Chance Encounter

Five days later.

Qin Yang and the others arrived at a town to rest and recuperate.

This town was called Qingshi Town. It was not large, yet it had many stone statues and sculptures, giving it a distinctive charm.

These days, Li Baling seemed to have been stirred by something and practiced martial arts every day.

Qin Yang recuperated from his injuries in the inn room while also giving Li Baling some guidance.

Qian Hai and Xiao Huan went into town to buy supplies and medicine, only returning at noon.

After eating in the inn hall, Qin Yang and Qian Hai returned to their room to discuss matters.

"Uncle Qian, I've decided to take a detour. We'll go around to Nanxing City first, then head to the Prefecture City."

Qin Yang spread out a map of Shanhe Commandery and gestured across it.

"Young Master, do you want to search for the Family Head?" Qian Hai understood Qin Yang's intentions.

"Before this, we hired many wandering heroes to investigate."

"Father must have left from Nanxing City. He merely vanished on the return journey."

"According to the information those wandering heroes gathered, Father should have left Nanxing City along this route and returned to Linjiang City."

"We'll follow this road and see whether we find anything."

Qin Yang had long since planned everything out.

Qin Dongsheng's disappearance had to be accounted for somehow.

"Mm, taking a detour through Nanxing City will only cost us a few days."

"It would be best if we can find news of the Family Head."

Qian Hai also greatly approved of Qin Yang's idea.

Thus, their route was settled.

Li Baling and Xiao Huan naturally had no objections.

Wherever Qin Yang went, they could only follow.

Afterward, they recuperated from their injuries in Qingshi Town.

During his recovery, Qin Yang discovered that while in a state of turtle stillness, his wounds healed faster.

As Rushing Rivers Return to the Sea circulated without cease, Turtle-Snake Qi continuously nourished his physical body, expelled blood stasis from within, and caused damaged flesh and blood to regrow.

Coupled with the steady nourishment of blood-replenishing Herbs, Qin Yang's wounds had healed seventy or eighty percent after only about two days at the inn. All that remained was to rest quietly.

Without lingering any longer, Qin Yang chose to set out immediately on the third day, heading toward Nanxing City.

Another three days passed.

As they traveled, Qian Hai suddenly brought the carriage to a halt.

Li Baling poked his head out. "Uncle Qian, what happened again?"

"There are several beggars blocking the road ahead."

Qian Hai replied calmly.

Li Baling looked up and indeed saw several filthy, disheveled, gaunt beggars sitting on the official road ahead.

When they saw Qian Hai's carriage stop, they eagerly tried to approach.

"I'll just get down and give them some money."

Li Baling said casually.

"Young Master Li, when you encounter beggars like these on the road, you must never reveal your wealth."

"They may look like beggars, but they are also bandits."

As Uncle Qian spoke, he flicked his right hand.

Swish!

A cold glint shot forth and buried itself viciously in the dirt.

It was a dagger.

The beggars were all startled.

They did not dare come any closer.

Clearly, Qian Hai was warning them.

"Hmph!"

"A mere Condensing Force Martial Artist dares to act so arrogantly?!"

Suddenly.

More than a dozen fierce men wielding Steel Sabers leaped out from the woods on both sides of the official road.

Only then did Li Baling realize that these beggars were bandits who had come to rob travelers.

"Leave at once, or it will be too late."

Qian Hai said with a frown.

"Who are you trying to fool? Leave behind the silver and the carriage, and I'll spare your life."

A scar-faced man said coldly.

He too was a Condensing Force Martial Artist. Seeing how old Qian Hai was, he relied on his numerical advantage and feared nothing.

"Why bother?"

Qian Hai shook his head slightly.

Before the man could react, he saw an afterimage sweep out from the carriage.

The next moment.

He felt as if his chest had been struck by a heavy hammer weighing a hundred thousand jin.

BOOM!!!

The Bandit Leader was blasted away violently. A huge hole had been punched through his chest, a bloody and gruesome sight.

The remaining bandits stood with their mouths agape, their minds blank.

"Do you still want to test my fists?"

Qin Yang looked at the motionless bandits and frowned slightly.

His words sent their souls flying from their bodies. How could they dare remain? They fled madly.

A few of them were perhaps too terrified and fell to the ground. In the end, they rolled and crawled away, looking utterly ridiculous.

"Do they now dare to rob openly on the official road?"

Qin Yang frowned faintly.

This was broad daylight, yet they showed not the slightest restraint.

It could only mean that the local authorities had long lost control of this place.

"Who can make sense of these times?"

Qian Hai let out a soft sigh.

It was also Li Baling's first time experiencing the cruelty of the outside world.

It was a world he had never touched before, yet one that was far more real.

A world drenched in blood.

"Let's go."

Qin Yang said blandly.

There was only so much he could do about such things.

The group boarded the carriage and continued toward Nanxing City.

The rest of the journey was far from peaceful, and they suffered many attacks from bandits and robbers.

Yet with Qin Yang holding down the fort, it was those robbers who met with disaster instead.

If Qin Yang was in a good mood, he would only kill the Bandit Leader.

If he was in a bad mood, he would launch into a slaughter and leave none alive.

Another five days passed.

That night, they arrived at a desolate dense forest in the outskirts.

"We'll make do here for the night."

"There are no villages nearby."

Qin Yang said softly.

Qian Hai nodded gently and drove the carriage along a small path into the dense forest, intending to find an open patch of ground to camp.

Suddenly.

Qian Hai's gaze sharpened.

The glow of a campfire reflected in his eyes.

On an open patch of ground not far ahead, three figures sat around a campfire.

All of them carried sabers or swords. Judging by their clothes, they seemed to be Jianghu wandering heroes. They had clearly noticed the sound of the carriage and suddenly became wary.

"Just passing through."

Qian Hai said calmly.

The several Jianghu wandering heroes made no sound and merely watched in silence as Qian Hai drove the carriage away.

The two sides passed one another without disturbing each other.

Qian Hai found another open patch of ground nearby.

The three people in the carriage got down, lit a campfire, and roasted some dried meat to eat.

Late at night, Xiao Huan climbed into the carriage to rest, while Qin Yang and the others leaned against the trees.

Qin Yang sat cross-legged in meditation, circulating the Turtle-Snake Art.

Turtle-Snake Qi flowed continuously through his body, forming an immense pressure that compressed and tempered his flesh, blood, and internal organs.

Li Baling slept like a pig, snoring loudly.

Qian Hai was old as well, with limited energy, and had fallen into a deep sleep.

Just then.

Qin Yang heard faint footsteps.

He rose to his feet, looked toward their source, and said calmly, "Who is it?"

Two wandering heroes carrying long sabers emerged from the grass.

"Friends, have you seen one of our companions?"

One of the wandering heroes, wearing a bamboo hat and sporting an unkempt beard, cupped his fists and asked.

"No."

"Has one of your people gone missing?"

Qin Yang asked softly.

"Yes. One of our companions went to relieve himself, but then vanished without a trace."

The wandering hero nodded.

"My apologies, but I truly didn't see anything."

Qin Yang shook his head.

The wandering hero glanced at Qin Yang, deciding that he did not seem like any formidable figure. He cupped his fists slightly, bid farewell, and left.