[A.B.P.P.E.] Bk 2 - Chapter 70 - Fat Men and Vital Operations

“In the name of the Numb Hand’s Pavilion, I said halt!” the armored man shouted again. 

Two other men wearing armor with considerably less metal rushed to get behind the knight. Each one held a spear banner of the pale blue background and white, open palm, pointing them at Yin Hu and the smaller sized crew. The rest of the caravan’s protection began to mobilize though a lot slower.

Yin Hu hid the small smile that spread across his face. He was grateful for the giant beard that hid all his facial expressions and provided him with a resting stoic face. 

It helped with all the Ancient being persona posturing. 

This entire situation felt awfully familiar to when he met Jun. From the way the guards reacted to the commotion that occurred before her arrival. This time though, the knight and his support didn’t seem as high strung and on the edge as the skeleton guards of the Silver Mountain Gang. Each one looked considerably better and had fat on their cheeks. 

Not to mention the power dynamics were far more in their favor. 

The big bad cultivator he had been worried about being forced to fight back then was on their side now. There was no fear of some immortal ancient monster springing up from under a rock when Da Ruis had extreme perception skills, Zhong Da and his wife probably the strongest cultivators in the area currently, and the girls were both strong enough to protect themselves from the average to slightly above average threats they would face. 

Meaning there was not a single being in this caravan that could truly be a source of danger to them.

Yin Hu gave Zhong Da a hidden nod again.

“Good evening!” he shouted as he walked toward the knight with his palms showing. “We are passersby who heard the noise of your camp. May we accompany you toward the nearest city? We wouldn’t be any…”

Da Ruis reached out to him, hidden in the shrubbery and trees in the area. 

Yin Hu turned slightly sideways to let him know he was listening. 

“Two cultivators in the camp that are anything to consider,” Da Ruis pointed toward the largest carriage ahead of them by a dozen wagons. “A fat man in that carriage is the acting leadership for the voyage here. A slob too busy with prostitutes to have noticed our arrival at all.” Da Ruis then pointed toward two men that were sitting on the back end of a wheat wagon. “The old man between them. He’s strong enough to survive against Wu Xui long enough to escape in my estimation. Zhong Da alone would be able to clear both though.”

He got all that in the few seconds we’ve been here? It was a good idea to make him in charge of talent acquisition. Then again…

It was that same strength that had resulted in him risking his life to throw them into the Inheritance Instance even if he died in the process. To forcefully keep his cultivation lineage going in a last ditch attempt that nearly worked if not for the system. The fact that he had crushed and wiped said Instance had both been a curse and boon. It almost killed Da Ruis, but gave him the clear slate to absorb the Void Qi with Rong’s help. 

Once that process started, there was no need for any outside assistance. 

Yin Hu nodded to him and watched the old ghost slink back into the darkness, impossible to see. 

“...you all don’t look like refugees or thieves,” the knight scratched his head. 

Zhong Da had worked him into the ground with his communication skills. Somehow convincing him to give them a chance. Yin Hu hadn’t really been listening, but all the guards had turned their spears into staffs to hold their weight and the knight seemed unsure of what to do anymore when he had been so filled with confidence just a few moments ago. 

“We’ll be wonderfully quiet and tranquil guests. Won’t hear a word from us!”

“Umm…” the knight stuttered, trying to figure out what to do. “Let me ask the caravan master. He will decide your fate.” 

The knight and guards ran off faster than they had arrived toward where Da Ruis had said the fat cultivator was. The ostentatious and massive carriage stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of the long train of food items filling hundreds of wagons. No one else had one, forced to walk including all the other cultivators as well. 

Yin Hu took a moment to really look down the wagon train trying to figure out just how much food they had on them. 

He hadn’t even noticed the goats, lambs, cows and even chickens held in coops until now. 

Sheesh… This could feed a hundred thousand people for a year and sustainable too with all the animals. Had to come from somewhere, right? Massive farms? Cattle ranches?

Yin Hu turned back when a commotion broke out toward the direction the knight had gone. Out came the widest man he had ever had the misfortune of seeing in-person. Covered in brightly colored robes that were currently on haphazardly. Worse yet was that he was draped by scantily clad women who were practically being dragged around as they held on to him. Giggling and laughing as though drunk. 

The fat cultivator smacked the knight, sending him sprawling on the ground. “Why’re you interrupting… important business meetings and intelligence gathering?”

All of the women laughed as though he said the funniest thing on the planet. 

“Lord Jin,” said interrupter of vital Numb Hand operations stood back up unfazed and bowed deeply to the caravan master. “We have guests that wish to accompany our caravan toward Yellow HearthStone City. It would be unbecoming of me to answer without beseeching your guidance first.”

“Where’s Shan Yue? Make the old coot deal with the newcomers–” 

The fat man’s gaze turned toward them, immediately falling into calculations as he studied their garb, attire, weaponry, and looks. 

Yin Hu cursed as he saw the unmistakable flash of unadulterated greed.

Shit… First person we meet is a money hustler. I thought Dong ZhenKang was bad, this guy is going to be a hundred times worse. 

It didn’t escape him that the old man, Shan Yue supposedly, had vanished from his seat and was likely scouting them out from different perspectives. There were likely more cultivators too in the caravan. Just none that Da Ruis had considered worth their time. That didn’t mean they weren’t important contributors to this operation. The exact opposite. They were eyes that could see and perceive better than any normal human could. Stationed around the area to gather information that may be missed from a forward encounter. 

Yin Hu considered ordering Da Ruis to retreat further away from the group, but held himself back. 

He trusted the old ghost to always lean toward self-preservation in all situations. If he needed to escape a hundred miles to make it out, then he would without a shadow of doubt. Thankfully, the system bound him to the Hu Clan. He would end up finding his way back even if it took a bit longer than everyone else expected. 

Lord Jin moved toward them without addressing the knight again. 

The entire camp started to move out of the way even though the fat cultivator had more than ample room to make it through to them. 

Yin Hu hid the deep frown as a wave of overpowering incense slammed into their group. Jun and Shui gagged and stumbled a few steps back. Fortunately, they were hidden behind him and out of sight of the group approaching them now.