Chapitre 127: Moustached Merchant - Here're The Bandits.
The sun hung high in the sky as heatwaves wafted across the hard and dried dirt road, Shu He stood by the side of a signpost with a map unfolded as he held it away from him so he could read it, but the wind kept blowing it making it harder to do so.
"Guh, why am I still using a paper map? Why can't I have one of those metal slates we use in the sect…" He complained as he scoured the map for a certain name.
"Silvernode… Silvernode… right, there it was… and this sign says it's that way and Silversmith is that way… so I'm… here!" He nodded, figuring out just where he was on the map.
One thing he did find odd that that compasses weren't a thing in this world, not because no one thought of the idea but because they simply didn't work which Shu He found odd, but he didn't have enough knowledge of the matter to know why, he knows compasses worked off the planets magnetic field, but he made a compass himself since they're quite simple and it just span erratically.
Did that mean this worlds magnetic field was constantly shifting?
He shook his head, clearing his mind of the matter, either way it made pinpointing your location on maps harder, it was a good thing that as a cultivator he has improved memory, so he won't get lost easily.
It had been just under a week since he left, 5 days and bit to be precise and he was coming up on the first village since he left, there hadn't been much to see along the way just a lot of greenery and wildlife with the occasional carriage speeding past him, he met a few small groups travelling on foot that looked like a group of mercenaries but they just passed each-other after giving a glance to one another.
Just as he was folding the map up, he heard a noise in the distance behind him.
'Another carriage' He could hear the horse's hooves stamping on the ground and the squeaking of the large wooden wheels, so he got out of the road and stood to the side to let them pass like he had done before, no point in grandstanding stupidly after all.
Yet the carriage began to slow and drew to a halt just a few meters from him.
'Hm?' Shu He, surprised, glanced up at the carriage, the driver in the front was fairly well dressed, not quite rich but clearly the person in the carriage was well off.
The curtains parted on the cabin and a short, chunky moustached man spoke "You there, are you lost?".
"Lost?" Shu He stood still for a moment, not expecting to be asked that.
"Yes, lost, my driver said you looked a little confused looking at that map".
Shu He looked at the map in his hands and then chuckled "No, I'm fine, it's my first time out of the city so it took me a bit to get my bearings" He explained.
"Oh, you're from Orefine?" The moustached man said slightly louder than before as his eyes glimmered.
"Yes, sir" Shu He said, politely.
With a rumble and tumble of the cabin the door burst open as the short man walked out with a smile on his face "What a coincidence! I'm from Orefine as well! May I ask what brings you to walk this dusty road".
Shu He smiled gently "I just felt the need to taste the wide world, expand my horizons or so to say".
"I get it! You're at that age after all, the urge to travel is something I can relate with, when I was younger I couldn't wait to leave the small village I lived in!" The moustached man gleefully replied.
"If I may so ask, where are you heading to?" He then asked.
"Right now I'm on my way to Silvernode Village" Shu He replied, his eyes faking a joyful expression.
But internally, he was alert.
'What does this guy want?' His golden eyes glimmered from under the conical hat as he scanned the man, he was a normal human with a few coins, a hidden dagger and a few other titbits were on him.
"Ah, what a pleasant surprise! I'm also heading towards there! It's as if fate brought us together!" He exclaimed, his eyes almost watering as he performed a convincing act.
Shu He ignored him and went on to scan the horse and carriage.
'Horses are normal, driver is mortal… inside is another man, large muscle mass, armour and a sword, most likely a mercenary; He has a guard.' He began to put two and two together as he looked towards the rear of the carriage in the storage container.
Inside was stacked with different containers, with multiple types of gemstones inside along with raw bars of different kinds of metal, for a mortal this would without a doubt be a small fortune.
He then looked back at the moustached man that had begin to talk about the great weather.
'So this guy is a merchant and has one guard, why did he speak to me?'
"Speaking of the weather, while it's nice to be out in it for a little while, surely it gets a bit stuffy walking along like that?".
"It's not that bad" Shu He shook his head, he was honest as well, he didn't feel that hot at all.
"Now, don't be like that, sucking it up may make you look strong, but we all know how it is" The man dismissed what he said.
"Oh, right, my name is Xiao Fu I'm but a humble little merchant, may I ask your name?".
Shu He looked deeply as the man before sighing "My name is Shu He, I'm a simple traveller".
"Simple, I see" The man said, laughing slightly "Say, since we're heading the same way, why don't you come join us on the carriage?".
"Us?" Shu He asked, pretending not to know.
"Ah! My guard, his name is Wang Li, he looks scary but he's reliable, don't worry about him".
"…It's fine, I'll walk the rest of the way".
"Now come on, don't be like that, we can have a nice chat on the way there, I'm sure you have stories to share as I do!".
Shu He paused for a second before letting out a deep breath sigh.
"What is it you want?" The gentle preface left his expression.
The merchant, Xiao Fu's smile waned a little as he tussled his moustache, making it bounce.
"The truth is I've heard some unsavoury rumours about the route leading up to Silvernode, apparently some bandits have made themselves a home near the town and are robbing merchants blind, I'm sure a request for subjugation has been sent to the city lord but it will take time…".
"So? You have a 'reliable' guard don't you" Shu He said, with one brow raised.
"Ahahaha…" The man awkwardly laughed "You see I feel a bit uncomfortable with just Wang Li alone, so I'd like another guard…".
"And that's me? I told you I'm just a simple traveller" Shu He expressed his doubts, playing his part.
"Surely you jest! I may a simple merchant, but I can tell by the way you walk alone with confidence that you aren't normal" He said with a glimmer in his eyes.
"…Heh, so a 'simple' merchant and a 'simple' traveller, are we?" Shu He spoke with a slight grin.
"Yes, hehehe, that's exactly right" Xiao Fu returned his own grin.
"Fine, I expect a payment though; Not with money".
Xiao Fu paused for a moment and pondered before nodding "Yes, I can arrange something".
"Good, then let's go, I could do with a good sit down" Shu He said as he unceremoniously stepped on the wagon.
"Yes, let's" Xiao Fu stepped on afterwards and the carriage soon got moving.
'Let's see how this plays out then' Shu He thought as he glanced at the man across him.
…
"You see, Silvernode is a village that contains a great silver mine that produces a lot of the stuff, that is then moved on over to Silversmith where its turned in to jewellery! The two twin towns are great for traders like me, I've been a few times before and the jewellery produced there sells like hotcakes in other places!"
"I see, what kind of goods do you carry normally though?".
"Whatever the season desires! A merchant has to be adaptable after all!"
"Then what about right now?"
"Ah, just some resources that sells well over at Silvernode and Silversmith, they have a great silver mine, but they lack other ores".
The conversation between Shu He and Xiao Fu was lively, it had been three hours since they had entered the carriage and they had travelled more than half the remaining distance to the village already.
But there was one thing bugging Shu He, he glanced over at the 'guard' Wang Li out of the corner of his eye in concern.
The man hadn't spoken much at all in these three hours outside of introducing himself, unenthusiastically at that; Shu He took a closer look at the armour and weapon he was using and noticed they were chipped and not well maintained, hints of rust eating away at the corners of their metallic surfaces.
'Odd, most mercenaries keep themselves well equipped since their gear can mean the difference between life and death' He thought with a frown.
He then turned back to Xiao Fu and asked "Say, how long has Wang Li worked for you?"
He watched Wang Li's reaction out of the corner of his eye, seeing the man shift uncomfortably slightly when he spoke.
"Ah, it's been three months now he's been with me through multiple trades, I was lucky honestly, he's been able to deal with some small bandit attacks and he's not too expensive to hire". Xiao Fu nodded.
"Really now?" Shu He's eyes narrowed.
*NEIGH*
""?!""
The carriage drew to a stop with the horses panicking and making noise.
"What is it?!" Xiao Fu jumped out of his seat as he parted the curtains, Shu He's eyes glimmered as he didn't move from his seat.
"LEAVE THE CARRAIGE WITH YOUR HANDS UP, DON'T MAKE ANY SUSPICIOUS MOVES WE HAVE ARROWS DRAWN ON YOU!" The yell of a man came from outside.
'And here we go' Shu He sighed as he stood up.
The bandits were here.
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
ShiroN3K0
ShiroN3K0 1 more day and i'll have done seven chapters this week, i'll try maintain one a day but writers block can come out of nowhere sometimes.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
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Power Stone 
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