Bandits

I saw the system notification.

The hair on Chen Feng's back stood on end.

Two thousand experience points in one go!

What did that even mean?

Even his master's pressure was only worth a thousand!

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Feng shouted to Cheng Li, "Fall back! Quickly! It's an ambush!"

At the same time, he turned to Square-faced Martial Artist and cursed:

"You idiot!"

Square-faced Martial Artist froze. When he realized Chen Feng was cursing him, his temper flared, and he was about to lash out.

The others were also stunned by Chen Feng's sudden reaction and were just about to ask what had happened.

But then...

"Rustle, rustle."

A sound unlike the wind came from the mountain.

Cheng Li was the strongest person present. He immediately sensed something was wrong and hurriedly urged his horse around, trying to turn back.

But...

It was too late.

A sharp whistle suddenly sounded from the woods on the right.

The shrill, thin whistle was like a needle stabbing into everyone's ears.

Immediately afterward, Shadow Figures emerged from the bushes—not just one or two, but a great many, coming from every direction.

Chen Feng's heart sank to the bottom.

They were all bandits!

They raised all kinds of weapons.

And charged toward Chen Feng's group!

Chen Feng swept his eyes over them. At a glance, there were at least thirty. With numbers like that, they could easily overwhelm the entire convoy.

Watching the bandits charge down one after another,

Square-faced Martial Artist went deathly pale.

The curses he'd been about to spit at Chen Feng did a full turn in his mouth, then vanished without a trace.

He realized he'd caused a huge disaster.

"There's no choice! Protect the horses! We're breaking through!"

Chen Feng shouted.

He clamped his legs around his horse. It neighed and surged forward at full speed.

"H-How could we possibly break through?!" Square-faced Martial Artist stammered, his face pale.

No one listened to him now.

The people from the Changwei Escort Agency trusted Chen Feng completely. They all urged their horses toward the winding Official Road.

Cheng Li didn't hesitate either. He whipped his horse hard.

The carriage began to pick up speed.

Hearing the commotion outside, someone in the carriage asked, "Second Uncle, what's happening?"

The question sounded calm.

But the tremor in Cheng Tingxue's voice gave away all her unease.

"It's all right. Don't worry..."

Cheng Li's reply lacked conviction, too.

There were too many bandits. Although they posed no real threat to him as a Bone Forging Realm Martial Artist,

he couldn't guarantee Cheng Tingxue's safety. She was only an ordinary person. Nor could he guarantee the carriage would make it through unscathed.

If anything happened to the horses,

their speed would drop drastically.

It would only be a matter of time before the pursuers caught up.

At that moment, the hollow became a racetrack. Everyone was focused on escaping it a moment sooner.

But...

The bandits weren't going to make such a basic mistake.

They had already sealed off every way in and out.

The group lying in ambush among the roadside bushes had blocked the road as soon as the whistle sounded.

They held cleavers and looked murderous.

Square-faced Martial Artist, who had fled fastest, suddenly paled and shouted, "I told you we couldn't break through!"

"There's another ambush!"

Chen Feng was guiding his horse,

gradually pulling up alongside Cheng Li's carriage.

Of course, when Chen Feng told everyone to charge ahead, he wasn't sending them to their deaths. He bellowed:

"Senior! Clear the way!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Chen Feng leaped from his horse and landed on the carriage.

Cheng Li immediately understood what Chen Feng meant. He jumped down from the carriage and left the driver's seat to Chen Feng.

The instant he hit the ground,

the vast Blood Qi of a Bone Forging Realm Martial Artist surged through Cheng Li, roaring like a succession of war drums.

He went all out from the very first strike!

It was both a declaration of resolve and a warning.

The next second,

Cheng Li stamped hard on the ground.

With a thunderous crash, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

He was even faster than the carriage!

In the blink of an eye, he had reached the bandits blocking the road.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three palm strikes scattered the bandits in his way.

The worst of them coughed up three mouthfuls of blood, every rib shattered. He was clearly as good as dead.

"Boss! This one's tough!"

A bandit yelled, not daring to go anywhere near Cheng Li.

Cheng Li's face was fierce.

Anyone who came near him would die!

"Stop them! Stop them with everything you've got!"

A roar came from the hillside.

"We can't stop him!"

"Then stop him anyway!"

The little bandits stood no chance against a Bone Forging Martial Artist. Under Cheng Li's protection, the group gradually made it out of the hollow.

That was Chen Feng's plan.

Simple and brutal.

He'd have Cheng Li use his strength to crush his way through and force open a path.

Otherwise, once the encirclement tightened,

they really wouldn't be able to escape.

"Senior!"

Chen Feng shouted, lowered his center of gravity, and reached out toward Cheng Li.

He hauled him up with a powerful tug.

Cheng Li landed safely back on the carriage.

"S-Second Uncle, are you all right?"

Cheng Tingxue's uneasy voice came from the carriage.

"I'm fine..."

Cheng Li panted heavily. That burst of strength had clearly taken a heavy toll on him.

So far,

they'd only lost one horse.

That was still acceptable. Their pace wouldn't slow too much.

But Chen Feng's expression remained grave.

If he were a bandit,

he certainly wouldn't have made just these preparations.

"What's wrong?..."

Cheng Li glanced at Chen Feng without thinking.

But before he could finish,

Thwip—

An arrow, whistling through the air with deadly force, shattered everyone's sense of security.

The first arrow hit no one. It merely lodged in the road ahead, which they had to pass through. It seemed to be a test shot, gauging their speed.

"Protect the horses!" Chen Feng shouted.

Square-faced Martial Artist, who was riding at the very front, was scared out of his wits. It didn't take much thought to realize that the person in front would be the first one shot.

So Square-faced Martial Artist slowed down a little,

falling half a horse-length behind his companions.

Sure enough,

three breaths later, a second arrow came right after the first, heading straight for the Xu Family Martial Artist at the front!

"Ah!!"

The Xu Family Martial Artist cried out in pain.

The arrow buried itself deep in his right shoulder.

Blood gushed out.

He staggered in the saddle, nearly falling off.

Fortunately, his fierce will to survive made him grip the reins tightly, not daring to loosen his hold for even a moment.

He also obediently followed Chen Feng's instructions, using his own body to shield the horse beneath him.

He might survive a few arrows if he was lucky.

But if he lost his horse, he wouldn't be able to escape. He'd be as good as dead.

Thwip—

The archer plucked the bowstring.

And tugged at everyone's nerves at the same time.

"Where? Where! Where is he?!"

Chen Feng's gaze raced across the mountain slopes. If he didn't find the archer soon, they wouldn't even be able to defend themselves!

Whoosh!

Another arrow flew toward them.

It seemed to be aimed at Cheng Li.

Fortunately, the carriage was large enough to shield him from it.

The sharp arrow pierced the wooden panel.

Half of the shaft stuck into the carriage.

"Ahhhhh!"

The maid inside the carriage shrieked in panic.

Her sharp, piercing cries kept disrupting Chen Feng's thoughts.

Cheng Li was getting increasingly agitated too. Unable to bear it, he shouted:

"Quiet!!"

But after he roared, the cries turned into sobbing, making even more noise.

Veins bulged at Chen Feng's temples.

But now wasn't the time to scold anyone.

He had to find the archer as quickly as possible.

Crying, shrieking, wailing, cursing, hoofbeats...

Chen Feng held his breath and focused.

Following the direction the arrows had come from, he scanned from near to far, looking toward the mountain peak...

His gaze suddenly sharpened.

"Found him!"

A massive boulder jutted out from the mountainside.

A man stood there with a longbow in his hand and a quiver of White Feather Arrows at his waist. He was nocking an arrow and raising his bow.

In just two short breaths,

a flash of white had already settled against the bowstring.