landbeastnovel Chapter 267: At Large
Chapter 267: At Large
The once tranquil mountains suddenly erupted with activity as a large number of humans invaded, greatly angering the original inhabitants of this land. Some fierce beasts, refusing to yield, prepared to devour humans for fun. However, after being forcefully suppressed, the remaining beasts went into hiding, observing quietly.
Tuoba Li called for more troops, including not only his elite private army but also many garrison soldiers from nearby cities. These garrison soldiers were no match for his elite private army in terms of combat capability, but their manpower was sufficient for the carpet-like search.
The sky was also filled with numerous flying ships, closely monitoring the ground with a wide array of weapons. At the slightest movement, they would swoop in for an attack.
In order to achieve this effect, Tuoba Li had offered a lot of benefits and made many deals, showing his determination to obtain the forbidden treasures.
"I have already offended the Langxuan Heavenly Palace, so be it. At least now I stand on the side of Langxuan Heavenly Palace's strength, and they can help me withstand the anger from Langxuan Heavenly Palace."
"But this Deputy Palace Master Chu Shen must be killed, not only to avenge my son, but also as an important declaration of intent!"
Thinking of his deceased son, his anger flared up once again.
Although the choices he made in this series of events were driven by considerations of self-interest, he was indeed deeply resentful about the death of his favorite son, Tuoba Jing. However, he never thought about what despicable things his own son had done to incur the wrath of others.
After searching for a while, he still hadn't found Chu Shen's whereabouts, making his expression very unpleasant.
"What's going on? Why haven't we found him yet?"
"You said we lacked manpower, so I increased the manpower for you. You said we lacked search tools, so I brought in more tracking demon beasts. You said the mountain area is vast, so I even brought in a fleet of flying ships..."
"But where are the people?"
Another report from his subordinates stated that the target was not found, which made him so angry that he wanted to draw his sword and kill someone.
Little did he know, at this moment, Chu Shen had transformed into a flying insect and was maneuvering within his elaborate trap. He had already reached the edge of the mountains and was about to enter a nearby city.
The "Seventy-Two Transformations" technique is really useful!
Although there were many people and monsters searching back and forth, no one had discovered his ability, so the elaborate trap couldn't hold him either.
However, even in the form of a flying insect, he still hadn't completely escaped the trap after entering the city.
I wonder how much effort Tuoba Li has put in to affect the surrounding earth veins and consequently affect the spatial transmission earth vein instrument. It has been continuously activated, causing even some teleportation arrays in nearby cities to stop working.
One can only say that it's a grand gesture.
"It's ridiculous. Is it necessary to use such a big show just to catch me?" Chu Shen was also somewhat astonished. He never expected to be valued so highly.
In this city called "Yongzhou," he found a corner to restore his human form. After changing into the attire of a traveling merchant, the Deputy Palace Master of Langxuan Heavenly Palace suddenly became a dusty merchant from a distant land.
He decided to lay low in this city temporarily and wait to leave after the lifting of the blockade.
Anyway, Wang Chongyao and the others should be able to escape, and Langxuan Heavenly Palace would also be able to react quickly. As long as he stayed calmly for a while, the probability of misinterpreting the predicament would be high.
Thinking of this, he was not in a hurry. He walked calmly on the street, secretly observing the situation in Yongzhou.
Without any surprises, the security measures are much stricter than usual, and the number of soldiers on patrol has increased significantly.
However, these mortal soldiers cannot detect anything. The real threats to him are the common people and the wanderers.
The common people are not choosing to stand on the side of Duke Dengguo. Instead, just like many other countries in the Great Tang Immortal Dynasty, they are implementing the "baojia" system among the people. If a criminal incident occurs in their place of residence or if a criminal is hiding, the residents of that place will be punished if they fail to fulfill their obligation to discover and report it.
Just like when he lived in Nanping City before, he was fined by the government because he didn't report the problems of the elderly couple next door.
Although today, such grassroots organizational laws have long decayed and often become a means for some grassroots officials to make money, under the current pressure exerted by Duke Dengguo himself, they still have some effectiveness. Some residents, out of fear of being implicated or for the sake of rewards, are vigilant towards strangers, which causes him some trouble.
For groups like the Chaoyang masses, they are truly unfriendly to an escapee like him.
In addition to ordinary residents, there is another group that is unfavorable to his current situation, and that is the wanderers.
"Wanderer" is a euphemistic term. The less flattering terms include idlers, troublemakers, idle rich young masters, chivalrous martial arts experts (doubtful), and even wandering cultivators, etc.
Duke Dengguo's mansion has offered a generous reward, so there are always people who are tempted by money and are eagerly looking around, hoping to earn this reward.
Fortunately, he chose the identity of a traveling merchant because he has the proof to conceal this identity.
When he first arrived in this prosperous place, he obtained the proof of identity in Nanping City, along with the "Zhu Jing," a token for cross-border transactions. This is where it comes in handy.
By casually taking out some inconspicuous items from his storage bag that can pass as goods, his identity as a traveling merchant is solidified.
He finds a clean but not too high-end inn and confidently steps inside: "Innkeeper, give me a room upstairs!"
It seems that business is slow, so the shopkeeper is not at the counter. Upon hearing that there is a customer, he hurriedly came out from the back room and said, "Welcome, sir. One room in the upper floor, one hundred wen per night, and a hundred wen for the deposit!"
When Chu Shen saw the shopkeeper, he was somewhat surprised. The shopkeeper had a beautiful face and tied her hair in a woman's bun. She looked to be in her twenties, and her appearance was even more stunning than Li Qin Xue.
What an elegant and charming young woman!
The female shopkeeper was originally going to register him, but when she saw his gaze fixed on her, she felt a bit uncomfortable and blushed as she softly called out, "Sir?"
Chu Shen immediately realized his rudeness and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect the shopkeeper to be a woman. I was surprised."
Upon hearing this, the female shopkeeper showed a bitter smile and said, "There have been some changes at home, so I had to show up."
Chu Shen fell silent. He had already heard the coughing coming from inside the house. It was a hoarse cough that only occurred when the lungs and other internal organs were injured, accompanied by the crying of a child.
This female shopkeeper had just been taking care of her husband and child.
Thinking of this, he said, "It's alright, please help me register and arrange a room."
As he spoke, he took out a piece of broken silver from his pocket.
This was what he had just pinched off from a whole silver ingot. He no longer carried money in the form of copper coins like "wen". It was already good enough to find silver. Most of the items in his storage bag were gold, spirit stones, and even spirit jade, which were hard currencies.
"I might be staying for a few days, so let's leave this silver on the counter for now. You can refund or make up the difference later."
The female shopkeeper was also pleasantly surprised to see the silver. She knew that a big customer had arrived and quickly completed his registration. She carefully put the silver into the cash box and said attentively, "Sir, please follow me."