Chapter 227: Meeting an Old Friend Again
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Ten days flew by, and the city walls of Apricot Fen City were now visible in the distance. The journey had been relatively safe, and the Immortal Cloud Caravan had taken all necessary precautions.
It must be said that traveling with the caravan provided a sense of security. The price was a bit steep, requiring five hundred taels, but no one had any objections.
When Chen Fei had traveled from Apricot Fen City to Immortal Cloud City, the ticket price had been one thousand taels. Now, traveling from Immortal Cloud City to Apricot Fen City, the price was directly halved.
According to Chen Fei’s estimation, if he were to travel from Apricot Fen City back to Immortal Cloud City in the future, the price would likely be one thousand taels again, or even a bit more expensive. The Immortal Cloud Caravan had a keen understanding of human desires.
Chen Fei bid farewell to Chu Wennian, and their brief ten days of companionship had forged a small bond. However, their destinations were different, and in Apricot Fen City, they would have to part ways.
“Brother Chen, farewell!”
Chu Lan’s eyes were teary as she waved vigorously at Chen Fei, her reluctance welling up in her chest. She felt like bursting into tears. Chu Lan knew that this parting would likely be a lifetime separation.
“Farewell!”
Chen Fei waved his hand, and as the caravan moved further away, he also left his spot and found an inn to stay in.
According to Chen Fei’s plan, he would spend a few days in Apricot Fen City, gather information, and inquire about the current situation in the area. If possible, he wanted to learn everything he could about the situation in Pingyin County as well.
When Chen Fei had left Apricot Fen City, Pingyin County had already been engulfed by evil. Now, it was unclear whether it had become a forbidden area or if other changes had occurred.
Chen Fei had no intention of going to Pingyin County. The village where the original body was from was quite a distance away from Pingyin County and was remote enough to potentially escape the strange calamity.
Early the next morning, Chen Fei maneuvered through the alleys of Apricot Fen City and eventually stopped in front of a shop.
“Sir, what kind of information are you looking for?”
As he entered the shop and took a seat, the innkeeper greeted him with a friendly smile.
Observing the surroundings, Chen Fei noticed that the decor was reminiscent of the same kind of shop he had visited before.
Yes, the place where Chen Fei came to buy information this time was a branch of the shop that was destroyed after Chi Defeng was captured. There were a few similar shops in Apricot Fen City.
“Have there been any recent dangers or anomalies around Apricot Fen City, such as evil occurrences?”
Chen Fei straightforwardly asked, a question that easily revealed he was an outsider. However, there were many newcomers in Apricot Fen City now, and many were refugees. Chen Fei’s situation was not that unusual.
Besides, with Chen Fei’s current strength, he was in Apricot Fen City, not Immortal Cloud City. In many situations, he didn’t need to worry too much.
“Fifty taels!” The innkeeper thought for a moment and quoted a price.
Chen Fei didn’t haggle, but instead took fifty taels from his sleeve and placed them on the table, pushing them towards the innkeeper.
The innkeeper’s smile grew wider, and he tapped the table with his fingers. After a moment, a folded piece of paper was passed from the back room and into Chen Fei’s hands.
Chen Fei unfolded the paper and carefully examined its contents. After a while, he looked up from the paper.
Compared to when he had left, the changes in the surroundings of Apricot Fen City were not significant; there hadn’t emerged any particularly powerful anomalies. The only notable difference was a cave that had appeared dozens of miles away. Anyone who entered it had not come out again.
Even martial artists, including those in the Marrow Tempering realm, had not been exempt from this outcome.
Fortunately, that cave was not on the same path Chen Fei would take to return to Pingyin County, so it wouldn’t cause him any additional trouble.
“Have you got the latest news about Pingyin County and its surroundings?” Chen Fei looked at the innkeeper.
“Yes, two hundred taels!” The innkeeper was somewhat surprised by Chen Fei’s question but didn’t inquire further.
In this line of business, it was common to listen more and ask fewer questions nowadays.
In the past, it hadn’t been this cautious, but with the increasing number of people arriving in Apricot Fen City, powerful warriors had also become more frequent.
A branch of the shop had been wiped out both above and below a few months ago. The killer had eventually been found, and the mastermind behind the shop had killed the killer on the spot. However, this didn’t bring all the people from that branch back to life.
Chen Fei promptly handed over two hundred taels. After a moment, another piece of paper was passed to him. Chen Fei unfolded it and examined its contents carefully.
Compared to the previous information, the contents about Pingyin County were much more substantial.
After a quick read, Chen Fei nodded to the innkeeper, left the shop, and made his way slowly to the inn.
There was nobody left in Pingyin County; it remained shrouded in anomalies.
In a time of peace and prosperity, as soon as such a situation occurred, the imperial court would have dispatched troops and experts to eliminate the anomalies in Pingyin County on the spot. Unfortunately, the current era was one of chaos, and the imperial court was preoccupied with various rebellious forces, leaving no time to deal with this remote county. With the imperial court’s neglect, the rebel forces were even less inclined to intervene, turning the county into a world of anomalies.
It was unclear whether this rapid growth of the anomaly’s power was due to the absorption of the entire population of Pingyin County. According to the information, the scope covered by the anomaly’s influence was gradually expanding.
“Has it reached the second-tier anomaly?”
Similar to the tiers of demonic beasts, a second-tier anomaly would correspond to the Marrow Tempering realm in terms of martial artists, equivalent to the level of the anomaly in the Strange Wind Realm where Chen Fei had been before.
Fortunately, the area currently affected by the anomaly’s influence hadn’t extended to the village where Chen Fei’s original body was located. If he were to explore now, he wouldn’t clash with the anomaly in Pingyin County.
Chen Fei was making plans to set off for the village in the next day or two. He wanted to dissipate the lingering obsessions outside his aperture sooner, enabling him to breakthrough to the Aperture Tempering realm.
While the Visceral Tempering realm was not weak, Chen Fei felt safer with the cultivation level of the Aperture Tempering realm.
As he walked through the bustling streets, just as he was about to step across the threshold of the inn, his footsteps halted in place. His gaze was now focused on the faces of two individuals, a hint of surprise in his expression.
Ling Hanjun, the bandit leader from Pingyin County, who later joined the rebel forces, had clashed with Chen Fei before. With Chen Fei’s strength at the time, he was clearly no match for Ling Hanjun.
So, back then, Chen Fei had merely used his bow and arrows to take down a few of Ling Hanjun’s subordinates.
Aside from Ling Hanjun, Chen Fei also spotted Dan Xiang, the personal maidservant of Zhang Sinan, the young lady of the Zhang family in Pingyin County.
Since Pingyin County had been engulfed by the anomaly, Chen Fei had assumed that the people there were mostly in danger. However, Dan Xiang and Ling Hanjun seemed to be unharmed.
It was likely that Zhang Sinan, the young lady of the Zhang family, was also safe.
What puzzled Chen Fei, though, was how these two seemingly unrelated individuals could now be together.
Dan Xiang seemed to have gone out to buy things, and Ling Hanjun might be acting as her guard? Besides the two, there were a few servants cautiously following behind. However, after a moment, these individuals disappeared from Chen Fei’s sight.
Chen Fei pondered for a moment before discreetly trailing after them.
Chen Fei wasn’t particularly curious about Dan Xiang or Zhang Sinan. At this moment, he was more intrigued by Ling Hanjun, the former bandit leader.
Half an hour later, Chen Fei watched as Dan Xiang and her companions entered the Xu family mansion. His expression was somewhat odd.
How were they connected to the Xu family?
Chen Fei still remembered Xu Wangliang, who had been vigorously hunting him and Chi Defeng in Apricot Fen City, but the matter had eventually been left unresolved. Chen Fei hadn’t expected to encounter so many familiar faces just two days after arriving in Apricot Fen City.
Chen Fei glanced at the Xu family’s courtyard, his figure shimmered, and he disappeared from the spot.
“Miss, I’m back.”
Dan Xiang entered a courtyard, where Zhang Sinan was practicing with a longsword. The sword moved nimbly in the courtyard, radiating a sharp brilliance. After a while, the sword’s movements gradually ceased.
“Have you bought everything?” Zhang Sinan took the handkerchief that Dan Xiang handed over, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
“Some items were out of stock, so I’ll have to go again in a few days,” Dan Xiang shook her head.
Zhang Sinan nodded without further questioning. Instead, she resumed her practice, showing no sign of wanting to rest.
Hidden in the shadows, Chen Fei stood with no trace of his presence, resembling a lifeless log. Without witnessing this with his own eyes, one would never discover a living person standing there.
Chen Fei observed Zhang Sinan and Dan Xiang in the courtyard. Zhang Sinan’s cultivation had already reached the peak of the Bone Tempering realm, and she was only a step away from entering the Marrow Tempering realm.
In Apricot Fen City, if Zhang Sinan could reach the Marrow Tempering realm, she could be considered young and promising.
Chen Fei was indeed curious about the relationship between Zhang Sinan and Dan Xiang, but his curiosity was superficial. He didn’t have any intention of prying further, nor did he plan to reveal himself to the two women.
Back in Pingyin County, after Chen Fei had rejected Dan Xiang’s request, Zhang Xianping had come to kill him.
Considering Zhang Xianping’s behavior, who didn’t value others’ lives, it seemed he had taken matters into his own hands and tried to kill anyone uncooperative to set an example for other Zhang family subordinates.
However, regardless of the situation, Chen Fei’s connection with the Zhang family had disappeared after that day.
In another person’s shoes, they might have rushed forward and killed the two on the spot.
But Chen Fei wasn’t inclined to kill!
Chen Fei took one last look at Zhang Sinan and Dan Xiang, his figure shimmered, and he vanished from the spot. Throughout, Zhang Sinan and Dan Xiang remained oblivious to the fact that a former acquaintance had once been here.
Chen Fei’s figure flickered, following the guidance of his senses. He arrived in front of a room, pushed the door open, and entered.
Ling Hanjun was resting in the room. As he heard the door open, his brows furrowed in displeasure. Ling Hanjun disliked uninvited guests who entered without permission.
The household servants wouldn’t dare to act like this, only those who served as guards would.
However, when Ling Hanjun turned to look at Chen Fei and saw his face, he was taken aback. Chen Fei’s appearance was too unfamiliar; he hadn’t seen him among the guards before.
An assassin?
Seeing Chen Fei’s calm demeanor as he approached step by step, Ling Hanjun hesitated for a moment. Chen Fei’s expression seemed far too composed, like a young master from one of the families in Apricot Fen City, who was deliberately trying to tease him.
“Stop, who are you!”
Years of life in the Green Forest had made Ling Hanjun’s temperament extremely volatile and cautious. Chen Fei’s gradual approach caused Ling Hanjun’s eyes to narrow, and he couldn’t help but speak in a low voice.
Chen Fei didn’t say a word. In a matter of steps, he was standing in front of Ling Hanjun, his hand reaching for Ling Hanjun’s neck.
“How bold!”
For someone with the same cultivation level in the Bone Tempering realm, Chen Fei dared to attack him barehanded. Ling Hanjun’s long knife suddenly glowed, swinging toward Chen Fei’s neck.
Before the blade could strike, it froze in mid-air.
As if teleporting, Chen Fei’s hand had already clamped down on Ling Hanjun’s neck. Despite Ling Hanjun’s intense struggle, he found himself unable to move.
Life and death now hung in the balance, determined by Chen Fei’s whim.
Terror filled Ling Hanjun’s eyes.
The opponent wasn’t just in the Bone Tempering realm!