"This is the place! Those are their horses!" the woman shouted loudly, "This is a fat sheep, Brother Huang, don’t miss this chance!" Greed flashed in her eyes, as her earlier close observation revealed that although Lin Xin was dressed ordinarily, the inadvertently exposed fabrics betrayed their expensive, colorful cotton texture.
Since she couldn’t cozy up to him, the only option was to cash in with her old lover. These people were clearly outsiders, and with the many fierce beasts deep in Yue Lin Mountain, even if they died here, nobody would find out.
A gang of n quickly approached and sward them. The two skilled n left to watch the horses were only average in martial arts; they could handle five or six people, but against more than a dozen desperate and vicious bandits, even they were soon tightly bound and thrown to the ground.
"The people are gone, but the horses and packages are still here!" the bandit leader stepped forward and kicked the two n tied up on the ground.
"You’ve got quite the nerve!" Even bound, the two n were not afraid but instead sneered, with one of them even shouting aloud.
"Nerve? I, the Mixed Mountain Hawk, have always been bold!" the bandit with the golden earring laughed heinously.
He had ambushed many wealthy rchants and high-ranking officials on this mountain—no fewer than eighty. Despite the Governnt’s repeated attempts to capture and surround his lair, they never found it. With frequent escapes and possessing unique skills, he grew fearless of everything.
"The people are missing, but the packages are still here." Another bandit chuckled, carrying the untied packages.
"Give it to !"
The bandit with the golden earring snatched the best black package, tearing it open to see a great bunch of Gold Leaves inside, along with so small vials that seed to be dicinal pills.
"It’s golden sore dicine, the best kind," he said, opening a vial and slling it.
Though these were common items, their value was significant.
"Take the horses!" He laughed through his gold earring, waving a large hand as all the bandits began to skillfully untie the horses. Everyone was grinning from ear to ear with delight. Each of these horses was of high quality, and one even showed signs of being a legendary steed, promising a hefty price. This outing was a fortune made.
"Master, look how hard I’ve worked to get this news to you. With such a haul, can you spare a little for this poor girl?" The woman in the red dress cooed, coming over with a flirtatious smile.
"Of course! Of course, I’ll reward you! Keep watching in town for , and let know if any other fat sheep co by!" The bandit with the golden earring casually tossed a handful of Gold Leaves her way.
This haul was enough to cover his earnings for a year.
She caught the Gold Leaves, so falling to the ground, and bent over to pick them up. Her short skirt failed to cover her lower half, but she didn’t mind the heinous laughter and peeping of the bandits behind her as she joyfully tucked every leaf into her bosom.
"Let’s go!" the bandit with the golden earring said, having seen enough, looking at the two n on the ground, "Just kill these two."
"Wait!"
Suddenly, one bandit spoke up.
"Strategist?" the bandit with the golden earring looked at him, surprised, "What is it? If we don’t kill these two, should we take them as hostages?"
"Big Brother!" This bandit was different from the others; he was holding a small vial with a troubled expression. "Take a look at this."
He walked over to the bandit with the golden earring and handed him the vial.
"This is just ordinary golden sore dicine," the bandit with the golden earring said, confused.
"Look here." The strategist pointed to the bottom of the vial and turned it upside down.
Instantly a green symbol appeared at the bottom of the vial before their eyes—a clump of verdant bamboo, with a clear "heart" character at its center.
Seeing the symbol, the bandit with the golden earring’s hand shook, nearly dropping the vial.
"This is from the Manor in Lefu Territory... that Manor?"
The strategist looked at him, nodding with difficulty.
The color drained from the bandit with the golden earring’s face as he quickly stopped the bandits ready to kill the two n.
"Strategist... it seems we’ve, caused a big disaster...!"
The strategist took a deep breath.
"Big Brother, don’t panic. Your unique abilities have always served us well. This may be a danger, but it might also be an opportunity. Blessings and disasters are two sides of the sa coin,"
"Please, Strategist, save !" the bandit with the golden earring begged, trying to kneel but was supported by the other.
"You don’t have to be so formal!" the strategist quickly said, "The most urgent thing now..."
His gaze fell on the red-dress woman nearby, whom he saw happily counting the Gold Leaves.
The bandit with the golden earring instantly understood.
Clang!
With a fierce motion, he swung his sword forward for a brutal slash.
The blade faintly glimred with a yellow light, and the woman in red didn’t even have ti to react before she was diagonally cleaved in two.
Blood and organs burst forth, tumbling to the ground and splattering all over the gold earrings.
He wiped the blood on his face and, thinking about the trouble he might have found himself in, anger flared within him.
"Damn you, wench, you almost ruined my life!"
Sneering, he took his sword and started hacking viciously at the woman’s corpse to vent his fury.
"Soone co! Quickly untie these two brave n!"
He hurried over to the two bound individuals, shouting loudly as he went.
The surrounding bandits were stunned by this scene and sowhat bewildered, unsure of how to respond.
*****************
At the summit of Yue Lin Mountain, near the edge of the volcano’s mouth.
The scorching magma bubbled like boiling water, constantly sending up dense clusters of bubbles that grew from small to large, swelled, burst, and sent flecks of lava flying.
Lin Xin and Liu Zong stood at the edge, looking down. From the mouth of the volcano to the magma was a depth of over a hundred ters. The color of the rock walls changed from black at the top to gradually redder further down, and near the magma, it turned a bright red.
Waves of searing, pungent sulfur fus wafted up, making even Lin Xin and Liu Zong uncomfortable. Fortunately, they were no ordinary n; by circulating their inner Qi, they managed to withstand the harsh environnt.
"I’ll go down first to scout. Sect Master, please wait," Liu Zong said in a low voice. "The Earth Fire Gold Plum should be inside the stone wall’s caverns. This area has several fixed gathering spots."
"Be careful," Lin Xin nodded.
"Yes."
Liu Zong took down the thick rope he was carrying on his back, the surface of which was coated with a paint that was not easily flammable. He threw the rope down, then with a light leap, caught the rope and swung downwards.
Lin Xin waited above, watching as Liu Zong descended, swiftly finding a man-made recessed path in the stone wall.
After a while, Liu Zong reappeared, climbing up the rope and landing gently.
"Sect Master, I found it. There are several caves below, all marked with the special insignia of the Red Mansion."
"Red Mansion?" Lin Xin scoffed. "Let’s go down together!"
"There’s no need for the Sect Master to take such risks personally; allow to go down alone and gather it!" Liu Zong hastily advised.
"Are you sure you can do it alone?" Lin Xin asked back.
"I will need to prepare so breath-holding techniques and pills as my breath holding ti is rather short," Liu Zong nodded, "There’s nobody guarding this place, so it should not be an issue. I already know the way from scouting earlier, and the gathering will take at most half an hour."
"No one can guard this place either," Lin Xin laughed as well, noting that no vegetation surrounded the area and that the volcano erupted from ti to ti. Naturally, nobody dared to station themselves nearby. Perhaps higher-level experts wouldn’t fear it, but they would not care for sothing as trivial as Earth Fire Gold Plum.
"Make it quick."
"Understood!"
For the second ti, Liu Zong leaped down while Lin Xin waited above. Settling himself, he sat down cross-legged and started regulating his breathing, connecting with the Red Flower Sword.
Half an hour passed with no sign of activity from below.
Lin Xin frowned slightly, stood up, and peered into the depths of the volcano. All he could see was a fiery red haze, and the scorching sulfur fus made it difficult for his eyes to endure, even with the support and enhancent of Inner Qi and attributes.
Eventually, he gave up and waited a little longer. Almost an hour had passed and still, there was no movent from below.
"Sothing’s wrong!" He decisively drew the manor’s standard-issue longsword and swiftly descended the rope.
After damping the force with the rope three tis, he ca to a narrow path on the stone wall. With a light leap, he landed firmly onto the path.
In the path where breathing was impossible, Lin Xin held his breath. Faintly, he heard the sounds of a weapon clash and a weird, slight shrieking noise, like the call of a small monkey . . . (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian to vote for recomndation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian to read.)
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