Chapter 2082 – Herb Merchant
Seeing Zhao Hai’s actions, everyone understood what he wanted to do. Zhao Hai was making a sheepskin raft.
The flow of the Hundred-Mile River was the same direction that Zhao Hai and others would travel to. Therefore, Zhao Hai and the others could use it to go far away. Cultivators generally won’t pay much attention to the river.
Few cultivators go to the Hundred-Mile River because it was too dangerous. Although it didn’t have too many powerful beasts, the river was too wide and its current was too rapid. To cultivators who couldn’t fly, using the river as a channel for transport wasn’t safe. Therefore, only cultivators who had no other choice would use the river.
Additionally, the raft that Zhao Hai planned to build doesn’t need a lot of wood. Zhao Hai and the others don’t have to worry about the Divine Armament Sect noticing their actions.
Making a sheepskin raft wasn’t a complicated matter. It didn’t take a long time before Zhao Hai and the others finished it. After cutting a few branches to size, the raft was practically done.
The raft wasn’t very big. At most, it could carry just a bit more than 10 people. Nevertheless, Zhao Hai was very satisfied with it. He also installed hoses to the raft. It is connected to the river below. On the other end of the hose was a mask that can cover a person’s entire head. Zhao Hai also placed communicators inside the masks.
With this, once the raft was launched, more than ten people could stay underwater. Even if they were spotted by the Divine Armament Sect, they wouldn’t get any attention since the number of people seen on the raft was wrong.
After everything was prepared, Zhao Hai turned to the others and said, “Brothers, we’re being chased down by two groups of people. Although I don’t know how the ghost cultivators managed to find us, I am certain that they could catch up to us. Therefore, we can only use this method. Twelve people need to go underwater. Those who are down there not only need to keep up with the raft, they also have to remind those on the raft about the reefs ahead. There are undercurrents in the river, only those on the surface could control the speed and direction of the raft.
Everyone nodded, “Team Leader, you go underwater. I’ll go with the others underwater.”
Zhao Hai nodded, “Alright, those who will stay above need to change your clothes. You need to wear gray clothing like rogue cultivators. Hide your weapons as well. We can’t be seen wearing blades. From now on, I’m a merchant while you are rogue cultivators I hired.” After he said that, Zhao Hai waved his hand and took out some clothes as well as weapons.
There were all kinds of weapons on the ground. The clothes were common clothes worn by rogue cultivators.
Li Fei couldn’t help but look at Zhao Hai, “Team Leader, where did you get these things?”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “I killed some people. Don’t ask more questions. Change your clothes.” After saying that, Zhao Hai’s figure changed as the clothes in his body transformed. He was no longer wearing his warrior clothing. Instead, he donned clothes often worn by merchants. His face also looked older. Most importantly, Zhao Hai’s temperament changed into a frosty, 30-year-old man.
Li Fei and the others couldn’t help but stare at Zhao Hai. They didn’t expect Zhao Hai to be capable of such change. It was astonis.h.i.+ng.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Zhao Hai said, “Alright, don’t look. Go and prepare. With my calculations according to our experience, the Divine Armament Sect will arrive soon.” When they heard this, everyone no longer delayed. They immediately changed their clothes. Those who would go underwater went down and wore the masks.
With Zhao Hai’s order, everyone got on the sheepskin raft. Once on the raft, Zhao Hai took out two sealed boxes. Above the boxes was a seal. Seeing the two boxes, one of the cultivators said, “Team Leader, what is that?”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “It’s nothing. Now that I’m acting like a merchant, I naturally need goods to transport. These are my goods.”
The cultivator nodded. Zhao Hai took out several wooden oars and gave them to everyone. Then he said, “Take these. Pay attention to the current. Let’s depart.” The disciples above the raft looked at each other before shrugging and beginning to row.
Controlling a makes.h.i.+ft raft wasn’t easy. But Zhao Hai and the others were cultivators who had complete control over their strength. It didn’t take long before they got used to maneuvering the raft. Although it was inferior to manufactured bats, it wasn’t too far.
The speed of the Hundred-Mile River was quite high. So, they didn’t need to row too much. The main use for the wooden oars was to steer the raft away from undercurrents or stray rocks.
With the speed of the raft, the disciples of the Tyrant Blade Sect need to pay close attention. At the same time, those underwater kept giving reports about the state of the river. They simply had no way to think about the Divine Armament Sect.
The disciples might not be paying attention to the enemy, but Zhao Hai was. He continued paying attention to Arrow Tree Mountain’s situation. He was using a unique qi gathering technique to hide any traces of cultivation from his body. Now he looked like a small merchant that was earning money for his family.
Not long after they entered the Hundred-Mile River, a patrol team of the Divine Armament Sect flew out from the Arrow Tree Forest. Naturally, with how high they were, they didn’t care about Zhao Hai’s small raft. This allowed Zhao Hai’s group to travel smoothly.
The raft move quickly. In less than an hour, Zhao Hai saw small black spots in the air above Arrow Tree Mountain. Zhao Hai knew that this was a patrol team from the Divine Armament Sect. Unlike the last patrol team, they were heading towards Zhao Hai and the others.
Seeing that the other party was approaching, Zhao Hai said, “Everyone pay attention. Cultivators from the Divine Armament Sect are coming. Remember, you are people of the Iron Sword Mercenary Group. I hired you to escort me from Feather Peak City to Green Leaf Town.”
After saying that, Zhao Hai said, “Inform the people underwater to pay attention to their breathing. Don’t be discovered by those fellows. The mounts they’re riding might be sensitive to breathing.”
Everyone quietly complied and returned to steering the raft. At the same time, Zhao Hai’s orders were being transmitted to the people underwater.
Before long, Zhao Hai’s raft was covered by a shadow. Zhao Hai wore a startled appearance as he looked up at the beasts above him. There were around 50 beasts in the air. All of them had crossbows on their back indicating that they were disciples of the Divine Armament Sect.
Zhao Hai quickly stood up and bowed, “I have seen the esteemed Misters.”
The gazes of the disciples of the Divine Armament Sect were as sharp as blades, slas.h.i.+ng at everyone’s faces. Zhao Hai and the others bowed and didn’t dare look up. At this time, the raft continued to be swept by the river’s current. But because n.o.body was controlling it, it began to shake and become unstable.
A cultivator from the Divine Armament Sect saw this and frowned, “Alright, go control your boat.” As soon as they heard this, Zhao Hai and the others breathed a sigh of relief and resumed controlling the raft. Zhao Hai also stood up and said, “This one is called Gu Yueyan. I have seen the esteemed sirs. I’m a merchant from Feather Peak City. These people are cultivators from the Iron Sword Mercenary Group. I hired them to escort me.”
The disciple from the Divine Armament Sect nodded and said, “What is this thing? How come I haven’t seen it before?”
Zhao Hai quickly said, “Replying to the esteemed sir, this one is a sheepskin raft. It’s used to transport goods in short distances along the river. It can only go along the river’s current. If you want to go upstream, then it would need to be pulled by people on the sh.o.r.e. Because it’s very cheap and convenient to use, a lot of people use it.”
The disciple from the Divine Armament Sect didn’t say anything. The Hundred-Mile River was actually not under the sect’s total control. Moreover, they didn’t come here often. It’s normal for them to not recognize the raft.
However, the disciple continued talking, “Where are you headed?”
Zhao Hai immediately replied, “Replying to the sir, this one needs to go to Green Leaf Town to deliver a batch of goods. Because I’m short on time, I have to use this raft.”
The Divine Armament Sect disciple nodded, he looked at the two boxes and asked, “What’s inside?”
Zhao Hai replied, “These two boxes contain medicinal herbs. Moreover, they’re high-grade herbs.”
Hearing Zhao Hai, the Divine Armament Sect couldn’t help but ask, “Medicinal herbs? Open it up and let me see.”
Zhao Hai nodded, “Alright.” Then he quickly opened the boxes. Once the two boxes were opened, the smell of medicine immediately a.s.saulted everyone’s noses. The boxers weren’t big, but their design was reasonable. Each box was divided into compartments each with a jade box inside. As for what medicinal herbs were inside, n.o.body knew. But the fact that they were medicinal herbs couldn’t be doubted.
Sou! Without waiting for Zhao Hai to react, a jade box flew out of the box and landed on the hands of the disciple. The disciple wasn’t polite and opened the jade box. Upon looking inside, he couldn’t help but get stunned. Inside was an ordinary ginseng that was a few years old. It might be a treasure for ordinary people, but for cultivators from the Great Sects, it wasn’t worth looking at.
The disciple from the Divine Armament Sect also knew that such ginseng was very valuable to merchants so he didn’t s.n.a.t.c.h the medicinal herbs. After returning the jade box, the disciple from the Divine Armament Sect left along with his companions.