Celestial Human Diagram-Chapter 70 - 60: Jiaoshan

September passed, and October began.

Chen Chuan forgot everything else, focusing wholeheartedly on practicing the Circulation Technique. He repeatedly honed his Orthodox Scattering Hand and also set aside some time to learn the Basic Saber Techniques that Cheng Zitong taught him in his spare time.

On a rest day in early October, Cheng Zitong called him in the morning. "Xiaochuan," he said, "you can start taking on commissions now. I’ve already arranged the details. The person leading you is my martial nephew, so he’s of your generation. You can call him ’senior’ or ’senior brother,’ either is fine.

"He’s waiting for you downstairs right now. Commissioned tasks are always full of unexpected situations, and he’s quite experienced. When the time comes, just listen to him and let him handle things."

Chen Chuan said, "Alright, Teacher. I understand." Then he asked, "Teacher, what is this senior brother’s name?"

Cheng Zitong said, "Ren Xiaotian."

Chen Chuan thought, ’This senior brother has a pretty wild name.’

After hanging up, he thanked the dorm manager, went back to his room to prepare, and then took the elevator downstairs. Outside the building, he saw a gray-green SUV parked not far away. A man under 1.6 meters tall, probably in his thirties, stood waiting in front of it. His face was stern and serious. Seeing Chen Chuan emerge, he said curtly, "Chen Chuan?"

Chen Chuan nodded. "Senior Brother Ren?"

Ren Xiaotian said, "That’s me. Get in." As he spoke, he opened the driver’s side door and climbed in with a high step.

Chen Chuan went to the passenger side, opened the door, and slid into the seat. After he closed the door and buckled his seatbelt, the car started up.

But unlike the smooth-talking Wei Chang’an he had met before, this Senior Brother Ren kept a straight face and didn’t say a word for a long time after they left the campus.

Chen Chuan didn’t know if this was just his personality or if there was some other reason. But since the other man wasn’t talking, he wasn’t going to disturb him. He didn’t waste the time, either, and began practicing his Breathing Technique on his own.

After a while, however, Senior Brother Ren suddenly spoke. "The Basic Breathing Technique?"

Chen Chuan said, "Yes."

Senior Brother Ren fell silent again. After a moment, he said, "That’s good."

Chen Chuan glanced over and confirmed it. ’Looks like this senior brother doesn’t know how to make small talk.’ He thought for a moment, then decided to take the initiative. "Senior Brother Ren, where are we going?"

Senior Brother Ren seemed to let out a sigh of relief. "We’re going to Jiaoshan."

Chen Chuan was thoughtful. "Jiaoshan?" he mused. Then he asked, "What exactly will we be doing?"

Senior Brother Ren said, "We’re retrieving something for a client."

Chen Chuan recalled what Lu Ke had told him before and could roughly guess the purpose of this trip.

Just then, Senior Brother Ren handed him a notebook. "You... take a look."

Chen Chuan took it and flipped through. It was filled with dense text, all about commissioned tasks. The important points were underlined in red.

Because clients pay the full amount upfront, once the commissioning company and the client confirm the task, there are no additional payments or compensation. Therefore, any extra expenses incurred during the execution must be covered by the person carrying out the commission.

If unforeseen variables arise, the executor must handle them on their own. Improper handling or failure will result in a lower rating, making it difficult to get decent commissions in the future.

To avoid this, one must ensure a high success rate and minimize costs as much as possible. He saw a note in the back of the notebook, written in a thick pen: "Information channels are crucial."

He involuntarily nodded.

This line of work was a competition of information channels. One aspect was quickly finding various commissions; the other was obtaining timely, detailed, and accurate information about the tasks. The more detailed and precise the information, the higher the success rate and the lower the cost. That’s why connections were so important for those who specialized in this field.

However, right below the sentence "Information channels are crucial," another line followed: "Protecting yourself is most important."

He agreed with this even more. Commissions and the like were just tools on his path forward. If he couldn’t protect himself, then none of it had any meaning.

He flipped through it a bit longer. The notes in the book were a mix of old and new, with the most critical points intentionally underlined in red, likely to make it easier for him to read. He thought, ’This Senior Brother Ren is actually quite thoughtful. The person Teacher found is indeed reliable.’

The SUV headed east. After leaving the city, it crossed the National Path and drove into the barren lands where roads barely existed.

Chen Chuan looked at the desolate scenery outside, feeling as if he had suddenly left the civilized world behind, even though they weren’t that far from Yangzhi City.

However, Yangzhi City’s six counties were concentrated to the west and south. The north was mostly mountains and small towns, while the eastern area, near Jiaoshan, was truly sparsely populated. It was said that only a few illegal organizations existed there.

Over by Jiaoshan, however, lived many people who made a living by scavenging. Nominally, they were citizens of the Dashun Republic, but in reality, they enjoyed no civil rights and didn’t even have household registrations. As a result, these people didn’t exist in any official records.

He looked at the black, ring-shaped mountain silhouette in the distance. According to Lu Ke, there were many villages near the Ring Mountain, but they didn’t trust each other and had each carved out their own spheres of influence.

The people of Jiaoshan mostly traded with those from the Zhang Mountain area and the surrounding villages to the northwest, obtaining supplies from there. The Iron Chain Gang controlled a large share of this trade, but it seemed they weren’t heading in that direction this time.

The ride was extremely bumpy, but fortunately, both of them were in excellent physical condition and felt no discomfort. After about a three-hour drive, a stretch of scorched black soil appeared ahead. Seeing this, along with the massive black mountain silhouette that stretched across the horizon and grew progressively taller, they knew they were about to enter the Jiaoshan area.

Ren Xiaotian then handed him a mask and a scarf. "Put these on."

Chen Chuan took them. He knew that most of Jiaoshan’s residents suffered from lung diseases, most likely caused by the unique dust in the area. Wearing these was a necessary precaution, so he immediately put both items on.

By this time, a faint, relatively flat path had become visible ahead, likely worn down by past traffic. After driving along this path for another half hour, a simple road sign appeared on the side, constructed from old tires and metal coils. At the top, a metal wire had been crudely bent into the three large, crooked characters for ’Nangou Village’.

The sound of the vehicle seemed to draw out a man in dusty work clothes from behind the road sign. He wore old goggles and a leather hat that covered his ears. He glanced around cautiously, looked at the license plate, then checked it against a slip of paper in his hand before waving at them with both arms.

The SUV slowly drove over and stopped a short distance from the sign. Ren Xiaotian put on his hat, quickly wrapped the scarf around his face, covering himself up completely, and said, "Get out." With that, he opened the door, jumped out, and walked toward the man.

Chen Chuan got out of the car as well. The moment he was outside, he felt a strong wind gusting against him, carrying fine particles of dust. He glanced at the silhouette of Jiaoshan in the distance, which seemed to pierce the clouds, held onto his student cap with one hand, and followed Ren Xiaotian. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

As the two of them approached, the man jogged over. He grinned, extended a filthy hand toward Chen Chuan, and said obsequiously, "You must be Mr. Ren, right? Mr. Ren, you’re so young and promising!"

Chen Chuan waved his hand and gestured to the side. "This is Mr. Ren."

The man instantly realized he had mistaken them, but he wasn’t the least bit embarrassed. He quickly turned to shake Ren Xiaotian’s hand and said, "Mr. Ren? Ah, Mr. Ren, you really are a master who doesn’t show his true abilities."

Ren Xiaotian said with a stern face, "You’re Old Mi?"

"Yes, yes, that’s me. That’s what everyone calls me."

"Where is the item?"

Old Mi sighed. "I originally had the item with me, ready to bring it out for the trade, but I ran into a little accident on my way out of the village..."

Ren Xiaotian said dryly, "The price can be renegotiated, but don’t lie to me."

"No, no," Old Mi said, waving his hands frantically. "It’s like this. The village is afraid of accidents, you see? The village chief wants to invite you to the village to make the trade. That way, everyone can feel at ease, right?"

Ren Xiaotian was silent for a moment. He suddenly pulled a revolver from his clothes, pressed it to Old Mi’s forehead, and stared into the man’s shocked and panicked eyes. In a voice devoid of emotion, he said, "Give me the item. If you don’t, you die."

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