Ambush

This was an excellent place for an ambush.

If anyone wanted to make a move here, the convoy would have almost no room to maneuver or evade!

Sure enough, just as the convoy reached the middle of the pass, a burst of hurried noise suddenly came from the bushes on both sides!

Dozens of burly masked men charged down from the slopes, armed with sabers, axes, and clubs. In the blink of an eye, they blocked the convoy at both front and rear, trapping everyone in the middle.

Xu Zhibao urged his horse forward, his cold gaze sweeping over the bandits. He said in a deep voice, "Friends of which road lie ahead? I am Xu Zhibao, a constable of Changping County, ordered by the county yamen to escort military supplies for the Qingyang Prefecture government. If you seek money, name your price. Xu can decide to leave behind some toll money, so we need not wound the harmony between us."

The bandit leader was broad and brawny, his face covered by black cloth, revealing only a pair of vicious eyes.

Upon hearing Xu Zhibao's words, his gaze flickered. Clearly, he was wary of the words "government authorities."

But after looking back at his companions, then at the five horse-drawn carts laden with goods, greed ultimately overwhelmed his misgivings. He tightened his grip on the machete in his hand and gave a ferocious grin.

"Don't try to scare us with the government! Since we came, we never planned to return empty-handed! Leave the goods if you know what's good for you, and we'll spare your lives!"

Xu Zhibao sighed, shook his head, and slowly drew the saber at his waist.

Just then, Li Chengwen suddenly stood up from the cart.

He pulled a bamboo tube-shaped object from his robes, held it high over his head, and yanked the fuse!

Whoosh!

A brilliant flare shot into the sky and burst into a conspicuous cloud of red smoke.

"One cloud-piercing arrow, and a thousand troops and ten thousand horses will come to meet us!"

Li Chengwen shouted, imposing and majestic.

However—

One breath passed. Two breaths passed. Ten breaths passed...

The hillside was silent. Not even a ghostly shadow appeared!

The bandits froze for a moment before finally realizing what was happening.

The leader gave a savage grin and waved his hand. "Damn it, just putting on a bluff! Get them!"

Dozens of bandits surged forward like a tidal wave!

The smugness on Li Chengwen's face instantly turned to terror. He scrambled down from the cart, nearly stumbling to the ground.

A machete came slashing straight at him. He barely managed to dodge it, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Xu Zhibao! Where are the men from your escort agency?! Why haven't they come yet?!"

Xu Zhibao was already fighting two bandits. His saberplay was fierce and his movements agile; even facing two alone, he was not at a disadvantage in the slightest, and still had the breath to reply.

"Don't worry, Young Master Li! They should be right behind us! I can deal with these rats by myself!"

With that, he gave a loud shout. His saber flashed, slicing through the club in one bandit's hands, then he followed with a kick that sent the man sprawling to the ground.

The four yamen runners also formed a back-to-back formation. Their long staffs thrust out together, forcing back several bandits who tried to approach.

They could not be called martial arts experts, but they were well trained and worked in perfect coordination. For the moment, they held their ground.

However, the situation at the rear of the convoy was far from encouraging.

Though Li Chengwen's two guards fought with all their strength, the bandits greatly outnumbered them and soon split them apart.

The drivers, who knew no martial arts, were so frightened that they curled up beneath the carts, trembling like leaves and unable to help at all.

Li Chengwen himself was even more flustered. Heavyset and slow to dodge, he was forced into a dead corner by two bandits. A gleaming machete was about to split his head open—

Just then, a flash of cold light suddenly appeared!

No one saw how Shen Chu drew his saber.

They only heard a clear ring as it left the sheath. The blade light had already carved a perfect arc through the air, striking the bandit's machete with unerring precision!

Clang!!!

A piercing clash of metal rang out. The bandit's machete was jolted clean out of his hand, spinning several times through the air before plunging into the dirt with a clang.

The bandit stood utterly stunned. He looked down at his empty palm, then up at the young man who had appeared before him at some unknown moment, his face full of disbelief.

Shen Chu held his saber one-handed, standing with it across his body. The cold gleam on the blade flowed beneath the sunlight, reflecting against his calm, undisturbed face.

He stood like a steady mountain, shielding Li Chengwen behind him.

"Are you all right, Young Master?" he asked without turning his head.

Li Chengwen sat collapsed on the ground, mouth hanging open. It took him a long while to regain his senses before he stammered, "I-I'm fine... Shen Chu, you..."

Before he could finish, the other bandit was already roaring as he pounced.

Shen Chu did not even look at him. He swept his saber out in a backhanded slash.

The blade cut through the air with a sharp, fierce whistle.

A chill washed over the bandit's face. He instinctively raised his weapon to block, only to hear a crisp crack. The saber in his hand, handle and all, was cut cleanly in two!

The bandit stared blankly at the half-hilt remaining in his hand. His legs gave way, and he dropped straight to his knees.

Seizing the chance, the two guards counterattacked and swiftly subdued the remaining bandits.

At the same time, the battle on Xu Zhibao's side was also drawing to a close.

He alone had knocked down five or six bandits, his nimble skill leaving people tongue-tied in astonishment.

Seeing that things had gone wrong, the remaining bandits tried to flee, only for the four yamen runners to block their path and beat them to the ground in a flurry of staff blows.

In less than the time it took to burn one incense stick, the battle was over.

More than half of the dozens of bandits were dead or wounded. The remaining seven or eight had been disarmed and squatted on the ground with their hands over their heads in surrender.

Xu Zhibao sheathed his saber and walked over to the prisoners.

He tore the black cloth from the leader's face, revealing a fleshy, brutish countenance. Then he tapped the man's face with the flat of his blade and asked coldly, "Tell me. Who sent you?"

The bandit craned his neck stubbornly and said stiffly, "N-no one sent us! We just wanted to pull off a job ourselves!"

Xu Zhibao gave a scornful laugh. "Pull off a job? You've got some nerve, laying hands even on goods belonging to the Qingyang Prefecture government. Do you know the punishment for robbing official cargo? At best, exile three thousand li; at worst, beheading at the market square. How many heads do you have for the chopping?"

At last, the bandit's expression changed. His lips trembled a few times, yet he still clenched his teeth and refused to speak.

He only said that they had been paid to do the job and did not know their employer.

Xu Zhibao could not be bothered to waste more words on them. He had them tied together in a line and tethered behind the last cart, intending to bring them to Qingyang Prefecture for the authorities to deal with.

At this point, Li Chengwen patted at his mud-spattered clothes and strode angrily up to Xu Zhibao.

With an unhappy look, he complained, "Xu Zhibao, where are the men from your escort agency? I fired the signal, so why didn't a single one come? Look at these clothes! I just changed into them! I rolled around until they were covered in dirt! It's filthy!"

Xu Zhibao looked somewhat embarrassed. He coughed twice and soothed him, "Please calm your anger, Young Master Li. Perhaps something delayed them along the road. Fortunately, it was a false alarm, and our goods suffered no losses. Let's continue on for now. Once we reach the town ahead, I'll send someone to contact them and have them catch up to join us."