Martial Peak

Chapter 2532 – Red-Clothed Girl

“A guide?” Yang Kai asked in surprise. To think that there was someone who could act as a guide for the Ancient Lands! It was quite relieving, actually, considering how dangerous this place was.

“You mustn’t look down on Old Ban, Sir. Although he is only a First-Order Dao Source Realm and is quite elderly, there is no better guide in this desolate city! This lowly one has lived here for thirty years and heard others speak of him countless times. The most impressive thing is that he’s actually entered and returned from the Ancient Lands over a hundred times already! Not even mentioning a hundred times, just being able to travel back and forth safely three to five times is already a big accomplishment. He is truly the most brilliant and experienced guide in the city!”

Yang Kai was visibly moved, “Over a hundred times? How is that possible?”

Pi San responded with a bitter smile, “I would also like to know, but it is a secret that Old Ban keeps to himself. However, this lowly one reckons that he must’ve established a safe route in and out.”

“He is absolutely worth paying a visit to, then. Is he currently in this city?”

It was better to be safe than sorry. Although Yang Kai was a Master who didn’t fear anything, the best option was undoubtedly to have a veteran guide him into the Ancient Lands.

“En, I saw him just yesterday; however, one must pay at least 300,000 Source Crystals for his service.”

“That’s not a problem,” Yang Kai said with a slight smile.

300,000 Source Crystals was a drop in the bucket for him. The table of food Pi San had just eaten was worth over 500,000 Source Crystals already.

“Shall I take you to him, Sir?” Pi San offered politely.

Yang Kai nodded and thought for a moment before calling the waitress over once again. He asked her to prepare ten more bottles of Wild Wine for them to take away.

He didn’t need to drink it, but it wouldn’t hurt Zhang Ruo Xi to drink more.

Before long, the waitress returned with ten jars of Wild Wine. However, to Yang Kai’s surprise, before he could take out his Space Ring to pay, the waitress smiled and told him, “Sir, the manager instructed me to give you these ten bottles of wine free of charge. Please kindly accept them.”

“The manager?” He frowned.

Pi San, however, looked amazed.

“Why did your manager decide to gift me this wine?” Yang Kai asked, looking at the waitress.

“This servant does not know,” she replied, shaking her head.

Yang Kai frowned again and waved his hand, withdrawing some Source Crystals from his Space Ring and leaving them on the table. Next, he threw the bottles of wine into his Space Ring and called out to Zhang Ruo Xi and Pi San, “Let’s go!”

The waitress was somewhat stunned. It seemed that she had never seen someone refuse a free luxury, and before she could react, they were gone.

Outside of the restaurant, Pi San opened and closed his mouth several times before losing to his curiosity, “Sir, are you acquainted with the manager?”

“No, that was my first visit!” Yang Kai responded faintly.

“That’s strange. Why did they want to give you so much Wild Wine then?”

Yang Kai chuckled, “The shopkeeper gave them to me of their own accord. I neither stole nor swindled them, so there is no need to pay it any heed.” He paused and then asked, “What is the background of this restaurant?”

“This lowly one is unsure. It was established a long time ago, and the manager has always been mysterious and never appeared in public, so no one in this city knows the background of the restaurant. However, we believe that the shopkeeper has a great force supporting him from behind. They couldn’t have gained a foothold in this place and set up such a luxurious restaurant otherwise.”

For even a local scoundrel like Pi San to not know the restaurant’s background… it seemed that the restaurant really was supported from the shadows by a great force.

Yang Kai had refused the free Wild Wine precisely because he didn’t want to have any ties with the restaurant and regret it later on.

On the second floor of the restaurant, a pair of bright eyes followed Yang Kai’s departing figure. After a moment, this figure sighed and spoke, “Send a message to Young Master and inform him that the person he mentioned has arrived. It seems that he is about to enter the Ancient Lands, so tell everyone to be prepared.”

“Yes,” a reply came from the darkness.

.....

The city was quite vast, so Yang Kai and Zhou Ruo Xi had to follow Pi San for some time before reaching their destination in the western district.

Pi San pointed to a certain stone house in the distance and said, “That is Old Ban’s residence. It would be best for Sir to go alone, as Old Ban does not have a good impression of this lowly one. This lowly one is afraid he will be prejudiced against Sir if he sees me, so I will not be accompanying you further.”

Yang Kai nodded, “You’ve worked hard.”

“You flatter me, Sir. I wish you a smooth journey and a safe return. Farewell!” As soon as his words fell, he was gone.

“Let’s go,” Yang Kai said before walking directly towards the house Pi San had pointed to.

The houses here were all haphazard in appearance, but they were very sturdy and conformed with the overall look of the city.

Before long, they arrived in front of the house. It resembled a farmyard, fenced in by a wall made of layered thick stones, with a gate at the centre.

Presently, the door was open, and two black-clad cultivators were standing on either side of it.

They looked at Yang Kai and Zhou Rou Xi, their expressions cold.

“Hm?” Yang Kai made a sound of surprise. Did he come to the wrong place? Not only were there cultivators guarding the entrance, but they were also both in the Dao Source Realm. Judging from their auras, they were quite powerful.

However, according to Pi San, Old Ban was just an ordinary man without a noble status. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be acting as a guide for a living.

“What is your purpose here?” One of the black-clad cultivators questioned.

“Excuse me, is this Old Ban’s residence?” Zhang Ruo Xi asked.

“Don’t know!” He replied coldly.

Zhang Ruo Xi frowned. She was annoyed by the man’s flippant ‘don’t know,’ as her question was just a simple yes-or-no question.

“What do you mean, you don’t know? What are you doing here, then?”

The black-clad cultivator glanced at her, then he gave a slight sneer and didn’t respond, greatly angering her.

Yang Kai glanced inside the house and then smiled, saying, “This should be the right place, but it seems that there is someone inside.” He turned his gaze to the black-clad cultivator, “Is it your Master?”

“You talk too much. You should hurry and scram out of here,” the cultivator on the right suddenly spoke up.

Yang Kai grinned, “Why?”

The cultivator on the left snorted coldly, “Are you looking for trouble? Didn’t you hear me tell you to scram? “

“Isn’t this the residence of Old Ban? What right do you have to tell us to leave?” Yang Kai wondered.

“Our Young Lady is inside. Scram if you don’t want to die!”

Yang Kai was taken aback slightly by this situation. He didn’t know which great force these two cultivators and their Young Lady belonged to, but it should be common knowledge that this desolate city was crawling with hidden experts. There was no telling when you might offend the wrong person.

However, seeing that these guards were completely fearless, the force behind them must be quite formidable.

Unfortunately for them, Yang Kai had killed a cultivator at the Third-Order Emperor Realm and even fought against a Great Emperor before. There were very few people in the world who could intimidate him.

He wasn’t angered by these fierce-looking guards and instead said in a harmonious voice, “I’ve come to see Old Ban. Please make way.”

His eyes flashed as he spoke.

The two black-clad cultivators, who had looked so domineering and arrogant, suddenly groaned. As if they had been struck by lightning, they staggered back several steps, their faces pale.

A feeling of extreme pressure descended upon them, and they felt as if they had been pressed down by a mountain, making it difficult to breathe or even lift a finger. Cold sweat dripped from their foreheads, and they could only watch as Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi walked past them.

Zhang Ruo Xi was still angered by their previous actions and even raised her fist to hit them.

Before they could step foot inside the house, however, there was a sudden yell, and then the sound of something breaking.

After a soft thump, a low groan sounded. At the same time, the shrill cry of a little girl entered Yang Kai’s ears.

His expression sank and he immediately rushed into the house. He looked around and found an old man with grey hair kneeling down on the floor. His aura was First-Order Dao Source Realm; however, due to his old age, his vitality was weak, rendering his cultivation somewhat weaker than it should have been.

This person was most likely Old Ban.

His back was facing away from the entrance as he clutched a little girl in his arms. On his shoulder was a horrifying bloodstain, which seemed to have been caused by a whip, and there were even signs of flesh being cleaved from his form.

The little girl in his arms was crying loudly, seemingly extremely frightened.

Aside from the old man and the little girl, there were two other people inside the house.

One was a man who looked to be in his fifties, wearing a cold and indifferent expression on his face.

The other one was a young woman in a flaming red dress. She didn’t look much older than Zhang Ruo Xi. She bore exquisite features and a voluptuous figure, which was further accentuated by her tight-fitting dress. Her appearance was like the embodiment of a blooming red rose.

However, at the moment, she was holding a whip in her hand and raising it high, ready to lash out. With a fierce expression on her face, she snarled, “Don’t refuse a face-saving offer, you old thing. You should feel honoured that this Young Lady is asking you to guide her! If you dare to refuse, I’ll kill you!”

The bloody wound on the old man’s shoulder was caused by the red-clothed girl’s whip, and it was also because of her that the little girl was crying.

“I’ll ask you once more! Will you guide me or not?” The young woman asked as she looked down viciously at the old man.

The old man lowered his head and grit his teeth, “Young Lady, could you spare me a few days? Xiao Ling’er is ill and must be taken care of. If I leave now, she’ll…!”