Chapter 27 The Four Monsters of Kutong Mountain

Early the next morning, Yan Chu appeared at the city gate.

The group from the Xinglong Escort Agency had arrived even earlier than him, consisting of over twenty escorts led by Escort Leader Zhao.

"Brother Duan, over here!"

From a distance, Zhao Hui waved at him.

The employer was a small merchant association from Longhua Prefecture, and the group also included over a dozen guards protecting a dozen or so carriages.

Judging by appearances, the cargo being transported this time was of considerable value.

Besides that, Yan Chu also saw an unexpected person.

"Consultant Xie? Why are you here too?"

"Haha!"

Xie Kun, who was in the group, laughed and said, "Brother Duan, Escort Leader Zhao invited me. I thought this mission wouldn't be too difficult, so I agreed."

"Oh?"

Yan Chu's expression did not change in the slightest as he looked at Zhao Hui.

Zhao Hui nodded. "The escort agency didn't have enough manpower, so I invited Brother Xie as well. With the three of us in the Viscera Realm, nothing should go wrong."

In reality, he had only sent a mission request to the Four Seas Pavilion for two Third Realm Martial Artists.

It was Xie Kun who had volunteered to come.

But since the other party had said that just now, he naturally went along with it.

"So that's how it is..."

Yan Chu did not dwell on the other party's words and nodded, saying, "Let's go!"

"Alright!"

Zhao Hui held Yan Chu in relatively high regard.

According to Steward Zeng's introduction, although this Brother Duan was only a second-rank consultant, his actual cultivation was at the Middle Stage of the Viscera Realm, and his powerful fist techniques had few rivals.

For this escort mission, he would likely need to rely on him.

The person in charge of the merchant association had the surname Tao, and everyone called him Shopkeeper Tao.

Shopkeeper Tao also came up to exchange a few pleasantries with Yan Chu.

He was in the medicinal herb business.

These dozen or so carriages were filled with medicinal herbs that were in short supply in Linshui Prefecture, and a round trip could earn quite a profit.

However, their merchant association had limited strength, so they needed to hire an escort agency for protection every time.

After the pleasantries, the group traveled along the official road toward their destination.

Longhua Prefecture was over two thousand li away from Linshui Prefecture.

They needed to travel over four hundred li by land first, followed by over one thousand li by water.

In recent years, the Great Jin Imperial Court's control over the regions had been weak, with constant bandits and water hazards, making the trade routes difficult to navigate.

They would have to be careful along the way.

What surprised Yan Chu was...

There were two women in the group.

One was an escort from the Xinglong Escort Agency; she had a somewhat heroic appearance and rode silently on a fine horse.

The other woman appeared to be from the merchant caravan.

She wore a veil and sat inside one of the carriages, only lifting the curtain of the carriage window to glance when Yan Chu arrived, after which she did not appear again.

Zhao Hui rode his horse alongside Yan Chu.

Seeing that Yan Chu seemed puzzled, he smiled and explained:

"Brother Duan, this female escort is Lin Xiao, the daughter of our agency's Deputy Chief Escort Lin.

Don't let her being a woman fool you; she has already been on over a dozen escort missions and is quite a veteran!"

The female escort heard them discussing her name, turned around, and nodded, looking quite stern and humorless.

One wonders why she was given such a name?

"And what about the one in the carriage?"

"That, I don't know!"

Zhao Hui shook his head with a smile. "You'll have to ask Shopkeeper Tao about that."

Shopkeeper Tao was not far from them, so he certainly must have heard their conversation.

But seeing that he had no intention of explaining, Yan Chu did not press the matter.

Most of his attention was actually focused on Xie Kun, who was diagonally behind him.

Since they had set off, the other party's gaze had been intentionally or unintentionally falling on him. Although it was well-concealed, how could it escape his perception?

"Heh, let's see what tricks you're playing."

Yan Chu sneered internally and stopped paying him any mind, urging his horse past the others to ride at the front of the group.

They departed from Longhua Prefecture and spent the first night in a county town over a hundred li away.

Leaving the county town the next day, they could no longer follow the official road; they needed to take a small path for dozens of li and cross a large mountain ahead before they could return to the official road.

This would save them several days of travel.

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate.

They had only walked halfway when dark clouds gathered in the sky, and a torrential rain began to fall.

Judging by the looks of it, it wouldn't stop anytime soon.

"Escort Leader Zhao, it's raining heavily. I don't think it will stop for a while. The mountain road is difficult to travel, so why don't we find a place to take shelter from the rain first!"

"Alright!"

Zhao Hui put his bamboo hat on his head and pointed forward.

"Not far ahead, there is a dilapidated Mountain God Temple that has been abandoned for many years. Let's go there to take shelter from the rain!"

Thus, the group sped up and arrived at the Mountain God Temple that Zhao Hui had mentioned.

Although this Mountain God Temple had been abandoned for many years, the structure appeared to be mostly intact.

There was one main hall and two side halls, enough for their group to take shelter from the rain.

"Hurry and move the cargo into the main hall!"

Shopkeeper Tao ordered the merchant caravan members to move the cargo quickly, and they were busy rushing about.

Taking advantage of the gap, he specifically cleared a clean spot in the main hall and ran to the carriage in the middle to personally invite the Masked Woman inside to take shelter from the rain.

This made all the escorts from the Xinglong Escort Agency secretly speculate about the woman's identity.

Even though the woman had a veil covering her Face, just seeing her swaying figure was enough to set people's imaginations running wild.

However, this had nothing to do with Yan Chu.

He noticed...

Since entering this Mountain God Temple, Xie Kun's expression had undergone some subtle changes.

Yet this guy still came over to invite him with feigned politeness.

"Brother Duan, let's hurry into the hall to take shelter. The rain is getting heavier and heavier; it looks like it will keep falling for a while!"

"Alright! Please, Brother Xie!"

Rumble!

Lightning brewed within the dark clouds.

They had been taking shelter from the rain in this Mountain God Temple for half an hour, but not only did the rain not let up, it became even heavier, almost reaching a torrential downpour.

Shopkeeper Tao looked full of sorrow.

"With the rain falling this hard, I'm afraid a flash flood might erupt!

We won't be trapped here for several days, will we?"

Zhao Hui was also a bit worried.

The journey that was originally supposed to take over twenty days would likely require a month after such a heavy rain.

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

Just at this moment, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came, which even the dense curtain of rain could not drown out.

Everyone in the hall hurriedly prepared for battle.

The people from the Xinglong Escort Agency were all experienced in the Jianghu and successively placed their hands on their weapons.

"Who is it? Could it be mountain bandits?"

Shopkeeper Tao asked nervously.

Zhao Hui shook his head. "Not necessarily!"

"Let's wait and see. The Face of the Xinglong Escort Agency still counts for something in Longhua Prefecture!"

Yan Chu noticed that the Masked Woman, who had been resting with her eyes closed, was the first to open them, as if she had heard the hoofbeats long ago.

"Damn it, this rain is huge. Hurry in and take shelter!"

"How unlucky! If I had known, I wouldn't have left the house today."

"Forget it, remember to check the almanac in advance next time!"

Hearing the chaotic voices coming into the dilapidated temple, everyone felt slightly relieved.

Judging by appearances, it shouldn't be directed at them.

Yan Chu, however, stroked the scabbard in his hand.

Just when the hoofbeats appeared, he noticed a subtle, hidden smile on the corner of Xie Kun's mouth not far away.

It seems it's time for me to act!

As the voices drew closer, a group of people filed into the dilapidated temple one after another.

The four leaders were three men and one woman, wearing straw rain capes, but their appearances were bizarre and strange.

Some had crooked eyes and mouths, some had upturned nostrils, and some had Faces full of pockmarks.

In short, none of the four looked normal.

All of them were incomparably ugly.

Behind the four of them followed seven or eight people, their eyes scrutinizing everyone in the temple.

"The Four Oddities of Dry Tung Mountain?!"

At this moment, Zhao Hui gasped, exclaimed out loud, and identified the four of them.