Chapter 27 – Bandits 2

Thus, Aile believed finding a solution to get out undetected would be found easily.

He planned to take advantage of his enhanced senses to search for the people that sneak in and out of town. He climbed a higher vantage point and enhanced his hearing and sight.

He can enhance two of his senses now, but he cannot maintain it for long.

He focused on areas with low lighting and few guards. Although his sight was limited, he can still find these locations with ease. Then, he focused his hearing in that direction to find clues of a stealthy way out.

After a few minutes of searching, he noticed an unusual behaviour at the end of Second Street close to the Eastern Gate.

Second Street is a diagonal street from the Southern Gate to the Eastern Gate, it is divided into three sections.

The first section consists of restaurants and food stalls.

The second section has ingredient shops, and the third section has a variety of different shops.

Second Street is also the street that Sara had sneaked into when she was five years old, and Aile had saved her.

Hazel's house is close to the Southern Gate. The Southern Gate is not like the other three gates, as it is located in the sea. The town has barriers and ships guarding its coast, preventing ships from docking anywhere and entering Port Kiar.

The ships are forced to enter through a specific location, that acts as a gate called the Southern Gate.

At the end of Second Street, he noticed that specific carriages would stop when a man signalled them.

There at the shortstop, people would quickly sneak under the carriage.

They would cross the gate without the guards' knowledge. Since it was nighttime and the guards were careless, they could get away with it.

The guards at the Eastern gate were not taking their jobs seriously, as people were smuggled right under their noses, and they did not notice.

Aile studied them and learned the process of their smuggling operation. He followed two carriages all the way to the gate with his senses, learning their approach at each step.

After he was confident that he had learned everything, he memorised the smugglers' faces. He planned to use this information later on.

Aile then found a relatively dark area. With his black cloak, he disappeared in the night's shadow.

Here, he waited for a carriage to sneak under. As a second level practitioner, he can easily sneak under a moving-carriage without being detected.

Thus, he did not need the carriage to slow down, he only needs to make sure it is going out of the town.

A few minutes passed, and a carriage came to his direction. It had an eye-catching blue colour, making it appear new and expensive. Three beautiful horse-like creatures were pulling it, and it had four finely crafted and designed wheels. The carriage had well-defined workmanship highlighting the wealth of the individual riding it.

Looking at its high quality, Aile decided that this would be his target. Aile knew that wealthy people tend to get less scrutiny from the guards. Thus, this carriage was ideal for Aile to sneak out with.

He gauged the people's strength, and he identified a first cultivation stage guard steering the carriage. He did not detect any powerful auras from inside the carriage.

The carriage came to the intersection and turned towards the Eastern Gate. Aile quickly sneaked under it and held tightly.

Aile placed his body at the central location underneath it, as it would better hide his presence. It would be hard to detect a person there during the day, it would further conceal one at night.

The central location also has the perfect place to hold onto.

Aile felt anticipation built up from sneaking.

The carriage continued, and it effortlessly passed through the gate. The guards did not even stop them. This perplexed Aile, from what he knows, the guards are meant to stop everyone.

The guards' carelessness really astonished Aile. He established that the town's safety is worse than he initially thought.

This is because they are letting influential people in and out of the city without checking. The pirates and bandits need to only bribe one of them to sneak into town and gradually gather enough force to overthrow the town's governance.

Aile was curious to find out who had such authority, to pass the gate without any inspection. At this time, they were far from the town and still heading towards one of the bandit camps Aile had targeted. Thus, Aile continued to hold onto the carriage as it was a faster and more efficient way to get to the bandit camp.

He focused his senses to the inside of the carriage to find out the identity of the person.

"Here is to our deal being finalised,"

"Clink,"

"Clink,"

Then came the sound of drinking, Aile thought it was a successful business deal.

"Hehe, Xue, to get your shop and your body for three gold coins, it is a generous offer. How could I not jump on this offer?" said a male voice.

"What are you talking about? I am only selling the shop if you want anything else the deal is off," said Xue firmly.

"You have always been extremely haughty, Xue. You think, just because you are a second level cultivator and I brought a first level cultivator, you can act dominantly and cheat me. Why would I buy that crappy shop for three gold coins? I am not stupid. We both have done enough business to identify that shop's true value." The male voice had a sarcastic tone.

Aile was surprised because he did not detect any other cultivators apart from the guard. Now, he heard there is another one at the carriage. This showed his method of detecting cultivators is not accurate, and he needs to find out what causes this anomaly as this can be risky to him.

"Why are we here then, if you do not want to buy the shop?" Xue's voice was icy and with a questioning tone.

"I brought you here to make you change your mind and make you mine." The male voice was intimate.

"Dream on, I will never agree to that." Xue's voice was sarcastic.

"That may be so, but everyone comes around in challenging situations." He said playfully.

"Ha?" Xue seemed confused.

"Haha, how can you drink something someone offers you so carelessly? I make my guards eat and drink before tasting anything. Safety should always be our concern in this dark world," the male voice said in a flat tone.

Followed by a few seconds of silence.

"What was in the drink? Why can I not use my power entirely?" Xue's voice was louder and full of despair.

"The drink has a unique additive, created by a famous alchemist. It will weaken the power of anyone that drinks it," said the male voice.

"Although I am weakened, I can still take you down, do not even think about it!" Xue replied.

"Yes, you are right? But before you do anything stupid, look at this..." the male voice had a conceiting tone.

Xue had a depressed tone, "You cannot hide behind your talismans for a long time."

"Do not worry, Xue. I am not planning to kill you or force you, there will be no need to fight" said the male voice.

He continued, "but before you decide to reject me again, let me tell you a little secret… I am working with one of the bandit groups," the male voice said proudly.

"Do not be surprised, we are merchants and do not care which side we trade with, our only goal is money."

"Only a scum like you would trade with killers, rapists and criminals. Do not lump us all under your banner," Xue retorted.

"Long story short, they can plunder and buy most things, but do you know what they lack at their encampment... It is women..." the male voice said.

"What are you trying to say?" with a quivering voice, Xue asked.

"You can become my woman, and nothing will happen to you. If you do not want that, then I can sell you to the bandit group. I am sure they will appreciate you," the male voice said with a titter.

"We are already close to their camp, so do not try to act rashly. It does not matter anyway, you can try to escape and fight my guard. Although I will not recommend that with your weakened state. Plus I am sure our bandit friends will arrive here as soon as the fight starts," said the male voice coldly.

"So for the last time, will you become my woman? You have a simple choice to make, me or the bandits." the male voice said this with his previous affectionate voice.

"As I said, I will not force you, you can choose your fate."

"You are scum, I would rather fight and die than submit to the likes of you!" Xue's voice was wavering, and she was crying when she said this, but she sounded resolute.

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