Top-tier Unruly Master-Chapter 1528 - 1565: The Art of Capturing by Letting Go
Wang Hu and the others received the signal from Ding Fan and had to suppress their dissatisfaction with Wang Feng and his companion.
At this moment, the shepherd elder witnessed this scene and was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, filled with fear, continuously begging for mercy from Ding Fan and the others:
"I’m sorry, I’m sorry..."
Ding Fan helped up the shepherd elder, then took out a bag of gold coins from his pocket and handed it to the elder, apologetically saying:
"Old man, you did nothing wrong. It’s us who should apologize. Accept these gold coins and buy some more goats."
The elder held the bag of gold coins in his hands, momentarily stunned, not knowing what to say or do. After a moment of realization, the elder was filled with fear, insistently trying to return the gold coins to Ding Fan, his face anxious and his heart full of dread. Although the elder was an ordinary person, he knew the prowess of cultivators.
The shepherd elder understood that their caravan had so many people, and there was the presence of a cultivator. The elder had already seen the methods of the cultivator, clearly knowing that with a mere gesture, the other party could easily eliminate his existence. Yet, they gave him so many gold coins, how could he not be afraid?
In the end, Ding Fan firmly placed the bag of gold coins back into the elder’s hand, assisted him to the roadside, then mounted his horse, and everyone continued on their journey. The shepherd elder was left holding the gold coins, filled with shock, momentarily unsure whether today’s events were a blessing or a curse.
Although his goats had been killed or ran away, they were exchanged for so many gold coins. The elder watched Ding Fan and the others disappear into the distance and couldn’t help but cautiously look around before finally opening the bag of gold coins, astonished at how many there were inside.
These gold coins could not only compensate for the loss of his goats but buying a mansion in the best city nearby would be no problem at all. The elder knew that with these coins, the remaining days of his life could be spent comfortably without the hardship of herding sheep...
The elder’s weathered face showed a simple smile. Watching the direction Ding Fan and the others had left, he knelt and kowtowed a few times, filled with gratitude for Ding Fan. Now that he had these gold coins, although he wouldn’t buy a large mansion in the city, his grandson’s path of cultivation could finally begin!
The elder thought of his adorable and diligent grandson, who had always been troubled by the lack of medicine pills for cultivation, and laughed happily. With these gold coins, he could buy medicine pills for his grandson.
Once his grandson became a cultivator, he would have no regrets even after passing away...
...
"Hypocritical! The mindset of ordinary people is just too small!"
At this time, Wang Feng beside Ding Fan was still brooding over the scene where Ding Fan gave the elder gold coins, filled with disdain for Ding Fan’s actions. In Wang Feng’s eyes, only ants would pity other ants...
Ding Fan ignored this, feeling some displeasure towards Wang Feng but not much hatred, as the other party did not directly attack the shepherd elder. It was merely to clear the road and display their power by killing the goats. Besides, Ding Fan still needed him for the time being.
Wang Feng returned to the carriage of the black-clothed youth, saying nothing more to Ding Fan, as he had already concluded that they were not of the same ilk. He was destined to be a cultivator living hundreds of years, while Ding Fan was just an ordinary person living a few more decades.
Naturally, there was no common ground.
"You’re back, Senior Brother."
The black-clothed youth noticed the handsome man returning and greeted him.
"A bunch of mundanes, nothing in common," the handsome man complained.
"Hehe, Senior Brother, I’ve told you before, those Confucian classics you study are useless to ordinary people. They fear fists. Once you intimidate them with a punch, they’ll do whatever you say!"
The black-clothed youth smiled slyly and said.
"Sigh..." The handsome man sighed without saying anything else.
...
Galloping... Galloping...
Suddenly, a figure on a fast horse rushed towards Ding Fan, seemingly with something urgent.
"Brother Fan, the team ahead encountered bandits. Elder Gao covered the retreat of other team members but was captured. The forward team is still dealing with the bandits, who include two cultivators at the Emergence Stage and more than ten cultivators at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage or above. The situation at the front is serious!"
A disciple leaped off the fast horse, seemingly disregarding his own safety, and said to Ding Fan with urgency and gravity.
"What, there are bandits! And two at the Emergence Stage! They’re not easy to handle!"
"Yes, who would have thought we’d encounter bandits here after all!"
"What should we do, Brother Fan?"
...
The elders behind Ding Fan were shocked upon hearing the disciple’s report, feeling at a loss. Naturally, they had no worries about two cultivators at the Emergence Stage, as their own cultivation was not inferior. But they knew they couldn’t reveal their identities, as the sect’s secret migration was the priority.
However, everyone also noticed a detail mentioned by the disciple; Elder Gao was captured by the enemy. Everyone knows that Elder Gao is one of the four Nascent Soul Stage cultivators of the entire Dayang Sect. When facing several Emergence Stage cultivators, the worst outcome would be to be killed, but being captured alive was unimaginable.
This was certainly unbelievable. The only explanation was that Elder Gao was still hiding his identity and hadn’t revealed it.
Otherwise, Elder Gao wouldn’t have been captured alive, of course, there’s also another possibility, which is that among the bandits, there is someone much stronger than Elder Gao, otherwise how could they have captured him alive.
At this moment, Ding Fan was also quite anxious. The most worrying thing finally happened. Ding Fan wasn’t very clear about the situation ahead, and he immediately shouted to everyone:
"Pick up speed, quickly reinforce the caravan ahead!" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
"No!"
Suddenly, a loud voice of dissent came. The handsome man, who had come out of the carriage unnoticed, directly refused Ding Fan’s command with a solemn expression.
At this point, everyone turned their eyes towards the handsome man, Wang Feng. It was clear that everyone was already displeased with these two cultivators, but without an order from the sect leader, no one dared to say anything, feeling enraged because these two chose to cause trouble at such a critical moment.
He said with a heavy face:
"Have you not heard that the opponent has an Emergence Stage expert present? Do you still want to rush to your death? Our best choice now is to return on the same path, find another route, or wait until nightfall to sneak past. You should know that facing an Emergence Stage cultivator, even a thousand ordinary people wouldn’t stand a chance against one."
"Knowing they have an Emergence Stage cultivator and still rushing to die, is utterly stupid!"
The black-clothed young man said unceremoniously.
Wang Feng gave a look to the black-clothed youth, clearly indicating that this was not the time for internal conflict with such a great enemy present.
At this moment, Ding Fan calmly glanced at the two, his face showing a slightly cold and mocking expression:
"You two brothers previously promised to ensure our safe journey; I haven’t forgotten. However, this is all trivial. Although I don’t fully understand the so-called cultivator you’re referring to, my brothers ahead have encountered trouble. At this moment, I must lead my brothers to aid them in rescue, as for you, do as you please!"
"Let’s go!"
Finally, Ding Fan shouted, and immediately all the cultivators responded in unison:
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
...
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Subsequently, Ding Fan and the others urged their horses forward swiftly, no longer bothering with the two Nascent Soul cultivators.
At this moment, the two Nascent Soul cultivators, seeing Ding Fan’s actions, felt a flush of embarrassment on their faces. They had indeed promised to ensure safety if given the carriage, but hearing about the Emergence Stage cultivators, they hesitated, making them a laughingstock to the ordinary men, which was extremely intolerable.
"Let’s go too! Junior brother, even if we aren’t a match, we must fulfill our promise!" Wang Feng said with a mix of shame and anger.
"All right! Even if we aren’t a match, escaping with our cultivation should still be possible."
The black-clothed young man agreed straightforwardly, clearly affected by Ding Fan’s words. If they didn’t follow now, they wouldn’t be able to face others in the future! Additionally, even if they weren’t able to defeat the bandits, escaping was certainly achievable without any disadvantage to them.
Very soon, Wang Hu and others by Ding Fan’s side discovered the two Nascent Soul cultivators returning with the team, feeling amused while greatly admiring their elder brother’s tact. Brother Fan’s tactical feint was skillfully executed...
Ding Fan naturally sensed the two Nascent Soul cultivators catching up from behind, showing a calm smile, as everyone quickly reached the caravan ahead.
At this time, the cultivators within the caravan were all gathered together, a faint barrier surrounding everyone, clearly a Defensive Array. Outside the Defensive Array, many cultivators had gathered, constantly attacking it. Although the Defensive Array showed signs of giving way, Ding Fan could tell it could hold for a bit longer.
Ding Fan held a flying sword but refrained from using Divine Vigor. He used Divine Sense to secretly advise the group to protect themselves without using True Qi unless their lives were threatened, and even then, to use it discreetly to avoid exposure if possible.
Kill, kill, kill...
All at once, the disciples behind Ding Fan charged towards the bandits with great intensity. There weren’t as many bandits as previously mentioned by the disciples, and Ding Fan didn’t see Elder Gao, who had likely been taken back to the bandit hideout, although some of the bandits had already left.
Clang, clang, clang...
In an instant, Ding Fan and the others clashed violently with the Wild Wolf Gang’s cultivators. The grating sound of swords and blades echoing, shocked the bandit cultivators. They hadn’t expected the caravan people to have such strength, several Nascent Soul Stage cultivators being forcefully restrained by three or four of them, which was simply unbelievable!
