"What do you mean, what more do I want?"
Chu Mo stared at the middle-aged man: "You are the ones who blocked my way!"
"The ones who wanted to rob me, are also you!"
"Now that you can't beat me, you're asking me what more I want?"
"From the beginning, it was you who were continually pressing me!"
The middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself: This kid may be terrifyingly strong, but in the end, he's still just a tender little fledgling. If he were an adult, I'm afraid none of us would be able to leave this place alive today.
Thinking about this, the middle-aged man gave a bitter smile: "Young hero, we were shortsighted and offended you, which was really wrong of us. We are sorry."
As he said this, he paid homage to Chu Mo and continued: "We have received our deserved punishment now. You see... My brothers here, all seriously wounded. Can you... let us off the hook? Allow them to be treated? Otherwise, they will die!"
Chu Mo looked at the middle-aged man, his heart struggling.
He was not a fool. His grandfather's teachings were clear to him. He knew that if he let these people go, trouble would likely follow. He carried a large fortune on his back, and it would be strange if this group could easily let go of their greed.
The path ahead would certainly become more arduous!
But knowing what to do and actually doing it... were two different matters.
No matter what, he was only thirteen this year. To have him wield a knife and kill, unless it was a deep hatred, was indeed hard for him to do.
Chu Mo hesitated, but in the end, his innocence won out. He gave the middle-aged man a pointed look, then earnestly said: "Don't try to scare me with your words, you lot are not good people!"
"You look like a group of adventurers, but the moment you see someone else's wealth, you swoop in to kill and snitch. Clearly, you've done this kind of thing before!"
The middle-aged man was taken aback, embarrassed, and said: "You misunderstand... we, we are not the people you're describing, it's just... we just saw you as a small young hero and wanted to bully you a bit, really..."
Chu Mo glanced at him and said: "Today, I won't kill you, but remember this, if in future, I encounter any robbers and can prove that it has something to do with you, you had better pray you never see me again."
"The world is large, with vast expanses of Heaven and Earth, but sometimes, the world is also very small, and we might meet again anywhere."
"As for you, take care!"
With that, Chu Mo had a last glance at the middle-aged man, then led off a horse: "This horse, consider it the interest I'm collecting!"
Saying that, he mounted the horse and rode off into the distance.
Only when Chu Mo's figure had disappeared from sight, did the middle-aged man let out a dark curse: "Damn it!"
Nearby, a few unharmed men were busy tending to their fallen comrades. Among them, a man in his twenties cried out sorrowfully: "Old Wang, we've been played by that damned brat, he's too ruthless..."
"What?" The middle-aged man asked, an angry look on his face.
"That kid... he crippled several of our brothers, their primordial energy is gone... they can no longer practice martial arts, wuu wuu!" The young man said, on the verge of tears.
"Shut the fuck up!" The middle-aged man yelled angrily, then furiously said: "What a vicious little bastard, he crippled them, what's the difference from killing them?"
"Lastly, he threatened me. You little shit, if you manage to safely leave this prairie, I'll write my surname backward!" The middle-aged man roared in anger, swearing an oath.
The young man who was just admonished by Old Wang said weakly: "But your surname written backward is just the same..."
"Fuck off!" Old Wang kicked the young man to the ground, then took out a whistle from his pocket and gave a forceful blow.
Strangely, it didn't make any sound, but after a while, a dark light appeared in the sky. It was a hawk that descended from heaven onto Old Wang's shoulder.
Old Wang took out paper and pen and quickly wrote a few lines, then tied them to the hawk's leg and took out a piece of raw meat to feed it.
The hawk picked up the meat with its beak, flapped its wings, and flew into the sky.
Only then did Old Wang let out a sigh of frustration, gritted his teeth, and said: "A child carrying a ton of gold and roaming the city... if you want to die, I'll help you!"
As for Chu Mo, after snatching a horse, he galloped off into the prairie.
He vaguely remembered his grandfather mentioning this prairie. It was located in the north of Great Qi and was nominally a part of Great Qi.
But in reality, it was the nomads of the prairie who held the actual power.
This prairie was incredibly fertile, rich in resources, and produced high-class warhorses.
Nearly three-fifths of the warhorses in the Great Qi Army came from this prairie. However, trying to completely subdue it was very difficult.
Several times, Great Qi has fought with the prairie nomads, but to no avail.
The nomads knew this prairie intimately and adhered to the ethos 'If you can beat me, fight me. If you can't, then run'. Hence, this prairie has always been a headache for the kings of Great Qi.
The relationship between Great Qi and Great Xia was not at all harmonious. One could even say they were enemies.
From ancient times till now, countless battles have been fought. However, the last twenty years have been relatively peaceful; apart from occasional minor conflicts, the two sides are generally friendly.
But the old master predicted that these peaceful years won't last. Over the years, the Great Qi has been nurturing strength and valor, taking a conciliatory policy toward the nomadic tribes of the northern prairie, while secretly implementing multiple covert tactics.
Once these tactics are activated, they could completely dominate the northern prairie. By then, the Great Qi will be flourishing with strong soldiers and sturdy horses.
Therefore, the war with Great Xia is imminent.
"Since this time, I'm crossing through this prairie, why don't I look into the situation here? When I go back, I could provide grandpa with some useful information!" Chu Mo, riding against the wind, narrowed his eyes and thought to himself.
"Hey, why did you spare those people just now? They clearly wanted to kill you!"
A crisp voice like a lark sounded behind Chu Mo. He wasn't surprised at all; Qi Xiaoyu always appeared unpredictably.
"Those people have stopped resisting, and a number of them who were going to attack me are already crippled. Even if they recover, they won't be able to use primordial force and have to lead an ordinary life. Isn't this punishment enough?" Chu Mo didn't turn around and paused his horse, speaking indifferently.
"I don't think it's enough," Qi Xiaoyu said as she came in front of Chu Mo. She glanced at his horse and said, "You should know that after you left, the leader sent out an alert. Your journey won't be peaceful."
Chu Mo replied angrily, "I knew it. Those shameless people can't honor their promise!"
Qi Xiaoyu eyed him, "Knowing this, why did you spare them? It would be more straightforward to kill them, thus saving many troubles."
Chu Mo was taken aback, looking at Qi Xiaoyu and said, "How could you be so ruthless?"
Qi Xiaoyu was a bit annoyed, "Why do you say that about me? I meant to remind you with good intentions, but you call me heartless. I'm ignoring you!" With that, she vanished into the distance.
Chu Mo was left alone, frozen in surprise for a while. Then he shook his head in confusion, muttering, "Did I say something wrong?"
With a light sigh, the thirteen-year-old boy, his handsome yet immature face showing rare contemplation, sat on his horse, traveled slowly, and thought hard.
Right and wrong are often not absolute.
Expecting an innocent thirteen-year-old boy to be cold-blooded and decisive in killing is indeed a stretch.
At night, the sky is full of bright stars, visibility is excellent, and the world is peaceful.
However, Chu Mo was not at peace. He felt that he was perhaps too harsh on Xiaoyu during the day.
Although the girl is mysterious and unpredictable, she has helped him a lot on this journey. Maybe they weren't the best of friends, but at least, they could have a conversation.
"Maybe, my words hurt her today, and she won't talk to me anymore," Chu Mo, lying on the grass, looking up at the starry sky, felt a little gloomy.
The black horse he had taken from the bandits was quietly grazing nearby.
Suddenly, Chu Mo heard the distant galloping of horses. It seemed to be heading in his direction.
Chu Mo had a hunch, and soon saw a dark shadow swiftly flying under the bright, clear moon.
"Damn!" Chu Mo finally realized that they had been surveilling him.
Mumbling to himself, Chu Mo jumped onto his horse and galloped in the opposite direction.
A series of torches lit up behind him, and several arrows fell not far behind him.
Chu Mo was startled and also very angry. It seemed these people would keep at it until they reached their goal. While urging the horse to run, Chu Mo said to himself, "Qi Xiaoyu was right. I should've killed these people. Otherwise, it's endless trouble!"
"I made a woman's mistake!"
"I was wrong!"
Chu Mo looked back and saw many shadows on horseback appearing in the distance.
"Chase him, don't let him escape!"
"That kid has a lot of Primordial Beast tendons, bones, and hides on him, which are incredibly valuable!"
"Catch him, and we can divide the wealth, drink big bowls of wine, and eat big mouthfuls of meat!"
Ao ao ao!
Under the night sky of the prairie, there came a chorus of howling cheers.
Forty or fifty riders, in a huge fan shape, were chasing after Chu Mo.
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Brothers, keep supporting with recommendation tickets!!!
We must make the list, we must rise!!!
We must rush!!!!