Chapter 103: Who is the Winner?

Firelight, blade light, shouts of killing, screams...

Around the Long Wind Inn, it had completely turned into a chaotic battlefield.

By now, the merchants and martial artists blocked here could only choose to fight for their lives.

They grouped with acquaintances, either backing against the mountain cliff or hiding in the woods, waving blades, spears, and sticks to resist the bandit charge.

To tell the truth, the combat power of both sides was evenly matched.

Among these merchants and martial artists, most were only slightly familiar with martial arts, a line stronger than ordinary people, and when anxious, they just slashed and hacked randomly.

And the Bai Hu Village bandits were no better. Those who had practiced martial arts for years, were strong and robust, and had clear understanding of Ming Jin could already be squad leaders.

Those who entered the Hidden Strength could become the Four Beams and Eight Pillars.

As for the rest, they relied on fierce courage to fight.

However, the bandits were after all more tacit, and under Bai Yanhu's training, they understood some coordination.

Some charged to kill, while others fired cold arrows from behind.

For a time, the various teams at the inn could only defend passively.

"Dodge!"

Under a big tree, the escort Wu Mao pushed Yue Bala away, and then a sharp arrow whistled over, shooting into the tree trunk right beside Yue Bala.

A bandit saw this and thought there was an opportunity, so he picked up a long spear and stabbed it toward Wu Mao.

Wu Mao came from the Heart-Intention Six Harmonies Sect; although he hadn't entered the Hidden Strength, he had been escorting for years and could be called experienced, so how could he be tricked?

He sidestepped, and the long spear stabbed past his armpit. He then clamped his arm, exhaled, and directly snatched the long spear away.

The bandit who launched the sneak attack stumbled, and before he could react, Sha Lifei beside him had already cut his throat with one blade.

With the long spear in hand, Wu Mao's combat power soared.

He practiced the Six Harmonies Great Spear Technique.

This spear technique was widely circulated, but its origin was extremely extraordinary. It was rumored to be a fusion of the essence of six spear techniques, including the Overlord of Chu, Zhao Changsheng, the Luo Family Spear, the Yang Family Spear, the Gao Family Spear...

Although it was a bit exaggerated, it could be circulated to this day and become a must-practice spear technique for many sects, which showed its extraordinary nature.

This spear focused on the inner three harmonies of "essence, qi, and spirit," and the outer three harmonies of "waist, hand, and eye," focusing on blocking, grabbing, and stabbing, and was extremely practical.

With one spear in hand, Wu Mao performed the stealing-step triple spear, stabbing two bandits to death in succession before retreating, blocking horizontally with the spear to stop the two incoming blades.

"Go to hell!"

Sha Lifei was even better at seizing the opportunity, directly slashing and injuring the incoming person.

The two cooperated, one attacking and one finishing off, actually having quite a tacit understanding.

Of course, the most powerful among the crowd was still Master Zhou.

He had long since entered the Hidden Strength, held two short blades, and practiced small, intricate kung fu, making it easy for him to deal with these bandits.

However, at this moment, he didn't dare to move randomly.

Opposite him stood a bandit, bare-chested, full of stubble, with messy hair, not much different from a beggar.

He carried a broadsword on his shoulder, and the look he gave Master Zhou was full of mockery, "Old thing, you're still out here fighting for your life at this age, aren't you afraid of throwing out your waist."

The speaker was Bao Tie, the "Support Heaven Beam" of Bai Hu Village.

The "Support Heaven Beam" was the action leader in a bandit village, who had to be not only fierce but also fearless of life and death.

It could be said he was the second-best expert in Bai Hu Village.

Although both were Hidden Strength experts, fists feared the young and strong, and Bao Tie was a battle-hardened fierce bandit. Master Zhou knew that once he made a move, he would probably lose his life within a few moves.

And Bao Tie didn't act rashly either.

He dared to fight for his life, but that didn't mean he wanted to. He glanced sideways at the surroundings and shouted an order: "Everyone retreat!"

In an instant, the bandits retreated one after another, bending their bows and setting arrows.

Not just here, but even those besieging other teams stopped, regrouped, and stood in formation with bows and arrows.

Bai Yanhu walked out from the firelight with a dark face.

He had already received news that his sorcerer had been slaughtered in the chaos, but at this time, he couldn't be bothered to think about it. He looked at the vigilant crowd and said in a hoarse voice: "People die for wealth, birds die for food."

"You are all people mixing on the path. I have important matters today, so letting you go is fine, but you have to do one thing."

"Among you, there are some people carrying secret darts. Don't block blades for them; hand them over, and I'll turn around and leave!"

This was his true purpose: to charge and kill first, making these martial artists terrified, so they wouldn't meddle in other people's business.

Sure enough, in a team of carters, someone shouted: "Chieftain Bai, it's not that we want to make things difficult for you, but we really don't know who is carrying the secret darts."

"That's right, I'm not stupid enough to fight for someone else."

"Damn it, whoever is carrying the darts, hand the stuff over quickly, don't treat us like fools!"

In the crowd, the dissatisfied voices grew louder.

Bai Yanhu was right; they were all making a hard living. Whether Lu Kang died or the darts were robbed had nothing to do with them!

Wu Mao looked at the people behind him, helplessly stepped forward, and arched his hands: "Chieftain Bai, I will hand over the items, hoping you will keep your word and let these innocent fellow travelers go."

As he spoke, he took off the three-stringed zither on his back, directly snapped the zither handle, and poured out a pile of thumb-sized pearls, which shimmered in the firelight.

"Eastern Pearls!"

In the crowd, someone exclaimed.

This kind of top-quality pearl produced outside the pass was worth a fortune. The silver they earned from running around for over ten years might not even be enough to buy one.

Wealth moves people's hearts, and many people's eyes began to turn red.

Sha Lifei also swallowed hard and cursed secretly, good for you, Wu, you didn't say you had such good stuff; if we had split it, we wouldn't be wandering the martial world...

Bai Yanhu nodded slightly, and a bandit immediately stepped forward to carefully pick up the Eastern Pearls and put them into a leather bag.

The surrounding martial artists were red-eyed, but didn't dare to snatch them, so they looked at their own teams one after another, their eyes full of suspicion.

"Wu, what do you mean!"

Finally, a dart-thrower carrying secret darts couldn't hold on anymore, walked out of the team and cursed angrily: "Don't you want the signboard of the Six Harmonies Escort Agency!"

If the darts are there, the person is there; if the darts are lost, the person is lost.

This was the iron rule of the escort business. Whoever broke it would not only smash their own signboard but also make things difficult for their peers.

Because this kind of behavior was smashing everyone's rice bowl.

"Everyone."

Wu Mao wasn't in a hurry, but shook his head and said: "Can't you see? There's a ghost in this dart shipment. From the moment we left Chang'an, we were already sold out!"

As soon as these words were spoken, many dart-throwers fell silent.

They were all old martial world hands; how could they not notice the strangeness, they just couldn't guess who it was.

Lu Kang?

This was his entire family fortune; if it was lost, the Lu family would be finished...

An inside ghost in the escort agency?

Those who participated in this operation were all elites from various escort agencies, there were no outsiders...

Thinking about it, the greatest possibility was the Provincial Administration Commissioner Li Siyuan, who was the biggest beneficiary, but how could one talk nonsense about such things...

Just at this moment, a flash of impatience crossed Bai Yanhu's eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "To tell you the truth, Lu Kang is already dead, killed by the 'Insert Signature Pillar' of our Bai Hu Village, and we even got the secret dart list!"

As he spoke, he took a cloth roll from his bosom, read a few names at random, and the dart-throwers who heard them immediately had ugly expressions.

Lu Kang was dead!

Could it be that the one who leaked the news was really the Provincial Administration Commissioner?

The dart-throwers were panicked, but the leak of the list gave them a step down. They looked at each other and helplessly began to hand over the secret darts.

This dart shipment was indeed worth a fortune.

Even if it was divided into more than a dozen parts, it was still shocking.

Every time someone took out a secret dart, the martial artists present would swallow hard, and their eyes gradually became bloodshot.

Bai Yanhu gave a cold laugh when he saw this and couldn't be bothered to pay attention, but looked behind Sha Lifei and the others, suspiciously asking: "What's in the coffin?"

Wu Mao's eyes sank, "Chieftain Bai, I have already taken out the items. The coffin contains the remains of a martial world senior being sent home..."

"What nonsense!"

Bai Yanhu gave a cold snort: "Open it and see. If it's a dead person, I'll turn around and leave."

Sha Lifei said unhappily: "You don't even let go of the dead, are you lacking in virtue!"

"Hahaha!"

The bandits were immediately amused.

One of the bandits stuttered and laughed: "W-we rob money, then... then kill people, what's the difference between that and... and robbing dead people's money?"

While speaking, he was about to step forward. Xiu!

Just at this moment, an arrow shot from the darkness, puchi, and pierced his leg.

"Ouch—!"

The stuttering bandit immediately hugged his leg and wailed on the ground.

"Who is it!"

"Someone fired a cold arrow, find them quickly!"

The bandits were immediately in a commotion.

The one who fired the arrow was naturally Li Yan.

He had returned after killing Yu Laosi and had already made a judgment on the current situation. Returning to the team would just be adding one more blade to defend.

But if he hid in the darkness, the threat would be greater.

Sure enough, Bai Yanhu's pupils shrank, and he waved his hand to order the bandits not to act rashly, his eyes full of fierce light, staring fixedly at the distant dark forest.

He knew that it was the person hiding in the dark who had killed many of his good archers and slaughtered Yu Laosi.

!.

If it were before, he definitely wouldn't let it go, but he was pressed for time now, and the opponent was a sorcerer who knew how to hide. If he continued to entangle, it would inevitably ruin the big event.

Thinking of this, Bai Yanhu said coldly: "Forget it, I'll spare you this time. Brats, take the red goods, let's go!"

"Go?!"

"You thief, Bai, you still want to run!"

"Damn it!"

In the distance, several furious voices suddenly came.

At the same time, a swarm of bandits also rushed from all directions.

Seeing this, Bai Yanhu's expression immediately became ugly.

The newcomers were none other than the remaining bandits of Niubeiliang.

The leader was also a fierce man with a face full of scars, who grabbed a person and kicked him to the ground.

It was the young man who killed Lu Kang!

The man stepped on the young man's head, his eyes bloodshot, and said: "You thief, Bai, you're really a bastard. You wanted to eat alone when you got the news, and even gave us sleeping pills."

"Damn you, fortunately I kept an eye out, and just happened to catch the 'Insert Signature Pillar' of your Bai Hu Village. What else do you have to say, you turtle grandson!"

The bandits behind him were all disheveled and bloodshot, clearly all in a fit of rage.

"Say?"

Bai Yanhu gave a cold laugh and cursed: "What's there to say? The stuff is right here. You bunch of idiots, if you have the ability, come and take it!"

After speaking, he roared: "Brats, charge out!"

In an instant, the two groups of bandits fought together.

This sudden change made the martial artists stunned.

They hadn't expected the bandits to start infighting directly.

Some had small thoughts in their hearts, but looking at the two groups of bandits with red eyes in the distance, they still shook their heads slightly and decided that more trouble was worse than less.

And some secretly followed.

In the chaotic army, Bai Yanhu had already killed until his eyes were red.

He was originally a peak Hidden Strength expert and wore chainmail, fearless of ordinary blades, and his two thorn-studded maces danced like the wind.

Pu!

Under the agitation of hidden strength, the heads of the charging bandits were smashed like watermelons, followed by a roar, and he fought with several bandit leaders.

Facing this chaos, Li Yan's hidden threats had no effect, so he ran from the dense forest and said in a deep voice: "Don't run around, stay where you are, the big one is coming!"

"What big one?" Sha Lifei was stunned.

Rumble!

As soon as he finished speaking, the ground began to tremble.

Everyone immediately looked up, their eyes filled with horror.

This was the scene of a large cavalry force arriving, a stampede of horses.

"Kill!"

The sound of horse hooves rang out, accompanied by heaven-shaking shouts of killing.

Only to see a fire dragon rush from the corner of the Niubeiliang valley; it was the imperial garrison soldiers and horses.

Military combat power was naturally incomparable to bandits.

Although they couldn't compare to the battle-hardened veterans of the frontier, they were well-trained. Three riders formed a team, one held a torch, and the remaining two bent their bows and set arrows, firing fire arrows.

And in front of their arrowheads, there were bamboo barrels of explosives.

In an instant, fire arrows fell like a rainstorm.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Firelight accompanied the sound of explosions.

This was naturally not new-style gunpowder, and it didn't injure many people, but the sudden explosion in the dark night was terrifying enough.

The bandits were immediately in a mess. Without the dangerous terrain of Niubeiliang, how could they be the opponents of the imperial soldiers and horses? They couldn't care about stolen goods or wealth, and scattered one after another, running up the hillside.

It was truly a case of soldiers being defeated like a collapsing mountain.

The bandits only cared about fleeing, and the garrison cavalry killed more smoothly, raising their long spears to stab left and right, leaving a trail of corpses behind them.

The martial artists were already numb from watching.

The successive changes tonight made them unable to cope.

Once the imperial soldiers and horses arrived, human lives were like grass.

Fortunately, these garrison cavalry didn't kill indiscriminately, but sent one rider to gallop over, holding a long spear and shouting: "The chaotic bandits of Niubeiliang blocked the merchant road and killed imperial officials, a crime that cannot be forgiven!"

"To prevent bandits from hiding and fleeing, no one is allowed to act rashly. Wait until dawn to check one by one. Those who leave this place without permission will die!"

After speaking, he spurred his horse and left, continuing to chase and kill the bandits.

"Young Hero Li, we..."

Yue Bala looked at Li Yan, somewhat panicked. The events of tonight almost made him pee his pants in fright.

Li Yan shook his head: "Don't worry, just wait."

"They got what they wanted and even killed bandits to claim merit, they're in a good mood, they won't make things difficult for us."

Yue Bala was a bit confused, but the escort Wu Mao beside him gave a bitter smile.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but felt it was dull...

…………

Early morning, the smell of smoke mixed with blood drifted in the cold wind.

Puchi!

A bandit's head was chopped off, and the soldiers laughed and threw it directly onto the carriage.

In the carriage basket, human heads were piled like a mountain.

The Great Xuan Dynasty recorded merit by human heads. Although half of the bandits fled into the mountains last night, these four or five hundred heads were already no small merit.

"Madam Lu, please accept my condolences."

On the Niubeiliang official road, the garrison battalion commander arched his hands and said solemnly: "Don't worry, we won't let a single bandit in the mountains go, we will definitely slaughter them to comfort the spirit of Master Lu in heaven."

"Also, for the road ahead, I will send people to escort you all the way, and definitely won't let thieves disturb Master Lu."

Beside him, Feng Ping was so angry his face turned red, but he didn't dare to say more.

Madam Lu had tear stains all over her face and nodded: "This old woman thanks the General."

At this moment, her heart was also full of hatred, but she didn't dare let the other party notice. Supported by someone, she tremblingly boarded the carriage.

Watching the departing carriage, a flash of mockery crossed the garrison battalion commander's eyes, and he turned around: "Let them pass!"

With an order, the Niubeiliang pass opened again.

The merchants and martial artists who had been trapped here for many days finally breathed a sigh of relief and lined up to pass through Niubeiliang.

The team sending the dead home was naturally among them.

Wang Fu had already recovered and gave a bitter laugh: "This journey is really not peaceful."

Sha Lifei shook his head: "Don't worry, after passing the front camp post, it will be a smooth road all the way to Fengyang!"

Li Yan looked at Niubeiliang behind him, a flash of doubt crossing his eyes, then turned around: "Let's go."

Huala la!

Wang Fu threw a handful of paper money into the air.

"The dead return home, the journey is safe!"

"Whatever... don't come to disturb!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 104 =====