Chapter 32 Inquiring
Although they gave up on staying in the deserted small town, it wasn’t long before Gu Yu and his group found a small village. While Gu Mengyao led people to buy some supplies from the villagers, Gu Yu went to inquire if there was a shortcut to Lianzhou.
If there was, they could also take the risk and try to arrive two days earlier.
“Lianzhou? That’s not a close distance. If you want to go, it will probably take five or six days.”
“It’s precisely because the normal route takes too much time. Sir, do you know any shortcuts?”
“Shortcuts…”
While Gu Mengyao was busy restocking supplies, Gu Yu and Gu Qingheng split up. Gu Qingheng went to the village entrance to strike up a conversation with some elderly people enjoying the cool breeze, while Gu Yu followed behind the onlookers and chatted with an old man, hoping to ask about a shortcut to Lianzhou.
After hearing Gu Yu’s question, the old man’s brow furrowed tightly, but he didn’t say he didn’t know. Clearly, there was a shortcut.
However, the old man’s expression clearly indicated, ‘If you ask me, I’ll tell you, wouldn’t that be too cheap for you? If you want to know, you must pay a price.’
Gu Yu couldn’t help but twitch his lips at this. He didn’t say any more nonsense and directly took out an ingot of silver and stuffed it into the man’s hand as an opening fee.
Villagers couldn’t be given too much.
One ingot of silver was enough to satisfy the old man.
“As for shortcuts, there is indeed one, but it’s too dangerous! A few young people from our village went to that large mountain out of curiosity, and they were all eaten by wild wolves, leaving no complete skeletons behind. In the end, only a few tattered pieces of cloth were placed in the grave, so there was something to bury.”
“Oh! So, there are wolf packs blocking the way on the mountain? Are there no other dangers?”
As expected, after Gu Yu paid the silver, the old man immediately revealed the information he knew, while happily tucking the silver into his pocket and thinking that it was a great bargain to be able to pick up such a benefit by watching the excitement.
It would be great if something like this happened more often in the future!
Upon hearing that there was indeed a shortcut, Gu Yu’s face lit up with joy. He wasn’t afraid of danger, only of no way forward.
Now, upon hearing about the danger of wolf packs, Gu Yu didn’t take it to heart. He wanted to know more about the shortcut and quickly urged the old man to say a few more words.
“Other dangers? There are none. You just need to cross a mountain, then go through a jungle, and then take a treacherous path to get directly to Lianzhou.”
“That’s all?”
“Young man, I’m not trying to scare you, but don’t underestimate that mountain! There are not only wolves in there, but also other fierce beasts. Once, someone even saw a tiger in the mountains!”
“A tiger…”
Perhaps sensing Gu Yu’s indifference, the old man thought that he couldn’t harm someone’s life just for money. So, he quickly warned Gu Yu not to take crossing the mountain lightly.
The mountains are very dangerous!
However, after hearing the old man’s words, Gu Yu’s face showed a look of exasperation. He remembered that his wife had once punched and killed a tiger. Even if there were tigers on the mountain, there was no need to be afraid!
If anyone should be afraid, it’s the tigers worrying if they can save their lives…
His little wife was very formidable.
“Alright, sir, we’ll be careful. Please tell me more about the mountain.”
“Alas, all right! Since you’ve made up your mind, and I’ve taken your money, I naturally have to help you. Besides the dangers I mentioned earlier, there’s nothing else to worry about… Oh, right! After crossing the mountain and going through the jungle, you might encounter swamps and other dangers.”
“Oh, okay.”
“As for the remaining path, there’s not much to say. You just need to keep walking forward, and you’ll reach the territory of Lianzhou.”
After Gu Yu got more information, he had a good grasp of the shortcut. Then, Gu Yu didn’t bother them further. He walked towards the village entrance, thinking that Gu Mengyao and the others should be almost done buying supplies.
He wondered if Gu Qingheng had managed to get any useful information.
“Brother-in-law, you’re so slow! How did the inquiry go?”
“Don’t mind my slowness, but I’ve found a shortcut!”
“I’ve also inquired about it, and I even heard… A few days ago, a few strange men with a child passed through the village and headed towards the mountains.”
“?”
When Gu Yu arrived at the village entrance, Gu Qingheng was no longer chatting with the elders at the entrance. Instead, he was sitting there waiting for something. As soon as he saw Gu Yu appear, Gu Qingheng’s eyes lit up, and he immediately asked Gu Yu how his inquiry went.
When Gu Yu said that he had inquired about a shortcut, Gu Qingheng showed a triumphant smile and then said that he had also inquired and even got more information.
What Gu Qingheng said made people curious. Gu Yu was very puzzled as to how his brother-in-law had found all this out?
He was able to find out about the shortcut thanks to money. But this brother-in-law of his, just by relying on his mouth, managed to get the information he wanted without paying any price.
He was truly amazing!
“They didn’t know the specifics, but they did see people heading towards the mountains, and they never returned, so I thought… perhaps it was those people from the Tang Sect taking Xia Tian through the shortcut.”
“Is that so! Anyway, I’ve also clarified the route. When your sister and the others return, we’ll leave immediately.”
“Mm.”
After hearing the news from his brother-in-law’s mouth, Gu Yu stroked his chin with one hand. He thought that no matter if it was true or not, they would have to cross the mountain in the end, so he didn’t need to think too much and just go for it.
Fortunately, the team was strong, especially with Gu Mengyao holding the fort. He didn’t need to worry about safety at all; he could just coast along.
Gu Yu wasn’t too worried about his own lack of combat ability.
Before, Gu Yu had thought about learning some self-defense techniques in his spare time to protect himself from harm in the future.
However, after Gu Mengyao taught him the basics, Gu Yu readily gave up.
He wasn’t suited for martial arts.
It was better to accept this fact and let his wife protect him from now on!
After all, heaven had given him a good brain. If he were also a martial arts prodigy, it would truly be unfair to others. Therefore, for the sake of balance, it was better for him not to learn martial arts.
Unwilling to learn martial arts, Gu Yu quickly found an excuse and naturally stopped practicing martial arts laboriously every day. Instead, he developed in the direction of medical skills, striving to achieve something in other areas.
Specialization is important.
“Yu, you guys are so fast!”
“Not bad, we just arrived. Have you finished buying your things?”
“We’ve bought everything. With the village chief’s help, we quickly gathered what we needed. I also bought Qingheng a roasted chicken, which we can save for dinner.”
“Yay! Sister is amazing!”
Afterward, when Gu Mengyao returned with Gu Da and the others, the group didn’t linger in the village. Instead, they headed towards the mountain, striving to cross it as soon as possible and head to Lianzhou.
However, due to the rugged mountain roads, they could still ride horses at first, but later they had to lead the horses on foot.
Except for Gu Yu and Gu Qingheng, everyone else in the team were martial arts practitioners who practiced kung fu daily, so climbing mountains was more than enough for them.
They climbed for half a day without even breaking a sweat.
Even Gu Mengyao looked refreshed, which made Gu Yu envy her greatly.
He wished he could be as at ease as them…
Thinking this, Gu Yu raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Feeling his clothes sticking tightly to his back, he couldn’t help but give a wry smile. Then, he took out his water flask and drank large gulps of the restorative spring water to replenish his lost energy.
While Gu Yu was so tired, Gu Qingheng was even more so, to the point of sticking out his tongue. Seeing this, Gu Yu threw him a water flask, telling his brother-in-law to also take a few sips of the spring water so that his body wouldn’t give out.
The restorative spring water from the space, besides being able to cure illnesses and heal injuries, could also replenish energy. It was like an all-purpose potion. Gu Yu was surprised when he first discovered it. He didn’t expect the restorative spring water to be so useful.
Fortunately, the spatial spring water was inexhaustible, so there was no need to worry about its consumption.
Moreover, it could also be given to the pets they were raising, which could also improve their physique.
“Okay, it’s getting dark now. Let’s find a place to rest for the night and continue our journey tomorrow morning.”
“Yes.”
As Gu Yu kept wiping his sweat, Gu Mengyao, who had been paying attention to him, felt very sympathetic. She looked up and saw that the sky was gradually getting dark. She thought it was okay to rest a little earlier and that there was no need to rush.
The most important thing was not to overwork her husband.
…
“Big Brother, they’ve gone up the mountain!”
“Hmph, I didn’t expect them to not fall for the trap before and instead ask the villagers here. How cunning!”
“Should we chase them?”
“Chase them!”
A group of people who had ambushed in the small town followed the tracks and arrived at the village Gu Yu had visited before. Upon learning that they had missed Gu Yu and his group again, the leader immediately spoke with hatred.
They had prepared meticulously in the small town for a long time, expecting Gu Yu and his group to fall into their trap so they could present their heads to Lord Jiang and receive generous rewards.
However, who knew that… Gu Yu and his group didn’t fall for the trap at all. They were like they already knew there was an ambush ahead and directly took a detour.
Now they had gone up the mountain, and it would be even more difficult to find their tracks later!
“Big Brother, we can definitely catch up to them.”
“Mm, tell the others to hurry. It’s just a broken village, no need to search anything else.”
As the leader spoke, he looked displeased. He saw the group of subordinates behind him laughing as they massacred the village, and he thought they were short-sighted fellows for wasting time over a few coins!
If they completed Lord Jiang Wen Guang’s orders, they could have any amount of money they wanted with a mere word!
