Universe Infinite Canteen

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Before they arrived at Crouching Tiger Hill, they had already removed all items on their person that might reveal their identities.

Gu Qingyi wrapped them in oiled paper, planning to bury them in the ground. However, before she began, she saw the plastic bag in Ma Lu's hand and pointed, "You're not getting rid of this?"

"No, no, I still need this."

Ma Lu said. He hadn't forgotten the main task at hand; he still hadn't collected the ingredients for the trip.

The reason he suggested Crouching Tiger Hill, aside from investigating the death of Liu Huozui, was to acquire more goods from the robbers there.

He had no choice; the secret medicine was prohibitively expensive. Relying solely on purchasing from the Hundred Herbs Sect's pharmacy using Silver Coin would put too much financial strain, and both the Beggars' Sect and the Heavenly Dragon Sect had already been exploited once by him. It wasn't feasible to skim off them a second time so soon.

So, Ma Lu had no choice but to set his sights on the robbers of Crouching Tiger Hill. After all, the robbers also needed to cultivate their martial arts, so the stronghold was sure to have secret medicine stored away.

Moreover, robbing robbers couldn't be considered robbery; this was executing justice on Heaven's behalf.

After Gu Qingyi finished burying the items, she and Ma Lu continued walking up towards Crouching Tiger Hill.

Perhaps knowing the area was rife with banditry, they encountered very few people along the way.

However, as they neared the foothill of Crouching Tiger Hill, they came upon an inn.

To call it an inn was a bit of a stretch, as it was just a crude shack, within which there were a total of six people.

An elderly man and his grandson running the place and four patrons drinking.

Three of the customers had fierce and sinister faces and looked like no good, robust men sitting together at a table. Their weapons were carelessly thrown at their feet as they guzzled rice wine.

Separately, a man dressed like a businessman sat at another table, gnawing on a roast meat bun.

Gu Qingyi was not surprised by the three rough-looking men, but the clean-cut, slightly chubby businessman caught her attention, compelling her to take a few more glances. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

When the businessman noticed Gu Qingyi looking over, he smiled broadly at her.

"You must be wondering why I am in this forsaken place."

"Huh?" Gu Qingyi hadn't expected him to start a conversation.

The chubby businessman continued, "It's alright, I'd be curious too. But where there are people, there's business to be done, and bandits and outlaws are people too; naturally, they need someone to trade with."

"Geng Lao Liu, you cutthroat merchant, one day we'll chop you to pieces!" shouted one of the drinking brutes.

The fat merchant, named Geng Lao Liu, was not annoyed by the insult and continued to smile amiably.

"You two must have come to Crouching Tiger Hill with the intention of joining the village chiefs, I suppose. While life is free and easy up here on the mountain, it doesn't have as many fresh goods as down below. If you need anything and it's inconvenient for you to go into town, just let me know. I can purchase items on your behalf..."

Before Geng Lao Liu could finish, the old man selling the drinks interrupted him, casting a glance at Ma Lu and Gu Qingyi.

"Don't listen to his nonsense. Crouching Tiger Hill is no good place. You're both young; it'd be best to turn back while you can."

Ma Lu, upon hearing this, did not leave but clasped his hands together and said, "May I trouble you, elder, to point the way. I owe Jile Street a great debt and even killed the debt collector they sent after me. Now I have no choice but to take my wife and turn to brigandry on Crouching Tiger Hill."

"What, your wife? You brought your wife with you?"

After consulting with each other, Ma Lu and Gu Qingyi had decided for her to remove her facial disguise but to continue wearing men's clothing with a wide hat for the time being, as it better suited their guise as fugitives.

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So those three burly men hadn't recognized her as a woman at first.

It wasn't until they heard Ma Lu say that their eyes lit up.

There were already few women on the mountain, and these men were full of exuberant Qi-Blood, and they had been drinking too, so when they saw a woman coming their way, they immediately became restless.

One of them staggered to his feet and reached for Gu Qingyi, but the next moment, a blur flashed before his eyes, followed by a glint of cold light, and before he knew it, he had returned to the center of the gaming table, exploding in anger, "You bastard, you're seeking death!"

Less than a minute after shouting that sentence, Ma Lu's Longsword had pierced his throat.

The other two men, upon seeing their companion's body on the ground, sobered up quite a bit. They exchanged a glance and without saying another word, turned and ran up the mountain.

The old man selling drinks furrowed his brows and said to Ma Lu and Gu Qingyi, "You've caused trouble now."

Ma Lu's expression was calm as he imitated He Qisheng's proud mannerism.

"Both you and Mr. Geng saw what happened just now. They insulted my wife first, which compelled me to act. As a man, if I can't even protect my wife, it would be better to die swiftly."@@novelbin@@

"Well said," the little granddaughter of the drinks seller clapped her hands, her large watery eyes roving over Ma Lu with curiosity.

However, afterwards, her grandfather waved his hand dismissively, "Go on, go on, Lock, don't stir up trouble." After saying that, he looked at Ma Lu again, "Do you know which village those three men were from?"

"Which one?"

"Black Tiger Village. The men from that village were formidable soldiers in the army before they turned to banditry on Crouching Tiger Hill. They're vicious and fierce, unflinching in killing, and their village chief Yao Guang is a lustful demon. He's already tainted many women's purity.

"You better hurry and take your wife and leave. Otherwise, when their people come, you won't be able to.""

Ma Lu felt a surge of excitement at this news. He had been wondering how to get into Black Tiger Village, and now their people had come right to him.

But then Ma Lu realized a serious problem and pointed at the body on the ground, "Who's this man?"

"I know him, his name is Wang Shun, nicknamed Iron Head." Geng Lao Liu interjected, "What about it?"

"Nothing." Hearing that the three were from Black Tiger Village, Ma Lu had briefly worried he might have accidentally killed Qin Feng with a single strike, which would have been quite the story.

Fortunately, such a dramatic event had not occurred.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade the two to leave, the old drinks seller said no more. Then, probably in less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, another group of people charged down from the mountain.

There were about twenty or thirty of them, including the two who had previously run away. One pointed at Ma Lu and said, "It's him, he's the one who killed Iron Head!"

Hearing this, the rest immediately swarmed forward, surrounding Ma Lu and Gu Qingyi.

The leader, holding a huge Mo Blade, didn't rush to act but first greeted the grandfather and granddaughter selling drinks.

"Lao Sha, pour me a jar of yellow wine. I'll come drink after I've slaughtered this kid."

After saying this, he shouldered his Mo Blade and marched toward Ma Lu, attacking without a word, with a blade strike, and after six exchanges, he was lying on the ground as well.

This time, however, Ma Lu held back, leaving him with 10 points of health.

Being new to the area, and an unfamiliar face, whether it was to build his persona or to display his own worth, it was necessary to take down a minion.

But Ma Lu's goal was still to enter Black Tiger Village, so he couldn't afford to offend the people of Black Tiger Village too badly.