Don't Scare Me Again

Qin Xiaopang looked at the corpses on the ground, then at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng said he had been very scared just now.

Qin Xiaopang did not know how to comfort him.

"I was afraid he'd kill me, so I killed him. Then he couldn't kill me." Li Banfeng offered a perfectly reasonable explanation.

Xiaopang felt that there was... nothing wrong with that explanation.

Li Banfeng walked over to Old Smoke Cannon's corpse, untied the cloth sack from his body, and counted what was inside.

Ninety-one Snake Spot Chrysanthemums. They could sell for nearly eight thousand.

"They were willing to kill people for less than eight thousand?" Li Banfeng thought about the prices in Medicine King Gully. Human lives should not have been so cheap.

Qin Xiaopang sighed. "You came from outside, so you don't understand the rules here. Money is too hard to earn and too easy to spend. In some remote places, people kill for a hundred.

And this is Bitter Mist Mountain, an utterly perilous place. Here, human lives are like grass. Neither is worth anything."

Li Banfeng handed the sack to Xiaopang. "You take this."

Xiaopang shook his head. "You killed those two bastards. You avenged Old Smoke Cannon, so his things should belong to you."

"You hold onto it for now. We'll talk after we get down the mountain." Li Banfeng passed the sack to Qin Xiaopang.

Seeing Li Banfeng empty-handed, Qin Xiaopang asked, "Where did your flowers go?"

"That's a long story." Li Banfeng took several black-and-white marbled beads from his pocket. "Brother, do you recognize these?"

Qin Xiaopang took the beads and examined them. His eyes immediately lit up. "These are Snake Spot Pills. I've seen these before. Where did you get them?"

They really were Snake Spot Pills.

Li Banfeng had actually suspected as much.

Since he had been willing to show them to Xiaopang, he had already prepared an explanation.

"On the way down the mountain, I ran into an old woman. She said she was from the medicine trade and wanted to exchange pills for my Snake Spot Chrysanthemums. Ten flowers for one pill."

Li Banfeng had originally intended to say five flowers for one pill, but after thinking it over, five flowers barely covered the cost. No one would make that kind of trade.

Exchanging at twice the cost was obviously more believable.

Upon hearing this, Xiaopang stared at the Snake Spot Pill in his hand again, then turned to Li Banfeng. "You traded for them?"

"I did!" Li Banfeng nodded.

"All of them?"

"All of them!" Li Banfeng said smugly. "Brother, tell me, wasn't that a good deal?"

"I'd say your deal... was probably a scam." Xiaopang returned the Snake Spot Pill to Li Banfeng. "Brother, my eyes aren't sharp enough to tell real pills from fake ones, but I can tell what's real in this world.

One Snake Spot Pill sells for at least ten thousand. Ten Snake Spot Chrysanthemums only sell for eight hundred fifty. Who would trade with you like that? There's a ninety-nine percent chance you got swindled."

"Is that so?" Li Banfeng smacked his lips and put the Snake Spot Pills away without explaining further.

He had no way to explain it. He could not tell Qin Xiaopang that he had not traded for them with the old woman. They had popped out of the Copper Lotus.

Qin Xiaopang sighed. "After this trip to Bitter Mist Mountain, I've learned something. We're still too green. There's money we really aren't qualified to earn. I got cheated by that Gold Rimmed Glasses, and you got cheated by that old woman.

You said just now that there was a place with lots of flowers. Was that true?"

Li Banfeng snorted. "Of course it wasn't true. I saw them about to make a move on you, so I made up that place to trick them.

I was hoping they'd follow me so I could deal with them on the road. Didn't expect those two to try killing you first, so I could only send them on their way here."

Xiaopang nodded. "You're still better than me. Actually, you're much better than me. You don't need to feel bad either. Your Snake Spot Chrysanthemums got cheated away, but Old Smoke Cannon's Snake Spot Chrysanthemums are all yours. Let's hurry down the mountain."

The two were about to leave the woods when they suddenly saw flickering firelight in the distance.

Xiaopang froze. "Torches."

Li Banfeng's eyes shifted, and he realized things were bad.

The people coming were most likely Gold Rimmed Glasses' companions. It was very likely that Bald Head was among them.

Bald Head's combat power was not much, but he had plenty of people with him. If they wanted to defeat them, they had to seize an opportunity for a sneak attack.

Li Banfeng said to Xiaopang, "Find somewhere to hide, as fast as you can. When you see me make my move, then you move. I'll hide the bodies first."

Qin Xiaopang said, "I'll hide them with you!"

"There's no time. Forget the bodies."

Li Banfeng dragged Gold Rimmed Glasses' and Hu Gaozi's corpses deeper into the woods. Xiaopang watched anxiously. The woods were so sparse—where could anyone hide bodies?

Li Banfeng could not find a place to hide them either, but the torches were drawing closer and closer.

After seeing Xiaopang climb a tree, Li Banfeng stepped out of his sight, took out the key, opened the door to the Portable Abode, and threw the two corpses inside.

Keeping corpses in his residence felt unlucky to Li Banfeng too, but he had no choice.

After leaving the Portable Abode and putting away the key, Li Banfeng hid in the grass and watched quietly.

Bald Head carried Cao Ye over his shoulder as he entered the woods first.

Cao Ye was tied up tight, crying and screaming all the way.

Two men behind him carried You Tao.

You Tao was covered in injuries. If her body had not still risen and fallen ever so slightly, Li Banfeng might have suspected that she had already been beaten to death.

Cao Ye and You Tao were thrown onto the clearing. One of Bald Head's lackeys stepped forward and pinched Cao Ye's cheek. "Don't cry. What are you crying for? I know my limits. I guarantee I won't hurt you!"

As he spoke, the lackey was about to lay hands on Cao Ye when Bald Head shouted, "Don't fucking mess around! Didn't I tell you? Wait until Big Brother gets back."

"Everything has to wait for Big Brother..." the lackey grumbled.

Bald Head walked up and kicked him. "With me, forget a woman—even if there's a single grain of rice, Big Brother eats it first!"

The lackey did not dare make another sound. The other lackey spotted Old Smoke Cannon's corpse.

"Third Brother, did Big Brother do this old bastard?"

Bald Head told the other two lackeys to watch Cao Ye and You Tao while he went to inspect Old Smoke Cannon's body.

"Judging by the knife wound, Second Brother probably did this. But this old bastard was poisoned, and that really is Big Brother's handiwork." Bald Head smugly explained the differences between Gold Rimmed Glasses' and Hu Gaozi's methods.

Li Banfeng had no interest in hearing those differences, because Gold Rimmed Glasses and Hu Gaozi were already gone.

There was only one thing he cared about now: they had split up.

Bald Head and his three lackeys had divided into pairs.

With sickle in hand, Li Banfeng carefully approached the two lackeys guarding Cao Ye and You Tao.

One lackey was groping You Tao, eager to take every advantage he could.

The other had shoved his hand into Cao Ye's clothes. Seeing her cry too fiercely, he hurriedly covered her mouth.

Closer. Just a little closer.

Li Banfeng had no means of long-range attack. To succeed in a sneak attack, he had to get close enough.

He estimated there were still twenty meters between them. A little too far.

After taking a few more steps, there were only fifteen meters left.

Closer.

Crack!

Li Banfeng stepped a little too heavily, crushing dry leaves beneath his foot and making a sound.

He held his breath behind a tree, utterly motionless.

Those two lackeys had probably noticed. The sneak attack seemed to have failed. If all four came at him together, he needed a plan to withstand the first wave before having Xiaopang come down to support him.

If worse came to worst, he would run. It was not as though he knew those two women very well.

After thinking for a moment, Li Banfeng heard no further movement.

Peeking from behind the tree, Li Banfeng discovered in surprise that the two lackeys were still taking liberties with You Tao and Cao Ye. They had not noticed him at all.

A House Cultivator's talent—Neglect.

It was not neglecting others. It was being neglected by others.

They had overlooked Li Banfeng's existence and paid no heed to his footsteps.

In these desolate mountains and wild woods, a cracking sound was normal. Their attention was entirely on the two girls.

Since neither had noticed him, Li Banfeng continued forward.

With ten meters remaining, Li Banfeng stopped sneaking.

He suddenly burst out from behind the tree. With a Travel Cultivator's speed, he reached one lackey's back in less than a second.

Before the lackey could even see Li Banfeng clearly, Li Banfeng slit his throat with one stroke.

The other lackey hid behind Cao Ye. Li Banfeng pushed Cao Ye aside and swung again. The sickle struck his body with a shower of sparks, yet did not even break the skin.

You Tao cried out, "He's a Body Cultivator!"

This bastard had armor growing from his body!

Li Banfeng swung again, but still could not break his skin. By then, Bald Head and the other lackey had rushed over.

Li Banfeng was in a bad position. He was about to face three people attacking together.

In his fear, Li Banfeng trembled all over, his eyes reddening.

Bald Head looked at the lackey lying dead on the ground, then at Li Banfeng.

"You little dog bastard, you really are fucking dog-born." Bald Head cocked his head at Li Banfeng, cold light gleaming in his eyes. "You fucking dared touch my man. Today I'll chop off both your hands, then scoop out your brains and make you eat them yourself!"

At that, Li Banfeng turned and ran. But he was not fast enough. When he reached a tree, the Body Cultivator with natural armor blocked his path.

Bald Head and his lackey pursued from behind at an unhurried pace.

Li Banfeng was so frightened that his features twisted. His knees bent as though he were about to kneel.

Bald Head walked toward Li Banfeng step by step, all the way beneath the tree. The faint smile on his face looked especially savage.

"Kneel. Make it look good, and I'll let you die quickly. Kneel now. I said kneel. Are you deaf? Can't you hear me..."

Bang!

Bald Head heard a dull thud.

Xiaopang jumped down from the tree.

He did not know why Xiaopang had jumped down from the tree.

And he certainly did not know why Li Banfeng had run beneath this particular tree.

Xiaopang's axe landed squarely on the lackey's head. Shattered skull and scattered brains splashed all over Bald Head's face.

Bald Head's savage smile vanished because he saw Li Banfeng raise his sickle.

As a Martial Cultivator, Bald Head reacted extremely quickly. He immediately raised his dagger, sank into a horse stance, and braced with all his strength. Then, amid a burst of agonizing pain, he dropped to his knees.

Li Banfeng still had his sickle raised, but raising a blade and striking someone were two different things.

He raised the sickle with his right hand and kicked Bald Head in the groin with his left foot, the motion flowing in one seamless stroke.

On top of that, Bald Head had been very cooperative and voluntarily assumed a horse stance. The strike was remarkably effective.

Bald Head dropped to his knees.

He cursed Li Banfeng in his heart. Why was this bastard so underhanded?

There was still one lackey left, the one with natural armor.

Like everyone else, this lackey had endured a full day on Bitter Mist Mountain. His physical condition was not very good.

But Xiaopang was in better condition than he was. A Food Cultivator's resistance was tougher than a Body Cultivator's.

Xiaopang raised his axe and hacked down again and again.

The lackey kept using his armor to withstand the blows until he could no longer sustain it. Xiaopang hacked off half his body, from his left shoulder to his right ribs.

At the same time, Li Banfeng hooked his sickle beneath Bald Head's chin.

Bald Head's jaw trembled as he said indistinctly, "I just wanted to... to scare you. I didn't want to kill anyone. I wouldn't kill anyone, I definitely wouldn't..."

"You wanted to scare me?" Li Banfeng blinked and asked very seriously, "Is that true?"

"It's true!" Bald Head's jaw was hooked, so he could not nod, but his gaze was very sincere.

"Don't do that again in the future. I was really scared." Li Banfeng earnestly offered him that advice.

Hearing this, Bald Head saw hope.

"I'll never scare you again, never again..."

Before Bald Head could finish, Li Banfeng took out a shovel, drove it into Bald Head's skull, and pried open the top of his head.

PS: I posted ten thousand words today. Vote for Salad and leave comments.

(End of Chapter)