Trouble Came One After Another (Please Vote)

Jiang Dali's gaze flickered. "You got this news from those above us? Do you know who Dragon Gate Escort Agency sent? What did they say?"

Seeing how calm he was, Xiong Ba felt rather ashamed and steadied himself. "Yes. The people above us are actually the Li Family, a prestigious household in Hui City Commandery. The ones giving us orders every time are also from the Li Family.

In return, Black Wind Stronghold has never been surrounded and suppressed by the authorities all these years. Even the large and small forces around here know where we come from and won't casually provoke us. The Li Family also often provides us with weapons, money, and other supplies.

What we need to do is help the Li Family deal with matters whenever they issue a task, handling things that are inconvenient for them to do personally.

Originally, only the Second Boss and I knew about the people above us.

Now that you're in charge, I had to tell you eventually.

We forced ourselves to carry out the Li Family's last order. And now Dragon Gate Escort Agency has come looking for us."

"What are you panicking for?" Jiang Dali said. "Wasn't I the one who took the lead when we attacked Dragon Gate Escort Agency last time? Now that I'm in charge, they'll come looking for me first."

Xiong Ba's old face reddened at those words.

Last time, he and Deathly Scholar had indeed acted unfairly. They had neither dared to disobey the Li Family's orders nor wanted to offend Dragon Gate Escort Agency too deeply.

So Jiang Dali had volunteered to do the dirty work of making enemies, while the two of them had happily stayed behind to claim credit and avoid risk.

Xiong Ba said uneasily, "This time, the person Dragon Gate Escort Agency sent is their chief escort, Du Dajin. Though Du Dajin is only an Inner Qi Realm expert, he is known as the Many-Armed Bear. He is highly skilled in fist techniques, palm techniques, and the saber, and he is a Shaolin Lay Disciple. Most notably, his Repeating Steel Darts can fire seven sets of seven—forty-nine steel darts in one breath.

"Damn it, I never thought the chief escort of Dragon Gate Escort Agency would personally make a move. The goods we stole last time were, at most, a shipment of valuable medicinal herbs. Was that worth such a huge mobilization?"

"Many-Armed Bear Du Dajin." Jiang Dali's expression turned grave as well.

In his memories from his previous life, Du Dajin had only been a very minor supporting character in Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, dying early on.

But upon closer consideration, he was still a Shaolin Lay Disciple. He could be considered a key figure who ignited the chain of events that set the plot of Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber in motion.

In his previous life, the tragedy of Dragon Gate Escort Agency's extermination had directly affected the entire martial world's balance. It drew the two sects secretly confronting one another, Shaolin and Wudang, directly into the affair, while the Sky Eagle Cult fanned the flames and plunged the martial world into a bloody storm.

Prince Ruyang's Mansion had also left its shadow over the entire matter.

So although Du Dajin was merely a minor Inner Qi Realm expert, insignificant in the eyes of the martial world's top masters, he was far from simple.

Seeing Jiang Dali's grave expression, Xiong Ba reminded him, "The people above us said they will soon send an expert to assist us, so we needn't panic too much. But that expert will be setting out from Hui City Commandery, so he'll definitely arrive later than Du Dajin."

"They're sending an expert?"

Jiang Dali pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly and waved his hand.

"Things have already come to this. Since Du Dajin is coming, we can't fear him. We'll draw the line and face him."

Thinking that the other side would need at least two more days to arrive, and that the players had already descended into this world, Jiang Dali was not too flustered.

As long as he made good use of the players, even within this day or two, he could quickly raise his strength.

In the martial world, one's realm was certainly important, but what mattered even more in battle was the quality of one's martial arts.

Still, the original plan would definitely have to change. Du Dajin's arrival had already disrupted Jiang Dali's rhythm.

After sending Xiong Ba away,

Jiang Dali immediately prepared to have someone relay the next stage of the plan to the bandits who had gone down the mountain.

But just as he summoned someone over, he saw the man running toward him in a panic.

"Great Mountain Lord, something terrible has happened! Tough fighters at the foot of the mountain have injured many of our brothers!"

"Hm?" Jiang Dali was startled. "What happened?"

"It's Hu Ling, the master of Hu Family Martial Arts School in Mengyin County. When our brothers were wandering near Mengyin County, they happened to encounter some unfamiliar faces you told us to watch out for. Those people were bold enough to attack our brothers directly.

"So our brothers killed some of them. But who could have expected those people, who had clearly died, to come back to life? Then they brought Hu Ling here and injured many of us. They've even tied up our men, and they're still at the foot of the mountain."

The bandit spoke rapidly, trembling all over. Especially when he mentioned that the players had revived after death, he looked as though he had seen a ghost and had yet to recover from the fright.

Jiang Dali understood that these natives had not yet adapted to the players' peculiar nature.

In his previous life, the players' ability to revive had indeed terrified quite a few natives.

At the time, some powerful experts from evil factions had specifically set their sights on the players' immortality. They captured large numbers of players to cultivate evil arts, and some masters pursuing eternal life secretly seized many players to conduct experiments in immortality.

But the natives soon figured out the players' weakness. They learned that although players could not truly die, each death weakened them considerably, which put them somewhat at ease.

"Bring twenty or thirty men with me. We're going down the mountain to take a look."

Jiang Dali acted decisively, picked up the Golden Saber with Nine Rings, and strode down the mountain.

At once, a whole group of fierce-looking bandit underlings shouted and cursed as they followed him down.

"Brother, why trouble yourself over such a minor matter? Let me handle it." Second Boss Xiong Ba said as he rushed over with the Drum-Beating Urn-Golden Hammer in hand.

"No need. I'll go myself. You and the other brothers stay on the mountain and guard the stronghold. Don't let anyone sneak in," Jiang Dali said.

Xiong Ba suddenly understood. "Right. We can't fall for a scheme to lure the tiger from the mountain."

The group rushed down in a storm. Before they even reached the foot of the mountain, they could already see flickering firelight and hear the cries and pleas for mercy from some of their brothers.

"Hehehe, those bandits were so imposing when they bullied us. Look at them now—they've been taught a lesson by Master Hu and are cowering like homeless dogs."

"I saw people on the forum suggesting that I join the bandits before. Looking at this now, joining a martial arts school clearly has a brighter future."

"Master Hu Ling is incredible. He even let some bandits go back up to call for reinforcements. He wouldn't take on a job without confidence—Master Hu must be sure of himself and planning to teach these trash a harsh lesson."

"A good show's coming. Even the bandit leader will get the shit beaten out of him when he comes down."

Beside the mountain path, ten players watched the bandits begging on the ground with delight and satisfaction, desperately currying favor with Hu Ling, the martial arts school master standing beside the path like an iron tower with his arms crossed.

Hu Ling was surrounded by more than a dozen martial arts school disciples. Some were excited, while others were thrilled yet nervous. Hearing the shouts of battle coming from the mountain, one female disciple looked anxiously toward Hu Ling.

"Master, it sounds like quite a lot of people are coming down from the mountain. I've long heard that Black Wind Stronghold has three very formidable leaders. You—"

A faint, arrogant smile appeared on Hu Ling's dark, rugged face. "You'er, don't worry. Since your master dared to come, I naturally came prepared.

"You also heard what those bandits revealed. Black Wind Stronghold is in turmoil after a change of leadership today. A fool has become the Great Mountain Lord, while their Second Boss is dead.

"Today, I will give these villains who commit every evil a warning, so they understand that Mengyin County is not a place for vermin like them to run wild."

Clap! Clap!

Just then, a burst of crisp applause came from the mountain path, followed by a booming male voice.

"Well said. Today, I, Jiang Dali, would like to see what kind of remarkable figure a tiny place like Mengyin County can produce to lecture me."