Jin Xi was extremely shocked by his father's words, so much that he even forgot the pain he felt and couldn't help sit up. Jin Xu hinted him to lie down properly as it would be troublesome if the wounds worsened again.
"Take proper rest. I'll make a trip to the ancestral house."
Jin family's ancestral house was where the Jin family began everything as well as the holy land within all the children of the Jin family. Jin Xi was filled with a deep veneration after his father mentioned the ancestral house. He was overcome with rage as he looked at his father step out of the ward at a firm pace. He believed he would have to wait for a decade or two before he could get revenge for the humiliation he suffered yesterday but had never expected that he would be able to do it so soon. He felt deeply honored that he was a descendant of the Jin family.
…
At a well-conserved archaic village which seemed just like a common tiny village from the outside. Many people kept walking in, and out of there yet only a few knew that this place was the origin of the Jin family.
Inside one of the courtyards.
"He really has big guts to break the legs of a descendant of my Jin family." One of the old men who was smoking tobacco slammed the table in a fit, the muscles on his face trembled due to the anger, "Does he think my Jin family is nothing?"
The old man on the seat of honor raised his eyelids to look at his temperamental brother, "That Jiang Luoxia isn't that simple. He usurped Jiang City then extinguished the Wang family and reached the summit of Jiangnan's underworld step by step. Someone even speculated that this person is a Demigod."
"That's impossible. The entire nation would have already known it if he was a Demigod."
The patriarch continued, "This person became famous due to a winning a battle with that legendary Demigod of the Wang family, Wang Jianzhi. However, Wang Jianzhi isn't a person on the Demigod Ranking after all. Therefore, everyone doubts whether Jiang Luoxia is a Demigod or not."
The tobacco smoking old man asked, "What do you mean by that? Are you afraid?"
"If you're not going, I'll go!"
The Patriarch stated, "Old Six, why are you so anxious? I haven't finished speaking. Did I say we are letting this go? We brothers had nothing before and built up the Jin family to what it is today. Do you think we are afraid of anyone?"
"What do you intend to do then?"
"It's hard to determine whether Jiang Luoxia is a Demigod, but there's a chance he is an Arcana stage expert. If it's just that, a few of our brothers are enough to deal with him. Let alone, the desert is our home ground as a few of us have come from there. However, what if he's a Demigod? I know what you want to say, but we have to act carefully…"
"We can go ask Elder Brother Mu Sen."
Everyone was startled after these words were spoken. Jin Xu's eyes grew wide open too.
Old Six's expression changed as well, "Old Three, is it worth bothering Elder Brother Mu Sen for that insignificant Jiang Luoxia? Isn't that lifting that brat up too much?"
The patriarch said, "Jiang Luoxia is the No. 1 person in Jiangnan's underworld and also dares to call himself a Demigod so he naturally wouldn't be weak. Elder Brother Mu Sen would be interested as well."
"All of you, follow me!"
The party left the courtyard and went towards the depths of the village. After going deeper, they reached the forbidden area of the Jin family. It looked the same as the village outside, but a person lived here.
A young child played under a big tree near the entrance of the village. That party of 20 people walked over there. The Jin family patriarch came in front of the child and asked, "Child, do you know where Grandpa Mu is?"
The young child pointed towards the dilapidated old house ahead of them. The house resembled those stone houses from the 1940's. An old man with withering gray hair was seated among a group of children there.
There were sounds of birds chirping coming from there as well.
After approaching nearby, they saw the old man had his mouth open while two little birds pecked his teeth to clean the stains on them.
"Elder Brother Mu Sen…"
Mu Sen had an indifferent expression when he saw so many people had come over. He blew from his mouth and caused the two birds to fly away. After they spiraled twice in the air, they landed on top of his arm which was extended outwards.
"So many of you have come over to look for me. Did something happen?"
"The family's children have provoked a ruthless person. This person is called Jiang Luoxia, and there's speculation that he's a Demigod…"
"Oh?"
He finally revealed a look of interest on his face. Mu Sen then turned out to rinse his mouth from the water in a worn-out cup. It seemed like those two birds were brushing his teeth just now.
Another bird came flying over with a towel.
The patriarch continued to speak, "The reason we doubt this person is a Demigod or not is that he fought with Wang Jianzhi and killed him."
Mu Sen washed his face, "Wang Jianzhi? I saw him 60 years ago. He wasn't a Demigod at that time but had already reached at the doorstep to entering the Demigod stage. No matter whether he successfully broke through to the Demigod stage, since this person was able to kill him, it's worth for me to act."
"Where is Jiang Luoxia right now?"
"He entered the desert."
…
In a small town in the border area of the desert. Jiang Xiu's group had arrived here just now. As the town was located at the border, there was a sandy flavor within the air. The people here all had their head covered as their hair would be filled with sand if they did not do it and also wore goggles to protect their eyes. Qiu Yinru had also covered her head with a red head-covering at this moment. It made her skin look paler, giving her an exotic charm.
Everyone began to purchase supplies required in the desert and specially packed water canteens. This was an extremely important thing. Many of them were troubled over which size to buy as bigger ones were no good and smaller ones couldn't carry much water.
The other thing was the camels.
There was no need to buy camels separately as it was mostly bought from the local guide.
"Young Master Jin's phone is still switched off. What should we do?"
"I say, why don't we set off like this?"
Master Li, Expert Qian as well as Professor Xu consulted with each other. Professor Xu looked at the situation. Everyone was already ready to set out. They couldn't just wait in vain because they weren't able to contact Young Master Jin.
"There was no need to fear bandits before as Young Master Jin had a few bodyguards with him, but now…" Expert Qian stated. There were many robbers in the desert, and most of them had guns with them.
"Let's follow the usual archaeology procedure then. I'll go request two soldiers from the garrison." Professor Xu suggested.
"What does Master Li think about this?"
Since Master Li and his sons possessed adequate cultivation, they weren't afraid of danger, but they weren't enough to protect such a large group of people. He nodded in agreement, "Since we have the authorization, we better use the power of the government."
Professor Xu left for the garrison along with the required documents.
"How many camels do we need?" Chen Dewen asked Qiu Yinru. As Young Master Jin wasn't present, he wanted to use this chance to associate with this beauty as much as possible.
"One per staff and also a few to carry the supplies…"
"Right…" The guide nodded.
"That makes it thirty… two, I suppose?"
After saying this, Qiu Yinru went to choose one most suitable for her. This was her first time riding a camel, so she was quite excited.
Chen Dewen pulled the guide aside, "Mix a bad camel inside, one which will fall back after walking a little."
The guide rushed to wave his hands, "My camels are all good hamu, none of them is bad hamu."
Chen Dewen felt gloomy. This person was too stupid. "I want you to give me a bad one purposefully, do you get it hamu?" He took out a wad of red cash and handed it over to him.
He wanted to give this camel to Jiang Xiu. This way, he would drop behind and wander alone in the desert. Didn't you want to tag along? Let's see how you do that now.
"Okay, okay…"
Jiang Xiu was standing in front of a street herb stall at a distance. He didn't believe the desert could threaten him, but he would bleed in case he was injured, and blood was the source of divinity. Also, he would feel unwell due to dehydration. That's why he wanted to settle these two issues.
"Is that a heavy tambo?"
The seller, a grandpa from the western regions, nodded, "Yes, 50 bucks for a stalk hamu."
No one bought it though it was placed outside.
"This is Seven Blood Ginseng…"
"100 bucks…"
Qiu Yinru had come beside him at some point in time. She noticed that Jiang Xiu hadn't bought anything, not even the head-covering or the goggles yet he was here buying these herbs. She couldn't help but ask, "Why are you buying these useless things?"
Jiang Xiu picked up one of the herbs, "Why would he set up a stall here if it's useless?"
"Humph! Don't act as if you know stuff when you don't."