Three years later.

In the Northern Frontier Desert, with yellow sand stretching for thousands of miles under the scorching sun, a caravan of merchants had traveled through the desert for half a month along the dunes, finally arriving at the border city of the desert—Zhuxin City. This city had a history of over a thousand years, situated at the westernmost edge of Huyi, standing firm and unyielding. It was even more so a vital route for merchants traveling between multiple nations, with many traders coming and going every day, making it very lively. At a glance, Zhuxin City consisted entirely of houses built from earth and wood. Because of the constant wind and sand year-round, hardly anything could grow here. Perhaps precisely because of the environment, the men and women living here all had strong physiques and extremely tenacious vitality, with a wild spirit in their nature.

In the fifth month, the sun blazed overhead.

In the city, there were bare-chested merchants everywhere, pulling camels and goods as they passed through.

The air was filled with thick burning smells and the scent of sweat.

Merchants from various countries and regions occupied almost the entire Zhuxin City!

The caravan that had just crossed the Northern Frontier Desert finally entered the city.

Over a dozen camels all carried goods!

The group was also exhausted to the point of collapse.

“Perk up, all of you! Don’t show me those dejected faces!” The man at the front of the caravan shouted forcefully.

This person was the leader of the merchants, called Tiger Lord. Over fifty years old, with an extremely imposing physique and fierce appearance, dark skin, a face full of beard, sporting a round, bulging belly, his body wrapped in tiger skin—very majestic indeed.

At his waist hung several skulls of unknown animals and a dagger polished to a shine.

With such an appearance, no one dared to provoke him!

Those following him all perked up after being shouted at like that.

“Listen up, you lot. We’ll rest here tonight and leave early tomorrow morning. Keep a close watch on everything. If anything goes missing, I’ll slaughter you all.”

“Understood, Tiger Lord.”

The caravan moved through the crowd, finally stopping at the entrance of a tavern.

Tiger Lord raised his hand and waved, ordering, “Quickly unload all the goods and move them inside, then lead the camels to the back.”

His subordinates responded and got to work.

They hurriedly moved everything inside one by one.

They just hoped to quickly eat something hot and get a good night’s sleep.

As soon as everyone entered, they brought in quite a bit of yellow sand.

When the wind blew, it went everywhere.

The people eating inside immediately got a mouthful of sand.

Someone slapped the table. “Damn it, can’t you see this master is drinking here?”

“Sand everywhere—this godforsaken place!”

“Can’t people eat in peace? Sand keeps blowing in constantly.”

…

Everyone began complaining.

That’s just how Zhuxin City was—sand wind blowing everywhere. Morning and midday were still tolerable, but when it neared evening, the sand wind outside could literally strip a layer of skin off a living person—terrifying indeed!

Tiger Lord ordered two tables of good wine and fine dishes.

Though this man was somewhat fierce and looked very frightening,

Everyone said Tiger Lord was good!

Generous with his spending! Anyone who made a trade journey with Tiger Lord could almost always earn quite a bit, so everyone was happy to work for him. Plus, having traveled through the desert for years, he knew the terrain and wind directions like the back of his hand. Even when encountering sandstorms, he could handle them easily, so everyone felt increasingly at ease following him.

At a table not far away, a gaze was fixed intently on this side.

A youth dressed in tattered and worn cloth was examining Tiger Lord with great interest.

The youth wore a broken hat, his hair tied crookedly and somewhat messy, his face smeared with a layer of grime, a small bamboo stick in his mouth, one foot propped up on the stool.

A typical street urchin!

Full of rogue attitude.

His gaze gradually moved to Tiger Lord’s waist, landing on the dagger there.

The corner of his mouth curved slightly.

That dagger was a good thing indeed!

Just as he was scheming—

Suddenly, a small dark fellow ran up to him cheerfully from outside, blocking his view.

The dark fellow was running out of breath, his round eyes wide open, both hands hidden behind his back, asking excitedly, “Brother, guess—how much money this time?”

The youth wasn’t interested. With the foot propped on the stool, he kicked at the dark fellow in front of him.

Gesturing for him to move aside!

Don’t block his view.

The dark fellow quickly moved to the side. Not minding his gaze, he excitedly brought his hands from behind to the front.

In his grimy palm lay five copper coins!

Yes!

Five copper coins!

The dark fellow said, “It’s five this time! I got them from an old man. We can buy a few more steamed buns this time.”

Very cheerful.

Hoping the youth would praise him.

But—

The youth not only didn’t look at him, he fundamentally wasn’t listening to what he was saying at all.

His gaze remained fixed on the dagger at Tiger Lord’s waist.

The dark fellow was stunned. He waved his hand in front of the youth’s face and asked strangely, “Brother? What’s wrong? Brother?”

The youth suddenly smiled with a curve of his lips, spat the small bamboo stick from his mouth onto the ground, then raised his hand and hooked it around the dark fellow’s neck.

Pulling him close.

“Brother, what are you doing?”

“Xiao Ba, look over there.” The youth raised his eyebrows.

Gesturing for him to look toward Tiger Lord’s side.

The dark fellow called Xiao Ba didn’t understand. He just stared hard at that side with wide eyes.

As a result, when he saw the big fish, big meat, and fine wine on that table, he immediately licked his tongue, swallowed his saliva, his eyes shining brightly. He nodded vigorously and said, “I see it—there’s meat, and wine too!”

“You worthless fellow, did I tell you to look at those?” The youth forcefully slapped Xiao Ba on the head.

He glared at him.

The arm hooked around his neck also loosened.

Xiao Ba winced in pain, rubbed his head, and asked aggrievedly, “If not the meat and wine, then what?”

The youth narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. “The dagger! That dagger!”

“Huh?”

“That’s a good item.” The youth was full of interest.

Xiao Ba looked over again. Only then did he realize that his big brother had his eye on that dagger.

But—that person carrying the dagger was tall and imposing, fundamentally not someone to mess with. He quickly tried to dissuade him. “Please don’t! Brother, look at them—each one tall and imposing, bigger than both of us put together. And there are many of them. They clearly aren’t to be trifled with. Who knows, they might eat us both as drinking snacks. Besides, why do you want that broken dagger? If you feel you don’t have anything handy for fighting, I’ll use these five copper coins to buy you one. Please don’t provoke them.”

After listening, the youth found it laughable. He grabbed the copper coins from Xiao Ba’s hand and tossed them a couple times. “Buy? With just these five copper coins? At most two steamed buns—and you want to buy a dagger?”

“But…”

“Anyway, whatever I’ve set my eyes on, I must get my hands on!”

“Then… how will you do it?”

“We’ll see when the time comes. I haven’t thought of a plan yet.” The youth shrugged.

Then he pulled Xiao Ba down to sit and drink…

The youth poured wine into his mouth while staring at that side, scheming his plan in his mind.