Chapter 188

Yan Buji looked at Jia Zhen, knowing the other was probably indeed a cultivator.

Ordinary folks wouldn't stare at me so intently, would they?

He probably guessed from the wounds on the tiger skin that my martial ability was high, wanting to recruit me into his service.

I just don't know what his identity is.

Also wrong—why would my initial identity be a rustic villager when this guy's attire doesn't look like an ordinary commoner?

Does the Red Dust Pavilion also have backdoor dealings for granting cultivator status?

The starting point means resources and connections; any cultivator who has regained their memory knows how to leverage their identity.

Although I don't know how to obtain the Red Dust Pavilion's treasure, looking at the current world, contending for the realm is the main theme.

Yan Buji may not want to be an emperor, but if becoming emperor could get him what he wants, he wouldn't mind taking that supreme position.

"Hahaha, you kid can talk—are you not a pedantic scholar?" Yan Buji looked at Jia Zhen and laughed.

Jia Zhen startled, his eyes flashing with a subtle light, and said: "Brother Yan, you don't seem like a rustic either; we hit it off at first sight—how about a drink?"

"Good!"

Yan Buji didn't care how the other considered things; even if he saw that I had also regained my memory, forming a temporary alliance for mutual warmth was more beneficial than harmful.

Whether we can reach a cooperative alliance depends on whether we get along over drinks.

Yan Buji glanced at the lackey with a swollen head from the beating, then ordered the other two: "Carry him over."

"Yes, big brother!"

Wearing the tiger skin, Yan Buji followed Jia Zhen into the tavern; a few people sat together and ordered several jugs of wine to drink.

Jia Zhen watched Yan Buji stuff an entire leg of beef into his mouth in a few bites, not even spitting out the bone, and was shocked.

Is there really such a divine person?

Does this old guy eat like that even when he's out?

"Brother Yan, how old are you this year?"

"Sixteen."

"Huh?"

"You're fucking ten?"

Yan Buji frowned: "What? Not allowed to look a bit older?"

"No, no, no... no wonder Brother Yan could beat a tiger to death with bare hands—you truly have the strength to subdue dragons and tigers!" Jia Zhen raised his wine cup and praised.

"Hmph, your words aren't bad! I've had this strength far surpassing others since I was little!" Yan Buji lifted the wine jar and gulped it down with a clatter.

The lackey beside him widened his eyes: "Big brother, leave some, let us quell our hunger...."

"Boss, bring over a few more jugs of wine!" Jia Zhen shouted appropriately.

Several lackeys looked at Jia Zhen, moved.

Yan Buji furrowed his brows: "Brother Minhe, you're treating us to drink—what exactly are you after?"

Jia Zhen smiled slightly: "Don't hide it from Brother Yan, I am the son of Jia Xiu, the County Magistrate of Hu Shan Xian. You also know that nowadays the world is in great turmoil, with rebel kings rising everywhere, and even outside the city, on Hu Shan, a band of mountain bandits have gathered, pretending to be kings—showing how chaotic the world has become."

"How could that broken place Hu Shan even claim kingship? What nonsense dares to proclaim itself king in front of me? Give me fifty men, and I'll flatten that Hu Shan today!" Yan Buji shouted loudly.

Jia Zhen froze, and the two lackeys beside him were even more shocked.

"Big brother, you can eat recklessly, but you can't talk recklessly! The Hu Shan bandit king Hu Yidao has hundreds under him, while we're just a few brothers...."

"What, you don't believe me?" Yan Buji said with a self-assured air.

Jia Zhen was also quite curious; even if this person had innate divine power unbound by mortal qi, marching and waging war isn't cultivator dueling—it also depends on the ability to command troops and form battle arrays.

"So.... Brother Yan, do you also have a loyal heart to serve the nation?" Jia Zhen said with a delighted face.

"Of course—who among the common folk doesn't want peace? Now that the world is in chaos, who suffers if not us? It's time to let the world know my name, Yan Wang! Whoever dares to rebel, I'll wipe them out!"

Yan Buji's face flushed red, as if he were drunk and raving, drawing loud laughter from the surrounding diners.

"You rustic bumpkin, dare to spout such madness? Wait till someone chops off your head—no one will even collect your corpse!"

"Hahaha."

The lackey with a bruised nose and swollen face couldn't take it, slammed his cup down: "How are you talking? I'll always follow the big brother and collect his corpse for him!"

Yan Buji's face darkened; for a moment he couldn't tell whether this guy had regained his memory, and he kicked him flying.

"You fucking talk, run it past the lump on your ear for old man!"

"Hahaha!!"

Jia Zhen was also amused by this scene and couldn't help laughing.

Yan Buji glared: "What are you laughing at? You don't believe me either?!"

"No, no, no.... military matters spoken over drinks aren't to be taken seriously. Brother Yan, if you're interested, come to the city tomorrow and find me; I'll personally take you to the camp, how about that?" Jia Zhen hurriedly explained.

"Hmph, what's there to dare? We've agreed—when I go to the camp, I'm not going to be a mere foot soldier!"

"This...."

"How so? You don't believe I have strength? Call out your camp's best fighter; I'll make him fall within three moves, or I'll wash your underwear for a year!"

Jia Zhen felt uncomfortable hearing this—this guy's speech is terribly crude!

Has he actually regained his memory?

Would a normal cultivator talk like that? He'd have been assassinated long ago if he were out there.

"Hmm, let's observe more."

Jia Zhen, unsure of Yan Buji's condition for a moment, also laughed:

"Fine, I'll go back and tell my father about this; we'll meet again tomorrow!"

"Hmph, you better not go back on your word! I'll leave this tiger skin with you—don't later say I didn't dare come!"

After Yan Buji left with his lackeys in a carefree manner, Jia Zhen looked at the tiger skin on the table.

There's still a bloody smell!

Really fresh.

Jia Zhen narrowed his eyes, carrying the tiger skin back to the mansion, where he saw his adoptive father.

"Jia Zhen, why did you go out again? You don't know how chaotic things have been lately; we, father and son, still need to figure out how to deal with the Tiger Mountain bandits!" County Magistrate Jia Xiu came over, covering his head, and launched into a scolding.

Jia Zhen smiled, clasping his hands and said: "Father, today in the city I found a strong man who might be able to solve the Tiger Mountain bandit problem!"

"A strong man, how strong?" Jia Xiu looked at Jia Zhen strangely; he knew his son had been intelligent since childhood, though he lacked the strength to truss a chicken, yet he was erudite and had a good memory—if he were born in peaceful times, entering the capital to become an official would be a breeze.

But in these troubled times, how could he dare let his son run around everywhere? Not long ago, he had spent a great deal of money at the court to buy his son the position of county clerk, placing him nearby so he could rest a little easier.

Yet he also knows his son harbors the ambition to support the Mysterious Chamber; the Xuan State has long suffered under various rebel kings, and now that his son has grown into adulthood, he naturally wouldn't be content to merely serve as a lowly clerk in the county office.

However, these are matters for the future; for now we must first find a way to deal with those Tiger Mountain bandits, otherwise the Governor will blame us, and I cannot bear that responsibility.