Chapter 288: The Robbed Fatty
The group of people before Xiao Chen were indeed Jin Dabao’s guards. There were about two hundred people who were striped of their clothes; they were left with only shorts to cover themselves up.
In the middle of the crowd was a broken down carriage. Xiao Chen looked at it for a long time before he discovered it to be that luxurious golden carriage he once rode in. However, it looked very shabby and broken down now.
The golden exterior and ornaments were both gone, leaving behind only the smooth wood. There was a pair of golden wheels under the wooden box. If it were not for this pair of wheels, Xiao Chen would not have related it to the golden carriage he saw in the past.
What made Xiao Chen even more speechless was that Jin Dabao was dressed in beast skins and was carefreely sitting in the carriage. Furthermore, the ones pulling the carriage were his subordinates. Even the horses had been taken away.
The group of people were rus.h.i.+ng quickly through the savanna, it was like they were running from something scary. Jin Dabao called out loudly, “Will you hurry up, this Fat Lord is not that heavy. You are all Martial Grade Master cultivators.”
The faces of the subordinates scrunched up and they complained, “Young Master, we have been running for two days and two nights already. Let us rest for a while. Otherwise, we should abandon this carriage and you run together with us. That way, we will be faster.”
Jin Dabao said angrily, “This Fat Lord worked so hard to obtain these two wheels. How can we just toss them aside? If we did so, my effort would be wasted.”
The manservant following behind the carriage suddenly said, “Young Master, there seems to be someone there. He has been staring at us.”
The fatty said in a huff, “d.a.m.n it! Watch me destroy him…never mind, never mind. Let’s just ignore him and quickly leave this blasted place.”
The manservant continued, “He seems to be walking over to us.”
The fatty’s expression changed and he turned his head. When he saw the figure walking over, he revealed a smiled and said, “Stop the carriage!”
The fatty was wearing a pair of shorts and a Spirit Beast skin on top. He seemed like a caveman. He quickly ran to Xiao Chen and said, “Lord Xiao, it is great to see you. Don’t say anything yet, give this fat bro some clothes to wear first.”
When Xiao Chen saw the fatty’s miserable state, he could not decide whether to laugh or cry. A very famous phrase from his past life came to mind, ‘you reap what you sow.’
Xiao Chen had plenty of spare clothing in his Universe Ring. However, the fatty was very stout and could not squeeze into them. He could only casually drape them over his body.
Although the fatty still looked miserable, it was still better than the beast skin. Jin Dabao did his best to squeeze into the trousers that Xiao Chen had handed over.
After a long time, the fatty finally successfully squeezed into them. However, the moment he relaxed, there was a ripping sound and his fatty flesh burst out of the trousers. The trousers became pieces of cloth.
Jin Dabao’s face was filled with helplessness. He could not be bothered about it and just did his best to tidy himself up. Then, he turned to Xiao Chen and said embarra.s.sedly, “Erm…Can Lord Xiao spare me some Spirit Stones?”
Xiao Chen was sweating in his heart. He said, “You were really robbed?”
The fatty raised his hands and said, “Is that not obvious? Aside from my Spatial Ring and a coffin lid, I only have two golden wheels.”
The affairs of the world are fickle, Heaven and Earth cannot be predicted; life is full of unexpected things, Xiao Chen smiled bitterly. Even the fatty has such a downfall, it can be said that Heaven has eyes.
[TL notes: Heaven has eyes: It is a Chinese way of saying Justice is served. This stems from the belief of deities and that they are watching over everything.]
Xiao Chen took out a thousand Inferior Grade Spirit Stones and ten thousand taels of gold. Then, he handed them to Jin Dabao and said, “What happened? Given your strength, even if you can’t defeat them, you should have been able to run away!”
Although the fatty’s strength was merely average, he had many good items. The glittering rings and trinkets he normally wore were not merely decorations. They were all complete Secret Treasures. It could be compared in this way, if Xiao Chen and the fatty ran into a peak Martial King, the one more likely to escape easily would be the fatty.
This was because this fellow had too many trump cards. Otherwise, he would not be so unrestrained in the way he acted; he had a certain level of a.s.surance in his heart.
If the fatty had not kicked an iron board, he would not end up in such a miserable state. Xiao Chen was very curious, who was this ‘iron board?’ What exactly happened for the fearless fatty to suffer such a disadvantage?
Jin Dabao accepted the Spirit Stones and gold. Then he said, “Thanks, this fat bro will remember this favor. Don’t ask me what happened. Anyway, don’t be too ruthless on the Devil Savanna. I was cheated by someone and will not come back again.”
After the fatty said that, he waved his hand and jumped onto the bare carriage. His attire consisted of tattered trousers with long robes draped on him.
The fatty waved his hands in a pompous manner and said, “Let’s go!”
Their faces scrunched up as they pulled the battered carriage. Then, they slowly vanished from Xiao Chen’s sight.
In the following two days, the bad feeling in Xiao Chen’s heart was even more obvious. However, because of the fatty’s bitter encounter, Xiao Chen became even more cautious. He always left his Spiritual Sense extended to an area of two thousand meters around him.
Even though this would decrease his speed, it was good to be cautious. Xiao Chen did not wish to end up like the fatty.
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On this particular day, Xiao Chen was walking on the vast savanna with his Spiritual Sense extended out.
He discovered an extraordinary place. In the area two thousand meters around it, there were no sounds at all.
It was extremely quiet. Usually, Xiao Chen would be able to detect some Spirit Beast with his Spiritual Sense. However, he did not detect any here at all, he did not know where all of them went.
Xiao Chen frowned and stopped moving. He said doubtfully, “What’s going on? Why are there no Spirit Beasts at all? Even the air seems like it has stopped flowing.”
With a thought from Xiao Chen, his Spiritual Sense stopped moving in the shape of a halo. Instead, it gathered together and turned into a fine thread, extending forward.
After Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Sense was turned into a fine thread, he could observe up to ten kilometers away. Eventually, he discovered something.
At the end of Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Sense, there was a flood of darkness that quickly headed in his direction.
When Xiao Chen looked carefully, this flood of darkness was comprised of a group of knights dressed in black armor riding on horses. A rough count gave about a thousand men.
Their combined aura made Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Sense feel a strong pressure despite the far distance.
Xiao Chen withdrew his Spiritual Sense and his expression changed. He muttered, “Jin Dabao…are these the people you suffered a lost to? I should change my direction.”
Just as Xiao Chen was about to move away, he suddenly thought of something. He sent out his Spiritual Sense and discovered that these horrifying black knights were coming from all directions.
I’m surrounded, Xiao Chen could not help but look toward the sky. If there was a gap, he could leave easily.
If was unknown when they had arrived but when Xiao Chen looked up, there was a group of Berserk Wind Vultures. On each of the Berserk Wind Vultures was a knight dressed in black armor.
Xiao Chen could not help but smile bitterly. He said, “This is truly ‘There is no path to Heaven one can go, no door to Earth that one can enter.’”
[TL note: There is no path to Heaven one can go, no door to Earth that one can enter: This means one was in desperate straits and has nowhere to escape.]
“Dong! Dong! Dong!”
The sound of galloping horses could be heard. Ten groups of black knights kicked up dust into the air. Each group of black knights had a thousand men each. All together, they had ten thousand men.
Xiao Chen looked at the black ma.s.s. The lowest cultivation he found in this group of ten thousand was Martial Grand Master. There were at least one thousand Martial Saints.
When the aura from the ten thousand gathered together, even the air stopped moving. It made breathing feel difficult.
This was no longer on the scale of bandits anymore. Probably only the elite troops of the Great Qin Nation had such strength.
The leaders of each group, ten of them in total, were riding on black horses. They wore masks that obscured half of their faces. They rode on the horses and moved before Xiao Chen.
The one in the middle was probably the leader of all of them. He was a peak Martial King. Just one glance caused Xiao Chen to feel unimaginable horror.
When that person saw Xiao Chen’s calm face, he revealed a faint smile under his mask. He said, “Qingyun Peak’s Ye Chen right? Didn’t anyone tell you not to be too excessive on this Devil Savanna?
“Hand over five hundred thousand Inferior Grade Spirit Stones and five thousand Medial Grade Spirit Stones and you may leave. You are not allowed to come back to the Devil Savanna,” the person leading them continued.
Xiao Chen’s expression did not change. He was thinking very fast, this demand was too excessive and it was impossible for him to agree to this. He said sullenly, “And if I don’t?”
The leader was not too surprised by Xiao Chen’s answer. He smiled faintly and said, “You have seen Jin Dabao’s end right? His initial answer was the same as yours.”
So the fatty was really targeted by this group. The depths of the Devil Savanna was deeper than Xiao Chen had imagined. No wonder when the three n.o.ble clans came to raid the bandits, they had to return empty-handed.
When the person saw Xiao Chen remain silent, he said, “You are different from the fatty. You still have not pushed things to the extreme yet. It is fine for you to not pay the Spirit Stones. You just have to withstand three palm strikes from me. I will give you one hundred thousand Inferior Grade Spirit Stones and one thousand Medial Grade Spirit Stones after that. However, like before, you are still no longer allowed to step into the Devil Savanna.”
Xiao Chen was not in a rush to answer. The two conditions this person gave were not good choices. The first option would bleed Xiao Chen dry.
The later option seemed fine. Not only did it not require him to pay any Spirit Stones, they would instead give him Spirit Stones. However, the palm strike of a peak Martial King would not be easy to withstand. Even if he did not die, he would be heavily injured.
Unfortunately, the situation was controlled by his opponent. Xiao Chen did not have many trump cards he could choose from. If he had not guessed wrongly, the opponent was taking his ident.i.ty as a Heavenly Saber Pavilion disciple into consideration. Hence, they were not in a rush to make a move.
Otherwise, they would not have wasted so much time to speak with him. His end would be similar to Fatty Jin’s.
“Not saying anything? In that case, I will take it as you choosing the second option,” the black-clothed man said indifferently.
The moment he finished speaking, the black-clothed man had already dismounted from his horse and arrived before Xiao Chen. He sent out a palm strike at Xiao Chen, there was a boundless scream and the air parted like it was water.
Xiao Chen’s expression turned grave, he had no other choice. The Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art circulated quickly and all the bones in his body crackled. The image of a fierce tiger materialized behind him.
There was a loud bang as the fierce tiger merged into his arm was sent flying at the black-clothed man’s palm with a strong force. Xiao Chen did not hold back with this punch and it had a force of nine thousand kilograms.
“Bang!”
The palm and fist met each other and gave off a loud sound. Visible shockwaves spread out in all directions, leaving ripples in the air.
A huge force was transmitted into Xiao Chen’s body through his arm. Xiao Chen felt his internal organs churn while the Qi and blood in his body surged. He could feel some blood rus.h.i.+ng up his throat.