Chapter 2: 2 Longevity Lock

2 Longevity Lock

The autumn wind was biting, cold and filled with a murderous aura, chilling one to the bone.

As if the autumn wind had seeped through the gaps in his bones and into his marrow, a fine, cold sweat broke out on Yang Dong's back.

On the opposite bank... there were archers in ambush!

At this moment, he was suspended between heaven and earth, with only a single log to stand on, and he was still carrying a live donkey.

A desperate situation where he truly could neither advance nor retreat.

In the eyes of the archers in the shadows, he was simply a living target.

He blurted out, "Who is it?"

Perhaps due to excessive terror, his voice was hoarse and blurred; he could barely hear it himself.

At the same time, someone on the opposite side called out, "Who are you?"

Yang Dong was both shocked and furious; because of his anger, he recovered some of his Spirit, and using all his strength, he roared, "I didn't ask you, yet you ask me? Why are you skulking in the bushes, ambushing your betters! Do... do you know that I am a righteous man of the Imperial Court? Ambushing a righteous man, could it be that you are a Shadow demon or a monster?"

By the time he finished speaking, his voice had trailed off, and he suddenly thought: If he really is a Shadow demon, then what? Can I still escape?

The other party sneered twice and said, "Righteous man? What is a righteous man worth? At my master's gate, if you throw a brick, you'll hit three of them. Besides, there are plenty of swindlers these days pretending to be righteous men; they kill a couple of chickens and dare to boast that they've killed a Fierce Beast."

Yang Dong was furious and shouted, "Fart! I have certification from the Imperial Court! I have performed meritorious service for the country! Your master... ah? Is your master the Heyang Daxia?"

The other party scoffed, "Are you playing dumb? You little thief, do you think you can escape the crime of theft by saying you didn't know you were under the Heyang Daxia?"

Yang Dong was stunned and stammered, "Theft? I... me?"

The other party said loudly, "Taking without asking is theft! This mountain, the forest on the mountain, the leaves on the trees—which of these does not belong to our Master Xue? You secretly cut down trees, caught red-handed, and you still dare to quibble?"

Yang Dong was in a state of Chaos and said, "I... I did it to build a bridge..."

The man said sternly, "The river at our master's home—what right do you have to build a bridge? Did you get our master's permission? Just because you are some bullshit righteous man? Our master is a Great Hero! If you don't pay compensation today, leave something behind."

Yang Dong was also a man of the jianghu and naturally knew that "leave something behind" did not refer to worldly possessions. He was so angry that his veins bulged, but he was currently in mid-air, being pointed at by an archer, so he could not reason with them at all. He only said, "I have seen the style of the Heyang Daxia Mansion. It is a pity I traveled thousands of miles to seek him... How much do you want?"

Once he uttered the words of resignation, the breath in his chest suddenly leaked out, and his strength leaked with it; the donkey on his head felt heavy. Yet the donkey kept braying loudly, struggling incessantly. He truly wished he could throw this stubborn donkey into the ditch, but he dared not act rashly, fearing that a large movement would alert the other party.

The man said, "Don't grumble, as if we wronged you. Bring one hundred taels of silver, and today I will show mercy and let you go."

Yang Dong blurted out, "Why don't you go rob someone?"

Immediately after, he realized that the other party was using violent threats to extort property; wasn't this just open robbery?

Having spent time in the jianghu, he had encountered all kinds of dangers, and he was not unaware of the principle that as long as the green hills remain, one need not worry about firewood. If he had money, he would grit his teeth and pay to avoid disaster.

But he really had none.

One hundred taels of silver was not much, but it was not little either. It could buy dozens of acres of land, support a family of five for five years without worry, or pay for ten tables of bird's nest and shark fin feasts at the best restaurant, plus a few bottles of fine wine. For some wealthy families, it might just be a night of indulgence. But Yang Dong was not from a wealthy family; his martial arts training consumed a lot, and his long journey had cost him his travel funds. At this very moment, he really could not scrape together even three or five taels of silver.

The other party said, "This is already cheap for you. I see you are quite poor, so I am giving you a special discount. You, a dignified righteous man, don't even have one hundred taels of silver? Then don't think about moving forward; the Heyang Daxia Mansion is not open for poor ghosts like you."

Yang Dong was embarrassed and extremely disappointed, murmuring, "Does the Heyang Daxia Mansion also look at money? Isn't it said that he is generous with his wealth and his righteousness reaches the heavens?"

The other party sneered, "Poor ghosts really know how to indulge in wishful thinking. I see you can't come up with the money. Fine, I'll give you one more chance. Stand there without moving, and I will shoot you with an arrow. Consider it settled."

Yang Dong's gaze narrowed, fixed on a cold glint in the bushes.

That was an arrowhead, a sharp weapon for killing.

Feeling a chill in his heart, Yang Dong's tongue went stiff; he could say neither "good" nor "not good." In terms of the spirit of a jianghu man who loses the fight but not his stance, he should have let out a shout, like a bandit on the execution ground yelling, "I'll be a hero again in twenty years," but he simply lacked that courage. This was not like the version of himself he had imagined.

The man urged him, "What, you don't dare? You have no money, and you don't have the guts to risk your life. A person like you actually wanders the jianghu so brazenly and hasn't died yet—your luck is truly good..."

Yang Dong only felt a ringing in his ears and a moment of dizziness. His gaze slanted downward, seeing the deep ditch beneath his feet, and a thought suddenly arose: It would be better to just fall in and save myself from being bullied like this.

At this moment, he heard a voice say loudly, "Don't push people too far! One hundred taels of silver, I... mm..."

Before the words were finished, the voice was cut off, as if someone had covered their mouth.

Yang Dong recognized it as the youth; presumably, he wanted to take on this debt, and the young man beside him had stopped him.

He felt a mix of emotions—gratitude, shame, and some anger directed at the young man: That child is willing to help me, why must you stop him? Are you afraid I won't pay back the money? As long as I overcome this immediate crisis, I will definitely pay him back ten or a hundred times! What are you afraid of?

The person opposite suddenly laughed, "Oh? So there is a wealthy patron here? Looking at this patron's attire, tsk tsk, is this a case of a white dragon in fish clothes, an incognito inspection?"

The youth, who was being held tightly by the young man beside him, struggled to break free and said loudly, "I am not a wealthy patron! I have no money, you... look at this thing, how much is it worth? If it's valuable, take it, but don't force this righteous man. He is a hero for the country and the people; he shouldn't be forced to this point!"

As he spoke, he unbuttoned his cotton coat, revealing a golden collar around his neck, from which hung a Longevity Lock, inlaid with white jade of decent quality.

The Longevity Lock and the collar were ornaments often worn by children, hoping they would be free from disaster and illness and live to a hundred years old, embodying the parents' heartfelt love for their offspring.

The youth's fingers stroked the collar, his fingertips trembling slightly; he pressed his lips together tightly, looking up at the sky, as if desperately holding back his reluctance.

Yang Dong had his back to him and could not see his expression, but he could hear the reluctance in the little Scholar's voice. Suddenly, his Blood Qi surged, and he wanted to open his mouth to refuse, but facing a life-threatening crisis, he could not utter a single complete sentence with any backbone. He felt extremely ashamed, his face gradually turning purple-red.

The person in the Shadow was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed and said, "Righteousness is often found among the dog-butchers, but it seems that is not always the case. Come over here."

The youth did not understand but followed the instructions and walked a few steps.

The man said, "Good, just stand there. Turn your body sideways, yes—"

"Chi—"

The bowstring moved, the sharp arrow flew!

An arrow broke through the air, shooting across more than ten zhang to snap the clasp of the Longevity Lock, carrying the golden lock into the Ginkgo Forest.

The youth was completely dazed, but Yang Dong was not. After all, he was a veteran of many battles; at this moment, inspiration struck, and he let out a great shout, lifting the donkey and smashing it toward the bushes!

Admittedly, the donkey was too heavy and barely fell onto the bank, failing to hit the target, but it did disrupt the line of sight. Yang Dong drew his blade with a backhand motion, took a few long strides across the bridge, and charged straight at the bushes that had been staring him down until he bled!

Pu—

A single slash, straight down, Like Splitting Bamboo!

Fueled by his anger, this slash was even more fierce than the one he had used to chop the tree; it was a painful strike unlike any he had ever delivered. If that damn archer was still in the bushes, he would surely have been cut in two.

Unfortunately, there was no one!

With a clanging sound, the blade passed through the branches and leaves, finally hacking directly into the ground. Only a pile of broken branches remained; there was no human figure.

Yang Dong roared in frustration, raising his blade to hack and slash left and right, turning the bushes into a mess. Still seeing no enemy, he helplessly planted his blade in the ground, panting heavily.

After a while, he straightened up and roared, "Come out! If you have the ability to ambush, why don't you dare to face me openly? Coward! Come here, you bastard, see if I don't rip your head off!"

He roared two more times until his throat went hoarse, only then resting slightly, though still unsatisfied, he kept stomping on the branches on the ground.

When his breathing calmed slightly, he turned back and saw the youth still dazed on the other side of the bridge, shouting: "What are you doing? Why haven't you picked up your things yet?"

The youth replied: "I cannot go. Since that expert shot down my peace lock, he must want it. If I go looking for it and happen to run into him, what should I do?"

Just a moment ago, the young man had wanted to go look for it, but he had stopped him.

Yang Dong discovered this child was as meticulous as a hair, and at the thought of that person, fire rose in his heart; he raised his blade and said: "Let's go, I will accompany you to find it. If he doesn't come, that's fine, but if he does come, I will make him ask my blade if it agrees."

The youth said: "Actually, I have already agreed to compensate him..."

Yang Dong cursed: "Nonsense, did you ask me? That is called compensation? It is clearly extortion. When I find that bastard, I will make him say it again to my blade: how much is one tree worth? If he still dares to say one hundred taels of silver, I will ask him how much his head is worth? Follow me." Having said this, he crossed the bridge first and headed toward where the arrow had flown to search.

The three of them followed the trajectory of the arrow to pursue it, chasing all the way into the Ginkgo Forest.

However, the arrow only had one direction, and its distance was unknown. The vast forest was full of fallen leaves everywhere; it was truly like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The three of them searched separately, and after searching for nearly two hours, they still saw no trace.

The youth straightened up and said: "No need to look anymore. It must have already been taken by someone."

Yang Dong's breathing was uneven, and he punched a tree, saying: "It seems that bastard took it. He is a person from the Xue Daxia Mansion; let us go to Xue Fu and find the Heiyang Great Hero to preside over justice and make him compensate you."

Upon hearing this, the youth's mood instead became low, and he said: "Xue Daxia... is he the kind of person who can preside over justice?"

Yang Dong also lacked confidence, but he braced himself and said: "Why wouldn't he be? Xue Daxia has such a great reputation... could it be fake? Hearing of a name is not as good as meeting the person; Xue Fu is right before our eyes, we must go and see."

The youth gathered a bit of Spirit and said: "Righteous man..."

Yang Dong waved his hand and said: "What righteous man or not, that is too distant. My name is Yang Dong, what is yours?"

The youth cupped his hands and said: "Student Tang Zhao."

Yang Dong recited it once and said: "Is Tang the same Tang as in drinking soup? Which Zhao is Zhao?"

The youth said: "The sun radical with the 'zhao' from summon. 'Spring gives thanks, the white sun shines,' the original meaning is brilliant Sunlight." He then pointed to the young man, "This is Sui Dage, Sui Feng." Sui Feng bowed repeatedly.

Yang Dong clicked his tongue and said: "As expected of a scholar. Everything you say is an allusion. But I think you, little brother, are a true Knight-Errant, no, you have even more chivalry than a true Knight-Errant. Let's go, let us brothers go and see if this Heiyang Great Hero is truly a Great Hero."

Tang Zhao stood up and said: "Yang Dage, tell me, is Xue Daxia's reputation in the Jianghu really that good?"