Chapter 1265 - Heading to Smoke City
When he heard that Murong Xue and the othersâ mission was in Smoke City too, Ye Zichen frowned. He could tell this wasnât simple.
Would this be a repeat of what happened in Barren Sands City?
Although Ye Zichen worried about this internally, he couldnât say that outright.
Instead, he said, âWhat mission do you have in Smoke City?
âItâs a mission the academy arranged for us. A whole bunch of smoke grass appeared in the area, so theyâre sending us to gather it up,â said Murong Xue. She arched her brows. âI know what youâre thinking. Youâre wondering if thisâll be a repeat of what happened in barren sands city, but it wonât be like that.â
Ye Zichen was keenly aware of smoke grassâs value. It was used to refine medicine and could increase a pill refinerâs success rate by a wide margin. Smoke City was famous on account of this grass.
So long as it wasnât like the incident in Barren Sands City, Ye Zichen could relax. However, when he considered Wei Jie and the othersâ urgent cries for help, he knew he couldnât waste even a moment. âThen letâs go together. This canât wait, so letâs go now.â
âAlright.â Murong Xue summoned the boat sheâd borrowed, then she and the Appearance Associationâs âGolden Flowersâ got on board. Jiang Yong, Pang Sheng, and Ye Zichen followed soon after.
To their surprise, Xue Mo decided to tag along as well. âI want to go too.â
Jiang Yong heard that and laughed. âWas I right or was I right? I told you that so long as Ye Zichen was on board, Xue Mo would definitely come too. Thatâs good too, though; we can be considered old war buddies. Alright then, letâs head out!â
The flying vessel rose into the air with a boom. Ye Zichen sat in a corner and fished out his cellphone.
âWhatâs the situation?â Ye Zichen sent Wei Jie a message.
A few minutes later, he got a response. âWeâre still hiding, so we canât see whatâs going on outside, nor do we dare spread our divine awareness. If we do, they might find us. I donât know what the situation is either.â
âWhat kind of people attacked the village?â asked Ye Zichen.
âWho knows? We havenât been on the mountain for long, but they showed up out of nowhere and just started killing people. Men, women, elders, children, they donât care. They kill anyone they see. Also, all of them are extremely strong. None of us are a match for them,â said Wei Jie.
âAre you certain theyâre human? There are no other presences mixed in?â Ye Zichen furrowed his brows.
âTheyâre human. That, at least, Iâm absolutely certain of. The moment they first attacked, I wondered if they belonged to other races, but I donât sense even the slightest trace of yao or demonic energy about them,â replied Wei Jie.
When he read Wei Jieâs response, ye Zichen fell silent.
He actually still somewhat suspected that the culprits were demons, but when he saw how certain Wei Jie was that they werenât, he grew uncertain. He needed time to process this.
If they werenât demons, then they had to be real scumbags to kill even women, children, and the elderly without reservation.
Were these the Horse Bandits?
Although Ye Zichen had never run into them, heâd heard that the Horse Bandits were a particularly violent bunch that ran rampant on the Divine Mountains, and there was no evil act they wouldnât sink to.
âStay hidden. Iâm hurrying to Smoke City now. I should get there soon.â
âOkay.â Ye Zichen returned his phone to his pocket. It was only then that he realized that a group of women had gathered around him.
Murong Xue, the Dai Sisters, and Xue Mo were all crouched and looking right at him.
âWhat are you looking at me like that for?â Ye Zichen licked his lips uncomfortably.
Murong Xue frowned then took a step back and addressed Xue Mo. âThat communication device he was using now was quite good. It provides instantaneous communication!â
Next, he walked back over to him and smiled radiantly, âYe Darling, what was that thing⊠you were using just now?â
âYou mean this?â Ye Zichen fished his phone back out of his pocket. Murong Xue nodded. âItâs a cell phone. Itâs something my research team developed and can be used for top-speed private and small-group conversations. What, are you interested in it?â
âI am rather interested, but how much does it cost?â
âIâm not sure either, yet. I still need to ask the research team. Once we can produce them en masse, if youâre still interested, I can charge you the base price for materials plus a tiny labor fee. I doubt theyâll be more than two hundred aureus each.â
âThat would be fine.â Murong Xue smiled and nodded. Although transmission devices could send messages, they were far from instantaneous. Messages would sometimes get delayed along the way. Also, they were extremely expensive to make. Even the cheapest transmission device started at five hundred aureus, and that was just for the materials.
She took a shine to the cell phoneâs high-speeds, and now it sounded like it was cheaper than transmission devices too.
If she had to choose between the two, it was obvious which was the better choice.
âWhen the time comes, sell me three million units. I want to give one to everyone in the Appearance Association,â said Murong Xue with the air of a rich girl.
Just hearing that made Ye Zichenâs heart jump.
At two hundred each, three million units would add up to six hundred million aureus.
Murong Xue asked to purchase that many without so much as batting an eye. She really was the leader of one of the top-five student associations. Being a Society Leader took so much cash that all of them were all scions of major clans...
This was practically inhuman!
âBeauty Murong, youâve given me quite the spare! Three million? Iâm afraid I canât provide that many. Our first round of production will only be a few million in total, but I need to outfit Anti-Upheaval and my faction in the Lower Lands first.â Ye Zichen shrugged helplessly.
âTo think you had a faction in the Lower Lands! What kind of organization is it? My family has side branches down there too. But have you heard of a gang called Upheaval? Theyâre as aggressive as can be, and theyâve oppressed our side branches into an utterly pitiful state. Jiang Yongâs family is in the same boat.â
She pursed her lips pointedly. Jiang Yong noticed and shouted, âYeah, thatâs right! Upheaval is way too arrogant. But Iâm too lazy to get involved with our side branchesâ affairs. Still, I heard that Upheaval is doing amazingly down there. Theyâve monopolized practically ninety percent of the Lower Lands.â
âUpheaval? Then isnât our Anti-Upheaval Society the perfect fit to wipe them out?â added Xue Mo.
These three were all scions of influential clans of the Northern Divine Mountain. The more Ye Zichen heard of their conversation, the more rigid his expression grew.
He scratched his head and coughed, but didnât participate in their conversation. Instead, he called out, âOlâ Jiang, how much longer until we reach Smoke City?â
âWeâll be there soon,â shouted Jiang Yong. âDonât be in such a hurry. Do you know your friendsâ location? How about we go there first and rescue them, then the rest of us can split off and gather smoke grass?â
âNo need. You can attend to your own affairs. I can handle my own problems on my own. Once things are settled, Iâll go looking for you.â
When he finished speaking, Ye Zichen lowered his head and said nothing more, only to hear Murong Xue ask, âThen just what kind of faction did you set up in the Lower Lands?â
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