Chapter 71: Mu Yun
Chapter 71: Mu Yun
Jian Chen let loose a gentle smile as he cupped his hands in greeting, “It seems brother has seen many suns while traveling the Tian Yuan Continent.”
The mercenary returned his smile, “It wasn’t all that long, just a few years, that’s all. Compared to those that have left their homes to travel for ten to a hundred years, I am still green.”
“This brother here doesn’t know what to call you.” Jian Chen said.
“My name is Mu Yun, what’s your name?” The mercenary spoke with great enthusiasm.
“I’m called Jian Chen.” Jian Chen replied, he had already decided to use the name “Jian Chen” in the future on the Tian Yuan Continent.
Following this, Jian Chen and Mu Yun started to converse, discussing several interesting issues on Tian Yuan Continent.
Although this was the first time Jian Chen was traveling the Tian Yuan Continent, he had read plenty of books regarding the continent back in the Kargath Library and had grown familiar with a few things including history. Mu Yun, on the other hand, had traversed the Tian Yuan Continent for a few years, so his experience could be said to be quite ample. The two had actually complimented each other nicely and so as they enthusiastically talked to each other, they unconsciously formed a close bond with each other.
As the caravan got closer to the gates of the border fort, Jian Chen noticed a portrait tacked to the side of one of the gates. On the portrait, the name “Changyang Xiang Tian” was inscribed on it with a generous reward printed below it.
If people had any hints or clues to Changyang Xiang Tian’s whereabouts that proved to be true, then they would be awarded with 1000 Purple Coins. If their information led to the capture of the person, then they would be rewarded with another 4000 Purple Coins.
A Gold Coin was enough to feed a small household of three for over a month, and a Purple Coin was the equivalent to a hundred Gold Coins. So a thousand Purple Coins was a generous sum of money to any mercenary. With such a tidy sum, any mercenary, or anyone for that matter, would be able to buy a nice home and spend the rest of their lives without any more financial worries. It was easy to say that this reward was so irresistible that no one could turn it down.
The best reward people could hope for from traveling would be to capture Changyang Xiang Tian. If they could capture and hand him to the Hua Yun Sect, then they would be able to enjoy a prize of ten thousand Purple Coins.
Seeing the generous prize for his capture, Jian Chen’s normally emotionless eyes flashed with a cold glare.
“Hua Yun Sect, you really do think highly of me to offer so great a reward and label me as a wanted criminal throughout the Gesun Kingdom. To think that you’re even using the Mercenary Union to try to find me.” Jian Chen inwardly sneered, however, he felt a small pang of hopelessness. On the Tian Yuan Continent, strength determined everything, and his own strength was currently insufficient. Because of the Hua Yun Sect, he had to forsake his name, his image, his home and his kingdom. In regards with such a predicament, not only was he unable to do anything, but even one of the four major clans in Lore City, his Changyang Clan, was powerless to stop the Hua Yun Sect.
“Ai!” Jian Chen sighed. At that moment, he could not help but recall the image of his mother’s sorrowfully crying face when he left.
After thinking back to that, Jian Chen’s eyes softened momentarily before rapidly becoming firm. After that moment, he had promised himself that he would dedicate himself to cultivation and improving his strength. Otherwise, under the great power of the Hua Yun Sect, he would never be able to return to the Gesun Kingdom and see his mother again. More importantly, he would never be able to feel motherly love ever again.
The previous Jian Chen was an orphan and had never known what maternal love was. The heavens had not only granted him a new shot at life, but also a blessed family life. Jian Chen had treasured the feelings he felt from his relationship with his mother.
Even those who were born into a happy family wouldn’t be able to experience what Jian Chen had felt. As someone who lived an entire life in isolation, he had always desired family. But because he had always been in solitude, his heart had only known what it felt like to be alone.
Next to the empty gates, roughly 200 soldiers stood by and stared down every single person that entered and exited the city. Whenever someone had an unclear face, they would be stopped by the soldiers and be compared with the portrait before finally being allowed to continue.
Although the soldiers had blocked many strong mercenaries, none were in a hurry. This was because outside of Gesun Kingdom’s boundary, the fort had over ten thousand soldiers and didn’t lack in experts at all. So if a battle broke out, it would be obvious who would be the loser.
The doors to the fort were gigantic; even if five caravans were to enter side by side, they would not block the road at all. As Jian Chen and his caravans slowly walked forward, another smaller caravan sped up from behind. As they saw the gates of the fort approach, they started to speak.
“Who exactly is this guy in the portrait and how is it that he’s being chased by everyone? I didn’t think that even Gesun Kingdom’s border forts would have this portrait tacked up as well.”
“It looks like this guy broke countless laws; I’ve already been to three cities and saw this portrait posted everywhere. Even the Mercenary Union has put out a warrant for his arrest.”
“That’s right, this guy is definitely someone who broke a few major laws, or annoyed someone of great influence. Right now, the Mercenary Union has already given him an A ranked bounty with no restriction to the rank required to take it. So even a D ranked mercenary could cash in on this bounty.”
“Exactly, the commission for this is extremely high; as long as we have information on his location, that’s already 1000 Purple Coins. And if they capture him with this information, then that’s another 4000 Purple Coins.”
“A few thousand is nothing; if we personally capture and bring him to the Hua Yun Sect, that’s ten thousand Purple Coins. Ten thousand coins, the thought is terrifying. I wouldn’t be able to spend ten thousand Purple Coins in a single lifetime!”
…….
Hearing the merchants talk about the portrait, Mu Yun turned to Jian Chen and laughed, “I don’t know what type of crime this Changyang Xiang Tian committed in order to have the Hua Yun Sect spend so much money to go after him, but it can’t possibly be a justifiable sentence, since the portrait there says he is only at the level of a Primary Saint. How strange, how could a Primary Saint garner so much hate from the Hua Yun Sect? Could it be that this Changyang Xiang Tian got caught peeking at the Hua Yun Sect’s daughter while she took a bath?”
Hearing Mu Yun talk, Jian Chen could only laugh. He helplessly looked at Mu Yuan, “Brother Mu Yun, I have lived in the Gesun Kingdom for over a dozen years and more, and heard much about the Hua Yun Sect. However, I have only heard about the sect leader having a son, not a daughter. So sneakily watching his daughter take a bath doesn’t seem to be possible.”
Mu Yun threw a dirty look at Jian Chen, “What do you know, who says the Hua Yun Sect leader has no daughter? This can’t possibly be confirmed, maybe she’s hidden from the rest of the world.”
Jian Chen helplessly shook his head, deciding in his heart to no longer argue with Mu Yun about whether the Hua Yun Sect leader really had a daughter or not.
The caravan didn’t run into any obstructions at the fort, and Jian Chen’s appearance easily passed through without trouble. No one could tell his looks were fake since Jian Chen was an expert of disguise; so even though he had only used a few common herbs, his disguise was flawless.
Moreover, this disguise technique was something that was passed down to Jian Chen as he wandered about in his previous world. It looked simple, but was actually quite profound, and couldn’t be learnt easily. In this world, this type of method was not yet invented, so it was natural no one would think twice about it. As long as his face didn’t tear up, then no one would be able to find out.
After passing through the border fort, they were greeted with plains that stretched farther than the eye could see. There were very few people, and the road only had a few caravans on it. This was the road that was not under any control from the kingdoms, and was just a unregulated chaotic piece of land. Robbers and bandits roamed around these parts, so caravans generally grouped together with others and hired strong mercenaries to protect them.
This stretch of land was very large as well; a single day of traveling only got them a quarter of the way there. If they wanted to reach the Blue Wind Kingdom, they would also have to pass through a mountain range to get to the border fort. With the speed the caravans were going, if they wanted to reach the fort, they would need at least ten days. Even if the road was flat, they wouldn’t be able to go any faster, since the caravans were burdened with large carts of goods.
As the day grew dark, the caravan stopped to set up for the night. The mercenaries set up camp around the caravans, while the caravan drivers unloaded fodder for the horses to eat.
A plume of smoke billowed up from the camps as a few of the mercenaries sat down to roast some magical beast meat or some pre-made food for them to eat. However, not all of them sat together; a few of the mercenaries stood off by the side and began to eat their own rations.
Jian Chen took out a tent from his Space Belt and then looked for a dry and flat piece of land to set it up. Since he wasn’t a part of any mercenary group, he was not able to use the provisions provided for those that were hired. Jian Chen had to take responsibility for anything he used without any assistance from the caravans.
Right as Jian Chen finished pitching his tent, Mu Yun suddenly walked up to Jian Chen and said, “Jian Chen, it seems like you only joined this caravan halfway through. Where do you plan to go?”
Jian Chen nodded and said: “I want to go to the Blue Wind Kingdom. What about you, brother Mu Yun?”
Mu Yun laughed and said, “I wish to go the Cage Kingdom, which means I’ll have to pass through the Blue Wind Kingdom.” As he spoke, his hand also withdrew a tent from his Space Belt and he began to set it up not too far away from Jian Chen’s tent.