Start with a red name

Chapter 111: Clues

At this moment, a thin man appeared next to this person and whispered:

"Captain, do you want to arrange some people to investigate?"

"Why?"

“So many people are rushing to travel late at night, and it’s obvious at first glance that they are not good people.

Moreover, the direction they came from was Anleji... There must be something wrong here!"

"What do you think can happen?"

"Either they committed a crime in Anleji and wanted to escape overnight, or they may have some plans for our Baiyuanji.

…No matter what, there must be something wrong with this group of people!”

The man remained unmoved, put the flying knife back into his waist, patted the man on the shoulder, and said calmly:

"Don't be nosy. The set has been chaotic enough these past two days!"

After saying that, he turned around and disappeared into the night again.

The thin man stood there, looked in the direction where the pedestrian disappeared, then looked in the direction his captain left. In the end, he just snorted unwillingly, turned around and disappeared into the night again.

……

Geng Xuan led his men to retreat from the road back into the dense forests of the remaining branches of Chiwu Mountain.

He led everyone into a hidden valley and said, "Okay, let's go here."

As he said this, he turned around and looked at everyone, only to see that everyone had an indignant look on their faces.

Some people even gritted their teeth, with anger and murderous intent written all over their faces.

Each of them looked as if they had suffered a great humiliation.

"What's wrong with you?"

Someone immediately said:
"Boss, I don't know the situation in Baiyuanji, but there can't be too many people on duty. We can kill them all!"

Others also agreed.

Geng Xuan thought to himself, I know this better than you do. Those people thought they were hiding well, but under his sharp eyesight, nothing could escape his sight.

What's more, the red mist hanging right above their heads marked their position more clearly.

Even though he knew the existence of these people, he still deliberately led a group of people to break through the checkpoint late at night in order to leave traces.

Facing everyone's excitement at this moment, Geng Xuan simply raised his hand and calmed them down:
"Okay, this is just a small matter. Our purpose of crossing Chiwu Mountain overnight is not to kill a few night watchmen from Baiyuanji."

As he spoke, he looked at Luo Qing and the others and said:

"We have more time for repairs this time. Once you have made arrangements, you can let everyone get some sleep."

Luo Qing and the others looked at each other and asked, "Boss, you're not staying?"

Geng Xuan nodded and said, "For the next operation, it will be more convenient for me to do it alone. It will be inconvenient if there are too many people. I will come back to find you when I finish my work."

"Then... Boss, please be careful."

They still have too many doubts about the purpose of this trip.

But at least they understood one thing, which was not to cause trouble.

They were quite familiar with arranging repairs and recovery for everyone, and soon everyone was busy with their work.

……

Geng Xuan left the col and came to another dense forest nearby.

As a nearby patch of grass moved, Dahuang led Biao out from it.

A few of the little creatures still had fresh flesh and blood in their mouths that they had not swallowed.

Dahuang's condition is not very good, but the eight puppies are all in high spirits.

Obviously, all the fatigue of the eight children crossing the Chiwu Mountain was borne by Dahuang alone. The eight children who hitchhiked all the way did not suffer at all, but instead added a lot of extra burden to Dahuang.

Geng Xuan directly fed a blood-replenishing pill into Da Huang's mouth, and then said: "You stay here with them, and be careful to hide, so as not to be discovered by the hunting teams entering the mountains."

"Woo~"

Dahuang nodded, turned around and led Baxiao and disappeared into the dense jungle again.

Geng Xuan poured out the last blood-replenishing pill from the porcelain bottle and swallowed it, then threw the empty porcelain bottle into a pool of water nearby.

After crossing Chiwu Mountain in one night and rushing for nearly 200 kilometers, Geng Xuan's condition was the best among everyone.

In order to keep himself in a good condition, Geng Xuan took three blood-replenishing pills.

Of the other seven pills, four were dissolved in water at first and shared by Dahuang and Baxiao.

Later, seeing that Dahuang had taken on everything, he no longer bothered to do anything else. He dissolved the blood-replenishing pills in water and fed them directly to Dahuang.

Whenever he sensed that Dahuang's condition was declining, he would directly feed Dahuang a pill.

After doing all this, Geng Xuan continued on his journey.

At this moment, he had left the full set of heavy armor weighing more than 100 kilograms in the valley where Luo Qing and others were resting, and only carried another small cloth bag on his back.

He felt so light that he seemed to be flying.

Alone and lightly equipped, Geng Xuan had no more worries and increased his speed to a maximum of 60 kilometers per hour.

This is also the maximum speed he can achieve in long-distance rush.

He once again quickly approached the direction of Baiyuanji, but instead of returning to the road leading to Baiyuanji, he went around it from one side.

Soon, he left the entire Baiyuanji behind.

He continued to move forward without stopping.

The distance between him and Baiyuanji behind him is getting farther and farther.

While moving quickly, Geng Xuan, who regarded the night as bright as day, was constantly scanning the surroundings, hoping to discover something.

To Geng Xuan's disappointment, even after he had been walking alone for more than an hour and the distance between him and Baiyuanji was more than a hundred miles, he still did not find what he expected.

Geng Xuan couldn't help but doubt his own judgment.

According to his original expectation, in order to take both efficiency and horsepower into consideration, the convoy should have camped within a range of fifty to one hundred miles away from Baiyuanji last night.

The reason why we did not consider that they would cross Baiyuanji and camp for the night somewhere between Baiyuanji and Anleji was because Baiyuanji and Anleji were only one hundred and twenty to thirty miles apart, and the road was very flat.

After passing Baiyuanji, you are already at your doorstep.

With a little more effort, you can get straight home.

In this case, the team chose to camp for one night between two episodes, which was simply like taking off pants to fart - a waste of time.

It not only overdraws horsepower, but also wastes time.

Not only did he fail to take care of both ends, he also made all the mistakes that were necessary.

This is simply the stupidest choice.

"Perhaps they really were willing to risk killing dozens of horses and return as quickly as possible?"

With such doubts in mind, Geng Xuan still insisted on exploring forward.

Just as he climbed up a gentle slope and the distance between him and Baiyuanji behind him was more than two hundred miles, Geng Xuan, who was looking far away, finally saw something bright in front of him and hid in the dense forest next to him.

Just a few miles ahead, Geng Xuan saw from afar a circle that looked like square blocks made of building blocks.

Geng Xuan knew, of course, that was not a set of building blocks, but the convoy he was looking for.

The carriages formed a circle on the field, forming a special, flexible barrier.

Within that circle, Geng Xuan saw several tents.

In the middle of those tents, many horses were gathered together.

"Found you!"

Geng Xuan muttered something softly, and then stopped paying attention to it. Instead, he leaned against a tree branch about ten meters above the ground.

He took off the water bag from his waist and took out a bag of food from his arms.

One leg was pressed against a branch, while the other leg hung naturally below the knee.

A leisurely sway.

……

Soon, time entered the darkness before dawn.

Then a red sun jumped out from the horizon, illuminating the entire wilderness.

There was no unusual movement from the convoy that formed a circle.

It was not until about an hour later that people came out of some carriages and tents.

Smoke rose as some people started cooking, some started packing up the tents, some started feeding the horses, and some started rearranging the circle of carriages, harnessing the well-fed and well-watered horses to the shafts.

When the convoy set off again, about an hour had passed.

It was not until then that Geng Xuan realized why the convoy's journey was much shorter than he had expected.

Because there are several factors that he overlooked.

"Medicinal materials of equal value, whether in weight or volume, are far more expensive than silver... at least, that's the case for most of them."

"Besides, they didn't use up all the silver. In order to transport the remaining silver back, it took up a lot of horsepower."

"The burden these horses carry on the return trip is much greater than when they were transporting silver to Kangle Market!"

When we went to Kangle Market, two horses pulled a carriage.

But now, there are only one horse and two carts, and some even have three carts.

——Whether it is a single horse and two carts, or a single horse and three carts, the method is similar to the principle of Geng Xuan’s homemade cart, hanging one or two carriages behind the first carriage.

Even though each horse was carrying such a heavy burden, when they gradually increased their speed and began to run steadily on the wasteland, their speed still reached more than 20 kilometers per hour.

Witnessing the "superpowers" of horses in this world for the first time, Geng Xuan was so surprised that his eyes almost popped out of his head.

"These... these are not horses at all, they are simply biological steam engines!"

"If they were allowed to travel light, how fast would they be able to sprint?!"

Geng Xuan realized that facing such a good horse, he could still gain some advantage if he just made some small moves.

But if it comes to long-distance rushing, the speed of 60 kilometers per hour that I am so proud of may not be able to beat these horses!

However, when Geng Xuan thought of Dahuang and even the big black dog that had given him a lot of trouble before, he felt relieved.

"It really is true that every profession has its own specialization."

While watching the convoy moving towards Baiyuanji from afar, Geng Xuan, who was hiding in the jungle, turned around and hurried towards Baiyuanji.

"At their speed, they will pass Baiyuanji around noon."

"At that time, they should rest near Baiyuanji for an hour or two to restore their horsepower."

Geng Xuan was certainly shocked by the performance of these horses, but since they were still flesh and blood, they would get tired and hungry, and it was impossible for them to run non-stop.

An hour and a half later, Geng Xuan had entered Baiyuanji.

Before entering Baiyuanji, he saw many cultivators in green and tight-fitting clothes guarding the entrance and exit of Baiyuanji, blocking some people who wanted to go to the market.

This naturally did not bring any obstacles to Geng Xuan. Without attracting anyone's attention, he had already entered Baiyuanji.

At this moment, if Luo Qing and others saw him, they would think he was a stranger, but also had a sense of familiarity. Because Geng Xuan's disguise this time was a little special, he only made some adjustments to his facial image while maintaining the core of the image of "Su Ruiliang".

If someone who is familiar with Su Ruiliang sees it, they will naturally feel a sense of déjà vu.

Soon, Geng Xuan arrived at the side door of Baiyuan Pavilion.

Just as he was about to walk into the door, three figures in green clothes flashed out from the side door.

Two of them stretched out a hand each, blocking Geng Xuan in front of him.

The third person stood between the two men, looked directly at Geng Xuan, and asked, "What are you going to do, Excellency?"

Geng Xuan said calmly: "Let's go downstairs and buy some things."

"Then please go back, sir. The black market will not be open during this period."

Geng Xuan's eyes narrowed when he heard this, and he stared at the other person closely: "Are you serious?"

The other party said: "Why would I lie to you? Everyone in the group should have known about this."

As he spoke, he looked at Geng Xuan with a strange look in his eyes, and asked suspiciously, "Have you just arrived at Baiyuanji?"

Geng Xuan turned around and left without answering this question.

The three men watched Geng Xuan walk away. The two who had stretched out their hands to stop him withdrew their hands. One of them asked, "Boss, did this guy just sneak in?"

Another person whispered:

"Did you notice his clothes? They were covered in sweat stains and dust, and there were many grass scratches. They looked very wrong."

Standing in the middle, the person who had just talked to Geng Xuan looked at him and asked, "What do you want to say?"

"I guess he must have traveled a long way and just got into our market. Seeing that he came to the black market without doing anything, he must have some urgent needs."

"So, those teams of brothers scattered outside are not doing their job well?"

"what?!"

"What? If you don't want them to miss you, just shut up."

……

Geng Xuan had not expected the closure of Baiyuanji's underground black market.

However, thinking about the guards in blue clothes patrolling every intersection outside the market, blocking all outsiders.

Geng Xuan understood that Baiyuanji, which was closer to Anleji, reacted more violently than Kangleji to Wuyou Palace and Anleji's collaboration to take away all the medicinal materials for the autumn hunt.

This made Geng Xuan a little hesitant.

Geng Xuan, who left from the side door of Baiyuan Pavilion, did not leave, but stood at the intersection and looked around.

Suddenly, his eyes stopped at a shop opposite Baiyuan Pavilion.

This shop, which is located opposite the gate of Baiyuanguan, has a huge gilded sign hanging on it.

【Baiyuan Pawn House】

Geng Xuan's heart moved and he walked straight over.

As he stepped into the store, Geng Xuan immediately saw a plump, smiling middle-aged man behind the counter.

The other party also saw him at a glance. The moment he entered the store, the middle-aged man's bright eyes scanned him from head to toe.

"Are you looking to pawn something?" The plump middle-aged man asked with a gentle and kind smile.

Geng Xuan's eyes swept over the eye-catching red name above his head.

Comparing in my mind, this guy is no inferior to that "colleague" in Kang Leji who was killed by me.

Geng Xuan nodded, reached into his arms, gently placed something on the counter, and said, "Give me an estimate of the price."

The white and fat middle-aged man's eyes lit up and he asked, "Jade pendant?"

As he spoke, he reached out and took the jade pendant in his hand.

"The jade is top quality and the patterns are very exquisite. It is definitely the work of a master."

The fat middle-aged man did not seem to have the bad habits of other pawnbrokers and did not devalue the items in his hands to the point of being worthless.

Instead, there were many words of praise and appreciation on his face.

But when he turned the jade pendant over, his expression immediately fell.

He asked, "Do you really want to pawn this item?"

Geng Xuan nodded and said, "Give me an estimate."

The fat middle-aged man stretched out his left hand and spread out all five fingers.

"No bargaining at this price."

Geng Xuan asked, "Five hundred taels?"

The fat middle-aged man shook his head and said, "Fifty taels."

Geng Xuan said anxiously: "How can it be so low? The jade alone is worth more than this price!"

The fat middle-aged man said, "If you bring a piece of jade of the same quality and size, I can indeed give you an estimate of five hundred taels."

"Are you kidding me?" Geng Xuan widened his eyes and stared at the fat middle-aged man in front of him, looking as if he was ready to tear him apart at any time.

Demonstrate the basic qualities of a cultivator who travels outside and has powerful cultivation.

The plump middle-aged man immediately cried out injustice and pointed at the words "You Ren" engraved on the jade pendant.

“Sir, your jade pendant is wonderful, but with these two words on it, it means it only has special meaning to the person involved.

To other irrelevant people, it has no value.

In fact, after seeing this, I no longer want to collect it!
The reason why I am still willing to pay fifty taels is entirely because of your face, and has nothing to do with the jade pendant itself!"

His words successfully released Geng Xuan's anger that was about to explode.

Geng Xuan asked doubtfully, "Are you serious? You're not lying to me?"

The fat middle-aged man said, "My dear, I'll give you another jade pendant with a stranger's name engraved on it. Would you like to wear it?"

Geng Xuan thought about it and nodded, "Okay, fifty taels is fifty taels."

As he said this, he spread his hands into his arms again and slammed something on the counter again.

The moment he saw this thing, the fat middle-aged man narrowed his eyes slightly.

It was a piece of gold that had been squeezed into a ball by someone with great force, and the marks left by the fingers could be clearly seen.

But it was obvious that what caught his attention was not the power displayed by the person in front of him in pinching gold with his bare hands.

The texture of gold and silver is relatively soft. For practitioners who have reached a certain level of cultivation, it is not a difficult task to achieve this.

He looked at Geng Xuan and asked, "This should be a token, right?"

Geng Xuan shook his head and said, "No matter what it was originally, no matter what it becomes, it is still a piece of gold, right?!"

You act like if you try to deceive me with the jade pendant excuse again, you're treating me like an idiot!
The fat middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, no matter what it was originally, it is still a piece of gold."

Geng Xuan asked again: "Then I can just use it as gold, right?"

The fat middle-aged man nodded.

Geng Xuan pointed at some items placed behind the fat middle-aged man and said, "Are these all for sale?"

The fat middle-aged man nodded: "These are all past the redemption period. If you offer a suitable price, you can take them."

Geng Xuan pointed to a row of porcelain bottles and asked, "What are these?"

"This is the detoxification pill, this is the hemostatic powder... this is the anthelmintic powder..."

Geng Xuan interrupted, "Do you have any blood-replenishing pills?"

"Yes, these bottles are all."

The plump middle-aged man immediately took out five bottles of blood-replenishing pills and placed them in front of Geng Xuan.

Geng Xuan uncorked the bottles and confirmed them one by one, then put one of the bottles in his arms, pushed the gold and jade pendant in front of the other party, nodded to him, turned around and walked out.

The fat middle-aged man said anxiously: "No, no, you are not doing this right!"

Geng Xuan turned his head and glared at him in dissatisfaction:

“Your bottle of blood-replenishing pills has ten of them, a total of one hundred taels.

I gave you five taels of gold, plus the fifty taels from the jade pendant, that's exactly one hundred taels, what's wrong with that?!"

The fat middle-aged man said with a bitter face:

"Sir, do you really not know or are you pretending not to know? Don't you know that the prices of everything related to medicine have increased?
Now this blood-replenishing pill is 20 taels per pill. If you can't replenish me 100 taels, you can only take five pills."

Geng Xuan glared at the plump middle-aged man, who in turn looked at him with a bitter face.

The two of them were in a stalemate for a while, and Geng Xuan muttered, "When they were pawned, the price of these blood-replenishing pills hadn't increased yet!"

The fat middle-aged man replied:
"But the prices have indeed gone up now... How about I give you a hundred taels of silver and you go look somewhere else?

Maybe there will be some that have not increased their prices yet.”

"You...you TM..."

Geng Xuan glared, panting like a cow, looking furious.

Just then, several figures in blue clothes suddenly walked past the store.

Geng Xuan finally regained his composure, reached into his arms, and took out the porcelain bottle he had just put in his arms.

He pulled out the cork, poured five blood-replenishing pills into his hand, threw them on the counter, then reinserted the cork, put the porcelain bottle in his arms, turned around and strode out the door.

I didn't say a word to the fat middle-aged man during the whole process.

The fat middle-aged man did not get angry. He just found another empty porcelain bottle, put the five blood-replenishing pills in it, and placed it behind him again.

But just after Geng Xuan strode out, he immediately slipped out from behind the counter, walked to the door, and slowly poked his head out.

After confirming that the man had indeed left, he stepped out of the store and ran towards Baiyuan Pavilion across the street.

……

After leaving the "Baiyuan Pawnshop", Geng Xuan did not linger in Baiyuanji. He easily avoided the guards in blue clothes and left Baiyuanji.

Geng Xuan, who had regained his appearance as "Su Ruiliang", moved quickly and disappeared into the dense forest nearby.

Not long after, Geng Xuan returned to the valley where Luo Qing and others were resting.

There were two people standing guard vigilantly in a hidden place. When they saw Geng Xuan approaching, they immediately jumped out and welcomed him into the valley where everyone was resting.

Some people were sleeping, some were barbecuing and eating, and they all looked very relaxed.

Soon, everyone gathered around Geng Xuan again.

Geng Xuan glanced at everyone and nodded:
"I am very satisfied with everyone's performance last night."

As he spoke, he reached into his arms and handed a small cloth bag to Luo Qing.

Luo Qing, who had expected this, took the cloth bag and poured out eighteen bear fangs from it.

“This is the last of my stock.”

Geng Xuan smiled and made a joke, then said to Luo Qing: "...Go and send them to the brothers who haven't joined the gang yet."

(End of this chapter)