Jade Dragon City, in an inn.
Liu Bolong sat dejectedly in a chair, his face overflowing with worry.
The head guard, Chen An, sat opposite him, and his expression was no better.
The atmosphere in the room was dull and oppressive.
After a long time, Chen An sighed and said, "Boss, maybe we should just let it go. Let’s just say the goods were robbed on the road. At least we’re safe, right?"
"Old Chen, you don’t understand how important this shipment is to me. For this business trip, I emptied my family’s resources and took great risks to traverse the no-man’s land to come to this place beyond the world, all just to make money."
"Now that both money and goods are lost, my Liu Family is finished, too. How can I swallow this anger?" Liu Bolong spoke with a face full of grief and indignation.
Chen An didn’t speak after hearing this.
Because he knew what Liu Bolong said was true.
After a moment, he said bleakly, "It’s all my fault for being incompetent, unable to protect the caravan."
Liu Bolong shook his head, "You can’t be blamed, the fault lies with me for being so foolish as to believe this group’s nonsense, leading to this outcome."
"The only thing I can’t understand is, there’s such an arrogant group in the city, does Jade Dragon City just ignore them?"
"Maybe they are part of the same gang." Chen An whispered.
Liu Bolong’s expression froze.
This was precisely the issue he was most worried about.
Because that would mean he would never have a chance to recover.
"Damn it, eating people without spitting out the bones, they’re even worse than the Black Wind Stronghold in the no-man’s land." Liu Bolong could only curse in despair, clueless about what else to do.
As he said, he had wagered all his assets for this business trip.
Unexpectedly, the high-risk no-man’s land was passed without incident, only to stumble in this place beyond the world, Jade Dragon City.
At that time, Liu Bolong escorted the goods and trekked all the way, finally arriving at this impoverished land.
Although Jade Dragon City was famous and close to the renowned Jade Dragon Mountain, it had even successfully hosted the grand opening of the Thirteen Sects this time.
In reality, its development had always been quite ordinary.
Many trading firms would intentionally or unintentionally avoid this place, which made the trade here very underdeveloped.
As a result, the prices of goods here were much higher than in other places.
This was precisely why Liu Bolong traveled such a long distance to trade here.
He planned to make a big profit this time and then retire to a life of ease and comfort as a wealthy gentleman.
But unexpectedly, shortly after arriving in Jade Dragon City, all the goods he escorted were "eaten" by a business firm in the city, and the price offered was not much different from the market price.
At first, Liu Bolong was a bit pleased, feeling that this way was both convenient and worry-free.
He didn’t need to bother selling the goods himself, just settle the payment with the firm and he could leave.
But unexpectedly, this wait lasted for several months, from the coldest part of winter till the warmth of spring.
During this period, Liu Bolong went to the firm countless times to demand payment, but returned empty-handed each time.
At first, the firm would come up with various reasons to stall, but later they didn’t even bother to pretend. When he went, they just said two words, no money.
Liu Bolong realized he had encountered conmen.
In the beginning, Liu Bolong wasn’t particularly flustered because he wasn’t a fool. The reason he traded with this firm in the first place was that several big shops in the city vouched for them, and they had signed an agreement.
The agreement was in black and white, with fingerprints, leaving no room for denial.
Therefore, when he discovered that the firm intended to default, Liu Bolong went to find the guarantors initially.
The shops that once promised and patted their chests, assuring no errors would occur, now all denied having made any such promises.
Eventually, when these shopkeepers heard Liu Bolong was coming, they didn’t even show up.
Left with no choice, Liu Bolong pinned his hopes on the official authorities of Jade Dragon City, hoping the City Lord’s Mansion would stand up and help him.
At the time, Liu Bolong thought it was simple. There’s no way the City Lord’s Mansion of Jade Dragon City would allow such a group of conmen to exist, right?
Otherwise, wouldn’t that be a big blow to its reputation?
But after several contacts, Liu Bolong’s heart gradually sank.
Not because the City Lord’s Mansion’s attitude was bad.
On the contrary, every time he went, someone would receive him, offer tea and water, and treat him very hospitably.
And no matter how tearfully and snottily Liu Bolong narrated the event, someone would sympathetically listen, and after hearing it, would express indignation, claiming they would report this to the City Lord and thoroughly investigate the matter.
But every time Liu Bolong returned full of hope, there would be no follow-up.
After a few times, even if Liu Bolong was foolish, he could see that the City Lord’s Mansion’s strategy was sincere in appearance, but never doing anything.
This was plainly playing him for a fool, even worse than fooling monkeys.
Because they would give you hope again and again, only to dash it every time.
Liu Bolong finally understood why those trading caravans would deliberately avoid Jade Dragon City.
This was just a trap.
You are tempted by the little profit, but they are eyeing your capital.
But it was too late to regret it now. During this waiting period, many people in the caravan had already left.
First, because everyone could see that waiting like this was pointless and would achieve nothing but waste time.
Secondly, because of such a long wait, with people to feed and horses to care for, Liu Bolong was long out of funds and could no longer afford the daily expenses of so many people.
And so, after everyone had come and gone, only Chen An remained by Liu Bolong’s side.
The two of them sat silently in the room for a long while.
By then, the sun had already risen.
From outside, they could hear the sound of the inn’s helper sweeping the floor.
Liu Bolong and Chen An had not slept all night, yet they did not feel drowsy, just weary at heart.
"Boss, I’ll go buy some buns on the street. If you keep not eating, your body will give out too," Chen An said.
Liu Bolong weakly waved his hand, then leaned back in the chair, drifting off to sleep.
Not daring to disturb him, Chen An got up and left the inn.
By this time, the streets had become lively. Chen An arrived at a bun shop and bought two trays of buns.
One tray of lamb, the other vegetable.
He would eat the vegetable ones, while the meat ones were to nourish the boss.
After buying the buns, just as Chen An was about to turn and leave, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure at a distant breakfast stall.
Chen An was initially taken aback, then rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.
But upon closer inspection, he saw that sitting beside the stall, holding a bowl of tofu pudding, was the young martial artist he had encountered in the wilderness.
Chen An did not know Zhao Ya’s name, but from that brief encounter, he knew that Zhao Ya’s strength was exceptionally formidable.
Back then, Chen An thought that after that meeting, they would probably never meet again. Yet, unexpectedly, they had crossed paths again in Jade Dragon City.
Chen An’s heart skipped, as a possibility dawned on him.
If... if they could enlist this skilled person’s help in their boss’s troubles, could there be a turning point?
Though he didn’t know if it would work, or if this mysterious young expert would even lend a hand.
But at this stage, they had nothing to lose.
With these thoughts, Chen An took a deep breath and then walked over to the breakfast stall where Zhao Ya was.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ya was enjoying a steaming, spicy bowl of tofu pudding while chatting with Shen Yunshen beside him.
"Elder, Jade Dragon City is so vast. Without a specific location or clues, how should we find the Separation Tower’s base?"
Shen Yunshen did not answer immediately. He first took a bite of the pickles provided for free by the tofu stall, then pulled out his flask and took a sip of wine.
When the alcohol had gone down, he said, "What are your thoughts?"
Zhao Ya pondered for a moment, then said, "I think starting with the City Lord’s Mansion of Jade Dragon City would be a good idea. After all, among the people under its jurisdiction, the City Lord’s Mansion should be the most aware."
"Haha, that’s what I was thinking too. But before going to the City Lord’s Mansion, it would be best to gather some information first, so we don’t go in blind and get deceived by the people at the City Lord’s Mansion. What do you think?"
Zhao Ya nodded in agreement.
Indeed, when Shen Yunshen had entered the city quietly with his men, instead of making a grand entrance like he did in White Tiger City, Zhao Ya had more or less understood his intentions.
But, how should they go about gathering this information?
While Zhao Ya was contemplating this, he suddenly had a feeling and turned to look back, immediately recognizing Chen An among the crowd.
Isn’t that the head of the caravan’s guards he met in the wilderness?
What was he doing here?
Seeing him walking straight over, Zhao Ya knew he must have recognized him too, and so he said to Shen Yunshen,
"Elder Shen, I’ve run into an acquaintance, go take a look."
"Alright," Shen Yunshen had no objections.
Zhao Ya stood up, and by then Chen An had already reached the tofu stall. Upon seeing Zhao Ya, he quickly bowed respectfully.
"Young Hero, it’s been months since we last met. Do you still remember me?"
Zhao Ya smiled, "It has indeed been some time since we parted in the wilderness. But what brings you to Jade Dragon City?"
Hearing Zhao Ya’s response, Chen An felt a wave of relief wash over him.
Regardless, he remembered him, and that was a good start.
Chen An, filled with excitement, said, "To be honest, I traveled with the boss, transporting goods, and after a long journey, we finally arrived in Jade Dragon City. We intended to make a big profit but encountered endless troubles."
"Oh? What troubles?" Zhao Ya’s interest was piqued, and he suddenly had some ideas.
Chen An looked around uneasily, feeling that this wasn’t the right place to discuss such things.
Zhao Ya, noticing Chen An’s hesitation, smiled.
"Where are you staying? I’ll come find you after I finish my breakfast. How about that?"
Upon hearing this, Chen An was overjoyed, yet he worried that Zhao Ya might leave, and he would lose this last thread of hope.
So he said, "We’re staying at an inn not far from here. Please take your time eating, I’ll wait for you, and after you’re done, I’ll take you there so our boss can explain the situation to you. What do you think?"