Encounter

The three continued onward, leading their horses. Yet after traveling for some distance, they discovered that Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue were nowhere to be seen on the mountain road ahead.

"That shouldn't be. Did they pick up the pace?"

Meng Shan looked puzzled. Beside him, Yuan Mei rested her hand on her saber hilt again and said warily,

"They may have hidden themselves ahead to set an ambush, intending to strike us."

Meng Shan swept his gaze across the dense, shadowy forest ahead, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"That's not impossible. Be more careful from here on!"

Yuan Mei nodded lightly. Along with the scholar, she gradually slowed her pace and cautiously continued down the mountain road.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Meng Shan's ears twitched. He abruptly stopped and raised a hand to halt Yuan Mei and the scholar.

His eyes fixed on the brushwood forest ahead as he suddenly shouted in a deep voice,

"Come out!"

Very soon, a rustling sounded from within the forest. Then, a group of burly men carrying sabers and spears leaped out from behind the trees.

These men had red headscarves wrapped around their heads, each one broad and brawny with vicious faces. They blocked the three travelers' path perfectly.

Meng Shan and Yuan Mei were both stunned at the sight.

They had assumed Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue were lying in ambush here, but never expected these fellows to spring out instead.

The two unconsciously exchanged a glance. Their first thought was: where had Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue gone?

Or perhaps those two had been in league with these men from the very beginning?

Before they could think further, however, a burst of laughter like rolling thunder interrupted them.

Another hulking figure emerged from the woods. Stepping on flying leaves, he rose and fell nimbly through the air, seeming to cross the void itself as he arrived before them in the blink of an eye.

"I've guarded this godforsaken place for nearly ten days without even seeing a single hair. Today, a fish has finally taken the bait."

The burly man was bald, with thick black hair covering his bare chest. In his hand, he held horizontally an iron fishing rod as thick as a baby's arm.

Laughing heartily, he looked at Meng Shan and the other two.

"Surprised? This Hall Master has been waiting for you in this dump for days!"

Meng Shan's expression darkened. He cautiously scanned the surroundings before asking in a low voice,

"Where are those two hiding?"

The bald man grinned.

"Oh, you're quite alert. But with this Hall Master acting personally, the rest of them aren't needed. They're back at the stronghold making fires and roasting meat, getting ready to celebrate for the brothers!"

As soon as he said this, the surrounding burly men burst into loud laughter. The way they looked at Meng Shan's group was as if they were lambs awaiting slaughter.

Then the bald man drove the iron fishing rod in his hand heavily into the ground.

With a muffled clang and a spray of sparks, the fishing rod sank nearly a foot deep into the rock beneath his feet as though piercing tofu.

"Tell me. Are you spies from the Yin Mountain Sect, or scouts from Flame Dove City?"

Meng Shan and Yuan Mei both frowned at those words.

They came from Shangyang City and were naturally unfamiliar with Chongzhou.

The only reason they knew of this hidden route was because they had obtained the information through connections in Flame Dove City.

But that certainly did not mean they were scouts from Flame Dove City. Given the situation, the other side had likely mistaken them for someone else.

What they still could not determine, however, was the exact relationship between Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue and these bald man's group.

Thus, besides dealing with the bald man before them, who was clearly an Innate Realm expert, they also had to guard against a sneak attack from Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue.

Meng Shan and Yuan Mei were under immense pressure.

So Meng Shan took the initiative to lower his stance. He cupped his hands toward the bald man and said,

"Hero, the three of us are from Jing Province and have nothing whatsoever to do with either of the forces you mentioned. Please show mercy and let us pass."

"Bullshit! Do you take me for a three-year-old child?"

The bald man spat on the ground, utterly unwilling to believe Meng Shan's nonsense.

"There's a water route and an official road, yet you don't take either? An outsider insists on walking this godforsaken little path through these wild mountains where even birds don't shit. If you aren't spies, then ghosts must be!"

His face was fierce as he said,

"You'd best know what's good for you and give this Hall Master an honest explanation, unless you want to suffer some physical pain."

At this, several vicious-looking men around them grinned coldly as they slowly closed in with sabers and spears in hand.

"Looks like there's no room for negotiation."

Meng Shan's face instantly turned icy. He discreetly gave Yuan Mei a look, telling her to watch for attacks from the shadows, then suddenly stomped the ground and charged forward.

With a piercing screech as his long saber left its sheath, martial true qi surged throughout his body, and he struck without warning.

Swish! Swish!

White saber light flashed, and two vicious heads went rolling across the ground, blood spraying more than ten feet into the air.

"You've got some nerve!"

The bald man's eyes nearly split with rage. Scalding true qi instantly gathered in his hand as he yanked up the fishing rod and violently lashed it toward Meng Shan.

Shrill whistles filled the air. Silver threads at the rod's tip sliced through the air like blades, seemingly intent on cutting Meng Shan into four pieces.

At the critical moment, Meng Shan spun around and threw a punch. The force of his perfected Mountain-Shaking Fist was like a massive hammer, knocking aside the razor-sharp threads in midair.

The threads fell past his sides, slicing straight through the hard mountain rock beneath them. Explosions rang out in succession as countless chunks of stone flew everywhere.

The next instant, a fierce gleam appeared in Meng Shan's eyes. Meeting attack with attack, he aimed his saber point directly at the bald man and charged forward, leaving an afterimage where he stood!

Meanwhile, while remaining on guard against hidden attackers, Yuan Mei had also made her move.

Her saber technique was exceptionally fast. The burly men around her were no match for her at all, and within a single breath, several heads fell to the ground.

In the dense forest not far away, Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue stood atop a large tree, quietly watching the scene unfold.

"These roadblockers aren't much either. They're like a rabble; so many died after just one exchange."

Li Musheng was not particularly moved by bloody scenes. He shook his head and clicked his tongue.

Cang Yinyue glanced at him and said,

"This is good. With them clearing the way ahead, we can avoid a great deal of trouble, and I can worry less too."

"Is that so? Why do I feel like this doesn't seem very reliable?" Li Musheng was skeptical.

Just then, the battle over there had already become completely one-sided.

The bald man clearly had not expected Meng Shan and Yuan Mei to be such hard targets. Both of them were Innate Realm experts no weaker than himself.

Not much time had passed, yet all of his subordinates had already been slaughtered.

He himself had also been tied down by Meng Shan. For the moment, neither could determine a winner, and neither could do anything to the other.

"Those two are in league with you, aren't they? They still haven't made a move even now. They've probably already abandoned you and run away."

Meng Shan slashed down, colliding head-on with the fishing rod in his opponent's hand. The powerful aftershock of true qi snapped a tree as thick as a bowl several yards away.

"What the fuck are you barking about? You killed so many of my brothers—I'll tear you all to pieces!"

Grinding his teeth, the bald man suddenly pulled a bamboo tube from his robes. Activating it with true qi, he shot a dazzling red flare into the sky!