The Gathering Storm

The next day.

Lin Yiqing arrived at the entrance of the Wanjin Chamber of Commerce at the first quarter of the Mao hour, as agreed, to wait for the assembly.

At this time, the sky was not yet bright, and the entire street appeared shrouded in mist; the slight chill actually made one feel quite refreshed.

When Lin Yiqing arrived at the gathering point, quite a few people had already assembled there.

The Chamber of Commerce had already thrown its doors wide open, and countless servants were busy counting and loading the goods to be escorted, appearing extremely occupied.

"Nearly thirty Earth Origin Realm experts, over a dozen Heaven Origin Realm powerhouses, and even several Symbol Masters to escort this shipment—the Wanjin Chamber of Commerce is truly generous."

Watching the crowd, some closing their eyes to rest and others chatting and discussing, Lin Yiqing could not help but sigh inwardly.

Thinking of this, he subconsciously reached out to touch the Universe Bag at his waist. Inside lay three hundred Yang Yuan Stones, the advance payment provided by the Wanjin Chamber of Commerce.

"With grain in the house, there is no panic in the heart," Lin Yiqing couldn't help but sigh.

It was good to have resources. Once the escort was finished and he received the remaining payment, he wouldn't have to worry about not having enough Yang Yuan Pills for whatever he wanted to buy.

"Little lad, stick with me later, this uncle will protect you!"

A robust and honest voice rang out from behind him. Lin Yiqing turned around to see the tall man from the registration desk two days ago, who was currently looking at him with a broad, simple smile.

"Haha, then many thanks, Uncle!"

Lin Yiqing raised the corners of his mouth and cupped his hands in thanks. However, he still kept his guard up; when out and about, one must always be wary of others.

If the man was truly honest and straightforward, that would be fine, but if he harbored malicious intent, it would be troublesome. One had to know that this world was one where might made right; there were no laws or morals to constrain others.

Perhaps they could be chatting happily one second, only for heads to roll the next.

"I am Lin Dong. May I ask how to address you, Uncle?"

Lin Yiqing followed the lead to strike up a conversation. It was unwise to isolate himself within this escort team; if he could gather more information, he would have a better grasp of the situation.

"I'm called Tie Hu, a mid-stage Heaven Origin Realm cultivator from Tie Family Village. Seeing you reminds me of my own kid. He's about your age, but he isn't as talented as you, little brother; he's only in the Body Tempering Realm right now."

Tie Hu smiled honestly at Lin Yiqing, and the look of irrepressible happiness in his eyes made others feel a twinge of envy.

It was clear he had a happy family. However, while the speaker had no ulterior motive, the listener did. Lin Yiqing felt a jolt in his heart—how could a powerhouse capable of reaching the Heaven Origin Realm be an ordinary person?

This Tie Hu was definitely not as simple as he appeared!

"Uncle Tie, then why did you come out to apply as a temporary guard?"

Lin Yiqing did not intend to probe into others' secrets, so he asked casually while his hidden spiritual energy continuously observed the people around him.

"Heh, I want to earn some cultivation resources so that my kid won't fall too far behind in the future. There aren't many resources in Tie Family Village, and staying there is useless."

Tie Hu smiled and said with an honest expression.

"The pity of parents in this world is truly deep. Your child will surely have great prospects in the future!"

Hearing this, Lin Yiqing couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion, regardless of whether it was true or not.

He thought of his parents from both lives, who had raised him through hardship and toil. Yet, now separated by two worlds, he was unable to fulfill his filial duties, a thought that always brought him to tears.

"Steward Xia."

"Good morning, Steward Xia!"

At this moment, the surrounding crowd parted as several Heaven Origin Realm experts escorted Steward Xia forward. When the man saw Lin Yiqing, he smiled and nodded.

"Move out!"

Following his command, the entire transport caravan moved quickly, and hundreds of horses laden with goods headed out of the city.

At night, the moonlight was like water.

After a full day of high-intensity travel, the entire team was exhausted, yet no one dared to lower their guard.

The more relaxed one became, the closer they were to death.

This was an experience summarized by the blood of countless people. The entire guard team was divided into four groups: two on guard duty and two resting, to be swapped at midnight.

Lin Yiqing was in the first group to rest. Perhaps because Steward Xia had given instructions, no one in the guard team made things difficult for him.

"I was worried someone would bully you," Tie Hu said to Lin Yiqing while scratching his head. Among the entire team, he was the youngest, and many who hadn't seen his performance during the registration were waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

Yet, unexpectedly, no one in the team dared to step up, and even the people from the Wanjin Chamber of Commerce were extremely polite to him. This strange scene was noticed by quite a few people.

"You're quite simple-minded, fellow. Is Little Brother Lin someone ordinary? Didn't you see how polite those leaders are to him?"

The speaker was an old man of about fifty, dressed very plainly, holding a pipe in his hand. The long stem puffed out wisps of white smoke from time to time, making him look just like a village farmer.

No one knew the old man's real name; the only thing left on the register was the nickname "Smoke Ghost."

"Oh, is that so? I really didn't notice. I just thought Little Brother Lin looked good," Tie Hu said, scratching his head in a muffled voice. His personality was honest, and he rarely paid attention to such things.

"Senior Smoke Ghost, please don't misunderstand. I am just an ordinary person, not as mysterious as you say."

Lin Yiqing smiled and shook his head upon hearing this; he knew the other party had grown suspicious because of Steward Xia's attitude.

Old Smoke Ghost chuckled softly and said no more. If the other party was unwilling to disclose information, pressing further would simply be tactless.

"Let's have something to eat, everyone."

Just then, one of the two men and one woman Lin Yiqing had seen a few days ago walked over carrying some food. He had a deep impression of these three.

"Zhou Han, distribute some to the brothers nearby."

At this moment, the woman in red named Qianqian suddenly spoke up to the man.

Upon hearing this, the latter immediately busied himself handing the items to those around him.

White flour flatbreads paired with black jerky—the escort team's dinner was as plain and unpretentious as could be.

Those with profound cultivation could gradually abstain from grains, but it was likely that most people in this group could not yet do so.

"Come, little brother, have some jerky."

Zhou Han's smile remained unchanged, his entire demeanor appearing extremely enthusiastic as he held the jerky out toward Lin Yiqing, who sat by the fire.

"Go on, Little Brother Lin, take it. You need to eat more meat to grow tall. Everyone else has taken some; wouldn't it be rude if you didn't?"

To the side, Old Smoke Ghost took a puff from his pipe, exhaled a large cloud of white smoke, and spoke with a look of pure bliss on his face.

Lin Yiqing took a long, deep look at the two of them before finally taking the jerky to inspect it. He did not take a bite, however, as his intuition told him something was wrong.

Thinking of this, Lin Yiqing instantly heightened his vigilance. He had originally intended to refuse Zhou Han, but he hadn't expected Old Smoke Ghost to intervene as well. Not wanting to appear like an outlier, he had accepted it.

He activated his Origin Qi Vision and saw faint wisps of purple smoke clinging to the jerky. Clearly, there was a problem with the meat; someone had tampered with it.

His pupils constricted sharply. It seemed this night was going to be troublesome.

Lin Yiqing secretly spread his mental energy outward and saw that while many people had already started eating, the vast majority still wore suspicious expressions and were discreetly examining the food in their hands.

"Uncle Tie, give me your food! Eat this instead."

Lin Yiqing snatched the jerky from Tie Hu's hand and immediately pulled a flatbread from his Universe Bag to hand to him.

Tie Hu was stunned, seemingly unable to grasp why Lin Yiqing had snatched his jerky.

Seeing this, Old Smoke Ghost kicked him hard. Tie Hu, face flushed with anger, was just about to scold Old Smoke Ghost when he saw the man shove the jerky into the dirt beneath his feet.

Tie Hu calmed down instantly. He was honest and simple-minded, not truly foolish; seeing the "small movements" of the two, he naturally knew something was amiss.

Lin Yiqing took a deep look at Old Smoke Ghost. If he hadn't grown suspicious and used his Origin Qi Vision to discover the problem, he would truly be in trouble right now.

Although, given his own caution, he might not have eaten the jerky regardless, but those who didn't eat or accept the food would surely be in the greatest danger once the melee broke out.

He relied on his golden finger, but how had the other party found out?