Otherworldly Desert Dust-Chapter 336 - 291 Recruiting Soldiers and Buying Horses

Ya City Jade Cave, freezing rain fell like bone-chiseling frost and snow.

Outside the Jade Cave, in a stone house that had been set up, Little Prison Guard Qing Lei held a soft whip in his hands. Upon seeing a sixty-year-old man fall onto the muddy ground with a bamboo basket on his back, he swiftly stepped forward, whipping before his colleagues could intervene.

"You’re trying to be lazy again, aren’t you? Shattering these jade stones, your old life can’t compensate for them!" Qing Lei shouted loudly, as if he wanted others to overhear him.

He swung the whip down, which landed on the old mountain man’s body. The old man instinctively wanted to wail in pain but realized the whip didn’t actually hurt, which made him pause in confusion.

"Yell in pain, beg for mercy…" Qing Lei said anxiously.

"Oh, it hurts!!" The old man, realizing the young man was helping him, hurriedly cooperated and cried out in pain.

The young and the old, they put on a little act, and the other Martial Arts Disciples supervising the Jade Cave didn’t pay much attention.

The old mountain man whispered his thanks repeatedly, then carried the jade-laden bamboo basket and walked toward the horse rack.

Qing Lei tucked away the whip, watching the old man leave and finally he sighed in relief.

That was all he could help with.

As he was about to return inside the stone house, a towering dark figure blocked Qing Lei in the rain. Initially, Qing Lei thought he had bumped into a wall, but upon looking up, he realized the dark wall had a head!

This head’s owner looked emotionless. His cheekbones were sharp as blade edges, and his eagle-like eyes stared indifferently at him, causing Qing Lei to involuntarily step back.

"Lord Huang… I’ve already disciplined those lazy workers," Qing Lei squeezed out a smile.

"Your use of the whip is inadequate, let me show you!" The burly man pulled out a whip and viciously lashed it toward the little prison guard.

The whip exploded like a firecracker in the air, the sound echoing through the entire valley.

And such a whip fell upon Qing Lei, knocking him to the ground as his skin split open, spilling blood.

"Pop!"

Another lash struck Qing Lei’s back heavily, the whip marks reaching from his neck to his waist, as sharp as a knife cut!

"Drag him away when his wounds heal, then throw him into the Jade Cave to dig stones!" the burly man commanded.

...

The misty rain was pervasive, even the clothes made of reeds wrapped around them couldn’t stave off the chill.

Three horses, two women and one man, trod into Ya City through the fog.

However, Ya City seemed incredibly desolate. There was not a single person visible on the streets, including the usually bustling Jade Stone Street and Jade Ware Street devoid of any merchants.

Wu Hen dismounted from his horse, finally spotting an old man near the stables.

"Elder, where have all the people in the city gone?" Wu Hen inquired.

"Young Master Lu?" The old man recognized Wu Hen immediately, his face filled with surprise as he said, "Why didn’t you flee beyond the territories instead of coming back here?"

"I didn’t flee. I was just enhancing myself. Now that I have returned, I naturally want to properly manage this city I took over from my father," Wu Hen replied.

"Manage indeed. Better take care of your own life first," the old man said.

"Enough with your incessant chatter, where are the people in the city? Why are there only you old men and women left?" Wu Hen said.

"They’ve been taken to mine stones, of course. Our Ya City’s most valuable asset is jade. I heard that these jades, through some top craftsmen, could be made to rival Demon Spirit Jade pieces. Now the people from Jiang Mansion are acting insanely, throwing all our city’s men, women, and elderly into the Jade Cave to collect Stone Jade for them... But in those caves, there are plenty of Demon Spirits too. My children are not Martial Artists, once they venture deep inside, they are easily consumed," the old man spoke fluidly.

"Isn’t there supposed to be some protection for a few days?" Ruan Muhuan frowned.

"They don’t abide by the rules," the old man stated.

"Elder, do you know roughly how many people from the other side have come and their respective strengths?" Wu Hen casually inquired.

"There are ten martial masters and about seventy to eighty Martial Arts Disciples. They are just stationed here for now, more people from Jiang Mansion will come later, possibly a whole household army," the old man replied.

"You know all this?" Wu Hen was a bit surprised.

"My son-in-law is a clever man, knows how to flatter, and now he works there supervising them. He’s thinking of ways to help everyone, but his abilities are limited. Oh, by the way, his name is Qing Lei, the one who guarded your cell..." the old man said.

"So it’s him. You found a good son-in-law, he’s very good, indeed prime material," Wu Hen had a deep impression of the little prison guard; without his conscientious care, his host body might have died in prison long ago—it was he who helped him out of trouble.

As they were conversing, suddenly a horse arrived outside the city gate with a person on it, and another in front being carried.

"Old man, your Qing Lei is dying. Come take him back for a few days of care. If he’s to survive, hurry and send him to work as a slave in the Jade Cave!" The horse rider said haughtily.

Seemingly disgusted, the rider, without waiting for the old man to come and inspect, pushed the person on the horse down to the ground.

Wu Hen, quick to react, immediately stepped forward to catch Qing Lei as he was about to fall off the horse.

"Are you from Jiang Mansion?" Wu Hen held onto Qing Lei, then asked.

"And who are you? This city is now under Jiang Mansion’s control. Irrelevant people swiftly leave, or the whip will serve you!" The rider immediately raised his whip, aiming to strike Wu Hen.

However, as he lifted the whip, a blurry figure flashed in front of him, and the next moment, a hole appeared in his chest!

The rider couldn’t react in time, and the person who had drawn the sword stood beside Wu Hen—it was a woman dressed in a black raincoat...

"Bang!"

The horse rider fell to the ground, showing no signs of life.

The old man by his side was shocked, panicked, and unsure whether to stay or run. He stuttered, "What are you doing? He is a government officer from the Jiang Mansion! If you kill him, how will you explain to Jiang... Jiang Mansion?"

"We never intended to explain to them. I have returned to kill them all," Wu Hen said.

"Is... is it Young Master Lu?" In a daze, Qing Lei opened his eyes.

"It’s me, I said I would come back," Wu Hen said, gesturing to another horse rider, a female, to bring some ointment. "Qiu Cui, please tend to his wounds and feed him a bottle of Blood Replenishing Pill."

"Alright," the female college student nodded.

The female college student had adapted to her role as a female thief in Jianghu, mastering quite a few skills over the month.

Her learning capability was impressive; no wonder she was a top student who had been admitted to a prestigious college. Even as a female thief in the True Martial Continent, she quickly got the hang of it after a bit of mental struggle.

Being able to steal Dragon Blood Pills from the Quan Manor Master’s treasure vault proved the female thief’s remarkable skills. Wu Hen also planned to nurture her into a legendary Thief King!

They used high-quality Spiritual Medicines, which could heal even severe injuries to flesh and bones quickly. Feeding him a bottle of Blood Replenishing Pill, the half-dead Little Prison Guard Qing Lei visibly regained his vigor and vitality.

"Where are the people from the Jiang Mansion located at the Jade Cave?" Wu Hen asked.

"You should be careful. There’s a person named Huang Zhang who might have the strength of the Wu Family," the Little Prison Guard Qing Lei said.

"Don’t worry, Sister Ruan is now a member of the Wu Family too!" Qiu Cui said.

"Ah??" The Little Prison Guard was somewhat surprised, his gaze falling on the sober and cold Ruan Muhuan.

Qing Lei’s incredulous gaze made Ruan Muhuan somewhat uncomfortable.

Indeed, even Ruan Muhuan herself found it unbelievable.

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After taking the Dragon Blood Pills, her Cultivation had skyrocketed, jumping from the Ninth Level Qi Stream to the Second Level Qi River, and it was growing significantly every day!

The pace of her growth felt surreal to her; a casual jest she made while drunk had actually come true!

Three months ago, she was a Martial Arts Disciple stuck at the ninth level. Now, she had leaped two major realms, and there were few in this territory who were stronger than her.

She now had the power to control a city and even oppose Jiang Mansion. Even Mrs. Zeng, upon hearing of her breakthrough to the Martial Artist realm, didn’t dare rush her to return to Zeng Mansion. Instead, she pleasingly ordered her subordinates to ask Ruan to focus on her training so she could become a formidable ally in the future.

To be a Martial Master was just a plaything of power within the household.

But to become a Martial Artist truly put her on the same level as them.

Thus, in recent days, Ruan Muhuan increasingly felt that Mrs. Zeng could become her stepping stone!

"Let’s go, let’s attack directly. They’re all there!" Wu Hen said.

"Mhm," Ruan Muhuan nodded.

"Then I’ll head to the official road to gather intelligence on Jiang Mansion. If they send experts and a large army, I’ll immediately inform you," Qiu Cui said.

"You’re really getting the hang of this," Wu Hen nodded, then continued, "There’s one more thing you need to do – recruit some capable and otherworldly figures to work for me in a paid relationship. Ya City lacks guards of the Martial Artist level, and it will eventually be taken over."

"Understood!" Qiu Cui nodded, quickly grasping Wu Hen’s intentions.

Qiu Cui galloped away.

After leaving the city gates, she found a safe spot in a forest and chose to exit the world.

The info exchangeability in the True Martial Continent was poor; she couldn’t really go to nearby cities to gather news.

Besides, gathering news wasn’t the priority; the priority was recruitment!

She took off the Virtual Helmet, and a freckled woman awoke in her dorm room.

She immediately logged into the global network for the True Martial World established by netizens, and then she posted an announcement.

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"Border wilderness, Jiuluo Territory, between Zeng Mansion and Jiang Mansion in Ya City, hiring martial masters and above; Martial Artist level negotiable!"

She detailed the geographical location, specified the job description, and clearly stated the compensation.

The True Martial Continent was vast, and even with global participation, those who would wake up in the vicinity of Ya City were limited... and it was impractical for strong figures from other territories to come to the rescue due to the long distances.

Thus, the best strategy was to hire local counterparts, whose loyalty need not be worried about!

Thus, Ya City now had its own armed forces!

"Cheng Xiaoshan, what have you been busy with lately? Why aren’t you attending classes?" another girl in the dorm asked.

"Oh, I met a bigwig who is leading me in a campaign in the otherworldly realm; we’re about to have a prosperous city of our own! I’m helping him recruit and gather experts," the speckled woman said.

"What’s your Cultivation now?"

"Ninth Level Martial Master; just one step away from becoming a Martial Artist!" Cheng Xiaoshan said.

"That’s pretty common, though. I know a brother who is one of our human elites, himself a Heavenly Light, and a Martial Saint in the True Martial World," her dorm mate said.

"Oh, the bigwig I know is different; he’s really capable."

"Have you met him offline?" The dorm mate clearly didn’t share Cheng Xiaoshan’s excitement.

"Not yet, he said his identity is unique, and he can’t meet offline…"