In the world of martial arts, grind your skill level to become a saint.

Chapter 164 Crossbow! Armor!

As the officers and soldiers finished their inspection, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, the carriage continued its journey and began to enter Bailitun.

"It seems that the rice gang has close ties with the government, and there are other forces involved in Bailitun besides the rice gang. The government's role here should be to maintain order."

Su Hao watched the snow scene slowly receding outside the carriage.

He was also pondering silently in his heart.

He had seen Yang Lu and those soldiers chatting and laughing outside the carriage earlier.

They could roughly guess the situation in Bailitun.

Furthermore, seeing the activities of other factions in Bailitun only confirmed his suspicion that this place was not simple.

As for why these forces would concentrate in Bailitun, a somewhat remote place.

There must be some unknown reasons behind this.

However, Su Hao only guessed in his mind and didn't think too much about it.

His purpose in coming here was solely to forge iron; nothing else mattered to him.

Moreover, after this collaboration, he terminated his cooperation agreement with the Rice Gang.

So he didn't care what the reason was for these people to gather here.

The carriage traveled through Bailitun for a while before stopping in front of a mud house courtyard.

As soon as he approached the place, Su Hao immediately smelled a somewhat familiar scent.

That's the smell of iron being forged and quenched by intense flames, the smell of rust.

Moreover, the faint sound of metal being struck could still be heard in the courtyard.

"Gentlemen, we have arrived!"

Yang Lu pulled back the carriage curtain and spoke to Su Hao and his group inside.

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly stood up, grabbed their belongings, and got off the carriage.

"Master Yang, the men you sent this time are quite good; they all seem to have some skills!"

As soon as everyone got out of the car, a bald, round-faced, short and stout man quickly walked out of the courtyard.

As soon as he came out, he smiled at Yang Lu, indicating that the two were quite familiar with each other.

"Master Lu, these are all carefully selected master-level figures; they should be able to produce something!"

Yang Lu responded with a smile.

"You said the same thing last time, but in the end, only two of you were capable of doing anything. I hope you won't be disappointed this time." The short, fat man, known as Hall Master Lu, curled his lip.

Don't worry!

Yang Lu patted the other person on the shoulder, and then took the lead in pulling Master Lu into the courtyard.

Master Lu turned around and gestured with his chin to his two underlings behind him. The two underlings immediately understood and hurriedly led Su Hao and the others into the courtyard.

As everyone entered the courtyard, the gate closed again.

Master Lu and Yang Lu also ended their conversation.

Master Lu nodded to Yang Lu for a few words before stepping to the front of the group and saying, "Esteemed masters, my name is Lu Kun, and I am the head of the Rice Gang in Bailitun. First of all, thank you all for taking the time to come and help our Rice Gang with some small favors. This is a small token of my gratitude, and I hope you will accept it with a smile!"

Lu Kun waved his hand, and several Mi Gang disciples behind him took out the money bags they had prepared and distributed them to Su Hao and everyone else present.

However, some people were delighted by Lu Kun's kindness and quickly took the money bag, while others remained silent and did not touch the money bag.

Su Hao also did not touch the money bag.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. They haven't even started doing anything yet, and the other party is already giving them money as a heads-up.

If you say this behavior is harmless, who would believe you?

"Hehe—Master Lu, I think it's better to finish the job before we get paid. Given the reputation of the Rice Gang, we should be paid our wages."

Among the group, Liu Qiang smiled slightly, placed the money bag in the center of the table, and spoke first.

"Yes! We're used to being paid based on the amount we do, so you don't need to worry, Master Lu. We'll get things done!"

Everyone else chimed in with agreement.

"this----"

Lu Kun frowned, a strange light flashing deep in his eyes, and he was about to get angry.

However, seeing Yang Lu shake his head slightly, he had no choice but to give up. He could only suppress his anger and say, "Since that's the case, then I won't force you. Gentlemen, please familiarize yourselves with your accommodations first, and then we can discuss the specific work arrangements."

"Ah Gou, take a few masters to the back courtyard. There are some empty rooms there; clean them up and make room!"

Lu Kun gave instructions to a young man beside him.

"OK!"

The young man nodded, set off immediately, and then left with Su Hao and the other master blacksmiths.

Su Hao followed at the back of the group, constantly observing the surrounding environment.

He soon discovered something that made this place different from other places.

The entire mud house courtyard looked quite ordinary, but there were many traps and hidden weapons set up around the courtyard walls. Su Hao had studied this technique before, so he was familiar with these traces.

Most importantly, Su Hao could sense vigilant eyes watching his every move from the hidden pavilions outside the courtyard.

It's obvious that this place is anything but ordinary!

Coupled with Lu Kun's previous actions that seemed like he was trying too hard to hide something, Su Hao had become wary.

If any issues are detected, leave immediately.

"Gentlemen, this is your accommodation. I will have someone clean your rooms shortly. After you have put your things away, please come with me to see the working environment!"

The young man in the lead spoke in a calm tone.

The way he looked at Su Hao and the other blacksmiths was tinged with disdain.

In his view, these people were just a bunch of blacksmiths, and the fact that they were being treated politely today was only because of the special circumstances.

The thought that he, as a deputy under the deputy hall master, had to lead these blacksmiths to find lodging and arrange for them to rest filled him with resentment.

What is his identity?

Given his status, if he were to go anywhere in the streets where these blacksmiths lived, the local gangs and guilds would all line up to welcome him.

Now they are treated like errand boys and bossed around.

"good!"

Upon hearing this, the group nodded repeatedly.

Then I started choosing where I would stay.

Su Hao chose a room that was relatively close to the courtyard wall to stay in.

The reason for doing this is simply to make it easier to escape.

After everyone had chosen their lodgings, they were led by the young man back to the forge.

As soon as Su Hao stepped inside, he smelled an extremely strong metallic odor, along with the smell of burning charcoal.

There were more than a dozen blacksmiths and dozens of forging stands around, the clanging of hammers accompanied by sparks flying everywhere.

Lu Kun was already waiting there.

Yang Lu followed behind.

Su Hao's gaze, which had been observing, sharpened when it fell upon the items crafted by the blacksmiths, and then his astonishment turned into shock.

He found that the things these people created gave him a sense of familiarity.

Su Hao looked up at Lu Kun and Yang Lu in front of him with some suspicion, and stopped in his tracks when he saw them.

Because he noticed that there were two actual items hanging on the shelf behind the two people.

One was a crossbow made entirely of black, seemingly crafted from pure refined iron; the other was a suit of completely black armor!