Chapter 99

Three fast horses galloped into Green Mountain Village, heading straight for Zhao Qiu. However, ten steps before Zhao Qiu, the three riders suddenly pulled their reins, and the three horses reared up simultaneously.

"Neigh..."

One of the fast horses, after being pulled, suddenly went limp and fell to the side, the rider nimbly leaped off and landed in front of Zhao Qiu.

The other two riders barely managed to control their horses. Su Peng glanced and saw that the two horses were foaming at the mouth, sweating, and trembling, clearly from a long journey.

"Ha ha ha! I am Gong Jiu from Moyang, here to meet Brother Zhao!" The leading rider jumped off his horse, ignoring the dead horse behind him, and bowed deeply to Zhao Qiu.

"How dare I accept such a gesture!" Zhao Qiu stepped forward and supported the man. Su Peng glanced and saw that the man was only about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with a weathered face, looking as if he had just completed a long journey.

Zhao Qiu supported the man, helped him up, and then bowed to the two riders behind him, saying, "Gong Jiu, you came from Moyang, which is eight hundred miles away. How did you arrive first?"

"Ha, I received Brother Zhao's letter through the post station yesterday. I immediately set off, traveling day and night for a full day and night. I finally arrived here as Brother Zhao wished, and this is already the second fast horse that has died from exhaustion."

Gong Jiu casually pointed to the dead horse behind him and said to Zhao Qiu. Zhao Qiu was moved and said, "Thank you, brother. How are your brothers?"

"Not at all, the brothers of the Thirteen Eagles all remember Brother Zhao. If it weren't for Brother Zhao's righteous rescue, our eldest brother might have been killed in Jiangning County... Brother Zhao, this time I brought the tenth and eleventh brothers. Although they are young, they are truly skilled. Our eldest brother once said that in ten years, their achievements might surpass his own."

"Thank you very much!" Zhao Qiu bowed to Gong Jiu.

As Su Peng watched these men converse, he saw more fast horses approaching from a distance. He guessed they were also NPC friends Zhao Qiu had met in the game. Indeed, another group of martial artists arrived.

Before long, all the martial artists Zhao Qiu had invited to Jiangning County had gathered. Each person greeted Zhao Qiu first, and Su Peng could feel how solid Zhao Qiu's reputation was.

Regardless of whether they had exhausted several horses, traveled hundreds of miles in a hurry, or brought helpers to meet Zhao Qiu, they were giving him enough face.

In the end, Su Peng counted and found that eleven people Zhao Qiu had invited had arrived. Among them were three brothers from the Thirteen Eagles, a bald man with a double-headed axe, a master from Longcheng Martial Arts Hall in Nan Zhuang with two disciples, a scholar in his thirties, a couple of swordsmen, and a leader with a chain spear. Two more people had come than expected, and all of them were relatively young, none over thirty.

As he was paying attention, a voice suddenly came from behind Su Peng: "In the martial world, new people bury the old. The people Zhao Qiu invited are all without famous school backgrounds and want to become more famous in the martial world. By helping Zhao Qiu attack the Ancient Sword Manor, they can gain both reputation and benefits, a win-win situation."

Su Peng turned to see Ji Ming, who was carrying an iron bow and two quivers of arrows, standing behind him.

"It's been two days, and you've changed your equipment... You've been quite thorough in your investigation of Zhao Qiu," Su Peng said with a smile. Ji Ming smiled and replied, "Of course, I pay more attention to well-known figures in the company."

As they were talking, a bald man with a double-headed axe among the martial artists Zhao Qiu had invited spoke up: "Brother Zhao, the letter you sent mentioned some things that were not clear. Could you explain in detail the reasons for attacking the Ancient Sword Manor?"

"Of course, this matter involves one of my brothers..." Zhao Qiu nodded and then called out to Su Peng, "Brother Su, please come over and join us."

Su Peng smiled; Zhao Qiu was now fully immersed in his game character, speaking differently from how he did in the company. He walked over.

"This is Su Peng, my brother who has saved my life. It was he who discovered the situation at the Ancient Sword Manor. Let him explain it to everyone," Zhao Qiu said, gesturing to Su Peng.

The surrounding martial artists nodded or bowed to Su Peng, who returned the gesture and said, "The story goes like this..."

Su Peng recounted the events leading up to the discovery of the task, omitting Xie An's real name and only mentioning the survivor from ten years ago, as well as his own investigation at the Ancient Sword Manor.

"Here is the blood letter, please take a look... Additionally, I have investigated the Ancient Sword Manor's operations over the past ten years and found that it is the largest human trafficker in the area around Jiangning County. Many women and children have disappeared there, never to be seen again."

Su Peng showed the blood letter to everyone.

The martial artists passed the letter around, and they were all moved. The last person, a scholar in his thirties, bowed to Su Peng and said, "Brother Su, your willingness to risk your life to uncover this secret is truly admirable. If not for you, we would still think that the Ancient Sword was a respected hero in the martial world, not someone capable of such inhumane acts."

The other martial artists also expressed their admiration to Su Peng, who smiled and bowed. At this moment, he received a notification in his left eye: "Someone's favorability towards you increased by five points, your martial reputation increased by 100 points, someone's favorability towards you increased... your martial reputation increased by seventy points," and so on.

"Right, I haven't introduced you yet. These are the martial artists Brother Su invited, a total of eleven people, who will join us in attacking the Ancient Sword Manor," Zhao Qiu said, pointing to Ji Ming and the others. The martial artists looked at Su Peng with newfound respect, recognizing Ji Ming and the others as skilled martial artists. It seemed Su Peng had a wide network of contacts.

Su Peng was surprised to find that his martial reputation had increased by over two hundred points after this introduction.

Looking at the setting sun, Su Peng said, "It's getting late. We are thirty miles away from the Ancient Sword Manor. Why don't we head there first and then make our plans?"

Everyone agreed, and Wan Feng and the others gave the martial artists a map of the area. They either rode horses or used their lightness skills to head towards the Ancient Sword Manor.

...

When the sun had completely set, the group had arrived near the Ancient Sword Manor. Su Peng met Xie An at a prearranged location nearby and introduced him to the group, saying he was also invited by Su Peng. The group had no suspicions.

The group gathered on a hill three miles southwest of the Ancient Sword Manor, from where they could see the manor in the distance.

Su Peng unfolded a paper map and placed it on the ground, saying, "Here is the map of the Ancient Sword Manor..." (To be continued. Please search for Piaowen.com for faster updates and better reading experience!) (To be continued. Please search for Piaowen.com for faster updates and better reading experience!)