Chapter 369: A Coincidence or Targeted?

Chapter 369: Chapter 369: A Coincidence or Targeted?

The two thousand soldiers of the Cyan Wolf Army led by the Third Young Master were all elites. Even the most ordinary soldiers were at least at the Heartbeat Realm, and the entire escort party even included several experts at the Void Realm.

No one wanted a repeat of what had happened two months ago.

The escort party was enormous, and they had to arrange for food and lodging on the road, so their pace was not fast.

Fortunately, the journey was smooth, and they encountered no trouble.

「More than twenty days later」

The party was still twenty thousand li from the Vast Sea when they passed through the Jishi District. It was dusk, so they decided to make camp there for the night.

The moment the party halted, their attention was drawn to the sounds of a fight not far away.

Although Chu Fan hadn’t extended his Spiritual Power, the sky had not yet grown dark. The fight was only two or three li away, so they could all see it clearly.

A merchant caravan had run into a band of robbers.

A dozen or so cargo carts were circled up defensively. Around the perimeter, the caravan’s Guards were clashing with the robbers.

In the center of the encircled cargo, two women in long dresses knelt beside a corpse, wailing in grief.

The robbers vastly outnumbered them, and the caravan’s Guards were completely overwhelmed. One after another, they were cut down.

"My ladies, we’ll hold them off! You have to run!" a Guard at the Divine Separation Realm shouted to the two women in the center of the circle. He was speaking the language of the Central Domain.

"Run? Where could they possibly run? I’m taking these goods, and I’m taking these two women, too!" the leader of the robbers cackled, waving the large blade in his hand.

He, however, was speaking the Dahar Khan Language.

"Sister, we have to run! If we fall into their hands, we’ll..." the younger of the two women sobbed to the elder.

"But... but Father..." the older woman managed to say before breaking down in tears again.

"We can only blame ourselves for our weak Cultivation. But where there’s life, there’s hope. Sister, as long as we escape today, we will repay this debt of hatred a hundred times over!" The younger woman glanced at the robbers, a boundless killing intent flashing in her eyes.

The two women got to their feet, no longer looking at the corpse on the ground, and hurriedly fled south.

"Hahaha! Run! This is the Grassland; you have nowhere to hide! Once I’m done killing all these men, I’ll be sure to drag you two back!" the burly leader roared. As he spoke, he lopped off the head of a Guard in front of him with a single stroke of his blade.

The outcome of the battle was never in doubt. The robbers’ Cultivation levels were all at the Soul Emergence and Divine Separation Realms, and they outnumbered the caravan’s Guards by more than two to one.

More than half of the caravan’s Guards had already been slaughtered. Now, only seven or eight were left, desperately holding on in an attempt to buy the two young ladies a chance to escape.

"Third Young Master, should we intervene?" From the escort party, where everyone could see the battle, a Thousand Households Chief of the Cyan Wolf Army posed the question to the Third Young Master.

The Third Young Master mulled it over for a moment before saying, "Take five hundred men and charge. Wipe out that band of robbers. If they flee, do not give chase. Our priority on this journey is to remain steady and avoid complications. Just focus on saving the two women."

Here, five hundred men mounted their Wind Chasing Beasts and galloped toward the fight. The commotion, of course, alerted those on the other side.

Seeing that it was the Cyan Wolf Army, the robbers quickly finished off the remaining Guards. They ignored the cargo and fled in a panic, heading in the same direction the two women had run.

Clearly, even if they couldn’t get the cargo, they were still determined to capture the two women.

The two women hadn’t expected this turn of events. Seeing the robbers closing in on them with no hope of escape, they both drew their Swords and held the blades to their own throats.

"Stay back..." the older woman said, her gaze fixed resolutely on the approaching robbers.

"Little fillies, what’s the point of this? Just come with me, and you’ll never have to suffer through these grueling thousand-li trade journeys again. I guarantee you’ll live a life of luxury."

The robber chief sat atop his horse, looking down on the two women.

"Boss, those soldiers are charging us!"

"Fuck! Whose damn army is this, ruining my fun?" The robber chief glanced at the regular troops mounted on Wind Chasing Beasts and ordered a retreat.

The robbers paid the two women no more mind and fled like the wind.

The Thousand Households Chief caught up and saw the two women with Swords held to their necks. He felt a pang of sympathy, but when he saw their faces, he was stunned, as if gazing upon celestial beings.

Little Princess Li Haiqin was the most beautiful Sandalwood Flower on the Grassland, but she was, after all, still quite young.

These two women before him, however, tear-streaked and beautiful as pear blossoms in the rain, were like ripe fruit—utterly desirable.

"Ladies, I am a Thousand Households Chief of the Lindi Clan’s Cyan Wolf Army. We have come to your aid on the orders of the Third Young Master." The Thousand Households Chief said from atop his Wind Chasing Beast, cupping his fist to the two women.

Hearing the Thousand Households Chief’s words, the two women collapsed to the ground, hugging each other and sobbing uncontrollably.

After they had cried their fill and composed themselves, the Thousand Households Chief finally asked, "May I ask where you two ladies are headed?"

The two women stood, and the elder sister gave the Thousand Households Chief a slight curtsy. "My sister and I thank you for saving our lives, General. We were traveling with our father on business, intending to deliver this cargo to the Ashina Clan, but..."

At this, she choked up again.

"Why don’t you come with me to meet our Third Young Master? I will help you ask him to dispatch a squad from the Cyan Wolf Army to escort you to Huerhai."

"There is no need. Our father is gone. To repay you for saving our lives, my sister and I would like to give you this cargo. We only hope that you might allow us to travel with you for a few days. We will leave once we encounter another caravan from the Central Domain."

"This is not a matter I can decide. I must report to the Third Young Master. Please, come with me to see him. You have nothing to fear. Our Third Young Master is the son of the Lindi Clan Leader and is a kind man."

"Then we must trouble you, General."

Afterward, the Thousand Households Chief dispatched his soldiers to collect the bodies from the caravan and bury them on the spot.

After all, they were an escort party for a wedding. It was out of the question to bring the bodies back to their camp, let alone carry them on their journey.

As for the cargo, he simply dispatched a hundred men to stand guard by the carts, not bringing them into the Jishi District where the main party was camped.

The carts were stained with blood, after all, which was considered inauspicious.

No matter how valuable the cargo was, it was not as important as the Little Princess’s lifelong happiness.

The Thousand Households Chief brought the two women before the Third Young Master.

When the Third Young Master saw the sisters’ faces, he too was stunned, as if gazing upon celestial beings.

’To think such beautiful women exist in this world, and two of them at that! No wonder those robbers made such a fuss.’

"My sister and I thank you for saving our lives, Third Young Master," the two sisters said, bowing deeply to him.

The Third Young Master waved his hand and, also speaking the language of the Central Domain, said, "We of the Dahar Khan Kingdom have always respected the merchants who come to trade in our Northern Domain. Since you were attacked by robbers on our lands, we could not simply stand by and do nothing. It was a small matter, please don’t trouble yourselves over it."

"A moment ago, I heard from Woreda that you wish to travel with our party and leave only when you encounter other merchants from the Central Domain?"

"Third Young Master, my sister and I have lost our father and our Guards. As two defenseless women, I fear we will not be able to cross the Grassland on our own. We beg you to help us, Third Young Master. Please, consider the cargo our repayment for saving our lives."