Before long, dusk arrived. The sky was a wash of orange-yellow. With autumn upon them, the bleak wind swept through the wilderness, carrying a trace of desolation.
Even the cries of birds and beasts were far less lively and cheerful than in summer, much deeper and subdued.
"It's been most of the day already. Why hasn't Old Chen caught up? Could something have happened to him?"
The eight Blood Strengthening Realm martial artists who had set off earlier had caught up with the medicine convoy by noon. They were now moving through the wilderness, using great trees and earthen mounds to conceal themselves. The convoy was slowly proceeding along the official road two hundred meters ahead of them, and the rumble of its wheels carried clearly from afar.
As the daylight gradually faded and night was about to fall, Shopkeeper Chen was still nowhere to be seen. They could not help but grow anxious, suspecting that something might have happened to him.
"How about we send someone back to take a look?" suggested a burly man dressed in brown.
"No!" The only Late Blood Strengthening Martial Artist in the group immediately objected.
"If Old Chen has truly met with trouble, sending another one or two people back would be of no use. You should know that Old Chen has been entrenched in the mid-stage Blood Strengthening Realm for many years. His Heart Destroying Palm has reached Minor Accomplishment, and his strength is second only to mine.
"And all of you are weaker than Old Chen. Going back would only be sending yourselves to your deaths!"
"It would be even more impossible for me to return! Our primary task this time is to ensure the safety of this batch of medicinal herbs and eliminate the Black Wind bandits who come to