Chapter 5

Lei Mengsha couldn't help but find it somewhat unbelievable.

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

Both were experts just a hair's breadth away from the Carefree Heaven Realm.

Fortunately, the Bookstall Owner, formidable as he was, wasn't their enemy.

In fact, Lei Mengsha even wondered if the man was reinforcements sent from Tian Qi City.

But after racking his brain, he couldn't recall any impression of the man.

So he had to give up thinking.

Staring at Xiao Li's corpse, which had collapsed from exhaustion in the middle of the street, he sighed, "That bastard's finally dead."

"The pressure earlier was really intense."

"Thanks to you stepping in, boss, or we'd have been in deep trouble today."

As Lei Mengsha finished speaking.

Baili Dongjun and Sikong Changfeng also stepped forward to express their gratitude.

Especially Baili Dongjun—if Jiang Mu Ming hadn't acted today, his tavern would've been smashed to pieces by those men.

And inside were all the fine wines he'd painstakingly brewed!

Jiang Mu Ming just waved his hand.

He said, "Since you're reading at my stall, you're my customers. Naturally, I won't let anyone threaten your safety."

"Otherwise, how could I keep doing business?"

After all, aside from reading himself, letting others read also earned him no small rewards.

Rewards like the Great River Sword Intent were rare even in these fifteen years.

"If you really want to thank me, just buy a few books from my stall." Jiang Mu Ming pointed at the bookstall.

Not many things on this street had survived intact.

These books were among them.

As for the rest of the street, it was already wrecked beyond recognition, and Baili Dongjun's tavern had been smashed with several big holes.

He had no idea if the wine inside was still okay.

Come to think of it, the wine Baili Dongjun brewed was pretty good—Jiang Mu Ming had frequented the place quite a bit lately.

"No need to say more, Boss Jiang—your books are absolutely amazing!"

At the mention of books.

Even Sikong Changfeng, who had been mostly silent, perked up.

They all chimed in with praise.

They'd never read such captivating books in their lives—just a few pages and you felt like you were immersed in another world.

But Lei Mengsha hadn't forgotten the real reason he came.

He turned to Baili Dongjun and Sikong Changfeng and said, "If it took White-Browed Xiao Li to be stirred up, the intel you gathered must be valuable!"

"Spill it."

Lei Mengsha felt a surge of excitement.

What was he risking his identity exposure for today?

Wasn't it to save these two?

And then get the intel they had?

He was sure that if it took so many experts to be mobilized, Baili Dongjun and the others must have uncovered something extremely important!

But on the other side... Baili Dongjun and Sikong Changfeng exchanged a glance.

Both looked a bit dazed.

Intel? What intel?

They saw pure cluelessness in each other's eyes—they hadn't gathered any intel at all?

Seeing their expressions.

Lei Mengsha's heart sank.

A slightly awkward smile crept onto his face as he stammered, "You're joking with me, right?"

"You're definitely from Tian Qi City, and you've got intel, right..."

But the more he spoke, the weaker his voice grew, trembling.

The next moment.

Lei Mengsha's face twisted in disbelief as he blurted out, "So you mean, you really just stole the deed from home and ran off to open a tavern?!"

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"And you!" Lei Mengsha turned to Sikong Changfeng. "So you really are just some orphan, self-taught in martial arts, wandered here, saw the tavern offering free food and drink, and decided to stay?!"

"Heavens!"

Lei Mengsha was filled with regret.

What kind of sin had he committed, to run into these two idiots in Chai Sang City?

If not for Jiang Mu Ming stepping in to help, they might not have even survived!

Stung by this realization, Lei Mengsha's talkative nature erupted, and he began to ramble endlessly.

This made Baili Dongjun feel oddly guilty, as if he had committed some heinous crime.

But all he had done was come to Chai Sang City to brew wine.

He had been dragged into this mess by sheer coincidence.

Meanwhile, Lei Mengsha felt his world darken. If anyone else found out

that he had mistaken these two fools for reinforcements from Tian Qi City, risked exposing his identity to save them, only to discover they were complete outsiders who had stumbled into this by accident...

He didn't even want to imagine the mockery he'd face!

Still, at least this encounter wasn't a total loss. He had discovered that Boss Jiang was a formidable expert.

And because of Baili Dongjun and the others, he now truly believed that Jiang Mu Ming was just a bookstall owner who had also been caught up in this mess.

That being the case, he could rest easy.

After all, Boss Jiang was a decent man, just someone who loved reading.

Just as Lei Mengsha was wallowing in regret, the sound of a flute drifted down from above—elegant, melodious, and lingering.

Jiang Mu Ming's heart stirred.

He knew this was Luo Xuan, Young Master Qingge, one of the Eight Princes of Northern Li.

But that wasn't quite accurate.

In truth, Luo Xuan had been here all along. Jiang Mu Ming had noticed him earlier

but simply hadn't called him out.

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

His gaze unconsciously fell on Jiang Mu Ming. He had intended to test this mysterious newcomer, but after witnessing that one strike of the Great River Sword Intent, he abandoned the idea.

After all, making a misstep and inviting a powerful enemy would be unwise.

The struggle for the Southwest Dao

involved too many factions and was far too complex to act rashly.

At that moment, the others also looked up and spotted Luo Xuan.

Lei Mengsha glared at him with displeasure.

"You bastard, finally decided to show yourself? If I'd waited for you to back me up, I'd have died a dozen times over!"

Then he introduced him to the group.

"This guy is also one of the Eight Princes of Northern Li—Young Master Qingge."

"Luo Xuan."