Robbers?

The next morning, the dew on the grass had yet to dry, glinting softly beneath the refracted sunlight.

Yao Feng stood before the Space Gate and looked back at the place where he had lived for only a few days. Unexpectedly, a sense of reluctance welled up inside him, like when he had first left home for university.

Shaking his head, he tossed those absurd thoughts from his mind. He raised a hand in a casual salute and said softly,

"The world outside will definitely be even more exciting..."

On a desolate ancient road, a carriage traveled at an unhurried pace. An old man sat at the front, lazily flicking a horsewhip in his hand.

Inside the carriage sat a handsome young man with his eyes half-closed, as though he were asleep.

The youth was naturally Yao Feng. As for the old man, his name was Zhou Tong, a peak Dou Huang. Yao Dan had specially arranged for him to accompany Yao Feng. According to him, Yao Thirteen's identity was too special for him to appear openly, so Zhou Tong had been sent to take care of Yao Feng.

Yao Feng was naturally delighted by this. Having another expert at his side meant his safety was guaranteed, didn't it?

It was already late morning, and they had been away from the Yao Clan for half a day. To avoid traveling on foot, Yao Feng had specifically asked Zhou Tong to buy a carriage. As for the horse, it was naturally no ordinary steed, but a Third-tier Demonic Beast—an Azure Scale Horse. Yet in Zhou Tong's hands, it could only obediently pull the carriage.

If not for the fact that his bizarre system did not have fixed check-in locations, and Yao Feng did not want to miss any potential check-in opportunity, he would have had Zhou Tong fly him directly to the Jia Ma Empire long ago. Why would he need to travel bit by bit like this?

Just as Yao Feng was getting bored and wanted to look at the scenery outside, the carriage slowly came to a stop. He poked his head out curiously and asked the old man,

"Elder Zhou, what's going on?"

"Young Master, it seems we've run into bandits!"

Yao Feng himself had asked Zhou Tong to address him as "Young Master." "Master" sounded too childish, and Yao Feng did not like it.

Zhou Tong looked at the two masked men standing in the middle of the road ahead, each holding a broadsword and staring greedily at their carriage. A strange expression appeared on his face.

"Th-this-this mountain was opened by me, th-this tree was planted-planted by me. If you want... want... want... to pass, leave your money behind!"

"Ding! The host has encountered bandits. The host now has two choices. First, kill the bandits. Reward: one bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. Second, help the bandits. Reward: one bottle of Blood Burning."

Damn, I can get a reward for this too? This system is getting harder and harder to understand, but I like it. These two bandits are truly my lucky stars! But what does helping the bandits mean? Do I have to help them rob people?

Unable to bother with that much, Yao Feng grinned and looked at the two masked men ahead, his eyes practically shining.

"W-what are you looking at? Hand over your money and we won't kill you."

"That's right, hand over your money and we won't kill you. Otherwise, don't blame us brothers for getting rough." The other masked man chimed in, making a downward chopping motion with his broadsword as he spoke fiercely.

"Elder Zhou, what's their strength?"

"In reply to Young Master, one is a two-star Da Dou Shi, while the other is a one-star Da Dou Shi."

"Da Dou Shi, huh? Take them down."

"Yes, Young Master."

Looking at the two men ahead, pity flashed through Zhou Tong's eyes. With brains like theirs, they had actually become bandits. It was a miracle they had survived until now.

Zhou Tong gently raised a hand, and an immense pressure instantly descended upon the two masked men. Their expressions changed, and terror filled their eyes. They had thought he was just a feeble old man, but he turned out to be some hidden old monster. They were finished.

One of the men threw away his broadsword, bent his knees, and dropped to the ground with a thud.

"Spare me, my lord! This lowly one failed to recognize a great man. I have an eighty-year-old mother above me and a three-year-old child below me. I beg my lord to spare my life!"

"B-big brother, what are you doing!?"

The other man stared at the kneeling man and asked.

Fuck you!

The kneeling man cursed inwardly, then raised his foot and kicked the standing man hard in the knee. The other man also dropped to his knees with a thud.

"You're perfectly good Da Dou Shi, yet you can't even speak properly, and you still want to be bandits? What's your name? How long have you been in this line of work?"

Yao Feng jumped down from the carriage, walked slowly over to the two men, and looked down at them.

"In reply to my lord, my name is Wang Dahu, and this is my brother, Wang Erhu. Our family was truly driven into a corner, so we came out to rob people. But it was our first time, and we ran into my lord right away, then, then..."

The man who had knelt first raised his head and looked at Yao Feng as he spoke quietly.

Yao Feng reached out and tore the cloth from Wang Dahu's face, revealing an honest-looking face. There was a hint of evasiveness in his eyes.

He still knew shame. He was not beyond redemption.

Wang Erhu looked seventy percent like Wang Dahu, except he did not seem particularly bright.

"You, repeat after me. This mountain was opened by me, this tree was planted by me."

His eyes turning, Yao Feng pointed at Wang Erhu.

"Th-this mountain was... was opened by me. This tree... tree... tree was planted by me."

"If you want to pass through here, leave behind the toll!"

"If... if you want to pass through here, le-le-leave behind the toll."

"Do you remember it?"

"I-I remember it. N-next time, I'll definitely pay attention!"

"You still want there to be a next time!"

Yao Feng's eyes widened abruptly as he stared at Wang Erhu in disbelief.

"Forgive us, my lord. My brother had a high fever when he was young and it damaged his brain. Please do not lower yourself to his level."

"I can tell!"

Yao Feng speechlessly glanced at the bewildered Wang Erhu. He was rather curious how this man had cultivated to become a one-star Da Dou Shi. Was this what it meant to be invincible with a pure heart? This was a little too pure.

"You're both Da Dou Shi. Why not do something worthwhile? Why come out and become bandits?"

"In reply to my lord, we had no choice. We also have a younger brother named Wang Xiaohu. He trains at a martial arts hall, and during a sparring match, he accidentally injured the hall master's son. That shameless hall master actually demanded that we compensate him with a hundred thousand gold coins. Us brothers usually only take on a few missions with mercenary groups. How could we possibly save that much money? The hall master then led people to ransack our home and declared that if we could not come up with a hundred thousand gold coins within a month, he would kill all three of us brothers. We had nowhere left to turn, so we thought of robbing people for some money..."

"In a martial arts spar, injuries are unavoidable. There's actually a hall master this shameless? How could his martial arts hall possibly recruit anyone?"

Yao Feng frowned. He had never been someone whose compassion overflowed, but perhaps because he was used to a law-based society, seeing such blatant wrongdoing still left him indignant.

"Even so, becoming bandits does not absolve you of blame. If the people you encountered had not been me, wouldn't you have succeeded by now?"

Yao Feng snorted and looked coldly at Wang Dahu.

"Yes, yes, my lord is right. We were blinded by greed and went down the wrong path. I beg my lord to show mercy and spare our lives."

Wang Dahu's expression changed. He bent even lower, a bead of cold sweat forming on his forehead as he spoke anxiously. Seeing his elder brother like this, Wang Erhu also bent over and lay prone on the ground.

"Enough. Get up, then tell me about this martial arts hall."