Chapter 71: Mu Yun

Jianchen wore a faint smile on his face and bowed to the mercenary, saying, "It seems this brother has traveled quite a bit on the Tianyuan Continent."

The mercenary smiled lightly and replied, "Not that long, just a few years. Compared to some mercenaries who have roamed the Tianyuan Continent for decades or even a hundred years, I still fall short."

"May I ask what this brother's name is?" Jianchen asked again.

"My name is Mu Yun, and yours?" The mercenary was clearly a talkative person.

"My name is Jianchen!" Jianchen answered, having already decided to use the name "Jianchen" from now on in the Tianyuan Continent.

Afterward, Jianchen and Mu Yun began chatting casually, discussing some interesting things about the Tianyuan Continent. Although it was Jianchen's first time venturing out, he had almost thoroughly understood the not-so-secret matters of the Tianyuan Continent while at the Kagas Academy. He even knew some historical events. Mu Yun, who had been rolling around in the Tianyuan Continent for several years, had very rich experience. The two complemented each other, and they talked enthusiastically along the way, gradually becoming closer.

As the caravan slowly passed through the massive city gate, Jianchen noticed several wanted posters of himself posted by the city gate. At the bottom of the posters, it read "Changyang Xiangtian," and the reward offered was very generous.

If someone discovered the whereabouts or clues of Changyang Xiangtian and it was confirmed to be correct, they would receive one thousand purple gold coins. If they captured the person based on these clues, the informant would receive an additional four thousand purple gold coins.

One gold coin was enough for a family of three to live on simple meals for a month, and one purple gold coin could be exchanged for one hundred gold coins. One thousand purple gold coins were a huge fortune for most mercenaries, enough to buy a house in the city and live a carefree life. Therefore, this reward was an irresistible temptation for most mercenaries.

The most tempting reward was the final one: anyone who captured Changyang Xiangtian and handed him over to the Huayun Sect would immediately receive one hundred thousand purple gold coins.

Seeing the generous reward that could move anyone, a faint cold light flashed in Jianchen's otherwise calm eyes.

"Huayun Sect, you really think highly of me, offering such a generous reward to issue a wanted notice throughout the entire Gassen Kingdom and even posting a task in the Mercenary Guild," Jianchen thought to himself with a cold sneer. However, he also felt a deep sense of helplessness. On the Tianyuan Continent, everything was decided by strength. With his current strength, he could only leave his home, his place of growth, and the Gassen Kingdom under a false name and a new identity. Even the Changyang Manor, one of the four major families in Lauer City, was powerless in this situation.

"Alas!" Jianchen sighed inwardly. At this moment, he couldn't help but think of his mother, Bi Yuntian, who had been reluctant to let him go and had been in tears when he left.

Thinking of this, a warmth he had never felt before appeared in Jianchen's eyes, but then his gaze became resolute. At this moment, he had made up his mind. In the future, he would focus on cultivation and strive to improve his strength. Otherwise, with the Huayun Sect still being so powerful, he might never be able to return to the Gassen Kingdom, never see his mother again, and never enjoy this hard-earned maternal love.

In his previous life, Jianchen was an orphan and had never experienced the care of family. Now, fate had not only given him a second chance but also blessed him with a happy and complete family. In Jianchen's heart, he cherished this hard-earned maternal love and the affection of his true family.

People who had grown up in happy and complete families might not understand how Jianchen felt, but in his heart, after a lifetime of loneliness, he still yearned for family. Being alone, one couldn't help but feel a bit lonely.

At the city gate, there were nearly two hundred soldiers guarding, each with a sharp gaze scanning the faces of everyone passing through. If someone's face was unclear, they would be stopped and carefully compared with the wanted posters on the wall. Only after confirmation would they be allowed to leave.

Although many of those stopped were powerful mercenaries, they did not dare to cause any trouble at the border fortress of the Gassen Kingdom. The fortress had nearly hundreds of thousands of troops, and there were no shortage of experts. If they clashed with the guards here, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The city gate was very large, and even five carriages side by side would not feel crowded. As Jianchen's caravan was about to leave the fortress, a smaller caravan caught up from behind. When they saw the wanted posters at the city gate, someone immediately started discussing.

"Who is this person in the poster? Why is he wanted everywhere? I didn't expect that even the border fortress of the Gassen Kingdom would have his wanted poster."

"It seems this person must have committed many serious crimes. When I passed through three cities, the entire city was plastered with his wanted posters. Now, even the Mercenary Guild has issued a task to capture him."

"Yes, it seems this person must have committed a serious crime or offended a powerful figure. The Mercenary Guild has now upgraded the task to A-level and removed the mercenary level requirement. This means even a D-level mercenary can accept the task."

"Exactly, and the reward is very high. Just discovering Changyang Xiangtian's whereabouts can earn one thousand purple gold coins, and capturing him will earn an additional four thousand purple gold coins."

"A few thousand is nothing. If you can capture him and deliver him to the Huayun Sect, you can earn one hundred thousand purple gold coins. One hundred thousand! It's terrifying just to think about it. I probably couldn't earn that much in a lifetime."

...

Hearing the discussion from the other caravan, Mu Yun, who was chatting with Jianchen, became interested. He turned to look at the poster and chuckled, "I wonder what crime this Changyang Xiangtian committed to make the Huayun Sect go to such lengths to capture him. If he were a powerful figure, it would make sense, but the wanted poster clearly states he is only a初级圣者. This is very strange. Could a初级圣者do something that makes the Huayun Sect hate him so much? Could it be that Changyang Xiangtian peeked at the daughter of the Huayun Sect's local sect leader while she was bathing?"

Hearing Mu Yun's mutterings, Jianchen couldn't help but laugh. He looked at Mu Yun with a bit of helplessness and said, "Brother Mu Yun, I've lived in the Gassen Kingdom for over a decade and have heard a lot about the Huayun Sect. As far as I know, the Huayun Sect's leader only has a son, not a daughter. So, the story about peeking at the Huayun Sect leader's daughter bathing seems unlikely."

Mu Yun rolled his eyes at Jianchen and said, "What do you know? Who says the Huayun Sect leader doesn't have a daughter? Maybe he does, but it's just not known to the outside world."

Jianchen shook his head helplessly and decided not to continue discussing whether the Huayun Sect leader had a daughter with Mu Yun.

The caravan left the fortress without any hindrance. After changing his appearance, no one could recognize Jianchen's true identity. The disguise was very high-quality, and even though Jianchen used ordinary materials, it was flawless, and no one could see through it.

Moreover, the disguise technique was from Jianchen's previous life, seemingly simple but very profound and difficult to learn. In this world, such a technique probably didn't exist, so no one would think of it. Jianchen's face showed no signs of the disguise, and he didn't have to worry about being recognized.

After leaving the fortress, they entered a vast, endless plain. The plain was sparsely populated, with only scattered caravans traveling on the road. This plain was not under the jurisdiction of any empire and was a lawless area, leading to frequent bandit activities. Caravans traveling here either traveled in large groups or had powerful mercenaries for protection.

The plain was very extensive, and the caravan traveled for a whole day, covering only a quarter of the distance. To reach the Wind Blue Empire, they had to cross the plain and then a mountain range. At the caravan's slow pace, it would take about ten days to reach the border fortress of the Wind Blue Empire. After all, the caravan carried a lot of goods, and the road was not very smooth, making it difficult to travel quickly.

As the sky darkened, the caravan stopped and set up camp on a relatively flat area. Nearly a hundred tents were arranged in a circle, protecting the cargo-laden carriages inside. The drivers unloaded the carriages and fed the horses.

Smoke rose from the camp, and many mercenaries sat in groups of three or five, chatting and roasting magic beast meat or cooking food to fill their stomachs. Those who gathered together were either acquaintances or from the same mercenary group. Most of the lone mercenaries sat quietly, eating the dry rations they had prepared.

Jianchen also took out a tent from his spatial waist belt and set it up on a flat, dry spot. As someone not belonging to any mercenary group and not on the caravan's payroll, Jianchen had to bear all his expenses and needs himself. The caravan would not provide any assistance.

Just as Jianchen finished setting up his tent, Mu Yun suddenly appeared in front of him and said, "Jianchen, it seems you also joined this caravan midway. Where are you headed?"

Jianchen nodded and replied, "I'm going to the Blue Moon Empire. What about you, Brother Mu Yun?"

Mu Yun chuckled and said, "I'm heading to the Kagas Kingdom, which happens to pass through the Blue Moon Kingdom." Saying this, Mu Yun also took out a tent from his spatial waist belt and set it up not far from Jianchen.