Chapter 62: Roadblock

About thirty miles east of Red Leaf City lay Bapan Mountain, and behind Bapan Mountain was Double-Head Ridge. In the middle of Double-Head Ridge was a bottomless abyss, and a chain bridge spanned the ridge, serving as the only path. Beyond Double-Head Ridge was the famous Yunshui Marsh.

The world was filled with Spiritual Qi, but it was not distributed evenly. Some places were thick with it, while others were thin. If a place with thick Spiritual Qi was not occupied by a great sect or a great clan, it would become a true wasteland.

Humans could become stronger under the nourishment of Spiritual Qi, and many animals and plants were the same. Over time, they preyed upon or supported one another, gradually growing. A few lucky ones would become the masters of their surrounding environment.

It was said that the exceptionally powerful among them had strength that far surpassed that of a human Grandmaster.

The Mount Peng that Su Tang wanted to visit, the Black Forest near his hometown, and this Yunshui Marsh all belonged to places where Spiritual Qi was particularly thick. However, Mount Peng had been occupied by humans long ago, while the Black Forest and Yunshui Marsh remained paradises for beasts.

Xi Xiaoru sat authoritatively on this side of the chain bridge. The chain bridge seemed to have been recently repaired, as it still emitted a faint smell of paint, and the wooden planks had also been newly replaced.

“Little San, will this work?” Xi Xiaoru was somewhat unsure. Even as a demon of Red Leaf City, she felt that Su Tang was playing a bit too risky. Compared to this, the arrogant things she had done in Red Leaf City in the past were simply child’s play.

“Don’t worry,” Su Tang replied with a wicked smile.

Just then, a small team consisting of a dozen Wandering Martial Artists stepped onto the chain bridge from the other end. Seeing Xi Xiaoru from afar, they looked exceptionally surprised, and their footsteps paused, as if they dared not approach.

However, Yunshui Marsh was on this side, and they had to go there to complete their missions. After hesitating for a long time, they approached with humble expressions.

The leading middle-aged Martial Artist put on a smile from a distance and said, “Greetings, Chief.”

“Hmm…” Xi Xiaoru nodded arrogantly.

“Chief, you are…”

“I heard the chain bridge was cut, so I brought a few brothers over. We spent a great deal of effort to fix the chains. Sigh… it really wasn’t easy.”

The leading middle-aged Martial Artist looked at the chains. He did not believe Xi Xiaoru’s lies. These chains were as thick as a child’s arm and were cast from heavy iron; destroying them would not be that easy. Furthermore, who would be so bored as to do that? What benefit was there in destroying the bridge?

However, despite his doubts, he did not dare speak out of turn. He smiled and said, “This is a great act of merit. Only the Chief would have such a heart and courage. On behalf of my brothers, I thank you here.”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing…” Xi Xiaoru said with a smile.

The leading middle-aged Martial Artist looked back and gave a signal with his eyes, then said, “Then… Chief, may we… pass through first?”

“Wait,” Xi Xiaoru suddenly said.

“Does the Chief have something else?”

“My brothers and I went through countless hardships to fix the bridge, and you think you can just get away with a simple ‘thank you’?” Xi Xiaoru frowned.

“Understood, understood,” the leading middle-aged Martial Artist said while bowing and scraping, then reached his hand into his robes.

“For people like you… I won’t charge too much. One thousand gold coins,” Xi Xiaoru said.

“What? How much?!” the leading middle-aged Martial Artist shouted in shock.

“One thousand,” Xi Xiaoru held up one finger.

The leading middle-aged Martial Artist was speechless. For the dozen of them, working hard for a month and risking various dangers only earned them about five or six hundred gold coins. If someone was unfortunately injured or died, the earned money would shrink significantly. Adding the cost of each person’s Cultivation, almost nothing was left. Paying one thousand gold coins to cross a bridge was practically asking for their lives.

“Chief, could it… be a bit less?” the leading middle-aged Martial Artist said with a bitter smile.

“It cannot be less; it is already very cheap,” Xi Xiaoru frowned. “If you have no money, just go back. Don’t make things difficult for me.”

The leading middle-aged Martial Artist wanted to say something but did not dare. He walked back gloomily and gathered with his brothers on the other side of the bridge, whispering something to each other.

One after another, teams of Wandering Martial Artists arrived, and without exception, they all hit a wall. Who would be willing to pay such a sum? One must know that the reward for completing a mission was only a few hundred gold coins; it was better not to go.

An hour later, the other end of the bridge was filled with blocked Wandering Martial Artists. There were nearly three to four hundred people, forming a dark mass. They were discussing ways to solve the problem, but they were all at a loss.

“Little San, do you think they might just charge across?!” Zhou Qian asked excitedly.

“Hehe… I’m waiting for it!” Xi Xiaoru rubbed her palms together. This was a truly grand scene!

“They won’t,” Su Tang shook his head. At the moment, Xi Xiaoru was just a road-blocker; she did not threaten the physical safety of those Wandering Martial Artists, so it was absolutely impossible for them to lose control.

“Little San, what if they go back to Red Leaf City to invite that man named Ruan?” Lu Feixia said. “This chain bridge was never broken; it will be obvious once they check.”

“So what? If they dare say the bridge was never broken, Big Brother, you just cut the bridge right there on the spot!” Su Tang said. “Tell them that when we arrived, the bridge was already like that.”

“No problem,” Xi Xiaoru nodded.

“But… what if they fix the bridge?”

“Then cut it again. Let’s see if it’s easier for them to fix the bridge or for us to break it,” Su Tang said. “Don’t worry, just do as I say. That man named Ruan won’t hold out for long; he will definitely bow to us. These Wandering Martial Artists know that reasoning with us is useless, so they can only go back and put pressure on that man named Ruan to make him come and negotiate with us.”

“Little San, I’ve noticed, you are so mean!” Xi Xiaoru said.

“Just average,” Su Tang smiled.

At this time, a young Martial Artist around twenty years old walked over slowly. Thanks to his keen senses, Su Tang could always make a preliminary judgment about a stranger immediately. The young Martial Artist’s pace was steady, possessing an internal grace.

“Chief, I am only one person. Can I pay a bit less?” the young man asked neither humbly nor arrogantly.

“No,” Xi Xiaoru refused flatly. “One person is also one thousand.”

The young man showed a bitter smile, slowly turned around, and began to walk back.

“Wait,” Su Tang said.

The young man paused and turned to look at Su Tang.

Su Tang leaned into Xi Xiaoru’s ear and whispered, “Big Brother, we asked for one thousand from a group of a dozen, and one thousand from one person; it’s a bit unfair. Moreover, I see that kid has great refinement; his family background seems not so simple.”

“So what?” Xi Xiaoru asked suspiciously. In terms of family background, no one in all of Red Leaf City could compare to her, so she truly did not care about the young man’s origin. No matter who it was, they had to pay to cross the bridge.

“Look at the people gathered on the other side of the bridge whispering to each other. Don’t they feel like they just blend into the crowd?” Su Tang said.

Xi Xiaoru glanced toward the bridge and nodded.

“They are all people without much ambition; they only dare to venture into Yunshui Marsh in groups. But that kid is alone; his courage and strength should be top-tier,” Su Tang said. “True powerhouses are only born from such people. Big Brother, we should build a good relationship with him; we aren’t lacking one person anyway.”

“How do we build a good relationship?”

“First, praise him a few times, charge him one hundred gold coins, and then give him a half-discount—fifty will do. If he pays quickly, it proves his mission is very difficult and the reward is high, so he doesn’t care about fifty gold coins. Then, you can simply waive his fee, saying that since it’s the first business of the day, you’re giving him special treatment.”

“I see…” Xi Xiaoru thought for a moment. “Young Master, seeing that you are handsome and possess extraordinary grace…” Before she finished, Xi Xiaoru could not continue. She turned her head and glared at Su Tang irritably. It was the first time she had praised someone like this, and a man at that, which made her feel a tingling sensation on her scalp.

The young man was stunned, stammering, not knowing how to respond.

“Let’s do this. One person should be charged one hundred gold coins, but I’ll give you a half-discount—fifty gold coins,” Xi Xiaoru said.

The young man breathed a sigh of relief. He could afford fifty gold coins. He quickly took out a gold note and handed it to Xi Xiaoru.

“Forget it. I just opened for business today, and you are my first customer, so it’s waived,” Xi Xiaoru waved her hand. “You may pass.”

“Thank you, Chief.” The young man bowed to Xi Xiaoru, then glanced at Su Tang. He knew in his heart that Su Tang must have said something for Miss Xi to treat him with such special care.

The few people following the young man were caught between laughter and tears. Opened for business? Business? Forcibly extorting money by occupying a bridgehead—what kind of business was this? However, they also knew that the great Miss Xi could absolutely not lack money; she must be looking to cause trouble for someone, and they, the Wandering Martial Artists, were simply caught in the crossfire.

Hearing that crossing as a single person was cheap, a second Martial Artist soon stepped forward. Su Tang again leaned into Xi Xiaoru’s ear: “Just give a half-discount to everyone today, fifty coins flat.”

Soon, a dozen Martial Artists paid their money and crossed the bridge, while the smiling Xi Xiaoru did not understand Su Tang’s true intention.

Wandering Martial Artists with strength usually took high-risk, high-reward missions. If they were absolutely blocked, their resentment would be great. Letting them pass for a bit of money—who would hold a grudge over fifty gold coins?

Su Tang did this for Xi Xiaoru’s sake, which is why he filtered these people out. As for those still whispering on the other side of the bridge, Su Tang didn’t care, and he believed the Xi Family wouldn’t care either. Moreover, although their strength was not great, they were perfectly capable of making noise to put pressure on that man named Ruan.

Those who were willing to pay passed through. Those who were not saw that the sun had already dipped toward the west, and there was no longer any point in going. One by one, they turned around and headed back to Red Leaf City.

In the blink of an eye, the people were gone. At that moment, another team appeared on the other side of the bridge. There were not many of them, about seven or eight, walking quickly toward the bridgehead.