Chapter 9: Burning Corpses Return to the Team

  Xiao Ziyang threw the clothes of Xie Xiu into the fire as well. Watching the clothes and bones turn to ashes, he finally felt at ease and left the cave, following the Taifu Mountain path in the direction where the carriage was heading.

  He has been lingering in the mountains for too long.

  On that day, under the shock of the pink skull, the people of Jindao Biaoju rushed overnight at an incredible speed.

  Xiao Ziyang chased all the way to Wangshan Town outside the south gate of Taifushan Road, where he finally caught up with the escort agency's convoy.

  Xiao Ziyang walked into the Ping'an Inn where the Golden Dagger Escort Agency's caravan was staying, and Li Hu and Li Biao let out a sigh of relief at the same time, but also couldn't help feeling extremely annoyed.

  "Xiao Ziyang! Don't think you can act recklessly just because you have the protection of the Grandmaster, this Jianghu is deep and treacherous!"

  Geng Biao and another Ma Biao pulled Li Biao a bit tensely.

  Xiao Ziyang had been suppressing his hatred for a long time, and as a result, he often felt unwell in his heart. His temper was somewhat violent, and he frequently clashed with the people in the agency.

  Although he is highly skilled in martial arts and has saved the lives of many people in the escort agency, he has no personal connections. From the leader to the ordinary staff members in the escort agency, everyone is afraid of him.

  Li Baozhu, the head of Taifu Wuguan, the number one martial arts hall in Shanxi Province, was not weak in kung fu. However, soon after entering the Li Bureau, he clashed with Xiao Ziyang and got two teeth knocked out by him.

  Geng Biao and Ma Biao were also dissatisfied with Xiao Ziyang, but they feared that the plague god would start a big fight in the inn, so they secretly pulled Li Hu to signal him to calm down.

  Xiao Ziyang's nature was not bad, but he had been oppressed by the great injustice that could not be avenged. Now, even with just a glimmer of hope, it made his heart clear and bright, completely different from his usual cruel self. He didn't say a word and sat down beside Li Hu, calling out to the shopkeeper to quickly serve food and wine.

  Xiao Ziyang didn't have much dry rations on him when he left, and by now his stomach was growling with hunger.

  Li Hu was no match for Xiao Ziyang, and seeing that Xiao Ziyang didn't even bother to talk to him, he sullenly shut his mouth, letting the two escorts, Geng and Ma, breathe a sigh of relief.

  The shopkeeper brought up the dishes, Xiao Ziyang ate them like a whirlwind sweeping away the remaining clouds. He then asked the three escorts about his journey after leaving the team.

  Li Hu let out a cold snort, turned his head away and ignored him. Geng Biao hurriedly smiled and said: "Yangzi, you don't know that there's been rumors circulating outside the south entrance of Taifu Mountain about the evil spirits slaughtering the mountain. It's said that five days ago, the owner of Tie Ma Village at the north entrance of the mountain rushed into Wangshan Town in a state of disarray and was already mad. Some curious people from the town secretly snuck into Tie Ma Village but were scared to the point of pissing their pants. It turned out that over a hundred people in Tie Ma Village had all turned into skulls, making the entire village like a hell on earth. From that day on, the road to Taifu Mountain was cut off!"

  "The mountain road on this side of Nankou has been cut off, but the north side hasn't received any news. It was at that time that we entered Taifeng Mountain, thinking about it now is really heart-pounding and terrifying!"

  After finishing speaking, Geng Biao's face was full of fear, and the other two escorts also had a look of relief after the disaster.

  Geng Biao asked again: "Yang Zi, what did you encounter in the mountain?"

  Xiao Ziyang forced a wry smile and said, "I followed the trail left by that skull and climbed up to Qinglong Mountain stronghold. But when I saw the entire stronghold filled with skulls, I was so frightened that my soul flew away. I turned around and ran into the mountain forest, but in my panic, I got lost. It wasn't until today that I managed to find my way out."

  Li Hu heard this and let out a cold laugh, but Xiao Ziyang didn't pay attention to him.

  Geng and Ma, the two escorts, exchanged a glance, both thinking to themselves that after experiencing this event, Xiao Ziyang had finally come to realize the greatness of heaven and earth, and his temperament had undergone some change, which was also a good thing.

  Many northern-bound caravans were blocked in Wangshan Town, causing the only three inns in this small town to be fully booked. That night, Xiao Ziyang and many porters squeezed onto a large kang for the night.

  The next morning, everyone packed up their carts and hastily departed, heading towards the city of Zhangye in Gansu Province.

  The northern part of Ganzhou is shrouded in mountains, with vast lands and sparse population. The mountains are home to many bandits, making it a treacherous place. In stark contrast, the situation in southern Gansu is vastly different. The Hexi Corridor in southern Gansu is one of the most important granaries in the entire Western Xia Empire. As soon as people leave the Taifu Mountain area, they are greeted by thousands of miles of fertile plains.

  The Western Cool Empire borders the vast grasslands to the north, with the fierce nomadic tribes of the grasslands as its neighbors. However, it is not severely threatened by these nomadic tribes, thanks to the Ta'an Mountains in the northern part of the empire.

  This mountain range separates the Western Xia Kingdom from the Great Plains, only in the northwest corner of the empire, Jin, Gan, and Ding, three states bordering the Great Plains, and the northern part of Gansu has the Taifu Mountains blocking it, so the only border trouble in the north of the empire comes from Jinzhou and Dingzhou.

  As the largest grain-producing area in the northwest, the Gannan Plain provided nearly half of the grain and fodder for the borders of Jin and Ding states. Because it was supplied nearby, with less transportation costs, this half of the grain saved the empire almost ten times its own value!

  The imperial court attaches great importance to the Gannan region and has stationed a large number of troops here.

  Tai Fu mountain is high and dense with trees, not suitable for large armies to advance. The bandits in Tai Fu mountain are also very cunning, never daring to take a step south of the mountain. Therefore, the government troops turn a blind eye to them.

  After everyone from the Golden Knife Agency left Wangshan Town, they completely relaxed. The next journey will be a flat road.

  The next evening, the escort agency arrived at Qingtai Town very smoothly. The town is adjacent to a Wei Suo and is quite prosperous, with many wine shops and brothels standing on the street.

  When Qingtai Town appeared in the line of sight of the Golden Knife Escort Agency's crowd, everyone couldn't help but cheer. The wine shops, brothels and casinos in Qingtai Town were not only a paradise for the guards' masters, but also a playground for these knife-wielding and blood-licking escorts.

  The already somewhat fatigued caravan suddenly sped up by three points and finally stepped into this bustling little town before sunset. Under the leadership of the three escorts, the caravan familiarly bypassed half of the town and stopped in front of an inn at the south gate.

  Tong Fu Inn's servant, Yin Ke Xiao Er, saw the convoy from afar and hastily came to greet them, shouting: "Li Biao, Geng Biao, Ma Biao, you three have had a hard journey, please come in quickly." At the same time, he turned his head and shouted towards the inn: "Er Gui, Shuan Zi, come and lend a hand, help the masters of Jin Dao Biao Bureau with their horses, hurry them to the backyard!"

  The Jin Dao Biao Ju's convoy would always stay at the Tong Fu Inn whenever they passed through Qingtai Town. Although the escorts from the mountains didn't have much to spend, eating scallion pancakes and drinking poor wine, sleeping on shared beds, but over the years it was still a considerable income, so the innkeepers and waiters never neglected them.

  Settling the horses was naturally something that didn't require Xiao Ziyang to lift a hand, he followed the three escorts into the large hall of the inn.