Chapter 98: Bandits Block the Road

“Oh?”

Li Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What happened?”

The man with the pudaō cursed: “Our village almost all makes paper—we used to have steady buyers who settled accounts every ten days, but the caravan was robbed by bandits, and even the owner was killed.”

“Even rabbits don’t eat the grass by their own burrows!”

“They’re dead—how could we possibly demand payment? But the New Year’s coming soon, and no other caravans dare come. We have no choice but to deliver it ourselves.”

“Sigh… poor Liu Er and his family—how will they survive?”

Sha Lifei patted their chests reassuringly: “Don’t worry. The road from here to Chang’an is still safe. We’ve traveled this whole way without incident.”

“Thank you.”

The man bowed his fists in gratitude, then hesitated, struggling to speak: “To be honest, we’re from Shilipu. You’ll have to pass through Shilipu to cross Niubeiliang.”

“Our families are waiting for food and drink. We must press on to Chang’an, so we plan to leave one man to drive the cart and return Liu Er’s body home.”

“We fear more wild beasts on the road—could he travel with you?”

Li Yan paused, then nodded. “Fine.”

The bandit problem near Niubeiliang was severe; they’d planned to stop and rest anyway, to gather information and find a way forward. Having someone follow them was no issue.

“Thank you!” The man’s face lit up with gratitude.

“No trouble. Just a small favor.”

Li Yan’s expression remained calm, but doubt stirred in his mind.

Even the fiercest bandits rarely attacked nearby villages—first, there was little profit; second, they often knew the villagers personally.

Some bandit strongholds even drew their main manpower from nearby villages—those who couldn’t survive would simply toss aside their tools, pick up a blade, and climb the mountains to become outlaws.

Yet now, the bandit problem had grown so severe—unafraid of drawing official crackdowns, uncaring about angering the villagers below…

Something had happened on Niubeiliang!

…………

Shilipu existed nearly everywhere across Shenzhou.

The name usually had two origins.

One: villages surrounding major cities, often with Wulipu, Qilipu, and others—arriving at such places meant you were close to the big city.

The other: tied to post stations. Near Niubeiliang stood Yingpan Post, once a Cao Wei garrison guarding Hanzhong, later converted into a post station.

Because the ancient Qinling Trail was plagued by wild beasts, caravans no longer lingered—they pressed on after sunset and reached Shilipu deep into the night.

Hearing news of deaths, the pitch-black village quickly lit up with torches; many rushed over, followed by the heart-wrenching wails of women.

No one could console them. Seeing the mangled corpses, many more felt a chill of sorrow.

Li Yan and his group had nothing to say—they could only wait silently nearby.

At that moment, an old man leaned on his cane and stepped forward, bowing to them: “I am Guo Fu’an, village head of Shilipu. Thank you for your help—I’ve heard everything. Had it not been for you, more would have died.”

“I’ve ordered hot meals prepared for you…”

“No!”

Before Guo Cunzheng finished, several men shouted in protest: “Village Head, the saying goes: don’t let a cold coffin enter the village, don’t let mourners cross your threshold. They’re escorting the dead! The village’s already had enough misfortune—what if they bring bad luck?”

“Shut up!”

Guo Cunzheng snapped, then flushed with embarrassment: “Forgive me, folks—country folk have no manners…”

“No need.”

Li Yan shook his head. “Is there anywhere nearby to rest? We won’t enter the village—no trouble needed.”

The village head visibly relaxed, pointing southeast: “There’s a White Dragon Temple over there. It once honored the River Dragon King, but after the river changed course, it was abandoned. If you don’t mind, you may stay there temporarily.”

“Thank you.”

Li Yan nodded without delay and led the group away.

Not far from the village, Sha Lifei sneered: “That village head’s clever—he had those shouting men in his pocket. Didn’t want us in the village? Fine. But he played this little game anyway!”

The team leader, Yue Bala, sighed bitterly: “Sha Daxia, transporting corpses—no village in Shenzhou lets them in.”

“If we hadn’t saved their man, that old headman might’ve sent someone far out to drive us off outright.”

Sha Lifei knew the custom well and said no more.

……

Though crafty, Guo Cunzheng hadn’t lied.

The group hadn’t traveled three li before they saw the White Dragon Temple.

The temple stood beside a dry riverbed, overgrown with waist-high weeds. Under the moonlight, it was dim and shadowy; the night wind rustled the grass, as if hiding something.

The temple was small—a village-built shrine, just one tiled room with a brick-walled courtyard.

Though abandoned, even the wooden gate collapsed, the building itself remained sturdy.

“Wait.”

Li Yan raised a hand to stop them, formed the Yang Seal, sniffed the air, then gripped Guanshan Dao and strode into the dark temple.

Instantly, a chilling killing intent spread.

Everyone shuddered—but they knew Li Yan’s methods.

When Li Yan emerged from the ruined temple, Sha Lifei hurried over: “What’s it like inside? Unclean?”

Li Yan casually tossed a rotted hemp rope on the ground. “Nothing. Just a hanged ghost.”

“Huh?!”

Sha Lifei’s scalp prickled. “That old village head trying to kill us?”

Wang Daoxuan chuckled. “Don’t overthink it. The corpse was probably handled already. Villagers might not know how to clean it properly. Li Yan, is that all?”

Li Yan nodded. “That’s all.”

Wang Daoxuan said nothing more. He pulled salt and cinnabar from his robe, sprinkled them over the rope, stuck a talisman on it, and chanted a spell to ignite it.

Hū~

The damp, rotting hemp rope blazed fiercely, crackling and releasing a foul stench.

Seeing the others curious, Wang Daoxuan explained: “Hanging yourself in a ruined temple means either deep resentment or knowledge of dark arts.”

Even if the body is removed, the grievance and spirit cling to the rope; eventually, disaster will follow. If I’m correct, it will first enter dreams, possess someone, and make them worship the Dragon King of the old temple—then attach itself to the statue to absorb incense.

“Many local evil deities form this way. Since we encountered it, we might as well remove the threat.”

“I see.”

The cart driver, Old Meng, exhaled in relief. “Thank heaven for the Daoist and Li Shaoxia. If we’d run into this, we’d have stumbled into disaster without knowing.”

It was a minor matter—they didn’t dwell on it.

Tired from the journey, deep in the night, Li Yan had no appetite to cook. He lit a fire with the others, swept the area clean, gnawed on dried rations, and went to sleep early.

In the silent night, the temple’s fire glowed faintly…

On a distant hillside beneath the trees, several figures slowly peeked out, staring down at the ruined temple. Though they had no telescopic sight, the firelight was unmistakable.

“What did Black Granny say?”

“It’s a corpse escort team.”

“Big Brother, their horses are worth something, and they’re few. Why not just strike now?” “You fool! Robbing a corpse escort? Don’t you fear bad luck?”

“Bad luck? Before we split up, grab what we can. Who knows if the gang will even exist next year…”

The words silenced them.

“Fine!”

A grim voice spoke:

“Horses don’t fatten without night grass. Let’s try it!”

…………

Great hero, spare our lives!

Torches blazed; a line of bandits knelt before the White Dragon Temple.

“You bastards!” Sha Lifei’s eyes were swollen with rage. He swung his long blade, cursing: “I finally got a decent sleep, and you rob us? Can’t you pick a better time? Are you that desperate?”

The bandits hunched, glancing furtively.

!.

That bald giant looked fierce and loud—but bandits had seen every twisted face. They weren’t afraid.

What truly terrified them was the pale-faced youth sitting there, playing with his knife.

They’d launched a night ambush, but that pale youth moved like a ghost in darkness—swift, ruthless. Many hadn’t even reacted before their limbs were slashed.

Later, they couldn’t even light torches for light.

No choice—they had to kneel and beg.

Of course, they didn’t know: for Li Yan, once night fell, he held both heaven’s timing and earth’s advantage—why fear ambush?

He held back only to gather information.

Seeing all the bandits staring at him, Li Yan glanced coldly. “Sha Laoshu, count to ten. Whoever speaks first lives—the rest die.”

“I’ll talk!”

“I’ll talk!”

“Move aside—I spoke first…”

Before he even began counting, the bandits surged forward, shoving and fighting each other.

Li Yan: “….”

Sha Lifei snorted a laugh, pointing his blade. “You fools are honest, aren’t you? Not a shred of loyalty. You—start talking!”

“Yes! Yes!”

The bandit singled out beamed with joy, opened his mouth but felt awkward, then cautiously bowed and smiled: “Great hero, what would you have us say?”

Li Yan said gravely: “Why have the bandits on Oxback Ridge become so brazen lately? Has something happened on the mountain?”

“That’s right, that’s right, Great Hero, something has indeed happened.”

Without any coercion, the bandit began pouring out his grievances: “Great Hero, you may not know, Oxback Ridge is vast and controls the ancient Qin-Chu road, never short of plunder. There are at least a dozen major and minor camps on the mountain.”

“Originally, everyone coexisted peacefully, dividing the mountain by territory—whatever lambs entered a camp’s domain belonged to that camp, and no one dared act too violently, lest they draw the authorities’ crackdown.”

“But just a few days ago, the strongest camp, Old Dragon Camp, suddenly declared that all other camps must submit to him, or get off Oxback Ridge.”

“Technically, merging camps and sharing one incense stick isn’t wrong, but there should be rules. Moreover, Old Dragon Camp has gone mad—its actions have turned brutal and tyrannical…”

“One camp leader, disbelieving the rumors, personally led several skilled men to sneak into Old Dragon Camp—he was a formidable expert at the peak of Hidden Force, yet he was killed outright. Only one man escaped alive, but he was driven insane, babbling about ghosts…”

“After this incident, everyone had no choice but to accept defeat. Some decided to join Old Dragon Camp, but most chose to leave, so they descended the mountain, hoping to make a few more raids before winter arrived…”

Listening to the bandit’s rambling, Li Yan fell into thought.

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and said: “This situation suggests not only a skilled martial artist, but also a sorcerer. Even a peak Hidden Force expert was eliminated. With such power, why not pursue a better livelihood?”

“Of course he has another goal!”

Sha Lifei’s eyes lit up: “I’ve heard that some powerful bandit gangs, deep in the mountains, have discovered ancient tombs—and they don’t even bother hiding them. They often gather large crews to dig. Could there be treasure on this mountain?”

“There’s no ancient tomb here.”

The bandit kneeling on the ground shook his head: “To be honest, some camps, besides robbing travelers, have tried searching for treasure in the Qinling. They’ve got plenty of earth-seekers skilled in gold-finding and vein-location—but there’s not a single ancient tomb on Oxback Ridge.”

Hearing this, Li Yan grew curious: “Oh? What treasures are said to be hidden in the Qinling?”

“There are countless of them!”

The bandit, now energized, spat wildly: “The Qinling holds treasures beyond count.”

“Legend says Emperor Qin unified the eight directions, collected all weapons under heaven, and cast twelve golden statues—mystical, beyond gods and demons. When Qin fell into chaos, they were hidden in the Qinling…”

“There’s also the ancient Huaxu Kingdom, said to be the abode of immortals…”

“Most terrifying are the Ten Absolute Evil Tombs, and the Qin Emperor’s Immortality Palace built by the Fangxian Sect—containing the secret to eternal life…”

“And the White Serpent God of the Qinling—some claim to have seen it, its body coiled around the entire peak. It exhales, and rainbow light spreads; it inhales, and heaven clears, earth brightens. Legend says whoever obtains its serpent treasure will instantly become an immortal…”

“Enough, enough!”

Li Yan grew increasingly speechless.

Sha Lifei chuckled: “You fool, you’re full of nonsense. Why not say Queen Mother’s Peach Garden is also in the Qinling?”

Wang Daoxuan laughed wryly: “The twelve golden statues were melted down by Dong Zhuo long ago. Besides, the locations of many large tombs in Guanzhong were never hidden—but not a single earth-seeker who entered ever came out. Even if such places exist, no one dares enter.”

“All you’ve described are mere folk tales.”

“Yes, yes, I’m just an ignorant fool—please don’t blame me.”

The bandit hurriedly nodded in agreement, yet his eyes were filled with disbelief.

“Forget about that.”

Li Yan asked gravely: “Can we still pass through Oxback Ridge?”

“No, you can’t.”

The bandit quickly shook his head: “If it were yesterday, with your skill, you might have slipped through under cover of night. But now, the road is completely blocked.”

“What’s happened now?”

The bandit smiled apologetically: “Today, news arrived: Former Left Assistant Governor of Shaizhou, Lu Kang, is retiring and returning home. The old man used himself as bait to draw attention, while secretly hiring several Chang’an escort agencies to transport a valuable cargo back.”

“Because the cargo is so valuable, the escort masters kept it quiet, disguising themselves and taking a covert route.”

“Now, all the camps on the mountain have united, planning to seize this cargo before disbanding. Every path—ancient road and mountain trail—is guarded. Even a fly can’t get through.”

“As for merchant caravans, porters, opera troupes—even two escort agencies—all have been blocked. Great Hero, you’re carrying such a large coffin…”

“You can’t possibly avoid suspicion!”

Sha Lifei cursed: “Damn it, blocking an official road, targeting a high official—your nerve is unbelievable.”

The bandit grinned awkwardly: “We’re going to disband anyway. Might as well make one big haul.”

Li Yan asked gravely: “Where are those people trapped?”

“Qili Pu, Changfeng Inn!”

Recommend a friend’s book—a true academic genius, a PhD whose work went viral online, full of internet memes, fascinating and entertaining.

Recommend a book by a friend—a true academic genius and PhD, whose work went viral and created many internet memes, both entertaining and compelling.

(End of chapter)