"Old bastard! What the hell are you tying me up for?!" Wu Feng roared, every muscle in his body tensing as he struggled violently.
The coarse hemp rope bit painfully into his flesh but refused to budge. Whatever material it was woven with made it far tougher than ordinary rope—the harder he fought, the tighter it cinched, almost cutting into his skin.
He lifted his head and glared at Qingyangzi outside the cart, killing intent practically spilling from his eyes. If he hadn't been bound so tightly, he would have already drawn his blade and split the old Daoist in half.
My blade? Where's my blade?
It must have been thrown away by this old thing. Wu Feng let out a sigh.
Qingyangzi held the horsewhip loosely, driving the cart at an unhurried pace. He didn't even turn his head. His voice was as calm as plain water. "If I didn't tie you up, we still have more than a month before reaching the East Spirit Continent. With that temper of yours, you'd stir up trouble the entire way—testing this person one moment, provoking that one the next. It would only delay our journey."
"Son of a bitch!" Wu Feng sneered, his tone dripping with mockery. "So you think I'm too much trouble, huh? Fine! Untie me right now. This lord isn't going to your damn East Spirit Continent anymore. I'm going back to Black Tiger Stronghold. If I die, I'll die on my own turf!"
Qingyangzi's expression suddenly changed. His voice turned cold, carrying a hint of viciousness. "You think you can come and go as you please? Once you've followed me, you follow my rules."
Wu Feng's heart sank. He snarled, "Your shitty sect forces people to join? So this is just kidnapping?"
Qingyangzi suddenly burst into laughter. The sound was rough and crude, completely stripped of his earlier ethereal Daoist grace. Instead, it carried the sly cunning of a street hustler. "Sect? What sect? That was all a lie. There's no such thing as free immortal destiny in this world. It's simply each of us taking what we need."
Wu Feng didn't seem surprised at all. He simply gave a cold laugh, his tone calm. "I fucking knew you were a fraud! All that talk about a terminal heart condition and unparalleled immortal destiny was just bullshit you made up to trick me!"
He should have seen it coming. If this old Daoist truly possessed heaven-defying power, why would he lower himself to visit Black Tiger Stronghold and recruit a mere bandit? In the end, he clearly had an ulterior motive.
Qingyangzi stroked his long beard, his smile growing more pleased. "Not bad, kid. You're smarter than you look. Too bad being too clever is what got you into this mess."
"That Qi Induction Technique I gave you last night? That wasn't any immortal cultivation method. It was just a breathing technique designed to put someone into a deep sleep quickly. Otherwise, tying you up would have been a real hassle."
"You old swindler! You actually dared to trick your grandfather!" Wu Feng was furious, veins bulging on his forehead as he struggled again. The ropes still refused to give an inch.
"Not everything was a lie," Qingyangzi said, turning his gaze back to the road as he drove on, his tone once again indifferent. "I really am taking you to the East Spirit Continent. The spiritual energy there is indeed abundant, and cultivators are everywhere. Only… I'm not bringing you there to join a sect. I'm bringing you there to sell you to those cultivators."
Hearing this, Wu Feng slowly calmed down.
He stopped struggling, lay back on the dry straw, and spoke unhurriedly, "So in other words… you're a human trafficker?"
Qingyangzi didn't deny it. He nodded openly. "You could say that."
Wu Feng actually laughed. His voice carried a trace of curiosity. "The world is in chaos and refugees are everywhere. You could grab a whole gang of them without any effort. So why go to all this trouble to trick me out of Black Tiger Stronghold? Is there something special about me that's worth all this effort?"
"What do you know?" Qingyangzi scoffed, his tone full of disdain. "Not just anyone can be sold in the East Spirit Continent. Ordinary refugees have mediocre aptitude and can't gather spiritual energy. In the eyes of cultivators, they're worth less than ants.
"But you're different. You're drenched in killing intent, your body is thick with murderous aura, and you have zero cultivation foundation. You're exactly the kind of material certain alchemy cultivators love the most."
He spoke as casually as if discussing the weather. "People like you can fetch quite a few spirit stones in the East Spirit Continent. Why else do you think I chose you?"
"So that's how it is." Wu Feng's face showed no fear at all. Instead, he looked completely composed. He even shifted around on the straw, finding a more comfortable position to lie in, showing zero intention of resisting.
Qingyangzi was genuinely surprised. He turned to look back at the cart. "What? Scared silly? You find out you're going to be refined into a pill and suddenly you stop making a fuss?"
In his experience, any normal person hearing this would have been terrified out of their wits, crying and begging for mercy. Wu Feng's reaction was completely unexpected.
Wu Feng gave a cold laugh, his arrogant tone unchanged. "What's there to be afraid of? From what you said, I'm at least safe for this next month. You need to deliver me to the East Spirit Continent in perfect condition if you want top price. Until then, you won't lay a single finger on me. So what do I have to fear?"
He understood the situation clearly. Resistance right now was useless. Better to pretend to submit and quietly look for an opportunity. Once he broke free, he would make this old Daoist pay dearly.
Qingyangzi laughed as well. "You've got guts, I'll give you that. But you're right. As long as you behave and don't cause trouble, I naturally won't touch you.
"However, if you try any tricks, don't blame me for being ruthless. I may not be a top-tier cultivator, but dealing with a mortal like you is more than enough."
With that, he waved a hand. A burst of qi shot out and sent a roadside boulder flying, clearly a warning to Wu Feng.
Wu Feng yawned, looking completely unbothered. "Fine, fine. You win, old man. This lord admits defeat. Consider this month a sightseeing trip with you."
Qingyangzi stopped talking and continued driving the cart forward. "If you had known this would happen, why cause so much trouble in the first place? If you had just followed me obediently from the start, you wouldn't have ended up like this. All that testing and provoking everywhere was your own doing."
"Shut up with that crap," Wu Feng snorted coldly, his voice icy. "Even if I'm going to die, I want to die knowing the truth. Better than being kept in the dark and dying like a fool."
The conversation ended there. Qingyangzi drove the cart steadily eastward while Wu Feng lay tied up in the straw, staring blankly at the sky.
The cart sped along the official road, wheels rumbling over the gravel.
Several days passed like this. Wu Feng spent the entire journey searching for a way to break free, but he never found an opening.
On the fifth day of being bound, the sound of horse hooves came from the road ahead. Wu Feng twisted around and saw five or six people dressed as wandering侠士 (martial heroes) riding toward them.
They wore tight fighting clothes and carried long swords at their waists. Their faces were resolute—they were clearly seasoned jianghu wanderers.
As the two groups passed each other, one of the heroes happened to glance into the cart and noticed the bound Wu Feng. He couldn't help but look twice.
Wu Feng's eyes flashed with cunning. He immediately had an idea and started cursing loudly, "What the hell are you staring at? Never seen a man before? Fuck your mother!"
The man's face darkened and he instinctively reached for his sword, but the leader beside him stopped him.
The leader frowned, looking at the bound Wu Feng in the cart and then at the driver Qingyangzi. He seemed hesitant.
Having wandered the jianghu for years, they knew better than to invite trouble. The old Daoist had an extraordinary bearing—clearly not an ordinary person—and the bound man reeked of bandit aura. He was obviously no saint either. There was no need to start a fight over a few insults.
They exchanged glances, swallowed their anger, and turned their horses to leave.
Wu Feng wasn't about to let them go so easily. He kept shouting at the top of his lungs, "You bunch of cowards! You get cursed at and just run away? How pathetic! A pack of turtles hiding in their shells!"
Those words completely ignited their fury. As jianghu heroes, they valued their reputation above all else. Being publicly insulted like this—if they simply rode away, how could they ever show their faces in the martial world again?
The leader yanked his reins hard and roared, "Insolent! How dare you speak to us this way!"
The group immediately wheeled their horses around, surrounding the cart. Their swords slid half an inch from their sheaths, cold light glinting as they completely blocked Qingyangzi's path.
Qingyangzi let out a helpless sigh and pulled the horse to a stop, his face full of annoyance.
He never imagined that even after tying up this bandit, the man could still cause him trouble with nothing but his mouth.