Chapter 141: Danger Zone (2/2)

Xu Min chuckled and nodded his head. It was true that it would require extra time to deal with bandits, but right now he was not willing to waste extra time if he could avoid it in any way possible.

Sensing that Xu Min was not going to look for trouble, both Cao Cao and Ye Ling felt relieved. Neither of them had a miraculous sword like Xu Min, nor did they have any other kind of energy than their own beast core energy. Furthermore, they were not as highly ranked as Xu Min either.

In a confrontation, both beasts would be the weakest link and would likely be the first killed on Xu Min’s side.

Since Xu Min considered the beasts his brothers and knowing that they did not feel secure in the face of an army of bandits, he was even more focused on avoiding them at all costs. They had braved all manners of dangers together. Additionally, they had not hesitated to join him in his endeavor to gain revenge.

“We will try to avoid the bandits,” Xu Min said with a smile as he took out the map, “but to do so, we have to leave the roads. The bandits are not able to lie in ambush anywhere but what I assume the areas they patrol. If they find us, they will consider us easy pickings since we are as few as we are,” Xu Min explained while he observed the map and his surroundings.

Contemplating a short while, he ran away from the dusty road they had traversed on so far and entered into the endless wilderness.

Soon it became impossible to see them from the road as they had traveled deeper and deeper into the regions of the danger zone. Xu Min kept clear of the roads to ensure that the patrolling groups of bandits had no way of finding him.

He no longer saw any signs of humans, only some sparse vegetation. Together man and two beasts moved through the bandit lairs.

“Watch out!” Xu Min suddenly warned in a low voice and stopped in his tracks. “Hurry, hide in the jade satchel!” he ordered to Cao Cao and Ye Ling. They did exactly what Xu Min told them to.

Xu Min should be able to flee from any bandit that he encountered, and the two beasts were aware that they would drag him down. Their only option was to be out of sight and not cause problems.

“You there, halt!” a voice reverberated through the flat wilderness. Xu Min came to a halt. His cultivation base was not suppressed this time, and he had been moving at his fastest speed. Nevertheless, he was wondering who exactly was so brazen enough to try and stop him.

In the jade satchel, both Cao Cao and Ye Ling sighed. They had warned him earlier about not fighting the bandits and instead flee, but now he had stopped.

Although they sighed, they also smiled. They knew what Xu Min was like, and they did not want him any other way. “Let us see if he will fight his way through the bandits, or if they will be able to be dissuaded with words,” Cao Cao said to Ye Ling who nodded his head. Together the two beasts just settled in the satchel and waited for Xu Min to once more take them out. They did not doubt that he would be fine.

Though they had warned him earlier, they truly did not think that Xu Min would lose. They had a complete and unshakeable trust in him.

“Who is it?” Xu Min asked. He was neither friendly nor hostile. He did not know the aim of whoever had approached him, and he was not willing to make enemies of anyone who he encountered.

Also, it did not sound like it was a whole group of bandits. If there had been a whole group of bandits appearing, then there was no way that Xu Min would not have noticed them. Nonetheless, somehow this individual had been capable of getting close to Xu Min without the latter noticing. That was in itself a rather miraculous feat.

“I am Lei Shen,” the voice spoke, appearing in the distance. Although he was a far way off, Xu Min could still hear the voice clearly and understood that this Lei Shen was in no way an easy opponent.

Frowning, he was unsure of what to do. Should he fight this individual if he proved to be hostile, or should he preserve his strength and run away?

Looking at the figure, Xu Min’s eyes widened. He was not dressed in shabby clothes like bandits. In fact, he was wearing armor. Though this armor was dirty from running through this wasteland, it was of fine quality.

“You don’t look like a bandit,” he unabashedly commented. Stunned as he looked at Xu Min, who frowned again. “That is because I am not,” he said straightforwardly.

The man scratched his chin and seemed to be in deep thought. “I see,” he said hesitantly. “I have been tasked with clearing up this area for bandits. But who would have thought that the first person I meet would not be a bandit. Can I trust your word though? Maybe you are trying to trick me? Have you ever stolen before?”

Xu Min was taken aback by the question. Suddenly he remembered his time in the Immortal Valley. Scratching his head, he was at a loss for how to answer the question.