Black Wind Bandits

Only after finally leaving the Black Dragon Mountain Range did Shen Fan realize just how difficult it had been. Even he, a Xiantian Expert, had nearly met his end there.

If it had been anyone else, ninety-nine out of a hundred probably would never have made it out.

Still, with the Black Dragon Mountain Range protecting it, Laiyang City need not fear the chaos of war beyond its borders. That was a good thing as well.

After leaving the Black Dragon Mountain Range, Shen Fan simply picked a direction and started walking. With no map, he planned to go wherever his feet took him.

But after traveling only a few dozen li, he sensed that something behind him seemed off.

Someone appeared to be following him!

Shen Fan frowned and immediately quickened his pace, unwilling to run into trouble so soon.

But the more one wished to avoid something, the more likely it was to happen.

Just as Shen Fan sped up, the people behind him seemed to lose their patience. A whistling arrow shot into the sky, clearly a signal.

Sure enough, a few breaths later, the ground began to tremble. A large force of men and horses was rushing over, and they had blocked Shen Fan's path forward!

So Shen Fan simply stopped running. He stood quietly where he was, waiting for whoever intended to attack him.

"Boss, over here! This is the guy. I tailed him for more than ten li. Just look at what he's wearing—he's definitely a fat sheep!"

Black-Faced Whiskers emerged from behind Shen Fan and shouted toward the distance.

Before long, a burly man carrying a Nine-Ring Golden Saber on his back rode up before Shen Fan on a tall horse.

"Heh, after waiting all this time, it turns out to be a bean sprout. Old Black, your eye for talent truly is exceptional!"

As the boss, Liu Yunfeng joked without restraint.

He removed the Nine-Ring Golden Saber from his back and gave it a one-handed sweep. The tip of the blade came to a steady halt above Shen Fan's head.

Liu Yunfeng laughed. "Kid, you've got some guts. Too bad your frame is too weak. Otherwise, I might've let you join us!"

"But now, hand over your money obediently. I'll be merciful and spare your life!"

Mounted on a fine horse and wielding a great saber, Liu Yunfeng had every reason to be confident. As a Viscera Refiner, he was a renowned expert throughout this region.

Faced with Liu Yunfeng's pressure, Shen Fan unhurriedly removed his bundle and tossed it over. Unless absolutely necessary, he did not wish to fight.

Though in his eyes, Liu Yunfeng was as weak as an insect.

"At least you know what's good for you!" Liu Yunfeng caught Shen Fan's bundle, but after rummaging through it, he found only a few taels of loose silver. That was not even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth!

Feeling humiliated, Liu Yunfeng flew into a rage and roared, "Kid, where's your money? Looking at the way you're dressed, you're definitely no ordinary person. How can you have so little traveling money?!"

"Hand it over now, or This Lord will make you suffer!"

As Liu Yunfeng spoke, more and more bandits gathered behind him. Most were mounted on horses, though their steeds were clearly nowhere near as strong as Liu Yunfeng's warhorse.

"See that, kid? If you don't hand over your money obediently today, I'll make sure you taste what it means to be better off dead!"

"My brothers behind me haven't touched a woman in a long time. You're so fair and tender, kid, so..."

The filthy words that followed stirred a spark of anger in Shen Fan. He had clearly only wanted to put up with a little grievance and stay out of trouble, yet some people refused a face when it was offered!

"Sorry, I've changed my mind!"

"Give back the bundle, or I'll take your lives!" Shen Fan snapped.

But his threat only made the hundred-plus bandits present burst into laughter.

"Big Brother, did I hear that right? This bean sprout wants to kill us? Hahahaha!"

"Yeah, yeah! A little chicken like him—I can take on ten of him by myself—yet he wants to kill us? He really doesn't know the height of heaven or the depth of earth!"

"Don't worry, Big Brother. In a moment, I'll let this kid know what a real man is!" A bandit with a mouth full of yellow teeth revealed a lewd grin.

But very soon, he discovered that Shen Fan, who had just been standing there, had suddenly vanished. Instead, he saw a familiar figure sitting atop a horse.

"That horse... why does it look so much like mine? And why has the sky gone dark?"

A head hit the ground. For a moment, the bandits stood frozen in place as if someone had cast a binding spell on them.

Their eyes were wide as they stared at the green-robed man flicking his wrist.

Cold sweat immediately streamed down Liu Yunfeng's face. He had not seen Shen Fan's movements at all just now, which was enough to prove that the other man was a martial artist far stronger than himself.

"We've kicked an iron plate!" The bandits regretted it bitterly.

Looking at Black-Faced Whiskers nearby, Liu Yunfeng truly wanted to chop him to death with one stroke. Such a figure had actually been mistaken for a fat sheep by him—had this bastard's head been kicked by a donkey?

Slowly sheathing the Nine-Ring Golden Saber, Liu Yunfeng skillfully dismounted and dropped to his knees.

"Great Hero, spare us! We Black Wind Bandits truly failed to recognize Mount Tai before our eyes and offended you, esteemed sir. We deserve to die!"

As he spoke, Liu Yunfeng actually began slapping his own face. In just a few strikes, his mouth had swollen up.

Clearly, Liu Yunfeng was a ruthless man.

The subordinates behind him also dismounted and knelt in a row, honestly waiting for Shen Fan's orders.

Shen Fan was dumbfounded by this group's display. He had not expected them to be so tactful. It seemed he had underestimated others somewhat.

Liu Yunfeng's eyes were filled with the desire to survive. Seeing this, Shen Fan had another idea.

"Get up. I have questions for you. Answer well, and your dog lives will be spared. Answer poorly, and that fellow will be your fate!"

Shen Fan moved, directly taking another man's head. Until the moment he died, the man never saw who had killed him.

The others trembled in terror. Liu Yunfeng nodded frantically and hurriedly said, "Great Hero, ask whatever you wish. I'll tell you everything I know!"

"Good. Then let me ask you..."

Over the time it took an incense stick to burn, Shen Fan gradually came to understand the situation in the surrounding area.

The nearest city was Nine Lions City. There were dozens of forces, large and small, within it. In Nine Lions City, only Xiantian Experts were qualified to become overlords of a region; lesser factions had only Viscera Refining experts holding down the fort.

What Shen Fan had not expected was that Nine Lions City had no City Lord either—or rather, its City Lord had been killed more than a decade ago!

Ever since the Old Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty had fallen critically ill several decades ago, the Warlords throughout the land had begun stirring up trouble.

As time passed, the Warlords carved up the land among themselves, and the War of Heroes grew ever fiercer. The Great Xia Dynasty had already lost actual control over nearly half its territory.

Lanzhou had already fallen under King Lanling's command. Beyond that, King Lanling also controlled Yongzhou. Of the Great Xia Dynasty's Seventy-two Provinces, King Lanling alone occupied Two Prefecture Land, making him a powerful Warlord.

However, Qingzhou, which bordered Lanzhou, was Tiger Shark King's territory. Since Lanzhou had only recently been seized by King Lanling, his foundations there were still unstable.

Tiger Shark King thus wanted to seize this fine opportunity to make a killing, but how could King Lanling possibly allow others to snatch the territory he had fought so hard to win?

Thus, King Lanling and Tiger Shark King went to war. Once the fighting began, it lasted seven or eight years.

Over those seven or eight years, all of Lanzhou was nearly fought into ruin. The people suffered untold misery, and corpses lay everywhere. Nine Lions City, being situated in Lanzhou's rear and not within the war zone, was in somewhat better shape.

Without the fair governance of powerful forces, many people had been driven into desperation and taken to the hills as bandits. That was how the Black Wind Bandits came to be.

As for Liu Yunfeng, he had once been a Martial Artist in Nine Lions City, serving as a Retainer for one of the city's families. But as that family declined, Liu Yunfeng lost his stable life.

Step by step, he had ended up where he was today. Becoming a bandit had truly been an act of helpless desperation.

Yet in his eyes, the people in power in Nine Lions City were the true demons who devoured people without even spitting out the bones!

Countless ordinary Martial Artists were enslaved by them, made into laborers who knew nothing but work—or turned into cannon fodder to be offered up to King Lanling!