Chapter 205
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The night passed by uneventfully .
Yan Liqiang wasn't sure if Ye Tiancheng really had nothing else to offer him, if he had other plans, or if he just wanted to test Yan Liqiang's patience . The final night before they left Gan Province, Ye Tiancheng, who was locked up in the prison cell, stopped trying to strike up deals with Yan Liqiang . Likewise, Yan Liqiang didn't approach him about learning some Blazing Skywheel technique either, so the night passed by peacefully .
The next morning, after a simple breakfast at the run-down Shizhai County Office, Sun Bingchen and his party organized some luggage and set off on their journey with the county magistrate and the others that were seeing them off .
Before hitting the road, Sun Bingchen even instructed Liang Yijie to leave two hundred taels of silver with the county magistrate . On the other hand, Yan Liqiang found an archer in the county office to buy him a quiver of arrows since he had been deploying many arrows every day during the journey . He wasn't using his companions' arrows . Instead, he personally paid someone to buy him some every time they arrived at their next destination .
Yan Liqiang hung the newly-purchased arrows and his bow bag on the saddle on top of Snowstorm Cloud, then whistled . Goldie came running, then it hopped onto the carriage loaded with supplies by itself and obediently laid on its stomach . After escorting Ye Tiancheng to his prisoner carriage, everyone set out on the journey .
This small county town appeared to only be slightly bigger than the Lu Residence . The buildings in the county town which were assailed by sandstorms all year round were weathered and decaying even . There weren't many pedestrians on the street . The very few people they met from time to time were clad in old cotton-padded jackets and clothes, and they had unkempt appearances . They were curled up and shivering in the cold while they kept their heads lowered as they went on with earning their livelihoods . They exuded an air of apathy and indifference, seemingly not bothered by who Yan Liqiang and the rest were .
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The sound of iron hooves rang out beside him . As soon as Yan Liqiang turned his head to the side, he saw Liang Yijie trot up to them on his rhinodrake steed .
"Lord Lei has indeed kept his words . The past few days have been safe and peaceful . However, we are leaving Gan Province today . The road ahead of us will be surrounded by wilderness in most places . Basically, we won't be seeing any people or villages for a hundred or even several hundred li . If something happens to a troop of up to a hundred people, it is unlikely for anyone to even find out about it in just a few days . There might also be many people who are after Ye Tiancheng's life . Stay alert, Liqiang!"
"Understood . Thank you for the reminder, Brother Liang!"
"There are still a few more sets of armor for the guards on the carriage . Maybe you should put one on too, Liqiang . . . "
"Cough, cough . . !" Yan Liqiang coughed twice . He scanned around before he pulled his collars apart and showed a layer of brown underneath to Liang Yijie . "Don't worry, Brother Liang . I'm already wearing leather ox armor and a breastplate to cover the front and back…" he whispered .
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Liang Yijie was slightly taken aback . "Huh? When did you put them on?"
"The day before yesterday, there were weapon and armor shops beside the posthouse we stayed in Rong'an . I went to browse around and bought one for myself!" Yan Liqiang chuckled mischievously . "Ye Tiancheng is one hot potato . I thought that even if Lord Lei promised to not intervene, the Ye Clan also did a lot of evil over these years in Gan Province and must have offended a number of people . We might just run into someone who is after Ye Tiancheng's pathetic life on our way . Therefore, I decided to treat myself to something nice as part of preparing to avoid getting into trouble because of him…"
Yan Liqiang wasn't going to fool around knowing that he was traveling with a ticking time bomb . He had no idea how many people they would encounter along the way that were after Ye Tiancheng's life . If he didn't think for himself, then he wasn't being Yan Liqiang . A human's life could be unpredictably resilient or fragile . Some unfortunate ones might just lose their lives to a stray arrow . The leather armor Yan Liqiang bought for himself had three layers of silk in between the two layers of ox leather . Although it didn't look too conspicuous, it could shield against arrows quite effectively and it had a certain immunity toward sabers and swords . There were also two mirror armor plates to protect his vital parts . Wearing such leather armor was akin to wearing a bulletproof vest, and it made Yan Liqiang feel more at ease .
Seeing that Yan Liqiang had already made his preparations, Liang Yijie wasn't sure if he should cry or laugh . In the end, all he could do was cough dryly a few times . "Hm, good to know that you are well-prepared, Liqiang . Remember, Lord Sun said that you shouldn't push yourself too hard if anything really happens . Just ensure your own safety and stay safe!"
"Alright, I understand!"
… . . .
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The cavalry of six hundred men Lei Sitong deployed were already waiting outside when they exited the eastern gate of Shizhai County . At the appearance of Sun Bingchen and his party, the cavalry continued escorting them on their journey .
Yan Liqiang frowned after a mere a few minutes, because the feeling of being spied on appeared again . Yan Liqiang looked around, but there wasn't anyone else on the road . The sides of the road were overrun with weeds and sandhills . When he raised his head, he saw a few small black dots high up in the sky . Some of them were eagles while some of them were vultures .
In his previous life, people who lived in the cities would probably never see an eagle in their entire lifetimes . However, in this era, especially at border territories like Gan Province, one would be able to spot a few predator birds if one looked up into the sky, even in the cities . Eagles were even more common . They were no different than those sparrows which were common in rural areas back in his previous world .
Yan Liqiang wasn't sure if this those flying birds in the sky were to blame, but still he secretly raised his awareness . That was because those eagles and vultures were still flying around in the sky above them even when the feeling of being spied on wasn't present .
. . .
At the same time, an elderly man who was fully clad in black robes was sitting cross-legged on a desolated hill about two hundred li east of Shizhai County . His gray hair was threaded with terrifying white bone beads, the skin on his face was as dry as tree bark, and his forehead had a tattoo which looked like blazing flames . His eyes were shut while he sat motionlessly on the ground .
From a distance, the old man who was sitting cross-legged on the ground looked like a lonely black grave standing on the hill .
After a brief moment, the old man's eyelids quivered before he slowly opened his deadly grayish brown eyes . There was a strange glow in them before it slowly faded away .
The old man who was sitting on the ground stood up slowly, then turned his head around to look at the two Shatu people standing behind him . "Those people have left Shizhai County . We can start preparing our warriors . Apart from Ye Tiancheng, don't let Sun Bingchen get away too . He will pay for the Shatu blood he spilled today!" he said with a hoarse voice .
The two Shatu people exchanged looks with each other before they gave him a serious nod .
If Yan Liqiang were here, he would have definitely recognized one of the two Shatu people . He was the leader of the Shatu people in Pingxi City — Aligujin, whom Yan Liqiang had stolen from with King Cobra's identity .
Aligujin was dressed in black robes, and he was dripping with cold malice…
… . . .
About ten minutes later, a cavalry of more than a thousand men dressed in black came dashing out from the mountain valley behind the hill like a flock of bats flying out from a mountain cave . . .