An alchemy furnace fell from the sky

Chapter 579 Flattery

"This mountain is mine, these trees are mine!"

"If you want to pass, leave some money to pay the toll!"

Xu Fu rowed his boat downstream for half a day, and as expected, he was stopped by a group of river bandits shouting slogans.

Blocking the small boat was a large ship over three zhang long, with more than a dozen people on board, all baring their teeth and looking fierce, as if they wanted to write "I am a strongman" on their faces.

“I’m traveling by water! What does your clearing mountains and planting trees have to do with me?” Xu Fu stopped his small boat and questioned.

“Yeah!” a bald bandit replied, scratching his head.

"idiot!"

A burly man slapped the thief on the head and shouted angrily, "What do you mean, 'right'?"

"There's some truth to that!"

The bald bandit muttered something in a wronged tone.

"Kid, if you know what's good for you, hurry up and throw up all your valuables so I don't have to do it myself!" the burly man shouted coldly at Xu Fu.

"I've long heard that there's a group of chivalrous thieves on Yaqing Mountain who do 'rob the rich to help the poor.' I wonder if it's you guys?" Xu Fu didn't rush to make a move, but asked very politely.

"It is us!"

Upon hearing that the other party knew their names, the bald bandit straightened his back a bit.

"My apologies! I've heard that you chivalrous thieves are great heroes who act on behalf of Heaven, and seeing you today, I can confirm that your reputation is well-deserved!"

"People who have received an education have such pleasant voices!"

"It seems our Yalong Village has made a name for itself!"

"This kid is actually quite pleasing to the eye!"

Xu Fu's flattery brought smiles to the faces of the pirates, and even the burly man who had looked fierce just moments before now wore a smug expression.

"Kid, no matter what, you still have to pay the toll!"

The burly man asked for money again, but his tone had become much more "approachable." After all, as a "hero," he could no longer be as arrogant and rude as those shady bandits!

"Fifth Brother, why don't we just forget about it?"

"That's right, we're robbing the rich to help the poor, and this kid doesn't look like he has much money."

"If this gets out, it will ruin our reputation!"

The group of thieves started discussing the harm of robbing Xu Fu, and everyone said that they should let the ship go.

"Shut up, all of you!"

The burly man roared, and when he looked at Xu Fu again, his eyes turned cold.

"Whether you have money or not, you'll only know after you search!"

At the command of the burly man, the bald bandit immediately leaped off the large ship and landed heavily on the bow of the small boat where Xu Fu was sitting.

The stern of the small boat suddenly jerked up, but the bald thief was quite agile. After the boat rocked a couple of times, he was able to stand firmly on his feet.

"I'm so sorry! Our Fifth Master was just afraid of being fooled! You don't know..."

The bald bandit approached with a hint of apology to search Xu Fu, but after only a few words, he caught sight of Li Wuji sitting in the cabin and immediately froze.

"Baldy! What are you spacing out for! Hurry up!"

Seeing that the bald bandit didn't move, the people on the boat immediately became impatient and urged him on.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes..."

After the bald thief came to his senses, he suddenly started stammering.

"What is it?" the burly man asked angrily. If his arms were long enough, he would have slapped the bald man hard.

"There's a...woman!"

Startled by the burly man, the bald thief finally managed to finish his sentence.

"A woman scared you like this? Haven't you ever seen a woman before?"

One of the people on the boat started making jokes.

"No, no, no... No! This, this, this..."

The bald thief started stuttering again.

The burly man seemed to sense the unusual nature of the bald bandit, and immediately flipped off the large ship, landing steadily on the bow.

The burly man was stunned when he saw Li Wuji in the cabin.

In all his life, he had never seen such an extraordinary and ethereal beauty.

Even if that beauty wore a veil, obscuring her face and only revealing her eyes, she would still be a million times more beautiful than those worthless courtesans.

The veil was Xu Fu's idea; he didn't want Li Wuji to be stared at by a group of mountain bandits and river pirates.

"Actually, my wife and I greatly admire the heroes of Yalong Mountain. I wonder if we would have the honor of visiting them on the mountain?"

Upon hearing that Xu Fu was going to take this beautiful young woman up the mountain, the burly man immediately started thinking.

"Alright! Then I'll show you!"

The burly man thought for a moment, then patted Xu Fu on the shoulder and agreed.

Upon hearing that Xu Fu was going up the mountain, everyone cheered, thinking it would be a good opportunity for the young man to witness the might of Ya Qingshan, so that they could spread the word about him in the future.

The burly man whispered a few words in the bald bandit's ear, telling him to stay on the small boat and lead the way. He then glanced at Li Wuji with reluctance before jumping back onto the large ship.

Following the bald bandit's directions, Xu Fu rowed the boat to the shore. The large ship had already disappeared, presumably having gone to continue searching for other "prey".

The small boat pulled to the side, and the three people went ashore.

"My name is Ma Liang, and I'm the Fifth Master's most trusted brother!"

"Disrespect, disrespect!"

The bald bandit first introduced himself, and Xu Fu generously expressed his admiration.

Hearing Xu Fu speak made Ma Liang feel very comfortable, but every time he saw Li Wuji, his eyes would wander and he dared not look directly at him.

This woman was so beautiful that he felt ashamed of himself.

The two followed Ma Liang up the mountain. Li Wuji did not look around, displaying the elegance of a well-bred lady. Her delicate appearance was so lifelike that probably no one would guess that this "weak woman" who even struggled to climb the mountain had already reached the fifth rank last night.

Led by Ma Qiang, the group soon arrived at a small courtyard.

This small courtyard was built alone in a secluded spot halfway up the mountain. If it weren't for Ma Qiang leading the way, it would have been difficult to find.

The burly man was already waiting at the gate of the courtyard.

"This is our fifth leader of Yaqingshan, known as 'Mixed-River Dragon' Xu Ermang!"

The bald bandit formally introduced Xu Fu and Li Wuji.

"I've heard so much about you!"

Xu Fu continued with his polite exchanges, while Li Wuji, standing to the side, gracefully gave him a bow.

Li Wuji exuded the elegance of a well-bred lady in every gesture, making Xu Ermang's heart itch with desire. He immediately gave Ma Qiang a wink.

Ma Qiang understood immediately and asked Xu Fu to go for a walk elsewhere.

Xu Fu naturally wouldn't leave Li Wuji alone; no matter how the mahjong game was played, he didn't move an inch.

Xu Ermang's expression changed upon seeing this. He had originally intended to spare Xu Fu's life for the sake of the young beauty, but he hadn't expected the boy to be so ungrateful.

"If you don't want to leave, then don't leave!" Xu Ermang said coldly.

What do you want to do?

Seeing Xu Ermang's expression change and reveal a look of "fear," Li Wuji grabbed Xu Fu's arm, his voice trembling slightly.

"You really love to act!"

Xu Fu looked at Li Wuji's lifelike expression and smiled bitterly to himself.

"From now on, you will be my wife!"

After saying that, Xu Ermang grinned and pounced on him.