Chapter 114: Cavalry

Chapter 114: Cavalry

Silver. Silver, in several carts.

Seeing the deep ruts left by the cart wheels, Lü Zhuangyuan had known they were carrying something heavy, but he never imagined it was all silver!

"How much silver is that? Even a little bit would be enough to build several opera houses!"

Just as Lü Zhuangyuan stared in a daze, the wind-blown curtain dropped back down.

The nuns had clearly noticed the strange looks from the people around them, but they couldn't be bothered to care, continuing to sit on the ground eating like massive iron weights.

"Stop staring and eat. Hurry up and finish. Once we're full, we leave immediately. With this much silver, trouble is bound to follow."

Forming a semicircle with the two carts, the Lü Troupe resumed their meal.

Naturally, as an honored guest, Zhao Wu was treated no less well, with white flour buns and duck eggs in abundance.

Even if Zhao Wu said he didn't want them, it wouldn't matter.

As they ate like this, the stench gradually grew stronger.

Somehow, a relatively thinner nun came over to them, staring covetously at the salted duck egg in Zhao Wu's hand.

"How much for these eggs?"

"Aren't nuns supposed to abstain from—" Lü Xiucai's words were cut short when his father knocked him back with his smoking pipe.

"Master, what kind of talk is that? It's just a few eggs, take them, take them."

As he spoke, Lü Zhuangyuan reached into the jar, fished out two salted duck eggs, and handed them over.

The nun cast a somewhat guilty glance at her companions by the cart, reached out to grab an egg, and without even bothering to peel the shell, tossed it straight into her mouth and chewed.

"I'll pay for it." A handful of half-string copper coins, stifled until they stank, were tossed onto the cart.

Feeling the oily salted yolk burst in her mouth, the fat nun immediately squinted her eyes in pure enjoyment.

With such a massive appetite, Lü Zhuangyuan's two eggs wouldn't last long. Her fat hand reached directly into the jar of salted duck eggs.

Like eating grapes, she opened her mouth and popped them in one by one, eating with immense relish.

Watching from the side, Zhao Wu now had only one question in his mind: "Doesn't it get too salty eating them like that?"

"Clatter, clatter, clatter~" A sound like a storm of hooves suddenly erupted. Everyone looked toward the source and saw cavalry actually appearing at the far end of the road!

"The soldiers are here! Run!!"

Someone shouted, and the other travelers immediately stood up, slung their luggage over their backs, and darted into the surrounding woods.

Lü Zhuangyuan naturally wanted to run too, but he had a cart.

By the time the cavalry arrived, the only ones left in the area besides the Lü Troupe were the nuns.

Gritting his teeth, Lü Zhuangyuan gave Zhao Wu a bewildering smile, then grabbed him and pushed him forward.

"Young Master Zhao, I've had my eye on you for a while. With such a formidable senior brother, you must be equally powerful. Don't hold back now."

"I... I'm not... I..."

Before he could explain, the cavalry in black iron armor charged right past them, filling Zhao Wu's open mouth with sand just as he was about to speak.

The sound of hooves was mixed with the clashing of weapons; these were no ordinary cavalry, but an elite force. Zhao Wu caught a glimpse of the military banner among them, bearing four massive characters.

"Halt!" A low, thunderous command made everyone shudder.

Immediately after, this cavalry actually came to a halt with astonishing speed.

A pitch-black line stood there like a black wall, white steam blasting fiercely from the horses' nostrils.

They truly lived up to the saying: move like the wind, stand like a pine.

Zhao Wu widened his eyes in shock as he saw a military officer with four mo dao strapped to his back leap from the cavalry, stepping hard on the saddle.

He simply leaped over ten meters to stand right in front of the nuns, his landing crushing two massive craters into the ground.

"Sisters of the Anci Nunnery, the border is in urgent need! The camp desperately requires military funds. We are requisitioning this silver. I will issue an IOU; take it to the Ministry of Revenue to claim your money."

The others heard this too, naturally including Lü Xiucai. "Dad, what's going on? Why is there a war here in Siqi too?"

"My ancestor! Will you die if you don't speak?"

Lowering his voice, Lü Zhuangyuan covered his youngest son's mouth, curling his body as much as possible behind the cart, terrified of attracting the attention of these soldiers.

You Zixiong completely ignored the opera troupe beside him, his attention entirely focused on the fat nuns before him.

When he saw that these nuns were still sitting there, eating heartily and treating his words as mere wind, You Zixiong's brow gradually furrowed.

"Did you not hear my words!" Having spoken, his right hand gripped the hilt of a sword with a black tassel at his waist.

In an instant, the air filled with the aura of slaughter. It was as if, in that very moment, this place had become the very center of a battlefield of life and death. The aura infected the surrounding cavalry; their eyes gradually filled with bloodshot veins, their bodies began to burn with heat, and even the horses beneath them kept restlessly lifting their hooves.

"We won't give it. Too lazy to go that far," several nuns spoke in unison.

"If you have the guts, just make a move. But think it through carefully before you do."

This refusal pushed the tension to its absolute peak, and some of the cavalry on horseback had already begun to draw their bows.

Just as Lü Zhuangyuan was preparing to drive the cart and flee with the others, that murderous aura vanished in an instant.

With a solemn expression, You Zixiong grabbed the black-tasseled sword at his waist and threw it directly over. "This is the sword of You Zixiong! Take this sword to the Ministry of Revenue to collect the silver! There will be more, not less!!"

Watching the nuns in black gather around it, their eyes gleaming with greed as their filthy, fat hands touched his weapon, a fire rose unbidden in You Zixiong's heart.

Yet he also understood that with the entire Siqi Kingdom in turbulent times, he could not afford to make enemies at will, especially not these nuns before him.

"Black Mountain Cavalry, hear my order! Divide the silver! Distribute the silver on the carts evenly, one share per rider! Military orders are like a mountain! We must reach Kun City in three days!!"

"We obey the order!!"

"We obey the order!!"

"We obey the order!!"

All the cavalry dismounted and rushed to the carts, beginning to transport the silver in an orderly fashion at top speed.

As the sound of hooves gradually faded into the distance, Lü Zhuangyuan and the others suddenly woke as if from a dream, gasping for air, their bodies drenched as if washed in water.

"Dad, I... I peed my pants."

"Aren't you ashamed! And you have the nerve to say it! Hurry up and change your pants!"

Although he spoke to his youngest son with full confidence, Lü Zhuangyuan's own legs were trembling at this moment, his heart filled with lingering fear.

"Oh my, it looks like Siqi is going to fall into chaos too. No good, this place is too dangerous. I must find that little Daoist priest as soon as possible and leave this wretched place with him."

(End of Chapter)