SFS Chapter 166 A Handkerchief
Chapter 166 A Handkerchief
"Oh? I didn't expect you to be skilled in martial arts. But if you think you can escape from us with that, you're just dreaming. I advise you not to resist. Hand over your valuables and leave the carriage behind, and you two can go."
The speaker was a one-eyed burly man, clearly the leader of these bandits. Judging from his voice, he was probably the same person who had spoken earlier. Upon seeing this, he first let out a soft exclamation, glanced at Du Fan with slight surprise, and then sneered, saying sarcastically.
"snort!"
Du Fan was extremely anxious and had no time to waste with these bandits. He immediately waved his arm, and the Level 1 Water Shadow Sword suddenly appeared, accompanied by a biting cold wind, and whistled towards the one-eyed man.
Upon seeing this, the one-eyed man suddenly remembered something, but before he could show any horror, the blue sword shadow flashed and slashed at his neck, instantly causing his head to fly off, bringing up a thick column of blood, his head and body separated.
"Ah? A cultivator!"
Du Fan acted too quickly; before the bandits could react, their leader was killed. Shocked, several worldly-wise individuals realized something and looked at Du Fan with fear in their eyes, crying out in alarm.
Ignoring all of this, Du Fan moved to get back into the carriage, but at that moment, his expression suddenly changed. He turned around abruptly and stared at a gray-robed man holding a long sword, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.
To be precise, Du Fan wasn't looking at the person, but rather at the corner of silk cloth peeking out from the person's chest.
Du Fan's heart skipped a beat, his face turned extremely gloomy, and a murderous intent surged out instantly. Staring at the gray-robed man, he suddenly raised his arm, spread his five fingers, and then grabbed hard.
The gray-clad man suddenly felt a tightness all over his body, as if he were enveloped by an invisible force. The next moment, with a cry of surprise, he was suddenly launched from his spot and shot towards Du Fan like a meteor.
In a flash, the gray-robed man appeared in front of Du Fan, who grabbed him by the neck with one hand and suspended him in mid-air.
Seeing this, the other bandits felt their hands and feet turn cold, their bodies go limp, and their legs tremble violently. They were so frightened that they forgot to run away. They just looked at Du Fan with fear in their eyes, hoping that he would have mercy and let them go.
"Master, please spare me! I was blind, I was blind! Please, Master, spare me! I have some money here, I'll give it all to you..."
The man in the blue robe was being choked by Du Fan. Perhaps the grip was too tight, because his eyes were already bloodshot and slightly bulging. However, he dared not struggle and could only manage to speak, begging for his life.
Du Fan's eyes flashed with a cold light. Before the other man could finish speaking, his hand tightened slightly, silencing the gray-robed man. At the same time, his other hand reached into the man's chest, pulling out a pink handkerchief. His voice was icy as he asked:
"Tell me, where did you get this handkerchief?"
"I'll tell you, I'll tell you right now..."
The man in the blue robe had been in despair, but upon hearing these words, his bloodshot eyes immediately lit up, and he spoke with difficulty.
"One wrong word, and you die!" Du Fan loosened his grip, throwing the man to the ground, and spoke in a sinister tone.
"Yes! A month ago, when I was on guard duty on the mountaintop, I saw several immortals fighting in the air. They must have been on two opposing sides. I was worried that if I ran away, they would find me, so I hid behind a rock..."
The handkerchief fell from one of the women. Later, the woman and a young boy were captured by one of the people and flown towards Jiangfeng Town.
It wasn't until long after they left that I came out and saw that the handkerchief was of fine material. I put it away, intending to give it to my wife when I had the chance to go home...
The man in the gray shirt dared not hide anything, so he knelt on the ground and recounted everything he had seen that day in one breath.
"It seems that Ruoxi and Xiaohu were the ones who were taken away." Du Fan put away his handkerchief, frowned, remained silent for a moment, then his eyes flashed before he continued:
"What does it mean to fight in the air? Are they standing on something?"
"No, they are completely suspended in the air, as if they could fly." The man in gray felt a pang of anxiety when he saw Du Fan frown, and hurriedly replied when asked.
"Okay, you can go now."
Du Fan's expression had returned to normal, but he was inwardly alarmed. According to this person, those people were at least at the Golden Core stage. How could a powerful Golden Core cultivator capture Ruoxi and the others?
"Thank you, Master, thank you, Master..." The gray-robed man kowtowed several times and then scrambled away.
Seeing this, the other bandits immediately felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and without further hesitation, they all turned and ran.
Du Fan did not pursue these bandits. He took out some silver, comforted the coachman, and then instructed him to turn around and head towards Jiangfeng Town. He himself then swayed and re-entered the carriage.
Three days later, the carriage arrived at the banks of a very wide river called the Wusong River. Its waters surged and rolled, creating a magnificent sight. It is said that this river flows directly to the East Coast Sea.
Next, the carriage traveled down the river. Two days later, Du Fan stood on the roof of the carriage and could already see the outline of Jiangfeng Town.
After paying the driver a considerable sum of money again, Du Fan sent him away. Along the way, Du Fan had memorized the directions, so even if he had to return, he wouldn't need the driver to lead the way again.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Du Fan, under the passive effect of the Level 2 Divine Speed Technique, rushed to Jiangfeng Town.
A town of this size would be considered a slightly larger village in Zhongzhou, and upon entering Jiangfeng Town, Du Fan immediately felt a sense of desolation.
This town is not only small in area and sparsely populated, but also half of the shops on both sides of the road are closed with their doors and windows locked. Occasionally, one or two pedestrians walk on the street, but they all look listless.
In short, everything in Jiangfeng Town seemed somewhat lifeless, even eerie.
It took Du Fan an hour to walk through the two main streets that ran through the southeast, northwest and northeast of Jiangfeng Town. During this time, he continuously extended his divine sense to observe carefully, but he did not find anything special.
Du Fan was anxious. According to the gray-robed bandit, Ruoxi and Xiaohu had been captured and taken to Jiangfeng Town more than a month ago, so they were probably not here at the moment.
He came to Jiangfeng Town partly to try his luck; if he could find the two men directly and rescue them by sheer chance, all the better. But now it seems that such a possibility is no longer possible.
Secondly, we came here to investigate, hoping to find some traces of Ruoxi and Xiaohu, and then make other plans.
"This blind search isn't going to work." Du Fan stopped at a crossroads, his brow furrowed.
Next, Du Fan went in and out of various shops, inquiring about what had happened a month or so ago.
Whether it was a tavern, an inn, a fabric shop, a pork stall, or even a blacksmith shop, Du Fan went into every open place to inquire, but after a whole day, he had not gained anything.
As darkness fell, Du Fan reluctantly arrived at a small tavern, sat down, and absentmindedly drank his wine while listening to the conversation of four people at another table.
"Brother Hu, have you heard? Several months ago, a wave of ferocious sea beasts suddenly attacked Taoyuan Town in the east, and all the people in the town perished overnight."
They were either swallowed whole by sea monsters or torn apart, leaving behind a scene of carnage and horrific carnage.
It is said that because a large number of corpses rotted in the seawater, a plague spread. Even those villages that were not attacked by sea monsters were also affected by the plague and none survived. The area within a hundred miles of Peach Blossom Village has now become a dead zone.
A thin, middle-aged man took a sip of wine, a look of fear flashing in his eyes, and couldn't help but speak.
"Old Sun, this matter is no secret anymore. Everyone in Jiangfeng Town knows about it. Why are you bringing it up now? It's really a downer!"
The man addressed as Brother Hu was a rather burly fellow. Upon hearing this, he glared at the man and said with some annoyance.
"Although Taoyuan Town is thousands of miles away from here, Jiangfeng Town is connected to the Wusong River. If those sea beasts go upstream and suddenly attack us, we will all become their food."
"Why don't we forget about our families and try to leave this place?"
Sun Laosan gritted his teeth, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes, and said in a low voice.
"Sun Laosan, are you crazy! If you want to run, run yourself. I will not abandon my wife, children, and elderly parents to escape alone. Although I am not talented, I would not do such a despicable thing."
Brother Hu was furious. He slammed his hand on the table and hissed.
"Stop arguing. Jiangfeng Town is nearly 10,000 miles away from the sea. Even for sea beasts, that's not a short distance. Besides, there has never been a case of sea beast attacking here before."
Another older man waved his hand impatiently and said this.
"Wu Da, why are you deceiving yourself? In Jiangfeng Town, anyone with some financial resources or who is alone has left one after another in the past few months to seek refuge in the big towns or cities to the west."
Only poor folks like us with families to support would stay here and leave everything to fate.
The gray-robed old man, who had remained silent until now, sighed, his expression somber, and said softly.
"Sea beasts? They must be referring to the monsters of the Eastern Coast..."
Hearing this, Du Fan understood somewhat. What these people were talking about was probably the same thing that the two leaders of the Gusu City branch alliance were talking about. As Du Fan pondered this, his heart tightened involuntarily.