Chaotic World Book

The warehouse manager honestly handed over the account book, not expecting Zhao Changhe to understand it, and was planning to explain a thing or two, yet to his surprise, Zhao Changhe actually got it.

"Damn it, I was wondering why there was so little stuff, the cheek of some people, taking several hundred taels of silver in one go, pulling three carts of rice, and they even have the audacity to take the pheasant meat, which was hunted by my Luo Qi!" Zhao Changhe shook the account book and said angrily, "This Mr. Fang hasn't done a damn thing, but has such a big appetite, and he even has the gall to talk about hunting for treasures, all he found was crap!"

Speaking of which, that meat was hunted by everybody, by quite a few squads at that, how did it suddenly become what only your Luo Qi hunted... the warehouse manager dared not make a peep.

"He's the squad leader, and our mountain fortress is still under him, there's nothing to be done if he wants to take stuff." A bandit said helplessly, "Boss, what do we do now? It's already been tough to hunt lately, and spring is still a ways off... Should we..."

Saying this, he made a 'cutting' gesture with his hand: "Last time Luo Qi tried to raid Zhang Village, but was disrupted by Yue Hongling, ending up with us getting squat... Shall we go again?"

This bandit was the same one who had come to report about Yue Hongling passing by not long ago, and he had a name that resonated somewhat awkwardly with Zhao Changhe, Wang Dashan. It was on this occasion that Zhao Changhe realized for the first time how rustic his own name was.

This Wang Dashan was nothing more than a low-level hoodlum from the nearby towns who had sought refuge with the bandits, not the best sort, but then again, there were no saints in the bandit camp. Zhao Changhe, acknowledging his role in alerting them previously, had thus dragged him into becoming the Vice Chief.

Seeing Wang Dashan eager to try, Zhao Changhe began to get a headache as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

These bandits really have no brains...

"Great Xia may be in turmoil, but it's not fallen yet! Zhang Village just had a narrow escape from death, aren't they afraid of you coming again? Clearly, they have already reported to the officials, and it's very likely that government soldiers are now watching it. If the Chief Officer here is capable, they might already be preparing a raid against us... And you still want to go again? How far along in the Mystical Gate are you, Wang Dashan?"

Wang Dashan: "..."

Zhao Changhe was quite troubled. He thought they were all like Luo Qi, between the Fourth and Fifth Layer of the Mystical Gate and just pretending to be weak? To this day not one of them can even master the basic 'turnaround slash', relying on you bunch of lopsided melons and cracked dates, are you trying to court death...

Ideally, as the Branch Leader staying in town, he should be responsible for handling official matters, at least be able to send alerts when there were changes, but unfortunately, this Branch Leader was not tripping up on his own accord, clearly not to be counted on.

Fortunately, in such a desolate small city, even if there were government soldiers, there wouldn't be many, probably just a few city guards mixed with government officials. The likelihood of them braving the snow and ice to come to the mountains for a raid was still small, and if they really did come, there was nothing to fear, but it would be too easy to meet with disaster if he went out carelessly.

Zhao Changhe pondered for a long time, finally saying, "What we have in the fort isn't even enough for everyone to eat for one day. No matter what we plan, it won't solve the immediate problem. Transferring money and grain isn't done like this, there's no respect for the basic law. Branch Leader Fang is clearly causing trouble on purpose, giving us a tough problem to solve, truly damn low level."

Wang Dashan asked curiously, "How could the Branch Leader dare to do this, Boss, aren't you with the Holy Daughter..."

"Heh..." Zhao Changhe chuckled, regarding the so-called backers, they might appear to have them, but the clear-headed knew it was a facade...

Many people would have heard Vermilion Bird say that they shouldn't harbor thoughts of romance. If Luo Qi really wanted to fulfill her role as the Holy Daughter, she probably wouldn't even dare express friendship, let alone overt concern, for fear of being accused of harboring old affections. He, Zhao Changhe, might be the Four Symbols Sect's first target. After all, the Demon Sect is still the Demon Sect; no one's going to reason with you much.

Of course, Fang Buping was also stupid enough. If Luo Qi can't show care openly, wouldn't it be easy for her to make your life difficult again in the future? Blinded by jealousy, perhaps?

"What he thinks doesn't matter," Zhao Changhe said languidly. "I only believe in a punch that settles it all, avoiding the hassle of another hundred punches. Get a few men, we'll head to town and after getting the money we'll make purchases there."

Wang Dashan was dumbfounded: "Enter the town? Where are we getting money?"

"Isn't there a lot of money in the Branch Leader's residence?" Zhao Changhe strode down the mountain, "Taking stuff from my hands, he'll have to spit it out! Let's go."

Wang Dashan: "???"

...

Entering the town meant facing the problem of the wanted poster first.

Zhao Changhe hadn't learned the Qinggong skill to easily come and go, and the footwork that came with the Blood Evil Skill was intended for maneuvering and aggression, the explosive strength it provided was used for escaping; at most, it would enable one to jump a bit higher, but scaling the city walls was still quite difficult.

Being in a fantasy world without Qinggong, losing even the most basic flair, indeed felt a bit frustrating, but it couldn't be helped; because Sun Jiao himself was like a buffalo climbing a tree when practicing Qinggong, utterly helpless, after all, he was but a man focused on External Training.

However, these days of cultivating Xia Longyuan's Inner Strength had already yielded significant results, truly achieving the unity of External and Inner Strength. With Inner Strength, one could naturally use some light body techniques, and when the time came, finding a set would be much easier than searching for a Cultivation Technique.

With trepidation, Zhao Changhe approached the city gate and, from a distance, he laughed when he saw the wanted poster.

Tang Chief's drawing skills were truly formidable, making his likeness extraordinarily accurate, akin to a photograph, even the bloodstain on his face that hadn't yet turned into a scar was depicted, corresponding exactly to his current scar.

```

But back then, Zhao Changhe was a college student who shaved daily, and now he sported a full beard; his hair, once short, was now a scruffy semi-long mess, reminiscent of a sharp-brother type; he had once carried the air of academia, but now he exuded the thick aura of a bandit, his voice booming and profanity never far from his lips, his entire demeanor having undergone a drastic change.

Suddenly Zhao Changhe began to wonder if he stood before his former classmates now, they probably wouldn't dare to recognize him. No wonder when Yue Hongling saw him that day, she had that stunned and adorable expression.

In any case, with this appearance, he could swagger into the city with ease, and the guards likely wouldn't recognize him... Besides, there were no overly diligent guards here—each one was lazily basking in the sun on this snowless day, merely stopping those entering the city to collect an entrance tax without even bothering to take a close look at their faces.

In light of this, the so-called wanted order didn't restrict him as much as he had previously imagined.

Zhao Changhe's mood suddenly improved, and he strode into the city.

The guards, as expected, didn't take him seriously, listlessly stopping him and extending a hand without bothering to speak.

Zhao Changhe fished out a few copper coins and placed them in the guard's hand, who then waved them through, and they entered without further issue.

"Is this all it takes for the imperial soldiers? They don't even bother to have a proper look even when a fugitive is standing right before them," Wang Dashan whispered with a sneer, "The Imperial Court really is almost done for."

Zhao Changhe glanced at him sideways and chose not to comment.

Although reluctant to acknowledge a wild "father," he knew that if he were to claim it, he probably could be a prince, and so, unwittingly, he felt a slight shift in his mindset, as if somehow the empire had become somewhat related to him.

If it were a golden age, posing as a fake prince might actually be quite enjoyable... Alas. Unfortunately, in such times, he'd more likely just be an innocent fall guy—a tool—so better to forget it.

He made his way to the location of Branch Leader Fang Buping's estate, a mansion sprawling across several acres with elaborately carved beams and painted rafters, not at all keeping a low profile, housing dozens of Blood God Sect members, and even a host of maids and servants.

With the Emperor far away in the distant mountains, being a Branch Leader was certainly about indulgence, who the hell had the patience to spend days in a mountain stronghold in the ice and snow... Having spent more than a month in the stronghold, Zhao Changhe only met Fang Buping on the first day and not at all afterwards, hence it was evident why the Beimang treasure hunt was carried out so inefficiently and ineffectively.

Arriving at the gate, two cult members were acting as gatekeepers. When they saw Zhao Changhe approach, their eyes widened, "Zhao... Oh, Village Chief Zhao, what brings you to this place? Wait, how... how dare you enter the city..."

"Ah, I see you city brothers really do speak so refined, quite different from us hill folk, huh."

"… One must at least read the scriptures in the Sect."

"Learned people, impressive," Zhao Changhe said with a smile, "It seems I also need to ask Branch Leader Fang for some books to read... hmm, mainly I came to see how Branch Leader Fang is recovering from his injuries?"

The cult members couldn't think of a reason to bar Zhao Changhe, who, despite his junior status, was after all a formal member, so they could only lead him inside, "The Branch Leader has been seriously injured and is resting, he will surely be delighted to see the Village Chief visiting."

Zhao Changhe casually asked, "Has he seen a doctor?"

"Of course, there are skilled healers in the Sect."

"Then Branch Leader Fang should be up and about soon, right? These are troubled times, and without the strength of our Branch Leader, we all feel a bit uneasy…"

"He can't even get out of bed at the moment, the healer said it's unlikely he'll be much better before two or three months, and if he can recover half his strength in three months… we'll see whether the spring will bring better chances for healing."

"Ah, the Sect's elite have departed, and with the Branch Leader injured so gravely, are the defenses of the branch strong enough? Do you need some brothers transferred over?"

"While there might not be any high-level masters left, there is still a good number of Mystical Gate first and second level members. What use is there for higher masters in such a remote and small city, so we should be fine."

Zhao Changhe laughed and leisurely followed inside, sensing that he had indeed become more scheming.

He wasn't necessarily here to fight with Fang Buping directly. Understanding the situation was more important, be it Fang Buping's injury status or the branch's strength within the city, he needed a clear grasp before planning his next move.

But Wang Dashan and the others all believed the Village Chief was just being hot-headed, just like when he had beaten Zhang Quan to death.

Impulsive and violent sometimes made for a useful persona.

Maybe it was from practicing with a little demoness who never told the truth… perhaps indeed he had grown up.

————

PS: Just past a key early stage of the plot, laying out a few transitional chapters, don't be impatient.

```