Chapter 124: No Blame if You Kill by Mistake
As the sun rose, the carriage moved slowly forward. Ma Chun waved his whip from time to time, shouting loudly, looking full of vigor. Inside the carriage, Lin Dong and Tian Hao sat on one side, while Yang Qingting and Yang Ling sat on the other. All four were seated in lotus position, clearly in deep meditation. Yin Tu lay on the ground, ears drooping as he dozed off.
For this trip to Autumn Wind City, Lin Dong didn’t bring any other people aside from Ma Chun. Firstly, the new inn in Autumn Wind City was still under construction, so no extra hands were needed for now. Secondly, once the new inn became a branch, a transportation gate could be activated. This gate could connect various branches, mainly to facilitate the transport of supplies, with no restrictions on who could use it. If more people were needed, the gate could be opened to send them to Autumn Wind City in an instant.
This was also why Lin Dong had dared to assure Jiang Kui that even if he arrived at the inn in Autumn Wind City, he could still return to Xilan City at any time.
They traveled along the main road and found an inn to rest at dusk. Although there was no cultivation boost, by resisting the urge to admire the scenery and focusing on meditation throughout the day, Lin Dong’s cultivation progress wasn’t slowed much.
Huh…
The steady movement of the carriage suddenly ceased abruptly, and all four opened their eyes at once.
“Owner, we’re in trouble!” Ma Chun’s voice came from outside, sounding somewhat panicked.
Lin Dong stepped forward and lifted the carriage curtain. A huge locust tree, wide enough for two people to hold arms around, blocked the road. On the tree, over twenty burly men armed with bows and swords were climbing down, their gazes fierce.
“Bandits?”
Lin Dong was quite surprised. He had been in this world for some time now, but this was the first time he had seen bandits. From their appearance, they seemed quite fierce.
However… most bandits hid in the deep mountains, waiting to ambush merchants or travelers who tried to take shortcuts. It was rare for them to block the main road. Otherwise, if people dared to rob and kill on the main road, no merchants would dare to travel outside, which would equal challenging thebottom line / red line / line in the sand：底线 / red line / line in the sand /底线. of the Great Han Nation.
Inside the carriage, Yang Ling’s lips twitched slightly—they had encountered competitors.
When everyone got out of the carriage, another twenty or so bandits emerged from the three remaining directions.
On the tree, a man wearing a red headscarf and with his clothes unbuttoned in the cold shouted as they surrounded their opponents, “Kill them! Leave none alive!”
From all directions, dozens of long bows were raised, their sharp arrows slightly tilted upward. With a series of soft sounds, they were fired in unison.
The four of them moved swiftly, protecting Ma Chun in the center. One person faced each direction, shooting away all the incoming arrows.
“The very first deal, and we run into experts!” The man with the red scarf grinned ferociously and waved his hand. “Push the cart on fire—scatter them!”
In the blink of an eye, a small cart loaded with dry wood and smelling of wine was pushed up a locust tree by several strong men. With torches thrown at it, a fierce fire immediately broke out.
As the arrows grew fewer, Lin Dong put down the bench in his hands and was about to try to break through when Yang Ling shouted urgently, “Bad! They’re trying to scatter us. Everyone, don’t spread out! Otherwise, we might be defeated one by one. That bandit group of hundreds has a leader who’s at least at the Eighth Level of the Lingdong Phase.”
Lin Dong felt a chill in his heart. The bandits were ruthless and fearless. If there really was a leader at the Eighth Level of Lingdong Phase among them, although Tian Hao, Yang Qingting, or Yang Ling alone could kill them all, if they were scattered, it would already be difficult to face arrows from all sides, let alone ensure Ma Chun’s safety. If they rushed in all at once, things would be even worse—two fists can’t fight four hands. Protecting Ma Chun’s safety meant even surviving might be a problem.
“Everyone, retreat to the carriage! Tian Hao, find a way to destroy that cart.”
Seeing the cart on fire, spewing thick smoke and racing toward them, Lin Dong made up his mind instantly.
Yang Ling and Yang Qingting didn’t hesitate. Taking advantage of the moment when the bandits were shooting arrows, they pulled Ma Chun back toward the carriage, one on each side.
Lin Dong’s eyes shone, ready to block arrows for Tian Hao at any moment.
When the cart was less than ten meters away, Tian Hao suddenly crouched and punched the ground hard.
Boom!
With a loud noise, the cart overturned abruptly. A blinding flame and scorching heat wave instantly engulfed the bandits behind it.
Terrifying screams pierced their ears as the bandits writhed on the ground in agony.
Instead of being frightened by their comrades’ suffering, the bandits became even more savage. They threw away their arrows and drew gleaming swords.
“Kill them all! Leave none!”
The man with the red scarf leaped up suddenly, holding his sword at an angle, and charged first.
Yang Qingting waved her right hand, sending a beam of black light toward the man with the red scarf.
He dodged by flipping over, then reached out with his left hand and grabbed the black light.
Looking down, he saw a pitch-black wooden plaque, on which a bright red character “Yang” stood out sharply.
“The Yang family of Qiufeng City?” The man with the red scarf frowned slightly, looking at Yang Qingting with surprise.
“If you know it’s the Yang family of Qiufeng City, why don’t you back off?” Yang Qingting said coldly.
The man with the red scarf looked hesitant. Being a bandit didn’t mean one could rob anyone they wanted—there were always certain taboos. Within the territory of Qiufeng Mansion, the Yang family was one such taboo. Anyone who dared attack the Yang family members or their carriages would surely face fierce retaliation from the Yang family’s experts within three to five months.
Beside him, a burly man spat bitterly, “Damn it, why such bad luck? Forced by other bandit camps into a corner, trying to find a new place, yet not even allowed to save up some money for travel.”
“Whether it’s the Yang family or the Ma family, leave none alive. Let’s go further away—surely they won’t be able to chase us out of Lingnan Commandery.”
The man with the red scarf made up his mind instantly, raising his sword again.
“Tianhao, you take care of Ma Chun. Leave the rest to us. Do as they said—leave none alive!”
Lin Dong’s gaze was cold. The bench in his hand vanished quietly, replaced by a black iron kitchen knife in his palm.
Yang Qingting glanced at Lin Dong, remaining silent, her anxiety slowly fading a bit.
As the bandits surged from all sides and everyone prepared to fight back, the sound of heavy hooves echoed from the end of the road, like distant thunder. Soon, a dark figure grew larger rapidly.
In an instant, the figure became clear—a giant tiger three meters tall, its fur like flames. On top of the tiger sat a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in clothes that fluttered in the wind as if an immortal had descended, sitting there proudly.
Seeing the locust tree blocking the road, the middle-aged man slapped the tiger’s head and shouted, “Up!”
The tiger roared loudly, shaking the heavens and earth. Everyone felt as if thousands of hammers were pounding on their hearts. Even the seventh-tier Silver Rabbit lay on the ground, trembling violently.
Less than two meters away from the lying locust tree, the tiger leaped suddenly. As it soared through the air, its strong limbs kicked powerfully, as if walking on solid ground, racing above everyone’s heads.
“Bandits robbing people? I’m here to save lives—don’t blame me if I kill the wrong person!”
Suddenly, a giant sword appeared in the middle-aged man’s hand. Instantly, the sword turned into thousands of stars, pouring down on everyone like a storm.
In the blink of an eye, both the man and the tiger were gone without a trace.
From appearance to departure, it all happened in the span of a breath.
Elegant yet domineering, the middle-aged man’s two contrasting temperaments left a deep impression on everyone’s minds.
Looking at the corpses scattered everywhere, the thunderous sound of hooves still echoed in their ears…