Martial Cultivator

Chapter 431: The Word 'Like' Isn't Easy

The three cultivators were all at the Bitter Sea Realm. Despite their advantage in numbers, they did not last long against Chen Chao. Chen Chao did not even draw his saber; he swiftly defeated all three. Afterwards, he retrieved the skygold coins from their bodies and tossed them carelessly into the woods. It would not be long before the beasts in the mountains devoured their corpses.

The siblings watched the scene in silence, exchanging glances. After a while, the young man spoke somewhat ruefully, "Sir, you truly are a person of great ability."

The young girl remained dazed, perhaps deeply affected by what she had seen; a scene she would likely never forget.

Chen Chao chuckled, "If I didn't have some skill, I wouldn't dare to offer you guys help."

The young man looked at Chen Chao with admiration, his eyes scorching. There were words on the tip of his tongue, but he could not bring himself to say them.

In the following days, the three continued to chat occasionally, but the young man seemed burdened by something. However, Chen Chao pretended not to notice.

As they neared the commandery city, it was already dusk. Even if they reached the city, they would likely not be allowed in at this hour. So, they chose to spend another night outdoors. Chen Chao gathered some dry branches and lit a fire. After chatting with the siblings by the fire for a while, it was already late into the night.

"You two can go ahead and sleep. I assure you that when you wake up tomorrow, you'll find each other unharmed."

Chen Chao noticed the tension between the siblings. Perhaps as they approached the final moments, they became more cautious. The young man had been forcing himself to stay alert these past few days, but now, he was visibly exhausted. After struggling with his drooping eyelids for a moment, he finally fell asleep. The young girl took out a coat and covered her brother before calling out softly, "Sir."

Chen Chao looked at the young woman. In the flickering firelight, her rather attractive appearance seemed to gain an extra charm. However, Chen Chao was not someone without worldly experience. Forget about Xie Nandu, even his cousin was much prettier than this young girl in front of him, so he did not feel much.

After the young woman called him "Sir," she hesitated, wanting to speak but swallowing the words back.

Chen Chao gently teased, "Are you thinking about offering your hand in marriage as gratitude, like in novels?"

The young woman did not expect Chen Chao to see through her thoughts so easily. Her face flushed red in an instant.

Shaking his head, Chen Chao said, "Offering yourself sounds nice, but there's no logic behind it. You should find a man you truly love to spend your life with. You can't rush into such a big decision just because someone helped you once."

Feeling a bit disappointed, the young woman asked, "Do you think I'm not attractive, Sir?"

Chen Chao shook his head again, smiling, "You're attractive, but there's no need to think this way just because I helped you."

Listening to his words, the young woman lowered her head and murmured softly, "But I'm willing to do it."

Chen Chao chuckled, "You barely know me and you dare to say you won't marry anyone else but me? Take ten thousand steps back, even if you decide to follow me today, how can you guarantee that after some time, you won't meet another man and realize you actually like him? How will you deal with that then?"

The young woman lifted her head, her face filled with confusion and a hint of uncertainty.

She had not thought about this scenario before. Now, with Chen Chao mentioning it, she began to ponder.

Chen Chao smiled, "Don't rush into thinking that just because you feel something different with one man, he's the one for the rest of your life. Take your time, get to know more men, and then decide what kind of man you truly like."

After some thought, the young woman asked, "But what if, after meeting many guys, I still think Sir is the best?"

Chen Chao was at a loss for words.

He could not stop a woman from liking a man.

After a moment of silence, Chen Chao shook his head and said, "You can like me, but I won't like you."

Upon hearing this, the young woman's eyes instantly welled up with tears. After a long silence, she murmured softly, "I see."

Chen Chao did not say anything more and began to rest with closed eyes.

……

……

Early the next morning, the three of them entered the county city called Ancient Mountain Commandery. Although it was not a major commandery in the Yellow Dragon Prefecture, it was still bustling with activity. There were countless merchants coming and going, and the streets were filled with various businesses and people.

Chen Chao led the two siblings over to the merchant convoys and spent a long time looking around before selecting a convoy that was about to return to the Divine Capital.

They had brought goods out from the Divine Capital and sold them on the way down south. Now, with their goods sold out, they had purchased many items from the south that were unavailable in the north before choosing to head up north.

The convoy consisted of about thirty people, with more than a dozen of them exuding a steady aura, indicating their cultivation realms that were not low.

Leading the convoy was a middle-aged woman with an ordinary appearance but an unusually steady demeanor. Her face showed signs of weathering, making it difficult to determine her age at a glance. It was probably because she had been traveling extensively that she looked this way. When Chen Chao explained their intentions, the woman frowned but did not immediately respond.

"Money is not a problem, as long as it's not too overboard, I won't haggle."

Chen Chao said to the woman. In truth, he was not worried about her being difficult to deal with. If anything, it would show that this woman had her own unique qualities.

The middle-aged woman shook her head and declined politely, "The journey is perilous. I'm afraid I won't be able to protect young master's two friends."

Chen Chao did not mind and simply replied, "There's no deal that can't be negotiated in this world. Since Captain is a seasoned businesswoman who has traveled extensively, you naturally understand this principle."

The middle-aged woman did not respond immediately. She did not want any complications, but if the young man in front of her could offer compensation she could not refuse, then this business deal could naturally be discussed.

Chen Chao took out a demon bead from his pocket and handed it to the middle-aged woman in front of him.

The middle-aged woman naturally had keen insight and could tell at a glance that this was no ordinary item. However, she immediately became wary. "Young master, can you be honest? What is the relationship between these two and you? Will we encounter any other trouble along the way?"

Chen Chao shook his head. "Rest assured, Captain, there won't be any trouble. It's just that these two need to go to the Divine Capital, and I have other matters to attend to, so I can't escort them."

The middle-aged woman hesitated again. Taking the demon bead to the Divine Capital to sell would fetch a considerable sum of money, and the price she had to pay was actually quite small. However, the more so, the less she dared to make a decision lightly.

Feeling helpless, Chen Chao opened his robe to reveal the waist plate of the Left Guard's office hanging from his waist, clearly displaying the title of Deputy Commander.

The woman's expression immediately became serious. Looking at Chen Chao's attire again, she whispered, "Your Excellency, are you Commander Chen?"

Chen Chao nodded, "Precisely so."

Only then, did the woman smile and say, "Since the one entrusting is Commander Chen, then there's no problem."

Afterwards, she even refused to accept Chen Chao's demon bead, smiling and saying, "Commander Chen has done so much for Great Liang. How can we do such a thing?"

"Business is business," Chen Chao still insisted on handing over the demon bead before saying softly, "I haven't revealed my whereabouts since leaving the Divine Capital. I hope Captain won't inform anyone else."

The woman nodded and said, "I understand this bit of rules."

After hesitating for a moment, the woman suddenly asked in a low voice, "There have been widespread rumors recently about the incident in White Deer Prefecture. It was Commander Chen's doing, right?"

Chen Chao could not help but bitterly smile. Although he had not revealed his whereabouts, the incident of killing people on Clearwater Mountain was now widely known.

He neither nodded nor shook his head, which could be considered as tacitly agreeing.

The woman said in admiration, "After understanding the ins and outs of the matter, this humble woman also greatly admires Commander Chen."

After chatting for a moment, the merchant convoy was already prepared and about to set off again. However, this time the young brother and sister did not need to rush along the way. They could sit comfortably in the carriage and travel to the Divine Capital.

Chen Chao escorted the convoy to the outskirts of the commandery city. The woman clasped her fists and said, "This humble woman definitely won't fail Commander Chen's trust."

Chen Chao nodded and said, "Thank you."

After that, he went to the young brother and sister, gave them some instructions, and then signaled that he was done.

The young man said solemnly, "Erhu will never forget Sir's kindness for the rest of my life."

Chen Chao just smiled and nodded.

The young girl glanced back at Chen Chao with reluctance before boarding the carriage with her elder brother.

Then, the merchant convoy set off.

Chen Chao turned around and headed back into the commandery city.

Walking along the long street, Chen Chao contemplated the events to come. Actually, he did not reveal his identity today solely for the sake of the young brother and sister. However, regardless of the reason, now that the woman knew his identity, she would not mistreat the siblings on the way. As for the money and other belongings they carried, no one should dare to covet them.

Another reason for choosing to stay in this commandery city was a secret letter he had received from Song Lian. The contents were direct and made Chen Chao feel somewhat nostalgic.

The warden of this place was named Xu Xuanshan. During his tenure here, he had always been someone who sought no merits but feared no faults; not much different from most other wardens in the Great Liang Dynasty. However, during the investigation of the Xia Family members by the Left Guard, it was discovered that this man was actually a spy planted by the foreign lands into the Great Liang Dynasty. Upon learning this, Song Lian had already reported it to the Great Liang Emperor and dispatched a new warden on the way. However, after looking at the map, Song Lian realized that this place was a must-pass location on the way to Sword Qi Mountain. Therefore, he instructed Chen Chao to deal with this scoundrel before the arrival of the new warden.

As for how to deal with him, there was only a simple word in the secret letter.

Kill.

Although not in the Divine Capital, as the deputy commander of the Left Guard, it was within Chen Chao's duties to carry out such tasks.

As for revealing his identity, actually, his identity had long been unable to be concealed.

However, Chen Chao was not too worried about what would happen next. Now that he had stepped into the Great Beyond Realm, as long as the foreign lands did not send Nepenthe cultivators to assassinate him, Chen Chao felt that there should not be much of a problem.

Chen Chao bought a sugar figurine on the street and ate it as he walked, leisurely arriving in front of the Warden's Office. Then he slowed down.

The two constables at the door were about to speak up and drive Chen Chao away when he spoke first, his words simple and straightforward, "Ask Xu Xuanshan to get his ass out and meet this official!"

The two constables were stunned by the words 'this official,' and for a moment, they looked at each other.

It was not until a long time later that one of the constables reacted, asking cautiously, "Your Excellency is...?"

Chen Chao tossed his waist badge, saying calmly, "Chen Chao, Deputy Commander of the Left Guard."