“That nest of bandits has about seventy or eighty people in total, and they appeared half a year ago. At first, there were only about thirty of them, all men in their prime. They are led by three chiefs. The Chief possesses martial arts; it is said he can fight twenty or thirty people alone without getting injured or losing his breath. Regardless, I am no match for him, and I cannot discern the true depth of his strength. The other two chiefs are proficient in basic fist and kick techniques but have no Internal Energy.”
“As soon as they appeared, they robbed many peddlers who frequently traveled between the villages, as well as small merchant caravans of three to five people traveling between towns.”
“Initially, everyone thought they had been snatched by wild beasts. We thought about organizing the able-bodied young men to go and deal with the man-eating beast, but out of the dozen or so who went out, only four or five came back running.”
“It was only then that everyone realized bandits had appeared on Xiyang Mountain, and that the Chief knew martial arts.”
“Not long after, the village was raided. This was because some of the local ruffians actually joined the bandits. Those thugs knew the village’s situation and specifically chose a market day when many of the men had gone to the small town to come to the village.”
“By then, the number of bandits had reached over fifty. The surrounding villages also thought about uniting to suppress the bandits, but that Chief was truly formidable. We organized about a hundred people for the bandit suppression, but we were still slaughtered and driven back.”
“That time, many people died. The bandits piled their corpses on the essential road between the villages and burned them right there. Could all the surrounding villages see the smoke rising to the sky? And the smell didn’t dissipate for several months afterward.”
“If that Chief doesn’t die, we cannot deal with this nest of bandits. As for my martial arts, they were taught to me when I was young by a wounded Great Hero whom my father saved. I was small then, and the Great Hero only stayed at my house for half a month before leaving. Therefore, the only part of my martial arts that is decent is my Lightness Skill.”
“I originally relied on my bit of martial arts to make a living in another city. After learning what happened in the village, I quit my job and returned. I originally thought I could resolve the Chief, but I found I was simply no match for him and nearly fell into their hands. Fortunately, I practiced my Lightness Skill well and managed to escape.”
“Actually, we also thought of other ways. Several villages pooled their money to hire an expert, wanting him to help us eliminate the Chief. In the end, that expert was a fraud, someone from the same walk of life as me, who ran off with our money.”
“The village even suffered retaliation from the bandits, though they didn’t slaughter the entire village. They probably feared that if they wiped us out, they would have no more income, and they also feared that a massacre would cause a stir and attract a real Great Hero to suppress them.”
As she spoke to this point, the woman’s eyes brimmed with tears—not the kind of tears she had squeezed out earlier to deliberately act pitiful, but genuine anger and sorrow.
She said, “If you two Great Heroes are truly angry at me for plotting against you, then just kill me. If that doesn’t appease your anger, you can even sell me to a brothel for some wine money. I only beg you two Great Heroes to help our villages and suppress this nest of harmful bandits.”
After listening to her words, Lian Li fell somewhat silent. After thinking for a moment, he asked again, “Do you have a map of the bandit stronghold?”
The woman said, “No. Back then, I was blocked by the Chief as soon as I entered the stronghold. Once we exchanged blows and I realized I was no match, I fled even at the cost of being injured. I only know their stronghold is halfway up the mountain and is quite large. Xiyang Mountain isn’t big, so the stronghold is very conspicuous on it. You can find it by following the path worn down by people.”
Lian Li nodded, then turned to another topic: “You said before that the family of that child collaborated with the bandits and harmed some people. Do you have evidence?”
This time, the woman answered immediately: “There are witnesses. The families of those they harmed are still alive. If you don’t believe me, Great Hero, I can take you to see them.”
After hearing all this, Lian Li roughly knew what to do. He turned his head to look at Yun Huizhou and said, “Alright.”
Yun Huizhou opened his eyes. He didn’t say anything else, but simply walked to the woman’s side and pressed two fingers together to strike several acupoints on her body.
Lian Li originally thought Yun Huizhou was going to release her from the paralysis, but as he watched, he realized the positions Yun Huizhou was striking were not the ones for releasing acupoints at all.
Lian Li had seen the positions Yun Huizhou was striking in the acupoint manuals of Drunken Dream Island.
After being struck there, for the next three days, the person would feel as if insects were crawling over their body at the hour of the Rat every night, experiencing both pain and itching for two full hours.
Only after Yun Huizhou finished striking those points did he release the woman’s paralysis.
Lian Li watched him do all this without stopping him. He knew Yun Huizhou was remembering how this person had kidnapped the little tyrant and attempted to use them.
It was only because they had discovered it in time that no harm was caused to them. If she had truly caused them trouble, he likely wouldn’t have settled it just by striking these itching points.
Even if this woman’s actions were excusable, Yun Huizhou would have truly given her a palm strike; whether she lived or died would have depended on her luck.
After the acupoints were released, the two did not stay any longer and left directly.
The woman watched their departing figures. It was a long time before she rose from the ground and left in another direction.
After Yun Huizhou and Lian Li returned to the small town, Yun Huizhou did not go into his own room but instead followed Lian Li into his.
Lian Li turned to look at him and asked, “Why did you follow me into my room?”
Yun Huizhou pointed at the sky, which was already beginning to brighten, and said, “After all that work, it’s already dawn.”
“I know.” Lian Li stuck his head out the window to take a look and continued, “But we still need to rest. We’ve been up all night; I’m tired.”
“It’s like this,” Yun Huizhou said. “So, does Great Hero Lian have a plan now? I promise to cooperate.”
“Aren’t you going to catch up on sleep?” Lian Li walked to the bedside, unfastening his clothes as he spoke. “It’s nearly a two-hour walk to Xiyang Mountain from here. We can’t possibly run over there to suppress bandits right now.”
“There are only two of us; broad daylight isn’t suitable. Besides, neither of us rested last night, and I’m not like you—I can’t stay this energetic after a night without sleep.”
After Lian Li unfastened his outer robe, he sat on the bed and leaned over to start taking off his shoes. “We’ll sleep first, sleep until the afternoon, and then go have a meal—don’t eat too much. When it gets dark, we’ll ride to Xiyang Mountain and head up under the cover of darkness to scout the situation first. We can’t fully trust that woman’s words.”
“She plotted against us from the very start. Who knows how much of her story is true or false? It’s best to scout it ourselves to be safe. Also, that woman never mentioned the girls and young men kidnapped by the bandits; we should see if we can find them.”
“But we won’t force it. If we can save them, we will; if not, then forget it. Our own safety comes first. Since that woman didn’t mention them herself, we’ll just play dumb.”
At this point, Lian Li scratched his head and said hesitantly, “According to that woman’s description, this bandit force isn’t that large, and the three chiefs aren’t that powerful. I want to try handling it myself.”
