allonlinenovel Chapter 299 Robbers
Chapter 299 Robbers
Chapter 299 The Robbers
"That's good. Who's next?" Mo Yuming asked, looking at the children gathered around him.
"Let me first..."
"I come……"
"I want to dye my hair red too!"
……
"It's so beautiful! It looks much better than gray hair. It would be even more beautiful if it could be dyed in a color, like a rainbow!"
"Where's the colorful hair? What does that look like?!"
"It's a pity there are only three colors. I wish there were more colors so I could dye my hair all sorts of colors!"
"Yes, Brother Yuming will make even more colors of hair dye!"
"How about this? After we get out, I'll help you find a shop that specializes in selling hair dye. I'll teach you how to make it, so you can divide the work. The girls can sell hair dye and help people dye their hair, while the boys can collect herbs and refine the hair dye. How about that?"
“This is good. We’ll all have things to do when we’re out here, and we can live together and take care of each other,” Park Ya-joo said.
"Haha, you guys really want to open a shop! Alright, I'll arrange your business after I finish making the contact lenses!" Mo Yuming laughed.
"What will happen to those captive magical beasts once we leave? Will Master Yu and Master Feng be able to handle it?" Xiao Rou asked.
"No problem, many grandpas and grandmas will be back in a while. They are all just as amazing as Grandpa Yu and Grandpa He!" Mo Yuming said with a smile.
"This place is so beautiful, I want to come back and play here again!"
"No problem. If you want to come in and have fun, just find that young lady, and she'll take care of everything!"
……
Just as Mo Yuming and Pu Yazhu were discussing opening a hair dye shop, Jiang Yuheng sent a message saying that he had received several reports in the past few days about old men being followed. After analysis by the Elders' Council, it was likely the work of the same force, and they felt that the matter was very suspicious. Several key members of the Elders' Council were currently on their way to Jian'an City, hoping to meet with Mo Yuming and the others tonight to discuss how to provide support.
As evening fell, a ray of sunset shone through the tall trees onto the winding post road. Mo Yuming and Tieqiao rode their Crimson Cloud Horse at breakneck speed along the road, their hooves kicking up a cloud of golden dust as they trod the ground.
The Crimson Cloud Horse truly lived up to its reputation as one of the fastest horses in the Tianxuan Continent. It covered the more than 100 li (approximately 50 kilometers) from the Valley of Heartbreak to Jian'an City in less than half an hour, and that was without even rushing. When Mo Yuming and his companion arrived at Jian'an City, Jiang Yuheng and the others hadn't yet arrived. Although they had set off earlier, the journey was still much longer.
Jian'an City is currently managed by Niu Tianze and Liu Liangyi. The two played a crucial role in Mo Yuming's plot to seize Jian'an City. Although their cultivation levels are average, they are extremely loyal. Therefore, Mo Yuming suggested that Su Yangyan appoint them to manage Jian'an City. The two did not disappoint Mo Yuming, managing Jian'an City impeccably. The city is now a far cry from its former self, attracting many scholars and poets, and is extremely prosperous.
Because the old men's affairs were rather unusual, Mo Yuming didn't intend to disturb them. So, he and Tieqiao went directly to the Fuyuan Restaurant in Jian'an City and settled down in a secret room in the back courtyard. They then instructed the manager to prepare a table of food and wine to await the arrival of Jiang Yuheng and the others.
Originally, these old men collected materials for refining meteorite iron spirit treasures without telling outsiders. However, purchasing these materials required a large amount of capital, and when the old men couldn't raise the funds, they contacted the Great Xia Empire through the Fuyuan or Fushan restaurants in various locations, exchanging them for Xuan Iron treasures produced in Great Xia. Therefore, the high-ranking officials of the Great Xia Empire were naturally aware of this. So, after the old men finalized their deals with the sellers, they directly contacted the military commander Jiang Yuheng or the arsenal manager Huo Chengde. Thus, Jiang Yuheng knew the old men's whereabouts better than Mo Yuming.
Jiang Yuheng knew these old men were all influential figures, including prominent members of the seven great families and former powerful warlords. However, that wasn't the main point. The main point was that they had all come because of Mo Yuming and would eventually settle in the Great Xia Empire, becoming its strongest supporters. Therefore, Jiang Yuheng took Mo Yuming's instructions very seriously, trying his best to meet the old men's requests. He also frequently showed them concern and care. As a result, the old men and Jiang Yuheng had a very close relationship.
Jiang Yuheng was unaware of the secrets of the canyon, but he knew a little about the forging of spiritual treasures. For secrecy, Mo Yuming claimed that he and Tieqiao were working at Wushuang Castle, and that unauthorized personnel were not allowed to disturb them. Therefore, upon learning that the old men had business to attend to, they arranged to meet Mo Yuming in Jian'an City, the closest city to Wushuang Castle. It wasn't that Mo Yuming didn't trust Jiang Yuheng and the others; they had a prior agreement that the secrets of the canyon could not be revealed to anyone except those who had emerged from it. Huang Xiaoxiao was the only outsider who had entered the canyon, and she was only revealed to them to rescue the orphaned members of the Witch Clan.
As dusk settled, Jiang Yuheng and his three companions finally arrived at Fuyuan Restaurant, travel-worn. Upon entering the restaurant, they went directly to a secluded room in the back courtyard. After a brief greeting to Mo Yuming and his companion, who were already waiting at the table, they eagerly picked up the teacups on the table and gulped down a cup of tea.
As per Mo Yuming's orders, the Falcon Guards had already secretly deployed to control the area surrounding the restaurant, covering several streets. No one was allowed to approach the restaurant's backyard even a step.
Besides Jiang Yuheng, Ji Jiahe, Huo Chengde, and Su Ce also accompanied them, representing almost the entire upper echelons of the Great Xia Empire. The four rode at breakneck speed, barely resting, and even changed horses at a post station along the way to reach their destination as quickly as possible. They covered the more than a thousand li journey in just half a day. Fortunately, all four were masters of profound martial arts; despite the arduous journey, they felt only fatigue and experienced no other problems.
"What happened?" Mo Yuming asked after the four of them had caught their breath.
"We didn't pay much attention at first, after all, robbery is too common in Tianxuan Continent. Besides, the old men are not ordinary people, and it is not easy to take anything from them. Moreover, even if we knew, the journey is far and all we could do was offer them a few words of comfort and contact the owner of the nearby Wushuang Hotel to take care of them."
"But then even Old Master Ji Xianlin was targeted, and we felt something was wrong, so we went to Princess Ji and told her about it. Princess Ji immediately contacted Old Master Ji and inquired about the details. Comparing the experiences of the other old men who had encountered similar situations, we discovered that their misfortunes were no accident; they were likely being targeted by the same large secret organization," Jiang Yuheng said, frowning.
"Let's eat and talk at the same time. The food is getting cold, and you've been running around for ages, you must be hungry!"
Seeing the four men looking travel-worn, hungry, and exhausted, Mo Yuming suggested they eat first. Mo Yuming wasn't too worried about the old men; after all, the weakest among them was at least at the second level of the Heavenly Rank, making them top-tier experts in the Tianxuan Continent. Even if they couldn't be defeated, they could still escape. Besides, Mo Yuming had given them some valuable information before setting off, and he believed the bandits would find it difficult to capture them without paying a price. Furthermore, Jiang Yuheng's words didn't mention anyone facing mortal danger.
Three days ago, Gan Ran and Sikong Nong, who had traveled together to Qin State, sent word that they had won a large bottle of Gold-Eating Turtle Bile at a small auction house in Tianxin City, the capital of Qin State. The price was 10,000 gold coins plus 150 Xuan Iron standard-issue magical weapons. The gold coins were exchanged on the spot, and since the Xuan Iron weapons were not readily available, a contract was signed at Fuyuan Restaurant for delivery within half a month, with Fuyuan Restaurant acting as guarantor. Fuyuan Restaurant already had a certain reputation in the area, so the seller was very reassured. The transaction was successfully completed at Fuyuan Restaurant. Both the buyer and seller were happy.
Thinking they had accomplished their mission, the two rested at the inn for a day before preparing to return to Great Xia the next day. They stayed at the inn that night, and with nothing to do, they strolled through the streets. However, while walking, they realized they were being followed. This was in the capital city, and they guessed it was likely the seller or someone from the auction house. After all, they still had 150 Xuan Iron treasures to deliver, and although Fu Yuan Inn had guaranteed their safety, the other party might still be wary of them.
The two men were quite displeased with this, so they returned to the restaurant and told the manager what had happened. The manager immediately sent someone to the auction house to verify, but the auction house reported back that there was absolutely no such thing. The seller, a small family that relied on hunting, frequently entrusted their treasures to auction houses, so they trusted the auction house's decisions completely. Furthermore, the auction house had connections with the Qin Kingdom's royal family and was semi-official in nature, so it was very concerned about its image and had no fear of the wealthy and powerful Fuyuan Restaurant breaching its contract. Therefore, it could be confirmed that the person who was following them had no connection with the auction house.
Auction houses place great importance on the privacy of both sellers and buyers. After all, the items that come from auction houses are all valuable treasures, and they naturally don't want any accidents to happen during the transaction. Therefore, they will never disclose their clients' information.
Who could possibly have the ability to know about this transaction? The two decided to observe first. It was also possible that someone had simply noticed they were outsiders and, seeing them as easy targets, was tailing them. Such situations were common, especially in chaotic times like these, where being followed was frequent. Therefore, most businessmen were very cautious when traveling, and unless they were extremely confident, they rarely wandered alone in unfamiliar places.
To avoid any unforeseen circumstances, the two discussed with the innkeeper that evening and decided to disguise themselves and leave the city the next day. Early the next morning, the two mingled with a caravan of merchants, pretending to be their companions, and only bid farewell to the caravan fifty miles outside the city, riding away on horseback along a side road.
The two rode swiftly towards the next city, making little time except for watering their horses. Before nightfall, they arrived at Runze City, the second largest city in the Qin Kingdom and the home of the Qiu family, one of the Six Hegemons. Its prosperity rivaled that of the capital, Tianxin City.
The two didn't linger. After obtaining their travel documents and entering the city, they headed straight for the Fuyuan Restaurant. Runze City was relatively safe; a check revealed nothing unusual. Nothing happened that night, and early the next morning, under the innkeeper's arrangement, the two quietly left the city, heading straight for the border of the Qin Kingdom. They only needed to ride for another half a day to reach the border city of Hexuan, and before nightfall, they could leave Qin territory and enter the Liang Kingdom's border region. Their journey was remarkably secretive.
However, less than half an hour after the two left Runze City, they encountered six bandits in a mountain forest: four at the peak of the Earth Rank and two at the early stage of the ninth level of the Earth Rank.
These six high-level Earth Rank bandits seemed to have come specifically to deal with the two of them; they were no ordinary highway robbers. People with such cultivation could be generals in the army, or even if they weren't in the military, they could be the heads of small or medium-sized families. Even if they were outlaws, they would still be leaders among bandits, far from ordinary robbers.
The fact that the opponent deployed six peak Earth-rank experts shows they have greatly overestimated their strength and are determined to win. Logically, even if one of the two is below the second level of the Heaven-rank, a six-to-two victory would still be highly probable.
Normally, travelers would travel discreetly, undoubtedly due to limited cultivation levels and a desire to avoid trouble. At most, one of the two would be at the Heavenly Rank, which would be the absolute peak. After all, Heavenly Rank experts are not commonplace. However, the bandits, who had already overestimated themselves, never expected that Gan Ran and Sikong Nong were both genuine peak Heavenly Rank Level 2 experts. Therefore, even though all six were at the initial Heavenly Rank, they were no match for the two. Moreover, the two were no pushovers; they showed no mercy to the bandits who had robbed them. If it weren't for their focus on refining their weapons, which might cause delays, they had acted discreetly, only to be taken advantage of. So, without hesitation, the two launched a ruthless counterattack, killing the bandits with all their might. The six unfortunate bandits probably died without ever understanding why two peak Heavenly Rank Level 2 experts had chosen to travel so discreetly.
The two men didn't bother with the robbers at all, swiftly and cleanly killing all six of them without leaving any survivors. However, aside from a few unused communication talismans, they found nothing on the six men. Therefore, they gained nothing and couldn't determine their identities.
The two didn't linger. After dealing with the scene, they immediately left and entered Hexuan City around noon. There was a Fushan Hotel there. After a short rest and changing horses, they headed towards the border. They thought that once they left Qin Kingdom, no one would bother them anymore. However, in a small town less than thirty miles from Liang Kingdom, the two were brazenly intercepted by ten bandits. Four of these bandits were at Earth Rank 8, four at Earth Rank 9, and one was at Heaven Rank 1 and the other at Heaven Rank 2.
Even with their slight advantage in cultivation, the two were no match for such a force. A victory wouldn't be easy and could easily result in mutual destruction. Faced with this situation, they immediately decided that to protect the treasure, they wouldn't engage the bandits in a life-or-death battle. Instead, they held back and retreated towards Hexuan City. They couldn't guarantee what might happen after defeating the bandits; they knew they were being followed, and their adversaries were quite powerful. For safety, retreating to Hexuan City was the best course of action, especially since it housed the Fushan Restaurant. Furthermore, even if they encountered enemies within the city, they could be met by reinforcements, and even the boldest bandits wouldn't dare rob in the streets. Besides, their strength was considerable.
Jiang Yuheng recounted in detail what Gan Ran and Sikong Nong had experienced.