Chapter Six: Bandit Army

In the pitch-black secret vault, Lin Xiao had no idea how long he had been there.

Lin Shan's cultivation was far deeper than his. The acupoints he had pressed only began to loosen slightly until now. As soon as Lin Xiao sensed he could mobilize his true qi, he frantically circulated it, wanting to quickly unblock his acupoints and regain his ability to move.

He didn't know how much time had passed, what the situation outside had become, or if Lin Shan and the others from Spring Return Hall were still alive. All these worries made Lin Xiao's heart churn as if he were being fried in oil. Several times, he had almost passed out from surging blood and qi. Fortunately, when Lin Shan had pressed his acupoints, he had considered this. A few acupoints controlled Lin Xiao's blood flow, so no matter how anxious he was, he could only sit there in a daze, quiet and clear-headed.

The tenacious Evergreen True Qi continuously impacted the sealed acupoints. Finally, Lin Xiao faintly heard several extremely subtle clicks from within his body. His body could now move.

"Father!" Lin Xiao immediately let out a scream and stumbled towards the direction of the secret passage.

However, he had been sitting still for a very, very long time, and his blood circulation was extremely poor. The moment he took a step, he fell headfirst onto the ground. After rolling several times, he still couldn't get up.

"No rush, no rush. Father's divine skill is peerless; he'll surely be fine." Lin Xiao constantly told himself not to panic. He slowly circulated his true qi, slowly improved his blood circulation, and slowly restored his body's suppleness and vitality before slowly standing up. He took a deep breath, feeling the true qi flow unimpeded throughout his body, and then Lin Xiao quickly rushed out of the secret vault.

The secret passage opened, and Lin Xiao leaped more than two zhang into the air, landing nimbly on the patch of dark, poisonous soil. The moment he emerged from the ground, he sensed that the atmosphere around him was wrong.

Scanning his surroundings, Lin Xiao couldn't help but lament inwardly. The backyard of Spring Return Hall was filled with burly men in blood-red clothing, all of them staring at Lin Xiao menacingly.

Among them were eighteen men clad in blood-colored armor, surrounding a Grand Tutor's chair. Seated firmly in the chair was a man over eight feet tall, also wearing blood-colored armor. He exuded an imposing aura in all directions, a powerful and unparalleled presence that continuously expanded outwards. At the man's feet lay a Three-Pointed, Two-Edged Blade. The hilt alone was as thick as a small sea bowl, and the entire blade was forged from a peculiar blood-colored metal. Lin Xiao felt a sharp pain in his eyes just by glancing at the saber, and he quickly turned his head away.

"Hmm, a little brat!" The burly man with a beard slowly spat out a fruit pit and said in a muffled voice, "Damn it, waited two days and two nights, thought there was something good underground, but it's just a little brat who hasn't even grown all his hair! Xue Shisan, go down and see what good stuff is in that hole."

One of the eighteen burly men in blood-colored armor behind the bearded man stepped forward. He walked to the edge of the black soil, frowned as he glanced at the shiny black dirt, and carefully leaped, disappearing into the secret passage. Lin Xiao bit his lip tightly, watching the man's massive body descend into the secret passage as silently as a puff of cotton, not making a sound.

After a while, Xue Shisan jumped out again, his face flushed with anger. He shouted, "Leader, there's nothing there."

The bearded man shook his head, very displeased. "Nothing? Then, we'll have to use this little kid to take the blame. Hey, kid, are you from Spring Return Hall?"

Lin Xiao gritted his teeth, looking at the bearded man, and remained silent.

The bearded man frowned, then suddenly slapped his thigh and laughed heartily, "I get it, kid, don't worry, I'm not one of the Black Blade bandits who slaughtered your Guihua City. I'm the 'Overlord.' Have you heard of my name? In the past three years, within a radius of over two thousand li, my reputation should be quite renowned, right? Overlord, Overlord, haven't you heard of me?"

The Overlord, Ling Batian, indeed had a great reputation. He was ranked second on the Black List of the Great Yuan Kingdom's martial arts world. Not only was his martial arts skill superb, but he also commanded over eight thousand fierce 'Overlord's Soldiers,' an extremely formidable bandit army. However, his methods differed from the Black Blade bandits. Where the Black Blade bandits passed, not a single chicken or dog was left alive. The Overlord, Ling Batian, however, only sought wealth. Not a single copper coin could be found in the cities he had raided, but he rarely took lives.

There was only one exception: when there were famous martial arts experts in a city, those experts were destined for misfortune.

The best possible outcome for anyone who had fought Ling Batian was to lie in bed for three years before barely regaining their mobility.

Ling Batian's words had some effect. Lin Xiao nodded slightly and said indifferently, "I've heard of you. You're just a bandit leader."

"Exactly!" Ling Batian slapped his thigh and laughed hoarsely, "I am indeed a bandit leader! However, my bandits only seek wealth, so in that regard, I'm a bit better than the Black Blade bandits. I just swept through Guiying City and came here. Hmm, I heard the Black Blade bandits had captured Guihua City, so I came to see if I could profit from it. The result was~~~"

Ling Batian chuckled sinisterly. "The Black Blade bandits left over three hundred lives on this black soil but still couldn't find anything underground. They were decisive and left, but I was curious? So I brought my men here and waited for two days and two nights, and sure enough, you came out."

Wiping his beard with the back of his hand, Ling Batian smiled. "Are you from Spring Return Hall?"

Pressing his lips together, Lin Xiao nodded. "Yes!" It was no use denying it. Anyone who could emerge from such a hidden underground cave in the backyard of Spring Return Hall would know he was from Spring Return Hall, and likely an important figure, otherwise, such a secret cave wouldn't have hidden only him.

"Can you use medicine? Can you treat external wounds? Are you skilled in various camp ailments?" Ling Batian stood up and looked at Lin Xiao with a smile.

"Yes! Yes! I'm skilled!" Lin Xiao stared gloomily at Ling Batian, unsure of his intentions.

"Excellent, excellent!" Ling Batian laughed and nodded. "You're young, so I assume your medical skills aren't that great. However, having a doctor with the army is better than having none. From today onwards, you are the army doctor for my 'Overlord's Soldiers.' If any of my brothers have any problems, it will all fall on you."

"I~~~" Lin Xiao was furious. How could he possibly use his medical skills on these heinous bandits? Even if they weren't the Black Blade bandits attacking Guihua City, they were still bandits!

"Don't refuse! Otherwise, you're dead!" Ling Batian looked at Lin Xiao lazily and said indifferently, "Spring Return Hall, no, everyone in Guihua City is dead. You are the last remnant of Spring Return Hall. If you die too, Spring Return Hall will truly be wiped out. You wouldn't want things to turn out this way, would you? So, be my army doctor obediently!"

Giving Lin Xiao no room to refuse, two burly men in blood-colored armor stepped forward and grabbed Lin Xiao.

The small satchel at his waist was also snatched away by a burly man.

Just as Lin Xiao was about to curse loudly, his head suddenly felt a shock from behind. He had been knocked unconscious by a man in blood-colored armor.

Ling Batian looked at Lin Xiao with a hint of pity and shook his head. "It's good that he's unconscious. Don't let him see the tragic state of the city, or the little brat will go mad. After some time, he'll be fine."

Shaking his head, Ling Batian abruptly drew his Three-Pointed, Two-Edged Blade and slashed forcefully into the air. "My children, we march! We've wasted two days, and we need to find some fun! The Third Prince sent a letter. 'Feiyun Pass' is blocking the Third Prince's army's path. The commander of Feiyun Pass's ancestral home is nearby, so we need to raid his hometown!"

The Overlord's Soldiers began to march away from Guihua City.

Lin Xiao, thus, became the army doctor for the Overlord's Soldiers! (To be continued)