Chapter 5

Lei Mengsha could not help feeling that it was unbelievable.

The other party's strength was probably on par with the strongest of the Eight Princes of Northern Li, Young Master Fenghua.

They were all experts only a hair's breadth away from the Carefree Heaven Realm.

Fortunately, someone as powerful as the Bookstall Owner was not their enemy.

In fact, Lei Mengsha even suspected that he might have been reinforcements sent by Tian Qi City.

Yet after thinking for a long while, he still could not find the slightest impression of him in his mind.

So he could only give up trying to figure it out.

Looking at Xiao Li's corpse, kneeling on the long street and dead from exhaustion, he sighed, "That bastard is finally dead."

"The pressure just now was truly terrifying."

"It's all thanks to you, Boss, for lending us a hand. Otherwise, the few of us would probably have suffered a calamity today."

After Lei Mengsha finished speaking,

Baili Dongjun and Sikong Changfeng also stepped forward to thank him.

Especially Baili Dongjun. If Jiang Mu Ming had not intervened today, his tavern would probably have been smashed to pieces by those people.

All the fine wine he had carefully brewed was inside!

Jiang Mu Ming merely waved his hand.

He said, "Since you were reading books at my bookstall, you are my customers. Naturally, I couldn't let anyone threaten your safety."

"Otherwise, how would I do business?"

After all, aside from reading himself, letting others read could also earn him considerable rewards.

Rewards like the Great River Sword Intent had been quite rare during his fifteen years here.

"If you insist on thanking me, just buy a few books from me." Jiang Mu Ming pointed at the bookstall.

There were not many things left intact on this street.

These books were among them.

As for the rest of the street, it had long since been damaged beyond recognition, and several large holes had been smashed into Baili Dongjun's tavern.

He had no idea whether the wine inside was all right.

Speaking of which, the wine brewed by Baili Dongjun was quite good. Jiang Mu Ming had visited the tavern quite often these past few days.

"There is no need to say anything more about that. The books at your place, Boss Jiang, are truly wonderful!"

At the mention of books,

even Sikong Changfeng, who had barely spoken until now, perked up.

They all began praising them.

They had never read such fascinating books in their lives. With just a few strokes, the books made people feel as though they had been immersed in another world.

However, Lei Mengsha had not forgotten the real reason he had come here.

He turned to Baili Dongjun and Sikong Changfeng and said, "The fact that White-Browed Xiao Li was alarmed means that the intelligence you gathered must be extremely valuable!"

"Tell me about it."

Lei Mengsha felt somewhat excited.

Why had he not hesitated to expose his identity today?

Was it not to save the two of them,

and then obtain the intelligence in their hands?

He dared to guarantee that since so many experts had been drawn here, Baili Dongjun and the others must have learned extremely important information!

But across from him... Baili Dongjun and Sikong Changfeng exchanged a glance.

Both of them felt rather bewildered.

Intelligence? What intelligence?

From each other's eyes, they saw the same clear, foolish innocence. They had not gathered any intelligence at all!

Lei Mengsha saw their expressions.

His heart sank.

A slightly awkward smile appeared on his face, and he said haltingly, "You must be joking with me, right?"

"You must be people from Tian Qi City. You must have intelligence, right..."

But the more he spoke, the weaker Lei Mengsha's voice became, until it began to tremble.

The next instant,

Lei Mengsha's expression changed wildly. He asked in disbelief, "So you really stole the land deed from your family and then ran away to open a tavern?!"

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"And you!" Lei Mengsha looked toward Sikong Changfeng again. "So you really had neither parents nor family, taught yourself martial arts, wandered here, and only stayed after discovering that you could eat and drink for free at the tavern?!"

"My heavens!"

Lei Mengsha was filled with regret.

What sin had he committed to encounter these two idiots in Chai Sang City?

If he had not encountered Jiang Mu Ming's assistance,

there was no telling whether any of them would have survived!

After taking such a blow, Lei Mengsha's talkative nature erupted at once, and he began chattering nonstop.

This made Baili Dongjun inexplicably feel guilty.

He felt as though he had committed some unforgivable crime.

But he had clearly only come to Chai Sang City to brew wine.

He had also been dragged into this mess for no apparent reason.

Meanwhile, Lei Mengsha already felt that his life had fallen into darkness. If the others found out about this,

that he had mistaken two idiots for reinforcements from Tian Qi City,

and had risked exposing his identity to save them,

only to discover that the two of them were complete outsiders who had stumbled into the situation by accident...

He had no idea how badly they would mock him!

Fortunately, his intervention this time had not been entirely fruitless. At the very least, he had discovered a powerful expert like Boss Jiang.

Moreover, because of Baili Dongjun and Sikong Changfeng,

he now truly believed that Jiang Mu Ming was indeed just a bookstall owner who had also accidentally become involved in the situation.

That being the case,

he could rest completely at ease.

After all, Boss Jiang seemed like a good person. He simply loved reading.

Just as Lei Mengsha was lamenting his misfortune,

the sound of a flute drifted down from above them. It was clear and elegant, winding and melodious.

Jiang Mu Ming's heart stirred.

He knew that Young Master Qingge Luo Xuan, one of the Eight Princes of Northern Li, had arrived.

However, that was not quite accurate.

The other party had actually been here the entire time, and Jiang Mu Ming had discovered him long ago.

He simply had not exposed him.

On the rooftop, Young Master Qingge Luo Xuan lowered his flute.

His gaze unconsciously fell on Jiang Mu Ming. He had originally intended to probe this mysterious man who had appeared out of nowhere.

But after witnessing that move of Great River Sword Intent just now,

he abandoned the idea.

After all, if he accidentally turned things to his own disadvantage and made a powerful enemy for himself, that would be unwise.

This struggle over the Southwest Dao

involved too many forces, and the situation was far too complicated. It was truly unsuitable to act rashly.

At that moment, everyone followed the sound and spotted Luo Xuan.

Lei Mengsha looked at him with displeasure.

"You finally decided to come out, did you? If I had waited for you to arrive and lend support, I would have died several times over by now!"

He then introduced him to everyone.

"This fellow is also one of the Eight Princes of Northern Li, Young Master Qingge."

"Luo Xuan!"