Chapter 34: The Robber Who Answers Every Question!

  "Hey! Why did we have to sneak out?" asked the old man, puzzled, after they left Blue Cloud City. They had actually snuck out of the city in stealth mode and even left Blue Ming himself at the inn without saying goodbye. Alas, Little Blue would surely cry when he woke up early in the morning!

  "Tomorrow morning, the master of the Lan family will probably come to our door." Leng Ruoxue said calmly, with her understanding of Lan Tao over the past few days, she was very clear that Lan Tao would not just watch her make so much money from the Lan family. He might even want a share of the profits. Although they had agreed earlier that the money owed to her by the Lan family would be squeezed out from those elders, but Lan Tao would never have thought that she would squeeze out so much. Hehe, if not now, when?

  "Huh! Lan Ning is still in the guest house room! Tomorrow he should come to take someone away." The old man said somewhat foolishly.

  "He won't come here for Lan Ning'er." said Leng Ruo Xue.

  "Huh? What's going on?" The old man was somewhat perplexed.

  "Of course it's for the money, you idiot!" The old man couldn't help but yell. Letting this old guy do something was no problem, but things that required brains were beyond his comprehension!

  "Ah! Let's leave quickly then!" The old man hastily said upon hearing it was about money.

  "Don't worry, we're already very far from Blue Cloud City, they can't catch up." The old man comforted with some helplessness, sigh! These people are really too interesting!

  "Ah, young lady! What are your plans next?" The old man turned his head and asked Leng Ruoxue.

  "We want to find a place to temporarily settle down and focus on increasing our strength first." said Leng Ruoxue after some thought.

  "Haha, young lady, I can recommend a place for you, it's really good." The old man said mysteriously.

  "Where is it?" Cold-as-snow's curiosity was piqued and she couldn't help but ask.

  "Mountains and rivers!" The old man said with a smile.

  "Haha, little girl, Wàn Shān City is called a city, but it's not just a city! It's composed of tens of thousands of high mountains, and almost every mountain has a force or a strong person living on it. That place belongs to the three-no-man's-land, whoever has the bigger fist, whoever says what goes, whoever has the stronger power, whoever occupies more territory. Moreover, there are battles every day, and many people come to challenge. According to Wàn Shān City's rules, the losing side needs to give up their own territory, so there are no weaklings there."

  "It can be said that it's easy to make a name for oneself in Wànshān City, but it can also be said that it's difficult. Almost every day, there are people coming to challenge you, unless you have overwhelming strength, don't even think about having peace and quiet!"

  "Ah, young one, I have a place to stay in Wanshan City, you can go there to live, of course, you can also find your own place, haha, it's up to you. However, with your current abilities, occupying a mountain head shouldn't be a problem." The old man explained.

  "Is there really such a place? Then let's go to Wanshancheng!" Leng Ruoxue said with some surprise, looking at everyone.

  "Hmm, let's go to Wanshan City and take over the mountain too, hehe!" Old Man Zao is so excited! Who would have thought that there was such a place on the vast continent of Haotian, isn't this just a den of thieves?!

  "Don't get too excited, it's very dangerous there and chaotic, people die every day. Moreover, anyone who can settle down in Wanshan City is not an ordinary person, so don't be too careless!" The old man couldn't help but remind them.

  "Hmm, we'll be careful." said Leng Ruoxue. To be honest, she wasn't afraid of chaos and danger at all. What she wanted to do most now was to improve her own strength. After listening to the old man's introduction, Wanshan City might indeed be a good place.

  "Are there various large guilds within Wanshancheng?" Leng Qingtian asked.

  "No, in Wanshan City, there are now five major forces that control all the business and commerce. These five major forces only show respect to the mysterious masters, but they don't put other mystics in their eyes. Moreover, over the years, many forces have wanted to replace them, but none have succeeded yet." The old man said with a light smile.

  "That's because they haven't met a real opponent, heh heh, kiddo! Why don't we go challenge them instead!" Old Man Jia said with some excitement, the combative factor within him had already been ignited!

  "Grandfather Du, what level is the weakest among the five major powers?" asked Leng Ruoxue.

  "Ah, young one! Even the weakest of the five major powers has a mysterious emperor's array. With your current strength, it's unlikely you can challenge the five major powers. However, if this little dog takes action, there's still a good chance of success." The old man said with a knowing tone.

  "Grandfather Du, Little Ice is our last trump card. Unless absolutely necessary, I won't let it make a move." Cold Snow said confidently.

  "Haha, girl, I like your unyielding personality. Wanshan City is indeed a dangerous place, but it's also a great place to improve your strength! However, wherever you go, be careful and cautious!" The old man said with some concern.

  "Hmm, we'll be careful." Lan Xue nodded.

  "Girl, this is the map of Wanshan City, my residence is also marked on it. Originally, I should have gone back with you all, but I need to take Zheng En to Dan Shifu General Assembly first, so I won't be going with you all." The old man took out a beast skin scroll and handed it to Leng Ruoxue.

  "Master, are we going to the Dan Shifu General Assembly now? Can't we send Miss and others to Wanshan City first?" Zheng En said with some unease, Wanshan City was a place he had heard of, where there would be danger to life at any time!

  "Foolish kid, Sun Wei has already sneaked away. Although he lost face in Blue Cloud City, but he's been managing the Dan Shifu General Assembly for many years and with the support of the Sun family behind him, I'm afraid he'll go crazy and cause big trouble for the assembly." The old man said worriedly. His disciple Ren Li was a softie, otherwise, he wouldn't have waited until Sun Wei escaped from Blue Cloud City to tell him about it. Alas! Hopefully Sun Wei will behave himself and not touch his reverse scales!

  "Zheng En, Master Du's concerns are valid, you go with him to Dan Shifu General Assembly! We can go to Wanshan City ourselves." Leng Ruoxue said, she knew that Master Du wanted to take Zheng En together, also to solve his identity problem, so she naturally wouldn't have any opinions.

  "But, miss..." Zheng En trailed off.

  "With Little Ice around, we won't be in any danger. Zheng En, Grandfather Du, we'll wait for your return at Wan Shan City." said Leng Ruoxue seriously.

  "Haha, alright! Wait for us to finish dealing with the Dan Shizong's matter, then we'll immediately head back to Wanshan City and meet up with you all!" The old man said happily.

  "Alright, Grandpa Du. We'll meet again someday." After saying that, Leng Ruoxue led the crowd towards Wanshan City...

  The old man and Zheng En went to Xianyao City where Dan Shizong Hui was located...

  At the same time, Lan Meng in the guest house also found the letter left for him by Leng Ruo Xue and others...

  "Little Blue, there is no feast that does not scatter, we will meet again." The letter only had a few words, after reading it, Lan Meng's mood was extremely complicated, and even felt a sense of being abandoned, wu... how could this be?

  He sat in the living room with a letter in his hand, looking silly and lost in thought until Lan Lie's arrival broke his train of thought.

  "Little uncle, what's wrong with you?" Blue Lie just ran into the living room and saw her little uncle sitting in a chair like a wooden person, couldn't help but be puzzled.

  "It's nothing, I'm just in a bad mood." Lan Meng said with a somewhat cold tone.

  "Huh? Right, what about Xiaobing and them?" Lan Lie asked, changing the subject.

  "They're all gone, without saying goodbye, leaving only a letter behind." Lan Meng said with some depression. Humph! Why didn't they say it to his face?! He couldn't understand... Did those people not consider him as friends at all? He was entangled in thought...

  "Ah! What? Gone! Waa... Where's my Xiao Bing?" Lan Lie asked, somewhat disbelieving. How could Xiao Bing abandon him like that?

  "Of course, I went with them, Lie Er! Xiao Bing isn't yours." Lan Meng reminded him with a mix of depression and helplessness, sighing. He really didn't understand why his nephew was so interested in a little dog!

  "Waaa..." Lan Lie heard this and directly sat on the ground, wailing loudly...

  "What's wrong? What happened?" Blue Wave's loud voice came into the living room, and then he arrived, his face still full of tension.

  "You little stinker, what are you crying about? I'm not dead yet!" Blue Wave saw his precious grandson sitting on the ground, crying without regard for appearances, and couldn't help but feel a burning jealousy! Because he knew that his grandson was definitely not crying because of him!

  "Xiao Bing has left, waa... you stinky old man, if you died I wouldn't be so heartbroken!" Lan Lie said with a very unflattering tone.

  "You... you heartless little brat, I've wasted my time raising you to be so big and fat, now your eyes only have that dog in them, is that right?" Blue Wave's face turned red with rage, his neck thickening as he bellowed.

  "Hmph! I was raised by my parents, what's it to you?" Lan Lie said with some disdain. This old man had been causing him trouble since he was young, or making trouble for him, where did he ever raise him?!

  "Blue Tides was so angry that he couldn't speak, 'Hmph... what a stinky brat! He only knows how to bully him!"

  The two elderly men who followed Lan Tao into the house, Da Zhang Lao and San Zhang Lao, were already used to the way their grandfather and grandson interacted with each other, so they had no choice but to ignore it.

  "Has that little girl left with all of them?" The elder asked in surprise, haha, they're really fast!

  "Hmm." Lan Meng nodded and said.

  "Huh? What about Lan Ning and the others?" The Third Elder asked curiously, why did this little girl run away without saying a word?!

  "In the room." Lan Meng said faintly, sighing! He should also return to Wu Feng City.

  "Dead girl, she can run pretty fast." Lan Tao said with some anger, that girl had swindled the Lan family's elders out of so much money and didn't even give him, her partner, a share, just ran away directly, it was infuriating!

  "I'm also going back to Windless City." Lan Meng bid them farewell and left as well...

  Half a month later.

  Leng Ruo Xue and others finally arrived at Wanshan City.

  Standing at the foot of the mountains, Leng Ruo Xue and others looked at the towering mountain peaks in the distance, with three large characters "Wan Shan City" engraved on top, their emotions were extremely excited.

  "Girl, this is all mountains! Where can you see any signs of the city?" The old man looked at the high mountains in front of him and said with some confusion. Isn't Wanshan City a city composed of many mountains?

  "Haha, just go in and take a look! There's a small path leading into the mountains, let's go!" Leng Ruoxue pointed to the only entrance of Wanshan City.

  "Let's go and take a look!" Everyone said excitedly. The old man's recommendation shouldn't be bad.

  Leng Ruo Xue and others walked along the small road, entering the interior of Wàn Shān City, only to discover that although from the outside it looked like Wàn Shān City was composed of tens of thousands of high mountains, however, inside Wàn Shān City was almost the same as an ordinary town, with shops standing densely together, bustling and extraordinary!

  It's just that, whether it's a shop or an inn, they're all built at the foot of the mountain. In other words, the mountain above the shops and inns is also within their sphere of influence. Indeed, as Old Man said, almost all businesses within Wànshān City are controlled by the five major powers. Because, along the way, Lěng Ruò Xuě and others have seen the most symbols representing the five major powers!

  "How many of you? Do you need to stay at our inn?" A waiter blocked the way when they passed by an inn and asked.

  "Thank you, we won't be staying at the store." Leng Ruoxue politely declined.

  "Are you new to the city? It's getting dark now, if you go further in, you might run into robbers." The waiter reminded.

  "Are there many bandits in this mountain city?" The old man asked with some curiosity.

  "There are a lot! In our Wan Shan City, there are at least 8,000 bandits, so many that it's frightening. I see that your abilities aren't very high, why not stay here for the night and tomorrow find someone to accompany you before heading in?" The waiter kindly reminded them.

  "If there are so many bandits in Wanshan City, can living here guarantee our safety?" asked Leng Ruo Xue tentatively.

  "Of course, our inn is the second-ranked Nie family's industry among the five major powers. Those robbers wouldn't dare to come here." Waiter said with a proud face.

  "Is that so? Don't listen to him, you few. This is originally the safest place in Wanshan City, those bandits won't come here to make trouble!" A tall and burly middle-aged man with a thick beard spoke up.

  "Oh, I see." Leng Ruoxue said with a smile that was not quite a smile. In fact, even if the middle-aged man hadn't reminded them, they had no intention of staying here anyway.

  "You're finished, you dare to ruin our Nie family business, you really can't live anymore!" The waiter shouted angrily, and as soon as he finished shouting, more than a dozen people ran out of the hotel again, surrounding that middle-aged man...

  "Is it going to start already?" asked Leng Ruoxue with a curious expression, sigh! The temper of these people is really too bad, not even two sentences have been exchanged and they're already fighting!

  "Get out of here first, and wait for me to settle the bill!" The waiter at the hotel roared with a fierce expression.

  "Heh heh, how do you plan to deal with us?" The old man asked curiously. Just a moment ago when the waiter reminded them, he still thought this guy was okay! How could he change so quickly, like he's become a different person? This changing of faces is happening too fast!"

  "Hum! Today, you must stay in this store, whether you like it or not!" The waiter growled with a menacing glint in his eye.

  "Ah, so the second largest faction's inn is actually a black shop? I just found out today, and it even forces people to stay!" Old Man Gou couldn't help but laugh.

  "That's right! The Nie family is really too much, how can they force others to live here!" Someone in the crowd couldn't help but speak up.

  "Zhao Jun, this has nothing to do with you, get lost." The waiter saw the person who spoke and scolded angrily.

  "What's wrong? Can't I speak on the land of our Zhao family?" The man named Zhao Jun sneered, and then deliberately jumped up and down in front of his own shop.

  Listening to their conversation, Leng Ruoxue raised her head and glanced at the shop behind Zhao Jun. It was also a guest house, directly opposite the one where the waiter who had stopped them was located. Apparently, the two families were competitors in Wanshan City! The only thing she didn't know was how the Zhao family ranked among the five major powers in Wanshan City.

  "Are you sure you want to fight me?" The middle-aged man surrounded by the waiters and others said calmly.

  "Hum! In Wanshan City, no one dares to demolish our Nie family's platform!" Servant Huo Da shouted, the words had already been spoken, if they didn't fight back, wouldn't it be a joke?!

  "Alright! Since you want to fight so badly, I'll indulge you." The middle-aged man said with great reluctance. Then, his demeanor changed and he seemed like a different person, exuding an aura that made others feel pressured.

  "This... you..." The waiter stuttered, his legs trembling non-stop. He knew he had kicked an iron plate today. This man, who looked a bit shabby, was not a soft persimmon. Alas, what to do? Who can save him?!

  "Xiao Xue, this man is a Mystic Venerable." Ice Qian, who was nestled in Leng Ruo Xue's arms, slightly raised her eyelids and said softly. However, the man's strength wasn't very powerful, he should have just recently advanced to Mystic Venerable.

  "Oh." Leng Ruoxue looked at the middle-aged man with some surprise, it seemed that people really couldn't be judged by their appearance! Just looking at his exterior, no one would have thought that this man was a Xuanzun!

  "Please spare your senior's life, if there is any negligence on our part, I am willing to apologize for him!" A young man suddenly spoke up.

  "Hmph!" Hearing the man's voice, the middle-aged man let out a cold snort, then withdrew his own intimidating aura and gazed at the person who had spoken up with an expressionless face.

  "Senior, I'm really sorry, it's my fault for being ignorant and offending you." The young man said with great sincerity.

  "Young master, it's obviously him..." Seeing the young master arrive, the servant's confidence also increased, and he even forgot that his own life had almost been lost just now.

  "Shut up, you have no right to speak here, go and receive your punishment in the Hui ethnic group." The young man scolded.

  "Yes, young master." The waiter glared at the middle-aged man with a scowl, then left the inn very reluctantly.

  "Haha, I've made a fool of myself in front of my seniors. I'm really sorry about that. It's all because of the improper upbringing by the Nie family. Please don't hold it against me, senior." The young man said with a humble attitude and great sincerity.

  "I naturally won't bother with a little rascal like you, but just this once, don't think it's an example to follow," the middle-aged man said coldly.

  "Yes, thank you, Senior Ní Fāng." The young man said very politely.

  "Aren't you going into the mountains? Come with me!" The middle-aged man ignored the self-proclaimed Ní Fāng and turned to face Lěng Ruò Xuě and the others.

  "Sorry for the trouble." Lan Ruoye said politely. Since someone was willing to act as her bodyguard, she had no reason to refuse!

  After finishing speaking, Leng Ruo Xue and others followed that middle-aged man, walking towards the depths of Wan Shan City...

  Deep in the mountains of Wan City, mountain after mountain connected, walking on the winding mountain road, Leng Ruoxue and others did not speak, but instead it was that middle-aged man who couldn't help but speak first.

  "Do you know why I brought you all into the mountains?" the middle-aged man couldn't help but ask.

  "Hehe, if seniors want to say something, they will naturally say it. If seniors don't want to tell us, then we can't ask about it even if we try!" Leng Ruoxue replied calmly and composedly.

  "You guys are quite able to hold your breath. Actually, I brought you along mainly because I was afraid that you would be implicated by me," the middle-aged man explained. The Nie family would never let go of those who dared to provoke them in Wanshan City, and although they might not dare to do anything to him, they would vent their anger on others!

  "It seems like you're the one who's been dragged into this, huh?" Leng Ruoxue said with a cold smile. If this man hadn't interfered in other people's business, how would he have offended someone from the Nie family?

  "Haha, you're right." The middle-aged man rarely showed a smile and said.

  "By the way, what are you people going to do by entering the mountain? Although there are many treasures in Wanshan City, without real power, coming here is just seeking death!" The middle-aged man asked curiously. In his view, the strength of Cold Snow and others was really too low, even the servant at Nie's guest house earlier had more power than them, so he couldn't understand what they were going to do by entering the mountain.

  "We want to occupy a mountain stronghold and be bandits! Hehe, isn't this ambition great?" The old man replied with a smile, feeling pleased in his heart.

  "Hmm! It's great, but it's not easy to find the ownerless mountain in Wanshan City." The middle-aged man reminded with two drops of cold sweat on his forehead.

  "It doesn't matter, a blind cat will eventually catch a dead mouse. Who knows, maybe someone will deliver the mountain head to us voluntarily in a little while!" Leng Ruoxue said nonchalantly. Alas! As for Old Man's ambition, she would not acknowledge it because, in her opinion, that ambition was too low and didn't quite match her character!

  "Hand over all your valuables! Surrender everything of value on you!" Just as Leng Ruoxue's words fell, dozens of black-clad men appeared before them, and the leader of the robbers was loudly shouting with a rhythmic tone!

  A middle-aged man saw someone being robbed and couldn't help but feel speechless. Is that little girl a goddess? She actually said it so accurately!

  "Huh! There really is a dead mouse!" The old man exclaimed with surprise.

  "Dead mouse? Where is it? Where is it!" The leader of the robbers shouted in fright, he was most afraid of mice! Dead ones were no exception!

  "Boss, don't be afraid, they're just trying to scare you! Where did this dead mouse come from? The rats within a hundred meters around here have been eliminated by us!" A subordinate hurriedly comforted the somewhat panicked bandit leader.

  "Oh, that's good." The leader of the robbers felt relieved.

  "You dare to scare me? You're really too evil! Too despicable!" The leader of the robbers steadied himself, then spoke with great dissatisfaction to Han Xue and the others.

  "We didn't scare you, did we? The dead mouse in our mouths is you!" Old Zhao said with a smile. Wait, no! If these bandits are the dead mice, then wouldn't they be blind cats?! Waaa... Old Zhao was conflicted, he didn't want to be a blind cat!

  "What? Where do we look like dead rats? What kind of eyes are those!" The bandit leader was furious, how could such a refined and elegant person be called a dead rat?!

  "Are you bandits who want to rob us?" Leng Ruoxue didn't want to discuss the issue of dead bodies with him, and directly changed the subject.

  "What? Can't you see? Isn't it obvious?" The leader of the robbers said with some displeasure, this shiny robbery sign, a black suit, wasn't it just for show?

  "You just need to answer me with a yes or no." said Leng Ruoxue calmly.

  "Yes!" The leader of the robbers cooperated very obediently.

  "Which mountain do you occupy?" Leng Ruoxue raised her head, looking at the surrounding mountains and said. At present, within her line of sight, there were five mountain peaks, but she didn't know which one belonged to these bandits.

  "Of course it's the largest one, that place is our territory." The leader of the robbers said with some pride.

  "Oh, how many of you are there? Why don't you all come out and let me get to know you?" Leng Ruoxue said with a sly tone, thinking to herself: Let them all come out, that way I can take care of them all at once! Less trouble!"

  "We have several thousand people! All called to scare you to death." The leader of the robbers said with a hint of concern, but in fact, he was just a small head among the robbers. Who could call others there? Moreover, these few fat sheep were discovered by them first. If they really went back to call people, then this merit couldn't be monopolized by them alone, so he wasn't that stupid!

  "It doesn't matter, we're very bold, just want to get to know you." said Leng Ruo Xue indifferently.

  "I say no, it's no, hum! Our people aren't someone you can see just because you want to." The bandit leader said with some anger, regarding Ling Ruo Xue's constant requests to meet the other bandits, which made him very displeased.

  "Are you bandits also capable of feeling shame? When guests arrive, don't you know to come out and greet them?" Cold Snow guessed, her face showing understanding.

  "Of course not, it's... you're not worthy of seeing!" The leader of the robbers thought for a moment before blurting out this sentence.

  "Alas! It seems our status is too low." said Leng Ruoxue with feigned sadness.

  "But we're new here, can you tell us about the situation on this mountain?" Cold Snow asked, changing the subject and continuing to ask.

  "No problem, what do you want to know?" The leader of the robbers said with a gesture of being ready to answer.

  Digression

  Thank you dear jenhui and Crystal for the flowers.

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