Chapter 70 Masked Man

Hearing what shopkeeper Li said, Xu Yang murmured in his heart, he would not let the secret of his flame spirit be leaked out like this. If the elder of the Yuanchang Merchant Alliance was as interested in wealth as Ouyang Cheng, he would be in trouble again, and he couldn't help but look embarrassed.

Shopkeeper Li saw this and understood. He smiled and said: "Master Xu, please rest assured that the Yuanchang Merchant Alliance will keep the identity secret of any guest appraiser. Even if the law enforcement elders come, they will not be allowed to see the true face of the master. As for I, Lao Li, have already been banned by the Merchant Alliance. With my seven-year reputation as the shopkeeper and my life as a guarantee, I will naturally keep my mouth shut. If someone is found to have leaked relevant information, the punishment from the Merchant Alliance will be extremely severe. After recommending Young Master Xu to become an appraiser, the monthly remuneration will also increase. That’s why I actively persuade Young Master Xu.”

"This Yuanchang Merchant Alliance has thought so carefully. In this case, please ask Shopkeeper Li to invite the deacons and elders of the Merchant Alliance to come." Seeing that Shopkeeper Li was sincere and the method was safe, he agreed.

"Master, please wait a moment, Lao Li, I'll be back soon."

After a cup of tea, there was a knock on the door of Xu Yang's room, and then shopkeeper Li's voice came: "Sir, Lao Li is back."

"Please come in."

Immediately afterwards, the door creaked open, and shopkeeper Li pushed the door open and walked in.

Shopkeeper Li had a tray in his hand. The tray was covered with a piece of red silk, and five pills were placed on the red silk.

"Master Xu, the elder deacon is already in the outer hall. Among these five pills, one is of inferior quality, and the other four are of good quality. As long as Master identifies the inferior one among them, it will pass this test."

After speaking, he placed the tray on the table in front of Xu Yang.

Xu Yang took the five pills in his hand one by one and looked at them carefully. The attributes of the five elixirs are gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. In the end, what was certain was that the two elixirs of fire and earth were normal.

Xu Yang smiled awkwardly and laughed at himself: "There is a 30% chance, just leave it to fate." Then he randomly took one of the water attributes, handed it to Shopkeeper Li, and said, "This is it."

Shopkeeper Li took the pill with a smile and backed out.

Not long after, shopkeeper Li returned to the room with a smile on his face.

"Congratulations to Mr. Xu for passing the test."

"It's a fluke, it's just a fluke." After saying this, Xu Yang's ears turned red.

Shopkeeper Li took out a white jade token and handed it to Xu Yang: "Congratulations to Mr. Xu for becoming the guest appraiser of this alliance. This token is the identification of Mr. Xu as the guest appraiser of Yuanchang Merchant Alliance."

"Thank you, shopkeeper Li."

After saying that, he took the token and looked at it carefully. This token is made of white jade, rectangular in size, moist and white all over. The two characters "Yuan Chang" are engraved on the front, and the four characters "Business Prosperity" and a row of strange symbols indicating identity are engraved on the back. A faint spiritual vibration emanated from the jade tablet.

Xu Yang carefully put the jade plaque away and then said goodbye to Shopkeeper Li.

I took the jade token and bought some alchemy materials and other items from several Yuanchang Merchant Alliance stores in Pingyun Gufang City, and I really enjoyed some discounts.

It was getting late, and Xu Yang, who had gained a lot, decided to return to Tiangui Sect.

Before leaving the street in front of the main entrance of Fangshi, Xu Yang found that someone seemed to be following him. Xu Yang deliberately stopped and looked back. He found that the person following him was wearing a black robe and a bamboo hat on his head. The bamboo hat was held down so low that his face could not be seen clearly.

Seeing Xu Yang looking back, the man immediately pretended to buy something and turned his back to a nearby stall.

Xu Yang couldn't help but murmur in his heart. After what Shopkeeper Li said, wasn't the banditry eliminated by the merchant alliance? Why are there still people so sneaky?

When Xu Yang looked up, he happened to see several people wearing purple and black brocade uniforms at the entrance of Fangshi. The word "Shang" was embroidered on the back of each person's coat. Xu Yang smiled slightly, thinking carefully.

Xu Yang strolled towards one of the tall business alliance deacons.

He clasped his fists slightly, and then whispered: "Brother, please excuse me. I am a guest appraiser from the Merchant Alliance, and I have something to tell you." After saying that, he handed over the jade plaque that symbolized his identity.

This person glanced at the jade plaque in Xu Yang's hand and said with a smile: "It turns out that fellow Taoists are guests of the Merchant Alliance. They are all members of the family who have something to do, but it's okay to say it."

"There's someone behind me who's been following me. It's the one wearing a bamboo hat over there. Judging from his sneaky appearance, I'm afraid he's a bad guy." Xu Yang whispered, and then glanced behind him.

The tall law enforcement officer followed Xu Yang's gaze and saw the man wearing a bamboo hat.

"Follow me." He said, waving to the other two deacons around him.

The other two deacons immediately came over.

"Go over and have a look."

The three men aggressively surrounded the man wearing a bamboo hat.

Not long after, Xu Yang, who was standing there, saw three deacons surrounding the man wearing a bamboo hat, and they started arguing with each other. Seeing this, Xu Yang smiled proudly. He strode out towards the entrance of Fangshi without looking back.

Not far from Pingyun Valley, a forest appeared in front of us.

"Isn't this the place where I met the two thieves who called themselves the Two Ghosts of Mangshan? I wonder what happened to the big black guy who was injured by me." Seeing the familiar scenery in front of him, Xu Yang thought to himself.

As soon as he stretched out his hand, a circle of spiritual power fluctuated in the palm of his hand. Then a red light flashed, and a spiritual bird with red feathers and a long tail stood in the palm of Xu Yang's hand.

"This bird fairy is suffocating." Ah Zhu said, stretching his wings.

"Ahem, Ah Zhu, this little fairy orders you to lead the way." Xu Yang coughed twice and said deliberately.

Ah Zhu spread his wings lightly and flew over Xu Yang's head. After circling in the air, he flew back to Xu Yang.

"Little fairy, I found a group of merchants passing by ahead."

"There are merchants passing by, which means there is no banditry ahead. We can move forward with confidence." After Xu Yang finished speaking, he took out a spiritual fruit kernel and threw it into the sky.

"I just bought you a nut. How does it taste?"

Ah Zhu swooped down quickly, stretched out her sharp beak and pecked, holding the nut in her mouth and swallowed it.

"This outside world is really good, and there are delicious nuts to eat." Ah Zhu said contentedly. Then he flew onto Xu Yang's shoulder in high spirits.

Not long after, a group of merchants came over. A tall black horse pulled a cart of goods behind it. The driver was an old man with white hair and beard and a thin body. Following behind were several burly men riding the same black horses.

Although the road was wide, Xu Yang still leaned to the side of the road. He stood sideways on the side of the road, waiting for the caravan to pass by.

The white-haired old man driving the car saw this and nodded to Xu Yang on the side of the road with a smile. Xu Yang smiled at the old man knowingly.

When the caravan passed by, Xu Yang looked back at the caravan's back and said, "The business scene here is the same as that in Qingshi Town. I don't know how the winery business at home is going. My mother must have suffered a lot alone."

After that, Xu Yang took off the wine gourd from his waist and pulled out the cork. He tilted his head back and gulped down two mouthfuls of "Eighteen Falls".

"Xiaoxian, you must be homesick."

"It's not time to go home yet, there's still a long way to go." After saying that, he wiped his mouth, frowned, and strode forward along the trade road.

"The post station is just a little further away, and we can take the teleportation array of the post station back to the Heavenly Ghost Sect." Xu Yang said.

"Compared to the Heavenly Ghost Sect, I prefer the feeling of freedom outside." Ah Zhu said.

At this moment, a gust of wind swept by, raising a yellow dust that blocked the view of the road ahead.

"Xiaoxian, it seems someone is coming."

When the dust cleared, three figures blocked the middle of the road.

The three people in front of him were wearing ordinary clothes, but each of them had a black scarf on their face, making it difficult to see their faces, which only added a bit of disgust. The leader was a sturdy man who was two meters tall, another was short and thin, and the last one was slightly fat.

Xu Yang's spiritual sense swept through, but he couldn't see the cultivation level of the other three people. He secretly complained in his heart. The cultivation of these three people was at least at the level of the Void Transformation Realm. He was afraid that he would suffer a loss if he fought against three people alone.

His heart was beating fast, but he was not panicked on the surface.

"Three heroes, I am just an ordinary passerby, not a wealthy merchant. If you want to rob money, I am afraid you have found the wrong person."

"Boy, your name is Xu Yang." One of the sturdy men said sternly.

Xu Yang was stunned and said quickly: "Brother, you have recognized the wrong person. I am not Xu Yang. My name is Ashun, just an ordinary casual cultivator. I went to Pingyun Valley Market to purchase some spiritual fruits and was ready to return."

As he spoke, Xu Yang took out three fist-sized spiritual fruits from his storage bag.

"It's so hot, the three brothers must be thirsty, eat some fruits to quench your thirst."

After speaking, he threw the fruits to the three people opposite.

One of the three men on the opposite side, a thin bandit, waved his palm, and a strong palm wind swept past, knocking the three spiritual fruits thrown by Xu Yang to the ground.

Watching the spiritual fruits rolling down into the weeds on the roadside. Xu Yang said distressedly: "You don't know how to appreciate kindness. Such good fruits are a pity."

"What fruit? Do you think we three brothers are fools? If you put some poison on the fruit, we will be captured. The three of us brothers have been following you for most of the day, how can we be wrong." One of the slightly fat bandits said.

"My second brother is right. The boy surnamed Xu, it's not that the three of us brothers are making things difficult for you. It's just that you offended someone you shouldn't have offended. As soon as you left the Heavenly Ghost Sect, the three of us brothers followed you all the way. However, there were so many people along the way that we didn't have a chance to take action. Now that you are alone, it's time to kill you." The thin bandit said.

When he left the Heavenly Ghost Sect, there were indeed a few fellow disciples who followed him along the way, and they left after arriving at the post station. There were other independent cultivators or merchants on the way from the post station to Pingyun Valley, but they did not find these three people. Maybe these three people were disguised and mixed in with ordinary merchants. It was all my fault for being careless. Since I first entered the Tiangui Sect, I have never made any enemies. Could it be Chen Kang, or him? Those who come with bad intentions will not come, so I can only deal with them.

Thinking of this, Xu Yang changed the subject and said sternly: "Looking at the wretched appearance of the three of you, you should be veterans of robbing houses. Look what I have in my hand!"

As he said that, Xu Yang took out the jade card of the Merchant Alliance and flashed it in front of him.

"Brother, this seems to be the identity jade card of the Yuanchang Merchant Alliance." The thin road bandit said.

The sturdy man took a closer look and saw that it was indeed the token of Yuanchang Merchant Alliance. Before coming, the man did not tell us what the relationship between this guy and Yuanchang Merchant Alliance was. The Yuanchang Merchant Alliance is powerful and it is indeed not easy to mess with. Friends in the underworld will give it some face. Hesitation suddenly appeared on his face.

"Brother, don't waste time talking to this kid. Even if he is from Yuanchang Merchant Alliance, what's the matter? After we brothers have done this business, it will be enough to find a small sect to practice in seclusion for a few years."

The sturdy man called the eldest brother nodded after hearing this, and then snorted coldly: "Do it!"

"Wait!"

Seeing that the three were about to take action, Xu Yang shouted.