good, but we must adapt to the circumstances. In the future, if we haven’t contributed, you should keep the spoils for yourself! Otherwise, how are we any different from scoundrels like Xue Da?”

“Let those worthy possess the treasures of the world. This treasure was first fished up by my father, then snatched away by Xue Da, and finally ended up in your hands. Clearly, you are the worthy one. Please, do not mention keepsakes again.”

The brothers, moved by Wang Cheng’s unwavering integrity, knelt down and pushed the box back to him.

After a moment’s thought, Wang Cheng accepted the treasure. Then, changing the subject, he said to them, “Zhang Wu, your ‘Eight Waves Saber’ must be nearing mastery, isn’t it?”

Zhang Wu, unsure why he was being asked, answered honestly, “I do have some talent. I’ve practiced with the elders since childhood, and I’m close to mastering it. If I could catch one or two more Ten-Thousand-Sea Delicacies, I’m confident I’d break through by early next year.”

Compared to his diligent elder brother, the younger Zhang Wen was still some way off and would need a year or two more of practice.

With this in mind, Wang Cheng said, “I’ll decide. In the future, if we catch any Ten-Thousand-Sea Delicacies, we won’t sell them at once—they’ll go to Zhang Wu first, so he can light his heart-lamp as soon as possible and become a true asset. As for Zhang Wen... give me a copper coin.”

Zhang Wen obeyed at once, hurriedly fishing out a copper coin and handing it over.

Wang Cheng pocketed the “payment” and intoned inwardly, “Sell... Mastered ‘Yaksha Staff Technique’! The transaction is sealed and cannot be undone.”

After dealing with Xue Da this time, he had managed a windfall; what he had “bought” at random from Xue Da was none other than the fully mastered ‘Yaksha Staff Technique’!

To Wang Cheng, this external martial art was of little further use—it would be a mere embellishment. Far better to act as a middleman and pass it to his core followers, swiftly strengthening their power. When chaos erupted at sea and heroes drew their swords, he could thus assemble a powerful naval force in the shortest time.

“Thank you for nature’s bounty. I do not create miraculous skills or esoteric arts; I am but a transporter of nature’s gifts.”

Zhang Wen, unaware of what had happened, suddenly felt a heat at the center of his brow; countless staff techniques and instincts surged into his mind. Gazing at his hands, he felt an overwhelming urge.

He flicked his toe under a shovel on the ground, caught it in his hand, and—

His body moved with the shovel in perfect harmony: sweeping, parrying, clouding, blocking, hooking, thrusting, hacking, lifting, pointing... A seamless display of the Yaksha Staff Technique, which he had never learned, flowed from him like water.

When he finished, he felt energy coursing through his body, and for a moment, there was even a faint sign of that inner-outer unity and the lighting of the heart-lamp.

He stood dumbfounded, lost in wonder for a long time.

Wang Cheng offered no further explanation. This art was worth more than a share of any Three-Thousand Abyss Treasure.

He waved the brothers away. “You two go on home. I’ll handle the rest.”

Zhang Wu now revered his leader as a living legend. He bowed deeply, then pulled his still-dazed brother away, vanishing into the night.

Wang Cheng watched them depart, confirmed no one was following, and returned to the courtyard to open the inlaid lacquer box.

Inside, as expected, lay a treasure.

It was a small silver ingot, about ten taels in weight, boat-shaped on top and stamped with a round seal on the bottom, glowing with a soft light of red tinged with blue.

Clearly, the radiance he’d seen earlier was emanating from this very object.

“Three-Thousand Abyss Treasure: Craftsman’s Silver...”

Reading the name alone sent a jolt through Wang Cheng’s heart.

“Is it really that treasure? No wonder Xue Da never sold it in the four years he had it. This is true fortune!”

The treasures that drifted up from the depths of the Vast Ocean could be anything—antique jade, talismanic artifacts, secret scrolls, rare minerals, weapons—but all were immensely valuable.

Craftsman’s Silver belonged to the class of talismanic artifacts. Born of powerful collective wishes and dramatic historical events, such items gained seals and characters of dragon and phoenix script, becoming vessels of power.

The Red Dawn Sword with which the High Ancestor slew the serpent, the chessboard used by the great Han Emperor’s chess saint, the One-Eyed Stone Man unearthed from the Turbid River, the Treasure Basin of the God of Wealth—these were the most famous examples.

Originally, Craftsman’s Silver was ransom paid by artisans to the authorities to free themselves from forced labor, carrying the sorrow and toil of generations. Over time, some of these silver pieces, infused with intense collective will, transformed into talismanic artifacts with miraculous powers.

“When commoners burn spirit paper for their ancestors, besides their wishes, they must stamp the paper with Craftsman’s Silver for the ritual to take effect. Otherwise, no matter the denomination written—thousands, tens of thousands—it counts for nothing. Craftsman’s Silver is also used by the Silverwrights and Treasurers among maritime officials to stamp ritual money. Only with enough incense-wish power, and stamped with the ingot seal, can ritual coins circulate among divine officials.

“In other words, in the cultivation system of the Divine Way, Craftsman’s Silver is the equivalent of a ‘money press’! How can one cultivate official rank without money? Craftsman’s Silver: ‘I am never short of funds!’”

Wang Cheng fondled the ingot, overjoyed.

“Such treasures are extremely rare. Outside the treasuries of great powers, one might only chance upon them in a lacquer box drifting up from the ocean’s abyss. With this, and sufficient incense-wish power, even running the Heavenly Bank would not be out of reach.

“It’s said that to cultivate, one needs wealth, companions, methods and land—and wealth comes first. Money may not solve everything, but it solves ninety-nine percent. With cash at hand, one can overwhelm all obstacles—invincible!”

Moreover, such talismanic artifacts, after long-term enshrinement by officials, could suppress the fate of a lineage, or induct new members with ease.

“Thanks to Xue Da’s greed, his fate as a ‘golden-threaded wedding robe’ is a blind box—every opening a surprise. Gave up a Swallowtail Amberjack and got a piece of Craftsman’s Silver and nearly four thousand taels of silver—an immense profit.”

Upon careful inspection, there was nothing else in the jar.

With a breath, Wang Cheng sucked the scattered 3,800 taels of gold and silver, the deeds, and the lacquer box into the money-eye of the Four-Seas Treasure, sending them to that untouchable pavilion complex.

By the light of his heart-lamp, he could now barely make out the white jade archway at the complex, inscribed with three words: “Law and Wealth Vault.”

As the name implied, it was a treasury for magical wealth.

“My childhood name is Fortune. With the Four-Seas Treasure and Craftsman’s Silver, if I plan carefully, I’ll never lack for money again. All I need now is time to grow.”

He refilled the dug-up ground, restoring it to its original state. The only thing left was to deal with the corpses scattered everywhere—a nightmare for most, but a trivial task for Wang Cheng.

“All I need to do is ‘sell’ them.”

The Four-Seas Treasure could appraise and trade. The trade partner could be another person, or the Treasure itself.

Crouching before a corpse, he placed his hand on its head and murmured, “Sell.”

Whoosh!

A golden wind swept through the courtyard, threading between the corpses. With a faint, rapid gnawing sound, the bodies, clothes, blood—all vanished bit by bit, returning to elemental energy, leaving not a trace behind.

To outsiders, it would look like an offering to some higher power.

In no time, Wang Cheng had cleared the courtyard, leaving not even a cup or food box from the evening’s banquet. All traces were gone. He nodded in satisfaction.

“Anyone with experience knows that missing persons cases are much less aggressively investigated than massacres. The Water Directorate is an outside power here; Moon Port still belongs to the ‘Trade Faction’ of armed sea merchants, who lack the means for large-scale searches. With official authority tainted and officials’ powers diminished, no one will trace this to me.”

Wang Cheng stepped outside, politely closing the door behind him with impeccable manners.

Shortly after, he paused, lifted his right foot, and picked up a fragment of silver embedded in the ground, tucking it away with no surprise.

This was his “payment” for selling over twenty corpses to the Four-Seas Treasure.

Though it could not conjure things out of thin air, it would augment his fortune—making it easy to find money or profit in business.

Twenty corpses were worth perhaps a dozen taels of lucky silver.

And so, he continued on his way.