Fury surged within him instantly. Lian Li almost wanted to rush over right then and there, tell them all to get up, run quickly, and leave this bandit stronghold to go home—that he had come to save them.
But that impulse lasted only a moment before he calmed down again.
These people couldn’t run. Their physical condition was no match for the bandits, and they were few in number.
If the bandits weren’t dealt with, they wouldn’t be able to escape.
Hiding behind some clutter, Lian Li observed the group, his mind racing with what to do next.
Judging by their remaining scraps of clothing, they were likely villagers from near Xiyang Mountain.
This matched the woman’s story about the bandits abducting people and bringing them up the mountain.
Lian Li made a quick decision. This nest of bandits could not be allowed to remain. He abandoned the plan of scouting tonight and attacking tomorrow.
Once they finished scouting tonight, they would take action immediately.
If they waited even one more day, someone among these abducted people might be killed.
He reached out and tugged at Yun Huizhou, signaling for them to leave first.
Yun Huizhou nodded slightly, and the two of them retreated.
After moving away from the shed, they found a secluded corner. Only then did Lian Li speak: “Speed up the scouting to get a full picture of the stronghold. If we find the Chief’s residence, we act immediately. To capture the bandits, one must first capture their leader.”
Yun Huizhou gave a soft “Mhm.” He wasn’t surprised by Lian Li’s decision.
The moment he heard voices coming from the shed, he knew that Lian Li, having seen the situation there, would make such a choice.
And Lian Li’s decision wasn’t just a heat-of-the-moment impulse.
From their exploration so far, he had already discovered that aside from the Chief—whose level was still unknown—the other bandits were just ordinary people who didn’t know martial arts.
As long as the Chief was dealt with, this stronghold posed no threat to him.
Previously, the Chief of the bandits that Yang Jiang had wiped out single-handedly had reached the Second-class level, accompanied by a Second-in-Command and a Third-in-Command who were both at the Third-class level.
That bandit nest had a scale of over five hundred people. Yang Jiang had charged in, quickly killed the Second and Third-in-Command, and after heavily wounding the Chief, he retreated with minor injuries.
At that time, the bandit nest fell into internal strife; some wanted revenge, while others wanted to seize power.
The internal chaos gave Yang Jiang time to recover. Half a month later, with his injuries healed, Yang Jiang broke into the bandit nest again before it had fully stabilized.
This time, without the three leaders joining forces to stop him, he successfully killed the still-recovering Chief. Then, after killing over a hundred bandits, he set a fire and retreated once more.
A few days later, he crept up the mountain again, killed half of the remaining bandits, and left.
Those three trips up the mountain completely broke the bandit nest’s strength.
He became famous because of this. Before participating in the Martial Arts Assembly, he was already very well-known among those at the Second-class level, and the “weight” of his Second-class status was quite high.
In a battle of life and death, it was likely that Young Hero Zheng from the prestigious sect in Fengyi City would not have been a match for Yang Jiang.
In comparison, this nest of bandits on Xiyang Mountain was much smaller in scale. Estimating by their size, the Chief being at the Third-class level would be the absolute ceiling. If his level were higher—at the Second-class—the development speed of this bandit nest should have been much faster. In half a year, they should have grown to a scale of at least two hundred people.
The stronghold wouldn’t look this pathetic, either.
The stronghold wasn’t large. It took them about an hour to get a clear sense of the situation inside.
Lian Li looked up at the sky and estimated the time. There was only one place left to go. They had checked all the other areas, and none were where the high-ranking members of the nest lived.
Therefore, the courtyards where the leaders lived should be in this final area.
Lian Li made a hand gesture to Yun Huizhou, signaling him to continue scouting.
Yun Huizhou nodded, and the two of them walked cautiously toward the last unexplored direction.
Because they had already scouted most of the places, they had gained a good understanding of the construction habits within this mountain stronghold.
Consequently, their speed toward the final area was much faster than before.
They soon reached their destination. Compared to the places where the ordinary bandits lived, the environment here was clearly much better. The three leaders each had their own independent small courtyards.
The other managers lived three to a courtyard.
There were five small courtyards in total.
Lian Li thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go to the one in the very middle first. If it happens to be the Chief’s courtyard, and if he’s the type I can handle easily, we’ll…”
He made a slicing motion across his throat.
Yun Huizhou indicated his understanding; he would assist Lian Li in killing the Chief at the first opportunity.
Having made their decision, the two approached the chosen courtyard.
However, when they slipped into the courtyard, they discovered that the lights in the rooms were actually still on.
Not only were they on, but they also heard heart-wrenching cries and pleas for mercy from inside. It wasn’t a woman’s voice, but the voice of a young boy.
The boy cried and screamed, cursing the Chief and telling him to get away.
Then, they heard the sound of a slap and the sound of a bandit hurling insults.
Beyond that, Yun Huizhou, whose hearing was sharper than Lian Li’s, also heard the sound of a bone snapping.
Lian Li: !!!
Damn it! To hell with the plan! Regardless of whether the person in that room was the Chief or not, the bandit in that room had to be the first to die!
He directly drew the Soft Whip wrapped around his waist and kicked open the door to the room.
The person inside was startled and scrambled to grab a weapon hanging on the wall.
Lian Li didn’t even look closely at the scene in the room, nor did he intend to give the bandit time to react. He charged forward, whip in hand.
The moment he exchanged blows with this bandit, he knew that if the information from that woman wasn’t wrong, this bandit should be the Chief.
He had Internal Energy, and his martial arts were higher than that woman’s, but compared to Lian Li, he was still quite lacking.
It wouldn’t be difficult for Lian Li to deal with him, but he couldn’t achieve an instant kill.
The commotion they were making would soon be noticed by the people in the other courtyards, and then the bandits in the entire stronghold would know something was wrong.
Thinking of this, Lian Li frowned.
However, he did not choose to use the hidden weapons on his person to kill the Chief directly. What he wanted was to draw all the bandits here so he wouldn’t have to find them one by one, which would also make it easier for the people in the shed to escape.
Yun Huizhou had entered behind him. With a flash of movement, he stood between the bandit and the boy in the room. He turned his head slightly and said to the boy, who hadn’t yet regained his senses, “Why aren’t you putting on your clothes and leaving?”
The boy snapped out of it, looked up to wipe the tear stains from his face, and grabbed his clothes to drape over himself. His left arm was already broken, hanging limply at his side.
When he ran to the door, however, he hesitated, not daring to step out. He turned to look at Yun Huizhou standing to the side and Lian Li, who was still fighting the bandit, looking as if he wanted to say something but stopped.
Yun Huizhou only glanced at him, knowing in his heart what the boy was hesitating about.
He was afraid that if he ran straight out, he would run into other bandits, and then he would be dead anyway.
