Chapter 166

Before the sky was completely bright, a convoy drove out of Quliu Town and headed east all the way.

Inside the carriage in the middle, Xu Jingfeng sat leaning against the carriage wall, his body swaying slightly with the carriage. His eyes were slightly closed, as if he were resting. Sitting opposite him in the carriage were two maids, both of whom looked sleepy at the moment, their heads nodding from time to time.

The two of them had been tormented by their master all night and hadn't slept, and today, while it was still dark, they were dragged onto the carriage again, saying he wanted to take them into the pass to play for a while before returning. Both of them were only at the ordinary Body Forging cultivation level; how could they be like Xu Jingfeng, who had a profound cultivation base? They were now incredibly sleepy.

The journey was long, and they would inevitably be tormented a few more times on the road.

Xu Jingfeng breathed in and out, his palms slightly sweaty, gripping an unsheathed flying sword.

The convoy moved forward all the way and soon reached noon, when a dense forest appeared ahead. This road was one they were familiar with, and the commander guarding the carriages had already sent two people into the forest to scout; at this moment, a blue pillar of smoke rose in the forest, indicating there was no risk inside.

The convoy maintained its original speed, preparing to pass through the forest. However, at this very moment, a rain of arrows suddenly shot out from the forest, instantly turning the coachman and guards on the lead carriage, along with the horses, into sieves!

The guard commander was both shocked and furious, shouting loudly, "Who is so blind that they dare to intercept the Xu family's convoy?"

Another arrow shot out from the forest, instantly piercing the guard commander's throat!

Xu Jingfeng walked out of the carriage without any sign of panic. His eyes were slightly narrowed, his gaze deep, not knowing what he was thinking.

At this moment, a burst of laughter rang out in the forest, and Xu Jingzhe walked out holding a bow, saying, "Big brother, I was originally prepared to let you live, but why did you insist on taking this errand? This really makes things difficult for me!"

Seeing that it was Xu Jingzhe who came out of the forest, many guards were blank-faced. There were also a few clever ones whose faces turned pale, and they quietly began to look for a way out while tearing off the Xu family marks on their bodies.

Xu Jingzhe suddenly fired two arrows in succession, shooting and killing two guards who intended to sneak away, and then laughed, "No rules! With this young master here, you still want to run?"

Xu Jingfeng took a deep breath and said, "I only have one question."

"Ask away; after all, you are my big brother, so I should let you go clearly. It's just a pity for those two maids of yours."

Xu Jingfeng said word by word, "Does Father know?"

Xu Jingzhe gave a mocking laugh, "What is there in our family that the old man doesn't know? Which matter isn't arranged by him?"

The last glimmer of light in Xu Jingfeng's eyes extinguished, and he said, "Fine, do it."

Xu Jingzhe was startled and laughed, "You still want to fight me? Why struggle? If you can take three of my moves, I'll let you live!"

Xu Jingfeng's heart sank; he knew this younger brother had extraordinary strength, but he hadn't expected him to have cultivated to this point. But he still pointed a finger, and his flying sword shot out.

"Then I'll just play with you." Xu Jingzhe sighed and also pointed a finger; a flying sword like lightning intercepted the incoming flying sword. He prepared to break Xu Jingfeng's flying sword first, and then pierce through his opponent.

However, just as the flying sword came out, a blade light suddenly lit up halfway, lightly and skillfully slapping onto the flying sword!

The sharp flying sword was like a flying insect falling into a spider web, instantly losing its momentum and being stuck to the blade. And Xu Jingfeng's flying sword was unimpeded, stabbing into Xu Jingzhe's chest and coming out from his back!

Xu Jingzhe clutched the wound on his chest, shocked to the point of being unable to control himself, staring dead at the young girl who had suddenly appeared in front of him. The girl turned the long blade, straightened her arm, and only then plucked the stuck flying sword off the eight-foot blade.

"You, who are you..."

The girl ignored him, simply reaching out to grip the tip of the flying sword, and with a 'click', snapped the tip off. Subsequently, amidst 'crackling' sounds, she snapped the flying sword inch by inch, throwing the fragments all over the ground.

The flying sword is connected to the Primordial Spirit; every time it broke, Xu Jingzhe's face turned a shade paler, and later he even spat out several mouthfuls of blood! His heart was filled with terror like a surging giant wave; he couldn't understand no matter what, his natal flying sword was a high-grade magic tool, how could it be snapped by someone with physical strength? And so easily?

The girl didn't give him a chance to ask the next question; the eight-foot long blade swung, and Xu Jingzhe's head flew up.

Xu Jingfeng also hadn't expected that his younger brother, who had forced him into a dead end and claimed he couldn't take three of his moves, would be killed by someone like this, killed as if it were child's play.

And he had never seen this girl before, as if she had fallen from the sky. Even if Ji Weiwei Yuan had taken action personally, it wouldn't have shocked him this much, but now Ji Weiwei Yuan had sent someone casually to behead Xu Jingzhe.

Next, the blade light danced in the forest, and in a short while, the dense forest fell into silence; then, when the girl walked out of the forest again, she was covered in blood. She bowed to the person behind Xu Jingfeng and disappeared.

Xu Jingfeng turned his head abruptly and saw a black-robed person standing behind him, not knowing when he had arrived. Although he couldn't see his face, he instinctively knew this was Ji Weiwei Yuan, so he hurriedly bowed and said "Master." As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized his voice had become completely hoarse.

After bowing, Xu Jingfeng asked, "Where are we transporting the goods to?"

Ji Weiwei Yuan said, "I have no interest in the things you are transporting."

Xu Jingfeng's first reaction was disbelief. This was the convoy for the Ningxi County Xu family to transport tribute to the main family every six months; it could be said that the earnings of the past six months were all loaded in the convoy. This included the entire harvest of Ningxi County, worth at least two hundred thousand taels of immortal silver, which was a huge fortune even by Xu Jingfeng's standards.

Ji Weiwei Yuan said calmly, "You can open the cargo carriages and see for yourself."

A sense of foreboding rose in Xu Jingfeng's heart; he arrived before the nearest cargo carriage and gritted his teeth, tearing off the talisman on the carriage door. Once this kind of talisman is broken, it cannot be restored, which also meant the carriage had been opened. According to the Xu family rules, unauthorized opening is a capital offense; if the talisman is damaged before the convoy arrives, the commander is executed, and the guards are heavily punished.

Inside the carriage were four black sandalwood boxes, also sealed with talismans. Xu Jingfeng went all the way, directly tearing off the talismans and lifting the lids, and then he saw boxes full of stones. He couldn't believe his eyes; he opened the remaining boxes, and they were all stones inside. He rushed to another carriage, opened the carriage, and looked; it was still a carriage of stones.

Two hundred guards, more than a dozen cargo carriages, and five chariots, just to transport stones?

After being blessed with Qi luck, Xu Jingfeng's thoughts had become much sharper, but his original foundation was too poor, and at this moment, his head was buzzing, and there was still a bit he hadn't fully figured out.

He simply gave up thinking and said, "Master, what is going on?"

Ji Weiwei Yuan said calmly, "The accounts of your branch don't match, and the actual deficit is serious. As for where the deficit went, your father and your younger brother should know very well, or if you flip through your father's secret treasury, there should be an answer. How can such a large deficit be made up? The best way is none other than a tribute convoy that never reaches the main family."

Xu Jingfeng looked around; the guards had also seen the stones in the boxes, and at this moment, their faces were filled with shock and anger.

This matter was too big, so naturally, it couldn't be let anyone know, so including Xu Jingfeng, all the guards had to die; not a single living soul could be left.

Xu Jingfeng suddenly asked, "When you asked me to request this errand from my father, did you already know it would be like this?"

"More or less."

Xu Jingfeng's voice was low, "Then I understand."

Quliu Town, Xu Residence.

!.

In a small courtyard in the corner, there were bursts of rapid and heavy breathing.

This small courtyard was very desolate; the walls and the ground were covered with moss, and an ancient locust tree was planted in the corner of the courtyard, its canopy almost completely covering the sky above the small courtyard; even though it was just past noon, the courtyard was dim.

A large rosewood bed was placed in the main room, and the corners of the bed were worn to a shine, looking as if it had been used for many years.

A young man was lying on the bed, hugging a quilt and pillow, moving back and forth, as if he were pressing down on a peerless beauty.

A woman in red sat by the window, born with quite a bit of charm; at this moment, she was reading a storybook by the light from the window, as if she didn't see the young man on the bed, and the young man didn't seem to notice her either.

The two were in the same room, yet it was as if they were in two different worlds.

A gust of cold wind blew by, and the courtyard gate was half-open.

A young man happened to walk past outside the courtyard; he stopped for a moment when passing the gate and glanced into the courtyard, revealing a handsome and resolute face; it was none other than Xu Jingzhe. He only paused slightly before continuing forward.

A human face suddenly emerged slowly on the trunk of the old tree in the courtyard; there were the textures of the tree bark itself on the face, and even more traces left by time. Judging by his appearance, this was an old man, a very old man.

The human face on the tree looked in the direction Xu Jingzhe had left, seemingly a bit puzzled, his brows tightly locked.

At this moment, the young man in the main room let out bursts of extremely comfortable low roars, and then collapsed on the bed. After panting a few times, he got up to get dressed and said to the empty bed, "I have to go check in! Yuanjin, you just hide here properly, absolutely don't run around; if you are discovered by the elders in the family, you'll be dead, do you know?"

He paused for a moment, his face showing joy, and said, "I knew you were the most obedient! I'll come see you again after dinner, wait for me."

Having said that, he hurried out of the room and left the courtyard.

The old man's face on the old tree emerged again, looking toward the main room, but the window was empty, and the woman in red was nowhere to be seen.

Main residence, back section, study.

A maid carrying ginseng soup walked gracefully to the door of the study and was about to enter when a pair of hands suddenly reached over from the side and took the tray. Seeing the person's face clearly, she hurriedly lowered her head, softly calling "Second Young Master," and took advantage of the bowing motion to pull her chest down hard, almost popping everything inside her clothes out.

Xu Jingzhe, however, didn't seem to be in the mood; he glanced at her and stopped looking, walking straight into the study, and then closed the door.

Inside the study, Xu Zhiyuan was practicing calligraphy; only after finishing the four large characters "Virtue carries all things" did he look up and ask, "Back so soon, is everything handled?"

"Not a drop leaked." Xu Jingzhe placed the tray on the desk and said, "Your Wood-Origin Spirit-Nurturing Soup; it will lose its medicinal properties if it gets cold."

Xu Zhiyuan picked up the soup bowl and brought it to his lips, but didn't drink it; instead, he stared at Xu Jingzhe and said slowly, "Is everything really handled?"

(End of chapter)