Chapter 265: Demonic Beast Near Village
" Brother Jia, I will be the guide from here onwards." Ye Kong nodded as he brought Jia Hao and Luo Qiang with him.
Jia Hao brought four guards with him, each having the strength of a Profound Awakening Realm. Those fours were actually senior military guards who remained as Cai Family's retainers.
For convenience, Jia Hao called them First, Second, Third and Fourth Uncles.
" Young Lord, We aren't that old though. We didn't even reach our fifties." Third Uncle grimaced.
After all in this world, living for a hundred or two hundred years isn't far fetched. A man in his fifties could be still called as a young man.
" Hehe, It's just to avoid some complicated things. Besides, Opponents will be slightly lower their guards if they feel you are old." Jia Hao managed to pull out a random bullshit to convince the four guards.
Along with his four guards, Ye Kong had six soldiers. Jia Hao noticed that each of them was at the peak stage of the Body Refining Realm. However, with only physical prowess, they could fight against early stage Profound Awakening Realm.
' Only martial realm is nothing. External power, experience, everything matters in a life and death battle.' Jia Hao rubbed his chin as he pondered.
However, their carriage suddenly stopped when it arrived outside of Nanhai City.
" Huh? Who are we waiting for?" Jia Hao asked in a curious voice.
" There is another party which is traveling with us." Ye Kong replied.
" Hoho, I didn't expect the Young Lord of Cai Family to be here."
Jia Hao was surprised when he saw the newcomer. " Sang Qiuliu?"
Jia Hao saw the daughter of Crimson Dagger Dojo, Sang Qiuliu with another carriage.
" We are a security group who is helping Crimson Dagger Dojo to carry goods to Qingyang County." Luo Qiang leaned towards Jia Hao and whispered.
' Ah, That's why all the soldiers of Scaled Dragon Hall are wearing normal clothes on top of their armor.' Jia Hao understood the cause.
" Welcome, Sister Qiuliu. I am also visiting the Qingyang County for some work." Jia Hao nodded as he looked at the carriage behind her.
" What's in there?"
" Brother Jia, don't you think it's rude to ask a transportation caravan about what it's carrying?" Sang Qiuliu chuckled.
" Ah, My bad. I was just curious." Jia Hao gave a wry smile as he turned around.
" Alright, Since everyone is here, Let's depart!"
Qingyang County is in the northern direction of Nanhai City. As Ye Kong said, it will roughly take three weeks to arrive there.
' The transportation isn't developed here at all.' Jia Hao thought inwardly. " Then, how long does it take to arrive at Imperial Capital from Nanhai City?"
" About three months?" Ye Kong thought for a moment. " And that's with a good carriage. Though it could be reduced if you were riding a special beast."
" For example, The Imperial Crimson Horn Horses could lead you to Imperial Capital in a month and a half."
" Then if one wishes to send messages, how can they do it?" Jia Hao asked again.
" Flying beasts. They are used to send messages." Luo Qiang replied. " The Wind Sparrow is a bird which can travel five thousand li in one day. There are also many faster birds than this."
" But they are very rare of course. Only powerful clans and powerhouses have them."
" So, I estimate it will take three or four days to send a message from here to Imperial Capital?"
" Yes, You are correct." Luo Qiang nodded. " Though…There are some mystical arts that can deliver messages instantaneously."
" Oooh, Is that so?" Jia Hao was interested.
Luo Qiang nodded. " Indeed, I have heard that some spells and mystical arts can transmit messages over long distances. Not to mention, those who know divination arts can decipher a situation from far."
" Is that so?" Sang Qiuliu was excited when she heard Luo Qiang's words.
" I have never visited the Imperial Capital. I truly wish to visit it in few years."
" You should, Sister Sang. Nanhai City is grand, but Imperial Capital is even grander."
" How do you know so much?" Jia Hao asked in curiosity.
" I actually lived in Imperial Capital since my childhood." Luo Qiang chuckled. " However, my martial talents were very poor. So I went to the Three Sages Academy to hone my scholarly talents."
" After the Imperial Examination, I will easily get a high official job." Luo Qiang laughed.
" Imperial Examination is no joke. Only one in a thirty people manages to pass the Imperial Examination." Sang Qiuliu spoke with a sigh.
" I have no interest in this. It's more stressful than learning martial arts."
Jia Hao merely shook his head when he heard that. ' These people are scared of only one examination in their life. Meanwhile, in modern times, you can't even have time to breathe between exams.'
" Sister Qiuliu, Not bad. Looks like you have learned all the moves of Crimson Frenzy Sword Art."
Read new adventures at empire
" Your eyes are sharp." Sang Qiuliu pursed her lips. " I indeed learned all moves from father. However, I am far from mastering it."
" It's because learning all the moves isn't everything. I need to connect all moves and be able to execute them in a flawless order."
" Speaking of which…" Sang Qiuliu's eyes flashed as she gazed at Jia Hao. " How about we have a spar? I always wished to spar with you, Brother Jia."
" Fine, When we have some time, we will spar with each other." Jia Hao nodded.
As they left the final village in Nanhai City's vicinity, the next hundred miles were nothing more than barren lands filled with small forests and grassy plains.
Jia Hao almost got bored to death. However, he underestimated the amount of boredom he was going to face.
Just like that. A week passed.
Every day, Jia Hao would wake up in the early morning and practice the breathing method of Golden Arhat Vajra Body Arts. Absorbing the natural energy and sunlight, Jia Hao could feel his fleshly body getting stronger bit by bit.
As for the carriage, they spent the day chatting with each other or playing small games.
After a week, they finally arrived in a large village.
" We will stay here for a day or two to rest. This place is a good spot to rest before we resume our journey to Qingyang County." Ye Kong declared.
" Finally, I am going to have a proper bath and rest." Sang Qiuliu sighed.
" I am going for sight seeing. Brother Luo, Are you coming with me?"
" Sure, Brother Jia." Luo Qiang nodded ." Brother Ye shall take care of our staying at the inn."
" You two…Dumping all the works on me." Ye Kong was speechless. But Jia Hao and Luo Qiang laughed as they quickly escaped.
The village was way bigger than Anzu Village. Also, the land was fertile, making the crops healthy and abundant.
As they were looking around, Jia Hao and Luo Qiang arrived at a weapon shop.
" These weapons are made of decent ping iron. The sharpness is pretty good." Luo Qiang looked at the swords hanging on the showcase.
" Although they look shiny and sharp, there are many hidden cracks in them." Jia Hao shook his head. " If someone with a greater strength clashes their weapon against it, it will break."
" Brother Jia, you know about weapon appraisal?" Luo Qiang was surprised.
" I have have good eyes." Jia Hao laughed lightly.
But as they were traveling. A sudden commotion attracted their attention.
" Damn it! It's already the second time this week!"
" My goodness! We should really hunt it down."
" What happened here?" Luo Qiang was curious as he walked forward.
As the crowd parted, he looked at the corpses of livestock in the middle.
" There is a demonic beast roaming in the forest." A villager spoke in an angry voice. " Last month, it killed three cows and a sheep."
" This week alone, it killed three sheep and right chickens. It's simply stabbing on our livelihood."
Jia Hao looked at the corpses with his Sage's Divine Eyes.
[ Corpse of an ordinary sheep: Killed by the venom of Three Petal Serpent]
Jia Hao looked at each of them and found they all killed by the same snake.
The corpses looked like dried corpses, with only carcasses and bones remaining. However, the carcasses were stiff and the bones were already glazed with a blackish hue.
" Take these corpses and burn them in a pit. Don't stand there when it's burning." An elderly villager spoke in a stern voice.
" It looks like they were all killed by the venom of a creature. We must remain cautious regarding it."
" Let's go to the forest tonight. We will catch that beast."
" Brother, Do you know what's a Three Petal Serpent?" Jia Hao whispered to Luo Qiang.
" Three Petal Serpent?" Luo Qiang was surprised. " I have read some records of demonic beasts."
" A Petal Serpent is a large snake with red marks on top of its body. If it manages to live for a hundred years, it will grow a horn like scale on top of its head."
" A Three Petal Serpent is naturally a serpent that lived for three hundred years. Its strength should be at the Profound Awakening Realm's peak."
" Interesting…" Jia Hao was amused as he walked towards the elderly villager.
" Elder, We would like to join in this hunt too."