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Chu Yunxuan’s sly-looking eyes narrowed happily as he was giving out his orders with a smile. When he had finished speaking, the bigger people in the bandit group immediately rushed over to tie up the bridal party using ropes made of special materials that even a cultivator couldn’t break. Several guards tried to resist but they were all cut down.
Cheng Nuo was also yanked off his magical beast mount by two people who grabbed onto his legs. His head was buzzing. He would die if he struggled but if he didn’t struggle, wouldn’t he die if he fell into Chang Chun’s hands?
One of the people who had grabbed him leaned over and whispered in Cheng Nuo’s ear, “Brother Cheng, don’t be afraid! I’m Cao Tuo and the one beside me is Jin Yu.”
In a daze, Cheng Nuo looked at the boy in front of him whose eyes had a familiar look of timidity and shyness. He could see that this person was a little bit like Cao Tuo but, on the other hand, the grown-up Jin Yu was completely unrecognizable.
Cheng Nuo and Liu Guang had left the slums four years ago and hadn’t had a chance to go back for a visit. To think that Cheng Nuo would meet his old comrades from the slums in this type of desperate situation! Cao Tuo had said that they would go to Liao Ji City to look for Cheng Nuo and Liu Guang but now they had turned to banditry? It’s just like what they had talked about when Cheng Nuo was teaching them…
“Don’t worry, we’ll find a way to get you out of here,” Cao Tuo said in a low voice as he secretly used a slipknot to bind Cheng Nuo.
This made Cheng Nuo feel a little guilty. After he had left the slum, he had rarely thought of those kids but Cao Tuo and Jin Yu obviously cared about their old friendship a lot. He calmed down a little.
The captives’ weapons and storage bags were removed. Cao Tuo pretended to put Cheng Nuo’s knife away in his storage bag while furtively tucking it into Cheng Nuo’s boot. Then the captives were compelled to take a drug that sealed off their abilities. There was no avoiding it so Cheng Nuo gritted his teeth and drank it. Cao Tuo whispered, “Brother Cheng, I’m sorry.”
Cheng Nuo forced out a small smile. In any case, it was extremely fortunate that he met Cao Tuo today.
The dozen or so crying and trembling young females, on the other hand, were thrown onto the back of magical beast mounts by the bandit leaders. The terrified little bride who was shivering in fear was carried away by the bandit boss and slung over his mount’s saddle.
The Lan Yue Camp’s leader was called Liu Wu who had a square face and was quite tall and muscular. He pinched the noble bride’s face and carefully inspected it for a while before smiling and saying, “A female from a noble family really has such smooth skin. Now I’ll be able to taste the difference between commoners and nobles… hahaha. This time I want to reward Chang Chun’s efforts. Good work! He can have one of these females. One of the ten chief’s positions is unfilled so I’ll give it to Chang Chun.”
Chang Chun quickly bowed and said, “Thank you, boss!” Even though he was in high spirits due to the promotion, he didn’t forget to keep an eye on Cheng Nuo. He inwardly sneered when he saw that, surprisingly, Cao Tuo and Jin Yu still had a fondness for their old friend Cheng Nuo. However, Cao Tuo and the others all knew what Chang Chun had done in the past. It wouldn’t do to act rashly right now.
In the beginning, when they joined the Lan Yue Camp, he, Cao Tuo, and Jin Yu were all roughly equal in ability. They were all given minor leadership positions at first but two years ago Chang Chun was sent to Lingyun Pavillion to gather information. He has been diligently training and now his skills should be better than theirs! Chang Chun secretly intended to kill them all.
The bandits quickly pushed the dowry cart up the hill. The unconscious people on the ground were tied up and thrown into the cart while those who were seriously injured were finished off.
Cheng Nuo followed behind the other captives. When he saw Chang Chun leaving his mount towards him, Cheng Nuo went on the alert. Cao Tuo walked beside Cheng Nuo, eyeing Chang Chun warily.
Chang Chun slowed down his mount and sneered down at Cheng Nuo condescendingly, “Ha, you never thought it would be me, did you?”
Cheng Nuo was so disgusted by him that he simply continued to walk forward without looking at him.
Cao Tuo frowned and said, “Chang Chun, according to the camp’s rules, if elder brother Cheng chooses to join us, you’re not allowed to touch even a hair on his head.”
Chang Chun said coldly, “I’m one of the ten chiefs now. Don’t you know the rules?”
Cao Tuo bit his lower lip to hold back his temper and said, “Yes, boss.”
Chang Chun turned towards Cheng Nuo. Raising his chin slightly, he said, “I always knew you were no good! Hmph! Look at what Liu Guang turned into because he was with you. Now he’s nothing but a shameless toady to the nobles!”
Even though he loudly complained about this, the truth was that Chang Chun was really envious of them. If there hadn’t been a Cheng Nuo, then Chang Chun would have definitely been the one to find out a little slice of heaven with Liu Guang. I would have been the most useful and important person to Liu Guang!
The moment he spotted Cheng Nuo during his training at Qinghua Sect he had thrown his poisonous needles at him but when he saw that familiar red hair, he had quickly changed the needle’s trajectory. His palms had turned sweaty when he saw the grown-up Liu Guang but, despite the fact that they had grown up together, Liu Guang didn’t recognize him. Chang Chun thought that if Liu Guang had recognized his childhood friend, he would surely have killed Chang Chun. Thus, Chang Chun didn’t complain…
This was okay since Chang Chun would still have an opportunity to assist Liu Guang to conquer the world in the future… Whenever Chang Chun thought about this, his heart would beat faster.
He mocked them a bit more then walked away with a smug look on his face. Once they had returned to the camp, he would find a way to get rid of Cao Tuo, Jin Yu, and Cheng Nuo at the same time!
Cao Tuo turned his head to the side and spat in contempt. Chang Chun had been away for two years. Right now, he was only nominally one of the ten leaders. He’s had no interaction with the other leaders for quite some time and he didn’t have even one underling. How could he be compared with Cao Tuo and Jin Yu? Cao Tuo was one of the boss’ followers while Jin Yu was working under the boss’ second-in-command. They got along well together.
Jin Yu also gave the departing Chang Chun a look of disdain and said in a soft voice, “Brother Cheng, don’t be angry. We’ve missed brother Guang a lot. Is he still in Liao Ji City?”
Cheng Nuo nodded and said a few words about Liu Guang. Their eyes were so bright when he spoke about Liu Guang that he could see that these two still worshipped Liu Guang the same way that they used to when they were young. Cheng Nuo thought that was a bit strange. Was Liu Guang really that charismatic?
Cao Tuo whispered: “Actually, it’s good to be a bandit here. Our boss and fellow bandits believe in the spirit of brotherhood… if it wasn’t for Chang Chung it would be good for Brother Cheng to stay here.” He knew that Chang Chun would never let Cheng Nuo go.
Cheng Nuo smiled bitterly, and in his opinion, of course, it was better to be a law-abiding citizen — although in this world the strong preyed on the weak and the city’s nobles weren’t that different from bandits. He wondered if Liu Guang would have become a bandit like Cao Tuo if he hadn’t shown up.
They arrived in the bandit’s camp that evening. Cheng Nuo and the other captives were temporarily imprisoned but as he left, Cao Tuo whispered to him, “Brother Cheng, don’t panic. Medical staff is treated very well here. I’ll ask them to let you join the medics’ group. When I get a chance, I’ll bring you down the mountain. These guards are my brothers and I will tell them to take care of you.”
Cheng Nuo nodded to him. He was grateful but the thought of Chang Chun made him feel uneasy.
The prison cell was dark and dirty. The small room was packed with a large number of prisoners. Cheng Nuo bowed his head and sat in a corner, as he secretly fingered the slipknot on the rope that bound his hands and looked down at the slight bulge in his boots. These things made him feel a little less uneasy. He secretly swallowed a few pills that could restore power. For the time being, he didn’t have the antidote but recovering a bit of power was no problem.