I'll Personally Steal It for You!

After roughly arranging everything, Li Chang'an and the others returned to their rooms. Although no one brought it up, there was still one enormous obstacle they could not avoid in this mission.

The leader of the Autumn Mountain Bandits was a Soul King!

A five-ring Soul King! No matter how terrible his soul ring configuration was, no matter how weak he might be, he was still a Soul King—not someone Li Chang'an and the others could contend with right now.

And Song Rentou, the only one who had originally stood a chance against that Soul King, had already become their opponent. So no matter how perfect their plan was or how many bandits they killed, if they could not get past that mountain, their mission would ultimately remain incomplete!

Li Chang'an lay on the bed with his hands behind his head and sighed helplessly. Still, he was not especially afraid. He was merely considering how to maximize the benefits of this mission.

And by maximizing benefits, he did not just mean academy points. His own points for showing off were equally important. There might not be many people this time, but even a mosquito was still meat.

After all, showing off did not distinguish between size or level. In Li Chang'an's eyes, as long as he could show off and earn points, big or small, it was all good stuff!

With those thoughts in mind, Li Chang'an slowly drifted off to sleep. What, cultivation? Cultivation was out of the question. With the system's exchangeable point fruits, why the hell would he cultivate...

Early the next morning, Xie Yue woke Li Chang'an and gave him explosive news: Song Rentou and his group of six had left the inn at dawn, and not long after they departed, Cui Yongqin, their homeroom teacher, had secretly followed them.

Li Chang'an could not help sighing that young people were still too impatient. But Duolunka had not chosen to go with the larger group and had instead stayed behind, which was enough to show how important the identities of their group of four were.

"Chang'an, when are we making our move?" Xie Yue asked as he followed Li Chang'an.

He had wanted to lead the others himself, but Li Chang'an's analysis from the night before, as well as his grasp of the overall situation, had left Xie Yue feeling inferior. That was why he patiently waited for Li Chang'an to speak.

Li Chang'an was in no hurry. He leisurely went downstairs, sat in the dining hall, ordered two breakfasts, and gestured for Xie Yue to sit down.

"Senior, before that, I want to ask you something. Do you want to completely defeat Song Rentou?"

Xie Yue nodded. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

"Then, Senior, you have to promise me that if I help you completely defeat Song Rentou this time, you must let me off if I ever do something that offends you in the future," Li Chang'an said, making preparations in advance.

He was worried that his future brother-in-law might one day find out that someone had seduced his sister—and that the man courting his sister had plenty of other women—and fly into a rage. So Li Chang'an decided to give him a heads-up early.

Xie Yue was somewhat confused by this, but how could he refuse if it meant winning? So he nodded indifferently.

"Then fine. Gather everyone. We should set out too." Li Chang'an took a bite of his meat bun and spoke.

"Everyone? Are we going to attack their stronghold too?" Xie Yue asked excitedly.

"No. What are you thinking? We'll follow the plan we discussed yesterday. We'll see whether any merchant caravans are passing through. If there are, we'll blend into one and ambush them first."

Li Chang'an looked at him speechlessly before briefly explaining his plan.

Song Rentou and his group only had six people. Unless they were idiots, they would not attack during the day. Li Chang'an's plan was to blend into a caravan first, take out a few bandits, and incidentally startle the enemy.

That way, after losing some manpower, the bandits would definitely tighten security that night. At the very least, Song Rentou's group would have no chance of succeeding tonight.

Meanwhile, Li Chang'an and the others would already have taken out several of the enemy's soul masters. They would not even be starting from the same line anymore—how could they compete?

Finding a merchant caravan was not difficult, especially since Xie Yue and the other two were all two-ring soul masters. Once they offered to serve as guards for free, they quickly found a caravan.

The caravan was not particularly large, but it was transporting pearls, jade, and similar goods. Since it had to pass beneath Mount Autumn Name, the more guards it had, the better.

Although Li Chang'an's group of four was very young, and Li Chang'an himself clearly looked like a child, the fact that they were soul masters and offered free protection tempted the caravan owner. He agreed to let them travel through Mount Autumn Name with the caravan.

Thus, four guards clad in oversized clothes silently followed the caravan out of town...

About a quarter of an hour after Li Chang'an and the others left, Duolunka silently followed as well. However, he did not stay close, merely trailing them from afar through his Mental Power perception.

"Little Junior Brother, do you think they'll rob our convoy?" Even in the rough guard uniform, Hu Liena's delicate charm could not be concealed. In fact, the outfit somehow seemed even more enticing on her.

Li Chang'an glanced at the crates on the nearby carriage and nodded with certainty. The contents might not matter much to them, but even ordinary soul masters would find them irresistibly tempting.

The caravan owner also seemed afraid of the Autumn Mountain Bandits. As they neared the rugged Mount Autumn Name, he had already ordered the drivers to accelerate at full speed!

The road beneath Mount Autumn Name was winding and steep. Some stretches were only barely wide enough for a single carriage to pass, making it a serious test of the drivers' skills.

To Li Chang'an's surprise, he discovered that every one of these drivers was highly experienced. Even in a place like Mount Autumn Name, they cracked their whips with sharp snaps as the carriages charged forward at top speed.

"Hyah!"

"Giddyup! Giddyup! Giddyup!"

One carriage after another accelerated, racing beneath Mount Autumn Name...

Autumn Mountain Bandits' Camp, Master Bedroom

A rather burly middle-aged man, though only around 1.6 meters tall, lay on the bed. A young woman with a bare, pale body was moving wildly atop him!

Her trembling gradually quickened, and a series of indecent sounds came from her mouth. Even her legs shook constantly as the battle grew intense!

On the young woman's pretty face, her expression shifted between pain, excitement, and pleasure. For some reason, the bedsheet beneath her had long since become a complete mess...

After an impassioned final rush, the whole world became dull and flavorless. The bandit chief, Zhang Mazi, held the young woman in his arms, his large hand continuously caressing her delicate body...

"Great King, I heard a shipment of pearl jewelry will be passing through today. I want it..."

"Sure. If I bring it back for you, how will you repay me?"

"I-I'll agree to play with ropes for you, Great King..."

"Hahaha! Good, good! I'll personally steal it for you!"