#331 - For now - I am the villain in the book

Hooves rose high, kicking up a cloud of yellow sand.

From wishing he could sever all ties with Wei Changtian, to using the latter's notorious reputation to scare people.

When Old Zhangtou spoke imposingly, announcing, "This old man's disciple is none other than Wei Changtian!", he thought that these bandits would at least hesitate for a moment.

But who would have thought that the bandit leader would be so disdainful.

"Wei Changtian?"

"I've never heard of him!"

"Hoo!"

The heavy broadsword whistled as it was swung, and the strong man spurred his horse, ready to send Old Zhangtou's head flying, and then abduct Agou to be a young maid in his stronghold.

However, just at this moment, a slightly younger man beside him suddenly spoke up to stop him:

"Chief! Hold on!"

"Hmm?"

The bandit leader immediately stopped his blade, looking puzzled: "What's wrong?"

"Chief, I seem to have heard of this Wei Changtian before."

The young man frowned, and after answering, he turned to Old Zhangtou and asked: "Old man! Is your disciple... perhaps the Young Master Wei from the Wei family of Da Ning?!"

"Heh heh, you do have some knowledge."

The young man looked at Old Zhangtou suspiciously, weighing the matter in his heart, and finally cupped his fist with a hesitant gesture.

"Senior, allow me to discuss this with the Chief."

"No problem!"

"Alright, Senior, please wait."

"..."

No longer paying attention to Old Zhangtou, whose aura and attire were completely mismatched, the young man immediately rode his horse to the bandit leader's side, leaning close to the latter's ear and whispering:

"Chief, Wei Changtian is the Da Ning person who defeated General Meng Shi with a single move in Yuanzhou before."

"If what this old man says is true, then we must not kill him."

"However, Young Master Wei's strength is extraordinary, and he doesn't seem like he would take this person as his master."

"The decision of how to deal with this ultimately rests with you, Chief..."

"Hmm..."

"..."

Soon, the two finished their discussion.

Feeling the seven or eight gazes focused on him again, Old Zhangtou remained outwardly calm, but his heart was pounding incessantly.

His escape technique could no longer be used again. If this bandit leader was a fool, then he would really be in trouble this time.

May the Jade Emperor protect me! I hope that my wicked disciple's notorious reputation can scare these bandits!

Old Zhangtou was praying fervently in his heart, while on the other side, the young man spoke again.

"Senior... We have offended you greatly before. We hope that Senior will forgive us."

Hoo!

Hearing these words, Old Zhangtou immediately breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart.

"This old man has always been broad-minded and will not dwell on such trivial matters."

Fearing that the other party would worry that he would hold a grudge, Old Zhangtou first stated his position, and then pretended to casually ask: "How is it? Can you send us two away from this desert?"

"This matter is easy to handle."

The young man nodded: "This place is only a day's journey from Xiyang Prefecture. If we ride horses, we can leave the desert in half a day."

"However, Senior, the thing our Chief hates most in his life is being deceived."

"Therefore, after we escort Senior to Xiyang Prefecture, we hope that Senior can send a message to Young Master Wei, asking him to bring people to pick up Senior."

"We are all rough men. We hope Senior will forgive us for acting in this manner."

"..."

The young man's words sounded nice, but the meaning was equally clear.

We can give you a ride.

But when you get there, Wei Changtian must come to pick you up in person.

If you are not lying, then we can take this opportunity to ask your disciple for some benefits.

But if you are lying, then we will definitely make you wish you were dead.

To be honest, these bandits had a pretty good plan.

And in this situation, Old Zhangtou had no other choice but to nod calmly.

"Alright, let's set off as soon as possible."

"Yes, Senior, please mount your horse."

"..."

Several bandits gave way to a small horse for Old Zhangtou to ride, while the others surrounded him.

Soon, the group set off slowly in one direction.

The yellow sand billowed, like yellow waves sweeping across the desert.

Agou, who was also riding a horse, finally had the opportunity to ask Old Zhangtou a question that she had wanted to ask earlier.

"Grandpa, is Changtian Gege still my Senior Brother after all?"

"..."

Old Zhangtou was speechless for a moment, and after a long while, he reluctantly "compromised":

"Hmph! For the time being, he can be considered as such!"

Two days later, Huailing Prefecture City.

On the official road outside the city, a dozen riders escorted a black carriage, speeding past. The group did not enter the city, but continued to travel west.

Inside the carriage, Wei Changtian had just put the Mother-Son Jade and the "Codebook" into his arms, and was now resting his chin in his hand, wondering what he was thinking about.

Li Wutong, who had been traveling for two days straight and hadn't closed her eyes, wasn't sleepy at the moment. Seeing him like this, she asked:

"Young Master Wei, has something happened in Fengyuan?"

"No."

Wei Changtian shook his head: "Yan Luo hasn't appeared in the past two days, everything is as usual."

"Oh."

Nodding, Li Wutong naturally knew that Wei Changtian must have been thinking about something else just now.

She gently smoothed the pleats of her skirt, and then said seriously: "Young Master Wei, the corpse of that Wang surname镖头 has been found, and is now temporarily placed in the Yizhuang of Xiyang Prefecture. I wonder how you want to arrange it?"

"Hmm..."

Hearing that Wang Qian's body had been found, Wei Changtian suddenly raised his head, and after a long silence, he slowly replied:

"Cremate it, and keep his ashes safe. I want to take them back to Shuzhou for burial."

"..."

Although cremation was not as popular as it was in his previous life, cremation was still a mainstream burial method in ancient times, so Li Wutong was not surprised, but just asked softly:

"Was 镖头 Wang a Shuzhou person?"

"Yes, his wife and children are all in Shuzhou."

"Then why did he come to Fengyuan to make a living?"

"Because he couldn't stay in Shuzhou."

"Why is that?"

"..."

Glancing at Li Wutong, Wei Changtian didn't continue to answer, but just said in a low voice.

"Princess, you're asking too much."

"..."

It was dusk, and the carriage was speeding along the official road, with a fiery red sunset in the distance.

"Hmph, this palace has no interest either."

Li Wutong curled her lips and stopped asking, and stopped looking at Wei Changtian.