At the foot of Xiaoxiang Peak lies a small town, so small that it is not marked on any map. It is said that snow tigers and various precious medicinal herbs often appear on Xiaoxiang Peak, so some hunters and herbalists have established this place as a base.
After getting off at Xiaoxiang Peak, Gu Chen took out 1,000 yuan and handed it to the van driver. After hesitating for a while, the driver accepted the money and drove away. However, before leaving, the driver gave Gu Chen a word of advice, telling him to be careful and try not to get into conflicts with the locals, and to just enjoy his trip. He suggested that if he encountered any danger, he should hide in the nearby forest and come out in ten days or half a month, by which time the locals would probably have forgotten about it.
After entering Xiaoxiang Peak Town, Gu Chen noticed the white walls and black tiles, and the uneven horse-head gables. He was amazed that the architecture here didn't look like a chaotic place at all, so he didn't take the driver's warning to heart.
But soon, Gu Chen saw a conflict taking place ahead.
It seemed to be a tour bus, having come from some mountain road. After the passengers got off, they began to wander around the area. One of the travelers started arguing with a local vendor. The vendor looked to be under twenty, still a teenager. His skin was reddish from the high-altitude ultraviolet rays, and his eyes were long and narrow.
The passenger arguing was a man, judging from his accent, he was probably from An City. He had a small braid and spoke arrogantly. It seemed the argument started because they couldn't agree on the price of cordyceps. He was full of foul language and verbally abused the boy mercilessly.
The tour guide was trying to break up the fight, while the other tourists in the group just watched coldly.
Just then, the girl with the pigtails who had been arguing finished speaking and suddenly reached out and slapped the boy across the face!
"Let me tell you, someone like you would have been killed by me long ago in An City!" the man with the pigtail sneered. "Trying to extort money? What haven't I seen?"
Bang!
Just then, a gunshot rang out across the sky. The arrogant young man with the pigtails just moments before fell straight down, with a bloody hole between his eyebrows, from which blood gushed out.
In the boy's hand, a hunting rifle was still emitting white smoke.
"Ahhh--"
"Murder!"
The sudden change in the scene caused the surrounding tourists to widen their eyes, gasp, and begin screaming at the top of their lungs. The tour guide, also looking terrified and horrified, immediately shouted, "Quick, everyone, get on the bus!"
A group of people started running towards the bus, and then the bus sped away.
As for the boy with the pigtail on the ground, no one paid him any attention. The boy who fired the gun acted as if he had done something insignificant, his eyes not even trembling. He placed the pistol under the stall, then dragged the body to a nearby trash can, took all the money from the body, washed his hands, and returned to his stall to continue hawking his wares.
Gu Chen's eyes narrowed as he suddenly recalled the innkeeper's warning: this place was truly chaotic; even the young vendors possessed weapons to kill. And after he committed the murder, the people at the nearby stalls merely glanced at him a few times, showing no curiosity or unease.
It seems that everything is commonplace here.
The bus has already left, but there are still quite a few tourists in Xiaoxiang Peak. This place is a breeding ground for medicinal herbs, as well as the fur and skeletons of rare and exotic animals. Many unscrupulous merchants choose to trade here.
Even some jade artifacts are common items here.
Gu Chen withdrew his gaze, walked to the boy's stall, and said calmly, "Here's a thousand yuan. I need to ask you something."
The boy looked up at Gu Chen. He had noticed Gu Chen when he shot the person. The latter showed no panic or tension; clearly, this was a reaction only someone with confidence or strength could produce.
Although Gu Chen wasn't much older, the young man didn't dare to underestimate him and asked, "What is it?"
His voice was deep and hoarse.
"Where on Xiaoxiang Peak are the most flowers and plants?" Gu Chen asked.
"Three thousand yuan." Upon hearing this, a strange light flashed in the boy's eyes, and he then spoke.
"You knew, right?" Gu Chen nodded and said, "Tell me first. If you're sure, I'll give you ten thousand, let alone three thousand."
"Alright!" The young man actually abandoned his stall and walked straight ahead, saying, "Follow me."
Gu Chen nodded and followed behind the boy. But just to be on the safe side, Gu Chen still spread his Divine Sense out. Most of the houses around were made of mud, with thick walls and narrow roads, somewhat similar to the streets of old Shangjing.
After walking for a while, the boy led Gu Chen to a courtyard and held out his hand, saying, "Give me the money."
"Is this the place?" Gu Chen looked up. The courtyard, which resembled a traditional courtyard house, had no signboard and didn't look like an inn. There were just two strange lanterns hanging at the entrance.
Seeing the boy still holding out his hand, Gu Chen laughed and said, "Dude, you've really tricked the wrong person this time."
Squeak--
The door opened, and several identical teenagers rushed out, surrounding Gu Chen in the alley. These teenagers were shirtless, all very thin, with pale, bluish skin, suggesting either malnutrition or drug use.
"You guessed right!" The young man who led the way nodded and said, "I can sense that you're quite skilled, but this is Xiaoxiang Peak, where we can use firearms freely."
As they spoke, the boys pulled out their hunting rifles and aimed them at Gu Chen.
"If you don't want to die, hand over all your valuables."
This is a classic case of being tempted by money. Seeing how generous Gu Chen was, the young man couldn't resist, but he was afraid that if he made a move there earlier, others would be watching him, so he brought Gu Chen to this headquarters.
Gu Chen glanced at the boys surrounding him, shook his head, and said, "Your guns aren't enough!"
"Then go to hell!" a teenager said in broken Mandarin, then released the safety and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Gunshots rang out, but to their horrified surprise, Gu Chen didn't fall. Instead, he pinched the bullet between his middle and index fingers!
Then Gu Chen flicked his hand hard and shot a bullet into one of the boys' foreheads.
The man fell to the ground with a thud, dying instantly!
"Monster... monster!"
The remaining boys were horrified. They opened fire, but it was no use. Gu Chen's speed was incredible, and he quickly killed them all.
"On Xiaoxiang Peak, there are no laws, and even murder is not illegal, so I abide by the rules." Gu Chen left the vendor boy behind, holding him by the neck, and said coldly, "I'm giving you one more chance now. Do you understand?"