Two days passed once again and the caravan slowly, but surely moved forward. Beside an attack by some hungry bandits everything was quiet , but Wan Bo noticed an air of unlease around Zen Ping. One would not normally noticed such a change, but for Wan Bo who was actively trying to notice something , it was like the sun in the sky.He didn't know what this meant, but it definitely had to do with their change in route.
Wan Bo who was on the back, still riding in the same horse as Men Du couldn't contain himself any more and asked. "Hmmm... brother Men Du, sorry for disturbing you, but I have a question?"
"Go ahead. And also you don't have to be so respectful to me, so just call me Brother Du." respectfully said Men Du. Since the show of skill by Wan Bo, he had become more respectful towards him, or his skill with the staff to be exact.
"We're scheduled to pass through the Strong Gale Sect's territory and towards the Searing Fist Sect territory, something we didn't expect. Do you think this will cause us any trouble?"
"Trouble...." muttered Men Du under his breath as he seemed to think about it for a second " I don't know, but it's not very likely. Even though the Sect's may be overbearing, they are not unruly....uh, not that Grey Mist Sect is overbearing, but that's the thought of the common people. I hope you are not offended brother Wan Bo." wryly said Men Du.
"Haha, no need to be deterred, everyone can have their opinion. I understand where you're coming from , but I'm concerned about the Rotation of the Sect's as it's going to happen soon enough. It's not unexpected for the Strong Gale Sect to clash with the Stargazing Sect as they are near and have always been on rocky terms."
"Hmmm.....I didn't think it that deep, but what you said makes sense. Still, even if the Strong Gale Sect creates some trouble, corp's leader Zen Ping is not someone to be trifled with."
"Oh, so he's that strong?" cheekily said Wan Bo " Does that mean that he is at the Qi Sea realm?"
"No, but he is definitely at the peak of the Qi Gathering realm. "
"Peak of the Qi Gathering realm?!" exclaimed Wan Bo, and Men Du smiled as he slightly turned his head.
"Heh, so even you are surprised huh? Imagine when we first learned it. We would believe more if a couple of gold coins fell from the sky then about his real strength."
" Indeed." was the only thing that Wan No could say. He didn't fully believe Men Du, but he kept his words in mind. Wan Bo asked several more questions about the route they were taking, and Men Du answered as sincerely as he could.
.............
And so, the caravan entered the territory of the Strong Gale sect without any trouble. It was a miracle for things to go so smooth, but it was just the calm before the storm. A set of prying eyes had locked on to the caravan since a while ago, looking at their wagons, assessing forces and even counting their horses.
"Hehehe, this is a good sign....." hoarsely said the man behind those sneaky eyes before retreating into the thick foliage the caravan was traveling through. He was fast, faster than a normal human even though he was moving in the forest, so he definitely was experienced. He ran thought the forest for more than 15 minutes and he arrived at a clearing where a small creek ran through. It was like the calm eye in the middle of the tornado, but in fact it was the opposite.
More than 50 men were gathered in the 50 m² clearing. They were all mostly doing their own thing; some maintaining their weapons, some washing themselves, some taking a piss, but they all seemed as someone you wouldn't want to mess with.
"Oh, Xing, you seem to be in a good mood today. Did you find something good for me, your father?" suddenly said someone and the one named Xing turned around to face him. He looked straight into the eyes of the man who had insulted him.
Compared to him who was only a skinny 17 year old , the middle aged man in front of him was like a mountain. He was 1.85 m tall, fat and with his long beard he looked like a boar in human form, but although he could easily be beaten by him, Xing stood his ground.
"Lei Kong, if you were really my father I would have killed myself long ago. Fortunately the heavens has not bestowed upon me such a grim fate." seriously said Xing making Lei Kong stop for a moment before he exploded into laughter.
"You, hahahaha.....kid! It seems that you've practiced your tongue very nicely, but can it defend you against my fist? Let's see...."
Lei Kong raised his hand high and clenched his fist, but before he could hit Xing, the later ran to the one and only tent in the clearing. He was stared by numerous greedy eyes as if like he was a delicious piece of meat, but he didn't slow down. In less than ten seconds he was in front of the tent and a sleepy old guard stopped him in his track's.
"Xing, this is not a place of refuge, it's the leaders tent. If you don't know how to get out of trouble , you shouldn't involve other people in them." said the guard as he looked at the slowly approaching Lei Kong.
"Elder Ming, it's true what you said, but I'm really not running away. I have something important to say to the leader."
As soon as he heard those words the man fully opened his sleepy eyes."Oh, really? So it's not you running away from Lei Kong?"
Xing hesitated for a moment thinking what he should say, but ultimately decided to tell the truth."Indeed, it's as you say, but it's true that I have important information for the leader. You see, as I was doing the usual scouting assignment I discovered a caravan passing through the north. It was about ten big carriages, but it looked a little suspicious as there was not supposed to be a caravan traveling through at this time."
As he heard this the old man completely woke up, and took a good look at Xing. The young man in front of him was skinny, had short hair and looked as of he had been starved for a long time, but his eyes shined with a light that made you feel his ambition.
"Hmmm..... If it's really as you say , the leader will definitely listen to you. Heh, count this as your lucky day, but also remember that this is the last time you do such a thing." softly said the old man as he placed a hand in his shoulder and squeezed. It didn't seem possible for the old man to hold that much power, but his grip was very strong.
"Ughh....I understand....I understand..." quickly nodded Xing as he was pushed forward into the tent.
As he entered, he immediately kneeled on one knee as he saw the figure in front of him. The man in front of Xing was in his late twenties, had a rough, clean shaven face, black hair tied in a ponytail, and a leisure smile on his face as he groped a beautiful woman by his side.
"Xing greats Leader!" respectfully said Xing as he swallowed a bucket of saliva, but the man didn't notice this. He moved his head towards Xing as he spoke, but quickly resumed to groping the woman, clearly not interested.
This continued for about a minute before he became bored and directed his attention to Xing again."So, Xing, you seem to have something to say to me? "
"Indeed, Leader. I wouldn't dare to waste your precious time with useless things, so I'll go straight to the point.
Since this morning, I have discovered a caravan which wasn't supposed to pass through this place. They are from a group I haven't seen before, and their route doesn't seem to lead deeper into the territory of the Sect, but into the Searing Fist Sect. Most likely they have passed the border without permission from the sect."
*Clack*
Something was heard breaking and Xing immediately froze. A feeling of pressure made him immediately start to sweat as if it was the height of summer.
"Xing, if what you say is true, then you've made a great discovery." slowly said the leader " But if you are lying, then you will suffer greatly....
"Kyaaaaaa....." suddenly screamed the woman on the leaders side, but Xing didn't dare to raise his head an see.
"Hmph , useless...." muttered the leader as the woman fought her tears and stayed quiet, but the red, palm shaped wound on her arm made it clear that she was in great pain.
"Go, I'll deal with you later , and call the old man inside! " said the leader as he smiled and Xing complied without a word.
