Chapter 20: The Zhao Family Merchant Group

  In the mountain pass of Xishan, it was just the moment when the sun had risen, and the morning mist had not yet completely dispersed. The forest floor was still damp, and in the thick fog, a mound rose up. Zhang Liang stood in front of the grave, having dug up Zhou Fucun's body and buried it here. Zhou Fucun's lingering soul had entered the underworld, but whether he could return or not was uncertain. Becoming one with the earth was always what ordinary people valued most. After erecting this mound, Zhang Liang silently paid his respects and said calmly: "Although you plotted against me, after all, you raised me for many years. Now that we are separated by the underworld, building a grave for you is also my duty!"

  There was no sound around, only the rustling of leaves blown by the wind. Zhou Liang's mood seemed to have broken through some kind of constraint, and he finally passed this level. Ah, reborn in his youth, facing an opponent who was much stronger than him, for a long time, Zhou Liang's mentality had been suppressed. All his thoughts, all his goals, were placed here. In the past, he couldn't get over it, but today, he finally broke through this gloom. The future sky and sea, the fish leaped high, the birds flew high, he was destined to be different.

  His heart seemed to have flown to a boundless height, Zhou Liang slowly gathered his thoughts and turned to leave without hesitation, striding down the mountain. Behind him, in the thicket, was left a grave, solitary and isolated in the dense forest of Xishan. Perhaps years later, the grave would collapse completely, becoming just another mound of earth amidst the wild grass.

  Xishan, in the west of Yangzhou City, is one of the nine states of Zhongyuan, from ancient times to the present, it is the most prosperous place under heaven. The official road is accessible in all directions, and Xishan is not far from the official road. Walking directly on the official road, identifying the direction, head north along the way.

  From Zhou Futong's body, Zhou Liang also found some gold and silver. When Zhou Liang returned to Yangzhou, he was the only one who came out with Zhou Futong. He was too young to explain clearly when asked by neighbors, and his family just thought it was some floating wealth. For him, who had a single-minded pursuit of truth, this was really beneath his notice.

  Approaching Yangzhou, the official road is very busy, and from time to time, single horse-drawn carriages can be seen, most of which are from the suburbs of Yangzhou. Once you leave Yangzhou City 50 miles away, the official road becomes much quieter. Occasionally, dozens or even hundreds of horse-drawn carriages form a large convoy, with strong guards protecting them. The land of the nine states is vast, and except for a few rich cities, most are deep mountains and forests, where bandits and robbers emerge one after another.

  Zhou Liangxiu refined the Easy Tendon and Hard Bone Chapter, his arms were almost as strong as a million kilograms. With this strength, ordinary martial arts masters in the secular world were not his opponents at all. He was still young, and his body had not yet begun to grow tall. Looking like a half-grown kid, he walked alone, really attracting attention. Most of the carriages that passed by him would often turn their heads to take another look at him.

  It's strange that these seasoned businessmen didn't dare to provoke him. As people who have been on the road for a long time, they have seen and experienced a lot, and they know that monks, Taoist priests, women, and children are not to be trifled with when they're alone on the road - either they're inexperienced young fools or incredibly powerful masters. When you're outside, it's better to avoid trouble whenever possible.

  One by one, the merchant teams whizzed away. They were afraid of provoking Zhou Liang, but they didn't know that in his heart, he was almost suffocated to the extreme. He regretted why he didn't return to the city for a while, or at least go to the market to buy a war horse. Without any means of transportation, relying only on his two legs, he couldn't expose his strength on the official road. Sometimes, he really wanted to deeply enter the mountain forest and freely gallop in the mountains.

  He was well aware that this was impossible. In his past life, he had spent most of his time on the Soul Banner, and the rest of the time was also on the edge of the Nine States. The Nine States had always been controlled by the Dao Gate, even if they encountered a great calamity, the control power of the Dao Gate would decrease, and as a small ghost cultivator, he absolutely did not dare to enter deep into the mainland. As for his understanding of the mainland, it was very limited. If he really entered the mountains and forests, he wouldn't know where to go. At this time, he had no strong self-preservation ability, and encountering cultivators would be more harmful than beneficial. So he could only walk slowly on the official road.

  Behind him, the sound of horseshoes echoed again, and it seemed that another merchant group was about to pass by him. Zhou Liang lowered his head and continued walking forward. At this time, he heard the horse cart stop in front of him.

  They stopped to do what, Zhou Liang slightly raised his head with a hint of doubt, and saw that it was just a small merchant group, with only about ten horse-drawn carriages, compared to the large merchant groups with dozens or even hundreds of people, it was far inferior. The most important thing was that except for a few strong men holding weapons, looking like guards, the rest were all carters.

  This should be a mixed caravan, also a kind of caravan, all are some small businessmen, who gather carts or goods together to form a caravan. Their characteristic is that they are small and cannot afford strong guards, so they can only rely on the crowd to boost their morale. Of course, this kind of caravan also has its advantages. Generally, larger bandits don't take them seriously, after all, there's not much profit in attacking them. This is also the reason why they can survive. However, for them, safety is more based on luck. If they really encounter some big bandits who are in a bad mood, it's entirely possible that they will be robbed and eaten away.

  A middle-aged man who looked somewhat honest got off the horse cart. From his appearance, he was dressed neatly, but most of his clothes were made of coarse cloth, obviously not a rich person. This is a characteristic of small merchant teams. However, this man seemed to have experienced many hardships. His honest face showed cleverness. He walked directly towards Zhou Liang and stood in front of him, saying: "Young brother, where are you going? Are you alone?"

  "I'm going to Huizhou!" Zhou Liang said calmly and lightly.

  Huizhou is to the north of Yangzhou, not too far away. However, for a monk, it's still a thousand miles away. For ordinary people, it would take over ten or twenty days to get there on foot. He could only hurry a bit at night, otherwise, without two months, he absolutely wouldn't be able to reach Huizhou. The reason he went there was that Huizhou was the only place he knew of where north and south goods were gathered. Most importantly, Huangshan was in Huizhou, so he should be able to buy everything he needed there!

  "Huizhou, we are also going to Huizhou, why don't we travel together!" the middle-aged man sincerely invited.

  Zhou Liang, who was initially reluctant, caught the middle-aged man's hopeful gaze and nodded: "Alright then!"

  The middle-aged man's face lit up with joy. He didn't expect Zhou Liang to agree so straightforwardly, and he loudly said: "Zhao Ren! Bring the No. 3 car over!"

  The third carriage was a relatively spacious horse-drawn vehicle. Zhou Liang took a glance and saw that it only contained a few boxes of goods, with the rest being empty space. It seemed that this was likely to be the emptiest of all the carriages. The fact that they were able to find this particular carriage among the ten-car merchant convoy suggested that the other party had intentionally left it this way. Zhou Liang nodded slightly to himself and sat silently in the carriage.

  Zhao Hu returned to the first car, a young man who looked somewhat like Zhao Hu, with a slightly discontented expression, said: "Dad, you're treating him so politely, but he doesn't show any gratitude at all, isn't that too arrogant?"

  "Hui'er, don't talk nonsense, this road is not peaceful, he's obviously not an ordinary person, if..."

  "But..." The young man wanted to say something else, but was stopped by Zhao Hu, who waved his hand and commanded loudly: "Alright, let's set off!"

  The convoy moved slowly, and in the carriage, after hearing this interesting dialogue between the father and son, Zhou Liang smiled slightly in his heart. Everyone has their own private thoughts, but this private thought was within his acceptable range. Depending on the situation, if they encountered danger, he might as well lend them a hand.