Chapter 009: Heading to the Swamp

Du Fan knew he might have should wait until Chenchen and the others arrived before going into the swamp. At least that way, he could bring a few people with him who wouldn’t hold him back. But he also knew he didn’t have much time to wait for them. If Chenchen could really arrive in time, would he still need to fear those experts at levels seven or eight?

After indulging in such thoughts for a while, Du Fan rested and then mounted his horse, heading toward the dreaded swamp further to the south.

The more dangerous a place, the more wealth it held. This kind of swamp wasn’t barren—it contained various unique poisons, precious herbs, and special magical beasts. Countless mercenaries died here every year, yet people kept coming back. Du Fan was now one of them!

Although he could hire others to find the poisons, what he needed was deep in the swamp, a place few could reach. Mercenaries were usually at levels two to four. Those at higher levels were captains of large mercenary groups. Even more advanced warriors would seek jobs ten times better than being mercenaries—why live such a precarious life here?

Unless they were those who craved adventure and thrived on excitement, no such person would accept a lower fee. Du Fan didn’t have that much spare money, so he had to do it himself.

His targets were precious poisons like the three-colored lotus flower and vinegrass. If purchased, each of these would be worth a fortune. And he didn’t need just a small amount—he wanted a large quantity! Even if he hired mercenaries, it would cost at least a million gold coins.

After all, this was part of his territory, so he needed to know as much as possible about it. What he really wanted was to find those bandit groups. Du Fan headed to a supply point on the edge of the swamp—a place that resembled a small village.

The most common places here were bars and weapon shops. For mercenaries, where to stay was secondary; they were used to living in harsh conditions. Rest might be important, but reaping rewards and enjoying them was even more crucial. Still, a couple of inns could be found here.

The inn here also had a restaurant and bar on the first floor, with the sleeping quarters on the second floor. But how could one rest quietly in such an environment? Yet Du Fan no longer had anything to complain about; in a place like this, he had even thought he might have to sleep outdoors. Fortunately, Elsik had given him a very detailed map—probably obtained from a mercenary? Maybe Elsik used to be a mercenary?

With these unrelated thoughts in mind, Du Fan entered an inn. He actually knew that Elsik’s knowledge was far beyond what a mere mercenary could possess—even if he had been a mercenary before, he certainly wasn’t an ordinary one.

Someone like Du Fan, dressed plainly but neatly and clearly from a wealthy family, standing among a group of mercenaries would definitely stand out. So when he pushed the door open, everyone’s gaze focused on him, and the inn became so quiet that one could hear a needle drop.

But Du Fan didn’t notice anything. After glancing at what others were eating, he frowned slightly but said nothing. Then he said to the innkeeper, “I want a room.”

Although Du Fan said little, his frowning made many people mutter in dissatisfaction. Du Fan pretended not to hear them; he didn’t want to cause trouble here, and he was busy. Those two months weren’t long—it would take at least ten to fifteen days to get out of the swamp, not to mention the nearly ten days already lost traveling to Shacheng. That meant a month would have passed already, and he still had to worry about building a shelter.

Though he said he would leave everything to Elsik, he also said that any problems he couldn’t solve would have to be handled by him. If there really were problems Elsik couldn’t solve, they wouldn’t be resolved in a day or two, so he needed to leave some time for himself. Time truly was a testifier.

Lost in his own thoughts, the innkeeper knew Du Fan had angered those mercenaries but wasn’t sure whether to remind him to leave quickly. But if he did, might those frustrated people take their anger out on him? As the innkeeper struggled with this dilemma, he heard Du Fan say, “Prepare a meal for me, preferably something different from theirs…”

“Boom—”

Du Fan’s words undoubtedly pushed everyone’s anger to its peak. “Something different from theirs”—it was clear he disapproved of what they were eating. Wasn’t that a form of disrespect?

“A rich young master with a pretty face should hide under a woman’s skirt! What’s he doing here showing off?”
“Hide under a woman’s skirt!”
“I certainly won’t let him hide under my skirt.”
…
There were many such remarks. Du Fan was a bit surprised—had he done something wrong? But when he heard those words, anger appeared on his face. Du Fan grunted heavily, took a gold coin from his ring, and threw it forward, leaving a round hole in the chair.
“This is for the chair. Now, take me to rest quickly. Also, prepare some special grilled meat for me—not too greasy, about 70% cooked.”
The boss rushed over, picked up the gold coin, and personally escorted Du Fan upstairs. Du Fan’s series of actions left everyone speechless. If Du Fan had just broken the chair with a gold coin, they wouldn’t have feared him; many of them could do that.
But creating a round hole in a chair with a gold coin wasn’t so easy. They weren’t sure they could do it, and it looked so smooth that it seemed the hole had always been there. Such control over power was beyond their reach—perhaps impossible for them their entire lives. And Du Fan still seemed very young…
What level was he?
That was what everyone thought at the same time. The woman who had said she wouldn’t let Du Fan hide under her skirt bit her lip, making her already rosy lips appear even redder, as if they might bleed at any moment.
Though her little mouth was delicate and pretty, the area above it wasn’t very attractive, which was why Du Fan hadn’t paid her much attention. Du Fan spent his days among beauties; he wouldn’t even look at ordinary ones!
Du Fan went upstairs to tidy up his things and then waited for his meal. Soon after, the boss came back, placed a covered plate in front of Du Fan, and removed the lid. Inside was a piece of grilled meat still steaming with oil. The meat was golden brown. Du Fan, accustomed to high-quality food every day, found the occasional wild meat quite pleasant.
He cut off a piece, put it in his mouth, and nodded. “Not bad. What kind of meat is this?”
“Uh, it’s Qilong meat, sir,” the shop owner replied respectfully.
Hearing someone call him “sir,” Du Fan’s head twitched. “Do I look that old?”

When the inn owner heard Du Fan’s question, he realized he had said the wrong thing. Du Fan seemed to be no older than twenty. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, sir. I…”
Du Fan didn’t expect his words to scare him so much. He waved his hand. “It’s fine. You can go down. You can come back later to clean up. This meat is good. If there’s similar game tomorrow morning, bring another portion.”
The owner agreed and left in fear. Du Fan enjoyed this rare taste of game meat before going to sleep.
It was a dark and windy night, an ideal time for murder and arson. With the skills Du Fan had shown that day, no one would dare attack him. But while they weren’t after his wealth, some were interested in his formidable strength.
Du Fan woke up when a slender figure entered his room. He sensed it was a woman, but he pretended to be asleep, acting as if he hadn’t noticed her.
The girl knew Du Fan was awake and was pretending to sleep on purpose. She walked loudly over to Du Fan’s bed and said, “Get up!”
Du Fan still didn’t move. The girl raised her hand to grab him, but Du Fan was faster. Before she could even cry out, he had her in his arms, covering her mouth with one hand while the other wandered over her body.
At that moment, Du Fan felt someone walking back and forth outside his door, seemingly wanting to enter but too afraid. The girl’s cheeks turned red from Du Fan’s inappropriate actions, and her eyes moistened with shame and anger.
Du Fan said softly, “You sneaked into a man’s room in the middle of the night. Isn’t that so I can take good care of you? Why do you look so humiliated?”
The girl glared at Du Fan, her eyes filled with hatred. Though she knew she was at fault, she couldn’t say anything. She shouldn’t have ignored Uncle Hua’s advice and come here on her own.
Eventually, the person outside couldn’t resist knocking on Du Fan’s door. “Sir inside, is our young lady here?”
Du Fan remained silent, and the girl was tightly held by him, unable to move, let alone make a sound to let them in. She was already a third-level swordsman, yet she couldn’t move a muscle against Du Fan. It seemed Du Fan was at least a seventh-level warrior. After all, Uncle Hua was only at the sixth level, and even he couldn’t subdue her instantly or trap her without giving her any chance to resist.

But the people outside couldn’t wait any longer. Though there was no sound inside, they knew the young lady of their family must be there!
“Sorry!” Uncle Hua shouted angrily and kicked the door open. The others heard the noise but wouldn’t come out to see what was happening—sometimes, watching could be deadly.
After entering, Uncle Hua saw his young lady held captive by Du Fan and was shocked, but he dared not act rashly. “Our young lady truly apologizes for disturbing you in the middle of the night. Could you please release her first?”
Du Fan tilted his head and thought for a moment. He had only been playing around; otherwise, he wouldn’t have teased a little girl. He released her, pushed her forward, and sent her into Uncle Hua’s arms.
Uncle Hua glared fiercely at the girl. The girl, who had originally wanted to complain about her hardships, held back her tears and glared at Du Fan.
“I guess you have something to ask of me? But is this really the right attitude to take when asking for help?”