737: Leaving Qizhou

Su Chen quickly came up with a plan and said coldly, "Kill four of the patrolling men and change into their clothes."

The three Death Warriors nodded immediately upon hearing this. Their skills were far superior to these patrollers. After the three of them left, they quickly brought back four corpses.

There was no blood on these four corpses, but their necks felt slightly out of place, clearly having died from being snapped.

Su Chen immediately picked out a smaller set of clothes to wear. However, given his thin frame, they still appeared somewhat baggy, though fortunately not too noticeably so.

The other three Death Warriors also finished dressing. Then, led by Su Chen, they stealthily made their way toward another small town.

As for why they were being stealthy, it was because being too blatant would certainly make them easily noticed.

These clothes were merely meant to deceive the eye.

Before leaving, Su Chen grabbed some ash from beneath the roasted beef and smeared it on his face. Then, with his head slightly bowed, he followed behind the other three Death Warriors, trying his best to remain unrecognizable.

"Shuiyang Town."

Since this place was not far from the capital of the Great Yu Dynasty, the town was quite prosperous. As Su Chen and the other three walked down the street, the surrounding commoners cast looks of awe and fear.

In this kind of world, commoners had a natural fear of anyone associated with the government.

Very soon.

Su Chen found a suitable target—a decent-looking courtyard. It wasn't a noble mansion, but it likely didn't belong to an ordinary person in Shuiyang Town either.

The four of them arrived at a deserted corner and waited quietly.

In the evening, Su Chen summoned three more Death Warriors, making a total of four now. He said with a serious expression:

"Go inside, seize the wife and children as leverage. Don't kill the important people, but you can kill anyone who gets in the way."

The six Death Warriors nodded silently and then vaulted over the courtyard wall. Not a sound came from inside. Su Chen silently approached the entrance of the residence and waited quietly.

After a good while.

A middle-aged man ran out, his face filled with terror. When he saw Su Chen, the fear in his eyes intensified.

"Sir, please follow me!"

Su Chen lifted his foot and followed, walking deep into the inner courtyard. After stepping into the innermost yard, Su Chen smelled a faint scent of blood. He saw two guards and a maidservant already lying in pools of blood.

Two Death Warriors stood guard at the door, while four others further away were holding thirteen people captive, all of whom were women and children.

They held their blades high, the killing intent in their eyes terrifying the thirteen captives.

The middle-aged man then knelt directly before Su Chen, his face full of pleading: "Hero, spare us! Please don't kill my wife and children. I'll give you anything you want, even all the wealth of the Ning Family, as long as you let them go."

Ning Zhou kowtowed repeatedly to Su Chen, hoping for mercy.

Su Chen looked at him with an indifferent expression: "From today on, your wife and children must stay in the inner courtyard. You will handle their three meals a day yourself. If my whereabouts are exposed, they will all die."

If Ning Zhou had shown a cold attitude toward these people, Su Chen would have chosen to kill them all.

But as it stood, Ning Zhou seemed to be quite a man of sentiment.

Ning Zhou nodded hurriedly: "Fine, fine, I will do as you say."

He didn't dare look up at Su Chen; or rather, throughout the entire process, he intentionally or unintentionally avoided looking at Su Chen.

Even so, he had guessed a lot.

Over the past two days, the imperial court had announced the capture of a major criminal, even offering ten thousand taels of gold as a reward. The sudden appearance of someone in the Ning Family who forbade anyone from exposing their whereabouts basically confirmed this person's identity.

After thinking for a moment, Su Chen spoke again: "There is one more requirement. You must send us out of Qizhou."

Ning Zhou's expression immediately turned grim. His family were merchants; if they were to help Su Chen leave Qizhou, there was certainly a way. But the problem was, if they did so and were discovered, wouldn't they be considered accomplices?

He didn't dare challenge the heavenly might of the Great Yu Dynasty.

Looking at his wife and children in the corner again, he felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body. He gritted his teeth and said, "There is a way, but it might take some time to prepare."

Su Chen's gaze was cold: "Three days. I want to leave Qizhou."

He couldn't stay in this place for long, or problems would arise sooner or later.

With his family in Su Chen's hands, Ning Zhou had no choice but to agree.

After Ning Zhou left, Su Chen went to a corner and summoned five more Death Warriors. There were now eleven Death Warriors in total. They were naturally skilled, each capable of taking on five opponents, and they immediately took control of the entire inner courtyard.

Ning Zhou told the rest of the Ning Family that things had been unsettled lately, so he had specifically hired guards to return with him.

The next day, at noon.

[Sign-in successful. Congratulations to the Host for obtaining 300 catties of pork.]

[Sign-in successful. Congratulations to the Host for obtaining 300 catties of fine salt.]

Salt!?

A hint of joy appeared on Su Chen's face. In this era, salt was an extremely precious commodity.

Another day passed.

[Sign-in successful. Congratulations to the Host for obtaining 40 Hidden Guards.]

[Sign-in successful. Congratulations to the Host for obtaining 101 Death Warriors.]

Hidden Guards?

Su Chen checked the detailed description. It seemed that Hidden Guards were special forces proficient in concealment and information gathering.

Without much hesitation, he released all forty of them, and they immediately filled the courtyard. These people were dressed in various clothes—some as fishermen, some as farmers, and others in the guise of merchants.

"Discuss among yourselves how to stay in contact. I will be leaving Qizhou later, and you will serve as my eyes, informing me of the surrounding situation in a timely manner."

The group of Hidden Guards immediately spoke with respectful expressions: "As you command!"

Then, they gathered to deliberate. Before long, they vaulted over the walls of the Ning Family courtyard and spread out in all directions.

[Sign-in successful. Congratulations on obtaining 500 catties of wheat.]

[Sign-in successful. Congratulations on obtaining 200 ordinary Soldiers.]

Five hundred people now.

Su Chen now had five hundred people at his disposal. This could be considered a meager amount of self-protection power; at least if he encountered some trouble, he could easily resolve it.

However, in the heartland of the Great Yu Dynasty, once trouble arose, what awaited him would likely be one problem after another, each bigger than the last...