CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 41: CAISAN TOWN

Jiang Shi grabbed the silver notes from the other person’s hand and unceremoniously stuffed them into his own pocket.

"May I ask the hero’s honorable name? From whom do you inherit your skills? To meet such a hero today is truly a great fortune of three lifetimes. I hope to form a good bond with you!"

Lu Chengtian cupped his hands and said.

Jiang Shi was about to refuse, but he paused, thought carefully, and said, "My name is Jiang Shi, not really a hero, just an insignificant nobody, from... from Huaguo Mountain Water Curtain Cave!"

"Huaguo Mountain Water Curtain Cave?"

Lu Chengtian felt suspicious, having never heard of such a place.

The two burly men beside him also exchanged glances, furrowing their brows.

Could it be that it’s not from this nearby region?

In the nearby four states—Fengzhou, Desolate State, Ru State, and Cyan Province—all the major Jianghu sects they had heard of, but not this Huaguo Mountain Water Curtain Cave.

"The hero’s martial arts are superb, and I admire you greatly. I wonder if the hero has the time. I am willing to hold a banquet to entertain you."

Lu Chengtian continued to cup his hands and said.

"No need for hospitality, we met by chance. I bid you farewell!"

Jiang Shi waved his hand and walked out.

"Hero, wait a moment. I am willing to offer ten Entering Strength Pills a month to hire you, and additionally, two hundred taels of silver each month. What does the hero think?"

Lu Chengtian hurriedly spoke again.

Jiang Shi was taken aback, paused his steps, and turned back to look.

Goodness!

Is he a rich second generation?

But after thinking it over, he still directly refused.

"Forget it, I am used to wandering and not accustomed to being under someone else’s command."

After the matter with Yang Hongtian, he had become very wary and unwilling to be at anyone’s mercy again.

At the moment, he should quickly find a place rich in resources to hide, and in three to five years, he might be invincible in the world.

He asked, "By the way, is there a place nearby where I can buy medicinal herbs?"

"Buy medicinal herbs? The hero wants medicinal herbs?"

Lu Chengtian quickly responded, "I don’t know what type the hero needs. I have some at home I’m willing to offer to the hero..."

"No need, I have money myself and intend to buy some for martial arts practice. Just tell me where to buy them."

Jiang Shi refused again.

Lu Chengtian showed a deep look of regret on his face and sighed, "Alright, if you need some for martial arts, you can check out Caisan Town in Fengzhou. It’s backed by mountains and known for medicinal herbs, but in times of chaos, martial arts herbs are generally monopolized by the military, and only Caisan Town might have some. Still, I can’t say for sure if you’ll find any."

"Monopolized by the military?"

Jiang Shi frowned.

"Yes, given the current turmoil in the world, the military holds absolute power, with generals across regions harboring ambitions to unify the world. Thus, they strictly control medicinal herbs for medicinal baths and making Entering Strength Pills and Recovery Pills. Private individuals generally find it hard to buy them."

What a hassle.

Jiang Shi frowned.

The military controls these things!

This amounts to monopolizing power.

"How do I get to Caisan Town?"

Jiang Shi inquired.

Lu Chengtian immediately pointed out directions to Jiang Shi.

After figuring it out, Jiang Shi immediately strode out, mounted a fast horse, and rode away.

"What a pity, if we could have recruited this person to our Yi Ming Army, he would undoubtedly become an unparalleled general for the lord!"

A burly man watched Jiang Shi with regret, and said.

"Indeed!"

Lu Chengtian was filled with emotion and said, "However, maybe we still have a chance to meet him again."

He no longer stayed and immediately mounted a horse, quickly leading the group away.

···

In the distance.

Jiang Shi continued on his way while looking at the three thousand tael silver notes in his hand.

For the first time in both this life and the previous one, he got so much money, which felt unreal.

"That man’s identity is definitely not ordinary, absolutely not ordinary."

Tossing out three thousand taels of silver without batting an eye, such courage was truly impressive.

If he hadn’t experienced the incident with Yang Hongtian, he might indeed have been tempted by the other’s offer.

But now, he would wait and see.

Suddenly, he felt a tingling sensation again and immediately opened the panel.

The Reputation Value column had increased by 40 points again, reaching 5160 points.

This seemed to be the reward for his recent actions.

"Hyah!"

Jiang Shi urged the warhorse to leave quickly.

···

In another direction.

A group of Jianghu people fled back, all wounded, quickly gathering in a small town.

In the town appeared a man in a purple robe, with a fair face and a three-strand beard. Seeing the crowd returning in a sorry state, he immediately frowned.

"You didn’t manage to capture Lu Chengtian?"

"Sect Leader Zhao, something happened. We encountered a Jianghu man, who easily defeated us in a few moves, leaving us scattered and in disarray. Even Ouyang Tian was killed. That man was like a demon, none of us could do anything against him!"

A Jianghu person said, pale-faced.

"What? What is his name?"

The purple-robed man’s face sank.

"I don’t know, only that he is incredibly powerful, wielding a large wolf fang club, invincible. Moreover, he looked peculiar, small in stature, inconspicuous, and appeared very sickly."

That Jianghu person said.

"Damn it, you’ve truly ruined the master’s grand plan!"

The purple-robed man’s face turned grim.

"Sect Leader Zhao, what should we do next?"

The Jianghu person cautiously asked.

"What else can we do? Report back to the master for now."

The purple-robed man said in a low voice.

"Alright!"

The group had no choice but to quickly leave the area.

···

Three days later.

Jiang Shi galloped along the way, passing through vast barren lands, and finally reached the small town of Caisan as mentioned by Lu Chengtian.

However, upon his arrival, he discovered that the entire town had long since become extremely desolate, with traces of large fires everywhere.

A large number of buildings had been burned down, leaving only skeletons behind.

Corpses lay scattered across the streets, some appearing to have been gnawed by wolves, a horrific sight, and a pungent odor filled the town.

"Has Caisan Town been wiped out?"

Jiang Shi’s face turned grim as he drove his horse past, observing.

This world is just too chaotic.

Where can there be a place of peace!

Plop, plop, plop...

Hoofbeats echoed, bringing forth low sounds.

Jiang Shi carefully observed and found that some buildings had not been completely burned by the fire. The remaining condition indicated that these buildings had been intentionally ransacked before being set on fire, with many tables and chairs thrown everywhere.

The counters had even been knocked over.

"It seems they were really raided by bandits. Damn, is it really so hard to find a place to buy some medicinal herbs?"

Jiang Shi muttered.

During his observations, he suddenly heard a faint sound, like rustling. Looking up, he saw a few men in the corner of the desolate buildings turning to leave, fleeing in panic.

"Who?"

He immediately spurred his horse, quickly approaching,

Seeing the group of men speeding up their escape, he pulled a long knife from his bundle and threw it forward forcefully.

Whoosh!

Thud!

The entire long knife shot out rapidly, nearly invisible, slicing through the air more than ten meters ahead, grazing past one man’s side.

The man screamed in panic and ducked, clutching his head.

The other men turned pale, stopping one after another.

"Spare us!"

"It’s a misunderstanding!"

"We saw nothing!"

The group of men hurriedly exclaimed.

"Hyah!"

Jiang Shi urged the warhorse, quickly approached, frowned, and said, "Who are you? Why are you here?"