Scarecrows

"Damn it, Second Brother, haven't we been getting a little too cocky lately?

A few days ago, we'd just figured out a way to kill the martial artist managing Benevolent Harmony Hall's herb garden, and now we're here again.

Won't we really provoke them?" Zhu Kui, whose long, shoe-sole-like face bore a mole at the corner of his mouth, asked timidly.

Jiumo, Wolf Stronghold's second-in-command, with a round face, a thick black beard, and a conspicuous shaggy mess of hair atop his head, spat and said, "Didn't your brain grow in properly?

Benevolent Harmony Hall may still be a colossal force to us, but it's no longer the Benevolent Harmony Hall it once was.

They lost two Bright Force martial artists in a row within a month. There's no way they can recruit another Bright Force martial artist to serve them anytime soon.

With such a huge opening right now, this is the perfect time for us to strike and seize the Blood-Qi Grass!"

Seeing that Zhu Kui and the other thugs were still hesitant, Jiumo thrust out his chin. "You're all afraid of dying, aren't you?

Then let me tell you: you're not dead yet!

But Fourth Brother Two-Scar is already dead. Black Cat, who was half a step into Bright Force, had been right beside him.

Yet the two of them were buried beneath a snowy mountain. We even lost four brothers trying to recover his corpse.

That trap was clearly set by Benevolent Harmony Hall. They want to wipe Wolf Stronghold out root and branch.

Can you endure that grudge?

Can you endure it? Or can you?"

His words set their hearts ablaze.

"Besides, it's not like we have to shit on Benevolent Harmony Hall's head. We're only borrowing a little Blood-Qi Grass from them.

Once Eldest Brother recovers from his injuries and rallies again, we'll kill every one of those Golden Leopard Gang dog bastards.

After we take back the mountain, we can just return it to them. We can even give them this whole mountain, packed with prey!"

Zhu Gui and the three thugs found his words perfectly reasonable. As expected of the second-in-command!

Without further nonsense, a nimble thug obeyed their orders and slunk up the right side of the slope first, preparing to scout out the situation.

He moved lightly, making not the slightest sound as he climbed.

Yet just as he was about to wave to signal his companions, someone suddenly sprang up in front of him, scaring him out of his wits.

He lost his footing, slipped, and went tumbling down.

"Useless bastard! Watch where you're going! What are you panicking for?" Wolf Stronghold's third-in-command, Zhu Kui, grabbed the man and was about to beat him.

The thug pointed at the herb garden on the hillside in panic. "There—there's someone!"

"How many? Are they martial artists? Did you see clearly?"

"Second Brother, Third Brother, this brat must have seen things. Why didn't I see anyone?"

After cursing the fool, Jiumo and Zhu Kui concluded that Benevolent Harmony Hall had not redeployed guards in the herb garden. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, they would have rushed out long ago and killed that piece of trash.

So the group gathered their courage and headed up. They moved with great caution, but they did not see a single shadow.

Just as they were all about to leap inside—

Four thudding sounds rang out. In the dim, gray herb garden, seven or eight incomparably tall figures suddenly rose to their feet.

Their vision blurred beneath the moonlit shadows.

Those seven or eight silhouettes towered over them.

Jiumo cursed, "Damn it! They've fallen this far, yet they still have enough resources to hire so many thugs. We've fallen into a trap! Retreat!"

"Second Brother, aren't you a Bright Force martial artist? With the few of us added in, we may not be unable to fight them!" Zhu Kui was getting carried away. The Snowgrass was right before his eyes, less than twenty meters away.

As long as Second Brother displayed his might, he would definitely be able to kill them all. Then all those herbs would belong to them, and Eldest Brother would surely reward them handsomely when they returned.

"Bright Force my ass! I'm... not in good condition today. Go!"

The two thugs were just about to leave when a huge rock suddenly whistled through the air.

It slammed viciously into one man's chest, crushing it inward. He spat blood and lost all signs of life.

"A Bright Force expert! There really is a Bright Force expert in this herb garden!"

Jiumo no longer had his earlier fearless swagger. He did not care about a single brother as he turned tail and ran.

Zhu Kui was badly frightened upon hearing those words as well. A rock as large as a head had been thrown from over ten meters away and smashed someone to death—an ordinary person simply could not do that.

Once the group had completely vanished from sight, Duan Xuan dusted off his hands and walked over to the fence.

The six or seven figures from before collapsed to the ground with a slap. How were those people?

They were clearly scarecrows. These medicinal herbs could replenish qi and blood, so they attracted more than just people. They also drew wild beasts desperately in need of replenishing their qi and blood.

That was why the previous herb garden guards had made many scarecrows, though they had never come in handy.

Duan Xuan had improvised a small trap.

Using the method of an automatically firing crossbow, he had tied the scarecrows to the ground.

A moment ago, he had merely pulled the rope with a little force, and all the scarecrows had sprung upright at once.

Caught off guard like that, how could those Wolf Stronghold fellows dare look carefully enough to see whether they were people or something else?

"I really need to bring over the hunting tools tomorrow.

The scarecrows can frighten them off for a while, but that bunch will soon notice something is wrong!" Duan Xuan practiced the Broken Mountain Fist one last time. When he saw the person coming to relieve him of his watch, he strode briskly back to the martial arts hall.

Benevolent Harmony Hall.

"Young Master, Brother Duan likely only entered Bright Force not long ago. His qi and blood are nowhere near as abundant as those of veteran Bright Force martial artists.

Moreover, his foundation has yet to stabilize. Sending someone like him to guard the herb garden may only get him killed even sooner than the other two!"

Zhou Wei let out a long sigh. "Ah, it isn't easy raising a child in these times.

Though these people are martial artists feared at the mere mention of their names, they are still children born and raised by their parents.

That pack of beasts from Wolf Stronghold knows that at night, the people guarding the herb garden are from Benevolent Harmony Hall.

To avoid completely tearing their faces apart with us, they rarely come to harass us at night.

But during the day, as soon as those hired guards leave the bounds of the herb garden, they are sure to encounter danger.

When I took Brother Duan to the herb garden earlier, I clearly detected Wolf Stronghold men hiding not far away.

As long as you give the order, Young Master, this old man can kill that group of mountain bandits seeking death tomorrow!"

Benevolent Harmony Hall's current situation was far from optimistic, and they lacked manpower. Many martial arts experts in the family had been forcibly taken away by other elders.

Now that Ren Yun's sister had gone to demand resources, only a scant few martial artists remained in all of Benevolent Harmony Hall.

The number of martial artists they could actually use was even smaller. Most had limited energy and could only rely on Benevolent Harmony Hall's name to steady the scene. If a real fight broke out, they likely would not be able to endure it.

The main reason family members took over the herb garden at night was to replant and turn the medicinal herbs, allowing them to fully absorb the essence of the sun and moon and grow better.

The second reason was to count the herbs in the garden, lest the hired personnel found during the day secretly take some away and pocket them.

After spending several days figuring out the pattern, Wolf Stronghold began relentlessly provoking those hired martial artists.

They successfully lured them out of Benevolent Harmony Hall's territory. Using their numerical advantage and the terrain, they killed them.

"I had thought that, by relying on Benevolent Harmony Hall's former prestige, we could make Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall send Lin Hu or Liu Mingze to resolve our crisis.

Clearly, I was overthinking it." Ren Yun supported himself with both hands on his cane, his eyes dull and filled with helplessness.

Over these years, he and his sister had worried themselves sick for the family, yet they had been powerless. "Elder Zhou, when my father was still here, you were the family steward and a Transformation Force expert.

But now my father is gone, and Benevolent Harmony Hall has declined. I cannot lose you too.

You are advanced in years now, and your qi and blood have weakened severely. Your power to deter others far surpasses any actual fighting you could do.

Besides, you have reached the age when you should be enjoying life. It is my incompetence that has kept you from living in comfort.

What does sacrificing a few Bright Force martial artists amount to?

But if we lose you, the Ren Family will be worse off than if we lost its main pillar. We would lose all support in an instant.

I hope you can understand my difficulties!"

How could Zhou Wei not know the problems facing the Ren Family? In the end, he said nothing. He merely looked toward the herb garden and murmured, "Boy, I hope you survive. If you do not, this old man will personally collect your corpse tomorrow!"

Ren Ping also shook his head. He knew Duan Xuan most likely would not survive.

Yet he felt only a faint trace of guilt. The only thing he could do was wait for his sister to bring back the martial arts members the family had lost.

Perhaps a month, perhaps half a year. By then, the family might be able to reverse some of its decline...

"Elder Zhou, prepare some silver for me. Tomorrow, when the replacement personnel return, send it to Brother Duan's family. It will at least mean we have done all we could..."