Chapter 29: Jade Scale Fruit

The convoy traveled for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea. After rounding a bend, the view suddenly opened. The cliffs on both sides receded, revealing a small flat clearing.

Seven or eight people stood in the clearing.

The leader was a man on a gray-black horse. A scar ran from his left brow to his cheekbone. He looked like a ruthless man who lived by the blade.

He wore half-worn leather armor and a ghost-head saber hung at his waist. Behind him, a few scattered underlings with sabers and bows lounged along both sides of the road. Their positions, however, blocked the road completely.

When Lao Zhao saw them, his face darkened at once.

“Yo, Lao Zhao.” The man on horseback grinned. “Passing through again?”

Lao Zhao did not answer. He tilted his head at the guards behind him, then dismounted and walked over with a cloth bag he had already prepared. “Chief Sun, hard work for your brothers.”

The man called Chief Sun was Sun Mazi, the leader of the Clear Wind Gorge bandits. He took the bag and weighed it in his hand, then grinned in satisfaction. “Still, Lao Zhao knows the rules.”

He tossed the bag behind him. One of his men caught it steadily.

His gaze swept lazily over the whole convoy. At last he waved a hand. “Fine, go on.” The men blocking the road stepped aside.

Lao Zhao let out a breath and waved to the guards behind him. “Move.”

The tense guards relaxed a little. Someone even cursed under his breath with a laugh. “These bastards. They get quicker at taking money every time.”

The convoy started moving again.

It was quiet. Only the sound of wheels grinding over gravel and the rough breathing of the animals broke the silence.

Yan Li still kept his eyes lowered. His fingertips patted Yan Shu’s back lightly. His expression did not change at all.

Beside him, Xuan Shiyan leaned against the cart board, eyes closed as if resting. The corner of his mouth moved slightly.

‘Too smooth. Smooth enough to feel wrong.’

If they were only collecting tolls, the bounty on Clear Wind Gorge would not have remained for so long.

Yan Shu tilted her head and looked at the stone walls on both sides. She opened her small mouth. Yan Li was quick and covered it. She blinked, then stopped making noise.

Yan Li patted her back and exchanged a look with Xuan Shiyan.

Both released their spiritual sense at the same time and swept the gorge. In that single instant, both hearts sank.

There were more people. Many more.

Those auras were hidden deep. Some were in cracks in the cliff walls, some behind boulders, and some lurked higher up.

A few had reached early Foundation Establishment. The weaker ones were late Qi Refining. A rough scan suggested at least twenty people.

Chen An’s information said there were only about a dozen. But the hidden numbers were far beyond that.

The two exchanged a quick glance. They both saw surprise in the other’s eyes, then withdrew their senses and lowered their heads without a change in expression.

The convoy moved on. The gorge grew wider. The exit was faintly visible ahead.

The guards’ steps lightened. They began to talk in low voices. Lao Zhao’s shoulders, tense the whole way, finally relaxed.

Then footsteps suddenly sounded behind them, messy and fast. Steel scraped as swords left their sheaths. A rough shout cut through the air. “Hold it!”

The merchant convoy stopped dead.

Lao Zhao’s expression changed. He yanked the reins. His horse reared, neighing uneasily. The guards’ hands went to their sword hilts in unison.

Ahead, Sun Mazi appeared with a dozen underlings, blocking the convoy’s path.

They were being played for fools. Lao Zhao could no longer hold back his anger.

“Sun, do you still follow any rules? I paid the road toll. You let us through. Now you block us again. What the hell do you mean?”

Sun Mazi grinned, showing a mouthful of yellow teeth. “Lao Zhao, it’s not that I don’t follow rules.”

His gaze swept the convoy and finally landed on the cart in the middle. A hint of greed rose in his eyes. “It’s just that this shipment has something I want.”

Lao Zhao’s face darkened. “Sun Mazi, don’t push people too far! Do you think I’m made of clay?” He put his hand on the heavy-backed broadsword at his waist.

Just then, a hand reached from behind and pressed down on Lao Zhao’s wrist.

Lao Zhao froze and turned. The shopkeeper had stepped down from the carriage at some point and stood behind him.

“Shopkeeper…”

Shopkeeper Li shook his head. He stepped forward, put Lao Zhao behind him, and cupped his hands toward Sun Mazi. “Chief Sun, this trip is only ordinary herbs and cloth. What could there be that catches your eye?”

“Is that so?”

Sun Mazi laughed mockingly.

He carried his saber and strolled unhurriedly toward the center of the convoy. He stopped before a cart covered with oilcloth, tapped the box board carelessly with the back of his blade, and tilted his head with a grin. “Jade Scale Fruit. Three of them.”

The moment the name left his mouth, the smile on Shopkeeper Li’s face faded bit by bit. His smooth, friendly expression turned cold.

Lao Zhao’s expression froze. The guards looked at each other, their grips tightening on their weapons.

Jade Scale Fruit. Legend said an azure dragon shed its scales into a spirit spring, and only after a thousand years did one fruit form.

The fruit bore green patterns like dragon scales. Under moonlight, it gave off a faint watery glow.

If a cultivator ate it, it could wash marrow and cleanse tendons, widen meridians, and nurture a trace of “dragon breath” in the dantian.

For low-level cultivators, it greatly raised the chance of Core Formation. For Golden Core cultivators, it offered a chance to comprehend a dragon might ability.

More importantly, after being picked, the Jade Scale Fruit was extremely delicate. If stored long in a storage artifact, its medicinal effect would drop by more than thirty percent. It had to be transported in a spirit-sealing cold jade box with a warming spirit array.

Such a heavenly treasure had always been priceless and rarely sold.

Never mind three. Even one appearing in the world would draw countless cultivators to fight over it.

Now Sun Mazi knew there was Jade Scale Fruit on the carts. He even knew the exact number. The last bit of hope in Shopkeeper Li’s heart scattered.

He was, after all, a man long used to the market. Shopkeeper Li quickly put his smile back on and cupped his hands toward Sun Mazi. “Chief Sun, you joke. Jade Scale Fruit? How could a small merchant house like ours ever touch such a thing?”

Sun Mazi grinned. “Whether I’m joking or not, just open it and we’ll know.”

As soon as he spoke, the ghost-head saber in his hand slashed down. With a rip, the oilcloth split open in a long gash.

“Men, search it!”

Several bandits rushed forward with cruel grins.

Lao Zhao’s face darkened. With a clang, he drew his saber and stepped in front of the cart. “Let’s see who dares!”

The guards behind him drew their weapons too. The tension snapped taut.

The bandits paused. The two sides faced off a few steps apart.

Sun Mazi’s smile slowly faded. “Shopkeeper Li, we’re just looking at the goods. Is that really so much?”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Land of the Phantom Flower

BLEastern FantasyHistorical

Read Now →
Not interested