Naturally, it wasn't just Shun Long who had such thoughts in his mind, as Zou Qiang's expression had already turned ugly upon hearing Ying Gui mentioning the mission's details once again.
Even before they left the Holy city, this captain of the guards was always on full alert, not allowing anyone to get so much as within a few meters of the 4 carriages.
Aside from his boss and his subordinates, no one knew what they were transporting this time to Yanzhu city, and yet Zou Qiang still didn't feel safe.
As a veteran mercenary, he knew that his boss shouldn't have meddled in a transaction far above the level of what they could handle.
After all, even he, the head of the guards, was just a peak rank 5 Nascent Soul stage cultivator in the end. Although Zou Qiang was strong enough to defend himself against most dangers that he had faced so far, the reason behind him being still alive to this day while being a head of the guards, was that he was always prudent and never took risks that had a high risk of danger.
Zou Qiang clearly knew, that even a normal early rank 6 bandit would make him have to go all-out with the assistance of the rest of his guards just to fend him off. In the end, peak rank 5 Nascent Soul stage cultivators like him were far too common in powerful families, which had made him always put his life first. If there was a mission that he deemed to danger to handle, he would usually reject it without a second thought.
And yet, Zou Qiang only had himself to blame this time, since he had agreed to Ying Gui's offer.
Even though he knew that the danger of this mission was probably going to be off the charts, he still agreed upon hearing the reward that Ying Gui had promised him.
Naturally, Ying Gui didn't fail to see Shun Long checking his surroundings after hearing the details of the mission, but he simply closed his eyes and hoped that Shun Long wouldn't abandon him after he had explained things.
After all, it wasn't rare for disciples of the Holy sect to do so if a mission exceeded the danger level that they had originally estimated. Besides, it was common knowledge that the disciples of the Holy sect also didn't have to pay any fee if they gave up on a mission.
Thankfully for Ying Gui, Shun Long didn't decide to abandon him and head to Yanzhu city by himself. Although he was certain that he would be much safer if he left this sinking ship and went forward alone, Shun Long already knew that being in tense situations like this was the best way to train himself.
Even though he couldn't count on Little Silver who had now followed after Liu Mei, or Little Black who was still asleep inside the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time', from the beginning Shun Long wasn't planning on counting on anyone but himself during the sect's missions, especially since the 'Memory recording formation' was still active.
No matter what, he was already prepared for unexpected things to happen during the sect's missions. Besides, in terms of survivability alone, Shun Long believed that there were very few cultivators at the middle stages of the Nascent Soul who could compare with him.
Without paying any more attention to Ying Gui, Shun Long then closed his eyes as the carriages continued to move forward.
With the 'Ironhide cows' speed, the trip to Yanzhu city would take at least a week.
Ying Gui heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Shun Long didn't choose to leave in the end, but there was still a worried expression on the fat merchant's face as he turned around and watched his carriages move forward.
After all, it would be a lie to say that Ying Gui himself wasn't worried about this journey, with or without Shun Long's presence along with his guards. He was the one who knew exactly what kind of family he was dealing with, making the pressure that he felt even more intense.
However, along with this pressure, a look of greed had also appeared deep in his eyes, as he looked forward to the reward he would obtain upon completing this mission.
As for the 2.5 meters(8.2ft) tall head of guards, Zou Qiang, he seemed like he didn't care in the slightest whether Shun Long stayed or left, as he kept walking forward, leading the way for the caravan to follow after him.
...
5 days quickly passed, and although Zou Qiang's, Ying Gui's, and the 14 guards' nerves were stretched taut during the entirety of these 5 days and nights, not a single mishap happened throughout their journey.
At this point, both Ying Gui as well as his 14 guards, had all finally started to relax, knowing that they were less than a 2-day journey away from reaching their destination.
As soon as they reached Yanzhu city, it didn't matter if anyone found out about their caravan since they would be provided with protection from their employer no matter what happened.
And yet, not only was Shun Long not feeling relieved that nothing had happened in these last 5 days, but the look in his eyes was even more serious than before.
He understood that if they were going to be attacked, today was the most likely day for it to happen.
Their enemies wouldn't be dumb enough to wait until they reached Yanzhu city to do so.
It seemed that Zou Qiang had also realized this point as well, and after turning around and seeing that the expressions of his subordinates had started to soften, he then shouted in a serious voice that was filled with unconcealed anger
''Did we reach Yanzhu city yet? Why the hell are you idiots acting relaxed? If we are going to be ambushed, it's definitely going to happen today! Those fuckers won't wait for us to deliver the magic beasts before they make their move!''
The relaxed expressions instantly disappeared from the guards' faces as they realized that their captain was correct! Indeed, they had been feeling relaxed today after walking on a thin line for the past 5 days that had made their minds mentally exhausted.
Since they had been waiting to be attacked at any time during the past 5 days, only for nothing to end up happening in the end, it gave them a false sense of security that they were finally in the clear.
However, Zou Qiang's words quickly brought them back to the cruel reality of things. And yet, the guards didn't seem to despair as they also realized the hidden meaning behind their captain's words, making them feel invigorated and put aside their exhaustion as the 14 guards all shouted at the same time
''Yes, captain!''
Indeed, if they managed to pass the day safely, they would finally be clear of any danger.