Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 349 - 342: Travels 3

Chapter 349: Chapter 342: Travels 3

Lin Xin was listening to their clucking discussion about the Dragon Gate competition, and soon the topic shifted to some big events that had recently occurred.

Concerning the situation and environment outside the Red Spine Sect’s Giant City, these people all had expressions that suggested only the city and its vicinity were the safest and best.

In their discussion, outside was either war-torn, famine-stricken, or rampant with various demons and monsters bullying their way around.

Lin Xin found it somewhat amusing, so he decided not to speak and began to observe his surroundings.

Regarding this giant python carriage, most of the people who came aboard looked as if they were used to it, though there were a few curious ones looking around, but clearly, they were in the minority.

"It seems that this giant python operation has been around for a while, otherwise, it wouldn’t be like this," he thought.

Lin Xin made a mental note.

He glanced at the few people who were still excitedly discussing and just happened to see the girl in purple yawning covertly, covering her mouth with her hand to avoid letting others see for the sake of appearances.

The girl was in the middle of a yawn when she was caught by Lin Xin’s gaze. Their eyes met, she blushed and looked away.

Mo Qingsheng eyed the young man beside her from the corner of her eye.

This fellow had long hair draped over his shoulders, wore a black robe, had a sword on his back, and had skin so delicate it was clear he never did any rough work; that sword was probably just for show.

If he truly practiced swordsmanship, wouldn’t he have calluses on his hands?

’He must be a rich young master who enjoys martial arts, specially coming to the inner city to watch the Dragon Gate competition,’ she speculated.

These days, she had seen too many such young masters and misses; they were all just wielding weapons as a pretense.

Regaining her focus, Mo Qingsheng simply entered a state of complete concentration, carefully cultivating the trace of Inner Qi within her body.

As the strongest disciple in her sect, she had naturally entered the ranks of the inner cultivation experts at an early age.

Now, when she looked at these young masters of similar age, she always felt they weren’t from the same world as her.

Lin Xin noticed the hint of disdain in her eyes but merely smiled slightly.

This was one of Red Spine Sect’s main bases after all, and what he wanted was to remain hidden. The better his disguise, the safer he would be. This was precisely his original intention.

Time slowly passed by, and soon several hours had elapsed.

The people who had been chatting and making noise gradually grew tired, each closing their eyes to rest and recharge.

After an indeterminate amount of time, a faint commotion suddenly arose from the seats in front, not too far off.

Soon, two brawling middle-aged men made their way towards them, quarreling and shoving each other as they came.

"I’m telling you to run! Keep running and I’ll break your leg!!" yelled the shirtless, muscular guy cursing as he chased the slightly thinner man with a knife.

The two rapidly closed the distance, approaching Lin Xin’s position.

There were also a few people in white always standing on the giant python who, seeing this scene, remained completely indifferent, not intervening and allowing it to play out.

Lin Xin noticed that the quarreling pair seemed to be cursing each other, but in fact, were continuously scanning the baggage of people around them.

Soon their gaze fell on a young girl dressed like a rich daughter sitting in the row of seats.

Exchanging a knowing look, they quickly rushed past the girl.

"Oh!" The man in front seemed to trip accidentally, falling toward the girl.

"What are you doing!" the girl cried out in alarm, quickly dodging to the side.

A shadow flickered, and the skinny man barely regained his balance, continuing to run forward.

It appeared as if he had forcefully grabbed the seat with his hand, which prevented him from colliding with the girl.

But in reality, Lin Xin had already seen that the jade pendant hanging from the girl’s body had vanished.

The two men continued to pretend to chase and fight, quickly reaching Lin Xin’s seat, and surreptitiously a hand stretched out swiftly toward Lin Xin’s waist, attempting to snatch away his Storage Bag.

Their skilled movements indicated that this was not their first time doing this.

Lin Xin’s mouth curled into a smirk, and while his body remained still, the Demonic Qi within him was ready to burst forth at any moment. Just a touch would be enough to corrode the arm of anyone trying to steal from him.

The skinny man gave another yelp as if punched by the man behind him, and leaned towards Lin Xin. His hand hastened to the Storage Bag, about to grasp it.

But just at that moment.

Smack!

A section of a green sword hilt precisely hit the back of the skinny man’s hand, deflecting it away.

It was Mo Qingsheng who couldn’t help but intervene.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she glanced at Lin Xin, who seemed oblivious, and she shook her head.

"Go back from whence you came!"

She didn’t care about the others, but stealing so boldly right by her side, under her watch, was far too disrespectful and reckless.

The two brutes glanced at her, fixated on the sword on her back. Seeing her martial artist attire, they chose not to argue and quickly fled.

Mo Qingsheng put away the short sword in her hand, the same one she used to block the theft.

"Thank you, heroine, for your assistance," the young rich man ’woke up’ and hurriedly thanked her with a fist and palm salute.

"No need to be polite. When you’re out on your own, just keep an eye on your belongings. It’s not every time that someone will help," Mo Qingsheng replied indifferently.

"The heroine speaks the truth, indeed," Lin Xin said, nodding with a smile, his gaze falling on her face as if seeing her for the first time and not leaving for a long while.

’Could this guy be a scoundrel!?’ Mo Qingsheng felt a twinge of annoyance in her heart. She had just closed her eyes to focus on her breathing, and now she opened them again to glare at him.

"If I had known, I wouldn’t have lent a hand so quickly!" Mo Qingsheng somewhat regretted acting so hastily.

Lin Xin looked at the woman’s face, her Inner Qi had gone astray within her meridians, already embedding hidden dangers in her body. Looking at the Divine Light shining within her eyes, which faintly revealed a sharp intent, it was apparent that she had been cultivating in such a harmful manner not for a day or two, but over a long period of time.

This method of cultivating her Inner Qi, although seemingly sharp and powerful, was in fact a premature stimulation of potential, squandering her natural talents. If she merely wanted to become a master of internal martial arts, that would be fine, but to seek immortality and enter the Cultivation World, she was far from achieving that.

However, now was not a suitable time to reveal his own level of cultivation. In the Red Spine Sect’s lair, he needed to be extremely cautious with every step. If fate allowed it, then why not give her some guidance in the future?

After being woken up by the commotion, everyone chattered briefly about the farce involving the two men they had just encountered, lamenting their misfortune of running into members of the Jianghu faction. Then, they all went back to their dim slumber to rest.

Before long, the giant serpent’s speed gradually came to a stop.

Thump!

The side door slowly opened, revealing the scene outside.

Passengers began to rise and head towards the outside. It seems that it had already grown dark outside.

Lin Xin waited a bit for the crowd to thin, making it less congested, before rising from his seat. At this moment, the outside was a bit quieter, but it was still crowded with people.

Mo Qingsheng and others did the same, as it was truly too cramped walking bunched together.

The place where they disembarked from the giant serpent vehicle was within a structure surrounded by high walls.

Lin Xin stepped onto solid ground and, along with a group of travelers, followed the winding road through several turns until they reached the exit.

Suddenly, he felt a chill in his heart.

It seemed as if some troublesome entity was rapidly approaching him.

Looking up to the front, he could see a crowded throng of people at the exit, and could not discern anything specific.

"Master?" Liu Cheng had already caught up and rendezvoused with him, and the two of them stood motionlessly amid the stream of people, which was a bit odd.

However, Lin Xin did not care how others perceived them and remained motionless.

Mo Qingsheng, who emerged behind them, passed by Lin Xin, casting a curious glance at him.

"Be cautious," Lin Xin said with a corner of his mouth quirking up, before turning around and walking back the way he came.

Without saying a word, Liu Cheng understood and quickly followed suit.

"Is this guy sick?" Mo Qingsheng, seeing Lin Xin’s behavior, was also perplexed.

However, when you’re away from home, it’s best to mind your own business; she had already interfered more than she should have. Naturally, she didn’t feel inclined to say more.

She continued to walk straight ahead, and upon reaching the exit, what was different from what she had expected was that amid the surging crowd, five or six individuals in white clothes were scanning their surroundings with piercing gazes, seemingly examining the passersby.

Recalling the rich young master and his beautiful maid’s actions in heading back, Mo Qingsheng vaguely felt that there might be some connection between the two events.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, a cry of alarm came from the front.

Mo Qingsheng subtly turned her head to look, and was shocked to see it was the wealthy merchant who had sat with her earlier.

He stood in front of one of the white-clothed men in surprise and fear, saying something.

"It’s him! He was just sitting with me!!"

He was somewhat agitated.

"Are you sure about this? This is a vicious serial killer!" the white-clothed man asked sternly, holding up a scroll.

The scroll tilted slightly towards her, and Mo Qingsheng, out of curiosity, glanced at it. She saw a painting of a handsome man with long hair, smiling. The features were exactly the same as the young master who had sat beside her previously.

"This is...?" Mo Qingsheng was startled for a moment, then incredulous. "A coincidence?"

Immediately, she recalled the young master’s strange behavior as they were leaving, and she began to harbor some suspicions.

"Could it be... that person is really a serial killer fugitive?!"

At that moment, she was inching her way forward in the queue, drawing ever closer to the questioned merchant. She could faintly hear their conversation.

"This person, in his travels, has been involved in dozens of cases. If you’ve indeed seen him, can you provide any other details? Otherwise, simply based on what you’ve just described, we cannot truly confirm if it’s him." The man in white seemed to be a government official, speaking to the merchant with a serious tone.

"Therefore, you must carefully recall and be sure you haven’t mistaken him!? If it’s confirmed it’s this person, there will be a substantial reward from the government."

"No... I’m certain, I haven’t made a mistake, it’s him!" The merchant nodded with certainty.

Suddenly, Mo Qingsheng saw the merchant’s gaze land on her.

"That young lady was sitting closest to the man just now, if you don’t believe it, you can ask her!"

He was clearly diverting trouble her way.

Mo Qingsheng’s heart tightened, as getting caught by these government people could possibly delay her participation in the Dragon Gate competition.

But regardless, those several individuals in white began walking towards her.

"Did you see this man? Wasn’t he sitting right next to you?"

Mo Qingsheng looked at the scroll, and indeed, there was the man’s portrait, lifelike, with even some details of the clothing captured.

But then she also saw a line of small characters written beneath the portrait.

"This... this is!!!???"

Her pupils constricted sharply.

"The highest warrant!?"