Chapter 235: Provocation

They traveled swiftly for three days, resting only briefly at night and spending the rest of the time on the road.

The only burden among them was Helian Baozhu, who sat on Fan Li’s shoulders while they traveled. None of the others was mediocre, so naturally their pace was extremely fast.

A’Tong and A’Mu feared that delays would bring trouble and that the Secret Intelligence Department might latch onto their trail again, so they deliberately pushed the pace.

Zheng Fan’s side also feared that delays would bring trouble—and, more importantly, they had no desire to clash with the Secret Intelligence Department again.

So they followed along quite naturally.

Three days later, A’Tong pointed toward the mountain peak ahead.

“Geda Mountain. We’ve arrived.”

Only then did Zheng Fan finally let out a long breath, stop, and massage his aching ankles.

In truth, human endurance was considerably greater than a horse’s. But people were still not beasts of burden. If Zheng Fan had not possessed the strength of a Seventh Grade Martial Artist, together with all his experience from campaigning north and south, he might genuinely have failed to keep up with this forced march.

He might even have needed the Demon Kings under him to give him a hand.

There would have been no chance of maintaining any composure.

Geda Mountain was just ahead.

A’Tong and A’Mu decided they would rest here for the night and enter the mountain the next day.

Judging by the information they had coaxed out over several nights of conversation, Geda Mountain supposedly held a wild-savage settlement in name.

In reality, it was the Helian Clan’s “secret base.”

The Helian Clan had been maintaining this second lair for a very long time.

Fan Li set Helian Baozhu down inside the tent.

Helian Baozhu had not spoken for the past several days.

The Blind Man had actually hypnotized her, causing her to temporarily forget that she knew how to speak and subconsciously believe herself mute.

It was not a serious problem.

A little over a month later, after some accidental trigger or slight shock, she would naturally be able to speak again.

For the moment, her inability to talk was good for everyone.

A’Tong and A’Mu appeared never to have left the Tianduan Mountains. There was a simplicity in their bones.

Put another way, they were straightforward to the point of being slow.

Very much like Fan Li.

They genuinely believed Zheng Fan and the others were the guards who had escorted Helian Baozhu into the mountains, and they trusted them in every respect.

Sometimes that guileless trust was so sincere that even Zheng Fan felt a little embarrassed.

A campfire was lit.

Three wild rabbits were placed over it to roast.

They were already very close to Geda Mountain and deep inside the Tianduan Mountains. There was no longer much need to worry about reconnaissance from Yan’s Secret Intelligence Department.

At last, everyone could say goodbye to dry rations and eat something hot.

The rabbits were almost done when A’Tong, who had been keeping watch, suddenly returned.

He whispered, “Someone’s here!”

Without another word, everyone immediately drew their weapons and prepared themselves.

Very soon, however, a strange cry sounded from the woods to the west.

A’Tong froze.

Then he immediately answered with a cry of his own.

Another response came from that direction.

The vigilance vanished from A’Tong’s face.

He smiled.

“Nothing to worry about. They’re our own people.”

Only then did Zheng Fan sit back down.

The other Demon Kings, however, remained on guard.

Their identities were false.

So these supposed “own people” could very well be enemies.

The man who had previously left Helian Baozhu’s party specifically to report to Geda Mountain should have been the original leader of her escort.

Unfortunately, the Secret Intelligence Department had caught up with him halfway.

Although he had ultimately succeeded in reaching Geda Mountain and delivering the message, he died soon afterward.

So at present, there was no one alive who could prove Zheng Fan and the others were impostors.

Even so, caution was the mother of longevity.

During the conversations they had held while resting over the previous nights, if the Blind Man had not already learned a great deal about the Three Jin lands and the Helian Clan through official bulletins and various records, their group might well have exposed itself long ago.

Not much later, a burly man wearing animal hides emerged from the western woods.

Three more people followed behind him.

One person was pulling a cart.

A woman stood beside it.

And an old man lay on top.

But the old man seemed to catch the scent of roasting meat.

He immediately leapt down from the cart with astonishing agility, rushed straight to the fire, and used a tree branch to hook one of the rabbits off the spit.

He immediately started cursing.

“Any longer and it’ll be overcooked! The meat will go tough! Ah, wasting good food, wasting good food. Hoo! Hoo! Hot! Hot!”

Yao Zizhan shamelessly claimed an entire roasted rabbit for himself and began eating.

As he ate, he kept muttering, “Only salt? Pure enough, I suppose. But this old man still prefers heavier seasoning. Shame I used up the spices I brought a few days ago. Otherwise, I could have let you all taste this old man’s cooking.”

Zheng Fan and the Demon Kings beside him had no objection to the old man helping himself to their food.

Not because their spiritual cultivation had reached some lofty realm of charity.

Purely because the instant they saw the lame man pulling the cart, the expressions of Zheng Fan and the other Demon Kings stiffened slightly.

Fortunately, their stiffness lasted only a moment.

Hero Chen, on the other hand, remained stiff the entire time.

Perhaps because his face was habitually rigid anyway, no one else around them noticed.

“Come, come, come! Eat together, eat together.”

Yao Zizhan called Hero Chen and the woman over.

The woman came and sat beside the fire.

Hero Chen instead walked to Zheng Fan and swept his gaze across the group one by one.

“Oh, old sir, I happen to still have three kinds of spices on me. Would you like some?”

“Bring them! Bring them! Quickly, while the meat’s still hot!”

Yao Zizhan sounded extremely eager.

Zheng Fan immediately rummaged through his belongings.

In the end, he took out two small cloth packets and handed them over apologetically.

“Sorry. I remembered wrong. Of the three, only two spices are left.”

“Still excellent. Better than nothing.”

Yao Zizhan accepted the spices and began adding them.

Hero Chen, meanwhile, seemed lost in thought.

He slowly sat down at the side.

At that moment, A’Tong introduced the burly man.

“This is Gesang, the number-one warrior of our tribe!”

The big man strode over of his own accord.

First, he struck his chest in greeting toward Zheng Fan and the others.

Then his eyes roamed around before finally settling on Helian Baozhu.

Thud!

The big man dropped to his knees before Helian Baozhu.

With utter sincerity, he said, “Gesang pays respects to the Young Master!”

Helian Baozhu was startled.

She looked around uneasily and did not speak.

Gesang looked at her in surprise.

The Blind Man explained, “The young lady suffered a fright on the road. She’ll need some time to recover.”

The instant Gesang heard that, he flew into a rage.

He slammed a fist into the ground.

The earth did not tremble, but the stone beneath his fist was crushed to powder.

That kind of effortless control over tremendous strength proved that his cultivation was absolutely above the Sixth Grade!

“Damn those Yan dogs!

“Young Master, rest assured. One day, we will protect you and drive every last Yan dog out!”

While Gesang swore his oath to Helian Baozhu, Yao Zizhan raised his head and wiped the grease from his mouth.

“Helian Baozhu?

“Helian Xiongbi’s daughter?”

Gesang turned toward Yao Zizhan and nodded.

“Master Yao, this is indeed our Young Master.”

Then Gesang pointed toward Yao Zizhan and introduced him to A’Tong and the rest of Zheng Fan’s group.

“Everyone, this is the world-renowned Master Yao Zizhan. He was the clan head’s close friend for several decades.”

Zheng Fan looked at Yao Zizhan in surprise.

Eh?

So this old man was the great literary master of this world?

He had often heard the name Yao Zizhan before.

If Zheng Fan had to make a comparison, the man was roughly equivalent to Su Dongpo in his previous world.

But what was he doing here?

Naturally, three rabbits were nowhere near enough to feed everyone.

Yao Zizhan alone ate two and a half.

He gave the remaining half to the woman.

Zheng Fan and the others could only continue gnawing on dry rations.

Hero Chen rose and left the campfire.

From the look of it, he was going off to relieve himself.

Zheng Fan pointed toward Hero Chen’s back.

“That man is a swordsman?”

Yao Zizhan nodded with a smile.

“This old man helped him once more than ten years ago. This time, he specifically escorted me into the mountains.

“Don’t be fooled by his limp.

“His swordsmanship is so remarkable that even this old man is amazed.”

“Oh? This junior dares ask—what Grade are you, Master Yao?”

Yao Zizhan coughed.

“Can’t a man who knows no martial arts still be amazed?”

“…”

Zheng Fan.

At that moment, the woman who had barely spoken before suddenly asked, “You warriors have had a difficult journey. From where did you enter the mountains?”

Zheng Fan frowned slightly.

The moment this woman opened her mouth, the tone was unmistakably interrogative.

And unfortunately, their identities would not survive close questioning.

At that instant, the Blind Man suddenly stood.

He pointed at the woman and barked, “Brother Gesang, this woman is no ordinary person.

“She belongs to the Silver-Armored Guard!”

Gesang, who had been sitting there, abruptly opened his eyes.

His gaze flashed like lightning as it locked onto the woman.

The woman was caught off guard.

She had clearly been trying to probe the background of these guards.

Who could have expected someone among them to directly expose her own identity instead?

Gesang slowly rose.

Behind him, A’Tong and A’Mu drew closer as well.

“Master Yao.

“Is this true?”

The woman stood too.

Her left hand settled against her waist.

At the same time, her gaze instinctively searched for Hero Chen, who had left earlier.

But perhaps Hero Chen was shy and had gone a fair distance away to urinate.

For the moment, he had not returned.

Yao Zizhan took a drink of wine and nodded without concern.

“Of course it is.

“This old man is, after all, something of a treasure of the State of Qian. If I’m crossing mountains and valleys like this, how could I not have a capable guard beside me?

“Besides, His Majesty back home wouldn’t feel at ease, would he?

“That’s why he sent Miss Su here to serve as this old man’s… concubine.

“Hahahaha! You understand. The Silver-Armored Guard of my Great Qian loves nothing more than handing wives to powerful officials and nobles.

“This old man is advanced in years and no longer has the stamina, but I cannot reject His Majesty’s goodwill. I can only wrong Miss Su a little.

“I had no intention of hiding this matter.

“I originally planned to explain everything to your settlement chief after entering the mountain tomorrow, because Miss Su also carries a secret edict from His Majesty.

“If the Helian Clan wishes to rise again, my Great Qian naturally ought to lend a helping hand.

“After all, we share a common enemy.”

Yao Zizhan spoke with complete openness.

Gesang’s gaze softened somewhat.

But at that moment, the Blind Man sneered disdainfully.

“Lend a helping hand?

“What ability do you Qian people have to help anyone?

“Sixty thousand Yan dogs beat you into that pathetic state.”

Yao Zizhan merely smiled and said nothing.

But Miss Su beside him spoke directly.

“Still better than having your entire clan exterminated in ten days.”

Yao Zizhan’s expression changed sharply.

Damn it.

Clang!

Gesang’s figure appeared directly in front of Miss Su.

His entire body slammed into her.

Bang!

Miss Su staggered backward several steps.

Blood leaked from the corner of her mouth.

Gesang, however, did not move at all.

“Master Yao, I was born in these mountains, but I still respect your scholarship.

“As for this woman from the Silver-Armored Guard, I don’t care what business you intend to discuss with the settlement chief tomorrow.

“But tonight—

“I do not want to hear another word come out of her mouth.

“Otherwise, she dies.”

[End of Chapter 235]