Everything Is Ready

Ling Hanjun stayed where he was, stamping with fury, watching helplessly as Chen Fei left without a single thing he could do. If the two archers had still been there, they might have been able to hinder him a little.

In the end, the fastest to die had been those two.

"You won't get away!" Ling Hanjun gnashed his teeth and turned back to check his subordinates' injuries.

On the other side, after Chen Fei left the Black Market, he quickly returned to another courtyard he had rented inside the county.

Inside Pingyin County, Chen Fei had rented many courtyards, precisely so that if anything unexpected happened, he would still have a new place to settle.

"This Bow Technique is rather useful. It's just that this longbow is a bit weak."

Chen Fei thought back to what had just happened, and a faint smile could not help appearing on his face. It was just that the power of the bow and arrows was still somewhat lacking. Dealing with the Flesh Refining Realm was no problem, but against the Bone Forging Realm, it was a stretch.

Especially against an outstanding figure in the Bone Forging Realm like Ling Hanjun, the bow and arrow were practically just for show.

"After I get somewhere else, if there's a chance, I'll buy a good bow. At the same time, I can't let my cultivation fall behind."

Chen Fei calculated inwardly. In the end, inner strength cultivation was the foundation. Otherwise, even if a truly good bow were placed before him, if he could not draw it, it would all be in vain.

Chen Fei took the wooden cabinet out of the space grid and placed the silver taels in his hand into different compartments according to proportion. When he needed them later, it would be convenient to take them out.

Early the next morning, the Zhao Family went to deliver herbs as usual, and then discovered that several alchemists had died. When they came to Chen Fei's courtyard, they saw only the bloodstains on the ground. The person himself had completely vanished.

Alive, no man to be seen; dead, no corpse to be found!

The Zhao Family flew into a complete rage and joined forces with the Rebel Army to begin an all-encompassing search throughout Pingyin County.

Chen Fei did not know whether Zhang Sinan and the others had been found. He behaved like an ordinary person, beginning to buy things around the county.

Food, clean water—so long as Chen Fei felt it was necessary, he bought it.

In just one day, Chen Fei stuffed the wooden cabinet inside the space grid to the brim. Food in particular was what he prepared the most of.

Under normal circumstances in the wilderness, finding food was still something that could be guaranteed. But Chen Fei was worried that abnormal situations might occur. In any case, he had the space grid, and carrying weight was no problem, so naturally, the more he could bring, the more he brought.

Early the next morning, Chen Fei looked at the steaming-hot bun in his hand, his expression odd. This was a bun he had placed into the space grid yesterday, but after seven or eight double-hours had passed, the bun was still hot, exactly the same as before he had put it in.

"This space grid is a little amazing. Is it equivalent to Time Stasis inside?"

All kinds of thoughts emerged in Chen Fei's mind. However, right now, there was only one space grid, and even if he carried out those experiments now, they could not be realized.

Since it was Time Stasis, he did not need to worry about food spoiling. Chen Fei decided to treat himself a little better. He took all the dry rations he had originally prepared out of the space grid and began going back out onto the streets to buy food again.

Because of the Zhao Family's frantic search, the whole of Pingyin County seemed somewhat noisy. The already desolate streets were even more sparsely populated, with everyone hiding inside their houses.

After Chen Fei finished buying things, he hurried back to the courtyard as well and no longer wandered around.

Originally, Chen Fei had planned to visit Zeng Defang. After all, back at the Medical Hall, Zeng Defang had treated Chen Fei quite well. Chen Fei had even once considered having Zeng Defang leave Pingyin County too.

But now, the other party was heavily injured, and he also had his family in tow. The Rebel Army would simply never allow an alchemist like that to leave.

Chen Fei checked the supplies inside the space grid and confirmed there were no mistakes, then sat cross-legged and began cultivating his inner strength. The sound of steady breathing rose inside the room, and the entire night slipped by quietly and soundlessly just like that.

At dawn, Chen Fei disguised himself as an ordinary person and left the city.

He encountered no accident at the city gate. After all, there were already very few people who could see through the Disguise Technique, and Chen Fei had also cultivated this Disguise Technique to the peak. It was very difficult for ordinary people to spot any clues.

Several li away from the city, Chen Fei saw the agreed-upon place, the Wind-Moving Stone.

Chen Fei did not immediately go forward. Instead, he found a higher spot and observed for a while. As it drew closer and closer to Chen Shi, figures slowly began appearing there.

Chen Fei glanced around the surroundings and found no ambush. It should not be a trap.

Chen Fei raised his head and checked the time. No longer delaying, his figure leaped between the treetops, and a moment later, he arrived at the Wind-Moving Stone.

Everyone present glanced at Chen Fei. From the movement technique Chen Fei had deliberately displayed just now, an ordinary Bone Forging Realm martial artist would be about the same. Sometimes, without truly exchanging blows, one could only judge a person's strength through these things.

Chen Fei saw Chi Defeng. The two nodded to each other in greeting and did not converse.

Everyone was secretly sizing up the people present. Chen Fei swept his gaze around once, then stopped observing. They were all martial artists with cultivation on them; there were no ordinary people.

"The time is about right. Looks like it's just us."

Qian Jijiang glanced at everyone present and said in a deep voice, "I won't say much else. Three hundred taels per person, and I, Qian, will lead the way for this stretch of road to Xingfen City."

As soon as Qian Jijiang said this, the crowd burst into an uproar. This price exceeded most people's expectations. Even though they were all martial artists, saving up this amount of money was still harder than scaling the heavens.

"Three hundred taels is a bit expensive. Can it be cheaper?"

"Exactly. On the road ahead, we'll be helping one another. You open your mouth and ask for three hundred taels right away—that's rather excessive."

Some people could not help speaking up.

With a smile on his face, Qian Jijiang raised his hand and pressed it down, saying, "It is a bit expensive. Those who don't want to pay this money can simply not travel the same road as us. I, Qian, am not forcing any of you to hand over this money. It is entirely voluntary."

Several people exchanged glances. Outside, the land was now in chaos and war, and there were no merchant caravans either. Having them travel to another city alone truly made them shrink back, and even martial artists were no exception.

"Boss Qian, if we pay this money, can you guarantee our safety along the way?" someone asked in a low voice.

"There's no way to guarantee that. I can only say that when the time comes, we'll advance and retreat together." Qian Jijiang smiled and shook his head.

"With this money, I might as well be careful and continue making a living in Pingyin County. Why bother trekking all the way to another place?"

Someone gave a cold snort and turned to leave directly. Someone hesitated for a moment, then also withdrew from the group.

A moment later, only six people remained present.

Chen Fei looked at Chi Defeng in some surprise. Greedy as life itself, the man wished he could stuff all his fake medicine into Chen Fei's arms, yet he was actually willing to spend these three hundred taels?

"Fewer people makes it safer instead."

At the others' departure, a smile appeared on Qian Jijiang's face instead. He said, "Everyone, pay up."

"Here, three hundred taels."

Chi Defeng was the first to step forward and hand the Silver Taels to Qian Jijiang.

Once someone had paid, the others saw this and handed over their Silver Taels one after another.

Chen Fei had deliberately stuffed Five Hundred Taels of silver into the large bundle on his back precisely to guard against the unexpected. Now he counted out the Silver Taels as well and handed them to Qian Jijiang.

"Good. Since we'll be traveling together from here on, everyone, briefly introduce yourselves so we can look out for one another on the road." Qian Jijiang put away the Silver Taels, the smile on his face growing even wider.