The Second Collection Misty Canyon Chapter 1: An Tun Inn

  Antun Station is the nearest station to Yicheng, from here to Yicheng, if you go fast, it will take less than a day to arrive, and if you go slow, it will take at most two days.

  This journey has been relatively peaceful, but that doesn't mean the road is truly safe. Yicheng, even in the southwestern three states, is a remote place. Although it's not infested with bandits, it's far from being completely safe. Wang Guanlan and his group have had a smooth journey only because he made it clear they were from Ningwangfu as soon as they left, letting everyone know they were under the protection of Ningwangfu. Even the most reckless thieves in these southwestern three states aren't foolish enough to provoke Ningwangfu, which is why they've been able to travel safely.

  Even sleeping outdoors, no thieves had ever thought of robbing them.

  However, nothing is absolute. Wang Guanlan, while confident, was also a cautious person. This time, he made it clear that he would go to Yicheng to take over the industry, which can be said to have touched the interests of many people. Under sufficient interest-driven motivation, there will be no shortage of people who will risk everything and solve problems on their own, perhaps causing some turmoil, but it is absolutely more cost-effective than making a scene in Yicheng.

  After all, once he arrived in Yicheng, no matter who won or lost, it would be a loss for Yicheng and the vested interests behind them. If he himself was unlucky enough to die on the way, even if those people's suspicions were huge, as long as they had done their job cleanly and left no evidence, it was likely that even Ning Wang would not be able to deal with them. Therefore, Wang Guanlan made a change of thinking, standing from Yicheng's point of view, and still thought that solving himself on the way was the most cost-effective.

  As they journeyed on, although there was no danger or excitement, Wang Guanlan always felt that it was too quiet. This was the main trade route to Yicheng, and it should have been bustling with people coming and going, but since their departure on the first day, Wang Guanlan had keenly sensed that the number of carriages and merchants on the road was decreasing. Although he occasionally saw one or two merchant groups, the number of merchant groups was far from what he knew to be normal. This was not normal at all. As the saying goes, "when things go against the norm, there must be a reason". It was precisely this abnormality that made Wang Guanlan more and more convinced of his own judgment.

  "It seems someone wants to keep me on this road, in that case, I can finally relax a bit!" Wang Guanlan leaned back against the soft chair back and let out a gentle sigh. "I'm really looking forward to it, I wonder what kind of person these guys will send to deal with me? If it were me, I would definitely use the lion's pounce on the rabbit tactic, calculate my strength in this line of work, and then take down everything with ten times the power, thus eliminating all worries. Let's see if that young master from Yi City has what it takes!"

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  "Boss, it's Antun Inn up ahead!"

  In the depths of night, a group of eighteen people quietly made their way along the official road, each riding a tall horse and wrapped in black robes, with only a pair of eyes visible through the black cloth that covered their faces.

  "Monkeys, have you all seen clearly? Are they resting at Antu Station?"

  "Yes, boss. The horse carriage arrived at Antun Inn at sunset and is preparing to stay there today. I've been squatting in Antun Inn for a while now and have already figured out the situation!" The black-clad man known as Monkey urged his horse forward and said, "There are twelve people in total, excluding the master, including four Hu Liang guards, five accountants, and two servants. With that kid's status, having only two servants is actually quite few!"

  "Don't underestimate this young master, although his martial arts cultivation is not high, only at the second layer of Qi refining, but he has grasped a small Buddhist magical skill, the Bodhi Town Knife. Buddhist magic is the most unreasonable, be careful not to capsize in the dark ditch!"

  "Haha, boss, over the years, how many people who understand Buddhist magic have we taken down?!" The monkey chuckled and said, "We've also killed a guy who understood the Bodhi Town Law Knife, his cultivation is much stronger than this 14th Young Master's!"

  "Even if he can use the Buddhist divine power, how many times can he use it?! " A tall and thin black-clothed man said beside the monkey, "Four flower fox guards should have at least two with cultivation in the condensing gas period, and at least one is in the middle of the condensing gas period, that is, the cultivation of the fifth layer of refining gas. He is just a prince's son, even if he is valued again, it can't be more than this. Moreover, this is still the territory of the three states in the southwest, no one would think that someone dares to move against the Ning Wangfu!"

  "What you said is right, in the three southwestern states, no one dares to lay a hand on people from the Ning Wang Fu. At least, no one would think that we would dare to attack the young master of the Ning Wang Fu. So, even if there are two Condensation Period Flower Fox Guards, they are not enough to be feared. With a deliberate attack on an unsuspecting opponent, they can't even block it!"

  "When making a move, be ruthless and swift, although there are only four Huā Lí Wèi, this is after all the Southwest Three States, Ning Wangfu's territory. If the disturbance is too loud, it may not end well!"

  "Big brother, you're thinking too much. The Ning Wang Fu is the ruler of the three states in the southwest, but Antun Station is under Duan Yun Mountain, with no village in front and no store behind. It's a day's journey from Yicheng, and even farther from Nanhuacheng. Even if they had fast horses, it would take three days. And even if Ning Wang Fu's people could fly, they still couldn't save him!"

  "Still be careful!" Lao Da said lightly, "Monkey, after arriving at Antun Station, you still need to go in and take a look first, see if there's anything unusual inside. If there's no anomaly, then find Wang Guanlan's residence and send us a signal. Our goal is Wang Guanlan, as long as we kill him, everything will be easy to say. After killing Wang Guanlan, we'll leave the three southwestern states immediately and flee far away. Understand?"

  "Yes, boss!" The monkey responded, urging on the horse under him and galloping towards the direction of Antun Inn.

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  Yi Cheng, although it was already night, the Hou Mansion was still brightly lit. The young master of Ning Wang Fu, Hou Zihanshan, sat quietly in his chair with a calm expression, and the atmosphere in the main hall was also quite solemn.

  "Master, Wang Guanlan has entered the An Tun Inn. The Green Python will make his move tonight at the An Tun Inn. Just wait for some good news!"

  "Bang!!" The teacup in Hou Zihans hand flew out, hitting the flattering person right in the face. The teacup shattered on impact, and tea and blood mixed together, flowing down that persons face. The person was shocked by the sudden blow, stunned into a daze, unable to comprehend what they had said wrong.

  "What do you know, good news? What good news?" Hou Zi said coldly. "This time we took a risk and acted was unavoidable, if there were other choices, I would not have done so, no matter how clean we did it, the Green Python gang did it neatly, once Wang Guanlan is dead, I am the biggest suspect. Do you think I will have good days? Do you think Master Wang will let me have good days?! Do you think this thing can really be hidden from Master Wang?"

  Looking at the trembling hands on the ground, Hou Zihansighed and said, "Forget it, Hou An, get up. This isn't your fault. Get ready, tomorrow morning you'll leave Southwest Sanzhou with Qing Xiao and the others!"

  "What?! The man obviously didn't expect Hou Zihans words and hastily asked, "Then what about you? Young Master, I don't want to leave you!"

  "Don't leave and you'll die!" Hou Zihans voice was cold, "Apart from me, you're the only one who knows about this matter. I don't want to kill you to silence you, so leaving is your best choice. As for me..." Hou Zihan paused for a moment, "You can rest assured, as long as there's no evidence, Madam will definitely be able to protect me!"

  Young Master!

  "Alright, aren't you going to leave quickly? Are you really going to force me to kill you?! Hou Zihans voice had turned cold and stern. The man suddenly shivered with fear, not daring to say another word, scrambled up from the ground and rolled out of there as fast as he could."

  Just as he ran out of the gate, a cold light flashed, and Hou An's body suddenly stiffened, his body slowly rotating, seemingly wanting to turn around, but before he could fully turn around, his body split in two, internal organs and blood splattering everywhere.

  "Hou An!" Hou Zihansuddenly stood up, his face full of shock and anger.

  "Master Bai, you are too kind-hearted. This guy knows too much, how can we let him leave?!" A charming figure emerged from the shadows outside the hall and walked in slowly, wearing a green veil and appearing to be around 28 years old, with a captivating gait that was mesmerizing.

  "You said you wouldn't kill him, why are you still taking action!"

  "Didn't I say I wouldn't kill him?!" The woman's gaze was as calm as water, as if she had done something insignificant. "I only said I wouldn't kill him at that time, but I didn't say I wouldn't kill him now!"

  Hou Zihan was suddenly choked with anger, but he didn't say anything else because he knew that trying to reason with this woman would be a waste of effort. "You're the captain of Huā Lí Wèi's team, you should know them well. When Qing Xiang and the others take action, shouldn't there be any problems?"

  "Hmph, of course! Although Qing Xiao is a scoundrel, he's still a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Condensation, just one step away from entering the Qi Control stage. He can easily handle a few small fries like you. But as for you, Young Master Bai, you're quite perceptive when it comes to seeing through things!"

  "You too want to kill me and silence me?!"

  "Hehe, of course not, I wouldn't dare. You're the young master that Madam loves the most. Even if I had the heart to do it, I wouldn't have the guts. However, Young Master, I must remind you of one thing - you're a smart person and should understand the importance of this matter. Madam doesn't want any unexpected surprises in this regard, so..."

  "The person was found by you, the plan was made by you, I just went through the motions on the surface. Even if something unexpected happened, it's your business!" Hou Zi said coldly, "I'll take this black pot, but what if that kid is still alive and comes to Yicheng...!"

  "He can't possibly enter Yicheng alive!" The young girl's expression changed, her tone also becoming more severe. In a flash of movement, she disappeared from Hou Zihans' sight.