Encounter on the Road

Chen Luo left most of the silver notes from the raid in Chen Family Village, keeping only a small portion for himself.

With these silver notes as startup capital, the future days for Chen Family Village should not be so difficult. Chen Luo believed that Third Uncle, who had been navigating the city for many years, could help everyone find a way to safely use these silver notes.

It wasn't that the younger generation had grown up and the older generation had become useless.

At least, Chen Luo didn't think so.

Third Uncle was still as cunning as ever. With him there, the people of Chen Family Village wouldn't be cheated. And with Boss Cai and the Sha Lake Gang helping out, he could finally relax completely.

On the rugged path.

Chen Luo was dozing off in the ox cart.

After leaving Chen Family Village, he had rented an ox cart. At first, the old farmer driving the cart was unwilling to rent it out, but Chen Luo offered too much money.

The Jade Slip in his怀里面 had been read so many times it was practically worn out. He had memorized every single word of its contents, but he had no idea what any of it meant. It was all obscure technical jargon. Even with the knowledge from both his worlds combined, he couldn't understand it.

The only benefit was that when he activated the Royal Family Brain, the contents of the slip could provide some feedback, but that was as far as it went. How to actually utilize it remained completely unknown.

He had also practiced the Black Tiger Fist to its limit. The improvements it brought now were minimal.

The effects of the prescription were also starting to decline. Chen Luo felt as if he had reached a dead end in his cultivation. Even with over a hundred brains stacked together, there was no way forward.

"Boss, boss?"

Chen Luo was woken from his sleep by a shout.

It was the old man driving the cart. He had stopped the ox cart and was carefully and nervously nudging Chen Luo from the side.

"What is it?"

Chen Luo glanced over. It was the old man driving the cart.

Renting the ox cart was a decision he had made after careful consideration. Firstly, it was convenient, and he could also study the Jade Slip on the way. The second point was safety; it wouldn't attract the attention of those with ulterior motives. After General Fan and the others died, many people in Qingya County had started having ideas. According to the information he had gathered over the past three days, several forces were secretly inquiring about the mine. Among them was Commander Zhu, a subordinate of General Fan. That guy had inherited General Fan's power and was now a real power player in Qingya County.

"There's a caravan up ahead. Should we go and travel with them? It would be safer," the old man asked sheepishly.

Following the sound, he saw that there was indeed a large caravan ahead. The torches they had lit at night were bright, illuminating a large area.

There were also seven or eight armed guards around, keeping watch.

The old man was also afraid.

It was true that he was in this business, but in the past, he always traveled during the day and rested at night. This was because there were too many dangers at night. This time, he had taken Chen Luo's money and had to travel at night as requested.

However, the old man was not Chen Luo and did not possess high-level martial arts. Traveling alone in the ox cart late at night, he felt unsafe everywhere. In the dark woods nearby, it felt as if fierce beasts could leap out at any moment.

"Will others accept you?"

Chen Luo was a little skeptical.

It didn't matter to him who he traveled with, as long as the direction was correct. But the key issue was that caravans, generally speaking, wouldn't allow strangers to join.

People who traveled at night were very vigilant. If they went over rashly, they would definitely be driven away, let alone accepted. Even paying wouldn't work. The most important thing to be careful about when traveling in the mountains was unfamiliar faces, especially those who looked like honest and simple villagers. Many of them were scouts for mountain bandits. If you were soft-hearted and took these people into the caravan, you would just be waiting for bandits to come knocking.

"The head of the guards over there is my nephew."

The old farmer rubbed his hands, his face full of embarrassment.

So it turned out he had met an acquaintance.

"Whatever works. You decide."

Chen Luo waved his hand and continued to close his eyes, recalling the contents of the Jade Slip.

His purpose on this trip was very simple: the mine in Qingya County!

A special mine that could even make Prince Ning's heart flutter must have great value. Perhaps it would even help with his cultivation of the Jade Slip. This method was a plan given by 'General Fan's Brain'. Chen Luo felt it was very reliable and adopted it.

After getting Chen Luo's consent, the old farmer immediately ran over, ready to cling to the caravan's leg.

"Who goes there!"

"I'm Tian Danu's Fifth Uncle. If you don't believe me, ask him." The old farmer had raised his hands early on. Seeing his appearance and hearing him mention a familiar name, the group of people became less nervous, but they still maintained their guard. If the old farmer did anything wrong, they would immediately kill him.

Killing and disposing of bodies in these wild mountains was simply too normal. The Imperial Court wouldn't even bother.

"Fifth Uncle? Why did you come to Swallow Ridge! Did something happen at home?"

Soon, the old farmer's nephew came over. Seeing the old farmer, he asked urgently, thinking that some unexpected event had occurred at home.

"Nothing happened at home. Your Fifth Uncle took on some extra work."

The old farmer rubbed his hands, feeling a little embarrassed.

After all, he was causing trouble for his nephew. If he hadn't earned so much on this trip, he would never have been able to bring himself to do this.

"That's good."

Tian Danu also breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Fifth Uncle often took on extra work to earn money, so he wasn't surprised. In the process, he also glanced at Chen Luo, who was lying in the ox cart in a daze. After confirming that he was a harmless young man, he didn't look any further. With his experienced eyes from years of traveling, he could tell at a glance whether someone was a bandit.

Maybe he's going to visit relatives, Tian Danu thought to himself.

Something had happened in Qingya County recently, and many people had gone out to visit relatives. They had encountered several groups during this time, so they were no longer surprised.

"Fifth Uncle, wait here for a moment. I'll go and talk to the boss. Don't worry! With my guarantee, the boss will definitely agree to let you travel with us." Tian Danu patted his chest and promised.

He also wouldn't feel at ease leaving Fifth Uncle to travel alone in these wild mountains.

"Alright, alright."

The old farmer rubbed his hands and immediately took out a few copper coins from his pocket, telling Tian Danu to take his brothers for a drink.

Seeing how sensible Tian Danu was, the others also lowered their guard. They started calling out "Old Tian, Fifth Uncle" one after another.

It was good to have someone familiar vouch for them.

Soon, the boss of the trade caravan agreed to Old Tian's request, but stipulated that they could only follow behind the caravan, not enter the center, and certainly not approach the area where the central carriage was located. Tian Danu naturally agreed to this without hesitation.

With a strong backer, they wouldn't have to worry about the rest of the journey, and the silver would be earned.

Thinking of the earnings from this trip, Old Tian's heart blossomed with joy.

By the bonfire.

The trade caravan boss cautiously walked up to the carriage and informed the nobleman inside about the matter.

For a trade caravan like theirs, everything was done according to rules and regulations. If the nobleman inside disagreed, they wouldn't go against the nobleman's opinion to do this favor.

"Do you need to ask me about the affairs of ants?"

A cold voice came from inside the carriage, filled with indifference. It was as if everyone else was an ant compared to himself.

The night wind blew, lifting the curtain and revealing the appearance of the nobleman inside.

It was a young man in a green robe, with a stern face and long black hair draped over his shoulders. On his crossed legs rested a gleaming treasure sword. If Chen Luo's Third Uncle, Chen Laosan, were here, he would probably recognize the young man's identity at a glance. This person was precisely the young expert who had collected money with Eunuch Wei that day, the mysterious person who had killed the Royal Family's entourage.

"This humble one was presumptuous."

Seeing that the nobleman had no objection, the trade caravan boss breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless, he had helped Tian Danu with this favor, and Tian Danu wouldn't be able to threaten him with Cui Hua Tower's Xiao Hong anymore.