Chapter 182 Blackwater City, Yusong Mountain

Blackwater City.

It got its name because it was built beside a Blackwater River.

This river originates from the remnant of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain. Its source is an underground river. The water is deep and cold, but it never freezes all year round. Even in this winter, it still meanders and flows.

The rice irrigated with this river water has a bright color, a fragrant aroma, and high nutritional value. Therefore, it is highly sought after by dignitaries and wealthy merchants. A pound of high-quality Blackwater rice was once sold for two taels of silver.

Therefore, this Blackwater City is very prosperous.

But that is all in the past.

Today, Blackwater City has become desolate and depressed due to years of war and the blockage of trade routes.

Although the rice fields outside the city are still green, the rice merchants who once gathered here are almost extinct.

Last time, Zhao Ya and Zui'er took a mountain road, so they bypassed this Blackwater City and did not enter it.

This time, there was no need to take a detour. Zhao Ya said, looking at the towering walls of Blackwater City from afar.

"Let's stay overnight in Blackwater City tonight."

"Yes." Zui'er had no objection.

Meng Shiwen would have no objection either.

She said very little along the way. She sat in the carriage in a daze most of the time, and only occasionally chatted with Zhao Ya.

The carriage drove towards Blackwater City, but before reaching the city gate, a pleading voice came from the front.

"Master, please show mercy. How can you pay 70% of the silver for goods just to pass through the city?"

Zhao Ya had excellent eyesight, so even though they were far away, he could still see that the speaker was a man in his thirties.

Behind him was Tian Heng, who had just met him yesterday.

But at this moment, Tian Heng's face was pale, with blood at the corners of his mouth, and he was obviously injured.

At the same time, the caravan he was guarding had been held hostage by a group of people, and was now moving things down.

A burly man stood in front of the man who was begging for mercy. Even in the dead of winter, he was still shirtless, revealing his body covered with colorful blue embroidery.

At this moment, after hearing the man's words, the man laughed grimly.

"I haven't heard of it before, but now I have seen it, right? Stop talking nonsense. Your men fought with me. I didn't take your lives. I have already taken away all the goods, which is a bargain for you. If you keep complaining, watch out for your head."

Gao Cong was so scared that he shrank his neck and complained inwardly.

In the past, merchants often took the route of Black Water City, staying in hotels here to replenish supplies, and nothing happened. But who would have thought that something went wrong this time.

It turned out that just two days ago, a group of strong men who came out of nowhere actually broke into the government office of Black Water City, captured the city lord of Black Water City, and took control of the power.

Then they began to exploit the passing merchants.

However, this group of people also has rules. Except for some small vendors who are alone, they will not harm the big caravans, but only ask them to pay enough tolls.

This is a very normal operation in this world, not to mention that the toll they ask for is not high, about 10% of the goods.

So the passing caravans just pinched their noses and accepted it.

Although they paid extra money, the fundamental thing is to keep the world safe. At most, the price of the goods will be raised again.

Those who can still go out to trade at this time are all selling high-value things, so except for the two troubles at the beginning, they soon became peaceful.

The only thing that happened was when they met the caravan of the Gao family.

When Gao Cong saw a group of new strong men coming and asking for money, he was naturally unhappy.

For him, every extra penny is his own benefit.

But he didn't dare to act rashly. After all, he was in someone else's territory, so he quietly ordered his men to hide the valuable goods and falsely report the value.

But who would have thought that this big man was very careful and shrewd, and soon noticed something was wrong. When he personally counted the goods, he immediately found out the trick.

He didn't get angry, but immediately raised the toll from 10% to 30% as a punishment.

Gao Cong was so angry that he yelled a few words.

The big man stretched out his hand to hit him, but was blocked by Tian Heng, and the two of them started fighting.

Although Tian Heng was also a third-level warrior, he was injured after fighting with this big man in just a few encounters.

Then the big man raised the toll to 70%.

Gao Cong realized how powerful he was, so he kept begging for mercy, hoping that the big man would be magnanimous and let him go.

But the big man ignored him and just ordered his men to move the goods quickly.

Although Zhao Ya didn't know these inside stories, he guessed the general situation from a distance, so he drove over slowly.

The big man frowned when he saw a lone carriage coming from the official road.

Where did this fool come from?

Didn't he see that they were doing business here?

If it were anyone else, they would have avoided it long ago, but this man walked straight over. Could it be that he had something to rely on?

Several thoughts flashed through the big man's mind, but behind him was Blackwater City, and his brothers were also there, all of which gave him great courage.

So he winked, and someone immediately came forward to stop Zhao Ya's carriage.

"Who are you? Why don't you get off the carriage when you see my village master?"

Zhao Ya sat firmly on the shaft of the carriage, ignoring the shouting of these minions at all, but looked at Tian Heng not far away.

Tian Heng naturally recognized Zhao Ya, and couldn't help but secretly sweat for him, and frantically winked at Zhao Ya, signaling him to hurry up.

But unexpectedly, Zhao Ya ignored all these, but raised his hand and clasped his fists to him.

"Commander Tian, ​​I didn't expect to meet you again so soon!"

Tian Heng groaned in his heart.

This young man was too bold.

Although he should have some strength, Tian Heng had just fought with this big man, so he naturally knew how powerful this big man was.

Tian Heng even suspected that this big man was very likely a fourth-level warrior.

The key point is that this young man brought his female relatives with him. Isn't this a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth?

But Zhao Ya had already spoken, so he had to respond.

"Yes, young man Zhao, we meet again."

Then Zhao Ya smiled and said, "Has Commander Tian encountered anything?"

Gao Cong naturally noticed Zhao Ya's arrival. Seeing him asking questions at this moment, he spoke without waiting for Tian Heng to speak.

"Young man, we are passing by here, but this village owner insisted that we leave 70% of the goods as travel expenses. This is too much. We can't afford this loss at all."

Zhao Ya ignored Gao Cong, but just looked at Tian Heng with a smile.

At the same time, the curtain of the car was lifted, and Zui'er poked his head out with some curiosity.

"Brother Xiaoya, what's wrong?"

Female relatives.

And they are extremely beautiful female relatives.

For a moment, all these minions were stunned.

At this moment, Meng Shiwen also opened the car window and looked outside with a frown.

"Xiaoya, are you going to do it?"

She also heard something wrong outside in the car, so she was ready to do it.

Fuck, another one.

And they are all very beautiful.

The minions were in a commotion.

The big man's eyes lit up and he walked over here.

Seeing this, Tian Heng was very anxious.

If these two beautiful young ladies fall into the hands of this group of strong men, their fate can be imagined.

So he shouted desperately: "Young Master Zhao, take the two ladies and run away, the farther the better."

"Damn old thing, dare to ruin my good things, I will kill you first." The big man cursed.

At the same time, his minions surrounded the carriage.

The big man walked up quickly, his greedy eyes swept around Meng Shiwen and Zui'er, and then he laughed.

"Hehe, kid, you..."

Before he finished speaking, a flash of knife light flashed by.

Then the big man was stunned for a moment, and then he screamed miserably.

"Ah, my eyes!"

It turned out that the knife was slashing on his eyes, and immediately destroyed his eyes.

Look at Zhao Ya again, holding a knife in his hand, standing on the shaft of the car, with a calm expression on his face.

The whole audience fell silent instantly.

Tian Heng was also dumbfounded.

Because he didn't see how Zhao Ya drew his knife at all.

At this time, the big man covered his eyes with one hand and waved his other hand randomly.

"Come on, kill him, and I'll give you the two girls as a reward!"

A few brave minions raised their spears and stabbed at Zhao Ya.

They thought that with a spear in hand, the young man would have to work hard even if he wanted to draw his knife.

But the next second, another flash of knife light passed by.

Then the long spears in the hands of these minions were broken in half, and then these minions split in the middle.

That's right.

It literally split.

I saw a red line extending from their eyebrows to their crotch, and then slowly separated from the middle and fell to both sides.

The thick bloody smell was nauseating.

Now, all the minions' faces changed, and they retreated to the back. No matter how much the big man shouted, no one dared to move.

What a joke.

Even if these minions were stupid, they could see that Zhao Ya was extraordinary.

Especially the incredible knife skills, which scared many people. Some people have begun to retreat quietly and prepare to slip away.

After the last drop of blood slid off the sharp blade, Zhao Ya said calmly: "Which mountain are you from?"

"I am the third leader of Yusong Mountain, Fang Dao, the third master. Boy, if you dare to hurt me, then wait for death!" Fang Dao shouted.

As soon as the voice fell.

Another flash of knife light flashed, and Fang Dao's head flew out, and then rolled to Tian Heng's feet.

Looking at the third leader who was so arrogant just now and injured him, now his head was chopped off without even a groan.

Tian Heng felt a chill in his heart.

Where did this young man come from?

How come his martial arts are so strong and his moves are so crisp and clear?

But for Zhao Ya, killing someone like Fang Dao is as easy as drinking water.

"Too noisy, now let someone else answer my question. If you answer well, you will live, and if you answer badly, you will lose your head." Zhao Ya still had a calm tone.

But these minions were so scared that they were trembling all over.

Where had they seen such a ruthless man?

Even the three village chiefs were easily slaughtered like pigs and dogs in front of him, how dare these people resist.

"Yes... yes, sir, do you have anything to ask?" A minion said with a trembling voice.

"How many people are there in your Yusong Mountain?" Zhao Ya asked.

"Count... if you count the chief village chief, there are more than 200 people in total."

More than 200 people.

Zhao Ya frowned.

He thought that Yusong Mountain should have some strength to capture Black Water City.

But he didn't expect that there were only so few people.

"What is the strength of your chief village chief?" Zhao Ya asked again.

These minions looked at each other, and after a while they heard this man say.

"I... how do we know what the chief village chief is, but we have followed him in several battles, and we have never seen anyone who can last more than ten moves under the chief village chief."

Zhao Ya was thoughtful.

The Fang Dao who just died under his sword should be half-step to the fourth realm. Such a warrior can be the leader of the third village, and he can roughly deduce the overall strength of Yusongshan.

He ignored the gang and turned to look at Tian Heng.

"Commander Tian, ​​is your crisis resolved now?"

Tian Heng nodded quickly, "Yes, thank you Young Master Zhao!"

"You're welcome. This can be regarded as a reward for telling me the current situation of Wuxiang City. Now that the crisis has been resolved, let's leave as soon as possible."

After saying that, Zhao Ya sheathed his sword, raised his whip to drive the carriage, and continued walking forward.

Tian Heng couldn't help being shocked when he saw this, and hurriedly stepped forward to block the way, cupped his fists and said, "Young Master Zhao, where are you going?"

"Of course I'm going to stay in a hotel in Heishui City. I've been sleeping rough along the way. It's time to find a place to have a good rest." Zhao Ya said with a smile.

Tian Heng jumped to his feet anxiously.

"You...you must not do this. The Blackwater City is now occupied by the strong men from Yusong Mountain, and you killed one of their village leaders. If you enter the city, wouldn't you be committing suicide?"

Unexpectedly, Zhao Ya just smiled slightly and said, "Thank you, Commander Tian, ​​for your concern. Of course I know this, but I have a sense of propriety, and I also happen to have something to talk to about Yusongshan and the others."

As he spoke, he urged his horse to move forward, leaving Tian Heng standing there with a confused look on his face.

"Old Tian, ​​what are you doing standing there? Come and help me load all these goods, and then leave here quickly." Gao Cong shouted.

But Tian Heng did not move. Instead, he took a deep breath and said, "Master, I want to go to the city."

"Going to town? What are you going to do in town?"

"This Young Master Zhao saved you and me. I can't see him entering this dragon's den by himself."

Gao Cong looked Tian Heng up and down like an idiot, and couldn't help but said: "Old Tian, ​​are you sick again? This young knight is very powerful and must have an extraordinary origin. Since he went to the city, he must have his own reasons. Why are you joining in the fun?"

"But he saved us!" Tian Heng said firmly.

"That was also of his own free will. We didn't ask him to save us! Stop thinking about all this nonsense. Why do I think you are as impulsive as a seventeen or eighteen-year-old kid after you have lived forty or fifty years old?" Cong said disapprovingly.

But Tian Heng has made up his mind this time.

"Master, when I first started practicing martial arts, my master told me that I should do something and refrain from doing anything in everything. Now I feel that I should step forward. As for you, Master..."

"It's not far from our destination, and there's no bandit trouble behind us. You don't need me."

Gao Cong became angry when he heard this, "Okay, okay, if you want to die, then go ahead. Master, I'm too lazy to care about you!"

With that said, he turned around and went to sort out the caravan.

Tian Heng didn't say a word, bowed his hands to the guards, and then strode towards Blackwater City.

Seeing that he was really gone, Gao Cong became even more angry.

"Damn it, I've never seen such a person before. He's been practicing martial arts so hard that his brain is broken."

"What should we do, young master?" someone asked.

"What should we do? Leave quickly. If there is going to be a fight later, we will all suffer."

Gao Cong left in a hurry with the caravan.

Zhao Ya didn't know about this episode. At this time, he had already entered Blackwater City.

There were only a few pedestrians on the street, and most of the shops along the road were closed. Even if a few were open occasionally, they were deserted and lifeless.

After Zhao Ya's carriage entered the city, it immediately attracted the attention of many people.

Zhao Ya didn't find a place to stay, because from the looks of it, the inns were probably closed.

He drove the carriage toward the center of the city.

Although I have never been to Blackwater City, generally speaking, the city lord's office is located in the center of a city.

Zhao Ya was not in a hurry and walked slowly.

There were more and more people peeking at him along the way, but Zhao Ya didn't care and even talked and laughed with Zui'er in the carriage.

Heishui City is not big, and soon Zhao Ya's carriage passed through the central street and arrived in front of the government office.

At this time, a large group of people had gathered here.

Such a big thing happened outside the city. The leaders of the three villages were all dead. Naturally, the people in Yusong Mountain also got the news.

When they heard that there was only one person coming and that he had already entered the city, the others were fine, but Yao Wang, the leader of Yusong Mountain's Dazhai, was shocked.

As the most powerful person among this group of gangsters, Yao Wang is a real warrior of the Four Realms.

But he knew very well that this kind of strength could dominate the Blackwater City, but it would not be enough to see outside.

The person who came here was able to kill Fang Dao with one sword, and no one even saw clearly how he used the sword. His strength was obviously extremely tyrannical.

How could such a river-crossing dragon suddenly come to visit?

Feeling anxious, he summoned all his men and waited for Zhao Ya in front of the government office.

really.

He saw a carriage slowly approaching, driven by a handsome young man who looked to be about twenty years old at most.

At first glance, this young man doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary.

But Yao Wang's expression became more solemn.

Because the less surprising it is, the more it proves that the person coming is anything but ordinary.

"Your Majesty killed my Third Village Leader and broke into my Blackwater City. What do you want to do?" Yao Wang decided to strike first and asked directly.

Zhao Ya tightened the reins and the carriage slowly stopped.

Then Zhao Ya did not get out of the car, but sat on the shaft of the car. He looked at Yao Wang first and then said.

"What is your relationship with Qingzhuling?"