Chapter 80 'Trouble'

  With a glance at the smiling young man, Zuo Xiaoyao noticed the gaze of the Zheng brothers and replied indifferently as she mounted her horse, "Young master needn't be polite, saving you was just a small matter of lifting one's hand, we didn't put it in our hearts, can't talk about offending anyone, let's part ways here!"

  From the red-clothed woman's pride and the old man who seemed to be a Taoist priest, it can be seen that they are not taking them seriously. Now, being rejected by Zuo Xiao Yao in such an unfeeling manner, Zheng Wen's eyes flashed with hesitation. As a member of a noble family, he had his own calculations. In this world where social status is emphasized, young masters like him would often prioritize their family's interests, sharing honor and shame together, striving to secure better prospects for themselves. Therefore, upon hearing the white-clothed youth's words, he couldn't help but feel moved, wanting to take advantage of the situation to turn over a new leaf and make connections with others.

  But the heart is moved, and the heart is moved. Zuo XiaoYao had already refused, so Zheng Wen could only bring his five brothers to mount their horses, also feeling unfulfilled in his heart. After all, Zuo XiaoYao was also speaking up for Zheng Ning, who was still fuming with anger at this time. Moreover, the young man who existed in his heart like a chicken without hands had such impressive skills, far surpassing those of ordinary people. His words naturally carried weight, and in this world where strength is revered, he willingly obeyed.

  At this time, Ma Jiao, the young man who had come to the horse's side, felt a hint of annoyance in his heart, but thinking of the person's words in the carriage, he calmly and politely opened his mouth again, saying "Hong Ying, quickly apologize to these few knights!"

  A woman in red, named Hong Ling, standing behind him, was apparently wary of Ma Ke. Although she felt ashamed, she only said with a tone of resentment: "Young Master Ke! They are just a few rude and unrefined martial artists. It's not worth..."

  "How dare you! If it weren't for these few chivalrous guests lending a helping hand, how would we have escaped so smoothly today? Even the young master is grateful. How can you be so presumptuous and rude? Don't you quickly apologize to these benefactors?"

  The "young master" in Nama Jue's mouth was obviously very intimidating. Hong Ling heard the words and her face changed instantly, the proud and arrogant aura on her body disappeared immediately, even if she still had a reluctant heart, she respectfully bowed her fist to apologize.

  Unfortunately, before she could speak, Zuo Xiao Yao had already replied, "Master Ma doesn't have to go to such great lengths. We never thought that everyone would know how to repay kindness, we just hope not to meet those who will forget the kindness and virtue in the future, and think that others can have the opportunity to save him. Oh, it's just what this Hong Ying girl said, 'helping' him is already a great honor, and from now on, he should be willing to serve as an ox or a horse for her."

  Not only did he not give her face, but also refused to accept her apology, and openly mocked her. The red silk's face turned bright red. Her fists were clenched tightly, and she had the urge to raise her head and scold Xue Xiao Yao, but when she saw the gaze of the young man on horseback looking at her with a hint of a smile, the intention of mockery was equally unreserved. At that moment, the shame in her heart suddenly surpassed her anger, and she also remembered that 'young master', and unconsciously swallowed the words that had already reached her lips.

  But Ma Jie glanced at her, and although her powdered face was flushed with anger, she still didn't lose that beautiful red scarf. In her heart, she was also quite depressed, not expecting the other person to be so unyielding. Even when facing a beautiful woman, she raised her head again to look at Zuo Xiao Yao who was just about to ride off, and could only attribute this to the fact that the other person was too young and didn't understand what it meant to cherish and pity a beauty.

  Just as the temporary group led by Zuo Xiao Yao was about to leave, Ma Jie didn't have time to analyze why the beauty would be embarrassed, and hurriedly stated their purpose again, saying "Ah... Ah, I also detest such despicable behavior in my life. Don't worry, brother, Hong Yan just spoke out of turn and made a mistake, she didn't mean it. We are not those kinds of people who can do such ungrateful and disloyal things. Today we received your lifesaving kindness, and we will definitely repay you heavily in the future. Moreover, my young master thinks that all of you are chivalrous heroes with integrity, and he wants to make friends with you. I suppose you are heading to the Kaluo Forest? We happen to be going there too, why don't we travel together?"

  You want us to be temporary bodyguards, right! Although she understood in her heart, Zuo Xiao Yao didn't say anything more this time. She saw the movement of the Zheng brothers' intention. Even Zheng Ning, who was originally full of anger at first, put down his previous affairs when he saw Hong Yan willing to apologize.

  Noticing Xue Xiao's silence, Zheng Wen somewhat hesitantly said: "If that's the case, it doesn't matter if we travel together and take care of each other. However, Brother Xiao is only temporarily traveling with my brothers and me; I don't know what you think about this?"

  The eldest of the Zheng family is indeed clever, not only did he graciously accept the invitation and save face, but also left a way out for Zuo Xiao Yao, giving her the power to make her own decision, so she wouldn't be put in an awkward position.

  It wasn't in vain that she had put her mind to it, after all, if she hadn't seen the small thoughts of the other Zheng brothers besides Zheng Ning, she would have already turned around and left when she encountered this group of people who were full of arrogance. Where would she still have the heart to talk more? It seemed like she was just trying to save face, now that she had gotten the words "the young master has a mind to make friends", she could naturally "retire with honor". She had maintained a good relationship with the Zheng brothers over the past few days, and didn't need to force herself to travel with those people. The two "troubles" in the carriage, one being seriously ill and the other being an elegant young man with a broken leg, she had already "seen through", it was certain that they were all "trouble"!

  With a satisfied heart, Zuo Xiao Yao also put away her sharp performance and revealed a gentle smile, saying "Since that's the case, I have an urgent matter to attend to in the Kalos Forest, so it's not convenient for me to travel with everyone. I'll take my leave first and bid farewell to all of you Zheng family brothers!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, the farewell voices of the Zheng brothers came to his ears at the same time, and he directly whipped the horse and left, not giving Ma Ke a chance to persuade him. Although Zheng Ning was reluctant, he knew that he had to act in unison with his own brother, so he could only give up.

  Through the interactions with the Zheng family brothers over the past few days, Zuo Xiaoyao not only knew the route to the Kalos Forest but also learned about some things to pay attention to along the way. She often placed her spiritual sense outside her body to investigate the road conditions. Since they were walking on an official road, they would occasionally encounter groups of people with varying numbers, mostly riding horses or horse-drawn carriages, and most had warriors accompanying them. Even all the people they met had a unique aura that was characteristic of martial artists in this world.

  She smoothly passed through the chaotic area at the junction of Mengzhou and Luoshan State, although she had never met anyone as lonely as her on the road, she didn't think about traveling with others again. Even if she occasionally encountered kind-hearted people who offered to take her along, seeing that a 'little young man' was too dangerous to travel alone, regardless of whether they were genuinely kind or had ulterior motives, she politely declined them all. Through her previous experience, she was more certain than ever that getting involved with others meant getting into trouble, and what she least wanted to provoke, as someone who wholeheartedly wanted to find an opportunity to recover her spiritual power as soon as possible, was trouble.

  Through the battle she had previously encountered, she roughly understood that her martial arts strength seemed to be an extraordinary existence in this world. Later, when she met several groups of real bandits, from their almost helpless situation being defeated by her one by one, Zuo Xiaoyao was even more certain of this point, which made her more confident about her upcoming trip to the Kalos Forest.

  As she purchased a large quantity of daily necessities and dry rations along the way, Zuo Xiao Yao was extremely grateful that she still had control over her storage bag. Since she planned to engage in a long-term 'battle' in the Kalos Forest, it was necessary to prepare sufficient quantities of essential supplies. After all, currently, apart from still possessing spiritual awareness and mental strength, her physiological rhythms were no different from those of ordinary people. Even with powerful internal energy by her side, it couldn't prevent her body, which seemed to lack spiritual nourishment, from feeling hungry or requiring sleep.

  Since entering Luoshan State, every time she arrived at some larger towns, apart from quietly purchasing a large amount of dry rations and seasonings that were easy to store using the gold and silver she had obtained, Zuo XiaoYao also intentionally bought back quite a few pieces of raw jade. She asked craftsmen to make them into jade boxes. Although she still couldn't feel whether her body could absorb spiritual energy or not, and her spiritual strength couldn't 'see' the spiritual energy light dots around her, her spiritual awareness was able to vaguely sense the existence of spiritual energy around her, and could also vaguely distinguish that some jade should contain spiritual energy. Making them into jade boxes might be quite suitable for storing spiritual medicine.

  In comparison to the small town where Liu'er Village was located, where each item was worth only a few taels of silver at most, these large towns' pawnshops were particularly good at identifying valuable goods. Moreover, the items that Xue Xiao Yao later took out were indeed exquisite and extremely precious, all of which could be pawned for hundreds or thousands of taels of silver. This could barely satisfy her expenses. Furthermore, the value and status of jade stones and jade products here were not considered too high, far inferior to gold and silver items.

  It was also the preparation for entering the Kalos Forest to collect medicine, and the amount of jade boxes needed was quite astonishing. Therefore, Zuo Xiaoyao's large-scale purchase of jade stones did not raise the price of jade stones in those towns.

  But when she arrived at Luo City, one of the cities closest to the Kalos Forest, apart from the large amount of supplies she had purchased along the way, the modern items she had brought with her, the unusable magical tools, clothes and dozens of bottles of first and second-grade elixirs, everything that could be used as money had been almost completely consumed, leaving only a few things that still retained modern craftsmanship. These were not kept for sentimental reasons, but because she did not want to reveal her whereabouts by selling them. At any time and place, Zuo XiaoYao always adhered to the principle of being careful and cautious, striving not to put herself in danger.

  Relying on the hundred or so taels of silver in her money pouch, Zuo Xiaoyao thought that after entering the Kalos Forest like an ordinary person, she would gain something unknown, but the hardships of life were almost predictable. Not wanting to treat herself poorly, during the few days she stayed at a relatively good inn in the city, she often went in and out of various restaurants and wine houses in Luo City, greatly satisfying her desires for food and drink.

  At the same time, Zuo Xiaoyao also prepared a set of pots and pans to ensure that she could have hot meals in the forest. This was an experience she gained when she had to hide in the Divine Farmer's Platform for her cultivation. However, all the utensils she had prepared back then were left in the Zi Yuan realm, which she couldn't access now.

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