Chapter 110 - 97 Bandits Blocking the Road_2

Sigh~

The hemp rope was damp and decayed, but once ignited by the talisman, it burned with extraordinary vigor, crackling and emitting a foul stench.

Seeing the others curious, Wang Daoxuan didn’t keep secrets and explained, "Hanging oneself in an abandoned temple means either harboring deep resentment or knowing some evil arts."

"Even if the corpse is dealt with, the resentment and yin soul linger on the hemp rope, bound to cause trouble sooner or later. If I’m not mistaken, it will first invade dreams to possess someone, inducing them to worship the Dragon King in the old temple, and latching onto the divine statue to absorb the incense."

"Many evil gods in different places have formed this way. Since we’ve encountered it, we might as well eliminate the future threat."

"I see."

The driver, Old Meng, heaved a sigh of relief and exclaimed, "Lucky for us to have the Daoist and Young Hero Li with us. Facing this kind of situation, we would have blundered into disaster unwittingly."

It was just a small matter, so no one took it to heart.

Weary from the journey, and with it being deep into the night, Li Yan wasn’t in the mood to cook, so he lit a campfire with everyone, cleaned up a bit, then nibbled on some dry food before turning in early.

The silent night, faint glimmering from the old temple’s fire...

From under the trees on the distant hillside, a few heads slowly emerged, eyeing the temple down below. They didn’t have the Thousand-mile Eye, but the hidden firelight was quite obvious.

"What did Hei Po say?"

"It’s a team conducting a funeral."

"Big brother, their horses are worth a good sum, and they don’t have many people. Why don’t we just hit them?"

"Coward, robbing a funeral procession, and you’re not worried about the bad luck?"

"What bad luck? With what we can grab before we disband, who knows if our stronghold will still exist next year..."

This statement made everyone fall silent.

"Fine!"

A somber voice arose,

"Without grazing at night, a horse grows not fat. We can give it a try!"

...

"Spare my life, great hero!"

Torches blazed brightly in front of the White Dragon Temple where a line of people knelt.

"You bunch of cowards!" Sha Lifei, his eyelids swollen with fury, scolded as he wielded his broadsword, "I finally get a good night’s sleep, and you choose now for a robbery? What’s the rush..."

The bandits cowered, sneaking glances.

This bald fellow, with his fierce look and bluster, might intimidate, but as bandits themselves, they had seen all manner of crooked faces; they were not so easily scared.

What truly terrified them was the pretty-faced young man playing with his knife.

They only wanted a night raid, but this young white face seemed like a ghost in the dark, swift and ruthless. Many hadn’t even reacted before their arms and legs were slashed.

Eventually, they couldn’t even light their torches for illumination.

Left with no choice against such a tough nut, they could only kneel and beg for mercy.

Of course, they didn’t know that for Li Yan, the night gave him the advantages of time and terrain; he had no fear of ambush.

His restraint was obviously to extract information.

Seeing all the bandits looking towards him, Li Yan gave a faint glance, "Uncle Sha, count to ten. The first to talk lives, the rest, we kill!"

"I’ll talk!"

"I’ll talk!"

"Get lost, I’m first..."

There was no need to count, as the bandits vied to speak first, even going so far as to fight each other.

Li Yan: "..."

Sha Lifei snickered and pointed with his knife, "You lot are honestly stupid, lacking even a hint of loyalty. You, speak first!"

"Yes! Yes!"

The chosen bandit was ecstatic but a bit embarrassed, smiling cautiously, "Great hero, what do you want us to say?"

Li Yan spoke solemnly, "The bandits on Niu Bei Ridge, why have they become so rampant lately? Is there something happening on the mountain?"

"Yes, yes, the hero is right, something bad has happened."

No need for coercion, and the bandit immediately began to spill his grievances, "You might not know, hero, that Niubeiliang Mountain is vast and sits right on the ancient Qin Chu path. It’s never been short of ’oil and water,’ and there are at least a dozen strongholds on the mountain."

"Normally, everyone got along without trouble. Territories were marked out, and whichever bandit’s territory a fat sheep strayed into, it belonged to them. And they wouldn’t be too excessive, so as to avoid attracting a government crackdown."

"But just a few days ago, the strongest stronghold, Old Dragon Fort, suddenly issued an order that all other strongholds should submit to them; those who refused must leave Niubeiliang."

"Normally, uniting strongholds is no big deal, maybe lighting an incense stick’s worth of time, but there have to be rules, not to mention Old Dragon Fort has gone crazy—acting all domineering and tyrannical..."

"One of the village chiefs didn’t believe in such threats, so he personally led a few skilled men into Old Dragon Fort. He was a tough man at the peak of Hidden Energy, but he was directly killed; only one man survived and ran back. That fellow was scared out of his wits, kept saying there were ghosts..."

"With things like this happening, everyone could only admit defeat. Some decided to pledge allegiance to Old Dragon Fort, but even more decided to leave. So they’ve been coming down the mountain one after another, wanting to do a few more jobs before winter sets in..."

Listening to this person’s rambling, Li Yan fell into deep thought.

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and said, "Looking at this situation, there’s not only a skilled fighter but also a Magician. Even someone at the peak of Hidden Energy has been taken down. With that kind of skill, why bother targeting bandits for a living?"

"There must be something else they’re after!"

Sha Lifei’s eyes lit up, "I’ve heard of some formidable bandit gangs uncovering great tombs in the deep mountains, not even attempting to conceal their activities. Often they muster a large number of people to dig—could there be treasure in these mountains?"

"There’s no ancient tomb."

The kneeling bandit shook his head, "To be honest, some strongholds, besides robbing fat sheep, also tried to search for treasures in the Qinling Mountains. There’s no shortage of bandits skilled in locating treasures, but there are no ancient tombs on Niubeiliang."

Hearing this, Li Yan’s interest was piqued, "Oh, what kind of treasures are hidden within the Qinling Mountains?"

"There are many!"

The bandit seemed to get excited as well, spitting as he spoke, "The treasures buried within the Qinling are innumerable."

"It is said that Emperor Qin, after unifying the Eight Desolates and Six Harmonies, collected all the weapons in the world and cast twelve golden statues, unfathomable to gods and ghosts. Later, during the chaos of the Qin dynasty, they were hidden within these very mountains..."

"There’s also the ancient Hua Xu, rumored to be the dwelling place of immortals..."

"The most fearsome are the Ten Absolute Evil Tombs, as well as the Immortal Palace built for Emperor Qin by Fang Xian Dao, hiding the secret to eternal life..."

"And there’s the Qinling white python god; some have seen it coil around an entire mountain peak—exhale and a rosy mist fills the air, inhale and the sky clears and brightens. Rumor has it that whoever possesses its python treasure can instantly become an immortal..."

"Enough of that!"

Li Yan was gradually becoming speechless.

Sha Lifei also laughed, "You simpleton really have a knack for spouting nonsense. Why don’t you say that the Queen Mother’s Immortal Peach Orchard is also in the Qinling Mountains?"

Wang Daoxuan could not help but chuckle, "Those twelve golden statues were melted down by Dong Zhuo long ago. Besides, the locations of major tombs in Guanzhong have never been hidden, but none of the treasure hunters who entered them has returned. Even if such places exist, no one dares to enter."

"What you’re talking about is nothing but folk rumors."

"Yes, yes, I’m just a man of little knowledge. Don’t hold it against me."

The bandit quickly nodded in agreement, yet disbelief filled his eyes.

"Let’s leave it at that."

Li Yan asked in a solemn voice, "Is it still possible to pass through Niubeiliang now?"

"It’s impassable now."

The bandit hurriedly shook his head, "If it were yesterday, with your skills, hero, you could have sneaked through at night and had a chance."

"But now, the route is completely blocked."

Li Yan frowned, "What’s happened now?"

With a forced smile, the bandit said, "Just today, news spread that the former Deputy Governor of Shan State, Lu Kang, is retiring back to his homeland. Using himself as bait to attract attention, he actually privately hired several escort agencies from Chang’an to escort a batch of valuable goods home."

"Because these goods are of shocking value, the escorts dared not draw attention to themselves and disguised themselves, taking secret routes."

"Right now, the strongholds on the mountain have united, looking to take down this cargo before disbanding. Every pass and path, ancient or mountainous, is guarded; not even a fly could get through."

"Let’s not even talk about the merchant teams—peddlers, theater troupes, and even two escort agencies have been blocked on the road. Hero, you’re carrying such a large coffin..."

"It’d be impossible not to raise suspicions!"

Sha Lifei cursed, "Well, isn’t that something—blocking the official road, killing high officials, you bandits sure are bold."

The bandit offered an awkward smile, "Well, since we’re disbanding anyway, might as well go for a big score."

Li Yan asked gravely, "Where are those people being held up?"

"Qilipu, Changfeng Inn!"