Chapter 67: An Unexpected Harvest

“Nine-section ginseng?”
The burly man, along with the other three, all had their eyes light up.
“Third Brother, are you sure?”
A woman spoke up. Though she was in her early thirties, she still possessed a compelling allure, her figure curvaceous and full of charm. She was quite attractive.
“My nose—do you all still not trust it? The ginseng’s fragrance is strong. I fear that fellow may be carrying more than one stalk of nine-section ginseng.”
The mustached man replied with certainty. His name was Song Cai, and his sense of smell was keener than a hound’s.
“Big Brother, are we going for it or not?”
The alluring woman asked the burly man.
The burly man frowned in thought. “The purpose of buying nine-section ginseng is usually to prepare altered nine-section heart meat. Those who can do such a thing are mostly powerful clans. We just finished a job—it’s best not to cause unnecessary trouble.”
“Big Brother, precisely because it involves the powerful clans, the payoff is enormous. This is an opportunity we can’t miss. If we succeed, it won’t be long before we have enough silver to buy some altered nine-section heart meat. Then we can get a share for you, and you’ll make the leap to Bone Force, becoming a Martial Marquis. Then, we—the Five Heroes of Mount Heng—can finally establish ourselves in this chaotic world.”
Song Cai tried to persuade him.
“Big Brother, I think Third Brother is right. Once you break through to Martial Marquis, you could join a grandmaster-level clan as a commander, set up your own household, and even dominate a region.”
The alluring woman added her support.
The other two of the Five Heroes of Mount Heng nodded in agreement.
“If that’s the case, then fine. We’ll do it. But to be cautious, Fifth Brother, you quietly follow and find out whether he has any expert backing him up. If he’s alone, we’ll make our move.”
The burly man made his decision.
“Don’t worry, Big Brother. I’ll go ahead.”
A young man, lean as a monkey, quietly trailed behind Lu Yan.
The other four followed at a distance.
Lu Yan left Baicao City, walked for a while, and entered a mountain road.
“That fellow has been following me the whole way—he’s targeting me.”
Lu Yan frowned slightly.
He walked on, and the man continued his tail but made no move.
“Seems he’s waiting for his accomplices. When did they start following me? Was it back at Baicaoxuan?”
Lu Yan guessed.
But he didn’t feel threatened. Anyone eyeing two stalks of nine-section ginseng was unlikely to be a Martial Marquis.
If they were, they’d have killed him outright, not bothered with stalking him—this was clearly to probe his strength.
Suddenly—
Lu Yan leapt into the woods beside the road.
“Damn, he’s running!”
The lean monkey-faced man’s expression changed. He quickly blew a whistle, and the sound summoned the others.
“Big Brother, he ran—he must’ve spotted me.”
The lean man reported.
“If he ran after spotting you, he’s afraid. That means he’s got no backup. Which way did he go? After him!”
Song Cai was anxious.
“He went into the woods on the side.”
The lean man replied.
Chase!
The five of them pursued Lu Yan’s escape route. As they reached the spot where Lu Yan had disappeared, a flash of blade light came slashing toward them.
The lean man, being the fastest, took the brunt of it.
With a sickening sound, his head flew high and rolled to the roadside, eyes wide in disbelief even in death.
“Careful!”
There was no time for grief. The burly man roared in anger, swinging his broadsword forward.
Clang!
The two blades collided. The burly man felt as though struck by lightning, stumbling back, his arm numb and nearly dropping his blade.
“Run! We’re no match for him!”
The burly man shouted and began to retreat.
He had originated from a Martial Marquis-level clan in the Southern Yi Prefecture, but his clan had long since been exterminated by rivals, and he’d barely escaped with his life, wandering ever since.
Thus, he had trained in first-class martial arts and achieved the fivefold surge of vital energy.
This was why, guessing Lu Yan might be from a powerful clan, he’d still dared to make a move.
But after this brief clash, feeling the terrifying force behind Lu Yan’s blade, he knew that even together, they were no match for him.
If he hadn’t tried to retreat, perhaps he could have held out for a few more moves. But with his momentum broken, the outcome was sealed.
The blade flashed like a bolt of lightning, and another head soared through the air.
“Big Brother!”
The alluring woman screamed in fury and desperation, throwing herself at Lu Yan. Wielding paired sabers, she created a dense web of steel as she attacked, shouting, “I’ll avenge Big Brother!”
“Pointless showmanship.”
Lu Yan parried a short spear with his right hand, while his left fist punched forward.
His golden fist crashed into the web of blades.
The paired sabers bent and twisted as if made of scrap metal. Lu Yan’s fist broke through and struck the woman’s chest.
He felt as if he’d punched a giant balloon—soft and springy at first, then suddenly bursting.
The woman was hurled backward, hit the ground, and moved no more.
The last two turned and fled.
Lu Yan hurled his forged steel blade with all his might. It flew like lightning, piercing one man through from back to chest, pinning him to the ground, lifeless.
Lu Yan then kicked off after the last one.
“I’ll fight you to the death!”
The man turned, bellowing.
Bang!
A fist struck, caving in his chest and sending him flying ten meters.
“He who kills must be prepared to be killed. If you choose the path of a highwayman, you must be ready to die by another’s hand.”
Lu Yan murmured, then quickly searched the bodies.
The results surprised him.
He found a thick stack of silver notes—about fifteen thousand taels by rough count.
There was also a bundle containing a stalk of nine-section ginseng.
“How many people did these guys rob to get so much wealth?”
Lu Yan was secretly amazed.
Warriors rarely amassed such fortunes, since cultivating martial arts was so expensive. Even if they had money, it usually went into training.
Only the direct heirs of major clans would have such means.
If he hadn’t received thirty thousand taels as a reward in Qingyang City, he’d have been penniless by now.
“I didn’t expect that my trip to Baicao City would make me richer instead of poorer.”
Lu Yan stowed away the silver notes and left without a backward glance.
He felt no guilt at all about killing the Five Heroes of Mount Heng—their hands were stained with far more blood than his.
Two days later, Lu Yan returned to the region around Changfeng City and went into the Blood Vein to deliver the supplementary herbs to Shen Yinuo.
Shen Yinuo was delighted and spent the next ten days preparing ‘Yinuo Lizard Meat’ for Lu Yan, before beginning her research into altered nine-section heart meat.
Lu Yan continued to build up his vital energy and train his martial arts.
He took out the shovel technique Shen Yinuo had given him and began to study it.
This technique had a rather domineering name: the Overlord’s Shovel.
Lu Yan seriously doubted that was its original name—most likely Shen Yinuo had come up with it herself.
To call a shovel technique the ‘Overlord’ was just...
Lu Yan was at a loss for words.
Another month passed in a flash.
Lu Yan’s vital energy grew thicker by the day, steadily approaching the state of overflowing qi and blood.
...
Linglan Chamber of Commerce, in a secret underground parlor.
The chief steward of the Linglan Chamber stood respectfully before a middle-aged man.
The man was unremarkable, but stood over two meters tall, with bright eyes and a face covered in bristling whiskers, making him look like a lion.
He was from the Wei clan, named Wei Teng—a Martial Marquis-level powerhouse.
“There’s actually a hidden first-level blood vein in that ruin—I truly didn’t expect it.”
Wei Teng murmured.
“The Liu and Wu clans thought that sealing off the site with heavy guards could hide it from the world. Little did they know, we had men planted in both clans long ago. The elders’ methods are truly brilliant—I am in awe.”
The chief steward replied respectfully.
“It was all arranged by the clan elders.”
Wei Teng said.
The chief steward’s face grew solemn. He bowed in the direction of the Wei clan. “The elders’ foresight commands my deepest respect.”
In a Martial Marquis-level clan, the clan elders are themselves Martial Marquis-level experts.
But in a grandmaster-level clan such as the Wei, only those who have cultivated Inner Strength may be called elders.
A Martial Marquis ranks only as a senior.