Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 681 Gathering of Heroes
"Clatter clatter clatter..." Horse hooves echoed continuously in the street.

A cavalry unit clad in red armor suddenly appeared from the other end of the street.

This commotion naturally made the dark-faced general guarding outside the inn tense, and the cavalry behind him drew their swords.

"They are men of the Prince of Jin!"

The Jin King's troops all wore red armor, supposedly because it was related to a treasure in the Jin King's possession, making them very easy to identify.

The troops stopped not far away, forming a standoff with the King of Wu's cavalry. Then, several figures in official robes climbed onto the roof of a nearby building.

"Cough cough!!"

"I have heard that there is no one on the Sword Ranking here. My king is eager to find talent, so he has brought ten thousand strings of paper money to show his sincerity. I hope that the unknown person will come out and meet me."

Compared to the black-faced general of the King of Wu, this man of the King of Jin was obviously much more polite, and not only polite, but also particularly sensible.

A box was brought up, and when it was opened, it was found to be filled with a thick layer of paper money for the dead.

Everyone looked up and couldn't help but feel envious.

"So much ghost money! I wish I had it."

"It is said that the Prince of Jin is a kind and generous man, the most magnanimous among all the princes. It seems that this is true."

“Exactly, look at the King of Wu’s group. They don’t look like they’re here to recruit people at all. I think the King of Wu is used to being domineering and really thinks he’s something special.”

Hearing the murmurs of the crowd, the dark-faced general immediately lost face.

He intended to give this unknown person a hard time, but instead, he made a fool of himself and made himself look like a clown. Now it's too late to regret it, so he can only continue to be assertive.

"Insolence!" The dark-faced general drew his saber from his waist and slashed a three-zhang-long gash in the ground.

The blade was pointed directly at the cavalrymen in crimson armor opposite him. "You little brat, Prince Jin, are you trying to kidnap someone?" Before he finished speaking, the sound of chains scraping against each other suddenly came from the shadows under the eaves.

Thirteen masked men, pulling on iron chains, came from afar. At the end of the chains, a giant bronze cauldron crashed to the ground, shattering all the pottery jars in the street.

"The thirteen Xuan Ding Guards under the King of Chu have come to offer the Three Rivers' fortune and the Five Lakes' blessings to the nameless one. We request that the nameless one appear in person."

The leader, an iron-masked man, had a hoarse voice. Behind him, blood churned in a cauldron, and the sounds of tigers roaring and dragons howling could be heard from time to time.

"Good stuff, someone's actually willing to bring out something real."

Xiao Ran pushed open the window and looked at the boiling blood in the large cauldron in the distance, a strange expression appearing on her face.

With the help of the Eye of Retrospection, the radiant light in the cauldron rose, and a thick aura of fortune and blessings shot straight into the sky.

In comparison, the so-called vast sums of ghost money are nothing special.

"Is it too late for me to regret this now?"

Xiao Ran glanced sideways at Gu Xintang, whose lips twitched a few times, unable to weigh the options.

At this moment, everyone in the inn was in an uproar.

"This...you can give away good fortune and blessings?? That can't be real, right?" Someone looked at the cauldron with a face full of doubt. These things are ethereal and intangible, so how could they be given away?

"Perhaps there is some great treasure hidden inside the cauldron, so they are using this as a gimmick."

Everyone nodded in agreement, finding this explanation quite plausible.

Unexpectedly, a burst of laughter came from inside the inn: "A bunch of idiots, who said that luck and fortune can't be given away?"

Everyone turned around and saw that the speaker had disheveled hair and smelled strongly of alcohol.

The other person looked up at the large cauldron outside the door, squinted, and said, "This King of Chu has some impressive methods! He actually uses the spiritual energy of the mountains and rivers of the world for his own purposes. Amazing!!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other, thinking that this drunkard must have gone mad.

Among those present were many ruthless outlaws who had risked their lives for the sword; otherwise, how could they have dared to venture into Chang'an?

A bald, burly man drew his sword and held it to the drunkard's head.

"Stop talking big. I don't believe such a method exists. You tell me how you did it! Give me a reason, or I'll chop you up!"

Faced with the burly man's threat, the drunkard was unfazed and said with a disdainful look, "This technique of seizing fortune is a method used by treasure hunters. It's natural that you don't know about it."

"Treasure hunter!"

Everyone was shocked upon hearing this, as quite a few of them had heard this rumor before.

Legend has it that treasure hunters spend years visiting mountains and ancient sites, specifically searching for unclaimed treasures of nature, and possess the means to seize the creation of heaven and earth.

Places with clear waters and beautiful scenery, possessing excellent feng shui, are often said to contain "heavenly treasures." These treasures are naturally rare and precious objects created by nature, and are said to be secretly protected by spirits and deities. If one were to casually disturb them, it would surely bring about annihilation; therefore, a special method must be used to approach and obtain them.

This field is not among the 360 ​​trades, nor does it belong to the categories of workers, peasants, soldiers, students, or merchants.

Strictly speaking, it should be categorized as the thief's trade.

However, their reputation is even worse than that of most thieves.

It is because wherever they have visited, the natural beauty and blessings have vanished, and the land has become a desolate wasteland.

It is said that there was once a village called Shuxiang Village (Scholarly Village), which produced three top scholars (Zhuangyuan) and twelve second-place scholars (Bangyan) over a period of three hundred years, with scholars and students passing the county-level exams everywhere.

Children born in the village are all intelligent and quick-witted, some even possessing photographic memory.

Later, the village was suddenly haunted, causing unrest. So, a group of Taoist priests were invited. The priests performed a ritual in the village, then pointed to a poplar tree on the east side of the village and said that the source of the trouble was there.

After everyone dug up the poplar tree, they found a stone beast underground. The sorcerer dug the stone beast away, and the village was indeed at peace.

Unexpectedly, a Taoist priest passed by the following month. After hearing about the matter, he did some calculations and immediately slapped his thigh, saying to the villagers, "You've all been fooled! This sorcerer and his gang are clearly a bunch of treasure hunters. The haunting of the village was deliberately caused by them."

The Taoist priest said that the village has excellent feng shui and the aura of the Wenqu star. The stone beast that the sorcerer dug up is called the Kui Beast, which is the incarnation of the Wenqu star. If you give this treasure to someone else, it will be difficult for anyone from this village to achieve fame and success in the future.

Just as the Taoist priest had said, no one in the village ever passed the imperial examinations again. Not only that, the village, which had originally had a very good atmosphere, changed its character in just a few years. Everyone became cunning and scheming, and eventually a notorious bandit emerged. Before long, the village became deserted.

That's why these so-called treasure hunters have the worst reputation.

It smells so bad that even the person who collects treasures doesn't dare to go out and admit they're a treasure collector.

Even the government regarded treasure hunters, along with robbers, bandits, and human traffickers, as the four scourges. As long as they were caught and the evidence was conclusive, they could be dragged out and executed by being cut into a thousand pieces.

Therefore, this profession is very secretive. Even if caught by the authorities, people would rather say they are thieves than dare to say the words "treasure hunter".

So although people had heard of it, no one would think of this unconventional profession for the time being.

Now, reminded by the drunkard, they all remembered that there seemed to be such a rumor.

"Hey, this King Chu has a team of treasure hunters under his wing. With the King Chu in charge, they wouldn't dare steal any mountain or river fortune. I just didn't expect that the King Chu would actually have the means to refine this fortune. He's truly remarkable."

After finishing his sentence, the drunkard looked up at the door again and added, "It's just rather immoral."

The entire long street had been transformed into a battlefield, with five-colored banners fluttering in the fierce wind.

The horses of the King of Wu's cavalry pawed restlessly, the messenger of the King of Jin secretly crushed the jade token of communication, and the iron chain in the hand of the King of Chu's iron-masked man was taut.

It was as if everyone was waiting for an answer.

It was at this moment.

Xiao Ran also glanced at Gu Xintang beside him: "Brother Gu, I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to resolve peacefully. Although my brother here has an excellent relationship with me, he has even given up such an important amount of luck. If my brother is tempted, I can't very well stop him!"

Although Xiao Ran didn't say it outright, his meaning was quite clear: it's no longer about money; if you don't show some sincerity, he can't make the decision.

Gu Xintang was well aware of this principle.

Just as he was frowning in thought, a melody from a distant zither broke through the tense atmosphere, and twenty-four golden-armored warriors carrying a dragon-carved chariot smashed through the opposing military formation.

He forcefully rushed to the front of the inn. A hand wearing a jade thumb ring emerged from behind the nine layers of gauze curtains, and the person inside said, "King Chu, what a grand gesture! My Qiankun Alliance may not have much else, but when it comes to luck, hmph, we certainly don't lack it!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran turned to look at Gu Xintang, only to see that Gu Xintang's face had become even more grim, his hands gripping the window sill so tightly that his fingers were almost digging into the window bars.

"Your people?"

"My second brother!"

Gu Xintang said coldly and then said no more.

A middle-aged man slowly stepped down from behind the palanquin. He looked very similar to Gu Xintang, but he exuded an air of composure and nobility.

After stepping down from the palanquin, he said to the inn, "King Chu's luck is ultimately not enough to be considered anything special. If you are willing to join my Qiankun Alliance, this wisp of dragon energy will be a gift to you."

As he spoke, the man took out something that looked like a crystal bottle. Inside, a wisp of golden light, as thin as a hair, shimmered, causing everyone to widen their eyes and even their breathing to become rapid.

"Snapped!!"

Gu Xintang crushed the window frame to pieces, his face contorted in a hideous rage.

Xiao Ran was also very surprised.

When he slew the dragon, most of the dragon's energy was absorbed by his own decapitation blade, and the remaining dragon energy scattered. Gu Xintang chased after it.

Although it's unknown how much of that dragon energy Gu Xintang managed to capture, it's still something that shouldn't be in the hands of this second young master.

"It seems that this esteemed third-ranked swordsman is not having an easy time in the Qiankun Alliance as one might imagine."

Seeing this, Xiao Ran's brows twitched slightly. Suddenly, she raised her hand and grabbed him. Her immense spiritual power formed an invisible palm, catching the man off guard, and Xiao Ran directly snatched away his wisp of dragon energy.

"who!!"

The man's face darkened slightly, and he suddenly raised his head. However, when he noticed Gu Xintang next to Xiao Ran, a mocking smile appeared on his face.

"What, Third Brother, are you reluctant to part with this wisp of dragon energy? Don't forget, this was given to me by Father, and I have the right to dispose of it as I see fit."

Gu Xintang snorted coldly upon hearing this, but remained silent.

Xiao Ran, standing to the side, explained with a smile, "Thank you, Second Young Master. On behalf of my brothers, I agree. From now on, we will advance and retreat together as the Qiankun Alliance, without any falsehood."

Upon hearing Xiao Ran's words, the strongman in golden armor beside the second young master stepped forward indignantly and pointed at Xiao Ran: "Who do you think you are? My young master specifically requested to see an unknown person! How dare you overstep your bounds!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran's eyes turned cold, and her figure vanished from the window in an instant, appearing next to the strongman the next second.

The large hand slapped down on the strongman. The speed of the hand was obviously very slow, but it made the strongman's muscles tense up and his blood flow backward, so that he could not move at all.

Only after that hand lightly patted the strongman's shoulder did he hear Xiao Ran's cold, icy voice.

"I dare to behead the emperor, so what am I to you!"

As the voice faded, the strongman's body shuddered violently, followed by the atrophy of all his muscles. The next second, he collapsed to the ground, lifeless, looking like a withered corpse...

(End of this chapter)