Martial Arrogance Dragon Soul-Chapter 260 - 248 Conspiracy

After the encounter with the bandits of Heifeng Stockade at Wanshang Pass, the atmosphere of the caravan had changed.

The escorts no longer held back, becoming cruder, and would frequently hurl insults at Old Yang and the other merchants.

The road brought two more encounters with robbers.

One time, they gave two thousand silver taels; another, three thousand.

If Qin Qing were truly a merchant, this trip would undoubtedly result in a total loss.

Zhou Wanfu initially thought that pleasing Zheng Baohe and the few escorts would prevent him from suffering too much loss, but in the end, he had to offer a hefty sum of silver taels just the same.

Furthermore, the escorts could not even be bothered to waste any more words.

Now, the entire caravan was in a bad mood, with nearly everyone sharing the same thought: to safely return to Wu City would be good enough, as long as the losses weren’t too severe.

As for turning a profit?

That was simply out of the question.

Night fell quickly.

The plains of Northern Pass were windy at night.

It was no longer suitable for traveling through the night.

However, this evening, the weather was fair.

It lacked the expected violent winds sweeping across the plains.

In the night sky, the stars began to emerge.

Gradually, more and more stars appeared until the sky was dense with twinkling celestial bodies. Walking across the plains under the starlit sky provided a rather pleasant feeling.

Qin Qing sat on horseback with his eyes closed, appearing to be resting.

But in reality, he was cultivating with his eyes shut. Bathing in the starlight, he could sense the Heavenly Soul Power more clearly, thus doubling the efficacy of his cultivation.

Not long after, the caravan passed by a lake.

It was rare to find such a body of water on the plains.

Under the cover of night, the lake was blue and clear, reflecting the stars above, a sight too beautiful for words.

"Alright, let’s set up camp ahead!"

"No need to travel tonight! One more day’s journey tomorrow should get us close to Wu City," Zheng Baohe directed the caravan as they set up camp by the lake on an open area.

Soon, tents were pitched one after another.

Qin Qing, Old Yang, and Zhang Ding sat together.

The two younger brothers who had joined later were leaning not far from the trio.

These two still hadn’t come over, but the distance between them and Qin Qing’s group had decreased significantly.

Throughout the journey, these two young brothers had also realized that the most reliable people in the caravan were these three.

"This trip is a bust, isn’t it?"

Old Yang shook his head helplessly, took out several pieces of dried beef from his belongings, tossed one each to Qin Qing and Zhang Ding, and tried to call the two young brothers over.

However, the two young brothers didn’t take Old Yang’s dried beef and continued to sit a short distance away.

Qin Qing and the others chewed on the dried beef and drank their liquor.

Under the night sky, drinking liquor, chewing on dried beef, and feeling the wind of the plains was quite an enjoyable experience.

The night deepened.

Zhang Ding was already leaning against the tent, his breathing patterns indicating that he was snoring.

Old Yang, already drunk, laughed and said, "Zhang Ding can’t hold his liquor, he drank so little and already passed out. Speaking of which, Brother Feng, you’re impressive..."

Qin Qing smiled.

As a martial artist, such an amount of liquor meant nothing to him.

No matter how much he drank, he could not possibly become drunk.

"Old Yang, we should be able to reach Wu City tomorrow. Go take a rest. Get a good night’s sleep. We’re heading home tomorrow!" Qin Qing said with a smile.

"All right. I should get some sleep too. My old bones can’t take much more of this. Not like you young folks!"

Old Yang got up, shakily picking his tobacco pipe up from the ground, and made his way back to his tent to fall asleep almost immediately.

Qin Qing lay on the grass, gazing at the stars above.

The pristine night sky over the grasslands resembled a deep blue ocean stretching above, with each star within reach like diamonds scattered across a blue canvas.

The night was deep, the night was still.

The sound of the wind occasionally brushed through the grasslands.

It was cold, but to Qin Qing, the chill was nothing.

Qin Qing had no intention of returning to his tent.

Sitting outside, to him, was no different from being in a tent, in fact, it was more comfortable.

Qin Qing glanced again at the tent not far from him, belonging to the pair of young brothers.

The two brothers seemed to be still awake, rustling around, busying themselves with something.

On the other side, Zheng Baohe and his companions were also awake.

They had drunk quite a bit, and it seemed like they were reaching the peak of their revelry.

Qin Qing frowned slightly; he heard the content of Zheng Baohe’s conversation.

"Brothers, we’ve made a fortune on this escort task!" laughed Zheng Baohe, followed by the sound of him drinking.

"If we could get two more tasks like this one every year, we’d be rich," added Lu Ping.

"Opportunities like this are rare. The merchants from Zhenyuan Escort Agency are dwindling these days. Just look at this convoy; those two fat sheep, Feng Yu and Zhou Wanfu, have brought so much merchandise. Who else to fleece if not them?"

"Brother Zheng," Lu Ping continued, "we need to talk properly with Heifeng Stockade upon our return. They should give us at least half. Why should we let them take sixty percent just because they call a few shots?"

Hearing this, Qin Qing was certain that the bandits and robbers they had encountered on the road had colluded with these escort fighters from Zhenyuan Escort Agency.

It was all to swindle the merchants traveling through the Border Pass out of their money.

"As expected, this Zheng Baohe hasn’t changed his ways!"

Qin Qing sneered inwardly, "But... these people think they can butcher me like a fat sheep? Do they really believe I’m a lamb to the slaughter?"

They were now far from Tianjue.

Qin Qing supposed that the Lu Clan would likely not be able to pursue them to this location.

At that moment, he heard Lu Ping again, "Brother Zheng, tomorrow’s the last day. Should we hit them with something fierce one more time?"

Lu Ping’s suggestion immediately sparked agreement from the other escorts.

Zheng Baohe also let out a sly laugh, "Of course, the final move tomorrow must leave them all bleeding out!"

Qin Qing’s eyes flashed with a cold gleam as he listened.

"Tomorrow... then I shall settle the old scores of Qin Residence, and the slap my mother once received, all at once!"

With these thoughts in mind, Qin Qing saw the tent of the two young brothers suddenly open.

He then noticed the two boys crawling out from it.

Qin Qing did not make a sound. He had always felt that these two brothers were not as they claimed, simply traveling to Northern Pass to find their parents.

There must be some secret they were hiding.

Moreover, when he first saw them, Qin Qing felt a strange sense of familiarity.

He was certain he did not know them, having never met them before.

So why the feeling of familiarity?

By now, the two had silently left their tent.

Qin Qing subdued his presence and stealthily followed behind them...