The riders were all burly men with fierce faces.
They had bows and arrows slung across their backs and carried broadswords at their waists, starting to curse loudly from a distance, acting arrogantly and domineeringly.
Upon hearing this, Sha Lifei was not pleased at all and glared back while cursing, "Which bastard from which path are you, not knowing enough to watch your dirty mouth when you make a living in this world?"
These men were dressed, clearly not like ordinary folk.
Li Yan and the others coldly watched, their bodies radiating an evil qi.
"Stop!"
Seemingly recognizing they were not easy to provoke, the man waved his hand to stop his followers and surveyed them with a cold gaze, asking in a deep voice, "Which path do you all come from?"
Sha Lifei snorted coldly, "From the lands of the Qin Emperor (Guanzhong), with eyes bright and sharp (knowing the rules of the pugilistic world), I wouldnât do something distasteful!"
The man narrowed his eyes slightly, "From a family of the rivers and lakes, fed by the waters of the Five Lakes and the Yangtze River, worshiping the Ancestor of the raft drum."
"Theyâre from the Pai Sect!"
Old Man Zhangâs pupils shrank as he whispered a warning.
Seeing their expressions, the man revealed a mocking smile and lazily decided against further discourse, commanding, "Since we are comrades of the pugilistic world, letâs not resort to violence, to avoid ruining the harmony."
"Turn around and leave!"
Li Yan, having already formed a bad impression of these people from the Pai Sect, was even more displeased and said sternly, "Weâre just passing through. Whatever you want to do, we couldnât care less, scram!"
"Courting death!"
A fierce light flashed in the manâs eyes as his followers bent their bows and notched their arrows, ready to strike them down right then and there.
Sha Lifei couldnât help but laugh, falling silent.
Inside the cabin, Lv San was teasing a little white fox, paying no attention as he patted the demon gourd beside him.
Buzz!
A swarm of Poison Bees whizzed out.
The one who ate the most of that Earth Dragon meat a few days ago was not the little white fox, nor the hawk, but this demon gourd.
Being a creature already possessed of Dao, the nourishing blood-boosting and Yin Evil Qi-containing Earth Dragon meat was an immense tonic.
Lv San had cut a full ten-odd jin, all consumed by the demon gourd.
Now, the inside of the gourd was teeming with bee pupae, not only replenishing the previously lost Poison Bees, but their venom had also become even more overbearing.
This bee venom was a form of Yang Poison.
Once bitten, whether human or animal, one would experience unbearable piercing pain, as if a red-hot steel awl was plunged into flesh.
"Ah!"
The men crumpled to the ground before they could react, screaming and rolling about in agony, even scaring off the horses.
Of course, it wasnât meant to be fatal.
"Pah! What a bunch of cowards!"
After the Poison Bees returned, Sha Lifei spat disdainfully, leaped to the riverbank, and walked over to the men.
These men had already been stung so badly their faces were swollen like steamed buns, wailing in pain.
Sha Lifei directly grabbed one by the head and cursed, "Shooting yourself in the foot, now speak, why are you blocking our way?"
The man, in extreme pain and knowing they were not to be trifled with, dared not speak recklessly, and with a thick tongue, said, "It was... an order from above, to block this road, saying there are Evil Spirits in the mountains, prohibiting passage."
Sha Lifei looked skeptical, "Evil Spirits? It wouldnât be some trickery youâve cooked up, would it?"
"No... no."
The man, his face twisted with pain, pleaded, "Dear sir, we are just ordered to stand guard here, not having seen any brothers of the church."
"Besides, two days ago, an escort agency from Yu State broke through, and the next day, many charred corpses and shipwrecks drifted downstream."
Seeing the murderous look in Sha Lifeiâs eyes, the man hurriedly got up and kowtowed, "Sirs, weâre just lackeys, we know nothing, please spare us..."
Sha Lifei hesitated slightly, then looked towards the deck.
Li Yan, expressionless, simply gestured a throat-slitting sign.
Clang!
Sha Lifei immediately drew his sword and with a flash, killed several people without a hint of mercy.
His Guanzhong quick blade was faster than ever before.
Though Sha Lifeiâs talent was limited, Li Yan, having nearly stepped into Force Transformation, had unique insights into martial arts and often practiced with him.
For many years, Sha Lifei had been at the peak of Ming Energy, standing at the threshold.
Li Yan kicked him in, as if brute-forcing him through the door.
Despite probably reaching his limit in this lifetime, he had, after all, learned to use Hidden Energy, enhancing his fighting capability.
On deck, seeing the puzzled look of "Fast Ship Zhang," Li Yan pointed to the right bank, "There lay over a dozen bodies, not dead for long."
Old Man Zhang instantly understood, "These people are still ambushing merchants, well killed!"
Then, contemplating, he said, "The Pai Sect, although mixed these years, being brutal and overbearing, wouldnât stoop to be river pirates..."
He suddenly realized and looked towards the distant mountains, "Those Evil Spirits are the Pai Sectâs people playing god!"
"Thatâs possible."
Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and shook his head, "I felt something was strange ever since I heard what Senior Zhang had said beforeâthe phosphorus fires rising on the water, burning when it meets peopleâit doesnât sound like spells but rather like a mechanism hoax."
"A mechanism hoax?"
Upon hearing this, Old Man Zhang also sensed something wrong and cursed, "Itâs no wonder all my Divination showed good omens; even the dog blood cinnabar was useless when the trouble started, all because people were causing mischief."
"It must be the Pai Sect causing trouble in the mountains!"
"What exactly are they up to?"
Li Yan looked into the distance and shook his head, "No matter what theyâre plotting, we must cross this river. Letâs rest early tonight; we set off at dawn."
"If there are any obstacles, weâll simply cut them down!"
They had been sailing for two entire days, sleeping restlessly each night, and were already worn out.
After burying all the bodies, the group set up camp on the riverbank, lit a campfire, cooked fish soup, warmed glutinous rice cakes, and after a full meal, each crawled into their tents.
Li Yan performed a brief Storing God ritual before slipping peacefully into sleep.
With Lv San around, all creatures within several li were sentinels. They neednât fear surprise attacks, and Li Yan was spared the duty of keeping watch.