Chapter 74

Chapter 74: Watching the Excitement Brings Trouble

When Lou Yun went to the Cang Lan Nation, the common weapon shop in Tianrang City also opened under Lei Nu’s arrangement. Although Lei Nu wanted to keep a low profile, when he opened the door, he found the outside unexpectedly crowded with soldiers. Leading them was a middle-aged man with a wide smile, who introduced himself as Shen Cong, the steward of the Tianrang City Lord mansion.

Shen Cong had come to congratulate Lou Yun’s common weapon shop on the order of City Lord Qian Lianyun. Not only did he prepare expensive gifts, but he also arranged for people to set off firecrackers at the entrance, celebrating grandly.

Lei Nu didn’t know what relationship Lou Yun and Qian Lianyun had, so he could only let them arrange things. However, after taking a glance at the gifts they brought, he couldn’t take his eyes off them, because those were various forging materials, indeed extremely precious.

So Lei Nu took it upon himself to accept the gifts. After Shen Cong’s people left, the onlookers outside couldn’t wait to rush into the shop, and Lou Yun’s common weapon shop officially began its business.

That very night, the twenty magical weapons Lou Yun had prepared in advance were all sold out, and they received twenty to thirty more orders. After Lei Nu closed the door, he hurried back to the Ancient Weapon Academy, but naturally, he couldn’t find Lou Yun. This shocked Lei Nu; the shop had just opened, they had so many orders, yet Lou Yun was missing. This way, within a few days, wouldn’t the shop have to close down?

Of course, this was exactly the result that Xia Guanqiu and Old Man Feng wanted!

However, Lei Nu’s eyes turned, and he came up with an idea: he would help Lou Yun forge common weapons himself. Since Lou Yun had instructed beforehand to only accept orders for high-level common weapons, and Lei Nu himself was a third-grade skilled weapon maker, he could also forge high-level common weapons. So he boldly started forging common weapons based on the orders.

Although the quality of Lei Nu’s forged common weapons was not as good as Lou Yun’s, the difference wasn’t too big, and he sold them at lower prices. Surprisingly, everyone accepted the weapons he made, and no one suspected it wasn’t Lou Yun forging them. As time passed, Lou Yun’s common weapon shop not only didn’t close down as Xia Guanqiu and Old Man Feng had hoped, but its business became increasingly bustling. Lou Yun’s fame spread far and wide, and people even traveled thousands of kilometers to come to Tianrang City specifically to find Lou Yun’s shop and order common weapons!

This situation was something Xia Guanqiu and Old Man Feng had not anticipated at all, and by the time they knew about it, it was already too late!

From the Gu Feng Nation to the Cang Lan Nation, there were many routes, and naturally, the conditions on the road and the time spent differed. After careful consideration, Han Tianxiao chose a relatively safer route that also took less time.

This route would pass through three small nations and two uninhabited desolate areas, taking over a month.

The three small nations were manageable; at least they wouldn’t dare openly send people to rob. The most dangerous places were those two desolate areas; there were surely bandits lurking nearby, or the three small nations might send people to wait there. But as long as they safely passed through those two places, they could peacefully reach the Cang Lan Nation.

The group took seven days to leave the Gu Feng Nation. Inside the Gu Feng Nation, it was naturally extremely peaceful. After three more days of travel, they would enter the first small nation along the way, the Sanhe Nation. It was named so because three large rivers flow through this nation, showing how small its territory was.

As soon as they left the Gu Feng Nation’s border, Han Tianxiao had everyone be on alert. Although this section of the road was safe, it wasn’t absolute; there might be bold individuals attempting robbery.

Fortunately, the three-day journey was uneventful. By the evening of the third day, they entered the Sanhe Nation’s territory. Not far ahead was a small town, and after discussion, they decided to rest in the town that night and continue their journey early the next morning.

After smoothly entering the town, the group suddenly noticed something: the town was empty. Although shops were open, there were hardly any people on the streets. It was only evening; normally, there should be many people out at this time, but the situation here was unusually quiet.

Han Tianxiao and Lou Yun exchanged glances and immediately heightened their alertness. Lou Yun dismounted and was about to walk over to ask someone in a shop when Chang Xiang spoke up: "It’s not that there’s no one; everyone is gathered in one place. Follow the road ahead, turn twice, and you’ll see it!"

Lou Yun nodded but still approached the shop. Smiling at the young shop assistant inside, he said, "Assistant, I’d like to ask something: where have all the people in your town gone?"

The young shop assistant stretched his neck to look at Lou Yun’s convoy. Upon hearing Lou Yun’s question, he immediately replied, "They all went to watch the excitement! You’re not from our nation, right?"

"Yes, we’re from the Gu Feng Nation, heading to the Cang Lan Nation, passing through your nation and hoping to rest here for the night," Lou Yun continued to ask, "What kind of excitement is so attracting?"

The young shop assistant nodded and said, "No wonder you don’t know. A few days ago, we caught a bandit from the nearby mountains. Our City Lord demanded he reveal where his companions are, but the bandit was stubborn and refused. This angered our City Lord, who had him tied up in the public square for display and ordered that no one give him food, intending to starve him to death. The bandit is truly tough; it’s already the seventh day, and he’s still alive. This made the City Lord even angrier, so he sent people to interrogate him under torture. Naturally, everyone went to watch the excitement!"

Lou Yun expressed his thanks, returned to the group, and told this to Han Tianxiao. Han Tianxiao nodded and said, "I see. But this is their national affair; we have a mission and shouldn’t meddle in this excitement. Let’s quickly find an inn to rest."

Although Han Tianxiao’s intention was to avoid the excitement, he didn’t expect that this town had only one inn, which was near the square. When they found the inn, not far away they saw a large crowd forming a circle, gesturing and chattering about something.

The noise of the crowd was so loud that Wan Huier, sitting in the carriage, heard it. She jumped down from the carriage, saw the large group in the distance, and immediately said, "Hey, why are there so many people? I’m going to check it out!"

After saying this, she dashed off toward that direction.

Han Tianxiao was holding the horse, and seeing that the Princess was running to watch the excitement, he couldn’t allow that. So he quickly signaled to Lou Yun with a look, and Lou Yun hurriedly went to chase the Princess.

Although Lou Yun quickly caught up with Wan Huier, it wasn’t proper for him to reach out and grab her. He could only persuade her verbally, saying, "Princess, with so many people there, it’s better not to go. What if there’s danger…"

Wan Huier giggled and said, "If you’re afraid I’ll encounter danger, just come with me. You guys are supposed to protect me anyway, aren’t you?"

Lou Yun had nothing to say. At that moment, Wan Huier was already pushing towards the crowd. Helplessly, Lou Yun quickly turned back to signal to Han Tianxiao with a gesture and then squeezed in after her.

The two of them managed to squeeze to the front of the crowd. Before Lou Yun could clearly see what was happening before them, Wan Huier exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, this is too cruel!"

Lou Yun raised his head and looked. Not far away stood a cross-shaped iron post, with a young man about twenty years old bound to it, his arms spread open.

The young man’s bare upper body was crisscrossed with wounds, which were obviously freshly cut and bleeding profusely. Beside him, a burly man held a Dagger in his hand and was forcefully slicing a piece of skin.

This young man was quite courageous. Though his face was pale and he had at least thirty or forty wounds on his body, he clenched his teeth tightly and didn’t make a single moan. He just glared at the burly man with eyes full of hatred.

Lou Yun couldn’t help but frown. This method of torture was indeed too cruel!

"Hmm, strange. This fellow actually has a barrier set inside his body. I can’t see through his cultivation at all!" Chang Xiang’s voice suddenly rang out.

Lou Yun’s spiritual sense was unable to see the other’s true cultivation level anyway. He only knew this young man was the thief captured as mentioned by the young waiter earlier, but Wan Huier didn’t know, so she was asking someone nearby about what was really happening at this moment.

After hearing the explanation, Wan Huier was so angry her eyebrows arched sharply. "Not giving him food for seven days is one thing, but using this kind of cruel torture is outrageous!"

Wan Huier suddenly placed her hands on her hips and shouted loudly, "Stop!"

Her cry naturally drew everyone’s gaze to her, while Lou Yun was startled because he hadn’t expected Wan Huier to speak out at this moment. It was too late to stop her now, so he could only sigh inwardly and watch how the situation developed.

The burly man who was carrying out the torture naturally stopped his work and looked at Wan Huier. Realizing she was just a little girl, he sneered coldly. "Little girl, quietly watch the show and don’t cause trouble here, or be careful you’re arrested as his accomplice!"

After saying this, he ignored Wan Huier and went back to the torture.

Wan Huier, after all, was a Princess, likely spoiled since childhood. Seeing the burly man not only disobey her but even dare to rebuke her, she flew into a rage instantly. With a flick of her hand, her magical weapon appeared—it was a slingshot!

Wan Huier’s small face tightened as she drew back the slingshot. A bullet formed of spiritual energy whooshed straight toward the burly man’s wrist.

The burly man was himself an intermediate one-star magical weapons master, but he never expected anyone to attack him at this time, so it hit him squarely. With a cry of pain, "Aiyo," his Dagger clattered to the ground. Rubbing his injured wrist, he turned and, upon seeing it was Wan Huier who struck him, cursed loudly in anger. "Damn it, you dead girl, I bet you’re definitely this kid’s accomplice!"

Before his words faded, he was already charging at Wan Huier, while she raised her slingshot again and fired two more shots. But this time, the burly man was prepared and easily dodged them.

The burly man rushed right in front of Wan Huier, his face twisted in a nasty grin as he reached out to grab her.

However, he suddenly felt a tight grip on his wrist. Looking up, he saw that the one holding him was also a young man, with a small red mouse perched on his shoulder and eyes gleaming sharply as it stared back. But when he realized the young man’s cultivation was only primary three-star, he laughed out loud with a ha. "My luck is really good today—I’ve found two accomplices! Boy, hand over your life!"

The one who grabbed the burly man’s wrist was naturally Lou Yun. Honestly, he hadn’t stopped Wan Huier from acting because he also disliked this city’s City Lord’s methods, so he had tacitly agreed to it. Now that the burly man was attacking Wan Huier, he couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

Lou Yun let out a cold laugh and suddenly exerted force, pulling and throwing. The burly man’s large body was immediately flung through the air like a stone.

A mere intermediate one-star magical weapons master like that wasn’t worth Lou Yun’s attention at all.

The burly man landed heavily with a thud, letting out another cry. But he wasn’t seriously injured and quickly stood back up, staring at Lou Yun with confusion. Clearly, he couldn’t understand how a mere primary three-star magical weapons master could throw him like that.

Wan Huier also looked at Lou Yun with slight surprise. Evidently, when she had earlier asked him to protect her, it was just politeness, since she could see that his magical weapon realm wasn’t as good as hers. But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Lou Yun said lightly, "We’re not his accomplices. We just find your actions intolerable. If you want to catch thieves, send your troops to hunt them down—why torture him here like this?"

The burly man paused dumbly, then came to his senses and roared while charging once more. This time, though, he was brandishing his own magical weapon, a large sword, and slashing it toward Lou Yun.

Facing the oncoming sword, Lou Yun didn’t dodge or even blink his eyes. Not until the blade was less than a centimeter from his head did he suddenly move, leaping out like a leopard. He stretched out his right hand and seized the burly man’s wrist as he raised the sword.

"Bang!" With a loud crash, the burly man’s body was thrown out again by Lou Yun!

Lou Yun didn’t even glance at the burly man as he walked over to the bound young man and reached to untie the ropes around him.

Suddenly, a cold laugh rang out. "You thieves really are bold, daring to rescue your partner right in front of so many people. Have you truly no respect for me, Huo Yong?"