Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Black Mountain Society

Inside the wooden boxes were, naturally, intermediate body-tempering potions. Each contained two vials, a small token of gratitude from Song Chi for them calling him "Big Brother" all these years.

Having watched them grow up, Song Chi sincerely hoped that both girls would eventually be able to awaken their own Seed of Fire.

In the backseat, the two girls clutched the wooden boxes tightly, their crystal-clear eyes shimmering with thoughts unknown.

After a short detour to drop each girl off at their respective homes, Song Chi and Song Ting soon returned to their own residence. As soon as they stepped through the door, their mother, Chen Lixia, who had been busy in the kitchen, appeared immediately, followed by the familiar, affectionate fussing.

"Oh, my precious daughter, let me give you a hug."

...

The next day, Song Chi had planned to enter the Market early to begin his grueling session of practicing his guiding technique.

Unexpectedly, he was pulled out of the house by Song Ting first. According to her, today was the day the three of them had agreed to go shopping and enjoy some good food. Naturally, he had been drafted into service.

Though Song Chi was extremely reluctant, he relented after considering that Tenglong Middle School only granted leave every few months.

In the downtown area of Jiangyuan City, on Minyuan Road.

After two hours of shopping and purchasing quite a few items, the four of them ended up at the "Spicy Hot Pot" restaurant located on Minyuan Road.

They ordered some of the signature White Tower lamb and seasonal vegetables. As the four of them ate and chatted about the various aspects of primary and advanced Fire-Seed academies, a violent argument erupted from a private room not far from theirs.

A short time later, the argument escalated into the sound of crashing tables, chairs, and wine bottles. Song Chi channeled a portion of his psionic energy into his ears, and the sounds captured by his hearing became instantly clearer.

"Brother Peng, I’m telling you, I really don't know where Erhua and the others are. Ever since they returned from mining three days ago, they’ve vanished without a trace. I’m close with them, but they haven't contacted me this time."

"The reputation of your Black Mountain Society is well known here; I wouldn't dare lie to you, Brother Peng, even if I had ten times the courage."

"Cut the crap! You think I don't know you? You two grew up wearing the same pair of pants since you were kids, and you're going to tell me you don't know his hideout? I'm laying it out for you today: either tell me where Ma Erhua is hiding, or I’ll break both your legs. Get him!!!"

...

"Brother Peng, stop hitting me, I'll talk, I'll talk! Although I don't know exactly where Erhua and the others are, I do know a few places where they might be hiding..."

In just two minutes, Song Chi had basically figured out the cause of the conflict in the adjacent room. It seemed that a member of the Black Mountain Society named Brother Peng was hunting down a few miners and was currently taking it out on their friends.

At this, Song Chi felt a slight stir in his heart; the word "miners" made him somewhat sensitive, though he quickly suppressed the feeling.

He knew a little bit about the miners of the White Tower Floating Land. There was an asteroid belt in the starry sky on the outskirts of the White Tower Floating Land, where miners carried out excavation work. However, this asteroid belt around the White Tower Floating Land was small in diameter, and after hundreds of years of continuous mining, it was already on the verge of being abandoned. The chances of any rare minerals appearing were extremely slim, and even if there were any, the quantity would certainly not be significant.

Furthermore, the Black Mountain Society held some influence in Jiangyuan City, and it was rumored that several Fire-Seed Captains were among their ranks. Naturally, he did not want to get involved.

While he was lost in thought, a dull thud came from outside the door, and the next second, the door to their room was smashed open by sheer force. The conflict occurring outside had clearly spilled over into the room where Song Chi and his companions were sitting.

Seeing this, Song Chi’s gaze turned cold. Psionic energy flowed through his body as he prepared to summon his Fire Sunflower Soldier Puppet to suppress the fight.

However, the restaurant's security personnel finally arrived in the hallway. Under the mediation of several guards with high-level guiding techniques, the conflict was finally brought to a halt.

In this Age of the Star Sea, where everyone practiced cultivation, conflicts were a common occurrence. Therefore, the vast majority of shops had well-developed security systems. Even small shops would join forces to form a security team to deal with such emergencies.

With the intervention of the store's security, Song Chi was spared from having to take action himself. However, after such a disturbance, the four of them had no interest in continuing their meal. Song Chi quickly took the three girls to the counter to pay the bill and left shortly after.

There was a small interlude where the manager of the shop, understanding that the four of them had been disturbed, insisted on waiving the bill, but Song Chi refused. After all, this was not something the hot pot restaurant could have foreseen. The fact that they were able to mobilize security to end the conflict before it escalated further was already fulfilling their responsibility as a business.

Of course, the main point was that the hot pot meal wasn't expensive—only a few hundred credit points. Now that Song Chi was a formal Fire-Seed Captain, a single exploration mission could easily net him millions of credit points; a few hundred meant nothing to him.

After lunch, the four of them wandered around for several more hours, and eventually, Song Chi ended up carrying a pile of bags.

Even with his guiding technique at level 4, Song Chi felt a trace of fatigue. Yet, the three girls, whose guiding techniques were only at level 1, seemed to have no concept of the word "tired." After several hours, not only was there no sign of exhaustion on their faces, but they also seemed to still be craving more.

Song Chi could only helplessly attribute this to the hidden shopping talent of women—it was the same in his past life, and it was no exception in this Age of the Star Sea.

By the time it was nearly five in the afternoon, Song Chi finally couldn't take it anymore and stopped the three of them, who still wanted to continue. He used his flying car to drop them off at their homes one by one, returned home with Song Ting, and thus finally concluded this particularly grueling day.