Chapter 126: Letting Go to Catch, a Chance Encounter at Sunset

"Men, with me!"

A furious roar rang out.

"RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE..."

A rustling sound came from the woods on both sides of the road. Immediately after, a dozen or so burly men charged out from the trees.

The leader had a vicious scar on his face and tattoos on his arms.

He made no attempt to conceal the Spiritual Energy fluctuations rippling from his body. The moment he appeared, he mobilized the Spiritual Energy within his Dantian and unleashed a powerful Spiritual Energy Wave—a clear show of force against the guards protecting the carriage.

"Second Rank Initial Stage...!!!"

Guard Captain Liu Jie hadn’t expected this. The leader of the attacking bandits was actually at the Second Rank Initial Stage, a level of cultivation equal to his own.

"You’re surrounded! If you know what’s good for you, drop your weapons. As long as you give up without a fight, we’ll be merciful and spare your lives..."

A bald man next to the scar-faced leader, wielding a machete, shouted arrogantly at their surrounded targets.

Guard Captain Liu Jie glanced around and spoke to a companion beside him, "Chen, we’ll hold these bandits off. You escort Miss Zhu and run for Dongwu City."

"Yes, sir," Guard Chen nodded.

"Boss, looks like they’re not planning to surrender. Let’s get ’em!" the bald man shouted to his leader after seeing Guard Captain Liu Jie whispering to Chen.

"Charge! Leave no one alive, except for Miss Zhu in the carriage." The scar-faced leader had also sensed Liu Jie’s plan. Without further hesitation, he gave the order to attack.

"Kill...!"

Instantly, the air filled with cries of battle. Led by the scar-faced man, the bandits charged the surrounded convoy.

"Everyone, help me hold these guys back! Cover the Miss’s escape!"

Guard Captain Liu Jie yelled to his comrades, then leaped from his horse to intercept the charging bandit chief—the scar-faced man with the same level of cultivation as himself.

"Go, now!" Guard Chen shouted to the carriage driver, who was scared out of his wits, while his comrades intercepted the other bandits.

"R-Right..." Jolted by Guard Chen’s shout, the terrified driver immediately whipped the horse.

"Giddy-up!"

With the driver’s sharp cry, the horse, stung by the whip, immediately pulled the carriage forward, bolting through the opening the guards had created.

Guard Captain Liu Jie brandished his Spiritual Longsword, which glowed with a faint golden Spiritual Light, and exchanged more than a dozen blows with the bandit leader.

"CLANG, CLANG, CLANG..."

Their Spiritual Longswords clashed, sending sparks flying with each ear-piercing ring of metal on metal.

Although the ferocious bandits had the advantage in numbers, the well-trained guards were no weaker in terms of overall strength.

They fought for several minutes, but neither side could gain the upper hand.

After exchanging dozens of blows with the scar-faced man, Guard Captain Liu Jie noticed something strange. Even after his Miss had escaped, the bandit leader before him didn’t seem anxious at all. Suddenly, an ominous premonition washed over him.

"Damn it... We’ve fallen into a trap!" After forcing the scar-faced man back with a swing of his sword, Liu Jie’s face turned ashen as he shouted to his comrades.

"Heh heh... A little late to realize it now. That Miss Zhu should already be in the hands of our San." Seeing Liu Jie’s reaction, the scar-faced man roared with laughter.

"Old Liu, what’s going on?" the guards asked Liu Jie, confused.

"These damned bandits... they never intended to capture the Miss here!" Liu Jie’s face was grim as he explained to his men. "He let her break through on purpose!"

"Old Liu, are you saying he already had another group waiting up the road to intercept the Miss and the others after they broke through?!!!"

"Yes...!!!"

Seeing the expressions on Liu Jie and the other guards turn utterly grim, the bald man laughed triumphantly.

"Hahaha... What a bunch of morons! Did you really think we were just bandits with all brawn and no brains?"

"Bastards!!!" One of the younger guards, furious and desperate, roared at the bandits. He unleashed the Spiritual Energy in his body, and his attacks instantly became ferocious.

"Brothers, tie them down! Don’t let them break through! Buy more time for San to get away with the Zhu Family’s young miss!"

Seeing the guards’ desperation, the scar-faced leader yelled to his underlings.

In truth, his earlier order to "leave no one alive, except for the Zhu Family’s young miss" was just an empty threat.

He knew that with his group’s strength, it would be impossible to kill Liu Jie’s entire retinue of guards.

The sun was setting, painting half the sky with a beautiful evening glow. The view was truly a feast for the eyes.

’Sigh, I’ve been walking all afternoon and still haven’t seen a hint of Dongwu City. I hope that teahouse owner wasn’t lying to me.’

Dressed in a black training suit with a backpack slung over his shoulders, Lin Li muttered to himself as he watched the distant sunset. He didn’t slow his pace, walking briskly along the packed dirt road.

’That teahouse owner probably didn’t lie. There’s no benefit in it for him, no reason to.’

Lin Li had spent the entire afternoon walking nearly fifty kilometers. To be honest, even though he was a Second Rank Initial Stage Cultivator with stamina far surpassing that of an ordinary person, he was starting to feel tired.

’Tomorrow, I’m going to a motorcycle shop to buy one. The next time I have to travel on a dirt road like this, I’m just riding.

’Running on my own two feet might be good for training, but it’s exhausting. More importantly, it’s just too time-consuming.’

Just as Lin Li was deciding to buy a motorcycle for transportation tomorrow, a clamor of sounds suddenly arose from behind him.

"SQUEAK, SQUEAK, SQUEAK..."

"CLIP, CLOP, CLIP, CLOP..."

"Keep up the pace! Once we’re past the woods ahead, we’ll be at Dongwu City soon!"

Lin Li glanced back and saw a rider galloping at high speed, followed by a brown carriage hurtling along.

’Whoa, you guys are going way too fast! Aren’t you speeding? What if you hit a pedestrian?’ Lin Li immediately stepped to the side of the road upon seeing the rider and carriage.

"RUMBLE..."

Suddenly, a loud noise echoed from the hillside by the road.

Lin Li looked ahead and saw a massive boulder rolling down the slope, coming to a stop in the middle of the dirt road.

Without needing a warning from Lin Li, the galloping rider and the speeding carriage slowed to a halt.

They both stopped about ten meters away from Lin Li, their expressions grim as they stared at the boulder blocking their path.