Leaving

"Hahahaha~~~"

At the Li Family estate in Wan City, Li Yuan entered the inner hall and came to Gu Sheng’s side, laughing heartily. "Brother Teng, Brother Teng, you should have seen how awful that miser Liu Sanlong’s expression looked just now."

Gu Sheng remained as unruffled as an ancient well and said to himself, "One hundred and twenty thousand taels of gold. After deducting twelve thousand taels for the City Lord’s office as intermediary fees, that leaves one hundred and eight thousand taels—or ten million eight hundred thousand taels of silver."

"Fortunately, I made Liu Sanlong prepare gold and purple gold. Otherwise, transportation alone would have been a huge problem. But after taking such a heavy loss, Liu Sanlong definitely won’t swallow his anger. He may retaliate. Our journey might not be peaceful."

"Should we hire an escort agency?"

Hearing this, Li Yuan’s heart tightened. His joy faded back into reality, and he grew somewhat nervous.

"No need!"

Gu Sheng drew his polished long saber. Its bright spine reflected a somewhat blurred figure. After flourishing the blade, he looked toward the Black Wind Leopard, which was lazily sunbathing nearby. "Don’t worry. Our safety along the way won’t be a problem."

"That’s good!"

Li Yuan nodded. "Then I’ll have the servants prepare some things. Once the gold arrives, we’ll leave!"

"What about this residence?"

Li Yuan looked at the servants busy clearing out the rooms, a trace of reluctance in his eyes. This had been his home for more than a decade, and now he was about to leave. Perhaps once he departed, he would never return.

"You don’t need to dispose of the residence, Brother Li."

Gu Sheng walked over to Li Yuan. "We’re going to Jiangning Prefecture, not fleeing for our lives. There’s no need to give anyone a chance to force the price down. Keep the residence. If you return in the future, you’ll still have somewhere to stay."

"Heh, you’re right. I was overthinking it!"

Li Yuan nodded, and the smile on his face brightened somewhat.

At the gates of Wan City, the local governor, Iron City Lord of Wan City, personally saw off a caravan, attracting quite a few sidelong glances.

"Brother Li, have a safe journey!"

Iron City Lord took a wine cup from a servant and clinked it with Li Yuan’s before warmly trying to persuade him to stay. Anyone unaware of the situation would have thought they were extremely close.

"Thank you for your concern, City Lord!"

Li Yuan drained his cup and cupped his fists in farewell to Iron City Lord.

"Liu Sanlong has already contacted bandits outside the city. They’ll strike once you’re a hundred li from the city. You’d better take another route!"

These words suddenly reached Li Yuan’s ear. He looked up at the smiling Iron City Lord but made no other move. He continued through the normal farewell ritual before leading the Li Family caravan out of Wan City.

"City Lord! How could Li Yuan be so ungrateful?"

The commander of the city guards came over to Iron City Lord. "You already showed him goodwill and made a timely attempt to persuade him to stay, yet he still insists on going his own way. He’s practically asking for death!"

"No."

Iron City Lord shook his head. "Li Yuan isn’t that impulsive. There must be something I don’t know about."

"The Liu Family has set an ambush at Iron Cloud Ridge a hundred li away. Should we send people there?"

Another man who looked like an adviser approached.

"No need!"

Iron City Lord shook his head. "I promised the Liu Family that I wouldn’t interfere. Business is business, and warning the Li Family was already giving them plenty of face. Since they’re unwilling to accept it, let me see what trump card they have."

"Brother Teng, there’s trouble!"

Li Yuan rode up to Gu Sheng, who was traveling ahead while riding the Black Wind Leopard. "Iron City Lord just warned me that the Liu Family has men lying in ambush a hundred li away. They really dare to commit such a grave offense."

"What dangerous terrain is there a hundred li from here?"

Gu Sheng narrowed his eyes and took a map from the pouch at his side, spreading it across the Black Wind Leopard’s glossy back.

"It should be here—Iron Cloud Ridge!"

Li Yuan pointed to a place on the map where several mountain peaks had been drawn. "The official road passes through the outskirts of Iron Cloud Ridge roughly one hundred and twenty li from here. Iron Cloud Ridge is treacherous terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Many bandits have long made a living robbing travelers there.

"However, they used to have certain rules and wouldn’t risk leaving Iron Cloud Ridge to rob the official road. At least, the last time something like that happened was three years ago. Afterward, Iron City Lord sent people to scour the area, and the bandits scattered. Who would have thought that in less than three years, someone would…"

"Liu Sanlong should already have reached an agreement with that City Lord."

Gu Sheng lightly tapped the map several times, as if thinking about something.

Li Yuan asked in confusion, "Then what did his warning just now mean?"

Gu Sheng responded, "Obviously, the twelve thousand taels of gold had some effect. It filled him halfway."

"Halfway?"

Li Yuan was somewhat puzzled.

"If he were truly satisfied, he wouldn’t have issued a warning. He would have sent people to escort you all the way out!"

Gu Sheng tapped the map with his finger, as if planning something.

Li Yuan asked worriedly, "Then should we change our route?"

"No need!"

Gu Sheng waved his hand, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "We’ll follow the original route. Trust me—they won’t be a problem."

On Iron Cloud Ridge, large numbers of mounted bandits and robbers stood in distinct camps, bows drawn and arrows nocked.

"When the caravan arrives, follow my orders. Understood?" A fair-skinned, middle-aged man looked at the people around him. He was none other than Liu Sanlong, clan head of the Liu Family of Wan City.

"Don’t worry, Brother Liu San. We’ve worked together so many times. We know what we’re doing, and we’ll follow your lead. But Brother Liu San, did they really bring one hundred thousand taels of gold?" The other similarly dressed bandit leaders chatted and laughed, though some of them remained unconvinced.

One of them even said bluntly, "Liu San, where did you get this information? Is it accurate?"

"Lai Wu, what do you mean? I personally delivered it to them—ninety thousand taels of gold and one hundred and eighty taels of purple gold."

Liu Sanlong said unhappily, "We’ve worked together more than once or twice. If you don’t believe me, then don’t come."

"Heh heh~"

Another bald man spoke up. "Who knows whether this is some sort of ruse to make you look like a victim? Everyone knows you’re called ‘Liu Who Leaves Three Tricks Behind.’ You’ve cheated countless people in Wan City.

"Besides, it isn’t as if you’ve never robbed your partners. How was Da Mang Xiong wiped out? Wasn’t it because he fell for a scheme by you and Zhao Yuanzuo? What credibility does Liu Sanlong have in the underworld anymore? If Zhao Yuanzuo weren’t protecting you, someone would have chopped your head off long ago."

"Huang Sa, you—"

Liu Sanlong flew into a rage and raised his riding crop to strike, but he hadn’t expected an even greater reaction from the other side. Many arrows were already aimed this way, waiting for a single command before being loosed.

"Enough! Everyone, take a step back!"

An old man with silver hair and a long beard came out to mediate. "Lai Wu, Huang Sa, say a few fewer words. As for Da Mang Xiong, he was the one who broke the rules. After getting the benefits, he went looking for someone else to fence the goods. You can’t blame Third Master Liu for turning against him.

"Still, Third Master, we all live by the blade and have only our lives left. No amount of caution is excessive. This is such a huge deal, yet according to what you said, the Li Family didn’t even hire an escort agency. However you look at it, that isn’t normal. You’d better explain it properly!"