Chapter 26: Narrow Alley

Tang Wanhong pondered in this manner, then turned his head to look at Guan Kui, as if looking at a block of elm wood.

Tang Wanhong glanced at the Lady Painting on the tea table and said coldly, "Take the painting and put it on the desk in the Inner Room. Don't disturb me if there's nothing important! I want to take a good look at this painting."

"Yes... yes..." Guan Kui replied timidly, rolled up the painting, and went into the Inner Room.

Tang Wanhong looked at Guan Kui's back with disgust.

In fact, he had originally made a profit by acquiring this painting for eight hundred taels, and through this, he had also confirmed that Duan Rong was not only quite accomplished in ancient paintings but also deeply knowledgeable about Artifacts.

Only then did he have the intention of further association.

The author of this Lady Painting that Duan Rong brought was named Fan Yunlin, an unworldly young genius who had unfortunately died young.

There were not many of his works left in the world, and this Lady Painting was one of the finest among them.

For painters of the same status, the rarer the work, the higher the price it could fetch; once he flipped this Lady Painting, he would get at least one thousand two hundred taels of silver.

Duan Rong walked out of Guyue Studio in a great mood, unable to help humming a little tune from his past life.

With this money, he wouldn't have to worry about cultivation resources for a period of time.

As long as he made good use of this ability to Devour Artifact Spirit, this Antique Street would be his treasury.

Duan Rong was busy dreaming of being a wealthy man when he was suddenly bumped on the shoulder.

This Antique Street was narrow to begin with, so bumping into someone while passing by was originally nothing.

But the person who bumped into him was not only sturdy and burly, but the impact was also quite heavy; if Duan Rong hadn't already had some foundation in Stance Training, he would have almost been knocked over.

Duan Rong immediately covered the lapel of his chest; there were eight hundred taels of silver in the inner pocket of his lapel, and how could he know if the person who bumped into him was a pickpocket?

Duan Rong rubbed his body through his clothes to confirm that the silver notes inside were still there, and his heart calmed down slightly.

Duan Rong looked at the man, and the man actually stopped and looked him up and down as well.

He saw that the man had a square face, a broad nose, was sturdy and burly, stood half a head taller than Duan Rong, and was wearing a set of tight-fitting clothes with wrapped trouser legs, but he was not carrying any weapons.

Although he was not carrying any weapons, Duan Rong could tell at a glance that this man was a practitioner.

The man's gaze swept over Duan Rong's Escort Waist Token, and he smiled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, saying, "Sorry, little brother, I was walking a bit too fast!"

Duan Rong glanced at the man, said nothing, turned his head, and walked away.

The man stood there, watching Duan Rong's back, his gaze cold as he said, "He has some foundation in his lower stance. At this age, it seems he hasn't put little effort into Standing Stake."

Duan Rong walked along the street and suddenly saw a stall selling miscellaneous books; he immediately walked over and started flipping through them.

The original owner had been poor since childhood and had a solitary nature; although Duan Rong had inherited his memories, he did not know much about this world.

He had long had the idea of reading some miscellaneous books to broaden his horizons, but since his soul had transmigrated, he had never had the spare time, nor the spare money.

But now, this bit of money for buying books was simply a drizzle to him.

Duan Rong squatted in front of the book stall, selected seven or eight books he was interested in, haggled over the price, and paid; the stall owner stacked the books together, tied them with hemp rope, and handed them to Duan Rong to carry.

Duan Rong carried the yellowed miscellaneous books in one hand and gripped his sheathed Ox-Tail Saber in the other, preparing to go to the Raw Medicine Shop to get some deer antler before returning to the Escort Agency.

Just as Duan Rong was walking, a figure suddenly flashed past him, and the hand holding the books suddenly felt light.

Duan Rong looked closely and saw only half a piece of hemp rope left in his hand; the hemp rope in his hand had actually been cut by someone.

Duan Rong was furious, swept his eyes, and saw a thin, small figure hugging his bundle of books; judging by the build, it should be a child, moving like a loach, darting back and forth in the crowd, and in a short while, it drilled into an alley beside the Antique Street.

"Damn it! Where did this little punk come from!"

Duan Rong cursed and immediately chased after him.

But the crowd here was a bit congested, hindering his movement.

By the time Duan Rong darted into the alley, the child had already run quite a distance.

Duan Rong saw the child's clothing from afar, which was actually tattered.

"Could it be a little beggar?"

Duan Rong thought this and shouted, "Little beggar, stop! I'll give you money, return the books to me!"

But the little beggar turned a deaf ear and turned into another alley.

Fearing he would lose him, Duan Rong quickened his pace and turned in as well!

As soon as Duan Rong entered the alley, he felt something was wrong; there were high, windowless walls on both sides, and the alley was narrow.

Duan Rong's heart jumped. "Luring the enemy into the trap!"

Just as he wanted to turn around and leave, he saw a sturdy, burly, tall figure blocking the alley entrance; it was the man who had bumped into him earlier, only this time the big man was holding a Broad-Faced Ghost-Head Saber in his hand, looking at him with cold eyes...

Duan Rong turned his head to look at the other end of the alley and saw two people standing behind the child who was holding his bundle of books.

The two held a worn-out shield and a fork in their hands!

And when he looked closely again, the one who stole his books was not a child at all.

Although the child's height only reached a person's waist, he already had a beard; he was actually a dwarf!

And one of the people behind the dwarf was someone Duan Rong had seen in Guyue Studio; it was the thin, tall man who had brought the copper furnace into the studio.

"This is walking into a thief's den!"

The thin, tall man held a fork in one hand and raised a shield with the other to protect the dwarf who had run over behind him, shouting, "Brother Ming, this is the guy who ruined our business in Guyue Studio!"

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat.

After all, he had only transmigrated here not long ago, and many of his ways of doing things were still subconsciously following the habits of his past life.

For example, exposing the fake incense burner would not have caused any trouble in the rule-of-law society of his past life, and it might even have been considered an act of clearing the turbid and lifting the clear.

Because Duan Rong followed the habits of his past life, he pointed it out directly!

But this was the Jiuzhou Continent!

In the Jiuzhou Continent, martial arts were in vogue, and robbery was a common occurrence; furthermore, there were countless unsolved cases in the Ya Men, and it was not the peaceful world of his past life...

Duan Rong looked at the rather ferocious Broad-Faced Ghost-Head Saber, and his wildly beating, annoyed heart instantly calmed down. He cupped his hands and said loudly, "I am an Escort of the Yuanshun Escort Agency. Which path are you brothers from? Please state your names!"

The sturdy, burly, broad-nosed man sneered, "Who are you trying to scare with the Yuanshun Escort Agency? With that bit of Stance Training of yours, you haven't even completed the First Layer, have you? I think you're at most an Intern Escort. Besides, if I slaughter you and go far away to the ends of the earth, would the Yuanshun Escort Agency still hunt me down for an Intern Escort like you?"

Duan Rong's heart jumped; this man seemed to know a lot about some internal matters of the Yuanshun Escort Agency.

"Hand over the silver in your pockets early! Our goods are fake, but yours are real, aren't they?" the broad-nosed man sneered, "You ruined one of our deals, so compensate us for one. This trade is very reasonable!"

"Hand over the silver, and I'll spare your life! If you aren't willing, then I can take it myself, only the outcome will be different." As the broad-nosed man spoke, he spun the blade in his hand, his gaze suddenly sharpening.

Duan Rong was so angry at this point that he laughed, saying, "Screw you! Do you think I was scared into growing up?"

Duan Rong was very clear that even if he handed over the silver, they would never let him go. After all, he was a member of the Yuanshun Escort Agency; if they robbed him of such a large sum of silver, wouldn't they be afraid of a reckoning later?

From the moment he walked into the alley, it was already a dead end with no hope of survival.

Aside from the word 'kill', he had no other path at all.

Duan Rong drew his Ox-Tail Saber and, with a striding horizontal slash, attacked the broad-nosed man!

The broad-nosed man's eyelid twitched, and he roared, "Since you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, I'll send you to your death!"

The broad-nosed man flicked his wrist, and with a diagonal upward strike, his blade met the edge of the blade Duan Rong had slashed over with.

With a crisp 'Bang!', the web between Duan Rong's thumb and forefinger shook, and his weapon nearly slipped from his hand.

Duan Rong's eyelid twitched, and his heart sank slightly; this man's Internal Breath was deeper than his, and even if he hadn't reached the First Layer, he was likely not far off.

Yet he had only been practicing his Internal Cultivation Method for a day or two, just enough to possess initial combat power!

The broad-nosed man forced Duan Rong back with one move, then began attacking him with wide, sweeping, and vicious strikes.

Duan Rong's heart was as calm as water; the broad-nosed man attacked with several moves, all of which were skillfully neutralized by him.

His Internal Cultivation was indeed inferior to the broad-nosed man's, but his Martial Technique had already reached the Proficiency realm!

As long as he didn't clash head-on with this man, in terms of pure move refinement, he was far superior to this broad-nosed man.

This time, he would use skill to overcome brute force!

The broad-nosed man slashed down with his blade, the wind of the strike cutting through the air, but the tip of Duan Rong's blade suddenly emerged from above the back of his blade, stabbing straight for his face; the broad-nosed man was scared out of his wits and had no choice but to withdraw his move and retreat.

Duan Rong's gaze was icy, and deep within his eyes, a beast-like, calm cold glint flashed from time to time.

He parried every move as it came!

Every one of the broad-nosed man's attacks seemed to have its flaw found by Duan Rong and was neutralized one by one.

Duan Rong often struck after, yet attacked where the opponent was forced to defend!

The broad-nosed man became more and more stifled as he fought; the edge of his Broad-Faced Ghost-Head Saber kept striking the high walls on both sides, sending brick shards flying.

Yet he hadn't even touched the hem of Duan Rong's clothes...

(End of this chapter)