Chapter 1411: Money Isn't That Easy to Earn

The place where the goods were lost was in Rongyang County, more than two thousand li away from the capital. Within a five-hundred-mile radius, there were four relatively large cities.

The population here was small, with many mountains and little farmland, appearing somewhat poor and desolate.

However, it was at least in the south. No matter how poor, it was still much better than the already devastated north.

Also because of the many mountains and little farmland, it became an excellent base for rebellion, with rebels often passing through or staying temporarily on nearby mountains to recuperate.

Chen Guanlou stood with the workers of the Hou Fu merchant caravan at the location where the hijacking occurred.

To his right were high mountains, to his left was a cliff, and below the cliff was a river with jagged rocks! If a person fell down, nine times out of ten, they would be dead.

It was currently the dry season, and the rocks on the riverbed were exposed, irregular, without even a place to set foot.

The caravan worker, Xiao Lu, was bent over, vomiting his guts out by the side of the road.

He truly hadn't expected, nor had he ever experienced, being carried by a Ninth-Rank martial artist, with more than half the time spent 'flying' in the sky!

"Are you done yet?" Chen Guanlou asked impatiently.

Xiao Lu shook his head and then nodded. "It flew too fast; I, I still want to vomit."

"That wasn't flying, kid. That was traveling! Stepping on trees to travel is nothing like flying. Real flying is when you can throw a single branch into the air and fly away on it."

Xiao Lu indicated he couldn't imagine what kind of scene or cultivation level it would take to fly by stepping on a single branch.

"Cultivation! Become an immortal, learn magic, and you can fly as you please." Chen Guanlou chuckled.

"Can one really cultivate to become an immortal?" Xiao Lu asked.

Chen Guanlou chuckled. "Whether one can, how would I know."

After returning to the capital, he hadn't been idle.

He had been diligently contemplating the cultivation techniques he brought out from the cave secret chamber. With the help of the Longevity Dao Fruit, entering the gate wasn't difficult, but that was as far as it went.

He discovered that the techniques left behind by the Grand Void Zhenjun had somewhat harsh conditions and weren't very practical. At least for the environment he was currently in, they weren't very suitable.

One needed to find a quiet place, such as deep mountains and old forests, where the essence of nature gathered, and enter meditation without distractions to cultivate, only then could one have a breakthrough. After all, being in the mundane world, not the cultivation world, the conditions for cultivation would only become increasingly harsh.

This was clearly a bit of a tall order!

Wait for the future!

Anyway, he could afford to wait; he wasn't in a hurry.

There was also a huge flaw: the technique only had the 'Law', not the 'Art'! It meant that one day in the future, when he achieved success in cultivation, he wouldn't know how to use this body of magic power.

It was truly troubling him to death!

Infusing magic power into martial strength, infusing it into blade techniques, perhaps he could try one or two.

"Are you done vomiting?" Chen Guanlou asked with slight disgust.

Xiao Lu drank half a bottle of water to rinse his mouth, wiped the corners of his mouth, and then said, "At that time, the head of the caravan had already walked to the bend ahead, when suddenly many people emerged from the mountain, without saying a word, and came up directly to kill."

"Not a single person spoke? Couldn't you tell the accent?"

"I, I was too panicked; anyway, I didn't hear anyone speak. Look at that rock; there are still bloodstains on it. At that time, I was hiding under the rock, scared to death. Fortunately, I wasn't discovered."

"Since you were hiding under the rock, you really didn't hear them speak? They hijacked the goods and killed people, without communicating?"

Xiao Lu covered his head. "I was too scared; I'm not sure if they spoke or not."

He looked terrified and uneasy, appearing very flustered.

Chen Guanlou patted his shoulder, and Xiao Lu immediately calmed down, his breathing gradually becoming deep.

Chen Guanlou explored the surroundings; there were trampling marks on the mountain, and judging by the range, there must have been quite a few people, probably two or three hundred.

Two or three hundred fully armed troops hijacking a merchant caravan, and it was a surprise attack; the odds of winning were at least seventy percent.

He took Xiao Lu into the town, walked into the most luxurious restaurant, generously ordered a top-tier banquet, gave the waiter a few coins as a tip, and took the opportunity to ask, "Who is well-informed around here? I want to inquire about a few people."

"The guest has asked the right person. There isn't a thing around here that I don't know. Who does the guest want to inquire about? Just ask."

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow and smiled, taking out a silver ingot and placing it on the table. "Answer well, satisfy me, and this piece of silver is yours. If you fool me, not only will there be no silver, but you'll also have to return the previous tip."

The waiter stared at the silver ingot on the table, estimating it to be at least five taels, full weight, absolutely no adulteration.

His eyes turned red, his heart beat like thunder, and he nodded repeatedly. "Guest, just ask. If I don't know, I'll help you find out clearly."

Chen Guanlou beckoned for the waiter to come closer and asked, "Within a hundred-mile radius, how many bandits are there, and where are their lairs? Is there any rebel activity?"

The waiter's pupils dilated slightly, very shocked, and he subconsciously lowered his voice. "Is the guest from the government?"

"Not at all! I'm in the jianghu. A guy offended me, and I'm very sure he hid in a nearby bandit lair, but I don't know which one specifically. I can only find them one by one."

"So it's a private grudge!" The waiter felt relieved. Although he suspected the other party wasn't telling the truth, he could brainwash himself, just for the silver. "But the guest looks like someone who eats from the public pot."

Chen Guanlou laughed. "Your eye for detail still needs more practice."

But in his heart, he was thinking, I don't know if the waiter stumbled upon it or if he really has an eye for detail, to see at a glance that he eats from the public pot. Is it that obvious?

"I know the things the guest wants to inquire about."

"Oh, let's hear it."

"Within a hundred-mile radius, there are five bandit groups that can be considered to have strength."

"So many?"

Chen Guanlou was shocked!

Is the public security this bad?

"Not many. When the Prince of Chu was causing trouble before, there were no fewer than ten groups within a hundred miles. The Prince of Chu was defeated, and the bandits' days became difficult too. As for rebels, we really don't have any here. The guest must have seen it all the way here; we don't have anything worth the rebels' attention. Grain, money, none of it can support a large army. The rebels have all gone to more prosperous places."

Chen Guanlou nodded, his expression very agreeable.

Rebels need to eat too!

Why rebel?

Isn't it just to move from poor, remote places to prosperous places? To go a step further, move into the capital to live, and become capital natives after two or three generations.

Just like the Hou Fu.

Who still remembers where the ancestral home of the Chen family in the capital is?

Even the ancestral graves have been moved to the capital; what ancestral home.

"Can you read?"

"I know a few characters."

"Come, write down the bandit lairs. If you can't write them clearly, draw them. By the way, write down the names of their leaders one by one; if you know their backgrounds, don't forget that either. Complete these, and the silver will double. If you dare to write a single lie, not only will there be no silver, but you'll also owe me a hundred taels."

"A hundred taels?" The waiter was stunned. Why?

Until he saw the teacup on the table turn into powder, his hand trembled, and he quickly guaranteed, "Guest, rest assured, I guarantee there won't be a single word of lie. It's just that I'm still on duty."

"It doesn't matter; just write it here. You can leave whenever you finish writing. If the shopkeeper calls you, I'll help you dismiss him." ===== CHAPTER 1412 =====