"I am deeply grateful for your generous assistance! May I ask for your names? I will certainly visit you in person to express my sincere gratitude when I have the time!"
Hou Gu clasped his hands together, bowed his head, and thanked Chen Mu and the others earnestly.
"You're welcome, hehe! I just wanted to earn some extra money."
Chen Duo said with a grin.
Chen Mu couldn't help but cover his face. Although they did have this idea, after all, bandits and robbers like to carry their money with them, and killing them often brings an unexpected windfall.
But thinking about it is one thing, telling others is another; double-crossing is never a very honorable thing.
"Ahem!! As the saying goes, one should draw one's sword to help when one sees injustice on the road. I only did my bit of help, it's nothing to brag about!"
Chen Mu was dressed in Central Plains attire, and his every move exuded the air of a scholar, making him completely unrecognizable as Wilderness.
He exchanged a few pleasantries with Hou Gu before getting to the main topic.
"Brother Chen, where are you headed?"
We are going to the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion to study.
"Oh? Doesn't that mean we'll also be passing through the Wilderness Border City? Haha, since we're traveling the same way, how about Brother Chen travels with me?"
"Well... Brother Hou, please wait a moment. I need to discuss this with my companions."
"No problem! These carriages will need some time to be repaired anyway, Brother Chen, you can discuss it at your leisure."
After Chen Mu finished talking with Hou Gu, he called Mingye and the other two aside to discuss the matter.
"This is our first time going to the Central Land, and we don't know anything about the situation there. Why don't we travel with Hou Gu and the others? That would save us some trouble."
Chen Mu suggested.
"But their carriages move much slower than our demonic beasts. Won't that waste too much time?"
Chen Duo offered her opinions.
"This won't have a big impact. At our current pace, it might take us more than a month to reach Heaven-Questioning Pavilion. It's better to adapt to the culture of Central Land along the way."
At this moment, A Huo nodded in agreement and spoke up.
"After all Heaven-Questioning Pavilion is an institution where most students come from the Central Land. The sooner we adapt, the better it will be for our success in gaining Heaven-Questioning Pavilion. I agree with traveling with them."
A Huo said so, and Chen Duo naturally had no objections, while Mingye didn't care about anything, so the final result was self-evident.
Hou Gu was very happy to learn that Chen Mu and the other three were willing to go to the Wilderness Border City together, since the journey was not peaceful and it would be much safer with Chen Mu and the other three traveling with them.
He quickly emptied a carriage and gave it to Chen Mu and the other three to rest in.
Although the caravan consisted of only fifty people, they were impressive, brave, and well-equipped, with many skilled warriors among them. While their mounts were not as powerful as the demonic beasts of Chen Mu and his companions, they were all well-trained horses, whose endurance and speed were comparable to ordinary first-tier demonic beasts.
The carriage that Hou Gu gave to Chen Mu and the other three was also very spacious, and the four of them did not feel crowded inside. This way, Chen Mu and the others did not need to work as hard as before, and could still practice their skills and improve their cultivation.
On the way, if they encountered monsters, Chen Mu would instruct Chen Duo to practice her spear skills with the Rune Gun. Before they left, Chen Mu specially made a Rune Gun No. 2 and gave it to Chen Duo to use.
Previously, due to the scarcity of Spirit Stone and lack of time, Chen Mu had never let Chen Duo learn the Rune Gun. Now that he had the opportunity, he naturally wanted to teach her properly.
The previous Rune Gun No. 1 relied more on the material of the weapon itself, but the current Rune Gun No. 2 is a treasure. Its power is greatly enhanced not only by the material itself, but also by the user's strength.
If used by an ordinary person, Rune Gun No. 2 could barely threaten Martial Master in the Early Qi Nourishing Realm. However, if used by Martial Master, its power would increase as the compatibility with the weapon grew. If it could unleash its full power, even Martial Master in the Late Qi Nourishing Realm would be doomed, and it could even pose a threat to martial artists at higher levels.
There are also the finely crafted rune bullets that Chen Mu specially made; they are his trump card, and using them can further enhance the power of the Rune Gun.
Bang! Bang bang bang!
A tiger-like monster that attacked a caravan was easily killed by Chen Duo's Rune Gun.
" Duoduo, this treasure of yours is truly amazing! I wonder which master craftsman created it?"
Although Hou Gu often saw Chen Duo practicing with a spear, he didn't know how powerful the weapon was until this time, when Chen Duo easily killed a fourth-tier demon beast, and he realized how powerful the weapon was.
Chen Duo smiled and pointed at Chen Mu, then put away the Rune Gun.
"Brother Chen, you're so young, yet you're already a weapon refiner? I'm truly impressed."
"Brother Hou, you flatter me. Actually, I only have a little knowledge of weapon crafting; my main expertise is in talisman cultivation."
"Oh? That's quite a coincidence. I've also been practicing the Dao of Talismans for many years, and I can discuss it with Brother Chen in my spare time."
"Haha, then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Hou."
Chen Mu had sensed that Hou Gu's Divine Soul was not weak before and guessed that he was also a talisman master, which has now been confirmed.
"Brother Hou, the insignia on your caravan looks familiar. Do you know Hou Sailei of the Vast Sea Pavilion?"
Chen Mu just remembered that he seemed to have seen a carriage with the same caravan emblem at the Vast Sea Pavilion before, and asked about it out of curiosity.
" Hou Sailei? Haha, I know him more than just acquaintances, he's my cousin, a childhood friend!"
Hou Gu laughed heartily, then looked at Chen Mu as if he had remembered something, and showed a surprised expression.
"I remember Fat Monkey mentioning that he partnered with a young talisman master and made a lot of money running a talisman paper business."
That talisman master, could it be Brother Chen?
"Haha, it is indeed me! I never expected we would meet so many times!"
"Yes, yes, yes! Speaking of which, I came to the Wilderness this time for him. His Vast Sea Pavilion is able to penetrate deep into the Wilderness and open up new opportunities, which is of great help to our Eight Directions Chamber of Commerce. Our Lineage has increased its investment here, and I believe that in the near future, Vast Sea Pavilion will become the largest merchant guild in the Wilderness."
"Then I congratulate you in advance. However, I heard that the bandits who ambushed you were sent by your third brother? Aren't you family? Why...?"
A hint of sadness flashed in Hou Gu's eyes, and he shook his head.
As the saying goes, "Don't wash your dirty linen in public," so let's not talk about this!
Brother Chen, I have some fine wine in my carriage. Would you be interested in trying it and perhaps discussing the Dao of Talismans together?
"Why not? Please!"
Chen Mu smiled as he boarded Hou Gu's carriage.
Although Hou Gu also studies runes, he mainly focuses on Martial Dao. His Dao of Talismans cultivation is only at the level of Nine-Rune Talisman Master. However, he comes from a prominent family and has a much broader perspective than Landuo. Sometimes, the terms he mentions can be of great help to Chen Mu.
And so, they traveled on and on, stopping frequently, and after ten days, they finally arrived at the first city in the Central Land, the Wilderness Border City!