Enemies Meet on a Narrow Road

"Oh, it's this fool!"

Sha LiFei clearly saw him too and instinctively hunched his neck and chest. But then he saw Li Yan standing tall in front of him, his left hand gripping the hilt of his saber. His face immediately turned bitter, and he straightened his own back.

"Everyone, I'm back."

Troupe Leader Zhou snorted and prepared to lead his people into the courtyard.

A fat man with his chest bared nearby saw this and immediately chuckled, "Oh, Troupe Leader Zhou is indeed a man of his word. We were just thinking, if you didn't come back soon, we'd be going in..."

"Get out of the way!"

Before he could finish speaking, a hand reached out from the side, and the person he was grabbing stumbled.

The fat man was about to curse, but when he saw who it was, he immediately shut his mouth.

It was Meng HaiCheng who had made the move.

He looked at Li Yan, his eyes full of joy. "Good kid, it's fate that brings us together again. Damn it, I was planning to find you!"

Li Yan glanced at him indifferently. "Not convinced? Want to spar again?"

Hearing their conversation, Troupe Leader Zhou was surprised.

He hadn't expected that the young man behind Daoist Wang would also have a grudge with the Iron Saber Gang.

"Spar with you? What a joke!"

Meng HaiCheng's face turned red, and he cursed, "Don't you even look at what kind of place Xianyang is? Brothers, take this kid down for me first!"

"Brother Hai, you got it!"

A group of thugs immediately surrounded them.

"Hey, hey, hey..." Sha LiFei panicked inwardly and shouted, "Meng HaiCheng, you shameless bastard! You want to gang up on him? Do you even care about Jianghu Rules?"

Meng HaiCheng sneered, "Rules? You think you're worthy!"

Swish!

Before he could finish speaking, a figure charged forward.

It was Li Yan, who had suddenly attacked, his left hand extended forward and his right hand reaching down.

"This move again!"

Meng HaiCheng saw it and became furious.

Last time, Li Yan had used the same stance, hitting him squarely with a Heart Piercing Elbow. He had dropped his Wheat Harvesters and fled in a sorry state.

He knew that he could no longer work as a Wheat Harvester.

Not to mention the ridicule from his peers, but just abandoning his Wheat Harvesters halfway, no matter the reason, meant no one would dare hire him again.

As for Li Yan thinking of getting Zhou Pan to step in, it was simply overthinking.

Meng HaiCheng knew his master's character well. It was one thing to teach Li Yan a lesson, but if he found out Li Yan had been humiliated, there would be dire consequences.

Therefore, he didn't dare to make a scene, and was even afraid of this matter reaching Zhou Pan's ears.

After much thought, since he couldn't make a living as a swordsman, he gritted his teeth, came to Xianyang City, and became a lackey for his senior brother.

Seeing Li Yan attack, Meng HaiCheng didn't dodge.

He shrank his body and twisted his waist, his right hand forming a cover, like a great ape squatting on the ground.

It looked ridiculous, but it was a killing move taught by Zhou Pan.

If Li Yan continued with the Heart Piercing Elbow, he could use Old Ape Falling Branch, flipping his leg to strike the lower body and cripple Li Yan.

If the opponent changed to a side kick, he could then use Nimble Monkey Entangling Silk, blinding the enemy and tearing their face to shreds.

In short, there were countermeasures for the upper, middle, and lower attacks, all fierce and sharp.

With precautions this time, he wouldn't suffer the same kind of loss as last time.

However, Li Yan's hand, which had reached down, suddenly grasped the saber hilt and then changed his move abruptly, giving a fierce shake.

Clang!

The saber, like a cold light, tore through the rain.

The Guanzhong Quick Saber was no ordinary skill. Before Meng HaiCheng could react, a saber was at his neck. He felt a slight chill as the sharp edge, pressed tightly against his neck, had already broken the skin.

And in the eyes of the onlookers, it was a comical scene:

Meng HaiCheng was squatting on the ground, as if Li Yan was brandishing his saber to kill a monkey.

Humiliated again, Meng HaiCheng roared, "We were supposed to fight with fists and kicks, but you drew your saber! You don't follow the rules!"

Li Yan raised an eyebrow. "Rules... You think you're worthy?"

"You..."

Hearing this, Meng HaiCheng's head buzzed with anger.

Before he could speak, his expression changed, and he stumbled backward.

It was Li Yan, holding his saber, who forced him to retreat continuously into the courtyard. He then turned back and said calmly, "Anyone who dares to cross this threshold will have their head taken."

Unfortunately, these words did not scare away the Iron Saber Gang members outside.

These guys, while not exactly swordsmen who kept their heads on their belts, were all living on borrowed time.

During the Previous Dynasty, Da Xing called them "La Hu," the Golden Horde Khanate called them "Unregistered People," and various organizations usually called them "No Life Society"—all desperate outlaws.

It was just like the area around Jinmen nowadays, where "Guo Huo" would draw lots for death matches, involving jumping into boiling oil, "Three Knives Six Holes," poking eyes... not even flinching meant you weren't a true man.

Born in Guanzhong, with their stubbornness and grit, they were no less formidable.

Immediately, a ruffian stepped forward, one eye bigger than the other, shaking his short saber and baring his neck, glaring. "Oh, you wanna use a knife?"

He said, pointing at his own neck.

"Come on, let the person go. Aim here. If you kill me, I'll call you a man. Brothers, all of you watch closely!"

"Hahaha..."

A bunch of thugs burst into laughter, completely fearless.

They had seen plenty of swordsmen before, and they naturally had ways to deal with them.

Their method was to cheat!

The laws of the Great Xuan Dynasty were strict. Whether you were from the Jianghu or the Xuan Gate, everyone was treated the same. Killing someone immediately led to being hunted and a bounty being placed on your head, especially in broad daylight.

As for them, they had no fear.

First, they had the Iron Saber Gang backing them, and they had already greased the palms of the officials.

Second, they had IOUs, and they were just squatting at the entrance. Even if they were taken to the yamen, they wouldn't be at a disadvantage.

When they encountered a swordsman, they had one thought: if I die, it's my bad luck. But you won't have an easy time either. Not only will the government hunt you, but the gang will also put out a bounty.

But if you can't kill me...

Heh heh, today is the day I make a name for myself!

How could one who walks between the light and the dark not have their own methods?

Facing these scoundrels, Li Yan was too lazy to waste words. He let out a cold laugh, put force into his wrist, and the blade immediately sank into flesh.

Meng HaiCheng's neck gushed blood, staining half his body.

"No, no, no!"

Meng HaiCheng was already pale with fear, his scalp tightening. He screamed, "Don't come up! This guy's a madman! Do you want me dead?!"

The Iron Saber Gang members outside heard him and stopped advancing, but their gazes towards Meng HaiCheng were full of mockery.

This guy was the gang leader's junior brother. His death would be difficult to explain.

He never expected that the one who usually barked orders would be such a coward at the critical moment.

Li Yan was too lazy to bother with these ruffians.

Their principles for survival were completely different from those of Jianghu people. They seemed brutal, but it was just them being unreasonable, relying on the law to suppress Jianghu people and using their fists to bully ordinary folk.

If they were in a desolate, unpopulated area without the backing of the law, he would have killed every last one of them without leaving a trace.

Such a commotion had long since alerted those inside the courtyard.

From the dilapidated mansion, a large crowd of people poured out, men and women, old and young, mostly ordinary people without much martial skill.

There was an ugly girl with tear-streaked cheeks holding a broom, an elderly musician trembling with a short saber, and even children holding wooden sticks.

Of course, there were also many young people, all glaring angrily.

Li Yan immediately understood why Troupe Leader Zhou, despite possessing considerable skill, dared not resist these thugs in the slightest.

A shadow puppet troupe generally required performers, puppeteers, and musicians.

Sometimes, the singer would also play an instrument, singing while playing. Along with a dedicated puppeteer, two people could form a troupe and perform at temple fairs.

Clearly, the Spring Breeze Troupe was a large one.

Besides the artists, it was likely they had brought their families and children.

This was unavoidable. In recent years, land annexation had been severe. The people of the Divine Land were attached to their homes. If they hadn't lost their land, who would be willing to drag their families through the Jianghu?

"It's alright, it's alright."

Despite being caught off guard by this series of events, Troupe Leader Zhou managed to compose himself and said, "This is Daoist Wang I invited. You all go back now and don't cause any more trouble."

He then looked at Li Yan, wanting to say something but hesitating.

He was helpless. He hadn't expected the savior he invited to also be a disaster. The guy drew his knife at the slightest disagreement and had already made an enemy of the Iron Saber Gang.

When this blockhead was done, he could just pack up and leave, or hide for a while. But they would likely have to face the retaliation of the Iron Saber Gang.

Thinking of this, Troupe Leader Zhou had completely lost his strategy.

Seeing this, Daoist Wang's expression softened slightly, and he nodded. "Troupe Leader Zhou, rest assured. This is one matter at a time. I will take care of your affairs."

Upon seeing the situation, his doubts lessened by more than half.

This large family, with elders and children, didn't look like demon men who peeled human skin or practiced evil arts.

Even so, he still looked at Li Yan.

Li Yan held his saber in one hand and manipulated the Yang Seal with the other. He took a deep breath, and the scents within a hundred meters instantly flooded his nostrils, which he then closed off with the Yin Incantation.

The smell from the boxes inside was all from livestock.

There was no special ominous scent from the opera troupe.

He nodded at Daoist Wang, then suddenly lifted his foot, flicked up a stone from the ground, caught it, and threw it over the courtyard wall.

This Flying Locust Stone technique was something everyone in the Jianghu knew.

His family had raised sheep for a while, and he could hit a sheep's horn with a flick of his wrist to get it back in line, so he had practiced it quite skillfully.

"Ouch, you fool!"

As the stone flew over the courtyard wall, a scream immediately erupted from the other side.

Some ruffians had tried to climb over the courtyard wall from the back to casually take a member of the opera troupe hostage and exchange them for Meng HaiCheng, but Li Yan had discovered them.

Li Yan chuckled, patted Meng HaiCheng's face with the hilt of his saber, and said calmly, "Do you want this settled today, or a few days from now?"

Meng HaiCheng gritted his teeth. "What happens if it's today?"

"Simple!"

Li Yan raised an eyebrow. "I'll kill you first, then slaughter all the mongrels outside, and then be wanted by the Imperial Court, so I'll have to hide somewhere else."

Meng HaiCheng swallowed. "And if it's a few days from now?"

Li Yan looked up. "Then, according to Jianghu Rules, after this job is done, I'll make my move, and you can find anyone you want for a death match in the arena!"

Facing this situation, Meng HaiCheng had no choice, but he still uttered a threat, "Fine, don't you dare run away then."

Li Yan scoffed. "Li Hu's son running away on Zhou Monkey's turf? You guys might be happy about it, but I'm not!"

With that, he kicked Meng HaiCheng out the door.

Meng HaiCheng, having some martial skill, stumbled but quickly regained his balance as he exited. He turned and roared, "You little bastard, I'll be collecting your corpse in three days!"

"Let's go!"

With that, he turned and led his men away.

After they left, Li Yan turned to Uncle Sha. "Go spread the word that Li Hu's son has arrived. They won't be able to avoid this arena match even if they want to!"

"Understood!"

Sha LiFei immediately understood and rushed out.

After hearing him handle things, Daoist Wang nodded and said to Troupe Leader Zhou, "The rain should stop tomorrow. Troupe Leader Zhou, please prepare your things as soon as possible."

"Tomorrow night, we'll head to the Mass Burial Grounds!"