Crimson Pond Town, Black Dust Domain.
It was a typical morning, and the diligent citizens of Crimson Pond already working. If one were to take a look, one would see that the streets were already filled with people walking around. There were vendors set up beside the streets, selling various things from trinkets to daily necessities.
Jiang Ye peeked at this scene through the window on the 3rd floor, his eyes full of nostalgia. It has only been 6 months since he got enslaved and it felt like he had been there for 10 years already. The hard work that must be done being a miner in the Extreme Dusk Cave was a lot.
It has been a day since he escaped the slavery camp, abandoning his things there. He only had the Wind Circulation Cultivation Technique manual in him when he got out of the camp. It was not an easy escape, of course. But his plans were perfect. At that time when he tried to breach the barracks, they still did not know what happened in the tents. About his fight with Officer Qin. And so, he knocked one officer unconscious and pretended to be an officer. As he was not wanted yet, the officer naturally did not recognize he was a slave. In addition, he made sure that the person he knocked on was not that reputable so the hard suddenly became easy.
Jiang Ye had immediately gone straight to Red Pond Town, just to reminisce for a bit and visit his old home. But he was devastated when he found out that his house had been demolished because the others thought he wouldn't return from the slavery camp. Jiang Ye was enraged of course, but he also understood where their reasoning was coming from. After all, there were only a few slaves who had been granted freedom, and none had escaped from it, except him, of course.
"Those fools were probably scrambling to find me now," Jiang Ye snickered. Getting away from the slavery camp might be an impossible job to others, but Jiang Ye, now a cultivator who rivaled Officer Qin, could easily knock out an ordinary officer with Tier 1 of the Flesh Refinement Stage cultivation level. That tier 1 cultivator officer did not manage to even let out a hint of voice before he lost consciousness.
Jiang Ye sighed as he directed his stare at the streets again. It was still bustling. He noticed that it seemed like there were more people than before. Did something happen? It felt as though there was some mass migration or something.
Knock! Knock!
Jiang Ye looked at the door as he heard the knocking sound. He approached it and then opened it. He saw his landlord, Qing Beichan.
"Hey, Jiang Ye." Qing Beichan waved his hand. "How are you?"
"I am fine," Jiang Ye smiled. "I think I will be leaving tomorrow."
"So soon?"
"Yeah, it has been decided." Jiang Ye replied. "I got work to be a farmer in Jinzhou village. The owner of the farm there was kind."
"That…was a pity," Qing Beichan said in disappointment. "It has been 6 months since the last time you have been here."
"Yeah," Jiang Ye forced a smile as he said it. "Well, thankfully there was an incident that made me quickly wrack up 10 million Spirit Stones easily. Honestly, it was such hard work but now I am here."
"Is that so?" Qing Beichan cast a suspicious glance but he didn't press any further. "So you are going to Jinzhou village, huh?"
"Yeah," Jiang Ye nodded. "That is my plan. I can't exactly remain here as I needed to earn money as well."
"I understand," Qing Beichan said in agreement. "If you ever need me you could just reach out to me."
"Of course, thank you for your help."
Qing Beichan made a last glance before leaving the room. Jiang Ye closed the door as he walked near the window again, his eyes watching the crowd below.
What Jiang Ye just said earlier were all lies, of course. Not because he was cautious of Qing Beichan, but because he needed to make an excuse to get out of the town. While there was no need to outright lie about working in Jinzhou village, his tongue just blabbed and so he can't exactly retract all that, right?
He spotted Qing Beichan heading toward the street, and in an instant, Qing Beichan's gaze shifted directly to Jiang Ye's window. Luckily, Jiang Ye had already crouched out of sight before he could be seen.
His heart was beating so fast as doubt appeared in his mind. Could it be?
When he looked through the window again, Qing Beichan had already disappeared, blending himself into the crowd. Even with Jiang Ye's eyes, he still could not see the landlord.
"Damn it! Is he going to reveal that I am here?" Jiang Ye cursed under his breath. He was not ready yet. He was wearing long and huge clothes today to hide his bruises, but it seemed that Qing Beichan noticed it. "I should get out of here."
Just as Jiang Ye reached for the door, it burst open, a foot crashing through and striking him in the process. The force from the foot made him fly and he hit the wall just beside the window.
Jiang Ye shifted his gaze to the door and saw a long-haired man munching some leaf in his mouth. This person's build was lean and tall, but the tight torso of the martial robe made him look muscular.
"Jiang Ye, right?" The long-haired man inquired. "So you are that guy who has guts to steal from the Lord, eh?"
Jiang Ye gritted his teeth, clenching his hand on the window to support himself, and stood up. "And who said you could just barge in like that?"
The long-haired man's face suddenly turned into an apologetic expression as he said, "Oh, I am sorry. I know it was not allowed in the Lord's Decree to just another person's room but—"
The long-haired man's face suddenly changed into a serious one. "—this is necessary, if it is meant to punish evil."
"I am not an evil person!" Jiang Ye exclaimed.
"Yes, you are," the long-haired man said in a matter-of-factly tone. "And evil people should be punished accordingly. There were no exceptions."
"Hmph!" Jiang Ye snorted when he heard this. Then, he prepared himself and put on a fighting stance. "If you want a fight, fight then!"
"Heh," the long-haired man chuckled. "Nice! Very brave! You are evil but just like Lord Xuan, I admire brave people. What a pity."
The long-haired man shook his head. Then, he smiled again and introduced himself. "I am Pei Long, by the way, in case you wanted to know who I am. And do not worry, I already know you so no need to tell your name."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ye frowned for a moment before it turned into a huge laugh. "HAHAHAHA!"
As if Jiang Ye's expression transferred to him, Pei Long also frowned. "What's funny?"
"Well, well," Jiang Ye wiped his tears as he felt this shit extremely funny, even though nothing was funny at all. "I mean, it has been my childhood dream to build a reputation and become extremely famous. I did not expect that I would be renowned this way! HAHAHAHA!"
Huh? Pei Long looked at Jiang Ye as though he was dealing with a madman. He did not know what in the world this guy was saying at all! He did not want to hear any more of this crap so, he said, "That's enough Junior Brother Jiang. I know that it may seem extremely funny to you but I do not find your humor extremely funny. I do not like people with a horrible sense of humor."
Pei Long added, "In any case, we got serious business here."
"Aw come on," Jiang Ye rolled his eyes when he heard his speech about how corny his joke was. "You are a real deal killjoy."
"Whatever," Pei Long smiled then a sword suddenly appeared in his hand. "I shall finish you here and now."
"What in the world—?" Jiang Ye looked extremely confused. It might seem like Pei Long conjured the sword out of nowhere but he saw it, in just a split second, come out of the ring he was wearing. "What the hell is that ring?"
"Oh, this?" Pei Long raised his middle finger, where he wore the ring instead of the ring finger. "This was a Spatial Ring. Of course, you did not know it."
Jiang Ye looked at it greedily then shifted his gaze at Pei Long seriously. That object will give him some major uses. It seemed as though that ring could store items in some sort of pocket dimension. Interesting.
Now Jiang Ye looked forward to this fight, not because of Pei Long, but because of the so-called Spatial Ring.