16 Red River City (2/2)

He went over to give his aunt a hug and kissed his grandfather's forehead with care. He gestured for Sanji to follow

”I'll be home soon, and when I get back, all of our problems will be gone.”

Van smiled tenderly at his aunt before walking out the door with Sanji on his heels. His aunt watched his departing figure and continued to watch for a full half hour before turning and closing the door behind her.

Sanji took out a piece of paper from his pocket and followed the instructions to the Phoenix Pavilion in Red River City. Despite the nefarious implications of the name, the city was relatively peaceful with a crime rate lower than other cities. The reason for its name was because of the founding patriarch of the Sect behind the city's founding.

The Patriarch of the Potent River Sect was nicknamed ”Red River” for his tendencies to massacre the sects of the people who had opposed him.

For some reason, the city was very busy, so there was a very long queue to get into the city. Van patiently waited, for he did not want to expose his high cultivation. He had suppressed his cultivation base to the 8th Stage of Body Fortification to not attract too much attention, but to cause others to avoid causing trouble with him at the same time.

After a few minutes of waiting, he was second in the queue. In front of him was a family of 5, they were hoping to settle down in the city to make a living. The father had already purchased a shop that they were planning to sell their wares in. He had contacted a landowner giving them a place to stay.

”Sir, could you let me through? I have to get my wares and my family into the city.”

He passed over the identification papers to the two guards at the post. The two guards at the post were at the 6th Stage of Body Fortification. If it were any other else in the lower reaches, many would most likely be shocked, but Red River City was one of the 3 largest cities within the lower reaches, that required even the King of the Great Golden Kingdom to be respectful and wary around the city lord.

The guards looked to each other, nodding. They had found a good target this time. A vulnerable family with quite a bit of capital would be the best target to extort.

”Yeah, I'll let you guys in. The entrance fee is 10 silver.”

The man looked at the guard, aghast. 10 Silver?! That was all that they had at the moment. This was clearly daylight robbery.

Van's expression turned dark as he heard what the guard had said. The Guard Captain of Mulberry City had already told him the entrance fee, which was a meager 3 copper coins per person and 10 copper coins for a group, yet the guards demanded 100 times the price.

The man was fuming. He clenched his teeth and hands as he prepared to fight. After a while, he sighed and prepared to pass over the money. After all, he was only at the 4th Stage of Body Fortification, just one casual punch would send him flying and severely injured.

Van walked up to the guard who had talked.

”Hey! You can't do that! These people are honest citizens that have the proper identification. The entrance fee is only 3 copper coins!”

The guard sneered as he watched the 13-year-old boy walk up to him. He quickly realized his mistake, and his expression turned to one of fear. From what he could detect, the boy was at the 8th Stage of Body Fortification. Despite the stage gap being the same between the Guard and the father of 3, the gap between later stages of cultivation would increase. With Van's current cultivation, he could kill the guard with a finger.

”Y..y..young master! I didn't know someone of such high status would be here!”

The Guard smiled wryly, he had truly dug a ditch for himself this time. Any boy that young that had reached such a high stage of cultivation was definitely part of some major power. He might even be part of the Potent River Sect.

The Guards gave a respectful bow towards Van, before quickly ushering them into the city. After Van and the group disappeared from their sights, the Guards let out a breath and wiped the sweat off their foreheads.

”We almost fell into a dangerous trap this time, Mo Li.”

”Good thing I turned things around before it was too late.”

The guards continued to process the citizens. This time with a lot more respect, just in case a high profile figure was mingling with the crowd.