Chapter 423 - Chapter 424: Chapter 393 Invasion_1 (1/2)
Chapter 424: Chapter 393 Invasion_1
“My lord! We have travelled from our village, on the road for a full day. Could you possibly let us pass?”
A villager, who was adept at such negotiations, and used to do small businesses in various villages, stepped forward to communicate with the guards.
While talking, he discreetly slid some coins across to the guard.
In a grand city, it would be normal for common folk to be barred entrance once the gates were closed at night.
But LeFeng City is merely a small town, even its walls were so dilapidated they hardly served any defensive purpose, the gate was mostly decorative. Whether the gate was closed or open, there was not much difference.
The reason they were being prevented from entering the town, was merely to extort some benefits.
He had dealt with such situations quite often before, which was why he opted to travel directly instead of stopping for a rest midway, planning to enter the town next day.
Unusually, the guard captain weighed the money he received for a moment, then suddenly burst out cursing: “You dog! Daring to give this meager amount, do you think you are tipping a beggar? Get lost!”
Hearing the guard captain’s words, the villager who had been negotiating turned pale, obviously enraged.
This was not his first time doing this, and the money he gave was certainly not insignificant, but he did not expect the guard to be so greedy.
Resigned, he painfully dug out some more money, laughing apologetically as he handed it over.
“Sir, it is I who has failed to understand the rules, I hope you will not take it to heart,” he said.
“Hmph!”
The guard captain took the silver coins, weighed them for a moment, then put them away. From his expression, it seemed he was grudgingly satisfied.
“Check it!”
The guard captain called to his subordinates, who held sharp weapons in their hands, and went to inspect the ox-cart.
Xu Mu, who was standing next to the cart, watched all this without uttering a word.
Given his abilities, he could have ousted them with force, but if a bit of money was enough to solve the problem, that seemed a more appropriate choice.
Facing the approaching guards, the villagers naturally did not dare to obstruct. They didn’t need to, after all, they weren’t carrying any contraband.
On the contrary, they felt a sense of pride.
After all, hunting down a monster was quite an impressive feat.
The guard captain frowned, using his saber to lift the straw mat on the cart.
The straw mat was not there to deceive onlookers, rather it was to prevent the black bear monster’s corpse from decaying quickly under the heat of the sun.
Their haste to enter the city was largely because they were worried the corpse of the black bear monster would decay on the road, and this would affect their reward.
The guard captain, who had initially been suspicious of the cargo, was startled when he saw the corpse of the black bear monster, and he couldn’t help but step back.
The guards at his side quickly drew their blades, their faces turning pale. Clearly, they were frightened.
This reaction suggested that such monsters, transformed from martial artists, were rare occurrences, even in a town, otherwise these people would not have been so horrified.
“I-Is this… a monster?!”
The guard captain asked uncertainly.
This question reaffirmed that monsters were rare, and indirectly highlighted that there were not many martial artists around.
“Indeed, your insight is impressive. This was the monster that had been wreaking havoc near our village. It was slain by Brother Xu Mu yesterday. We brought it here to claim the reward from the county yamen.” The negotiating villager said with some pride.
Seeing the previously arrogant guards appearing so frightened, the villagers suddenly felt a sense of superiority.
Though they had been even more frightened when they first saw the monster, in this moment they felt somewhat superior.
What of city folk? Could they slay a monster? They are not as good as us villagers!
That was their current thinking.