From Beast Abilities to Sect Grand Master

An Xiang Village

Lin Fan and Ho Ming went back and met up with the Huang and Lee family members.

Huang Shi and Lee Long were the ones leading the team to get the hostages back.

"Thanks so much for coming," Huang Shi and Lee Long bowed and greeted.

They'd heard from Ho Fu what Lin Fan and Ho Ming had accomplished.

Being thoroughly impressed with what they heard about Lin Fan and Ho Ming, they felt a sense of relief when they heard that Lin Fan and Ho Ming would be going with them.

"Don't worry, we will try to get your family members safe and sound," Lin Fan bowed back at them and said.

Ho Ming also nodded.

"We'd better get going before it gets dark. Best to arrive at Yun Dian City before nightfall. But first..." Lin Fan looked at the chest of gold and said.

He proceeded to keep the gold in his toad statue.

Huang Shi and Lee Long couldn't believe their eyes at what they saw.

One by one, the chests of gold disappeared into thin air.

They'd heard about storage artifacts before, but it was an eye-opener for them to see one in action.

Immediately they had more respect for Lin Fan after witnessing what he could do.

Yun Dian City was the nearest to the southern province where they could rest and recuperate before going into the southern province.

Huang Shi and Lee Long agreed, and they set off with their horses.

The terrain and temperature changed as they got further down south.

Humidity made the heat unbearable.

All of them started to sweat profusely.

Lin Fan and Ho Ming, as cultivators, fared better as they used their Qi to regulate their body temperature.

"Right ahead, and we will see Yun Dian City soon," Huang Shi wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, but it didn't help that his whole body was drenched in sweat by now.

"I could really use a cool bath now," Lee Long said as he tried to fan himself with his hand.

Soon, they saw Yun Dian City with its low brick walls.

There were many travelers, but they were heading in the opposite direction to the north, trying to get away from the southern province.

They looked at Lin Fan and the others with a perturbed look.

Are these people crazy? Going into Yun Dian City at a time like this. Every one of them thought silently to themselves.

When they arrived at the gates, Lin Fan noticed the lack of soldiers on the city wall.

The guards at the gate looked to be ill-disciplined with their messy attire and weapons strewn around carelessly.

"Next!" The guards shouted impatiently for Lin Fan and the others to be checked next.

Huang Shi quickly stepped up and passed a document over to the guard.

As merchants, they have passes that grant them passage at designated routes.

The guard looked at the document and then scanned the horses and 'goods' they had.

"The weather is just hot and unbearable." Fanning himself with the document, the guard lamented about the weather.

As an old timer, Huang Shi smiled and quickly took out some copper coins and passed them to the guard.

The guard looked at the copper coins in his hand and shook his head.

"Times are different now...."

Huang Shi's smile went stiff, but he regained his composure very soon.

He took out a piece of silver from his sleeve pocket and passed it over to the guard.

"Hmph. That's better." The guard kept the copper coins and piece of silver and let them through the gate.

Lin Fan saw what happened and shook his head.

Yun Dian City would fall within an hour with soldiers like these.

Maybe only the guards were like this, and the other soldiers might be more disciplined, he thought.

He was proven wrong immediately as he saw soldiers on patrol, fooling around and chatting with each other.

General Lu Ding might have a lot of work to do when he gets here, Lin Fan thought.

The streets were empty except for a few merchants trying to sell their wares.

The inn they sought to stay for the night was also empty.

What could accommodate a hundred patrons only had Lin Fan and the others as customers.

"Welcome to Hei Hu Inn. How may I help you?" The innkeeper's face lit up when he saw Lin Fan and the others coming into his inn.

"Eight rooms and we will be staying for one night," Lin Fan said.

The eight rooms should be enough for Lin Fan, Ho Ming, Huang Shi, Lee Long, and their four house guards.

"You heard our guests. Go prepare the rooms, get them clean and tidy." The innkeeper turned and shouted at the waiters.

This was the only business he had for the past few weeks, and they better not mess it up.

He turned back to Lin Fan and asked, "Please excuse us for the wait. It's surprising there are new visitors here, and where are you headed to?"

"We have some goods trapped in the Lao Di Mountain; we need to retrieve them back," Lin Fan said.

The innkeeper opened his eyes wide when he heard Lin Fan. "It's no longer Quan Dynasty territory out there anymore."

He leaned closer to Lin Fan, looked left and right, and then whispered next to Lin Fan's ears, "I suggest you be careful; the rebels are much more powerful than the soldiers here.

"If anything happens to you out there, no one can save you."

"Thanks. I will take note of it," Lin Fan smiled and thanked the innkeeper for his concerns.

The next moment, the rooms were ready, and they walked up to the second floor to their respective rooms.

"Wait!" The innkeeper came running after Lin Fan.

He handed him a piece of folded paper.

"I know of an unknown route to Lao Di mountains; it's shown in the map. It should help you reach there safely."

Lin Fan kept the piece of paper and thanked the innkeeper.