Chapter 1196: Flame Town
Clatter, clatter, clatter…
The sound of hooves echoed like thunder, with sand flying everywhere.
The Silver Fox and his group raced across the desert for over half an hour until, in the distance, they finally spotted a cluster of buildings on the horizon.
“We’re here.”
The Silver Fox calmly pulled back the reins atop a sand dune and said from above, “The small town ahead is our destination—Flame Town! Once we get there, we’ll all have a good meal to shake off bad luck.”
“We’ve been chased by those bastards from the Jinyiwei for most of the day. It’s time to find a place to rest—my stomach’s cramping from hunger.”
Tiaozǐ exaggeratedly patted his stomach and grinned foolishly.
Among the group, only Daozi kept glancing back from time to time, muttering words like “Hu Po” and “the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance,” clearly regretting missing out on something exciting.
“Let’s go!”
Glancing back at Daozi, the Silver Fox spurred his horse down the sand dune.
“Go!”
Tiaozǐ and Leizi hurriedly spurred their horses after them.
“A bunch of heartless guys.”
Frustrated, Daozi had no choice but to chase after the three.
With the horses galloping fast and hot wind hitting their faces, Daozi grew increasingly uncomfortable. Unable to contain his frustration, he rushed after the Silver Fox and called out, “Brother Silver Fox!”
“…”
The Silver Fox didn’t slow down but turned his head.
Ignoring the sand and heat in his mouth, Daozi shouted, “Even if we’re not competing for Hu Po, it would be worth staying to see who ends up getting it. Why rush us here so quickly…”
“Haha, I was right! I knew it—he’s been distracted all the way. I knew his mind wasn’t here yet!” Tiaozǐ and Leizi exchanged smiles and teased each other.
In front of his brothers, Daozi knew he couldn’t hide his thoughts. “That’s the ancient demonic weapon, Hu Po—the Divine Blade. I don’t believe you guys don’t care at all.”
Tiaozǐ shrugged, shrugged his hands, and made a helpless face. “What’s the use of caring? If it’s not meant for you, the more you care, the more disappointed you’ll be.”
“Exactly. It’s a waste of time and puts us in danger. Don’t forget, at this speed, we’d be caught in an instant in the desert. I don’t want to lose the mission and risk my life too,” Leizi added bluntly.
They had abandoned the fight for Hu Po and left behind the key characters Zhou Huai’an and Mo Yan after retreating from the Desert Palace. They even gave up on a mission they had persisted with for most of the day—their sacrifice wasn’t small.
At the mention of the mission, Daozi became even angrier!
“The once fine Longmen Inn has ended up involved with the Desert Palace. Zhou Huai’an and Mo Yan have gone from rescuing Yu Qian to having to stop the return of the Tiger Soul to the martial world for the sake of justice—ugh…”
“Enough complaining. Keep moving; don’t waste time,” came the voice of Silver Fox from ahead.
“…”
As soon as Silver Fox spoke, Daozi fell silent.
He never questioned Silver Fox’s decisions. This time too, it was because the Tiger Soul weapon really piqued his interest, which made him restless.
“Yan Town…”
It took him some time to shift his attention away from the Tiger Soul. Suddenly, Daozi noticed something strange and rode after Silver Fox: “Silver Fox, this seems to be the border between our Central Plains and the Western Regions countries. Shouldn’t we be heading east back to the Central Plains? Did we go the wrong way?”
“…”
Faced with Daozi’s question, Silver Fox rolled his eyes helplessly. “The Tiger Soul has indeed captured your mind. Have you forgotten why we entered the desert in the first place?”
“…”
Daozi was stunned.
After a few seconds, he suddenly remembered something very important!
Happy!
It was Happy who sent them a message in advance, allowing them to arrive in the desert early enough to encounter the mission related to Longmen Inn, witness the Black Storm, and see the opening of the Desert Palace.
A series of major events and the appearance of various top martial artists brought unprecedented shocks, one after another, so much so that Daozi had forgotten about this matter altogether.
Thinking of this, Daozi’s expression changed: “The sect leader sent us here, but he still hasn’t shown up… Where is he?” As he spoke, it seemed he remembered something; his eyes suddenly glowed slightly as he stared at Silver Fox.
Tiaozhi and Leizi exchanged a glance.
From the conversation between Silver Fox and Daozi, they also realized that since Happy knew in advance there would be an important mission here, he must have arrived earlier than them.
“The sect leader must be wearing a human mask, secretly monitoring every move of the Tiger Soul treasure in the Desert Palace… Definitely!”
After a pause, Daozi showed a puzzled look again. “It’s strange. If Happy’s target is the Tiger Soul, why would he divert us? Could it be he’s not there?”
By this point, the four of them had arrived at the foot of the city.
…
Yan Town.
A border town at the far west of the Central Plains, with a long history. It was home to many people in strange costumes, almost fully influenced by the Western Regions.
Unlike ordinary Central Plains towns with tall, sturdy city walls and copper-plated gates, here there were only mounds of earth that looked hollow and extremely desolate and simple.
“…”
“Brother Silver Fox, are you trying to tell me we came to this place to drink and have fun?” Lei Zi raised his eyebrows, looking at the dilapidated town where not even a tavern sign could be found, almost wringing his brows repeatedly.
“Look up there.”
Silver Fox ignored him and pointed with his eyes at the sand wall outside the town.
The three of them followed his gaze!
“Huh?”
“How is he here?!”
On the left side above the sand wall stood a simple, ruined pavilion. Inside, a young man in white sat leisurely, sipping tea from a cup, with an old servant holding a teapot beside him. They looked extremely comfortable, like a noble young master passing through this place.
The young man in white!
The four of them immediately recognized him as the one who had shattered the full-power attack of the Heaven and Earth Alliance’s leader near the Sand Vortex—a man of unfathomable strength and mysterious identity.
Daozi, who had been complaining earlier, now stared at him as if he were a treasure, almost drooling!
Suppressing their urge to shout, the three of them exchanged six intense gazes between Silver Fox and the young man in white.
“Brother Silver Fox, could it be you’ve triggered some hidden quest?!”
Whether it was at the Dragon Gate Inn or after the discovery of the treasure in the Desert Palace, the young man in white ranked second only to the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance in their eyes. No wonder they were so surprised when they saw him.
But after observing carefully for a while, Silver Fox suddenly sighed wistfully: “I thought we’d definitely miss out on the great show at the Desert Palace since Happy was here. Who would have thought he’s been closer to it than any of us all along…”
“Hm?”
The three of them didn’t understand.
“Come up here.”
At that moment, a familiar voice reached their ears. Happy decided not to keep it a secret from them any longer.
Except for Silver Fox, who showed an expression of “as I thought,” the other three were extremely shaken:
“Master!”
“You’re the master???”
The three of them blurted out in shock, looking at each other.
……
With Happy’s message, the four of Silver Fox didn’t dare delay. With a mix of skepticism and astonishment, they put away their mounts and flew to the top of the city wall to peek secretly.
“You’ve all worked hard these past few days.”
Happy rose gracefully from his seat.
The young man in white stood up from the stone bench, exuding an air of elegance without the slightest trace of mundanity, making it impossible to tell he was a player.
Even Silver Fox widened his eyes, showing deep disbelief and astonishment at the role Happy was playing as the young man in white.
Every move of the young man in white was graceful and effortless, his charm and temperament deeply ingrained, truly befitting a descendant of a renowned martial arts family! Even if one knew the answer at this moment, it would be hard to believe—there was even an illusion that they were facing an NPC rather than a player.
Except for Silver Fox, who quickly regained his composure, the other three exchanged glances and swallowed hard.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing their cautious and restrained expressions, Happy smiled slightly and pointed to the stone mound inside the pavilion: “…Sit.”
It was only then that the group finally snapped out of their daze.
Led by Silver Fox, the four of them took their seats across from Happy. Though they were all tough men, they felt an inexplicable sense of authority and pressure in his presence.
Perhaps it was because the young man in white had defeated the world’s richest master and a top expert from Tiandao at the Longmen Inn; or perhaps it was because Happy, who had once needed the help of Song Que from Tiandao to barely hold his own against the Evil King, and now the leader of the Jinxiu Heshan Sect, had become even more unpredictable.
This sense of authority and pressure did not cause discomfort; instead, it made them forget about Hu Po and the leader of the Tiandao Alliance. All they could see was Happy, filled with an overwhelming sense of security.
In this desert, within this small pavilion, it felt like the safest place in the world.
As the four sat down, a figure stepped forward from Happy’s side…
Whoosh!
Several cups of tea emitting a cold aura appeared before them.
“Try this Snow Lotus Tea picked from the Tianshan Mountains. It tastes quite good,” said Happy, raising his own cup with an air of enjoyment.
But Silver Fox and the others were deeply captivated by the old servant behind Happy!
Earlier, they had been too shocked by Happy’s sudden transformation to notice his attendant… Now, recalling the scene at the Longmen Inn, they remembered that the old man had single-handedly taken on three Red Robed Lamas at the mythic level—his strength was quite remarkable.
If Happy was a player, then who was this expert by his side?
When did the Central Plains martial arts world gain such a formidable figure, whose strength was likely only second to Happy and the Emperor?
However…
Judging from his demeanor, he seemed to hold deep respect for Happy.
Silver Fox and the others were instantly confused.
Happy naturally noticed the confusion and speculation in their eyes, but he neither revealed nor explained anything. After the four took a sip of the Snow Lotus Tea, he asked, “How’s your progress with the ‘Four Ultimate Sword Formation’?”