Three Experts Ambush and Kill
Hu Tieniu stood there silently for a long time before finally wiping his face and speaking in a muffled voice:
"To be honest, young master, we lost a lot of our brothers in that incident. Many of the wives, children, parents, and brothers who survived are still harboring resentment."
His tone hardened as he spoke, carrying a hint of exasperation and disappointment:
"I cursed them in front of everyone—we were the ones who went to rob them with knives. Robbery is a line of work where you risk your life. Why should we be allowed to take things and kill people, but they're not allowed to fight back? Why should they just stand there and let us hack them? If we had succeeded, they would have been the ones who died!"
"I've made it clear to them that when I was stabbed, I was on the verge of death, but you, sir, saved my life. Anyone else would have wiped us out long ago. Why would they provide us with food and livelihood, allowing us to live an upright life instead of hiding in the mountains as bandits?"
He sighed, his voice lowering:
"That's the logic, but when it comes to yourself, if you've lost your father or your son, how can you just let it go? There were about a hundred people who just couldn't get over it and didn't want to work with us. I didn't force them to stay; I let those who wanted to leave go, and almost half of them left with their families."
At this point, he suddenly raised his head, patted his chest, and assured him:
"But rest assured, young master, the remaining people are either destitute or have no one to rely on, and they all know right from wrong. They all remember your kindness and have absolutely no ulterior motives! They work with sincerity and would never dare to slack off."
Shen Jingchuan remained silent after listening, feeling only a sense of helplessness. There are all kinds of people in this world; no matter what, it's always someone else's fault, and he can never be wrong no matter what he does.
Lin Yue, standing nearby, immediately frowned and said in a deep voice:
"Where did all these people go? Keeping them around is a recipe for disaster; they must be wiped out completely, to prevent future problems..."
Shen Jingchuan quickly raised his hand to stop him, and casually said:
"Hey, it's not worth arguing with this kind of person. There are so many other things we could do with that energy. Besides, with this famine, it's questionable whether we can even survive if we leave here. There's no need to keep chasing after them."
Having finished handing over the matters at the construction site, Shen Jingchuan prepared to head back.
Hu Tieniu escorted him to the crossroads, and the local people working nearby all put down their work and gathered around, bowing and thanking him. The gratitude in their eyes was genuine and sincere.
Looking at this group of people, Shen Jingchuan felt much of his frustration dissipate. He waved to them, then mounted his horse.
They had only gone a little over a mile, and just rounded a bend in the mountain pass, when they heard the sound of horses' hooves ahead. Three riders emerged from the bend, their faces covered with cloths, only their eyes showing, and charged straight toward them, still a mile away.
Shen Jingchuan and his companions Lin Shan and Lin Yue immediately became wary.
Why would someone be wearing a mask while traveling on the official road? And look at the three men, they are all agile and taut, clearly skilled in martial arts.
The three men didn't block the road; instead, they reined in their horses and moved aside. Shen Jingchuan took off his spear and held it in his hand, while Lin Shan and Lin Yue also drew their spears, their eyes fixed on the approaching figures.
The three riders ran very fast, the two in front dressed in black and the one in gray following behind, and in the blink of an eye they were twenty or thirty paces away.
Suddenly, the two men in black at the front reached to their sides, and with two crisp clangs, two steel knives were drawn simultaneously, their gleaming blades dazzlingly bright in the sunlight.
Their intentions were crystal clear. Without a word, Shen Jingchuan spurred his knee against his horse's flank, and the black horse beneath him let out a long neigh, its hooves pounding the ground as it charged forward. Lin Shan and Lin Yue didn't hesitate either, urging their horses to their sides and following closely behind.
The two horses charged at each other and were upon each other in the blink of an eye. Two men in black split up to the left and right, wielding two knives one in front and one behind, and slashed fiercely at Shen Jingchuan's shoulders and abdomen. The wind from the blades was strong, and the blows were both ruthless and accurate.
Shen Jingchuan flicked his wrist, sweeping his spear horizontally. With a clang, he forcefully deflected the blade of the man on the left, causing the man's wrist to go numb. The blade on the right followed closely, slashing towards his face. Without even dodging, he twisted the tip of his spear in the force of the deflection, aiming straight for the man on the right's heart. The thrust was fast and heavy, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.
The man in black's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly parried with his sword. With a clang of metal against metal, the blade struck the tip of the spear, causing him to sway violently on his horse. His arm went numb from the impact, and his hand throbbed with pain as he barely managed to deflect the spear.
The gray-clad man, who was seven or eight steps behind, still had a somewhat nonchalant look in his eyes—in his eyes, the two martial artists in front of him could easily deal with an ordinary martial artist, and it was an honor for him to step in.
It wasn't until Shen Jingchuan broke through the two men and thrust his spear straight at his heart, the tip of the spear carrying a sharp, bone-chilling force, that he suddenly came to his senses, realizing that the force of the spear was wrong.
"Huh?"
The man in gray let out a low gasp of surprise. His wrist, which had been casually resting on his sword, suddenly sank, as if a weight had been imbued into his entire arm. He swung the sword horizontally, striking the tip of the spear squarely.
The dull thud was unlike the crisp clang of metal striking metal earlier; instead, it sounded like a heavy hammer striking a block of iron, making his hands go numb.
His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately dropped all his arrogance. The young man in front of him looked ordinary, but the strength in his hands was far beyond that of an ordinary martial artist.
Shen Jingchuan also felt a slight pause in his hand, thinking to himself that this person was much tougher than the previous two.
He didn't try to fight back head-on. Instead, he loosened his wrist and, as the spear was knocked back, he used the momentum of the horse's charge to sweep the butt of the spear horizontally towards the gray-clad man's lower back. It was both heavy and fast.
Hearing the sound of wind, the man in gray hurriedly twisted his waist and turned around, pressing down on the back of his sword to block the sweeping attack. The two horses collided, and his shoulder swayed slightly. Before he could change his move, the two horses had already passed each other, instantly creating a distance of several steps.
On the other side, the brothers Lin Shan and Lin Yue were facing two men in black, but they were having a hard time. The two men were extremely fast with their swords, and the brothers managed to parry them with their long spears, but the force of their swords was astonishing, and their arms ached from each strike.
The gray-clad man who had just passed Shen Jingchuan didn't turn around. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he charged directly at Lin Shan. He understood that the two men wielding guns behind him were just ordinary martial artists. He would pick on the weaker one first, and then turn around to deal with the young man.
Lin Shan had just passed the two people in front of him when he saw the gray-clad man approaching. He thrust out his spear, but before he could even exert all his strength, a gray shadow flashed, and the man's sword was already upon him.
He hurriedly withdrew his gun to parry, but the opponent's sword was unusually fast. It slid across the gun shaft to the side, the tip of the sword aimed straight for his left shoulder.
It was too late to dodge. Lin Shan heard a sharp "clang" sound, and his shoulder suddenly sank. The huge impact made him sway twice on his horse, and he almost fell off.
The expected piercing flesh and bone-piercing sensation did not come—his close-fitting titanium alloy armor withstood the sword strike.
The man in gray was also taken aback, clearly not expecting this ordinary martial artist to possess such sturdy protective gear. In that brief moment of hesitation, Lin Yue, his eyes red, thrust his spear forward, shouting hoarsely, "Brother!"