Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 340 Strange place
He whipped his horse, and with the roar of the tall steed, the leader spurred his horse forward, galloping away.

The leader rode ahead on horseback, with Jiang Xian and the other two, along with the bound thugs, following behind as they traveled.

Everyone was highly focused and dared not be careless for a moment.

……

The journey was peaceful and they encountered no danger.

Soon, they arrived at a rather large venue.

This place has no proper gate, only a low wall.

Inside the walled compound, there are several low houses scattered around, which can accommodate about a dozen people.

Apart from being larger, everything else seemed extremely ordinary.

"We're here!" The leader waved to the people behind him, and the expression on his face finally relaxed a little.

The leader stopped the horse outside the "gate" of this venue.

It's called a gate, but it has actually lost its function as a gate.

The gate was dilapidated, and when closed, there was a long gap that a child could easily pass through. It seemed that at any moment, it would collapse to the ground with a "bang".

The place was still somewhat desolate, but it didn't resemble the courtyard where the steward lived, which Jiang Xian and Guard Li had visited, in such a deserted place.

On the side directly opposite the main gate of the venue, there are rows of trees arranged relatively closely together.

There is a forest nearby, but it is definitely not a site built in the forest.

On the same side of this site, in the distance, there are still a few houses, so it's not exactly a deserted place.

This place is really remote. It's an area where large tracts of forest have just emerged, but there are still very few households.

There wasn't a single pedestrian on the road in front of the gate.

Even the houses and courtyards in the distance showed no signs of habitation; all the gates were tightly shut.

The atmosphere here is rather eerie.

The leader skillfully opened the gate, and Guard Liu parked the carriage containing the medicinal herbs outside the gate, found a relatively sturdy pillar, and secured the carriage.

Li, the guard, also jumped down from another carriage and walked to the other horses, tying them to the posts one by one.

Two of the horses were also carrying a lot of medicinal herbs.

Many of the medicinal herbs were carried on horseback because space had been made in the carriage for the two injured thugs.

Neither Guard Li nor Guard Liu allowed their horses to enter that area, which seemed to be a tacit understanding between the two.

Then, Li, the bodyguard, pulled the carriage he had been driving, which had five people tied to it, into the area, following the footsteps of his leader.

Jiang Xian also stopped beside Guard Liu, dismounted, and handed the rope he was holding to Guard Liu.

Guard Liu took the horse harness from Jiang Xian and secured the horse.

After Liu, the guard, was tied up, Jiang Xian slowly walked towards the area.

Seeing this, Guard Liu immediately followed and quickly walked behind Jiang Xian.

When Jiang Xian and Guard Liu entered the venue, they shared the same feeling as Guard Li: the venue was no different from what they had seen from the outside; it was still just as ordinary.

Li, the bodyguard, went in earlier than Jiang Xian and Liu, so as to keep a close eye on the key figure and prevent him from making any underhanded moves.

Since opening the door to welcome guests, the leader hadn't actually done anything he shouldn't have. Without absolute certainty, he naturally wouldn't dare to cause trouble under Jiang Xian's and his companions' noses. He also valued his own life and wouldn't easily resort to tricks.

Right now, inside the walled-off carriage, five people are lying there, tightly bound.

After Guard Li pulled the carriage through the gate, the leader glanced at it hastily, his expression immediately turning strange, and then stopped looking at it.

Now, two people are lying on a horse-drawn carriage loaded with medicinal herbs outside the wall.

Upon closer inspection, one had an injured arm and the other a injured leg, which was quite bizarre compared to the scene inside the wall.

But in reality, the atmosphere inside the walls isn't much better than outside.

At this moment, the core leader stood obediently inside the wall, quietly waiting for Jiang Xian and the other two to give their next instructions.

"This way, please."

Seeing Jiang Xian and the other two enter, the leader gestured to them and greeted them in a calm tone.

The leader led the group to a spot where several stone benches were located.

The stone benches enclosed a wooden tea table, clearly indicating that this was where they rested or discussed business.

At first glance, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it, but Jiang Xian noticed that the coffee table was not placed in a very appropriate position.

The problem lies with that wooden coffee table.

This location is inevitably exposed to rain and snow.

However, the place where their leader had led them there, when they looked up, revealed that there was no shelter above them, nor was there a pavilion; it was simply a completely open-air area.

However, while it seems normal to place stone stools as benches in such a completely open-air place, it is rather inappropriate to find a wooden tea table there upon closer inspection.

Jiang Xian guessed that these people must have left in a hurry and hadn't had time to put the wooden coffee table away.

Or rather, they hadn't left the house in a long time, and this trip wasn't well-prepared.

If none of the above applies, then the situation within his team is much more serious, and it's even quite possible that someone else has infiltrated this place.

Jiang Xian stared at the leader's face. When the leader beckoned them over, he must have seen the coffee table.

She didn't see any sign of unease or confusion on the face of the leader.

Does the leader know the location of this coffee table and think that it should be placed here?

Or perhaps he simply hadn't paid much attention to the location of the coffee table.

"This is the only place where people can sit, please don't find it unpleasant."

The voice of the pillar of support suddenly rang out, interrupting Jiang Xian's thoughts.

His words were very clear: apart from the place right now and the few stone benches there, there was probably no other decent place.

Upon hearing this, Guard Li frowned slightly. He looked at Jiang Xian with some disbelief, as if he wanted to give Jiang Xian some hint.

Guard Liu scanned the area with his eyes, his doubts growing stronger.

How could they, who have lived here for so long, not have a place to entertain guests?
Is it possible that the only place where people can sit here, besides these stone benches, is the bed in their room?

No matter how he thought about it, Guard Liu still felt something was off.

(End of this chapter)