A Chaotic World

Chapter 309: Escort Mission

"Just listing down the possibilities, eh?" Jue eyed Lu Tianzi doubtfully before letting out a snicker. "Heh, I guess nothing is impossible in this world. But don't worry, Young Brother Tianzi. If things get too dangerous, we will make sure to get out immediately. Just be careful not to get into any trouble yourself."

"Haha, what are you saying, Captain?" Xing laughed. "What kind of escort would we be if we really got out at the first sign of danger?"

"Shut up, Xing. I would rather be cursed at by others than to have all of us lose our lives for nothing!" Jue snapped in response. "This is serious! Reputation might be important, but our lives are even more so. If such a situation really occurs, don't any of you dare to go against my orders and stay around!"

"Yes, Captain!" the four answered with a smile on their faces.

Jue's tone might be harsh, but he was obviously speaking out of concern for them.

Witnessing this scene, Lu Tianzi sighed inwardly once more.

He would hate to see anything untoward happen to this group of good-hearted people.

"What's wrong?" Nanlan Qianxue asked after noticing a slight fluctuation in Lu Tianzi's demeanour.

"No, it's nothing. Let's go." Lu Tianzi shook his head.

The two groups bidded their farewells to Madam Dongran before leaving, splitting up at the entrance of the Dongran Residence.

Since Nanlan Qianxue had nothing in particular that she was looking for, she simply followed along as Lu Tianzi went around getting the materials he needed.

At noon, they finally settled down at a small restaurant.

Lu Tianzi had steered clear of the restaurant owned by Old Harpy, but this one was just as deserted.

The two of them were the only customers at the moment, but that did not matter. All they wanted was a short break before continuing to explore the town.

"You sure are going on a spending spree," Nanlan Qianxue remarked with a meaningful smile. "I still remember the time when you had to borrow beast cores from me just to purchase the Primal Bloodline Absorption Technique manual at the Wild Melody Circus. How things have changed since then!"

"Don't worry. Just like how you had been there for me, I will always be here for you if you need to borrow any beast cores in the future!" Lu Tianzi answered with a grin. "Of course, it comes with interest as well."

"How reliable!" Nanlan Qianxue laughed.

Lu Tianzi was about to reply when he noticed a familiar face stepping into the restaurant.

It was none other than the young man whom Lu Tianzi had met while on the way back to the Dongran Residence the day before.

At the same time, the other party similarly caught sight of Lu Tianzi.

"It's you!" the young man called out before walking over. "You sure look to be in a better condition than yesterday, though I guess it is difficult not to be when you are accompanied by such a beautiful lady!"

Nanlan Qianxue only took a quick glance at the young man before turning back towards Lu Tianzi. "Do you know him?"

Since Nanlan Qianxue had asked using voice conveyance, Lu Tianzi replied in the same manner. "We had a short encounter yesterday, but it is nothing special."

On the other hand, the young man was visibly surprised by Nanlan Qianxue's reaction.

He had just outrightly praised her, but was she not intending to acknowledge his words at all?

There were actually people as unfriendly as this?

"Are you still looking for your materials?" Lu Tianzi quickly asked to defuse the awkward situation.

"Materials?" the young man blinked blankly.

"Yesterday, you said that you are looking for poi-"

"Oh! The materials! Right!" the young man cut him off quickly. "Yes, I did find the materials that I needed. Unfortunately, there was an unexpected problem, so things did not go as I have hoped."

So he did find the Blazing Wings, but he had a problem with the organisation?

Lu Tianzi pondered.

Since the young man was a Third Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist, was the organisation not as strong as he had expected it to be?

Or did something happen to the organisation after Lu Tianzi left yesterday?

"An unexpected problem?" Lu Tianzi probed.

"It's difficult to explain. Let's just say that a rat has sneaked into my precious store of materials, and now I need to find a way to remove it without harming my delicate materials," the young man shrugged.

Lu Tianzi had to consciously control his facial expressions to prevent his feelings from showing.

It seemed like the young man was suspecting the existence of a spy!

Could it be referring to him?

Since this young man stood out a little too much, Lu Tianzi did not suspect that he was a local, and there were even less chances for the young man to be Blazing Dragon himself. However, there was always the chance that the young man had come into contact with Blazing Dragon.

Lu Tianzi suddenly felt relieved that he had not carelessly told the Iron Claw Brigade about what Blazing Dragon said the night before.

Now, chances were higher than ever that what Blazing Dragon said could be a trap!

"Well, it seems I am not too welcomed here so I shan't stay for long. See you!" the young man let out a bitter laugh when he saw how cold Nanlan Qianxue was acting towards him.

"See you around," Lu Tianzi nodded.

There was no reason to hold the young man back.

After taking a short break, the couple continued with what they were doing before. This time, they even explored parts of the town that Lu Tianzi had not managed to visit the day before.

As Old Harpy had said, there really were quite a few Sky Crystals placed all around town, testament to the generosity of Master Dongran.

Perhaps Master Dongran would have a way to guard the traders in place of the Iron Claw Brigade?

Lu Tianzi considered it for a bit, but decided to do away with the idea in the end.

He had no doubt that Master Dongran would help if asked, but someone who would willingly spend so much out of his own pocket to help the town might be too pure-hearted for Lu Tianzi's liking.

This kind of person was probably the easiest to deal with when it came to digging information!

If he went through Master Dongran, it was extremely likely that his identity would be revealed if Blazing Dragon tried to track down the source of the information.

Without any other ideas in mind, Lu Tianzi could only set the matter aside and concentrate on his own cultivation for the time being.

The best case scenario would be that it was just a bluff, and the traders were not actually being targeted at all.

That would make things so much easier.

Regardless, now that he had acquired the materials he needed, Lu Tianzi once again got to work, mixing up another big tub of black liquid.

With plenty of materials at his disposal, Lu Tianzi repeated the process of preparing the black mixture, soaking in it, and then throwing it away, doing it multiple times in a row. All this while, his Moon Culler and Torrential Sabre constantly rotated in a circle overhead.

Just like that, two days passed with Lu Tianzi not taking a single step out of his room.

Early this morning, Jue, Xing, and the rest of the Iron Claw Brigade left the Dongran Residence under the well wishes of Madam Dongran, heading straight for the town gate.

A large group of people was already gathered before their arrival, comprising of traders and other mercenary groups. Just like the Iron Claw Brigade, many of them had been hired to act as escorts for the traders.

This showed just how seriously the traders were treating this matter.

After taking note of everyone present, a young lady spoke into her communication ring. "Reporting to Master Dongxian, the last group has arrived and we are ready to leave."

Not far away on the second storey of an inn, a man dressed in luxurious robes stood by a window that overlooked the streets. From his angle, he could clearly see the area in front of the town gate where the large group of people had gathered.

Satisfied by what he saw, he spoke into his communication ring. "All right, move out. But be careful not to damage the goods. Otherwise, even your lives would not be enough to pay for them!"

"Understood," the young lady answered before turning to everyone. "Let's move out!"

At her command, the group started to leave, forming up in a way where the mercenary groups surrounded the horse carriage in the middle.

The young lady sat in the driver's seat and took the reins of the horses, guiding them forward in a skilful manner.

Everyone was in a relaxed mood, casually chatting among themselves as they strolled along. Even the young lady who was in charge of the team could not help but let down her guard despite the earlier warning from Master Dongxian.

After all, they were only going to be passing through a relatively peaceful route on their way to Ember City.

She had no idea what was so special about the goods this time that they could not be stored in a spatial ring. But since Master Dongxian had specifically given instructions not to take a look, she naturally would not do so.

It was a good paying job, and she certainly did not want to risk losing her reward because of some meaningless curiosity.

As the group continued forward, the silhouette of Bog Town gradually disappeared in the distance. Soon, they entered an area where the woods were dense on both sides of the road, creating a thick canopy that blocked out the sun.

This created a dark shadow that shrouded the area, making it difficult for anyone to see into the woods.

"We have entered the most dangerous part of the route, everyone stay alert!" Jue called out to the entire group.

Among them, the Iron Claw Brigade was one of the most respected teams. Upon hearing Jue's warning, the other groups cut their chatter as well.

Jue continued walking forward, but did not neglect to keep his eyes on the forests to his side. This long stretch of road was where beasts had been commonly known to attack unwary travellers, and he certainly was not intending to be caught unprepared!

Hmm?

Jue frowned.

He could make out some shadows moving around in the distance under the cover of darkness.

Not just that, but the movements were quickly getting nearer!

"Everyone, battle formations!" Jue shouted without hesitation.

The Iron Claw Brigade moved immediately, centring upon Jue. Light flashed as their weapons appeared in their hands, their eyes trained upon the darkness of the woods.

In response to their actions, the other groups drew their weapons in alert as well. The young lady similarly stopped the horse carriage, but she was not feeling particularly worried.

It was not uncommon to encounter a few beasts on this route, but this line-up of escorts should be more than capable of handling the situation.

But what she heard next caused her to freeze up entirely.

The sound that came from the depths of the woods was not that of a beast's roar. Instead, a man's yell broke the tense silence.

"Blazing Wings, get them!"

The loud yell was instantly replaced by hurried footsteps as hundreds of masked men rushed out from the woods on both sides of the road.

In a matter of moments, the traders and mercenaries had been completely surrounded!