The Demon Lords

Chapter 1087: Chapter 261: Night Road (Part 2)

After dinner, as darkness fell outside, Lord Zheng took the princess upstairs.

Because the inn was about to close due to the owner’s need to evacuate, the guest rooms no longer had bedding available, so guests had to bring their own. As for the room fee, it was charged only symbolically.

Once the bedding was arranged, Zheng Fan took out an iron box, pulled out a cigarette, and placed it under his nose.

"If you want to smoke, just smoke."

The princess knew it was tobacco.

Lord Zheng shook his head and said, "It will leave a scent on me."

"You’re really cautious."

"It’s all for our safe return."

"Indeed, my lord."

"Tomorrow morning, I’ll find someone to hand over the grain and fodder we brought, then we’ll head into the mountains."

The Town South Pass is the choke point from Jin land to Chu region, but it doesn’t mean you can’t get through without passing Town South Pass.

It’s passable, but the road is tough, not suitable for soldiers and horses.

"Okay."

The princess obediently lay down and began to rest.

Lord Zheng also lay down and closed his eyes.

Since, besides Mo Wan, there were no other demons around, many things had to be considered and arranged by Zheng Fan himself. The identity of a grain merchant was arranged by the Fan Family beforehand, but on the road eastward, Lord Zheng hadn’t contacted anyone from the Fan Family.

Firstly, the further east they went, the weaker the Fan Family’s influence became; secondly, Lord Zheng didn’t trust anyone now.

At this moment, the princess, with her eyes closed, spoke: "They say there are many wild beasts in the mountains, and also gangs of bandits."

"It’s not a big problem," Lord Zheng said.

He had that bit of confidence; after all, he was a Sixth Rank warrior.

"Mm."

The princess truly began to rest, her breathing becoming even and calm.

Lord Zheng also set aside other thoughts in his mind and fell asleep.

...

Early the next morning, Zheng Fan got up, found a fellow merchant on the road, handed over the family’s grain, and settled accounts with the laborers who had come all the way from Zhou County, allowing them to return home.

Then, Lord Zheng led the princess northward instead of eastward, entering the mountains directly.

Occasionally resting, but mostly hurrying along, by nightfall, Lord Zheng found a cave for camping.

The Green Python slithered over, opened its mouth, and dropped a large piece of deer leg meat.

A few days ago, as Zheng Fan and the princess traveled on the road, the Green Python followed from a distance in the forest. Once they entered the mountains, it was free to show itself, though it really didn’t like Zheng Fan, so after dropping the deer meat, it turned and wandered off again.

Lord Zheng lit a fire, simply treated the deer meat, and started grilling it.

The princess, meanwhile, was inspecting her own feet;

"Blisters?" Zheng Fan asked.

"A bit, yes."

Zheng Fan took out a needle, roasted it over the fire, and handed it to the princess, saying, "Be careful and poke it yourself."

The princess took the needle, complaining a bit:

"We should have walked slower today."

The princess, being of noble birth, was stepping into the mountains for the first time. The mountain path was difficult to traverse, needing an adjustment period, but Zheng Fan had led her quickly and urgently today.

"I wanted to avoid any complications. We handed over the food supplies used as a cover earlier today, didn’t we?"

"Yes, why?"

"After handing over some silver, who’s to say..."

"It wouldn’t come to that, would it?"

"These days, anyone daring to trade, none are genuinely honest people. Do you still believe the folk in your Chu State are simple and honest?"

"You make it sound as if it wouldn’t happen in your Yan State."

"It’s all the same, all the same. I got my start the same way, by robbing others."

"I didn’t expect Lord Pingye to have such a history of fortune-making?"

"It’s always been like this. It just used to sound disgraceful to rob a few fort masters and local tycoons. But in reality, it became a grand saga, just targeting a nation and royalty."

"It does seem that’s the case."

"The deer meat’s ready. Wash your hands and eat."

At this moment,

the Green Python returned, opened its mouth, and a human head dropped down.

The princess’s gaze sharpened, but she was not frightened into screaming.

Lord Zheng, munching on deer meat, walked over and flipped the head with his foot;

"It turned out to be the inn’s proprietor. Seems like he knew I had silver and wanted to make a quick fortune before closing the inn and heading home."

The princess, eating deer meat, said, "He must have followed closely. We’ve been moving fast today, yet he caught up."

"Hmm, I need to take a look. Have your snake lead the way."

"Xiao Qing, lead the way," the princess commanded.

"Xiao Qing?"

Normally, Lord Zheng referred to it as "your snake," and indeed didn’t know the snake’s name.

"What’s wrong?" the princess asked, puzzled, "Is there something wrong with the name?"

"Is there also a White Snake?"

"I haven’t seen one."

"Then you can ask it later."

The Green Python led the way at the front, and soon found two corpses in a low area.

"Hold the crossbow ready, I’ll go take a look."

The crossbow was something Lord Zheng acquired along the way. Though salt and iron were state-controlled in Chu, due to the high degree of autonomy noble lords had in their fiefs, many nobles profited from selling weapons.

This crossbow was a knock-off of military specifications. Though not as good as the regular ones, it was sufficient. Earlier, a fellow merchant accompanying them to transport grain sought one for self-defense, asked around, and bought extras for better pricing, so Lord Zheng accepted one.