Martial Saint with Passives

Subsequently, Jiang Che took three Horse Bandits and a shipment of top-grade Golden Sore Medicine to the unit where Master Qi was stationed.

Their guide was, naturally, the messenger Master Qi had sent.

In this day and age, there was no GPS, no means of real-time communication.

The forward units were constantly on the move, and those back at the mountain stronghold were unaware of their specific whereabouts.

Thus, they had to wait passively for the forward units to send someone back with news. The only way to locate the detachment was to follow the messenger.

This was also the only way Jiang Che could ascertain the positions of the various forward units.

After descending the mountain, the group mounted the horses they had prepared in advance and galloped off at full speed.

Half a day later, they finally reached Master Qi’s unit.

It was a temporary military camp, filled with campaign tents stitched together from Beast Hide—at least a hundred of them. Watchtowers had also been erected at the perimeter.

Archers stood guard in the towers.

Additionally, soldiers clad in simple armor and armed with long spears were patrolling the area.

Despite its crude appearance, it had the distinct look of a proper army.

Jiang Che roughly estimated that this unit of Horse Bandits had at least a thousand men.

With six such units, their total force would be six to seven thousand strong.

A bandit army of six or seven thousand might not be a significant threat to the entire Great Chu empire.

But for taking a small town like Lin Yuan City, they stood a very real chance!

The sentries in the watchtower spotted the group from afar and fired an arrow as a warning.

Soon after, a patrol team came forward to check on them. Once their identities were confirmed, the group entered the military camp.

Jiang Che occasionally saw units drilling. They were nothing like the Horse Bandits on the mountain; their military discipline looked impressive.

After they handed over the Golden Sore Medicine, Master Qi received them.

Unlike the other adopted sons Jiang Che had met, this Master Qi, while also a burly man, was different.

He wore armor in the style of a general, and his speech and bearing held a trace of a true commander’s flair, free of the wild, undisciplined aura of a bandit.

’Judging by his Qi Blood, he’s also a Force Integration Martial Artist!’

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Master Qi treated them all to a meal.

Jiang Che knew that Horse Bandits always indulged in alcohol, but surprisingly, none was served this time.

Master Qi seemed to notice Jiang Che’s surprise. He explained that drinking could easily lead to mistakes, so he had forbidden alcohol within the camp, asking Jiang Che to bear with the austerity.

Recalling the undisciplined state of the Lin Yuan City County Soldiers he had seen before, Jiang Che felt that these Horse Bandits, in contrast, possessed much stricter military discipline.

As it was already late, the group stayed the night.

Once everyone else was asleep, Jiang Che secretly slipped out.

He hadn’t forgotten the true purpose of his trip, of course.

Activating his Shadow Tracing Step, Jiang Che moved between the tents.

Before long, he reached the area where the artisans were quartered.

With his Perfection Level Shadow Tracing Step, complemented by [Invisibility], his figure moved like a phantom. He quickly slipped into a tent.

But as he scanned the sleeping faces, he did not find his parents.

Then he moved on to the second tent, and the third.

Soon, he had crept through every artisan tent in the entire camp, but he still hadn’t found them.

’Looks like they aren’t in this location.’

Jiang Che sighed.

It was like a lottery, but unfortunately, he hadn’t picked a winner.

Suddenly, he spotted an artisan getting up in the middle of the night.

A sudden idea struck him. He crept closer, used his Five Poison Technique, and released an extremely faint, hallucinogenic mist.

The artisan’s eyes immediately became unfocused.

”How did you get to this Bandit Camp?” Jiang Che asked in a hushed voice.

”I accepted a job outside the city and was captured by Horse Bandits on the road. First, I was on Black Wind Mountain building houses, and then I was brought here to construct this camp,” the man said mechanically.

’So that’s how they all got here,’ Jiang Che thought.

”Have you heard the name Jiang Dawu?” he asked.

”I have.”

”Where? What does he look like? How old does he seem?” A flicker of excitement went through Jiang Che.

”He’s back at the mountain stronghold. He’s a lame old man.”

Jiang Che’s excitement vanished in an instant.

”There aren’t any other Jiang Dawus?”

”He’s the only Jiang Dawu I know.”

Jiang Che then asked about Mrs. Zhou, but the artisan had never heard the name, so he had to let it go.

”Alright, go on back.”

The man walked dazedly back toward his tent.

Jiang Che had tested this before. A person exposed to the hallucinogenic mist would have no memory of what transpired afterward.

So he wasn’t worried about being exposed.

The hallucinogenic poison from his Five Poison Technique was extracted from the Pigeon Red Mushroom.

In its raw form, the toxin not only caused hallucinations but also inflicted severe nerve damage. A victim would either die or be reduced to an imbecile.

But refined into the Five Poison Technique, he could control the mist’s concentration, inducing only mild hallucinations and memory loss without causing serious damage.

Of course, the hallucinogenic poison wasn’t foolproof.

Since his Five Poison Technique was currently only at the Minor Achievement stage,

its effect was very weak on anyone with a higher concentration of Qi Blood. Additionally, the Pigeon Red Mushroom had to be freshly picked from the mountains to be effective, making it difficult to obtain.

Just as Jiang Che was about to head back to his tent, he suddenly saw Master Qi emerge from a tent and walk in his direction!

Startled, Jiang Che quickly ducked into the shadows and froze.

As Master Qi passed by, he suddenly glanced over with a puzzled expression. Seeing nothing, however, he kept walking.

Afterward, Jiang Che saw Master Qi stop in an open area up ahead, apparently waiting for someone.

Jiang Che didn’t dare move. The moment he did, the Invisibility effect would vanish, and Master Qi would discover him.

He could only wait for Master Qi to leave before making his own exit.

But before long, a person dressed in black hurried over from outside the camp.

Upon seeing Master Qi, the person knelt on one knee before the two of them began to converse.

As they weren’t far away, Jiang Che could faintly overhear their conversation.