"And he killed someone?" Gu Chen frowned again and asked, "Who told you that?"
Steel Tremor Sect has only ruled out five remaining suspected locations. Could it be that other sects in Huaxia have already received the news and even located Xiaoxiang Peak?
However, upon reflection, Gu Chen felt relieved. Although the Steel Tremor Sect was not small in scale, there were many talented people and sects in Huaxia. Although Zhou City had no sects due to its geographical location, it was close to Jiangnan and had many martial arts sects. Since the Steel Tremor Sect came from Shangjing, it was naturally more well-informed than the local sects.
So it seems this trip wasn't as smooth as I'd imagined.
Gu Chen thought to himself.
"Don't worry about who told you, it's true!" The driver said, then looked at Gu Chen impatiently and asked, "By the way, are you getting in or not?"
"Superior."
There were five people in the back seat, and the car became a bit crowded after Gu Chen got in.
"Go that way."
Of the five people, four were men and one was a woman, all exuding a fierce aura. Even the woman had a scar running from her brow bone to the bridge of her nose, clearly indicating she was no pushover. After Gu Chen got into the car, one of the men gave him a cold look and snorted.
The van usually has seven seats, but this group of guys took up most of them. There was only one gap between the remaining two seats, and Gu Chen couldn't squeeze in at all.
The spot the man was pointing to was that gap, well, roughly, just big enough for Gu Chen to sit on half his butt.
"Brothers, we're all paying to take this ride, so make room for us," Gu Chen said in a deep voice.
"Hey kid, did you change your diaper? How dare you talk to me like that?"
The man's face darkened, filled with ferocity. The other four men also cast the same gazes at Gu Chen, as if they would attack if Gu Chen dared not agree.
Fortunately, the driver smoothed things over, saying, "Young man, you're from out of town, right? They're notorious road bullies around here, called the Five Tyrant Snakes. They're the local tyrants. We need to rely on them to get to Xiaoxiang Peak."
The jurisdiction over these outlying areas is particularly loose and chaotic, with highway robbers and bandits appearing one after another. After hearing what the driver said, Gu Chen could only nod and then sit down in that gap.
"Hmph, coward!" The man glanced at Gu Chen contemptuously and said, "I've changed my mind. You get up and squat. Only men are entitled to sit."
"You mean, I'm not a man?" Gu Chen's eyes already flashed with a sharp light.
"What do you think?" the man said with a disdainful smile.
These Five Tyrant Snakes were notorious local bullies in the area. Fearing a conflict, the driver quickly said, "Buddy, you should listen to him. Otherwise, if we can't get through the checkpoint, I'm not going to give you a ride anymore."
Gu Chen could only endure it, standing hunched over in the car, remaining silent.
After traveling along the mountain road for about half an hour, several burly men appeared ahead, like Land Rover, each armed with weapons. Five Tyrant Snakes rolled down the car window and shouted some dialect that Gu Chen couldn't understand.
After all, Gu Chen had only been in Zhou City for half a year, and he used to be from the Shangjing, so it was normal that he couldn't understand it.
However, after Five Tyrant Snakes spoke, the group immediately let them pass.
After walking for a while, Gu Chen suddenly asked, "Are there any more roadblocks or checkpoints ahead?"
"No, just that one," the driver said. "It's like the toll booths outside, but sometimes even if you take the money, you might not get through. We were lucky today, we ran into the Five Tyrant Snakes, otherwise I would have charged you more than three hundred."
That's good.
After Gu Chen finished speaking, he suddenly grabbed the hair of the man who had just scolded him and lifted him up hard.
"What are you doing!" The man was shocked and had not expected Gu Chen to dare to do this. His hair was pulled painfully. After shouting angrily, he swung his elbow at Gu Chen's chest.
His elbow struck Gu Chen squarely, but to his shock, Gu Chen didn't even flinch. Instead, it was Gu Chen himself who felt as if his elbow had hit a steel plate, and he instantly grimaced in pain.
Taking advantage of this moment, Gu Chen grabbed him from his seat and pulled him to the ground.
"You!" The driver saw this scene in the rearview mirror and was immediately dumbfounded.
"Court death!"
Gu Chen's actions enraged the other four members of the Five Tyrant Snakes. The nearest man reached out to grab Gu Chen, but Gu Chen Gu Chen quickly and seized the man's arm just as it reached him.
Gu Chen's fingers were like iron clamps, gripping the person so tightly that they could hardly move.
"I'm driving, don't do anything rash!" the driver said nervously.
"Then stop the car! Don't worry about anything else!" The only woman's voice was cold and sharp. She then pulled out a dagger, its cold light gleaming as she pointed it at Gu Chen, and said coldly, "Boy, let go of my people!"
Unexpectedly, among these Five Tyrant Snakes, this scarred woman was actually the leader. Gu Chen smiled coldly and said, "I never let my revenge linger overnight. Now that we've passed the checkpoint, it's time to settle our scores."
"This isn't your outside world, this is Xiaoxiang Peak! How dare you provoke us? You're courting death!" the scarred woman said coldly, and then her dagger stabbed towards Gu Chen's wrist!
Snap!
Gu Chen released his grip on the first man's hair, then slapped the woman across the face. The woman was sent flying backward, crashing into the glass.
Damn it!
Inside the crowded car, the other two men also started to fight, but they were no match for Gu Chen and were quickly subdued. Looking at the man who had just been cursing, Gu Chen sneered, "Now tell me, who isn't a man?"
The man glared angrily at Gu Chen, his expression defiant, and remained silent.
The driver reluctantly stopped the car. Seeing Gu Chen's arrogance and fighting prowess, he nervously said, "You, you get out of the car, I'm not giving you a ride anymore!"
"You have to pull it whether you like it or not!" Gu Chen said coldly. "Don't worry, I won't shortchange you a single penny."
The driver trembled; he didn't know how to refute it.
However, Gu Chen ignored him and instead dealt with the five people, throwing them out of the car one by one.
"Boy, you'll regret this!" The scarred woman fell to the ground, staring coldly at Gu Chen with viciousness in her eyes.
"Welcome." Gu Chen clapped his hands, closed the car door, and said, "Drive."
"They're the Five Tyrant Snakes!" Seeing Gu Chen's actions, the driver drove with trepidation, saying as he drove, "They have gang connections in this area. You're just a tourist, do you know how much trouble you've gotten yourself into?"
"It's alright, it won't involve you," Gu Chen said calmly. "I just checked, there's no cell phone signal here. Even if they reach the foot of Xiaoxiang Peak, it will be dark by then."
"You, hey!" The driver didn't know where Gu Chen got his confidence from Xiaoxiang Peak was a remote area, like the Greater Khingan Range in Northeast China, where many areas were beyond the jurisdiction of the government and police.
Even though he was a local from Cloud Hidden Town, he didn't dare to linger.
After driving for more than two hours on the winding and uneven mountain road, we finally arrived at the foot of Xiaoxiang Peak.