Chapter 290 - 277: This Is Bad

"A reason not to kill us..." Zhang Xiaoshan and the other two turned deathly pale.

He’d taken the only Sumeru Ring among the three of them, yet he still needed a reason.

’This means the contents weren’t nearly enough to make him spare us...’

’All our valuables combined can’t satisfy him...’

Suddenly, inspiration struck Qu Rong. Overjoyed, she exclaimed, "Sir, we have Thousand-leaf Dew at Qingfeng Stronghold! If you spare us, we can lead you there to collect it!"

"Thousand-leaf Dew?" Shen Lang raised an eyebrow, his expression softening slightly. "Thousand-leaf Dew is the sap of the Demon Companion Grass, found near the lair of a Seventh Level Demon Beast—the Fire Raccoon Beast. It contains a trace of naturally occurring Nanli Flame and is one of the most crucial ingredients in most Body Refining Potions. It’s not that I’m underestimating you, but your Qingfeng Stronghold is just a bandits’ nest. You hardly have any Spirit Martial Realm masters, yet you dare go after a Seventh Level Demon Beast?"

"A Seventh Level Demon Beast is equivalent to a powerful Martial Artist at the Xuanwu Realm First Heaven or higher. The Fire Raccoon Beast’s Innate Divine Technique, the Nanli Flame, incinerates everything in its path—it can melt even Refined Gold and Profound Iron in an instant. Are you luring me there to fight it, hoping I get burned to a crisp?"

Qu Rong waved her hands frantically. "No, no, no! We wouldn’t dare do something like that... For years, our Qingfeng Stronghold has been making offerings to the Fire Raccoon Beast, so it allows us to collect one drop of Thousand-leaf Dew every three months. And because its lair is on Celestial City Peak—which you can only get to by passing through our stronghold—we’ve maintained exclusive access. Other factions want it but can’t get to it. That’s how our stronghold has managed to survive in Illusion Mist City all these years!"

"Hmm, that’s not bad news. If what you say is true, I might consider sparing you."

As he spoke, Shen Lang took Qu Rong’s hand and glanced at her palm. Seeing no Sumeru Ring, he reached his right hand directly into her pocket.

Beside them, the corners of Zhang Xiaoshan’s and Wang Dazhu’s eyes twitched. They got the wrong idea and quickly averted their gazes, pretending they hadn’t seen a thing.

Seeing her chance, Qu Rong’s eyes immediately turned sultry. She started batting her eyelashes at Shen Lang, her body twisting like a snake as she pressed herself against him...

Shen Lang froze, completely baffled.

A moment later, his face fell. "Ma’am, please have some self-respect," he said grimly. "I rob for treasure, not for pleasure!"

The words had barely left his mouth when he pulled a Storage Pouch from Qu Rong’s pocket and tucked it away without a second glance.

A look of stunned disbelief washed over Qu Rong’s face, which then instantly flushed crimson. She wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it.

Meanwhile, Wang Dazhu meekly handed over his Storage Pouch. The stout bandit on the side had already gathered everyone’s belongings and brought them to Shen Lang.

Seeing a glimmer of hope for survival, Zhang Xiaoshan said respectfully, "Sir, this is a misunderstanding, a complete misunderstanding! Our Leader told us that someone matching your description would be passing through. He said that stopping you, or capturing you and bringing you to the stronghold, would be a great service... He also said you were an expert hired by a rival stronghold and might be a threat to our Qingfeng Stronghold. So when we saw you were skilled with Arrays and had trapped us, we fought like cornered animals, trying to subdue you with everything we had..."

"We hope that once you have the Thousand-leaf Dew, you’ll spare our lives, sir. We’ll never dare to cross you again!"

Wang Dazhu shook his head so hard it looked like a blur. "If we’d known you were this strong," he boomed, "there’s no way in hell I would’ve picked a fight with you!"

Shen Lang frowned. "Who is this leader of yours? How does he know about me? And how exactly did he describe me?"

Seeing Shen Lang’s expression relax, Zhang Xiaoshan’s heart leaped with joy. He quickly said, "To be honest, we don’t really know who our Leader is either..."

"Hmph. Are you messing with me?" Shen Lang’s expression darkened, and a dangerous glint flashed in his eyes.

Zhang Xiaoshan swallowed hard. "Please, sir, let me explain! Our current Leader arrived at Qingfeng Stronghold a month ago and told our old leader to step down. The old leader refused and led several of his top men to kill him, but he killed them all instead."

"Truthfully, we still don’t know who he is. He’s incredibly handsome and suave. We suspect his Cultivation is at least Spirit Martial Realm Third Heaven... He told us a young man in black, carrying an ancient and unadorned long saber, would be passing through. He said this youth was an expert in Array Restrictions and that we should handle him with care. That’s really all we know."

Shen Lang mulled it over for a moment. "Handsome and suave? That’s completely useless information... What’s his weapon? What kind of Cultivation Technique does he use?"

"Our Leader uses a Silver Spear," Qu Rong chimed in. "He’s as fast as lightning and skilled in a Water Element Technique."

’It seems he’s deliberately hiding his identity... Oh well. I’m going for the Thousand-leaf Dew anyway, so I’ll be meeting him shortly.’ Shen Lang stood up and said calmly, "Alright then, everyone. Lead me to your Qingfeng Stronghold to collect the Thousand-leaf Dew. And while we’re there, let’s see just who this mysterious leader of yours really is."

The poor bandits from Qingfeng Stronghold, though none were missing limbs, were all half-dead. They could only prop each other up as they staggered to their feet, swaying as they struggled to follow Shen Lang toward Qingfeng Mountain, where their stronghold was located.

As the group of about a dozen men had just exited Cloud Canyon, a cloud of dust billowed in the distance as a lone rider galloped furiously toward them.

His voice arrived before he did: "Three Leaders, terrible news!"

Zhang Xiaoshan and the other two leaders rolled their eyes, barely able to summon the energy to acknowledge him.

’Terrible news? Could things possibly get any worse than this?’

’Their underlings were in relatively okay shape, but while their own injuries weren’t fatal, it would take them months to recover.’

’Could anything really be worse than this?’

Just as the thought crossed their minds, the rider vaulted from his galloping horse, landing on one knee. "Three Leaders, get back to the stronghold, quickly!" he yelled. "Linglong Mountain, Lianyun Stronghold, and the Lone Wolf Mercenary Corps from Blade Peak have teamed up! They’ve already fought their way halfway up the mountain! The Leader is holding them off with our brothers, using the terrain to fight to the death!"

"What!"

Zhang Xiaoshan and the other two leaders’ faces went white with shock.

’Damn it all. It’s true what they say: when it rains, it pours. When your luck’s out, everything goes wrong!’

’This group used to have some fighting strength, but now Shen Lang had left them all either injured or maimed. It was a struggle just to stay on their feet. How could they possibly go back and fight a pitched battle?’

’And against a joint attack from multiple factions, no less!’

Zhang Xiaoshan, the sharpest of the three, dropped to his knees before Shen Lang with a thud. "The very survival of Qingfeng Stronghold is at stake! I beg you to help us, sir! We are willing to serve you like slaves to repay this debt!"

Wang Dazhu and Qu Rong immediately knelt as well. With a collective thud, the entire group behind them dropped to their knees.

"Hmph. Your heads are still on your shoulders only because I’m letting them stay there. And now you have the gall to ask me to help your Qingfeng Stronghold? You’re highway robbers who run roughshod over this area. You’re lucky I haven’t decided to just wipe your stronghold from the map, and you want me to help you fight *other* strongholds?"

Shen Lang said with a grim expression, "A man’s pride is worth more than gold. Get on your feet, all of you!"

Zhang Xiaoshan and the others looked like they were about to cry. If Shen Lang refused to help, it would truly be the end of Qingfeng Stronghold.

Right now, Shen Lang was their only hope.

This youth was terrifyingly unpredictable. He had seized control of a Maze Array they’d spent half a month preparing in the blink of an eye. His skill with Arrays was simply divine, beyond all comprehension.

As for his actual strength, the three leaders still had no idea of its depths. A mere snort had been enough to shatter the giant serpent Qu Rong had conjured. A single, casual punch had sent Wang Dazhu—one of the three strongest men in Qingfeng Stronghold—flying, his bones broken and tendons torn.

And when facing Zhang Xiaoshan, who prided himself on his speed, Shen Lang had barely moved. He’d countered endless motion with stillness, and a single, careless kick had almost crippled him...

’If he doesn’t intervene, even with how strong the new Leader is, there’s no way he can hold off an attack from three factions at once.’

’But if he does... Qingfeng Stronghold will be saved!’

The corners of Zhang Xiaoshan’s mouth twitched. In a hoarse voice, he said, "Sir, while it’s true we’re bandits, our Qingfeng Stronghold has always maintained a good relationship with the local people. We’d never rob the poor... Even with the merchants we hold up in Cloud Canyon, we never take everything. We always leave them enough to get by, so they aren’t completely ruined."

"We... we were all wandering Martial Artists once," he continued. "We’ve known our share of hardship, so we understand the struggles of the poor... Qingfeng Stronghold survives mainly on the Thousand-leaf Dew and a few poor-quality mineral veins on Qingfeng Mountain. People may look down on us, but we truly haven’t done anything heinous!"

"I know you won’t just take my word for it, but if you ask around in Illusion Mist City, you’ll find that I’m telling the truth... If a single word I’ve said is a lie, a man of your immense power can come back and kill us at any time!"

"Yes, sir, please, help us!" the other bandits cried out, tears and snot streaming down their faces. "There are over a hundred of our brothers still up on the mountain!"

Shen Lang’s cold gaze swept over the crowd. He was rather shocked to see their display of genuine emotion.

’Most bandit nests are filled with deceit and backstabbing—just a disorderly mob cobbled together, scraping by. The moment a crisis hits, it’s every man for himself.’

’In their eyes, loyalty is just a word. Brothers are meant to be betrayed. When push comes to shove, no one gives a damn if anyone else lives or dies.’

’It isn’t just bandits, either. Many Sects are the same.’

’For personal gain, they’d betray friends and brothers in a heartbeat. Murder and robbery are commonplace, and wiping out entire families is as easy as flipping a hand...’

’But these bandits... after I beat them half to death, they hear their home is under attack, and their first instinct isn’t to run for the hills, but to beg *me* to help?’

’Now this is an exception...’

While Shen Lang was considering this, the young messenger had taken the opportunity to size up the scene. He spoke up, a little hesitantly, "Excuse me, young hero... but is your name, by any chance, Shen Lang?"

"Hm?"

Shen Lang’s eyes snapped open, a brilliant light flashing within them. A terrifying pressure suddenly erupted from him, sweeping over everyone present and scaring the messenger so badly that he fell flat on his rear.