Chapter 251: Chapter 113: Wind Thunder Silent! Transcendental Wind-Thunder Arrow!_2
In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed since Su Changkong hit the road.
“It’s too hot!”
On an official road, a caravan moved quietly forward. A man dressed as the head escort glanced at the high-hanging sun, wiped the sweat from his face, and said helplessly.
“We’ve been on the road for days. There is an inn up ahead, let’s rest there for a while.”
A portly merchant in the caravan couldn’t help but suggest, already drenched in sweat from the heat.
“Yes, Master Qian.”
The man dressed as the head escort nodded in agreement. There was still a long way to go, and pushing on would only exhaust everyone physically and mentally. They needed to recuperate fully to stay alert and deal with any sudden mishaps.
Most of the dozens of people in this group were powerful martial artists, and as they proceeded along the official road, they finally spotted a familiar inn up ahead.
“We’re finally here… Head Escort Wang, please arrange it quickly. I need to take a good bath and have a good sleep!”
Everyone couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief. Master Qian was especially impatient, being a rich man who had grown up in luxury. Now traveling to seek refuge with relatives and having been on the road for half a month, he couldn’t stand being sticky all over.
Head Escort Wang, though helpless, immediately arranged for his more than twenty escorts, “One third stays to guard the goods, the rest of you rest in shifts.”
“Yes!”
The other escorts nodded in agreement, all seasoned professionals who had traversed the south and smashed through the north, not their first time on escort duty and thus experienced.
“Esteemed guests, please come inside!”
This inn was built next to the official road and was frequented by travelers looking to rest. As they arrived at the entrance of the inn, they were eagerly greeted by a junior server.
The group entered the inn and found the first floor crowded with thirty or forty people. Groups of three or five sat at tables, drinking tea or alcohol—among them were traveling merchants and plainly dressed passersby. It was quite lively.
“That youth…”
Head Escort Wang’s gaze swept across the room and paused on a young man in black seated in the corner of the inn’s hall.
The young man was tall and handsome, sitting by a table with an unsheathed long saber placed next to him and a large bow standing by the wall corner; by its size and make, it was not something an average person could draw—a fine steel strongbow.
“This youth is quite extraordinary, he must be at least at the Divine Strength Realm,” Head Escort Wang observed with his sharp eyes, surmising that this black-clothed youth was likely a martial artist with considerable cultivation.
Naturally, the black-clothed youth was none other than Su Changkong.
“In three or four days, I will have reached the territory of Dafeng State City,” Su Changkong thought to himself. He had left Ink Forest Prefecture City and crossed three prefectures in a week, heading towards Dafeng State City. Only a few more days of travel, and he would reach his destination.
Su Changkong also noticed the group of escorts entering the inn, but he paid them no mind. In this day and age, being an escort was a common profession.
Head Escort Wang, Master Qian, and the others found empty seats and sat down, waiting for their meal. However, it didn’t take long for Head Escort Wang’s expression to change subtly.
As they had entered the inn, the ordinary-looking peddlers and servants didn’t seem to react much but many of them were discreetly paying close attention to them, making Head Escort Wang realize something was amiss!
At that moment, the meals were served, and Master Qian, unable to wait, was eager to start eating. After days of travel subsisting on dry food, how could he resist the freshness of these delicious dishes?
“Hold on!”
But Head Escort Wang stopped Master Qian.
With a sweeping gaze and in a grave tone, Head Escort Wang said, “I am Wang Kaixian, the head escort from Lingyuan Escort Agency. If any friends here have advice for us, feel free to state your names!”
The bustling inn fell silent.
All the escorts showed a vigilant expression, sensing that something was off in the inn’s atmosphere. It seemed that the casually dressed patrons were likely targeting them!
“Head Escort Wang, wouldn’t it be easier to just eat the food and spare yourself the trouble?” a man dressed in gray, in the garb of a traveling merchant and athletic in build, sighed beside a table.
Then, with a sharp look in his eyes, the man declared, “I am Zhang Xingyun of the Wind-Thunder Silent Blades! I’m here for the goods, not for lives. Leave behind the cargo and leave!”
The thirty-something patrons in the inn all stood up together, drawing weapons from beneath the tables, fixing cold stares on Wang Kaixian and the other escorts.
Zhang Xingyun was a name Wang Kaixian had never heard of, which he found unsurprising. Many robber and bandit gangs roamed and committed crimes, hitting one place, then moving on to another, sometimes even forming temporarily for a single job then disbanding after dividing the loot.
Zhang Xingyun appeared to be this type. There was a surging presence of Qi and Blood in his body, a sure sign he was an expert who had undergone Qi Blood Metamorphosis and was no easy opponent!
“Bandits?” Master Qian’s face turned pale, trembling with fear. He had heard plenty about rampant banditry in the outside world, which led him to hire the Lingyuan Escort Agency to protect him and his family. Yet, he had still become a target for bandits.
A tense standoff ensued, and a clash seemed inevitable.
At this moment, everyone’s gaze converged on one person—Su Changkong.
“I’ve eaten my fill, time to leave.”
Su Changkong saw the two sides ready to burst into conflict and knowing a bloody fight was likely to ensue, he had no desire to linger. Immediately placing a piece of Silver on the table to pay for his meal, he shouldered his pack and bow, with the saber in tow and headed for the inn’s exterior.
“Boy! Stop right there!”