12: Tai'an City

An hour later, Xu Sanyan stepped through the stockade gate again, and Big Yellow Tooth, his face full of excitement, greeted him, "Fourth Master, you're not dead?"

Xu Sanyan frowned at him, "How many brothers returned?"

Big Yellow Tooth counted on his fingers, "A dozen or so. Luckily, I saw something was wrong and ran back early. I heard that Master and the others all died?"

"Mm, didn't Third Sister come back?" Xu Sanyan rode his horse further in.

"No, you're the only one from the Chieftain's family who came back."

Xu Sanyan nodded faintly. It seemed Tang Huanhuan had run away directly, probably afraid of running into him again.

So he walked straight to Wu Jue's courtyard, and seeing Big Yellow Tooth still following him eagerly, he frowned and asked, "Why are you following me?"

"Fourth Master, since the Chieftain's family is all dead, aren't you the First Master now?" Big Yellow Tooth was secretly delighted. He considered himself to have the best relationship with Fourth Master, so of course he was happy that Fourth Master was taking over.

Xu Sanyan had no interest in this dilapidated stockade at all. He said to Big Yellow Tooth, "This place is yours from now on."

Big Yellow Tooth was stunned, "You're leaving?"

"Mm."

Xu Sanyan wanted to go and see the center of Qi Country.

"Then take me with you, please." Big Yellow Tooth knew very well that with his limited abilities, he couldn't hold onto the stockade.

Xu Sanyan raised an eyebrow, "You want to come with me? Do you know where I'm going?"

"I'll follow you wherever you go, leading your horse, feeding it grass, whatever." Big Yellow Tooth smiled fawningly, the wrinkles on his face seemingly deepening.

Xu Sanyan thought for a moment, "Alright, if you want to follow, then follow. Go back and get more dry rations, and bring a few more horses. Wait for me at the stockade gate."

It just so happened that Xu Sanyan had never traveled far and wasn't very familiar with Qi Country. Although Big Yellow Tooth's martial arts weren't good, leading the way wouldn't be a problem.

"Got it!" Big Yellow Tooth shouted happily, then turned and ran off.

Xu Sanyan slowly knocked on Wu Jue's door.

"Has the Chieftain returned?" an excited female voice came from the courtyard.

"It's me," Xu Sanyan said indifferently.

The courtyard gate opened, and the plump, mature woman couldn't hide the disappointment on her face, "Little Four, where's your godfather?"

"He's dead." Xu Sanyan stepped in, as naturally as if returning to his own home.

"D-dead?" The mature woman's face was blank. Although she had had a premonition, when the bad news arrived, she still felt a moment of daze.

Their family's pillar had died, leaving them, orphans and a widow, to defend such a large family fortune?

Their only son was a sickly child, even less reliable. This news was nothing short of a bolt from the blue for her.

"Chieftain, how did he die...?" The mature woman's voice came out hoarsely.

Xu Sanyan sat down on his own accord, briefly explained the situation, and then said, "Godfather must have accumulated a lot of family wealth over the years. Since he's dead, I'll help him inherit it. Would you mind leading the way?"

Although Xu Sanyan's words were a question, they contained an attitude that brooked no refusal.

Tears welled up in the mature woman's eyes, and her legs went soft, kneeling before Xu Sanyan, "Fourth... Fourth Master, the Chieftain treated you well over the years..."

Xu Sanyan waved his hand, cutting off what she was about to say, a cold sneer on his face, "Heh heh... Have you forgotten what kind of place this is? You're talking about kindness and righteousness here? Besides, aren't you clear about how Wu Jue treated me?"

Don't let Xu Sanyan's current glory fool you; that was only recent. When he first came to this world, he suffered a lot of bullying. What good people could there be in this bandit's den?

It was only after his martial arts improved that the situation got better. Moreover, Wu Jue wasn't necessarily that good to him; which life-threatening task wasn't he the one to do?

Wu Jue would lie at home and take half the money. Xu Sanyan remembered every single one of these things.

The mature woman's lips moved, unsure what to say.

She wanted to use Xu Sanyan's strength to protect her family's property, but she didn't want to give him a single cent. However, she knew in her heart that this was impossible.

So she said, "The First Master also has a son..."

"Oh?" Xu Sanyan raised an eyebrow; he had never heard of it.

"Where is he?"

"In Taian City."

"Where is Taian City?" Xu Sanyan had never heard of it.

The mature woman lowered her head and said, "Fourth Master, the First Master is dead, and I only have one son left. I beg you, for the sake of past relations, please help this concubine."

Xu Sanyan used his scabbard to lift the mature woman's chin and said softly, "So, all the money and treasures Wu Jue accumulated over the years are in Taian City?"

"Yes."

"Very good, lead the way."

Xu Sanyan pulled the mature woman and walked out. He believed that Wu Jue's accumulations over the years would not disappoint him.

The mature woman was helpless; she couldn't resist and could only let him drag her away.

In front of the stockade gate, Big Yellow Tooth saw the Chieftain's Wife also arrive, and a suggestive smile involuntarily appeared on his face. So Fourth Master liked this type.

But really, the Chieftain's Wife's figure, big where it should be big, curvy where it should be curvy. If he were to hug her to sleep, it would be incredibly comfortable, but she looked a bit older, probably in her late thirties.

However, the Chieftain's Wife was also Fourth Master's nominal godmother...

Tsk tsk, exciting.

Big Yellow Tooth's mind was filled with wild fantasies.

"Let's go."

Xu Sanyan motioned for the two to get on their horses. The three left the stockade gate and headed straight south.

Big Yellow Tooth, with great tact, rode at the very front, leading the way and leaving space for Xu Sanyan and the Chieftain's Wife behind him to be alone.

Xu Sanyan ignored her and focused on the journey.

The three rode against the wind and sand for five days, finally emerging from the Northwest Gobi.

At this point, Big Yellow Tooth galloped over, "Fourth Master, Taian City is just ahead! I heard things there are really expensive, and houses are sold by the foot, which is just ridiculous."

"Good, let's enter the city as soon as possible," Xu Sanyan said, covering his face with a cloth.

Then he turned to the Chieftain's Wife and said, "Madam, you should have a place to stay in the city, right?"

"Fourth Master, rest assured, I do." The Chieftain's Wife also looked a bit haggard after these few days of hardship.

The three galloped into the city.

They saw Taian City's towering walls, uniformly built of bricks and stones, with armored soldiers patrolling the walls, making the defenses very strict.

This Taian City was a hundred times more prosperous than Dafeng Town. People came and went in an endless stream, and the hawking of street vendors mixed with the clamor of pedestrians, forming a picture of human life.

Moreover, there was no annoying yellow sand here. Xu Sanyan pulled off the scarf from his face and led his horse forward; riding horses was prohibited inside the city.

"Madam, please take us home." Xu Sanyan stayed close to the Chieftain's Wife to prevent her from escaping.

"Fourth Master, please come this way."

The Chieftain's Wife bit her lip slightly. She didn't want to bring the two bandits into her home, but she had no choice. Now, she was the fish on the chopping block, at their mercy.

The Chieftain's Wife led them through two long streets, walked along an alley for a while, and then pointed ahead,

"We're here."

"My goodness, is this whole big mansion the First Master's?"

Big Yellow Tooth exclaimed, looking at the vast courtyard in front of him.

The courtyard walls were built of blue bricks, and the area probably covered no less than ten mu. To buy such a large mansion in Taian City, where every inch of land was precious, showed how much money Wu Jue had accumulated over the years.

Xu Sanyan also raised an eyebrow, turning his head to ask, "How much silver did this mansion cost?"