The people of Bog Town spent the next few days in grief, anger, and fear.
When they discovered that over a thousand of their fellow townsn had vanished without a trace, they understood that the fates of these n were already sealed, especially when those who had gone missing were also those who had always opposed the town lord and the noble families.
No matter how they looked at it, this had to be the work of the town lord.
The timing simply matched perfectly!
How ruthless!
Even when Town Lord Dongwei ordered for the bounty notices to be taken down, announcing that soone had already managed to claim the reward, no one believed a single word he said.
In their hearts, they had already branded Town Lord Dongwei as the one who had taken the lives of their loved ones!
But there was one group of people who thought otherwise the Iron Claw Brigade.
When Jue heard that the one who claid the reward was a person nad Tianzi, his legs lost all strength and gave way, causing him to fall to the ground in shock.
After all, Lu Tianzi was a person whom Jue had thought was not even a martial artist!
But when he thought deeper, everything made sense.
It was not a coincidence that Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue went missing right as the Dongran Family got into trouble
It was not because Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue were non-martial artists that Jue could not sense their cultivation levels
Instead, it was because they were martial artists far beyond his level, allowing them to take down even the Dongran couple who were both at the Fourth Cycle Origin Core realm!
Connecting the dots, Jue also ca to understand that Lu Tianzi must have been the one who had knocked out the entire Iron Claw Brigade, preventing them from going to the Blazing Wings' external base.
Just thinking about it sent a chill running down his spine.
If they had not been lucky enough to get acquainted with Lu Tianzi prior to the incident, they might just be wiped out along with the rest of the missing townsn!
Jue imdiately thought of contacting Lu Tianzi to offer his gratitude, only to realise that he had not even bothered to record Lu Tianzi's communication mark.
As for going to find him directly at the town lord's residence, that was simply out of the question.
Now that the town lord's n had started to assert firm control all over Bog Town, the security of the town lord's residence had also been raised to the limit.
Soone like Jue who was just the leader of a relatively well-known group of rcenaries was never going to be allowed in.
He had asked a guard to pass a ssage to Lu Tianzi, but the disinterested look on the guards face told him that it was pointless to pin any hopes on this.
Owing to the lack of a better idea, Jue could only pay soone to help him keep watch over the entrance of the town lord's residence. Jue's instructions were clear and simple inform him imdiately the mont Lu Tianzi or Nanlan Qianxue were spotted.
Unfortunately, Jue was bound to be disappointed.
With servants tending to their every need, Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue did not have to take a single step out of the town lord's residence.
Instead, they took this opportunity to ditate in peace, consolidating their new cultivation levels.
Nanlan Qianxue, especially, had just broken through a large boundary, and her newfound strength required quite a bit of getting used to.
Just like that, three days passed in flash.
On this day, Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue stood in the main hall of the town lord's residence, waiting eagerly for the star of the day to arrive.
Beside them, Town Lord Dongwei nervously straightened his clothes, his gaze fixed in the direction of the front gate.
Behind them, delicacies were laid out beautifully on an exquisite table, and a small formation had even been set up to ensure the freshness, not even allowing the slightest bit of aroma to escape.
"Sir Bocheng has arrived!"
Upon hearing his servant's loud announcennt, Town Lord Dongwei imdiately took a deep breath to calm himself down.
By the ti the door to the main hall was pushed open, Town Lord Dongwei was already wearing the brightest smile he could muster.
"Greetings and welco, Sir Bocheng!" Town Lord Dongwei quickly stepped forward and clasped his fists towards the other party. "I am Dongwei Shui, the lord of Bog Town."
The other party was a tall young man who looked to be in his mid twenties. He sported short black hair and wore a fitting combat robe. Though his appearance was not extraordinary, he was by no asure ugly either.
Despite his youthful looks, he was already at the Second Cycle Origin Core realm.
"So it's Town Lord Dongwei," Bocheng nodded in response.
Even when speaking to Town Lord Dongwei who looked to be in his fifties, the tall young man kept his hands clasped behind his back in a prideful manner.
From the way he was acting, it was obvious that he had little to no respect for Town Lord Dongwei at all.
Still, Town Lord Dongwei did not show the slightest hint of displeasure.
No, it was more like he dared not do so.
After all, Bocheng was soone from the Divine Storm Sect!
"Haha, Sir Bocheng must be tired from the long journey. My subordinates have prepared the finest al just for you, so why don't we enjoy it first?" Town Lord Dongwei gestured towards the table behind them.
Taking it as a cue, his servants stepped forward and pulled out the chairs in a welcoming manner.
Bocheng took a quick glance at the table full of dishes and smiled in satisfaction. "All right then. While I have my al, bring the one who completed the job."
"Actually, he is already here," Town Lord Dongwei gestured towards Lu Tianzi.
"Greetings, Sir Bocheng," Lu Tianzi took the opportunity to enter the conversation, clasping his fists towards Bocheng in respect.
"It's you?" Bocheng frowned before looking over at Town Lord Dongwei. "This Second Cycle Origin Core realm guy actually managed to solve the problem that you, as a Fourth Cycle Origin Core martial artist, are unable to resolve?"
"This" Town Lord Dongwei could only smile awkwardly.
"Reporting to Sir Bocheng, we had help from others as well," Lu Tianzi quickly interjected. "It's just that our companions have already left the town, leaving us to claim the rewards before eting them again elsewhere."
"We?" Bocheng narrowed his eyes before he finally noticed Nanlan Qianxue standing by the side.
At that mont, his eyes instantly lit up in surprise.
All along, Bocheng had thought that Town Lord Dongwei was the only one here important enough for him to pay attention to, so he had not bothered taking note of anyone else.
But who knew that there would be such a flower hiding among the thorns?
"I suppose this lady is one of your companions as well?" Bocheng imdiated turned towards Nanlan Qianxue. "I am Bocheng, an inner disciple of the Divine Storm Sect. May I know how do I address you?"
"Reporting to Sir Bocheng, my na is Qianxue," Nanlan Qianxue replied in a respectful manner.
"So it is Miss Qianxue. Your na is just as beautiful as your looks," Bocheng praised with a smile. "May I know which influence you hail from?"
"Which influence?" Nanlan Qianxue glanced at Lu Tianzi hesitantly.
"We are just from a small sect based in the mountains, has Sir Bocheng heard of the Ivory Rock Sect?" Lu Tianzi interjected.
"The Ivory Rock Sect?" Bocheng frowned, though it was mostly because he was irritated by Lu Tianzi answering in the stead of Nanlan Qianxue. "I have never heard of it before. It must be a small sect indeed, but that's not important. What's important is that they managed to produce soone as outstanding as Miss Qianxue. That said, why don't you join for the al, Miss Qianxue?"
"That won't do, Sir Bocheng!" Town Lord Dongwei cut in before Nanlan Qianxue could respond. "I know you are a generous man, but there isn't enough for her. If you are worried, I will imdiately request the kitchen to prepare so food for Lady Qianxue."
The food laid out on the table had been prepared from the most exquisite ingredients, many of which had to be specially brought in from other regions. It was only because Bocheng was from the Divine Storm Sect that Town Lord Dongwei had endured the ache in his heart and instructed his kitchen to prepare such an extravagant feast.
But because of the costs involved, Town Lord Dongwei had only ordered for the al to be prepared for him and Bocheng.
If Nanlan Qianxue were to join in, then there would no longer be enough for anyone of them to have a satisfying al.
How could Town Lord Dongwei be willing to see such an outco when he had already gone to such lengths to prepare this expensive al?
"What do you an there isn't enough for her? I can clearly see that there are two bowls of rice here," Sir Bocheng snorted. "Are you testing my intelligence right now?"
"That's not it at all" Town Lord Dongwei looked at Nanlan Qianxue with a bitter expression on his face.
The two bowls of rice were naturally for him and Bocheng!
But now, did he really have to give up his share to this young lady?
Even without catching Town Lord Dongwei's gaze, Nanlan Qianxue was able to understand Town Lord Dongwei's thoughts just from hearing his words.
"Thank you for your kind intentions, but I have already had my fill earlier," Nanlan Qianxue politely declined. "Perhaps Sir Bocheng can enjoy it with the town lord instead."
"Is that so?" Bocheng shot a cold glance towards Town Lord Dongwei. "If that is the case, let's just skip it altogether. You two can follow . Since you cleared the mission given by the Divine Storm Sect, I would need to bring you guys back with for you to claim your rewards anyway."
"Wha-?" Town Lord Dongwei exclaid in shock. "Why the hurry, Sir Bocheng? It's never too late to leave after a al. Why don't you take a closer look at the dishes prepared first? There is the thousand year fi-"
"Don't tell what to do," Bocheng cut him off with a firm tone, and Town Lord Dongwei could only oblige while cursing in his heart.
Watching from the side, Lu Tianzi felt a headache coming on.
Nanlan Qianxue was undoubtedly beautiful, but they were still rather unlucky to have to deal with this Bocheng who appeared to be the kind who only thought with the lower half of their body.
As if that was not enough, they still had to follow Bocheng back in order to claim their rewards.
He could already foresee a whole slew of problems heading their way.
Should he just forgo the reward instead?
No, this was a problem that would accompany them wherever they went.
If they had to give up on their deserved rewards everyti it happened, they would really be making a huge loss.
Rather than that, they would just have to learn to deal with the problems as they co!
"Let's not waste anymore ti here then," Bocheng said. "I'm only here to pick you guys up anyway. It is best that we rush back as soon as possible."
"Understood," Lu Tianzi nodded, but Bocheng did not even spare him a glance.
"Let's go then, Miss Qianxue," Bocheng led the way out with a smile.
"We bid our farewells then, Town Lord Dongwei," Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue hurried clasped their fists towards Town Lord Dongwei, who stood there with a stupefied expression.
"Y-Yeah," Town Lord Dongwei mumbled, still unable to believe that Bocheng was already leaving.
As a senior and soone who possessed a higher cultivation level, he still had to force himself to act subserviently to please Bocheng, all because of the latter's background.
And all that money spent on the extravagant feast as well
At this very mont, Town Lord Dongwei was really starting to hate the mbers of all these ancient sects!
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