Encountering Bandits on the Road

By the time Yi Xuan arrived at Fatty Lin's residence, Fatty Lin was almost ready. More than a dozen carriages stood at the main gate, each escorted by an average of four or five martial artists.

The most extravagant of all was the carriage in the very middle, which had more than a dozen martial artists guarding it.

What truly surprised Yi Xuan was that the carriage didn't look like a normal carriage at all. It looked more like a palace drawn by eight swift horses.

Standing at the gates of the Lin residence, Yi Xuan was still stunned by the enormous carriage before him. He hadn't noticed Fatty Lin come up behind him.

"Well? Impressive, isn't it? I paid a fortune to have this carriage custom-made. There aren't many like it even in the capital! Come on, let's go inside and try it out." Without waiting for Yi Xuan to respond, Fatty Lin pulled him aboard.

Once inside, Yi Xuan found the luxury beyond anything he could have imagined. Even calling the interior dazzling with gold and jade would have been an understatement. This was a palace on wheels!

"Fatty Lin!"

Hearing Yi Xuan call out, Fatty Lin said proudly, "Not bad, right? Don't you suddenly feel that immortals aren't all that special? Just look at our carriage. Even immortals would envy us!"

Yi Xuan glanced sidelong at Fatty Lin and spat out a few words. "Nouveau riche!"

To his surprise, Fatty Lin wasn't angry at all. Instead, he said happily, "That's exactly the nouveau riche feeling I wanted! I couldn't be like those nobles and the rest, always wanting to keep a low profile. What's so good about that? If you don't show off, how will anyone know you're rich?"

Yi Xuan looked at Fatty Lin, somewhat speechless. "So you're actually afraid people won't know you're rich? Haven't you heard that wealth shouldn't be flaunted? What if we run into bandits on the road? Losing your money would be a small matter. If you lost your life, let's see how you'd regret it then."

Then Yi Xuan thought of something else and went on, "Right, once you're dead, how would you regret anything?"

At Yi Xuan's concern, Fatty Lin laughed heartily. "Am I, Fatty Lin, the sort of person who's easy to bully? See those martial artists outside? They're all top-notch experts from the martial world. If we really run into bandits, they'll be the ones regretting it!"

Seeing how confident Fatty Lin was, Yi Xuan said no more. He had a few bites from the fruit platter, then sat cross-legged and closed his eyes to rest.

As soon as Yi Xuan closed his eyes, he began practicing his cultivation method out of habit. The True Qi in his body was like a car whose ignition key had been turned: a slight tap on the accelerator, and it immediately picked up speed.

They stopped and started along the way, and Fatty Lin's carriage showed Yi Xuan what a rich man's life was like. He even had chilled wine and freshly roasted whole lamb aboard.

Seeing Yi Xuan feast on the roast lamb, Fatty Lin asked with a smile, "Brother Yi, well? Isn't my nouveau riche life even better than an immortal's?"

Though Yi Xuan wouldn't admit it, his body was quite honest, as he battled back and forth between the wine and the roast lamb.

It wasn't that Yi Xuan had never seen the world, or even a roast whole lamb. Rather, in the month before their departure, he had eaten Grain Avoidance Pills for an entire month while modifying the gun in the secret chamber.

Those things could indeed allow immortal cultivators to practice Grain Avoidance, but their taste was hard to describe. In the nearly twenty years Yi Xuan had spent in this world, he could count on one hand the number of times he'd eaten them, which showed just how terrible Grain Avoidance Pills tasted.

"Master, a group of riders is chasing us from behind! They might be highwaymen!"

Just as Yi Xuan was gnawing on a lamb leg, a guard's voice came from outside the carriage.

Yi Xuan thought, Just as I expected. A carriage this luxurious would make even a good man turn to evil, let alone a bandit!

To his surprise, Fatty Lin looked excited. "There really are people who aren't afraid to die? Tell Attendant Shen to capture that gang of bandits and not let a single one escape. I want to see just how strong they are, to actually dare set their sights on us!"

Having received Fatty Lin's orders, the martial artist hurried over to the attendant to relay his master's command.

Before long, Yi Xuan felt the carriage he shared with Fatty Lin slowly come to a halt. Then he heard the sounds of martial artists fighting nearby.

Sitting in the carriage, Fatty Lin heard the commotion outside and said excitedly, "Don't worry, Brother Yi. Our Attendant Shen is a rare expert. Last time, we ran into several hundred horse bandits. Before anyone else even had time to act, Attendant Shen took care of them all by himself."

Seeing Yi Xuan staring at him, Fatty Lin grew even more animated. "You have no idea. My legs went weak when I stepped out of the carriage. There was blood all over the ground, hundreds of corpses, and Attendant Shen hadn't suffered a single injury!"

After hearing Fatty Lin's account, Yi Xuan nodded. By his description, Attendant Shen was indeed formidable.

Reassured, Yi Xuan continued drinking and chatting with Fatty Lin. But then a commotion broke out outside, and a person covered in blood, whose face couldn't be made out, burst in, giving them both a fright.

"Who are you?" Fatty Lin quickly recovered his composure and questioned the person before him.

"Master, it's me, Shen Chang'an!"

"What? Weren't you fighting the bandits? How did you end up like this? Is the fight over?"

Attendant Shen, his face covered in blood, shook his head. "Master, quickly, I'll escort you and Immortal Master Yi away. There's an immortal master among those bandits, probably at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage."

Fatty Lin's face drained of color. He cast a hopeful glance at Yi Xuan, but then seemed to remember something. The hope vanished from his eyes, and his earlier composure gave way to anxiety.

Of the three people in the carriage, Yi Xuan was now the calmest. Seeing how anxious Fatty Lin was, he even took a sip of chilled wine.

Savoring the cold wine in his mouth, Yi Xuan couldn't help letting out a sigh. "Ah!"

That "ah" instantly drew the other two's attention. Fatty Lin had never imagined Yi Xuan could be so carefree.

Their opponent was a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator, and even Attendant Shen had been beaten into this state, yet Yi Xuan was still in the mood to drink.

After struggling with himself for a long time, Fatty Lin sighed and said to Attendant Shen, "They're only after money. Go ask them to name a price!"

Fatty Lin also knew there was no chance of escaping an immortal cultivator that strong. For now, he could only part with his wealth to ward off disaster.

To his surprise, Yi Xuan stood up and followed Attendant Shen outside. As he walked, he said to Fatty Lin, "I'll go take a look. What if I can bargain with them? Then we can pay a little less!"

Hearing that, Fatty Lin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He hadn't expected Yi Xuan to be even greedier than himself. Even with his life on the line, he still wanted to ask which coffin was cheaper.

Still worried, Fatty Lin also left the carriage and headed toward the bandits.