Chapter 206: Take Action

The scar-faced man, who had been preparing to leave, suddenly froze in place, his expression becoming extremely conflicted.

After witnessing the old man in hemp clothes act just now, he knew the other was absolutely not someone he could provoke.

Therefore, he did not wish to have too many entanglements with the other, but now that the other had suddenly made such a request, it left him in great difficulty.

The scar-faced man wanted to refuse in his heart, yet feared offending the other, and if he agreed, the other's identity and origins were unknown, making them a huge hidden danger to keep by his side.

Just as the scar-faced man hesitated, a sound of galloping hooves and rolling carriage wheels came from the official road behind.

In an instant, both the scar-faced man and the old man in hemp clothes turned their heads to look back together.

Soon, a group of people arrived before the crowd and then slowly came to a halt.

The old man in hemp clothes narrowed his eyes slightly, while Hu Rui'an, seated on the horse's back, slowly swept his gaze around, then bowed to the old man in hemp clothes and said:

"What a coincidence indeed; I never expected to meet your excellency here again."

Hearing this, the old man in hemp clothes raised his hand to return the bow and said:

"Indeed, it is quite a coincidence."

By all rights, the two of them had taken a small path from Shengzhou to Lanzhou, while Hu Rui'an and the others took the main official road; no matter how one calculated it, both sides should not have met here.

However, they had indeed met again by sheer chance.

"I wonder where your excellency intends to go?"

At this moment, Hu Rui'an suddenly spoke up to ask.

His gaze swept over the scar-faced man; seeing the other's face did not look good, he knew there must be some issue between the old man in hemp clothes and the other.

Hearing this, the old man in hemp clothes remained silent for a moment, but ultimately replied with three words:

"Luo Shen Peak."

Upon hearing these words, Hu Rui'an slightly narrowed his eyes, then glanced at the carriage behind him.

At this moment, Li Musheng reached out to lift the carriage curtain, his gaze looking toward the old man in hemp clothes and the little girl in pink clothes on the mule's back.

That little girl in pink clothes held a white flour bun in her left hand and raised a piece of soy-braised beef in her right hand, her pair of pitch-black eyes glancing sideways to look at Li Musheng as well.

"Truly a glutton, eating wherever she goes."

Li Musheng chuckled, then said to the old man in hemp clothes:

"Coincidentally, we are also heading to Luo Shen Peak; since it is on the same route, we can travel together, but if you are unwilling, then never mind."

Having spoken, Li Musheng merely glanced at the little girl with narrowed eyes, said no more, and directly lowered the carriage curtain.

Hu Rui'an slowly turned his head, glanced at the old man in hemp clothes, and did not say anything more.

The old man in hemp clothes frowned with a look of contemplation, and at this moment, the scar-faced man looked at the old man in hemp clothes, then suddenly gritted his teeth and said:

"Since everyone is heading to Luo Shen Peak to offer birthday congratulations, traveling together is naturally the best option."

The scar-faced man, having walked the Jianghu, naturally lacked no skill in reading expressions; he could feel that although the old man in hemp clothes seemed acquainted with Hu Rui'an and his group, he was obviously somewhat wary of Hu Rui'an and them.

And the enemy of an enemy is a friend; no matter what thoughts the old man in hemp clothes had, even if he was unwilling in his heart, he dared not refuse the other's previous proposal.

So he simply stirred the waters, with all three parties traveling together; this way, they could constrain each other to some extent.

At this moment, after hearing the scar-faced man's words, Hu Rui'an suddenly frowned:

"Birthday congratulations?"

Seeing that Hu Rui'an seemed somewhat puzzled, the scar-faced man hurriedly said:

"In five days it will be the birthday of the 'Seven Sages' Peak Seat, the elder; sects and schools of all sizes in Lanzhou will head to Luo Shen Peak to offer birthday congratulations, and our 'Xishan Blade Sect' naturally is no exception."

Speaking thus, he then looked at Hu Rui'an with some suspicion and said:

"Could it be that your excellency is not heading to Luo Shen Peak to attend the birthday banquet?"

Hearing this, Hu Rui'an composed his expression, his gaze sweeping over the line of fully loaded carriages ahead, then spoke without revealing his thoughts:

"We are not familiar with that Seven Sages Peak Seat; attending the birthday banquet is unnecessary, and as for what we are going to do..."

Speaking thus, he looked meaningfully at the scar-faced man and said:

"When we arrive at Luo Shen Peak, you will naturally know."

The scar-faced man's expression froze slightly, but seeing that Hu Rui'an had no intention of revealing this matter, he did not continue to ask anything further.

At this moment, the old man in hemp clothes and the little girl in pink clothes exchanged a barely perceptible glance, then nodded toward Hu Rui'an and said:

"Since your excellency does not disdain us old grandfather and grandson as burdens, then traveling together is fine."

Hearing this, Hu Rui'an nodded slightly; he did not continue to ask the old man in hemp clothes about his purpose for going to Luo Shen Peak.

In his view, whether the other was going to offer birthday congratulations or had some other intention, it had little to do with their group.

After all, they had only one purpose: to annihilate Luo Shen Peak; this journey was either life or death, and there was truly no time to attend to superfluous matters.

Thus, Hu Rui'an and the others traveled together toward Luo Shen Peak.

Along the way, the scar-faced man of the Xishan Blade Sect always remained wary of the old man in hemp clothes and Hu Rui'an and the others.

But after traveling a certain distance, he found that both sides were simply hurrying along on their own, with neither much exchange nor any other abnormal behavior, so his heart gradually relaxed considerably.

However, as they continued forward, getting closer and closer to the region where Luo Shen Peak was located, the scar-faced man and the disciples of the Xishan Blade Sect began to vaguely sense something was wrong.

Of course, they did not think there was a problem with the old man in hemp clothes and Hu Rui'an and the others, but rather felt that the entire Lanzhou region seemed to have a problem.

"Why have so many disciples of Luo Shen Peak suddenly appeared?"

The scar-faced man looked at the roadblock set up at the intersection ahead, and the group of martial arts experts in cloud-patterned dark robes standing guard in full readiness, and his heart immediately became somewhat uneasy.

Along this journey, they had encountered several groups of Luo Shen Peak disciples, sometimes a dozen people, sometimes dozens.

However, the other side had all been in a hurry, radiating killing intent; they did not pay attention to them, simply rushing forward nonstop.

Such a situation, the scar-faced man had never seen before; after all, the people of Luo Shen Peak had always been aloof and superior, rarely in such a state of frantic desperation.

At this moment, the scar-faced man withdrew his gaze, hesitated for a while, then could not help but look toward the old man in hemp clothes and Hu Rui'an:

"Has something happened in Lanzhou?"

Hearing this, the old man in hemp clothes frowned tightly; the situation along this road, he had naturally seen as well, but he had no clue regarding it.

Hu Rui's expression remained calm from start to finish, yet he knew clearly in his heart that the Great Li Heavenly Brocade Guard had already begun their move.

Given Luoshen Peak's control over the Lan Zhou region, it was basically impossible for the Heavenly Brocade Guard to advance silently to the foot of Luoshen Peak.

Moreover, due to the leak, Luoshen Peak had likely already detected the Great Li court's movements, so it was impossible for them not to have taken precautions.

It was just that at this moment, Hu Rui was pondering a question: should he now, following Li Musheng's instructions, plunge deep into enemy territory alone and head straight for Luoshen Peak?

Or should he first rendezvous with other members of the Heavenly Brocade Guard, or locate the Commander my lord, and then attack Luoshen Peak together?

(End of this chapter)