Chapter 95: Pulling the

Zhang Sanba had a very good impression of Xu Yuan; the box of matches Xu Yuan had given him as a gift had given him face under the Old Dead Tree for several days.

But how did this young man become a mountain runner?

Seeing the village gate closed from afar, Xu Yuan did not approach too closely, stopping a hundred zhang outside the village to wait.

Sure enough, not long after, the old mountain runner came out.

Hanging behind him was a hanging ghost.

This hanging ghost looked somewhat familiar; it seemed to be the one he had buried beside his mountain goods.

Xu Yuan politely clasped his hands and bowed: "Senior."

Bai Laoyan nodded slightly, his tone somewhat unfriendly: "As expected, you are not a merchant."

Xu Yuan smiled apologetically: "The situation at the time left me no choice, but this time I truly brought a great deal of goods."

Xu Yuan and Fu Jingyu set down their large bundles, opened them, and revealed salt, ironware, and other items most needed by the village.

The old mountain runner glanced over them and asked again: "What exactly are you here to do?"

Xu Yuan looked around: "Is it convenient to speak here?"

Bai Laoyan turned: "Follow me."

The group moved quickly on foot, walking over ten li to a hidden mountain hut.

This was one of Bai Laoyan's resting spots in the mountains.

Mountain runners all have several such places in the mountains.

The hut was narrow and small; once everyone entered, they could not turn around. Moreover, the "roof beam" was too low for the hanging ghost to hang from, making him feel entirely out of place.

Bai Laoyan paid no heed, sitting down first himself: "Speak."

Xu Yuan said: "This time, we ask the senior to help us kill a few people in the mountains..."

Bai Laoyan was unceremonious: "No, that would break the rules."

Xu Yuan then took out a leather pouch and placed it with both hands on the piece of wood before Bai Laoyan that served as a low table.

Then he smiled, looking at Bai Laoyan.

There was a mark on the leather pouch.

This time, Xu Yuan was pulling the "fox" skin to raise a big banner.

Bai Laoyan's face turned from waxen yellow to iron blue! Only after a long while did he slowly extend his hand, take out the leather pouch, and rub his rough index finger over that mark.

Then he opened the pouch, and inside was indeed a fragment of the Mountain Lord Stele.

For a brief moment, the veins and tendons on his hand swelled and burst forth, then quickly returned to calm.

"Hmph, using that old fox to suppress me?" Bai Laoyan's tone grew even more unfriendly; he shifted his body, drawing the firewood knife from beneath his feathered cloak.

Xu Yuan felt that the eyeball behind the yellow crystal lens, which showed only the whites of the eyes, stared fiercely at him, yet he showed not the slightest panic, speaking calmly: "The two young ladies from Plum Blossom Pool and I are sworn siblings."

Then Xu Yuan pointed to the mark on the pouch and said: "If the old senior does not believe us, we can go to Plum Blossom Pool right now; you can ask my two sworn sisters face to face."

The old mountain runner remained silent for a long while; the hanging ghost watched him quietly from the side. Both of them knew the truth behind the massacre of the two villages back then.

In the mountain villages, no one was willing to provoke that old fox.

Snap!

Bai Laoyan threw the pouch back onto the wood, took a deep breath, and asked: "Who to kill? What level? And what is their connection to the Head Monsters in the mountains?"

In the village, those evil spirits capable of claiming a territory are all called "Head Monsters."

Head Monsters are divided by size and strength; the two foxes at Plum Blossom Pool might be the weakest, while those at Guanghuo Street are the greatest.

Xu Yuan put away the pouch and replied: "Others call him 'My Lord Qin', but he is certainly not from the Filth-Exorcising Bureau.

At least he is at the level of a Seventh-Rank Artisan, possibly Sixth-Rank.

He is connected to the Sea Mouth Toad, the Snake Pole, the Ghost Temple Statue, and the Locust Hag in the mountains; the last time we saw him, the Locust Hag was by his side."

Upon hearing these four Head Monsters, Bai Laoyan frowned: "These are all related to Qiao Ziang..."

Xu Yuan did not explain further; the old mountain runner muttered a sentence, understood it in his heart, and no longer dwelled on the issue.

"The goods you brought this time are not enough." Bai Laoyan pointed at the two bundles: "Add five times more."

"No problem; after the matter is settled, I will deliver them personally."

Xu Yuan had come out of the county town specifically to make purchases, intending to bribe the old mountain runner.

The hanging ghost suddenly asked: "Where is that My Lord Qin now?"

Xu Yuan clasped his hands in a bow: "How should I address you, sir?"

Bai Laoyan raised his chin: "Wandering Mr."

Xu Yuan almost could not hold back and blurted out "What a good name."

"They went to Guanghuo Street yesterday afternoon."

Upon hearing the name Guanghuo Street, both Bai Laoyan and Wandering Mr. frowned simultaneously.

"Child, tell me the truth; what connection do they have on Guanghuo Street?" Bai Laoyan asked solemnly.

Xu Yuan shook his head: "As far as we know, they have none; they need the Locust Hag to introduce them to those few on the street."

Bai Laoyan sighed slightly with relief: "Kill them before they go to the street!"

Bai Laoyan looked again at Wandering Mr.: "Old Ghost, lend a hand?"

Wandering Mr. hesitated: "This matter... has nothing to do with me..."

Xu Yuan had a sudden inspiration, took out a small booklet, and opened it to the pages recorded by Old Qian regarding the raising of hanging ghost yin soldiers: "This can be given to Mr."

Xu Yuan had read this thing several times and had already memorized it thoroughly.

Upon first glance, Wandering Mr. flew into a rage; upon flipping through the other parts, he became deeply interested.

"Agreed!" Wandering Mr. closed the booklet, tucked it into his bosom, and vanished without a trace.

"Then let us set out; kill them before they go to the street tomorrow morning!" The old mountain runner rose abruptly.

……

The old mountain runner tossed two large bundles through the stockade gate and told Zhang Sanba, "Keep them safe; I'll divide them when I return."

"If I don't make it back..." He pointed at Xu Yuan and the other three: "Watch their dead souls, burn them in the 'Ghost Stove', and retrieve the rest no matter what."

Zhang Sanba shivered: "Don't make it back... you..."

The old mountain runner merely waved a hand and left.

Xu Yuan walked past the stockade gate, grinned at Zhang Sanba, and said, "Old Master Zhang, next time I'll bring you a few boxes of matches."

Zhang Sanba quickly lowered his head, stammering and too afraid to reply.

Fu Jingyu and the other two had been following Xu Yuan all along; while Lu Zhengyan was merely observant, Yan Lao was deeply moved.

With just one old fox's pelt, Xu Yuan forced the old mountain runner to join them.

Throughout the entire negotiation, he remained remarkably calm and composed, revealing not a single flaw, and single-handedly secured two powerful allies for their side despite their inferior strength!

He displayed a certain general's bearing.

Recalling their first meeting with this young man, though he showed some spirit, I always felt he needed the old lord to shape him properly before he could be fit for high society.

Who would have thought that in just these few days, he would have grown so rapidly.

Of course, Xu Yuan did not have complete confidence in bluffing the old mountain runner.

After all, he did not know whether the two sisters were boasting about the massacre of the two villages.

But there was no harm in trying.

In any case, the journey to Guanghuo Street would pass right through Wangxiang Village.

If it failed, at worst the old mountain runner would mock him twice, costing him a bit of face.

(End of this chapter)