Firmament Sword

Little Fatty’s face fell. ”I was just trying to take a shortcut. No need to come down on me so hard.”

Sui Yan said, ”Idiot!”

”Fifth Brother, I’m your fourth brother!” Little Fatty stamped his foot.

”Hmph.” Sui Yan turned away, not bothering to acknowledge him.

”This is outrageous! Sui Xiaoshi, don’t think that just because you’re Tier Six and I’m only Tier Five, that I’m afraid of you!” Little Fatty felt his pride had been wounded and was deeply dissatisfied.

”Then bring it on!” The usually taciturn Sui Yan only revealed this other side of himself when he was with these few people.

”Pah! I can’t be bothered to bully someone younger. You just wait. When I can’t take it anymore, I’ll make my move. When I do, even I get scared!” Little Fatty retorted stubbornly.

The group laughed and joked as they gradually traveled farther and farther from the Imperial Capital.

For many people, the departure of this group allowed them to breathe a long sigh of relief.

At some point, these five young men, who hadn’t been particularly famous in the Imperial Capital’s top circle of scions, had become a nightmarish presence for many.

This time, the Wei Family had suffered disastrous losses. All of their hidden operatives in the Imperial Capital had been all but uprooted and wiped out clean.

By now, the Wei Family had naturally figured out who was behind it, but they discovered that the perpetrators seemed to have materialized out of thin air, with no connection whatsoever to the Xu, Liu, or Sui Families.

So, even though they knew it was their doing, the Wei Family could only suffer this loss in silence.

Prime Minister Wei Feng had claimed illness and had not attended court for two days. He was said to be gravely ill.

Furthermore, the court had received war reports from the north indicating a tense military situation. The entire imperial court was shrouded in a nervous atmosphere, so naturally, no one paid much attention to the Wei Family’s misfortune.

The Da Han Empire had long been stirring restlessly in the north, harassing the Cangqiong Empire’s borders frequently over the years. If not for Xu Ji guarding the Border Region, war would have likely broken out long ago.

Now that the war in the south was settled, the Cangqiong Kingdom had unexpectedly beaten back the Great Yan Empire’s army at a minimal cost. The blow had crippled the Great Yan Empire, which would now struggle to recover for over a decade. This, in turn, made the Da Han Empire anxious.

They had originally hoped the Great Yan Empire would join them in a pincer attack from the north and south to completely carve up Cangqiong.

They never expected the Great Yan Empire to be so incompetent that it was beaten back before even crossing Cangqiong’s borders.

Relying on Great Yan was no longer possible. However, in the Da Han Empire, known for its fierce culture, the calls for war remained loud. The Da Han military, in particular, jointly petitioned to start this fight.

Hao Liancheng, who had now become the number-one figure in the Da Han military, coveted the rich and fertile Cangqiong.

The Northern Army was jealous of the Southern Army’s military achievements, and their calls for war were deafening. Not even Xu Ji dared to suppress this sentiment, nor would it have been possible.

Therefore, as Xu Luo and his group were leaving the Imperial Capital, they received a secret letter from the Imperial Palace. It ordered the five of them to find an opportunity in the north to assist the Grand General of National Guardian, Xu Ji.

Of course, Xu Luo wouldn’t refuse this request. He would help his father and brother even without this decree from Your Majesty.

His Storage Ring now contained a vast amount of supplies, enough to upgrade the Northern Army’s equipment by an entire level. Under normal circumstances, Xu Luo wouldn’t have taken them out, but this was a critical moment.

Xu Luo had no desire to repeat the Wansong Town tragedy of ten years ago.

Although the military situation in the north was tense, many merchant caravans were still heading that way. Xu Luo’s group blended in with them, remaining inconspicuous.

However, compared to the large number of guards in the other caravans, Xu Luo’s group looked rather meager.

”Friend, how about we travel together?” a middle-aged man said to Huangfu Chongzhi.

About fifty li from the Imperial Capital, they encountered a large caravan. This caravan had hundreds of carriages and at least three thousand guards. Judging by their equipment, they were all exceptionally well-outfitted. The guards were all in their twenties and looked powerful and full of vigor.

”Together?” Huangfu Chongzhi glanced at the middle-aged man and echoed.

”That’s right. The north isn’t peaceful these days. We’re all out here doing business, so it’s good to look out for each other. With a group as small as yours, you’d never escape if you ran into Bandits. Why don’t we join forces? That way, I’m sure you won’t suffer any losses even if we encounter them.” The middle-aged man wore a shrewd expression as he smiled at Huangfu Chongzhi. ”Just give us one thousand taels of silver, and we’ll take you along!”

’So that was his plan all along.’ Huangfu Chongzhi smiled gently, shook his head slightly, and replied, ”No, thank you. I wouldn’t want to bring you any harm.”

Huangfu Chongzhi was telling the truth. They couldn’t care less about mere Bandits; what truly worried them was the Fengyue Building’s next move. When he said he didn’t want to harm the others, he meant it.

The middle-aged man, however, clearly didn’t see it that way. Seeing Huangfu Chongzhi refuse, he gave a cold smile, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

He returned to a luxurious carriage and spoke deferentially to a young man lounging inside on a soft couch, his arms around two beautiful women. ”Young Master, they refused. They even said they didn’t want to bring us harm.”

”Refused?” The young man’s hands groped the two women’s chests as he sneered. ”They really don’t know life from death. Fine, ignore them. Later, send someone to warn them to keep their distance. If they won’t pay, they can stay far away from us. Don’t let them think they can leech off us!”

”As you say, Young Master. It’s just... that group doesn’t seem simple. There’s no need for us to offend them,” the middle-aged man said.

Perhaps finding it unsatisfying to grope through their clothes, the young man shoved both his hands directly into the two women’s robes, a look of contentment spreading across his face. He sneered, ”Fine, then just ignore them.”

”Yes.” The middle-aged man turned to take his leave. Only after exiting the carriage did he let out a long sigh of relief.

Hearing the faint sounds of teasing and panting from inside the carriage, the middle-aged man’s gaze turned grim, and a cold sneer touched his lips.

A moment later, someone approached the middle-aged man’s side. He asked in a low voice, ”Have you investigated the origins of that group?”

The man replied, ”They seem to be from the Imperial Capital. Probably the young masters of some family, heading to a fief by the looks of it.”

”Good. Keep an eye on them. They’re a truly fat sheep!” the middle-aged man said quietly. He then glanced at the carriage, now pulling farther away, and sneered. ’What an incompetent waste. Rather than letting him squander the fortune his father left behind, it’s better to give it to us!’

The man replied, ”Indeed. Our master has always been too merciful, never making a move against them all these years. After the old boss died, the young boss has become more and more of a wastrel. Now he even brings women along on caravan runs. It’s outrageous!”

The middle-aged man sighed. ”We’ll spare his life. Prepare ten thousand taels of silver for him. No matter what, the old boss treated us well over the years.”

”You’re too kind, Master. If it were up to me, I’d just finish off a waste like that with a single blade,” the man chuckled. ”But rest assured, Master, we’re only in it for the money.”

The middle-aged man nodded, then asked, ”By the way, have you made contact over there?”

The man beside him chuckled. ”Rest assured, Master. The First and Third Bosses have been ready for a while. Once we finish this job, we can pretty much retire!”

”Good. The war in the north is tense, so Xu Ji has no time to deal with us. But don’t forget that bastard, Xu Su!” As he spoke, a hateful light flashed in the middle-aged man’s eyes. He snarled, ”Sooner or later, he will pay his blood debt!”

”Exactly. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be in this miserable state.”

”Enough. Keep an eye on that caravan behind us. When the time comes, we’ll take care of them too,” the middle-aged man said coolly.

...

”Big Brother, did you notice? That middle-aged man from before... he had an aura of killing intent,” Little Fatty said to Huangfu Chongzhi, his expression serious. ”I can smell it. The stench of blood on him is heavy. He must be an expert, yet he’s disguised as a caravan steward. That’s strange.”

”There’s nothing strange about it. He’s probably just a guy who’s killed a lot of people,” Xu Luo’s voice drifted from inside the carriage.

Little Fatty asked, confused, ”Third Brother, you didn’t even see him. How would you know?”

”Heh.” A soft chuckle came from Xu Luo inside the carriage. He didn’t answer, instead saying, ”Either way, while we’re on guard against assassins from the Fengyue Building, we also need to be wary of that man. I have a bad feeling about him.”

”’See’... I have no idea how you ’saw’ anything,” Little Fatty grumbled, ”but I agree. I have a bad feeling about him too.”

Xu Jie frowned slightly. ”Aren’t you guys being a little paranoid? He’s just a caravan steward who wanted to squeeze some money out of us. What’s so scary about that?”

”Second Brother, want to make a bet?” Xu Luo said with a laugh from inside the carriage. ”If there’s nothing wrong with that man, I’ll give you one hundred jin of Top-Grade Refining Materials!”

”Really?” Xu Jie’s eyes instantly lit up. He knew perfectly well that Xu Luo still had plenty of good things in his possession, and for him, the temptation was irresistible.

”Of course,” Xu Luo said with a smile.

”Fine, it’s a bet! I see nothing wrong with him!” Xu Jie declared, then looked at Huangfu Chongzhi. ”What do you think?”

Huangfu Chongzhi thought for a moment before saying, ”I didn’t sense anything unusual either. However, we can’t let our guard down. It’s always best to be cautious.”

Thirteen days passed in a flash. Xu Luo and his group were now over fifteen hundred li from the Imperial Capital.

As the sun began to set, the azure sky started to dim. The large caravan ahead had already begun to stop, arranging their vehicles into a large circle. They set up a defensive perimeter while others started fires to cook within the circle.

Just then, the sound of horse hooves suddenly echoed from the distance.

It sounded like an army of thousands, and the entire earth began to tremble with the rhythm of their charge.

In that instant, almost everyone became alert.

From the caravan ahead, furious roars erupted: ”Enemy attack!”