Chapter 302: Turtle in the Limelight

Chapter 302: The Scenery of Wugui

In the small town, a few buildings over a dozen stories tall stood erect, towering like cranes among chickens.

The glass on the buildings seemed as if it hadn’t been cleaned in over a decade, coated in a gray haze.

Inside the building, the stair railings were greasy and blackened.

A man in a military uniform of some unknown style looked at Wenmin and Qiyuan, belched, and said, “Old Chen asked me to take you there, no problem, but… you’ve got to behave along the way, understand?”

As he spoke, the uniformed man lifted his coat, revealing a gun tucked into his waist.

“No problem!” the burly man Wenmin quickly agreed.

Qiyuan said nothing, which counted as agreement.

“Also, by the rules… your weapons need to be handed over,” the uniformed man said, looking at the two.

Without any hesitation, Wenmin pulled two guns from his waist and handed them to the uniformed man.

The uniformed man glanced at Qiyuan: “What about you?”

He looked at Qiyuan, who was neatly dressed and fair-skinned, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

This Qiyuan clearly wasn’t a local; he looked more like a pampered young master.

Coming here… to run contraband, why?

“Your weapon?”

At that moment, Qiyuan thought for a second, then suddenly grabbed a fistful of air and offered it to the uniformed man.

“Does this count?”

Seeing this, Wenmin was baffled.

The uniformed man froze for a moment, then looked at Qiyuan: “You’re not carrying any weapons?”

“As a martial artist, my fists and my legs are my weapons, but these… I cannot give to you,” Qiyuan said earnestly.

The other had asked him to hand over weapons, so he simply grabbed a handful of air.

As a cultivator, even the air here could be used as a weapon.

But he had too many weapons, and he feared this big man couldn’t handle them all, so he gave Qiyuan a fistful of air instead.

“So you’re a martial artist?” The uniformed man chuckled, apparently believing Qiyuan’s words. “When I was young, I was crazy about martial arts too. Later, I trained for half a year, took a shot, and never practiced again.”

The shot he mentioned was, of course, a gene serum.

He spoke with the air of an experienced elder: “Martial arts have no future.”

Before Qiyuan could respond, a man behind the uniformed man said, “Who says martial arts are useless? Not long ago, a priest in Wugui was caught off guard and beaten to death by a martial artist.”

Hearing this, the uniformed man laughed loudly: “The same thing won’t happen a second time.

Don’t think I’m nothing special, but if I run into those martial artists at the peak of their skill, I can take them on one-on-one without any trouble.

If I can’t win, I’ll just blow his head off with one shot.”

The uniformed man said casually.

His words also represented the mainstream view of martial arts: inferior to gene serums, and even more so to firearms.

About half an hour later, Qiyuan sat in Wenmin’s car.

His vehicle had been searched, and all weapons were taken away.

“Once we’re in Wugui, I’ll find an arms dealer and buy some weapons,” the burly man Wenmin said to Qiyuan.

Without weapons, how could they rescue Carnival? They couldn’t even defend themselves.

“No need to buy weapons—too flashy, and I won’t use them.

When we reach Wugui, just take me to a place where I can see the Wugui military camp. Leave the rest to me,” Qiyuan said. He naturally had no use for weapons.

Besides, the variety of weapons on Archstar was vast; he probably couldn’t even use many of them.

Wenmin was stunned, puzzled in his heart. He hesitated for a moment, but finally followed Qiyuan’s instructions: “I’ll do as Mr. Qi says.”

Many thoughts flashed through his mind.

Could it be that Mr. Qi had someone inside the Wugui military camp who could rescue the boss?

Other than that, he couldn’t think of another possibility.

He naturally wouldn’t imagine that Qiyuan truly intended to charge into the Wugui military camp alone and rescue the man.

The convoy began to move.

Under the uniformed man’s lead, this smuggling convoy slowly drove toward Wugui.

There were over twenty vehicles in total, making quite a spectacle, kicking up clouds of dust.

Outside the window, there was a murky river and patches of scorched earth, with the occasional collapsed house and artillery crater.

Now and then, drones could be seen drifting through the sky.

The burly man Wenmin glanced at the drones above, his eyes full of wariness: “If we weren’t with this convoy, running into those drones would mean certain death.

Even if we’re not soldiers of Yuelang, once those drones kill us, the Wugui soldiers could claim us as their military merit.”

“You’re exaggerating. Those drones? I could take them all out with one Kamehameha. Where’s the danger?” Qiyuan looked at the drones, utterly unconcerned.

By now, he had the ability to protect himself.

The only things that could threaten him were missiles and weapons beyond that.

Wenmin had grown used to Qiyuan’s way of speaking; he smiled and said, “Then Mr. Qi’s Kamehameha had better be stronger than a bullet.

Those drones—ordinary bullets can’t destroy them.”

The car sped along, and occasionally the sound of gunfire could be heard.

Wenmin explained that it might be the border forces of Yuelang and Wugui shelling each other.

About two hours later, the convoy arrived at a checkpoint in Wugui.

Here, a squad of Wugui soldiers was stationed.

These soldiers were well-armed, wearing bulletproof vests, and they inspected the convoy.

The inspection lasted half an hour before they allowed passage.

After passing through, Wenmin breathed a sigh of relief, though still a bit uneasy: “Everything depends on Mr. Qi now.”

Once inside Wugui, getting out again wouldn’t be so simple.

Those smugglers only brought them in; they didn’t care about taking them out.

“Mm…” Qiyuan took a deep breath. He looked out the window and asked curiously, “What are those red scarves tied to the trees for? Are these trees… all Young Pioneers?”

Wenmin was taken aback, then said, “That’s a ritual of the Guiren Holy Faith.

The red scarves on the trees mean this area is under the protection of the Wu God.”

Wugui was a religious nation, where the power of religion even surpassed that of the monarchy.

The holy faith of the Kingdom of Wugui is called the Wu Faith, and the deity it worships is named the Wu God.

It can be said that over ninety percent of the people in Wugui believe in the Wu God.

Within the Wu God’s doctrine, there is this saying: all heretics should be hanged from trees.

Of course, in a civilized society, the Wu Faith still maintains face and does not openly persecute others.

Only some fanatical believers engage in such acts of persecution.

They kill heretics, drain their blood, dye cloths red, and hang them on trees.

Thus, among the red cloths on the trees, some are ordinary red cloths, while others may be the blood of heretics.

After entering the territory of Wugui, the likelihood of red cloths appearing on trees is very high.

About three hours later, the car finally stopped at a small town.

The uniformed man came to Qi Yuan’s car and tapped on the window: “I’m only responsible for bringing you here. If you want to leave, contact me, but the price... well... it’s a bit steep, same as those people.”

As he spoke, the uniformed man pointed to a noisy crowd not far away.

After saying this, he walked away directly.

Qi Yuan looked at the distant, chaotic crowd, among which were old people, young people, and children.

Some were dressed in rags, others in bright attire.

Wen Min explained: “Most of these people are not Guiran natives; they want to leave Wugui.

Now that war has broken out in Wugui, these people want to escape.

They don’t have many options; smuggling convoys are their only way.

But most can’t afford the fare and can only trade with other things; most have nothing to offer at all.”

Qi Yuan scanned those people, curiosity flickering in his eyes.

“Let’s go over and take a look.”

Wen Min was surprised but didn’t hesitate, driving the car toward that group.

Sure enough, along the way, those people reached out their hands as if to tear open the car door. From outside the car came their voices.

“Take me away, please, I beg you.”

“My daughter is beautiful; she can serve you along the way—take us out of here!”

“I have money!”

“Antiques, thousand-year-old relics!”

These people shouted, their eyes full of desperate longing.

Most of these people were not Guiran natives but had come to Wugui to work or had smuggled themselves in.

Some were even more unfortunate, having been abducted.

Wugui is very xenophobic, and these people live a miserable life here.

Especially now that Wugui is at war with Yuelang.

Sometimes, to make the statistics look better, Wugui even kills a batch of them.

Thus, staying in Wugui, they are like lambs waiting for slaughter.

Seeing this, Wen Min couldn’t help but sigh softly: “Such scenes are invisible online; the people of our Qinyuan Kingdom... also don’t see the wretchedness of these people.”

From birth, these people might already be a mistake, their fates perhaps sealed.

Although Wugui is a religious state, believing in the faith doesn’t make you one of them.

Without Guiran bloodline, you are inferior.

At any moment, your blood might be drained by fanatics, dyeing a cloth red and tying it to a tree.

The car moved slowly.

Qi Yuan’s heart was as calm as an ancient well, unmoved.

“Stop.”

The car halted.

Noisy sounds came.

Some rioters crowded over: “Boss!”

“Move aside!” Wen Min barked, his voice rough.

Instantly, those rioters dared not clamor or shout anymore.

Because they recognized that Qi Yuan’s car had followed the smugglers’ convoy in.

Such a person wielded considerable power.

Even if they were killed, no one would care.

Qi Yuan scanned the crowd, his gaze settling on a dark-skinned boy.

This boy looked only eleven or twelve years old.

In his hand, he held a little girl, who appeared dirty, her hair unwashed for months.

This girl was about seven or eight.

He looked at the two, a hint of interest in his eyes.

“Do you two want to leave Wugui?”

He said to the boy and the little girl.

Hearing Qi Yuan’s question, the boy’s eyes burst with excitement, but then came fear and caution.

“Yes... sir, I... I have no money, but I’m strong and obedient; I can work as a black laborer,” the boy Yaji said nervously, shielding the little girl behind him, afraid Qi Yuan might have some perverse inclinations.

“I can take you out, but... your blood... I need a little.”

Qi Yuan stated his intention.

He had discovered that in this world, many people’s blood was somewhat special.

For instance, Wu Qi.

And now this boy and little girl.

Of course, their special qualities differed.

Qi Yuan hadn’t yet studied Wu Qi’s peculiarity, unsure of its nature.

But the special quality of the boy and girl’s blood was obvious: it shared the same origin and lineage as Qi Yuan’s “bloodline.”

For Qi Yuan’s martial arts to break through and his talent to improve, the blood of these two... could be studied and utilized.

Qi Yuan’s words puzzled not only the siblings but even Wen Min.

The boy hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly, hunched over, and said: “Okay!”

Regardless, for them, leaving here now was the safest option.

After all, just a while ago, their parents had already been dragged off to serve as "military merits."

Who knows when it might be their turn.

Now, only by following this vehicle and leaving the State of Wugui first could there be a sliver of hope to survive.

Looking at Qi Yuan, the dark-skinned youth wore a face full of gratitude.

That grimy little girl, however, was somewhat frightened, not daring to look at Qi Yuan.

"Anything to bring? Take it along," Qi Yuan asked.

The dark-skinned youth carried a large bundle on his back, holding his sister's hand; that bundle was all their family's possessions: "No."

"Alright, get in the car," Qi Yuan said.

The dark-skinned youth hesitated not at all, took his sister, and climbed into the vehicle.

The car Wen Min drove had three rows of seats.

The dark-skinned youth and his sister sat in the last row, the youth's face bearing a respectful expression, using the words most beloved by the people of Wugui.

"May the Crow God bless you!"

"You are the most generous of people!"

Yaji was not a follower of the Crow faith, but to live in the State of Wugui, one would surely say such words as "May the Crow God bless you."

Hearing this, Qi Yuan smiled: "If I wanted to kill that Yang God of the Taihuang Palace, could the Crow God bless me?"

That Yang God of the Taihuang Palace was the one behind the great calamity, and also Qi Yuan's most powerful enemy in the Canglan Realm at this stage.

At Qi Yuan's words, Yaji was stunned, not knowing how to answer.

It was the grimy little girl who said: "I heard them say the Crow God is very powerful, can run carrying a mountain on his back... he should be able to bless you!"

Living in the State of Wugui, one was naturally steeped in tales of the Crow God's might.

Qi Yuan chuckled: "All made up, and they couldn't even invent a more impressive deity.

Carrying a mountain on his back while running... that's a bit weak."

Qi Yuan realized that the people of this world were very pragmatic.

Even their fabrications were not grandiose or empty.

Even a deity, they dared not fabricate as omnipotent.

He wondered whether it was due to excessive pragmatism or some deeper reason.

The youth Yaji did not quite understand Qi Yuan's words. He looked out the car window, his mind somewhat steadied, and he asked quietly: "Sir... when will we leave Wugui?"

Leaving the State of Wugui was his greatest wish.

In this foreign land, aside from his sister, he had no other kin left.

As for revenge, that was unthinkable.

People like them, struggling just to survive, how could they dare to seek vengeance?

"I'll go pick up a friend first, then we'll leave," Qi Yuan replied casually.

Wen Min, who was driving, remained silent.

He too did not know why Qi Yuan had brought these two children along.

Nor did he understand what reliance Qi Yuan had to dare go to the military camp and bring back the boss.

The car sped along; Wen Min refueled once on the way, pushing the speed to its limit.

Following the navigation, the vehicle raced toward the location of the military camp.

Drones in the sky also grew more numerous.

But at this moment, it was clear that none of these drones paid any attention to this car within the territory.

(End of this chapter)