One day later.
Black Crow Ridge.
"This was it, the ambush by the Grand Master of the Black Wind Tribe and a mysterious person took place here when we were just about to leave these mountains," Gu Mo spoke, pointing ahead.
Old Ma still appeared doubtful, thus he spoke, "How is it that after all these years, the chief of the Black Wind Tribe and our Old Master never crossed paths, yet this time they suddenly hijacked the goods the Old Master was escorting? Everyone knows the Old Master's capabilities, weren't they afraid that he would drag them down with him before he died?"
Jiang Yuan replied, "There is only one explanation for this, the goods my father was escorting this time must have tempted them, or perhaps the mysterious person made an offer that was tempting."
Gu Mo nodded, "Indeed, when we accepted the escorting mission, the client offered a tempting price."
"What kind of price?"
"The deposit was a hundred taels of gold, with a thousand more upon successful delivery."
"Sss!" Old Ma gasped, "Such a high price! A thousand taels of gold equals ten thousand taels of silver. What is in this small brocade box worth spending this much?"
"Are there any tricks involved?" Jiang Yuan suddenly asked.
Gu Mo thought for a moment, then shook his head, "There shouldn't be any. My Old Master has been a security escort in the Martial World for countless years and has abundant experience. Someone asked him the same question before, and he said it was not a problem."
Jiang Yuan nodded, trusting Jiang Zhenyuan's judgment.
Having journeyed in the Martial World for so many years, his experience was definitely much richer than his own and he would have considered more thoroughly.
Moreover, he had firsthand experience, his judgement was definitely more accurate than his own speculation.
Then Jiang Yuan asked, "Do you know what my father was escorting?"
Gu Mo shook his head, "We don't know. As security escorts, we never opened that brocade box. It is against our rules to pry into the client's goods."
Jiang Yuan touched the brocade box he was carrying, feeling a burst of curiosity.
But after pondering for a moment, he gave up the idea.
It's not worth breaking the rules, there's no need to.
More importantly, he still had to deliver these goods himself.
Otherwise, how would he compensate the families of the twenty or so brothers from the Escort Service who had died here?
Those escorts were the heads of their households, their entire families might have depended on them for their livelihood.
And now that they had died here following Jiang Zhenyuan, without sufficient compensation…
You could imagine that there would inevitably be many tragedies.
Now that I have taken on this karma, I have to completely resolve it.
Then, Jiang Yuan said, "Let's go! Let's head into the mountain and bring back their bodies to Lin'an County. Allow their spirits to return to their homeland and rest in peace."
Just then.
Gu Mo suddenly voiced out, "Young Master, there are some people following us from the back!"
"Ignore them, soon enough the whole city will know about my father's incident. As long as they don't bring about their own death by coming up here, let them be."
"Yes!"
As Jiang Yuan and his companions entered the forest.
Several hooded figures suddenly appeared on the open ground.
One of them looked ahead and said, "Black Crow Ridge? The necessary route for Jiang Zhenyuan's journey, it seems Jiang Zhenyuan may have really perished here."
"There's no point guessing, we'll know once we go in!"
"Which faction does this brother belong to?"
"Divine Power Martial School!"
Ha! I don't believe you!
I'm from the Divine Power Martial School.
Thought one of them.
...
As soon as Jiang Yuan and the others entered Black Crow Ridge, the light dimmed instantly.
Cries of black crows echoed in their ears from time to time, sending chills down their spines.
"This place, at first glance, is a place of great danger. I don't understand why the Old Master chose this route," muttered Old Ma.
"This is the only route!" said Gu Mo.
A moment later.
Old Ma stared ahead, his eyes bloodshot.
In front of them, scattered about in a hundred meter radius, there were bodies with parts missing, lying in all directions.
As they were all martial artists with extraordinary abilities,
Even though they had been dead for days, their bodies still exuded strong aggression and the black crows hovering around only dared to tentatively approach.
One particular body, even after many days of death, did not have a single black crow daring to approach it.
Next.
Old Ma took a deep breath, opening his throat to the front.
"Roar!"
A furious roar.
Like a thunderclap booming across the flat ground, clouds of black crows torpedoed into the sky in the blink of an eye.
Immediately afterwards, Old Ma walked over.
One by one, he caressed their faces, his lips quivering as if silently whispering their names.
What Old Ma was feeling at the moment was something Jiang Yuan could not completely comprehend, but he could understand.
Among these people, some were young talents who Old Ma had watched grow up step by step.
To Old Ma, some were brothers, some were like sons.
Being alone for most of his life, these people were the closest thing to family he had.
In the distance.
Someone standing on a tree branch saw this scene, his expression becoming stern.
"Indeed, an accident has really befallen Jiang Zhenyuan, it seems as if all the talented individuals from the Zhenyuan Escort Agency are buried here!"
Below, someone was gradually inching closer in a deceptively sneaky manner.
"What's he doing?" someone behind him asked.
"He's probably checking whether Jiang Zhenyuan is among these corpses. We're too far to see their faces clearly."
On the other side.
Jiang Yuan seemed to sense the approaching masked man behind him and his eyebrows knitted together.
After a moment, Jiang Yuan ordered, "Gu Mo, attack!"
"Yes!"
Before the echo of his words could fade.
Gu Mo's figure transformed into something akin to a violent gust, speeding towards the man behind them.
Not good!
Sensing the piercing bloodthirst radiating off of Gu Mo, the man's eyes shrank in alarm as he abruptly retreated.
However, in the next moment.
He pulled out a black iron stick from behind his back, gritting his teeth as he met Gu Mo's onslaught.
"The divine power staff! So it turns out he is actually from the Divine Power Martial Arts Academy!" someone commented from afar.
Another person's face filled with embarrassment, as he had just been impersonating a member of the Divine Power Martial Arts Academy in front of the said person from the academy.
Luckily, he had a black kerchief covering his face, concealing his expression.
Someone queried in confusion, "Why isn't the person from the Divine Power Martial Arts Academy running away? Why is he choosing to face Gu Mo head-on? Gu Mo, the Swift-blade is a master of Body Forging Realm Level Seven under Blood Forging. How could this Level Six guy compete?"
He then added, "Wait a minute! Swift-blade Gu Mo, why is he wielding an ordinary iron sword? Has he abandoned his blade and started training with the sword?"
"How could that be?" someone scoffed. "Gu Mo of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency is well known for his exceptional knife skills and amazing talent. How could such a gifted swordsman abandon his blade?"
"As for why he isn't running, haven't you noticed the glaring difference in their speed? Running away and revealing his back would merely hasten his death!"
As these few people were arguing...
A sudden scream echoed from the distance.
"How could this be!" someone exclaimed, his face showing his shock.
They could see, from afar, the person from the Divine Power Martial Arts Academy already sprawled on the ground gushing blood from his neck.
"What... what just happened? Did anyone see it clearly?"
Another person replied, full of bewilderment.
"I only saw a flash of the sword light, then the man from the Divine Power Martial Arts Academy, along with his staff, was decapitated by a single strike," someone at the side swallowed hard and replied.
"How can this... how can this be possible? Killing a Body Forging Level Six in a single strike? It has to be a joke! When has Gu Mo ever became so terrifying? Moreover, he wasn't even using his preferred weapon - the blade, but just an ordinary iron sword. How could it slice through the standard divine power staff of the Divine Power Martial Arts Academy?"
At this person's queries, no one could give an answer.
They were still dumbfounded, the scene unfolding before their eyes was far beyond their expectations.
They were aware that the person was no match for Gu Mo. Body Forging Level Seven against Level Six, the advantage was too great.
But no one expected that the man wouldn't even be able to last a single round before being instantly killed by one stroke of the sword.
Meanwhile.
Far away, Gu Mo stated, "My young master has ordered, anyone who dares to approach will be killed without mercy!"
The last three words sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Those who managed to reach this place were at most at the Body Forging Realm Level Six.
With the precedent set, who would dare not to take these words to heart?
If Gu Mo could easily kill a guy from the Divine Power Martial Arts Academy with a single stroke, killing any of them wouldn't take much effort.
Gu Mo coldly glanced at the crowd in the distance.
After confirming that they wouldn't dare to make a move, he turned around and walked back immediately.