Chapter 250: Fellow Practitioners

The thousand‑mile journey, the old horse already moves slowly, and with the time spent stopping at inns along the way Bai Lang will need more than half a month to arrive—still, nothing untoward happens on the road. Bai Lang isn't in a hurry to press the deadline, after all the borrowed money bears no interest, and "Is this a loan? It's clearly just a pre‑payment of a reward that is bound to be received!"

Bai Lang approaches his tasks with a travel‑for‑pleasure mindset, so wherever he goes he takes in the local scenery and buys some specialties—at his status, everyday expenses are no trouble. Bai Lang restrains his aura, appearing like an ordinary low‑level courier gang merchant, not drawing attention—impossible.

Because he is such a striking man, even with a hat hiding his short hair, his sturdy beard and the face of a fierce general betray him. When he enters the villages and towns along the road, the big‑hearted folks glance at him and the seemingly good‑natured people step aside, while the shifty, mouse‑eyed ones sneer and provoke, and some even ask the handsome gentleman whether he wants to join a gang for fun.

Only the brothels treat Bai Lang best, neither avoiding nor refusing, shouting "Sir, it's been ages since you visited!"

Bai Lang brushes his whiskers and smiles wryly; this handsome look truly suits an official or a cultivator—before he was a minor and undeveloped, now his looks have fully blossomed. Yet even with such imposing looks, the unscrupulous merchants who ought to cut him down still do so… demanding money without regard for life, that's the example.

Within Great Yan there are six gates, the Weiwei Office and local brothers on the Dao with vested interests, so generally local security is decent, but for outsiders it's not very friendly—smaller places are less friendly. Still, Bai Lang's appearance gives him an edge. He has walked nearly a thousand miles without any petty thieves stealing or any road‑robbers attacking.

Zhuo Du City is now in sight; beneath the continuous mountain ridge on the horizon a dark‑blue line marks the city wall, and at this distance the road flanks are already filled with sorghum fields. There are many pedestrians, but most travel in double‑axle wagons like Bai Lang's, with a good number of caravans as well.

Bai Lang even managed to sit at the front of the carriage to urge the horses, since the road is crowded with wagons and collisions must be avoided. He has no intention of leveraging his status; even when passing the city he rarely uses his waist‑badge to demand free inn accommodation—though by rule he is entitled to it.

Bai Lang dislikes it; he finds the official rank neither essential nor unnecessary, but after entering Zhuo Du he still needs it to get work done—the local Weiwei Office holds sufficiently detailed intel. Bai Lang plans to kill three or five leading Mountain Bandits, then go to the Water Bandits' stronghold and wipe them out to finish the job.

"Innate Expert? Do Innate Experts even exist?" Bai Lang muttered. Beyond the frontier there are indeed Innate Experts, not only them but also Inner View and outward‑projected masters who have attained Dharma Body, become Buddhas and founders. Yet mere Mountain Bandits and Water Bandits are not enough to draw out those comfortably worshipped frontier masters.

Those masters come and go within the royal tent, some even being the Sweat King, and there are Great Shamans as well. The one dubbed Heishui Taotao, a Dharma Body master, is regarded by the frontier tribes as a deity. Among frontier peoples, aside from Inner View and Dharma Body, Innate Experts are not listed—at least not in Great Yan.

Bai Lang drives the carriage into the city; this city, guarding the passes inside and out, is the core hub of Great Yan's northern defensive line, so its towering walls surpass even those of the capital, and outside the walls the law strictly forbids civilian dwellings. Though the surrounding fields are vast, the villagers live in small fortified hamlets rather than scattered.

Along the way the hamlets are well‑armed, their villagers serving as civilians in peace and soldiers in war. Within dozens of miles of Zhuo Du there are several more cities, all clusters of such hamlets forming Great Yan's northern defense. The generals who command troops are all masters, and the battle formations themselves preserve special martial techniques.

Bai Lang has heard that such formations can transmit and gather each person's power, and once a battle array is formed the true Qi links, creating special attack‑defense bonuses. In any case, a thousand‑person formation can resist an Innate Expert, a ten‑thousand‑person one… still likely cannot withstand Inner View masters, and even a Dharma Body would render any number of ordinary troops useless.

Yet Inner View and Dharma Body are so rare…

Upon entering the city, Bai Lang's first stop was the Weiwei Office to register; the Weiwei Office runs its own inn for colleagues on business, and as an Innate Expert Bai Lang first meets the local head of the Weiwei Office—Red‑Handed Immortal Ape Jiang Xia. This Jiang Xia is an Inner View master, yet looks like a giant horse‑monkey.

He is gaunt and slight, showing no trace of an Inner View master's bearing; his face contorts with restless features, yet he is a great authority in fist techniques, and his staff art is unrivaled. "This Jiang head keeps his secrets well; I can't find on record which arts he excels in—only 'fist' and 'staff', and in the few encounters I saw he wielded a black staff," Bai Lang recalled the data.

"Ah, Mr. Bai. Thank you for coming to help, sigh, I can't even begin to tell you how these Mountain Bandits and Water Bandits have given me a headache," Jiang Xia squints, "Old Jiang can't move much; that turtle‑son up north watches me. If I don't move, he won't move either, sigh, it's a hardship for me." As he spoke, the giant horse‑monkey stretched his limbs, creaking like rusted metal.

"Mr. Jiang, may I ask about those Mountain Bandits, Water Bandits… and that Lone Old Seven…?" Bai Lang asks politely, and the horse‑monkey Jiang Xia slaps his forehead, "Look at me, why am I so foolish? Here, here, the supplies are already prepared for Mr. Bai, and the lodging as well." The monkey lifts his eyebrows disdainfully, "How about I cook tonight and let you taste the flavor of my Northern Rouge?"

"Very well, thank you, Mr. Jiang, hahaha," Bai Lang raises his eyebrows and laughs heartily. He hadn't expected the horse‑monkey to be so delightful; drawing closer is beneficial—once close, he can ask for advice, and as for Northern Rouge? Honestly, Bai Lang isn't particularly keen on it.

Bai Lang isn't a lecher; if he were fond of such things, his current cultivation would already have earned him a harem. To him it's merely a garnish—spending the day training is bliss, a little distraction from women is… actually, if he could meet the mischievous elder Zhou Botong, perhaps Bai Lang would share some common ground with him.

Yet Bai Lang cannot explain where this sensual aura comes from; he looks like a fellow practitioner—perhaps brought by a pair of non‑blood‑related twin brothers. Thus the horse‑monkey Jiang Xia felt an instant kinship and immediately took Bai Lang as a fellow practitioner.