Red Sand City was a small town with a population of only several tens of thousands.
Lin Lei and his group left the river boat and set off directly for Chi'er Commandery City. When they reached Red Sand City, they stopped to have lunch.
In a private room on the second floor of the restaurant, Jenny and Ke'en both had traces of excitement on their faces.
"Ha ha, we'll arrive at Chi'er Commandery City by this evening. After that, we should have fewer troubles," Ke'en said cheerfully.
Jenny nodded as well. "Once we reach Chi'er Commandery City, First Aunt wouldn't dare to move against us so openly, would she?"
"Jenny, Ke'en, it's not as simple as you think," Lin Lei said with a faint smile. "Chi'er Commandery City might actually be more dangerous. The First Aunt you speak of isn't as timid as you imagine."
A woman who turned vicious could be truly terrifying.
Having spent three years in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, Lin Lei had encountered all manner of sinister and ruthless people. Jenny and Ke'en's First Aunt could very well kill Ke'en right within Chi'er Commandery City without any of the blame falling on her.
"Really?" Ke'en looked a bit frightened. After all, he was only a fourteen-year-old boy.
Lin Lei smiled and said, "Don't overthink it. This afternoon we won't rush to Chi'er Commandery City. We'll rest well here in Red Sand City first. We'll set out again tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow morning?" Jenny and Ke'en both looked at Lin Lei.
"If my guess is correct, your First Aunt's people at the river dock should have already found out that we disembarked at a pier upstream. They should be able to calculate that we'd reach Chi'er Commandery City by this evening. So... there's a very good chance they'll be waiting for us there this evening."
These simple calculations were easy for Lin Lei to figure out.
All he had to do was think from the other side's perspective, and leading them by the nose came naturally.
"We'll rest up and set out early tomorrow morning," Lin Lei said with a laugh. "No need to rush now. Just enjoy this lunch."
A trace of a smile appeared on Jenny and Ke'en's faces as well.
Just as Lin Lei had expected, Apothecary Holmer and his group had indeed gone straight to Chi'er Commandery City, and Madam Widde's people there had received advance word.
On the city wall of Chi'er Commandery City.
Madam Widde leaned against the battlements, gazing out beyond the city. Behind her stood her two brothers and Apothecary Holmer. The city guards had all moved well away.
"Mr. Holmer, I'll have to trouble you to wait a bit longer tonight," Madam Widde turned her head toward Holmer and said with a smile.
Apothecary Holmer knew his own limitations.
His personal strength was nothing remarkable — his true power lay in the use of poison. He naturally had no desire to offend the woman before him, who was known for her ruthlessness and was the true ruler of Chi'er Commandery City.
"Rest assured, Madam Widde. That brother and sister will absolutely not step foot into Chi'er Commandery City alive," Holmer said confidently. "Even if they have a ninth-level powerhouse protecting them, as long as that ninth-level warrior hasn't reached the Saint Realm, I can handle him. Of course... the前提是 he doesn't recognize me."
If a ninth-level powerhouse recognized him, all he'd have to do was form a Dou Qi Shield around his body to easily block the poison.
"Apothecary Holmer, you've stayed in my Chi'er Commandery City all these years and rarely shown your face. How many people could possibly know you? Besides, I've heard that you also have the ability to alter your appearance?" Madam Widde looked at Holmer with a smile.
Holmer smiled proudly, stroking his beard. "Ha ha, Madam Widde, alter my appearance? It's not as dramatic as you make it sound. I just use certain medicines to change the color of my face and hair. A few subtle touches... and even acquaintances wouldn't recognize me unless they looked very carefully."
Madam Widde nodded with a smile. "Then everything depends on you, Mr. Holmer. I'll be waiting quietly in the hotel over there tonight for your good news."
Holmer laughed confidently.
But as time passed, Madam Widde — in the hotel nearest the city gate — grew puzzled, for the gate would be closing before long.
Chi'er Commandery City's rule was that the gates shut promptly at ten o'clock at night.
Yet Jenny, Ke'en, and their group still hadn't arrived. According to her intelligence, they had reached Red Sand City by noon. Even moving slowly, they should have made it by now.
Ten o'clock arrived.
The massive city gates were slowly pushed shut under the combined effort of numerous guards. Apothecary Holmer, who had been carefully preparing, descended from the wall seething with frustration, while Madam Widde stepped out of the hotel as well.
"Madam Widde, what's going on?" Holmer was genuinely annoyed.
After receiving the news today, he had rushed the hundred-li distance from the river dock straight to Chi'er Commandery City without pause. The jolting journey had been genuine suffering for the over-three-hundred-year-old Holmer.
Then he had stood on the city wall in the cold wind for the entire night.
Now the gates were closed. And the targets hadn't shown up.
"I don't know what happened with that group. They probably stopped in Red Sand City. Mr. Holmer, please rest quietly in this hotel tonight, and we'll see about tomorrow," Madam Widde said, her mood none too pleasant.
"There's nothing else to be done," Holmer grumbled, his heart full of discontent.
The next morning, the moment the city gates opened, Holmer began his silent vigil. By nine in the morning, he was truly furious.
Holmer stormed down from the wall and strode into the second floor of the hotel.
"Madam Widde, if they won't come here, I'll go to them," Holmer said bluntly. "Give me a few men — at least enough so they can identify the brother and sister."
Madam Widde agreed with the idea. "Very well. I'll trouble you to make the trip again."
"This time, I'll make them taste my power," Holmer said in a low voice, killing intent flashing in his eyes.
In Red Sand City they purchased a carriage. The old servant Lambert drove it while Jenny and Ke'en sat inside. Lin Lei, for his part, rode atop the black-striped cloud leopard, Black Lu.
Black Lu stood a full two meters tall, with a broad body and fur that was smooth and sleek to the touch.
Riding the cloud leopard, Lin Lei felt virtually no vibration — far more comfortable than riding a horse or traveling by carriage. And a cloud leopard moved across mountain terrain as though it were flat ground.