Chapter 159 - 135: Returning to Xiahe County
The rain continued to fall through the night, cold and chilling.
The battle in the forest had nearly reached its conclusion. Soon, the last tall survivor of the Mo Mountain Tribe was slain. Blood mixed with rainwater, staining the surrounding ground crimson.
It was quickly washed away by the rain.
The leader of the Black Wind Thieves surveyed the area with a grim expression. They had arrived with forty to fifty men, but now only thirty-odd remained. More than a dozen had died on the spot.
’This job hasn’t even begun, and I’ve already lost almost half my men.’
’And these mountain savages are dirt poor. You couldn’t even squeeze half a tael of silver from ten of them put together.’
’A loss. A devastating loss.’
"Leader, should we continue?" At that moment, his second-in-command stepped forward to ask. He was, of course, asking if they should continue to lie in wait for their target.
"Continue? Continue with what?" Han Sanshan snorted. "We’re heading back right now. After all this commotion, what’s the point of an ambush? We’ve probably been discovered already."
"But... it’ll be hard to answer to our clients in Shanyang Prefecture. They paid a deposit, didn’t they? If we just leave now..." the second-in-command said hesitantly.
"Hmph. What rotten luck," Han Sanshan scoffed. "That paltry bit of silver isn’t even enough to cover compensation for my dead men. It’s all their fault for giving us faulty intelligence. Otherwise, why would we have run into that band of brutes here? Go tell our contact that if they want me to make another move, they’re going to have to pay more."
Han Sanshan then turned and ordered his men to collect the bodies of their comrades.
The Black Wind Thieves departed as quickly as they had arrived, vanishing into the vast, rainy darkness.
Back in the ruined temple, the members of the caravan had already cleaned up the battlefield.
After such an incident, Elder Zheng the Darts Master naturally assigned more Darts Masters to the night watch.
Fang Yue, however, returned to the inner room of the ruined temple and began examining the animal hide he had just acquired.
In the firelight, a map was revealed upon the surface of the hide.
’Is this a map leading to the lands deeper beyond Mo Mountain?’
After only a few glances, Fang Yue determined that the map depicted the area around Mo Mountain, but it also extended much deeper into the wilderness.
The Mo Mountain Tribe was already located deep within the mountains, an extremely dangerous region teeming with Fierce Beasts.
It was only by some unknown means that these mountain people were able to keep the Fierce Beasts away from their tribal lands.
In fact, the presence of these Fierce Beasts was the very reason Mo Mountain was so difficult to assault.
’This is a map, and one that leads even deeper into the mountain forests.’
’If this route is a safe one, then this map’s value would be immense.’
Fang Yue, however, had no intention of going to explore it himself. Venturing that deep into the mountains would surely be extremely dangerous.
According to ancient legends, the deepest parts of the mountains were home to Demon Beasts!
~~~~~~
「Meanwhile, in a seemingly ordinary residence in Shanyang Prefecture.」
Even though it was late at night, the main house was still lit by candlelight.
"Mistress, the tea is ready. This tea is incredibly expensive. I heard it’s the finest grade from the Yuezhong Mountain Tea House. The Master spent over one thousand taels of silver just to buy a single pound of it."
The maidservant pushed open the door and carried in a pot of still-steaming tea.
"Mm, just set it down. What have you learned about the matter I had you investigate? What’s the story behind that Yuezhong Mountain Tea House?"
Her voice was cool, but it carried an unavoidable, alluring softness.
"It’s an enterprise of the Bai Family’s eldest young master. The tea is said to come from Xiahe County," the maidservant replied.
"I see. You are dismissed. Go to bed early tonight; you don’t need to wait on me."
"Yes, Mistress."
The maidservant quickly withdrew from the room.
"Mama, Nu is thirsty."
Just then, a soft, sleepy murmur came from the inner chamber.
The young woman quickly rose, poured a cup of tea, and gently blew the steam away with her lovely red lips before carrying it into the inner chamber.
Widow Yu smiled softly at the sight of her daughter rubbing her eyes.
"Here, Nu, have a drink."
GULP, GULP~
"Mama, this tea is so good! Did Yue make it? It tastes exactly like the tea at his house," the girl said with charming innocence.
Widow Yu didn’t answer, however. Instead, she gently patted her daughter, soon lulling the girl back to sleep.
Alone in the room, Widow Yu was left to listen to the sound of the rain, lost in thought.
~~~~~~
「Several days later.」
Fang Yue and his caravan had already covered more than half the distance of their journey.
If the rain held off and there were no other mishaps, they would be back in Xiahe County Town in another three to five days.
"Boss, there’s a tea stall up ahead. We’ve been on the road all day. Should we stop and rest our feet?"
Elder Zheng the Darts Master came to Fang Yue to ask for his decision.
By now, his opinion of Fang Yue, his young employer, had changed from initial contempt to acknowledgment, and now, to respect.
The strength Fang Yue had displayed throughout the journey had won over the veteran Darts Master, a man who constantly lived on the edge of a blade.
In this line of work, strength commanded respect. It was as simple as that.
"Alright, let’s rest here."
With a nod from Fang Yue, the caravan members entered the tea stall.
Soon, tea, simple pastries, and pickled radishes for a side dish were served.
Of course, the first thing they did when the food was served was to test it for poison.
Only after confirming it was safe did the men begin to eat and drink with peace of mind.
Although the fare at the tea stall was simple, the caravan had brought some of their own jerky. Paired with the hot water and pastries from the stall, it was a fairly decent meal for the road.
「Meanwhile, on a small hill not far from the tea stall.」
"You absolutely cannot fail this time. A repeat of what happened last time is unacceptable!" Liu Chuanzhi said, his voice grim as he stared at the vicious, scar-faced bandit before him.
"Don’t worry. Since you’ve paid extra, the job will get done. There won’t be a repeat of last time." The scar-faced bandit was none other than the second-in-command of the Black Wind Thieves.