Chapter 17

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

An Jing went to the county office. After applying medicine to the prisoners, he put on his navy blue cloak and hurried out of Yuzhou City.

Jiang Sanjia was a sly old fox. An Jing was not sure if he would take the risk of being captured and continue to stay near Yuzhou City so he could take the Bodhi Bead first.

After leaving Yuzhou City, they would have to travel 80 kilometers south to reach Qing River Crossing.

At this moment, the sun was blazing above his head and the earth was as hot as a furnace.

There were trees in the forest that blocked out the sun, making it a little cooler.

The Great Yan territory was vast, and the five regions could be divided into the Great Yan’s factions. The Jiangnan Dao where the wealthy families gathered was one of them.

Since ancient times, Jiangnan Dao had been blessed by the heavens. The rain was plentiful and the water was plentiful, making it very convenient for trade. This also resulted in the gathering of wealthy families in Jiangnan.

As one of the core cities of Jiangnan Dao, Yuzhou City, which was blessed by the heavens, naturally developed very smoothly.

Therefore, the size of Yuzhou City and its scope of jurisdiction were not something that ordinary cities could compare to. Even outside the city, there were some cargo docks that could transport merchants.

An Jing ran swiftly through the forest. His body was like a nimble swallow as he shuttled through the greenery.

After about five minutes, An Jing realized that there seemed to be people ahead.

Taking a closer look, it turned out to be a tea shed.

“Big bowl of tea! Big bowl of tea that costs three copper coins!”

A waiter holding a cloth napkin was shouting when he saw An Jing walking over. “Dear guest, the weather is hot. Why don’t you get a big bowl of tea to quench your thirst?”

“Give me three bowls.”

An Jing had not had any water since he came out of the county office. At this moment, he also felt thirsty and sat down immediately.

“Alright, please take a seat.”

The waiter shouted into the room, “Three bowls of tea!”

An Jing sat down slowly and looked around.

In front of him was a woman in her thirties. She had a curvy figure. Coupled with her beautiful face that was slightly powdered, she perfectly portrayed the appearance of a mature woman. Every move she made gave off a feeling that made men’s minds go wild.

Other than the woman, there were also a few burly men with carriages and goods parked beside them. From their words, they seemed to be people from an escort company.

As the few dart masters spoke, their eyes constantly drifted towards the beautiful and mature woman, and a trace of greed flashed past their eyes.

An Jing did not mind. After all, it was not his fault.

“Sir, here’s the three bowls of tea.”

Shortly after, the waiter came over with three bowls of tea.

An Jing stopped the waiter and asked, “Waiter, is the Qing River Dock not far away?”

The waiter pointed at the official road and enthusiastically said, “That’s right, do you want to go to the Qing River Dock? You’ll be able to reach there after walking along the road for twenty miles. Do you want to take a boat? Then you will need to hurry later. There’s only one passenger boat every afternoon and it will stop taking people once it’s full.”

“Okay, thanks.” An Jing nodded.

“You’re welcome.” The waiter shook his cloth napkin and continued shouting.

Just as An Jing was about to drink a large bowl of tea and prepare to leave, the well-rounded and mature woman in front of him walked over. She smiled and said, “You are heading to the Qing River Dock?”

“Yes, what’s wrong?” An Jing felt as if there was a surging tide in front of him.

The mature woman smiled and said, “I also intend to go to Qing River Crossing. How about we go together?”

Her charming laughter was soul-stirring, as if it wanted to draw out the deepest desires of men. If it was summarized, it would be ‘slutty’.

Even the waiter and shopkeeper in the distance would glance over from time to time, secretly swallowing their saliva.

When the few escorts heard the woman’s words, they looked at An Jing with hostility.

“I’m afraid it’s inconvenient.”

An Jing was not an inexperienced boy.

He had come out this time to search for the Bodhi Bead and did not want to be involved in any trouble.

It was only a few dozen miles and they had to travel together?

“Little brother, are you really not considering it?”

The mature woman pursed her lips as a gentle wave seemed to surge through her eyes.

There was something wrong with this woman.

“No thanks.” An Jing shook his head. “I’m used to being alone.”

“Alright, then I’ll take my leave first.”

The woman looked disappointed. Then, she picked up her bag and left.

Upon seeing the lady leave, the few dartsmen hurriedly put down their money and followed her.

“Second Uncle, look at the Three Lakes dartsmen!”

When the waiter saw this scene, how could he not know what was going on?

Those burly dartsmen did not even take away their goods. They followed behind the beautiful and mature woman. Their intentions were clear. If he followed, it would definitely be a huge battle.

The shopkeeper frowned and looked into the distance without saying anything.

“Second uncle, should we report this?”

Slap!

Before he could finish his sentence, the shopkeeper slapped him hard.

“You’re out of your mind,” the shopkeeper snapped, “the Three Lakes dartsmen are backed by the Three Lakes Gang. If you let them know you’re reporting to the authorities, they’ll skin you tomorrow and turn you into a lantern to hang on a tree.”

“Don’t interfere in the affairs of the martial world.”

The waiter looked at the departing figure, his heart thumping wildly. It was as if some scenes had already been painted into his mind. He could not help but sigh, “Second uncle, it’s so good to be in the martial world!”

“Good my ass!”

The shopkeeper laughed coldly. “If you dare to enter the martial world, you don’t need anyone to do anything. I’ll skin you alive right now so that you don’t die in the hands of others. Then I will not need to collect your corpse in the future.”

An Jing shook his head and felt that the shopkeeper was right. He drank three bowls of tea in one go, put down ten copper coins, and set off along the official road.

On the official road, the road was flat.

Moreover, the journey of twenty miles was less than half an hour for An Jing.

The forest was dense, and they did not encounter anyone else along the way.

Suddenly, An Jing smelled blood and stopped in his tracks.

After walking a few steps along the forest, he found three crooked corpses lying on the ground. They were the three dartsmen.

“It seems that woman is not an ordinary person.”

An Jing looked at the wounds on the dartsmen’s corpse. All of them had been killed in one hit. There was a hint of shock and disbelief in his eyes. This meant that he had died very quickly in the blink of an eye.

The dartsmen were all rather powerful in the martial arts world. They were much stronger than the average person and new disciples of the sect. Most of them were at least Rank Six, Rank Five, or even Rank Four.

However, the three of them were killed in one move. This was enough to show that the person who killed them was powerful enough. At the very least, that person was an expert above Rank Three.

In the martial world, it was hard to tell if one was an expert or a commoner if one did not use their inner Qi. One could only tell if they were an expert or a commoner if they released their inner Qi slightly. However, some experts in the martial world had cultivated the Qi retraction technique which increased the difficulty.

However, most martial artists in the martial world would reveal some of their inner Qi. Firstly, many people would not be able to control their inner Qi and secondly, they would be able to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Therefore, the waters in the martial world were very deep.

“It’s best not to interfere in the affairs of the martial world.”

An Jing shook his head and continued running along the road towards Qing River Crossing..