Fancheng
Xiemu was still sitting in the stone pavilion with Zhan Yun, chatting, and the two of them talked about the Origin Stone.
Zhan Yun held the steaming tea cup in his hand, raised his eyes and looked at the bright moonlight, and said: "It's already the fourth watch, and the person escorting the Origin Stone should be back."
Xiemu, who was sitting on the stone bench, said indifferently: "It's only a few dozen miles from Fancheng to there. It may be because of the rugged mountain road, so it took some time. I believe there will be news soon."
"Besides, you sent someone to pick them up, didn't you?"
Zhan Yun said with a worried look: "Having said that, I always feel that something is wrong."
"You know, that's 10 million spiritual source stones, which is equivalent to half a month's income of a shop in Fan City. You can't be careless."
"Had I known this, I shouldn't have sent them to escort the Origin Stone. This is really heart-wrenching to wait for."
Xie Mu picked up the tea cup before he could drink it. After hearing his words, he took the tea cup away from his mouth and said, "Are you worried that the sects of the Black and White Sword Sect will attack us when they learn the news?"
Zhan Yun sighed and said with a sad look on his face: "Those people rely on their geographical location and our indulgence of them in recent years, which has only encouraged their courage. It can be said that there is nothing they dare not do. .”
"Remember last time, my men were ordered to escort silk and satin, and they happened to pass near the Black and White Sword Gate. If my people hadn't arrived in time, the caravan transporting the silk and satin would have been detained by the people of the Black and White Sword Gate."
Xiemu smiled and said: "I think you are overly worried. This place is more than a hundred miles away from the Black and White Sword Gate. Even if you lend them some courage, they will never dare to be so presumptuous."
Zhan Yun said seriously: "Don't forget, although the Black and White Sword Gate is far away from the city, the Butcher Alliance and Haoran Mountain are right in front of you."
"Once they steal the Source Stone without leaving any trace, there will be no reason for us to come and ask for it."
Xie Mu thought about it carefully and said: "These forces are too close to each other. It will not be easy to eradicate them."
Although the Black and White Sword Sect, the Butcher Alliance and other forces are not as good as the Huangkong Chamber of Commerce, several forces have gathered together to keep warm, and their strength has been significantly improved. The Huangkong Chamber of Commerce does not dare to rashly remove these "nails".
Where there is war, there must be sacrifices. This is inevitable. If the Huangkong Chamber of Commerce wants to take action against surrounding forces, it will definitely have to pay some price.
Getting rid of them in a short time will not cause any big problems, but if it is delayed for too long, it is difficult to guarantee that the Hero League, Kuangmen and other big forces will not be ready to move.
This is also the reason why the Royal Air Chamber of Commerce turns a blind eye to some minor frictions. If you are not careful, you will usher in a large-scale war, which may cause injuries at least, or wipe out everything.
Zhan Yun held a teacup filled with tea in his hand, shook his head and said: "Alas! The annual expenditure of the Chamber of Commerce is getting higher and higher every year. This is always a hidden danger."
When Xie Mu, who was sitting on the stone bench, heard this, he looked up at him for a while and said with a solemn expression: "What do you mean..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw a panicked black shadow rushing towards him, which made him stand up from the stone bench and frown.
The man in black, wearing a black mask, knelt on one knee in front of the steps of the stone pavilion, cupped his hands and said: "To inform the city lord, the person escorting the Origin Stone was attacked. A group of thirteen people died in the valley, and the carriage and the Origin Stone were missing. .”
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After hearing this, Zhan Yun opened his eyes slightly and dropped the tea cup in his hand. The tea spilled all over the floor and the tea cup rolled down outside the stone pavilion.
In fact, he had thought about this outcome, but he always felt that the probability of it happening was extremely low. Unexpectedly, the Source Stone was really stolen.
Xiemu came to Zhan Yun's side and said immediately: "Since the gangster took away the carriage together, there will definitely be ruts on the road. Didn't you catch up?"
The man in black kneeling on one knee said: "The boys chased along the ruts all the way to the edge of the cliff, then lost their direction, so they had no choice but to come back and report."
Zhan Yun said expressionlessly: "Who did this?"
The man in black said in detail: "The person being escorted was attacked in the valley. The attacker seemed to have laid an ambush there in advance. Also, there were signs of fighting at the scene. Judging from the wounds on the body, the attacker's methods were extremely cruel. , It’s not like someone from a sect, it’s more like a casual cultivator..."
"What you see is what others want you to see! Where did the casual cultivators get the news? And who gave them the courage to rob our Royal Sky Chamber of Commerce's caravan?" Zhan Yun scolded, frightened. The man in black trembled, lowered his head and did not dare to say anything.
In Zhan Yun's view, it was not random cultivators who robbed the Origin Stone, but people with powerful backing behind them. Moreover, they knew the specific time when the caravan arrived in the valley and the overall strength of the escorting Origin Stone caravan. Dare to attack.
If there was no detailed information, how could the casual cultivator appear in the valley so cleverly and suddenly stop the caravan when it passed by?
Obviously, all this was premeditated and prepared, and it was an ambush designed by someone in advance.
Xiemu said: "You go down first."
After the man in black left, he said to Zhan Yun: "Be calm and don't be impatient. I will go to the valley to check it out myself."
After saying that, he walked out of the stone pavilion and left along the gravel road, his back gradually disappearing into the moonless darkness.
----
A few nights later, on the way to the ghost land, Ziyang took off his black clothes and changed into a clean white suit. He wore a white jade crown on his head, a white jade belt around his waist, and a laughing clown mask on his face.
Tiger Bear also took off his tattered bearskin coat and put on a menacing yellow tiger fur coat. Especially the tiger head on the chest looked extremely powerful. There was a Lingxuan bag and a jug of wine hanging on his waist. , wearing short boots with bright fabrics on her feet.
Xiaoliu was wearing a pink outfit, with a small nose, cunning eyes, a delicate fair face, and a three-thousand-haired shawl. He looked eccentric, and he also had a spiritual bag hanging on his waist.
Of course, the clothes they wore and the spiritual bags hanging on their waists were all made from the Origin Stone in the hands of Tiger Bear.
After all, they robbed 10 million Spiritual Origin Stones from the Royal Sky Chamber of Commerce's caravan, and they had 10,000 Holy Origin Stones instead.
Xiao Liu suddenly asked: "Zi Yang, don't you think it's been a little too quiet recently?"
Zi Yang smiled and asked: "Which aspect are you referring to? Is it that the people who are chasing me are too calm, or is it that the people from the Huangkong Chamber of Commerce are not making any movement at all?"
Xiaoliu said calmly: "They are all quite quiet. The group of sword cultivators who are chasing you only appeared once in Fan City, and they never showed up again after that. The Huangkong Chamber of Commerce has been extremely quiet in recent days. It seems that I have given up on capturing you."
Without waiting for Zi Yang to answer, he held the wine in his hand
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Hu Xiong from Hu was the first to say: "I don't think so. We just robbed the Royal Sky Chamber of Commerce's caravan. They must be looking for the real culprit now."
Seeing how confident he looked, Zi Yang couldn't help but ask, "Oh? Are you so sure?"
Although Xiao Liu didn't say anything, it could be seen from her puzzled expression that she also wanted to know where Hu Xiong's confidence came from.
Huxiong took a sip of wine and smiled mysteriously: "Do you still remember where those people from the Huangkong Chamber of Commerce came from?"
Zi Yang replied casually: "Fancheng, is there any problem with this?"
Huxiong said: "I guess, those people must be transporting the Origin Stone to Fancheng."
Xiaoliu obviously didn't understand what he meant, and asked again: "We are saying that the Royal Sky Chamber of Commerce will not send pursuers. Does this have anything to do with where the Origin Stone is transported?"
Hu Xiong said carefully: "Hey, not only is there a relationship, but there is also a direct relationship. You don't know, the Lord of Fan City Zhan Yun is a very thoughtful person, and he never believes in coincidences."
"In his eyes, everything is premeditated. Based on this alone, I dare to say that he must have placed the murderer who stole the Origin Stone among several surrounding forces."
"So, we won't send out pursuers for the time being. Of course, it's not ruled out that he has thought of another way to lure you out."
After hearing what Huxiong said so clearly, Ziyang asked with great interest: "Do you know the Lord of Fancheng so well?"
Huxiong said with a smile on his face: "Haha! To be honest, the strength of the Royal Sky Chamber of Commerce's caravans used to be average. When I was the king of the mountain, I led my brothers to rob their goods."
"The funniest thing is that the Lord of Fan City didn't think it was me who did it. He thought I didn't dare to do it, so he pointed the finger at the nearby sect."
"That's it. I intercepted a lot of their stuff earlier, but I didn't attract their attention."
Xiaoliu looked slightly confused and said: "The number of people in your village should be several hundred, but the Huangkong Chamber of Commerce didn't invite you to join them?"
Hu Xiong said: "The Huangkong Chamber of Commerce sent someone to invite me to lead the brothers in the village to join them, but I refused. Maybe it was because they felt that my village was too remote, with poor clothing, poor food, and no money. The Origin Stone was offered as an offering, but they didn’t take it seriously.”
Zi Yang said in disbelief: "Can't you dress well or eat well? You, a mountain king, can't even provide food and clothing?"
When he said this, Hu Xiong immediately explained: "Although I am the king of the mountain, I am not a bandit who brings trouble to one party. Under my leadership, no one in the village dares to do anything evil. This is also a mountain village." The reason for surviving to this day.”
"Every day I assign tasks to my brothers. They go up the mountain to collect wild vegetables, catch game, cut firewood, etc. In short, the division of labor is clear and no one will starve to death."
"Only in winter, especially when the mountains are closed by heavy snow, will I dig out some mineral veins and buy some winter clothes and food from Fancheng and other places, so that the brothers in the village can survive the winter smoothly."
Zi Yang opened his mouth to praise and said, "You are quite smart. You were afraid of attracting the attention of the big forces around you, so you bought some from here and then bought some from there. You successfully deceived their eyes."
From this moment on, Ziyang's view of Huxiong has also undergone earth-shaking changes. The former master of his cottage is indispensable for the success of his cottage today.
(End of chapter)
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