forbidden army, filled Zhang Liyang's ears. He felt as if he had entered hell itself, his heart pounding with fear."Beep, the system is issuing a mission: find the culprit."A prompt tone interrupted...Know~know~

As the weather gradually becomes hotter, even on the barren land of the northwest, one can hear the ceaseless chirping of cicadas.

Creak, creak~.

On a narrow path, a carriage moved wearily under the scorching sun, followed by several people wearing wide-brimmed hats for shade.

From the direction the carriages were traveling, they should be heading towards Liangzhou City.

Inside the carriage, a man bound in bandages lay half-reclined, his eyes wide open, staring at the person across from him who kept popping things into their mouth.

"You...you actually ate the Muxing Pill like candy!"

Mu Jing Dan, this kind of pill that costs nearly two hundred and seventy taels on the market, is not common even for someone like He Houde's level. In times of hardship, he even had to save it.

It's like Zhang Linyang today, starting from Flying Dragon City and up to now, He Houde counted for three days. Zhang Linyang swallowed nearly twenty of them and judging by his appearance, Zhang Linyang wouldn't stop anytime soon.

"Well, do you want some too" Zhang Liyang glanced at He Houde and then popped another Mu Jing Dan into his mouth. "It's alright, but I can't give it to you."

This is the system reward for last time's capture of the evil cultivator. It's a very simple reward, but the quantity makes up for it. A full seventy Mújīng Dān rewards, allowing Zhang Liyang to indulge himself once again.

It was Zhang Liyang's missions in the Jianghu that truly allowed him to live a life of luxury.

To enhance his reputation in the martial arts world, Zhang Liyang spread rumors about Qing Shi Dao Ren being an evil cultivator and how he and a few others had discovered him and killed him. Of course, he left out He Houde's involvement.

Qing Shi Dao Ren's fame as a celebrity, coupled with the label of "evil cultivator," further boosted Zhang Li Yang's reputation in the Jianghu.

"Ding, complete the mission of entering the rivers and lakes, reputation in the Jianghu is 1124 points."

"Rewards: 100 Mu Jing Pills, a Qingbao Plain Garment, and two Liu Ye Tong Mai Pills."

Three days ago, Zhang Liyang set off with his men. To avoid accidents on the road, Zhang Liyang could only bandage and treat He Houde, but his meridians were still sealed.

As for whether Ho Pak-tak would commit suicide, Zhang Liyang had full confidence in preventing him from doing so before he took his own life, judging by the distance between Ho Pak-tak and himself.

He Houde, still in shock, couldn't quite believe it and asked again, "You eunuchs are so rich"

"That's not right, you came to Flying Dragon City with Princess Huacheng. Where did the money come from"

Looking at He Houde's face full of questions, Zhang Liyang slightly adjusted his sitting position and ignored him.

Even if Zhang Liyang wouldn't tell him that his pills were system rewards, even if he paid money, Zhang Liyang could buy a lot of pills. Keep in mind, Zhang Liyang still has four million taels of silver notes in his arms now.

It would be hard for anyone to believe that someone could make so much money from a remote and desolate town, but that's exactly what happened. Especially with the ongoing fermentation of the Secret Tripod incident and the battle in the center of Flying Dragon City Square, Zhang Liyang's earnings were enough to shock everyone!

More than a hundred Muxing Pills. Zhang Liyang secretly calculated that if he consumed all of them, his ninth and tenth meridians should be able to be fully opened up.

The farther back you go, the harder it is to break through, and the more resources you need. Even though Zhang Liyang's body has been reborn, the resources required are still unimaginably vast.

Fortunately, Zhang Liyang still has two six-leaf Tongmai Pills. He just doesn't know if he can clear the last two odd meridians at once.

"Still poor!" Zhang Liyang muttered, chewing on a Mu Jing Dan. Though he had the system, which granted him resources upon completing tasks, Zhang Liyang yearned to be able to purchase vast amounts of medicinal pills with his own wealth when missions were completed.

"My lord, a message has come from the front. A band of bandits seems to want to ambush us."

Outside the carriage, Guan Fengsi, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, came to the window and whispered a report.

This time, Zhang Liyang brought out nine people. Four of them were sent out by Zhang Liyang in advance to serve as scouts and forward posts.

For these bandits, Zhang Liyang had no sympathy whatsoever.

If it were a time of chaos, perhaps there might be pitiful bandits forced into their deeds by circumstance. But now is not a time of chaos, so those who become bandits can only be wicked men.

"By the way, let's find their nest. We'll spend the night there tonight."

"Yes!"

Since the system can issue escort missions, it goes without saying that the journey won't be smooth. Zhang Liyang could only take the back roads, avoiding the main routes as much as possible, to minimize the risk.

The carriage continued on its way, and after a while the smell of blood reached them, but there were no bodies to be seen on the road.

"Master, we've found their nest. Shall we go now"

"Go."

It was called a lair, but it was really just a simple shack. At least it was well-hidden.

When they arrived, Zhang Liyang grabbed He Houde and threw him onto a haystack inside the house. This made He Houde grimace in pain. “You could at least be gentle! We’ve worked together before, haven’t we”

"Just be content, back then you wanted to kill me," Zhang Liyang rolled his eyes.

"...Ugh..."

He Houde awkwardly twitched the corner of his mouth, then turned his back to Zhang Liyang and stopped speaking.

Boom boom boom~

Early summer weather can change quickly. As soon as night fell, there were flashes of lightning and thunder, and before long, heavy rain poured down.

crackling

Inside, a fire crackled. Guan Fengsi held dried rations by the fire, warming them over the flames. With such heavy rain, it was impossible to find wild game, so they could only rely on dried rations to stave off hunger.

As the rations softened under the high heat of the stove, a faint aroma of wheat wafted through the room. Zhang Liyang, having received the rations from Guan Fengsi, was about to put them in his mouth when he suddenly stopped.

Click, click, click~

Footsteps sounded from outside, accompanied by a commotion.

"Hurry, there's fire ahead, let's go there to take shelter."

"Everybody, pick up the pace."

Upon hearing the sound, everyone inside the house, including Guan Fengsi and his companions, stopped what they were doing. They turned their heads toward the source of the noise, subtly encircling Zhang Liyang and He Houde while instinctively reaching for the long swords at their waists.

Whew!

A gust of rain-soaked wind blew into the room, making the flames inside flicker a few times. At the same time, a figure also walked into the room.

"Uh... gentlemen, it's raining heavily outside. Could you possibly do us a favor and let us take shelter"

This is an elderly man wearing a rain cloak, standing there. From his dark skin and weathered face, he seems to be someone who often travels outside.

"Okay." After observing for a while, Zhang Liyang nodded and didn't refuse.

With Zhang Liyang's consent, the old man bowed to Zhang Liyang and then entered the rain again.

"Quickly, tie down those goods and then come inside to take shelter from the rain."

Before long, when the elder came in, about twenty more people followed him.

These people, upon seeing Zhang Liyang and his companions, remained silent. They instinctively moved to the other side of the house and, after rekindling a fire, quietly removed their wet clothes. Some had already begun taking out dry rations from their packs to bake over the flames.

"Sir, they seem to be a merchant caravan."

Guan Fengsi, who often escorted the Huaxia Chamber of Commerce protected by Zhang Liyang, immediately saw something was amiss.

"Well, let the brothers be careful."

"Don't worry, sir."he slaughter gradually subsided, and after cleaning up the battlefield, everyone began to disperse.But these scattered people didn't discover that a pair of eyes had always been watching them from beh...