NOVEL NEXT Chapter 116: Four Dangerous Places
Chapter 116: Four Dangerous Places
Xu Lian stepped into the courtyard of the Transit Guild, noticing that it was divided into several smaller courtyards. Each had a plaque above its entrance, bearing the names of the counties surrounding Pingyang County. These were clearly the available destinations.
He found the one marked “Yanfu County” and entered it. Inside was a table and chair. On the table were writing utensils-brush, ink, paper, and inkstone-and some snacks. A middle-aged, plump woman sat on the chair, which creaked under her weight as she leisurely enjoyed her snacks.
Xu Lian walked over, casually picked up a preserved fruit from the table, and popped it into his mouth. “Too sweet,” he commented.
The woman glared at him. “You want to go to Yanfu County?”
Xu Lian nodded.
She pulled out a booklet from a drawer, flipped to a blank page, dipped her brush in ink, and asked, “Name, gender, address, martial skills? If you have martial skills, what’s your cultivation level and what martial arts do you know?”
“Do I have to register all this?” Xu Lian asked.
“Of course,” she replied. “We need to know your details in order to discuss the price and assign tasks. What if you’re a demon or a monster who kills your companions halfway through? Without registration, no one will want to travel with you.”
“Alright,” Xu Lian said with a smile. “Name: Xu Lian. Gender: You can see for yourself. Address: Lin Family Residence, Third Street. Martial Arts: Yes. Cultivation level: Marrow Refining Stage. Proficient in Swordsmanship.”
The woman quickly wrote down the information in the booklet.
After finishing, she pointed to a stone lock in the corner of the courtyard. “Prove that you have the strength of the Marrow Refining Stage.”
Xu Lian walked over, lifted the massive stone lock with one hand, tossed it into the air, caught it, and gently placed it back on the ground without a sound.
“Good enough,” the woman nodded. Then she waved to one of the rooms.
A man dressed in black appeared.
“Go to the Lin family residence and check if he really lives there,” she instructed.
The man glanced at Xu Lian and hurried away.
Xu Lian hadn’t expected the process to be so strict. He continued to eat the preserved fruit while he waited.
The woman quickly popped the last piece of preserved fruit into her mouth. “A merchant caravan heading to Yanfu County is waiting outside the city. They’ll leave as soon as everyone’s gathered. You can join them. Given your Marrow Refining Stage strength, you won’t be a burden to the caravan, but you also won’t be of much use to them. Therefore, the caravan won’t ask you for any spirit stones, nor will they pay you any. You only have to pay ten spirit stones as the Transit Guild’s fee for introducing you to the caravan. Understand?”
Xu Lian roughly understood. “If someone too weak wants to go to Yanfu County, the caravan will charge a protection fee. If someone strong joins, the caravan would pay spirit stones as a reward for escorting them, right?”
“Exactly,” the woman said. “The Transit Guild is just the middleman.”
Xu Lian placed ten spirit stones on the table. “What is the background of this caravan? Why are they going to Yanfu County?”
The woman pocketed the spirit stones. “The Transit Guild will give your personal information to the caravan, and only then will they allow you to join. As a follower, you don’t need to know the details of the caravan. Rest assured, the Transit Guild doesn’t work with unreliable caravans.”
“Alright,” Xu Lian said, knowing that it was pointless to ask further.
Not long after, the man in black returned. “I checked at the Lin family residence on Third Street. He lives there.”
The woman took out a wooden token from a drawer and handed it to Xu Lian. “Take this token and go five miles west of town. You’ll find the caravan there. Show them this token, and they’ll allow you to join them.”
“Thank you,” Xu Lian said.
Xu Lian took the wooden token and left the Transit Guild. Mounting his black horse, he rode toward the west side of the city. After traveling five miles, he spotted a merchant caravan camped there.
The caravan consisted of over thirty carts of goods that didn’t appear to be heavy. Xu Lian guessed that they were probably carrying medicinal herbs. The reason why they weren’t packed in spatial bags was because those bags had a limited capacity, suitable only for small items like spirit stones or pills. Larger spatial bags were rare, and only high-ranking members of the major factions had them.
Each cart was manned by a driver and two guards, all clad in leather armor and armed with long swords. The leader of the caravan was a young woman who carried a large sword on her back, making her quite striking. What drew even more attention, however, was her stunning beauty and curvaceous figure. To put it in an old-fashioned way, she had the face of an angel and the body of a devil.
Aside from her, there were about a dozen men and women dressed in ordinary clothes, likely individuals like Xu Lian who had been introduced by the Transit Guild to join the caravan.
As Xu Lian approached on horseback, he was stopped by a guard. He took out a wooden token and tossed it to the guard. “I’m here to join the caravan introduced by the Transit Guild.”
The guard caught the token and led him to the young woman, handing it to her. “Captain Jiang, another follower has arrived.”
Jiang Xianyu took the token, examined it, and after confirming its authenticity, pointed to the group of ordinary-looking men and women. “Go over there. No wandering around.”
Xu Lian had no choice but to join the group. The dozen or so individuals glanced at him but remained silent, showing no interest in introductions or conversation.
Not one to force social interactions, Xu Lian gave a slight nod of recognition. Then he found a tree, tied his black horse to it and sat down at the base of it. He planted his sword in the ground, leaned back against the trunk, and closed his eyes to rest. Admittedly, the pose looked quite dashing, like a true wandering swordsman.
After nearly an hour, a few more disciples arrived one after another. Jiang Xianyu checked their tokens and directed them to join Xu Lian’s group, once again instructing them not to wander off.
A man in black from the Transit Guild arrived and handed Jiang Xianyu a list. After reviewing it, she walked over to Xu Lian’s group and began calling out names to verify their identities.
Once the roll call was complete, she started collecting spirit stones from each person based on their strength, ranging from ten to a hundred spirit stones. However, she didn’t collect any spirit stones for two individuals. Instead, she handed a hundred Spirit Stones to each of them.
“Both of you have reached the level of Bright Strength and will be useful to the caravan. If we encounter any danger, please help us.”
Xu Lian couldn’t help but take a closer look at these two. One was a plainly dressed elderly man, and the other was a young man in a long robe.
The elderly man chuckled as he accepted the one hundred Spirit Stones. “No problem, no problem.”
The young man in the robe smiled and declined the spirit stones. “Miss Jiang, you’re too kind. I don’t need the spirit stones. Since I’m traveling with your caravan, I’ll naturally help you if there’s any danger.”
Jiang Xianyu didn’t insist on giving him the spirit stones. She then addressed the group of nearly twenty followers.
“Fellow travelers heading to Yanfu County, I assume you’ve already familiarized yourselves with the journey ahead, so I’ll keep this brief.
On the way, we’ll pass through four dangerous areas: Misty Ghost Mountain, Poison Dragon Pool, Ghost Child Ridge, and Red Sedan Bridge. The journey is long, and fortune and misfortune are unpredictable. Please take care of each other.”
Hearing the names of these places sent a shiver down Xu Lian’s spine. He couldn’t help but ask, “Why don’t we avoid these dangerous areas?”
The group of followers burst into laughter, leaving Xu Lian stunned. He believed in the virtue of asking questions when he didn’t understand – what was so funny?
Jiang Xianyu gave him a strange look. “Didn’t you research the route before?”
Xu Lian shook his head. “I’m in a hurry to get to Yanfu County and didn’t have time to learn much about the journey.”
Jiang Xianyu explained, “Misty Ghost Mountain isn’t just a single mountain – it refers to the entire mountain range surrounding Pingyang County. How could we possibly go around it?
The same goes for Poison Dragon Pond; it encircles the entire county, making it impossible to bypass.
Unless you’ve reached the level of flying, of course. But even then, flying isn’t safe, as the dangers in the sky are far greater than those on the ground.
As for Ghost Child Ridge and Red Sedan Bridge, they don’t have fixed locations.
No one knows where they’ll appear, so how could we avoid them? If we’re lucky, we might not encounter them at all. If we’re unlucky, there’s no escaping them,”
Xu Lian’s heart sank. No wonder the White Fox Quarry Patrol Inspector refused to give him the Nightbloom Flower and insisted that he go out to gain experience. He realized how little he knew about this strange and perilous world. “What kind of dangers are there in these places?”
Jiang Xianyu didn’t elaborate. Instead, she simply ordered, “Let’s move out!”
The young man in the robe patted Xu Lian’s shoulder with a smile. “You’ll find out when we get there.
Take the Red Sedan Bridge, for example. There’s a ghostly bride dressed in red with a red veil. She selects a man from among the travelers to spend three days and nights with her in a bridal chamber. If she is satisfied, he’s free to go. If not, he’s done for.”
Holy crap… Xu Lian cursed inwardly, feeling the urge to vent his frustration at this bizarre and dangerous world.
Seeing the young man’s pale face, the others couldn’t help but laugh. It was clear that this was his first time venturing far away from home.
Xu Lian quickly untied his horse from the tree, mounted it, and followed the group. With over a hundred men in the caravan, his luck surely wouldn’t be that bad, right?