Chapter 4: The Shaanbei Thirteen Geese

In fact, although the Huashan Sect had suffered severe losses in strength due to the Sword-Qi Conflict, it remained a prestigious and righteous sect in the pugilistic world.

When Lu Li and the others occasionally practiced swordplay under the morning sun or bright moon, or used light-body techniques to glide among the clouds and mist, they were no different from immortals in the eyes of the surrounding mountain folk.

If the villagers and townsfolk at the foot of the mountain encountered any trouble, they would habitually seek help from the Huashan Sect.

This day, Yue Buqun had gone down the mountain to eliminate evil, yet villagers came up the mountain to seek help.

Lu Li was in the middle of practicing swordplay and originally had no interest in paying attention to this matter.

It was only because the villagers' requests for help were mostly trivial matters, and usually, someone as enthusiastic and tactful as Lu Dayou was enough to handle them.

Watching Lu Dayou run over in a hurry, Lu Li asked casually: "Is this about a dispute over hunting grounds, or irrigation water?"

"Neither!

A big problem has arrived; a gang of horse bandits has come to the foot of the mountain, calling themselves the Shaanbei Thirteen Geese."

"This gang of thieves charged straight into Yang's home, intending to kill his entire family, and it seems the yamen runners and the master himself have also been targeted by the bandit leader."

Upon hearing this, Lu Li turned around.

"Horse bandits?"

And they even killed Yang? One must know, Yang was a famous wealthy man at the foot of Huashan.

His household had quite a few guards and retainers, yet that gang of horse bandits did not care at all; it seemed their strength was not weak.

He had been worrying about lacking a whetstone, and now one had arrived? Besides, wielding a sword across the world to eliminate harm for the people was the ideal of every swordsman.

A trace of excitement appeared in Lu Li's eyes.

"Let's go, I'll go take a look."

Having said that, Lu Li picked up his sword and left.

Seeing Lu Li's reaction, Lu Dayou could not help but shudder, secretly thinking that this Second Senior Brother was actually a battle maniac.

"Second Senior Brother, Master is not here, we must ask Mistress first."

Ning Zhongze had also heard the news by this time; she hesitated slightly, then spoke: "Chong'er, you go with Li'er, but remember not to be reckless and look after each other."

Hearing that he could go down the mountain, Linghu Chong was naturally so happy he didn't know where he was.

He simply packed up and went down the mountain with Lu Li, leaving behind the envious gazes of his junior brothers and sisters.

The martial arts of Lu Li and Linghu Chong were already not weak, and since the Shaanbei Thirteen Geese were coming aggressively, Ning Zhongze really would not have been at ease letting other disciples go down the mountain.

However, their experience in the pugilistic world was too shallow, and Ning Zhongze ultimately could not be completely at ease; she turned to tidy up and quietly followed them.

To return to Lu Li and Linghu Chong, the two quickly arrived at the foot of the mountain, only to see chaos at the base; in the wild grass by the village road, several corpses of villagers lay in disarray, and the clothes of two female corpses were in tatters, clearly having just experienced a disaster.

From the village came bursts of wild laughter, cursing, and screams of agony.

"Wang Xin, it's you."

The village chief was an old man over fifty, wearing a coarse cloth short shirt.

He had been kicked to the ground by a horse bandit, but suddenly caught a glimpse of the bandit leader's appearance.

He saw that the bandit leader had a fierce face, and although there was a diagonal scar running across his face, he still looked somewhat similar to an old acquaintance from the village.

He was shocked to realize that this person was actually the former village hunter, Wang Xin!

But now, he had actually become the leader of the Shaanbei Thirteen Geese horse bandits!

"Heh heh, the old village chief still remembers me!

But you have called my name wrong."

The bandit leader laughed coldly: "I am now called Chou Yang."

"Chou... Chou Yang!

?"

The old village chief said tremblingly.

He vaguely thought of something and revealed a pained expression.

"Heh, old man, back then when I was framed, not one of you stood up to speak for me; do you remember now?"

Chou Yang's gaze was cold; he stepped forward and pulled a girl of thirteen or fourteen years of age from the crowd, casually using his blade to slash open a gap in the girl's clothes.

"Will you take them off yourself, or shall I use my blade to help you?"

Behind the village chief, many men were furious, but facing this group of fierce horse bandits, they shrank back, not daring to step forward.

The gap in strength between the two sides was too great; anyone who dared to step in and stop them had been killed!

Watching the cowardly appearance of these people, the expression on Chou Yang's face became increasingly manic.

"Back then, Yang and that corrupt official threw me into prison and insulted my wife in front of me."

"At that time, I escaped and came to you for help, but did any one of you step forward?"

"From that moment, I knew that laws and friendship were all bullshit."

"I, Chou Yang, practiced martial arts just to come back and take revenge!

Not only will I take revenge, but today, I will let you taste the feeling I had back then."

Chou Yang roared wildly.

"The boss is right!

I was also bullied!

I was too honest before, but now that I'm a horse bandit, I'm also a hero in my own right!

Drinking wine in large gulps, with piles of silver!

As for a little lady like this, I can play with one whenever I want."

"Heh heh, I was originally a scholar, but someone took my place in the rankings.

Just because I looked at that young lady one extra time, I had my legs broken!

If it weren't for Brother Chou Yang taking me in, I would have died unjustly long ago!"

"Nowadays, which young lady would dare say the word 'no'?"

Surrounded by an endless hell, the young girl had a blade held to her neck, her eyes full of tear tracks, yet she dared not even make a sound as she wept.

She was merely a young girl who had never left the village; when had she ever seen such ferocious horse bandits?... Chou Yang heard the voices of his brothers around him and laughed wildly: "Not bad!

We have long since left the past behind, and we don't care about anything else!

We only care about drinking fine wine and settling grudges with pleasure!

Brothers, feel free to enjoy the property of this Yang and the official!

In one hour, we shall go off to roam the world again."

At this moment, the figures of Lu Li and Linghu Chong had already arrived at the village entrance.

Hearing the wild roars of the bandits from afar, Linghu Chong was slightly stunned and said: "This group of bandits are actually men of such soaring spirit."

Lu Li snorted coldly: "What kind of good men are they, to slaughter innocent villagers so casually?"

Seeing into the courtyard before them, a horse bandit hacked the male master of the house to death with one blade, while his other hand dragged a woman, intending to commit an outrage.

And the family's young child was right there beside them!

Lu Li let out a thunderous shout, stomped his foot, and transformed into a green shadow, flying off.

"Who goes there?"

Hearing the shout, that person turned his head abruptly.

He saw two flashes of sword light suddenly appear before his eyes; before he could see clearly, he only felt a chill at his throat.

He only had time to let out a miserable cry before he was struck in the throat by the sword and slowly collapsed.

Lu Li glanced at the child and said softly: "Don't be afraid, the bad man has been driven out of this world by me."

After speaking, Lu Li walked into the village without looking back.

Linghu Chong was still outside the gate; seeing Lu Li come out, he praised: "What a fine move, 'Phoenix Descends with Grace'."

"As his senior brother, I cannot fall behind either."

Having said that, Linghu Chong also charged toward a horse bandit and began to fight him.

Seeing that Lu Li could be so decisive in his first strike, he secretly admired him in his heart.

Back when Linghu Chong himself first used a sword to kill someone, it had taken him a long time to adapt.

Little did he know, Lu Li had even fought Demon Beasts, so how could he be afraid of seeing blood? And in his eyes, this human scum was even worse than Demon Beasts.

"Thieves who destroy families all deserve to die."

Lu Li's gaze was like ice.

The horse bandit leader Chou Yang suddenly heard the miserable cry at the village entrance, turned his head in shock, and saw a figure in green robes walking over.

"That was... Twelve's voice just now."

Chou Yang stared at Lu Li and asked: "Who are you, sir? Are you determined to oppose my Shaanbei Thirteen Geese?"

"So it is true, you are the Shaanbei Thirteen Geese.

I would like to ask, who gave you the dog's courage to come and act wantonly at the foot of my Huashan?"

"People from the Huashan Sect?"

Chou Yang laughed wildly: "Isn't your Huashan closed off? When I looked for you back then, you weren't this idle."

"A brat whose hair hasn't even grown in yet dares to ruin my business? Slaughter him for me!"

Chou Yang roared, and his subordinates immediately surrounded Lu Li.

Lu Li flicked his long sword, causing it to emit a hum.

The next moment, sword light and killing intent suddenly appeared!