Chapter 28: The Traveling Merchant Caravan

“Senior Brother Liu Qing, there are only those two dead disciples of the Bright Moon Blade Sect here. Where do you think Senior Brother Chen has gone?” Lü Shi asked anxiously.

“I don’t know,” Liu Qing replied in a deep voice, “but what’s certain is that Junior Brother Chen hasn’t fallen into the hands of the Bright Moon Blade Sect. He’s so skilled—able to kill two Foundation Origin cultivators single-handedly. If I hadn’t seen those bodies myself, I wouldn’t believe a Meridian Stage disciple could have done it. Since Junior Brother Chen is safe, we should return the children to the sect first, lest something unexpected happens if we delay. I’ve already reported to the sect—they’ll send a search party for Junior Brother Chen soon.” The man in yellow beside Lü Shi, who had only just arrived, was none other than Senior Brother Liu Qing.

“But—”

“Do you have any clue where Junior Brother Chen has gone? Can you find him? We’re still carrying seven children with us—what if we run into more from the Bright Moon Blade Sect?” Liu Qing interrupted expressionlessly.

“Chen Mu is the sect leader’s personally chosen direct disciple. If anything happens to Senior Brother Chen, you’ll be held responsible! Go if you want, but I am going to keep searching for Chen Mu,” Lü Shi said angrily.

Liu Qing frowned, gave a cold snort, and led the children away toward the direction of Starwatch Valley, while Lü Shi began to search the area near the battleground for any trace of Chen Mu, following the bloodstains.

...

The rhythmic clatter of hooves approached; a merchant caravan’s wagon happened to pass by.

“Young Miss, we’re not far from the river. Shall we get out to fetch some water?” asked a maid inside the carriage.

“Alright. It’s stuffy in here anyway—a bit of fresh air will do us good,” the young lady replied softly, stroking her long hair.

The caravan arrived by the riverbank. Several middle-aged servants began to draw water from the river, while the young lady and her maid wandered nearby, gathering wildflowers.

Chen Mu lay sprawled in the underbrush. Only now was he regaining consciousness, though his body remained weak. He felt around himself—especially for his storage pouch and storage ring—and breathed a sigh of relief upon finding them still there.

As he tried to turn over, his movement in the bushes startled the caravan.

A burly man respectfully reported to the young miss, “Young Miss, there’s some movement up ahead in the bushes. Probably just a wild animal nearby. Should we set up camp here and do some hunting?”

“Yes, let’s do that,” the young lady nodded.

The man immediately prepared his bow and shot an arrow into the thicket.

The arrow struck Chen Mu. He had no idea why his luck was so bad—being mistaken for an animal and shot at. Instantly angered, he grabbed the arrow and tried to crawl out of the bushes.

The moment a hand stretched out from the undergrowth, the servants all jumped in fright. A young man cried out, “We’ve killed someone! We’ve killed someone!”

The steward of the caravan scolded, “Calm down—he’s still moving, so he’s not dead yet. Quick, get him out and tend to his wounds.”

At that, two strong men carried Chen Mu out. He wanted to struggle, but the aftereffects of his injuries left him too weak—even speaking was difficult. After a long moment, he managed to squeeze out the words, “Let go.”

Seeing that Chen Mu was indeed alive, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. His clothes were torn, slashed by knives, and his chest was soaked with blood. He looked utterly w