Chapter 23 The Bai Family's Reaction to the Assassination
Lu Xuan, who had been coldly watching their monkey show, twitched his brow. "You want my life?"
If they're just trying to rob someone because they're forgetful, breaking a few bones would be enough. But if they dare to even threaten his life... that's a different story.
Lu Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said with a smirk, "If you want my life, we'll see if you have the ability."
He glanced back at the city walls of the prefecture that were no longer visible.
It's unlikely to cause a death in the city, but it shouldn't matter in the wilderness, right?
Lu Xuan flexed his fingers, and his aura subtly changed.
The local thug leader, eager to get his hands on the money, made a few threats. Seeing that Lu Xuan still had no intention of backing down, he lost his patience and fiercely waved his hand at the others, saying, "You won't listen to reason, so get on him!"
"Kill him—!"
About twenty men, shouting loudly, charged towards Lu Xuan from all directions, brandishing their weapons and displaying ferocious expressions.
The driver in the carriage covered his ears in terror at the noise, but the panicked screams still managed to get through his fingers.
"ah--"
"What is this?! Help!"
"No! Ahhh—!"
"monster--!"
If the driver had been brave enough to look out at that moment, he might have witnessed a scene he would never forget.
In the vast wilderness, countless thick, giant vines danced in the air, their tips tightly entwining the terrified robbers. The thorns that were everywhere on the vines pierced their flesh, and the heavy smell of blood quickly spread in all directions.
More than a dozen of the twenty people were entangled, and the few remaining escapees were so frightened by the sudden appearance of the vines that they tried to run away, but Lu Xuan, who was weaving through the sea of vines, grabbed them by the neck.
Realizing what was happening, the robber's pupils constricted. Just as he was about to beg for mercy, Lu Xuan twisted his neck forcefully, snapping it.
The other person died with an expression of disbelief still on their face.
The local thug leader, who happened to be avoiding the vines, witnessed this scene and was terrified.
Just then, Lu Xuan looked up and met his eyes.
The local thug leader sensed a danger in Lu Xuan's unfathomable eyes that was even more chilling than any of the most vicious and desperate criminals he had ever encountered.
Cold sweat poured from his forehead, and an unprecedented fear welled up inside him.
A voice kept warning me in my head: Run! Run! It will be too late if you don't run now!
Instinct drove him to drop his weapon, turn around, and run for his life.
Unfortunately, before he could run more than a few meters, an indescribable pain shot through his neck, his consciousness rapidly blurred, and he soon lost all feeling.
Lu Xuan used the same method to kill the remaining few people. A few who tried to attack him while he was making his move were also whipped away by the blood-sucking vine, their bones shattered.
In the blink of an eye, everyone who came looking for trouble was lying on the ground. Except for a few people who were still breathing, they were all dead, whether they were killed by Lu Xuan himself or by the blood-sucking vines.
The viewers in the live stream unconsciously held their breath, and the chat remained silent for a long time before starting to scroll again.
[...I thought the streamer was only ruthless towards her prey, but I didn't expect her to be just as ruthless towards people. I underestimated her!]
[These people are too weak; the streamer can take them down like slicing melons and vegetables.]
[This is absolutely insane!! So exciting!!]
[I admit the streamer is handsome, but wasn't the mutated vampire the best performer of the match?! Easily taking down over a dozen people, so cool!]
[I became a fan because I heard this streamer had made a contract with a mutated plant, and after waiting for so many days, the mutated vampire vine has finally reappeared! It's amazing!]
[Ahhh! I really want such a powerful mutated plant!]
First, you need wood-based abilities; second, you need to be strong enough to survive being strangled by the mutated vampire vine.
Nowadays, there are more people in the live stream room than before, and of course, there are bound to be some with bizarre thought processes. While most people are excitedly pumped up, these quirky viewers intersperse their comments about whether the streamer has gone a bit too far, and whether it's necessary to kill everyone.
【？？？】
[No way, no way, these people even brought weapons, and someone's still acting like a saint??]
If the streamer didn't have enough skill, it would be the streamer lying on the ground right now.
Even if they didn't kill, who knows how many bacteria and germs were on those weapons? In ancient times, medical technology was limited; a minor injury could easily lead to fever, infection, and death.
The streamer has a system that prevents them from getting infected, but these people don't know that. They didn't intend to spare the streamer when they robbed them, so they deserve their current fate!
In interstellar space, the rule of might makes right applies. It's not that the weak can't live a good life, but the principle is: I won't offend others unless they offend me first. If you cause trouble first, don't blame others for fighting back and taking your life.
Soon, a small number of eccentric viewers were forced to shut up.
People's attention has returned to the streamer.
They were more interested in Lu Xuan than in sympathizing with the robber who suffered the consequences of his actions or the oddball who made sanctimonious remarks.
They had already guessed that Lu Xuan had a secret when he went into the mountains to search for treasure before, and now they were even more certain of it.
They couldn't guess what secrets Lu Xuan was hiding. All they knew was that he was definitely not the simple-minded country boy from ancient times who had been foolish for over a decade that they had initially thought he was!
Viewers in the live stream: Man, you've successfully piqued my interest.
Lu Xuan glanced at the carriage and casually snapped his fingers. The audience, who were making all sorts of wild guesses, saw the figures of the robbers who were bound by the blood-sucking vines and were either barely breathing or had already died gradually shrink until they were just thin skin.
[Hiss—was it drained dry by the vampire vines?]
[Mutant Vampire Vine, the word "vampire" is truly fitting!]
Lu Xuan moved his fingers again, and the blood-sucking vine quickly shrank back into a seed, which he absorbed into his body. The dozen or so skins in mid-air also floated down lightly.
To avoid frightening innocent people, he put all the skins with terrified expressions into his spatial ring, planning to throw them away at the bottom of some cliff in the mountains when he got back.
After confirming that nothing had been missed, Lu Xuan walked to the carriage and tapped the carriage twice. "We can go now."
A moment later, the driver cautiously peeked out from inside.
"Huh? Where did he go?" the coachman exclaimed in surprise.
Lu Xuan said calmly, "I chased them away."
The driver exclaimed in shock, "So you're really good at fighting, sir? You managed to drive away all twenty men?"
The coachman looked at Lu Xuan, whose clothes were fluttering in the wind, as if he were looking at some unassuming hero.
...It's just that the hero's clothes were covered in cotton wool, which ruined the atmosphere a bit.
Moreover... after the initial shock, the coachman, smelling the strong stench of blood around him, still harbored some lingering doubts.
He only heard screams in the carriage, then it became quiet, and he heard no sounds of escape.
Did those people really run away?
"What are you doing?" Lu Xuan asked quietly from behind him.
The driver shivered and, not daring to think further, said, "It's nothing, it's nothing. Let's get going."
After Lu Xuan got into the carriage, the driver looked again at the empty surroundings and the scattered bloodstains on the ground, swallowed hard, looked away, and shakily swung the rope in his hand before quickly taking the carriage and leaving the scene.
-
About half a day after Lu Xuan left the city, the Bai family also found out his whereabouts over the past few days.
Bai Xuefeng was completely dumbfounded when he heard from his subordinates that Lu Xuan had spent more than 6,000 taels of silver in just a few days to buy a large amount of grain, meat and other supplies.
He guessed that Lu Xuan might have bought a lot of things, but he didn't expect it to be this much!
More than 30,000 jin of grain and several hundred pigs—this is simply not something that a few people could digest in a short period of time.
Lu Xuan even bought a lot of ironware!
Iron is a very sensitive commodity. When Bai Xuefeng saw the total amount Lu Xuan purchased, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine, wondering if there was some powerful force behind him.
What's even more puzzling is that there's absolutely no idea how Lu Xuan managed to transport so much stuff.
The people below found out the small courtyard where Lu Xuan was renting and asked the neighbors. They confirmed that a lot of goods were indeed delivered there every day for the past few days, but they never saw anything being taken out.
When Lu Xuan checked out, his men secretly went in to check and found that all the supplies inside had vanished into thin air!
Bai Xuefeng felt increasingly panicked and confused. He had a gut feeling that Lu Xuan might not have lied to him yesterday, and that a huge disaster was about to happen!
After learning of this news, Bai's father also sensed the hidden crisis. Although he still had doubts, he immediately ordered the steward to collect a batch of supplies as quickly as possible, referring directly to Lu Xuan's shopping list for the specific types of supplies.
They can rule out items like ceramics, which they already have plenty of. Fresh meat can't be preserved in large quantities, so they can buy cured meat instead, which is easier to preserve. As for other necessities like grains, cloth, and charcoal, the more the better.
If Lu Xuan can buy so much by himself, his family certainly can't afford to buy less.
Using a large sum of money at once and purchasing a large quantity of supplies were no small matters, and the Bai family quickly got busy.
Many of the people below did not understand what the higher-ups were planning until disaster struck shortly afterward. Only then did they realize what was going on. The Bai family was extremely grateful that they had not underestimated the important information provided by Lu Xuan and were incredibly thankful to him.
Unfortunately, when they tried to find their benefactor again, they couldn't find him anywhere.
·
Yunlu Village, Lu Family.
Lu Qing was drying the mushrooms that Lu Xuan had brought back in the yard.
Two days had passed since Lu Xuan said he would go to the city. As Lu Qing picked at the mushrooms that were almost dried, she murmured, "I wonder if Ah Xuan's trip will go smoothly, and if he will be able to... sell them."
It's been five days and they still haven't returned. Could it be that they've run into some trouble in the city and are being held up?
"Sister! Brother is back! He brought back lots of things!"
While Lu Qing hesitated about whether to discuss with Lei Yan about going to the city to find someone, Lu Chen, who had been waiting for someone at the village entrance for the past two days, ran back excitedly.
Excitedly, Lu Qing grabbed the dried mushrooms she had squeezed into a mess and ran out quickly.
A note from the author:
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The Bai family will have more roles in the future, but it will be many volumes later, so we can ignore them for now.
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