645: Beggars deliver messages

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a few more months had passed. The Great Tang lands remained peaceful and prosperous, with favorable weather for the crops. Furthermore, thanks to the arrival of new technology, the common people were living increasingly comfortable lives; even the humblest paupers now had their own trades.

Of course, there are always those who lack ambition, and indeed, there were quite a few beggars.

However, the profession of begging was one that no one dared to underestimate, for it hid many capable people within its ranks!

Especially when it came to gathering intelligence, these people possessed a unique advantage. After all, who would care if a beggar might be stealing secrets? They couldn't even read a single word!

And don't forget, the true Ancestral Master of the beggars was no mere Mortal; it was Mozi from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period!

Mohist culture, characterized by eating from a hundred families and wearing clothes from a hundred families, took the lifelong mission of helping others defend their cities as its own. Universal love and non-aggression were its core tenets!

Of course, there was still a fundamental difference between them and real beggars!

Deep in the mountains, a group of ascetic-like beggars sang, "The sky is my canopy, the earth is my carpet..." as they happily made their way along, looking quite conspicuous.

By the stream, the beggars began to scoop up water to drink with their tattered bowls, happily grilling the freshly caught aquatic products and freshwater fish by the riverbank, eating with great delight.

Suddenly, an old man among the beggars choked on a fish bone. Several people rushed forward and, after a great deal of effort, managed to force it down with a dry steamed bun.

The scene was tense but harmless, and it seemed to happen frequently.

In the mountains, several figures clad in black armor were hidden behind the branches of a large tree, watching the scene before them.

"Deputy General Xiaoyan, a total of six groups have passed through this mountain area recently. Four were merchants, and two were beggars. Two of the merchant groups were the most suspicious, but we remained well-hidden, so there were no anomalies. However, this group today is even more strange; although there aren't many of them, a few seem to have some cultivation! Even though they are still in the Mortal Realm, their level of suspicion has increased greatly! Should we..."

A tall, thin fellow reported to a middle-aged general, making a slicing gesture with his hand at the final sentence.

The general nodded, watching the young beggar below who was helping the old beggar catch his breath. He shook his head disdainfully and said, "A group of Mortals, what kind of waves can they make? If we kill them and don't handle it well, we might alert the enemy instead. The General said we must keep a low profile. Do you understand?"

"This... yes, subordinate understands!"

The subordinate nodded, then bowed and hid behind the tree. His body actually gradually vanished, but one could clearly see the branches bending where he had touched them. It turned out he had turned invisible!

General Xiaoyan took another look at the beggars, seeing them washing their tattered bowls by the stream as usual, and another pouring freshly scooped water into the old man's mouth. He couldn't help but shake his head, saying contemptuously, "Mortals, no matter how carefree they are, still have their troubles. Beggars don't even have the most basic life-saving skills and can only use the most primitive methods for treatment..."

Muttering to himself, General Xiaoyan had already disappeared with his subordinates.

"Phew, they're finally gone... Damn it, this old man was scared out of his wits!"

The old man, carrying eight cloth bags, slid slowly down from the large rock, still lingering in fear, and said, "That guy is truly formidable. Just a single glance from him could have left us without a place to be buried!"

The old beggar said to the young beggars in a low voice, "No time to lose, let's leave immediately. I'll explain everything on the way!"

Saying this, the old beggar led everyone rushing wildly out of the forest, not daring to stop for a moment. Along the way, they had to pretend to be nonchalant, fearing someone might be tracking them.

Finally, they walked out of the mountain area, and the old beggar finally breathed a sigh of relief. He said in a low voice, "Hurry up and disperse, head toward Chang'an City in six different directions... You must tell the Holy Monk and his Disciples everything we have seen and heard. Do you understand?"

"Understand what... I say, Elder Deng, what exactly did you discover? Why didn't any of us see it?" a young Disciple with three bags asked helplessly.

"You couldn't sense it because your strength is too low. You're only in the Early Stage of Qi refining, what could you possibly sense!" The old beggar finally realized what he had overlooked and couldn't help but say, "Those enemies are not human... their strength is probably on par with the Holy Monk, and I just recently had a Breakthrough to the Late Stage of Qi refining, so I am extremely sensitive to Killing Intent. Just now, when we passed through the mountain stream, we had already attracted the attention of those experts, and they truly did have Killing Intent toward us. It was thanks to your Elder's cleverness in pretending to choke on a fish bone that I saved your lives... though, it's also possible that because our strength is so low, they simply didn't bother to kill us!"

"Is it that terrifying?" the young beggar who asked earlier said in a low voice, "Can't even our Sect Leader defeat them?"

The Beggar Sect Leader was the idol of all beggars. In terms of martial arts cultivation alone, he was already a rare expert in the world, so everyone compared true powerhouses to the Sect Leader.

However, what they didn't know was that the enemies they were facing this time, let alone the Sect Leader, were so powerful that even immortals could barely catch up to them.

"Quit talking nonsense. Our Sect Leader and these guys are truly worlds apart—they're the type who could crush the Sect Leader with a single spit!"

Elder Deng, the old beggar, said in a low voice, "However, this just proves the existence of those monsters; they must be in these deep mountains. Therefore, this intelligence must be conveyed to Chang'an. They will naturally send professional people to keep watch."

"Heh, I'm afraid you won't be leaving!"

A terrifying voice came from behind. The old beggar stiffened, then suddenly turned his head and threw a punch at the person behind him, but the opponent's palm appeared instantly, easily blocking the old beggar's fist.

The old beggar did not give up, first shouting, "Go! Run, run quickly!"

The Disciples reacted instantly, but after only a brief moment of hesitation, the young man who had asked the question earlier had already fled quickly, and the other young beggars also remembered something, looked at the old beggar with grief and indignation, and also fled.

"Heh, a bunch of ants, what kind of impact can you make? If it weren't for the higher-ups not wanting us to commit too much slaughter, you would have already turned into the dregs and dust of the Universe!"

General Xiaoyan squeezed hard, and the old beggar screamed like a slaughtered pig. When he let go, the old beggar's hands had already been crushed into a mass of flesh, with bones and muscles all mixed together!