The old village chief shook his head and sighed repeatedly.
Fang Yuan scratched his head and said, "We wanted to sell more Yuan Stones — first to recoup our costs, and second to show our respect to you two elders. We didn't expect it would take this much effort and we still can't sell them."
His voice was anxious, carrying a faint hint of a sob.
Hearing his words, the old village chief's heart softened abruptly, and the resentment within him dissipated in an instant.
Fang Yuan continued, "Village Chief, don't worry. We've decided to follow the merchant caravan tomorrow morning. If we lower the price, we should be able to sell them."
"Follow the merchant caravan? Who said you could join the caravan?" The old village chief glared.
Fang Yuan said matter-of-factly, "In the caravan, there are many ordinary people. They can join, so why can't we?"
The old village chief pressed his hand to his forehead. "Those people are all household servants of Gu Masters! You think anyone can just tag along with a caravan? What if criminals sneak in?"
"What?!" Fang Yuan's jaw dropped and he stood frozen on the spot. "Then what do we do? The caravan leaves tomorrow morning."
"Sigh..." The old man let out a deep breath. "Fine, I'll see this through to the end. Tomorrow morning I'll pull some strings. Whether or not you two can join the caravan depends on your own luck."
Just as dawn broke, a few lingering stars still dotted the pale greenish-blue sky. In the distance, Purple Seclusion Mountain lay shrouded in deep purple, quiet and mysterious.
After a night's rest, the merchant caravan was already preparing to set out.
"Inspect all the goods!"
"Make sure every rope is tied tight. If even one item falls off during the journey, you'll each get a hundred strokes of the paddle!"
"Hurry, hurry — feed our Black-skin Fat-armored Insects until they're full."
The Gu Masters barked their orders, sending the ordinary household servants scrambling in every direction. Some of the short-tempered ones carried leather whips, striking anyone who moved too slowly. Others, who cherished their Gu Insects, fed them personally.
"Lord Chen." The old village chief bowed and paid his respects to a deputy leader of the caravan.
"Oh, Old Zhang, I'm busy right now. Whatever it is, make it quick." The Chen-surnamed Gu Master spoke.
"It's like this — I have two young relatives who've done a bit of small business..." Before the old village chief could finish, the Chen Gu Master suddenly bellowed, "Chen Xin, what are you dawdling for? Go feed the Winged Snake right now! You think those household servants can do it properly? That Winged Snake of yours has already devoured three servants in the past few days!"
"Yes, Elder." Chen Xin was caught red-handed and answered with his head drooping.
But the Chen Gu Master didn't let him off and scolded further, "How many times have I told you — in the stockade, call me 'Elder,' but in the caravan, you address me as 'Deputy Leader.'"
"Yes, yes, Deputy Leader." Chen Xin answered and darted away.
"What a brat..." The Chen Gu Master muttered under his breath, then turned back to the old village chief. "What were you saying again? Oh! You want to vouch for two youngsters to join the caravan?"
"My lord is perceptive — that is exactly it," the old village chief replied hurriedly.
"Is that so..." The Chen Gu Master deliberately feigned hesitation.
The old village chief was someone he had personally guided into becoming a Gu Master. The whole purpose was to have one of his own people stationed along the caravan's regular route.
For a merchant caravan, the stockades are the key trading hubs, but the ordinary villages along the way can't be neglected either — they're important as well.
The caravan had many people and countless needs. Daily supplies were consumed and had to be replenished along the route. There were also the household servants — sometimes the caravan encountered danger, some servants died, and when manpower ran short, the caravan had to recruit ordinary people from the villages along the way.
Truth be told, the Chen Gu Master's supply of household servants was already running thin. In a caravan, the lives of ordinary people were cheap — they were merely consumable commodities that could talk and move.
"On future trading runs, I'll still need Old Zhang when I pass through Purple Seclusion Mountain. If I don't agree, wouldn't that chill his heart? Besides, I happen to need more hands. But I can't just agree so easily. I need to weigh it first, so the favor is worth something."
While the Chen Gu Master was deliberating, a messenger Gu Master from the caravan came running over.
He waved a stack of papers in his hand, shouting as he ran, "Everyone, attention! New wanted posters! There are new wanted posters!"
As he yelled, he casually slapped one of the papers onto the body of a Black-skin Fat-armored Insect.
"New wanted posters? From which family? How much is the bounty? Let me see." The Chen Gu Master grew interested.
"Here, Deputy Leader." The messenger Gu Master hastily handed over a sheet.
The Chen Gu Master read it. "Oh, it's a wanted notice issued by the Hundred Families. As long as the information is accurate, the reward is one thousand Yuan Stones? That's a lot!"
His eyes lit up with interest.
Wanted posters generally listed two prices — an information bounty and a capture-or-kill bounty.
An information bounty of one thousand Yuan Stones usually meant they were after some notorious figure on the Demonic Path. But the portraits on this wanted notice showed two young people, both well-featured — one of them was even quite pretty.
A man and a woman. Two newcomers.
"One is a First Transformation Gu Master, the other a Third Transformation. The information bounty is as high as one thousand Yuan Stones, and the capture-or-kill bounty is five thousand eight hundred. Tsk tsk, the Hundred Families must truly hate these two little demons. Heh heh..." The Chen Gu Master chuckled schadenfreude-fully. After all, it wasn't the Chen family's problem.
He had no idea that these two "little demons" were already nearby.
The old village chief also glanced at the wanted poster and couldn't help but shudder.
"The world of Gu Masters really is dangerous. Such a pretty-looking young man turns out to be a criminal and a demon lord! I hope they don't come wandering into our village."
"Fine, Old Zhang, for all your hard work over the years, I'll grant your request," the Chen Gu Master said.
"Oh, thank you, my lord! I'll go call them over right now." The old village chief was overjoyed.
The Chen Gu Master waved his hand. "No need. I'm far too busy. Just tell them to report to Chen Xin."