Chapter 124 - 108: Force Conflict, 2nd Layer Profound Yuan Skill, 3rd Layer Iron Cloth Shirt

Chapter 124: Chapter 108: Force Conflict, 2nd Layer Profound Yuan Skill, 3rd Layer Iron Cloth Shirt

Su Chen had already witnessed the credibility of this signless shop during his last purchase. He decisively handed over one hundred taels. Once the clerk had noted it down, Su Chen asked, "Roughly when will there be news?"

"There will be news the next time the Black Market opens," the clerk replied with a smile.

Su Chen gave a slight nod. Stowing his receipt, he turned and left. It was around nine o’clock at night, and the Black Market was just about ready to close, so he didn’t linger.

He hadn’t left particularly early, nor was it late, yet he surprisingly encountered another robbery blocking the road. However, he wasn’t the target this time. It was someone else—a man dressed in a dark green robe.

After taking a glance from a distance, Su Chen changed his direction, preparing to detour around them.

"Heh heh, kid, hand over all the money on you. We only want cash. But if you dare to hide even a single coin, we’ll take your life!" the bandit leader said sinisterly.

Surrounded by the group, the robed man remained calm. His sharp gaze showed no hint of panic. "I’ll give you three breaths to get lost," he said in a low voice. "Otherwise, die!"

As soon as the word "die" left his lips, even the air seemed to turn cold.

Though the bandits weren’t completely terrified, looks of suspicion and alarm surfaced on their faces. The bandit leader’s eyes flickered. He wondered if they had run into a tough customer tonight.

He sized up the robed man, hesitating inwardly, but then waved his hand and barked, "Let’s go!"

Hearing this, the rest of the bandits slowly lowered their weapons. They exchanged glances before walking away. Before leaving, the leader took one last, deep look at the robed man.

PHEW!

Seeing that the bandits had all left, the previously composed robed man’s expression relaxed. He let out a long sigh of relief and muttered to himself, "Thank goodness I was clever enough to fool them. Otherwise, I would have been doomed tonight. Still, this bunch of robbers is so stupid. I can’t believe they fell for it that easily!"

He patted his chest a few times to calm himself down. Reining in his emotions, he glanced around before quickening his pace and hurrying away.

However, he hadn’t gone far when his footsteps abruptly halted. A flash of panic crossed his eyes, but his expression quickly darkened again. "Didn’t I tell you to get lost? Are you asking for death?"

"Cut the crap! Brothers, get him!" the bandit leader roared in humiliation and rage. Did the guy really think he was blind and hadn’t seen through the act?

At his command, the bandits swarmed forward, flanking the robed man. Their faces were fiercely vicious, looking for all the world like starving beasts.

"Run!"

The robed man’s face instantly paled. Without another word, he broke into a sprint, knowing his bluff had been thoroughly exposed.

"Chase him! If we don’t catch him today, I swear I won’t let this go!" the bandit leader bellowed at the sight. If the guy dared to play him for a fool, he would pay with his life!

THUD.

As he walked, Su Chen suddenly stopped in his tracks. His ears twitched as he caught the sound of messy, hurried footsteps trailing behind him.

"Is someone chasing me?"

He leapt into the nearby bushes, holding his breath and focusing his attention. Soon, he spotted a figure fleeing frantically in the distance. It was the very same robed man he had encountered earlier.

"Where do you think you’re going!"

A gang of bandits doggedly pursued him, closing the distance bit by bit.

Suddenly, one of the bandits hurled his weapon. The blade shot out of his hand, hurtling straight toward the robed man.

WHOOSH.

THUMP!

Noticing the incoming attack, the robed man panicked. He threw himself into a leap, tumbling several times before rolling right into the bushes.

When he looked up, he found himself face to face with Su Chen, who was already hiding there. The two locked eyes, staring at each other in stunned silence. Su Chen didn’t say a word, his eyes carrying a clear warning.

However, the very next moment, a pleading voice rang out. "Boss, save me! Someone is trying to kill me!"

The bandits tailing the robed man slowed their pace, their gazes shifting back and forth between Su Chen and their prey.

"Kid, this has nothing to do with you. Leave now, and I’ll pretend nothing happened," the bandit leader warned, glaring at Su Chen.

"Boss, you go first! Bring our people back to kill these bandits and avenge me!" the robed man declared righteously, not even waiting for Su Chen to reply.

Hearing this, Su Chen looked at the robed man expressionlessly. Still silent, he quietly stood up, completely distancing himself from the man.

Seeing this, the robed man turned pale. He tried to feign calmness, but his eyes darted around frantically.

The bandit leader watched in silence. As Su Chen turned his back, a cold glint flashed in the leader’s eyes. He lunged forward explosively, slashing his blade at Su Chen.

SLASH!

THUD!

The heavy sound of a head hitting the ground struck the hearts of everyone present. The world seemed to fall dead silent. The remaining bandits stared blankly at the scene before them, frozen in place.

"Boss!" a moment later, one of the bandits snapped out of it and cried out in shock.

"Kill him! Avenge the boss!"

The bandits glared furiously at Su Chen, but before they could make a move, Su Chen dashed forward. With swift, decisive strikes of his blade, he reaped their lives one by one.

Watching from the sidelines, the robed man gulped hard, cold sweat pouring down his face. Forcing himself to stay composed, he scrambled to his feet and sprinted away as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

In no time at all, Su Chen finished off the bandits. With a quick movement, he blocked the robed man’s path.

"If I said I didn’t see anything just now, would you believe me?" The robed man looked at Su Chen in terror, his voice trembling. "Here is all the money I have on me. I’ll give it all to you. Let me go, and I promise I won’t breathe a word of this to anyone."

As he spoke, he pulled a thick stack of silver notes from his robes and placed them on the ground. Seeing that Su Chen’s attention was drawn to the money, he immediately bolted to the side.

SHNK. A steel blade pierced straight through his body, embedding itself diagonally into the ground, vibrating with a harsh hum!

"You... you have no honor!" A look of absolute terror washed over the robed man’s face. He turned his head to look at Su Chen one last time, filled with deep unwillingness.

Su Chen didn’t reply. He picked up the several hundred taels of silver notes from the dirt before walking over to the corpse and yanking out his steel blade. The robed man hadn’t lied; he truly had handed over all the money on his person. Unfortunately, he never should have tried to use Su Chen as a meat shield.

Turning around, Su Chen searched the bodies of the bandits. To his slight disappointment, the combined wealth on all of them didn’t even match what the robed man had carried.

"Boss, the mark is a bit tough. Should we make a move?"

In the distance, three figures were hidden in the tall grass. The trio stared at Su Chen as he looted the bodies, their eyes carrying different expressions. One of them broke the silence.

The other man also looked toward the man in the middle. Their boss shook his head. "No need. Let’s find another target."

"He just scored a lot of ill-gotten wealth. Why don’t we trail him and see?" the first man pressed, somewhat unwilling to give up.

"You have to be alive to spend it!" the boss snorted coldly, getting up to leave.

Seeing this, the other two exchanged a glance. Ultimately, they reluctantly stood up and followed him.

The three failed to notice that as they left, Su Chen had raised his head, watching their retreating backs. Only when they had completely vanished from sight did he withdraw his gaze.

The rest of the journey was entirely uneventful.

After entering the city, Su Chen headed straight for his residence. Once home, he took out the sixteen Qi Blood Pills he had bought and swallowed one. A wave of warmth instantly surged through his limbs and bones, lingering for a long while before slowly dissipating.

After consuming the Qi Blood Pill, Su Chen began to tally his harvest for the night. It wasn’t much. Aside from the pills, he had only looted about seven hundred taels. Adding that to what he already had, his total silver amounted to nearly five thousand taels.

"This little amount of money is only enough to buy sixteen Qi Blood Pills. Even with the nine gold bars, it won’t fetch twenty pills. It seems I need to figure out a way to make some money," Su Chen thought.

He fell deep into thought. Over ten thousand taels would have been enough to live a life of luxury in White Stone City, but in Dafeng City, it barely equated to a few dozen pills. Going from rich to poor was nothing more than changing locations.

After letting his thoughts wander for a bit, Su Chen washed up and went to bed.