Northerners, Plus Ten Intimidation

Leaning against the soft backrest and watching the scenery pass, Pan Long was in an excellent mood.

"Now this is traveling!" Han Feng exclaimed. "The way we lived before... compared to this, it was downright miserable!"

"Come to think of it, we did have it rough," Pan Long said. "We rode horses with the caravan, exposed to wind and sun. Once we left, we ended up on foot and didn't even have horses to ride... We should've bought a carriage back in Lantian City, even if it wasn't as nice as this one."

"Good thing we didn't," Han Feng said.

Pan Long laughed. "Yeah, good thing."

In truth, the carriage they had now couldn't take them all the way to Yi Province either. The Zhongnan Mountains separating Yong Province from Yi Province were a long, unbroken range. Their slopes were gentler than Ghost Gate Mountain's, of course, but they were towering mountains all the same.

There were two ways across the Zhongnan Mountains. One was to head east, board a boat at Shangluo Pass, travel down the Dragon River to Luokou Pass, then go ashore into Central Province. From there, they would head west, travel upstream along the Heaven-Reaching River, and finally reach Yi Province. The other was to head straight south along Yong-Yi Road and cross the mountains by plank road.

The first route was relatively convenient. Both the Dragon River and the Heaven-Reaching River had government-run ferries. So long as they were willing to pay, they could make the whole journey in peace, without the slightest risk.

The only problem was the cost. It would cost a great deal.

The second route was more dangerous. The plank road had once been reliable, but even the soundest road needed constant upkeep and repair. The Great Xia Dynasty had done no repairs in recent years, leaving this main northern route into Yi Province damaged in several places. A few years ago, when Pan Long's mother, Ren Yue, returned to her hometown to train in seclusion, Pan Lei and his son had gone with her. They had seen with their own eyes how worn and decrepit the road had become.

Several more years had passed since then. After year upon year of wind and rain, who knew what state the plank road was in now?

Without the carriage, Pan Long and Han Feng had enough martial skill to get across the old, damaged plank road with a few scares but no real danger. Taking this carriage, wider than an ordinary one, across was another matter entirely.

But even if they avoided the plank road and took the waterways instead, the carriage still couldn't go aboard a ferry.

In other words, the carriage that Pan Long and Han Feng both liked so much was destined not to follow them over the mountains and rivers. It couldn't carry them all the way to Yi Province.

The two sighed over it, but there was nothing they could do. They agreed to keep going for a while, then find a way to sell it once they neared the Zhongnan Mountains.

At lunch, Pan Long asked the driver, "Brother Li, we'll need to sell this carriage near the Zhongnan Mountains. Any suggestions?"

The driver's name was Li Qiang. He was about twenty-five or twenty-six and sturdily built. His eyes were bright and sharp, and he moved with practiced agility. One look told Pan Long he had trained in martial arts. His skills were probably nothing to scoff at—certainly well above those of the bandits they had killed earlier.

A man like that ought to have been a guard for the carriage company. Why was he working as a driver?

Pan Long didn't ask such a personal question outright. He decided to wait until they had spent a few more days on the road and gotten to know each other.

At Pan Long's question, Li Qiang thought for a moment. "By the time we reach the foot of the Zhongnan Mountains, I'm afraid we won't find anyone willing to pay a good price for it. I'd suggest asking at a carriage company in Wugong Town. Most travelers passing through southwestern Yong Province go through there. You might find a decent buyer."

Pan Long nodded, made a note of it, and thanked him.

That evening, they reached a nameless little village. Pan Long and Han Feng were about to go in and rest, but Li Qiang advised them to stay outside, park the carriage, and sleep in it.

"Why? However comfortable the carriage is, it can't beat a bed," Han Feng asked, puzzled.

Li Qiang hesitated, then explained, "Things aren't peaceful around here these days. Villages like this often dabble in a little trade that costs them nothing up front. If we were ordinary travelers, we could probably get along without trouble as long as we stayed alert and didn't eat their food. But we have a carriage, and anyone can see it's no ordinary one. The villagers are bound to get greedy..."

"Would they actually dare rob us?" Han Feng's brows drew together, and anger flashed across his face.

Northerners had always been known throughout the Nine Provinces for their fierce, overbearing ways. Other people should thank heaven and earth when Northerners left them alone. How dare anyone come looking for trouble with them?

If these villagers really dared try a robbery, the bandits who had kindly supplied their travel funds would serve as their example!

Li Qiang gave a wry smile. "I know you two are skilled fighters, and ordinary villagers probably wouldn't stand a chance against you. But as the saying goes, when you roam the Martial World, endure a moment and the wind dies down; take one step back and the sea opens wide. If we can avoid a dispute and spend the night in peace, at least we'll sleep well."

Pan Long frowned. "If we don't enter the village, they won't bother us?"

"By the rules of the road, staying outside makes our position clear. If they still come after us, they've broken the rules. Unless they kill every last one of us, all it takes is one person escaping. Whether that person reports them to the authorities in town or goes to the local Greenwood chiefs, the villagers won't escape severe punishment."

"...So if we don't enter the village, either they leave us alone, or they attack with the intention of killing all of us?" Pan Long asked.

Li Qiang froze. He hadn't expected Pan Long to look at it that way, and for a moment he didn't know how to answer.

Han Feng smiled, a murderous edge slowly rising in his expression. "In other words, if we stay out here tonight and they come to kill us anyway, we'd be perfectly justified in charging into the village and leaving no one alive?"

Li Qiang blinked and stared at them, at a complete loss.

He had never imagined these two youngsters, who looked scarcely more than half-grown, could be so bloodthirsty.

"I've spent a few years roaming the Martial World, and I've never seen anyone look at a problem the way you do..." he muttered. Then he couldn't help asking, "How do your elders teach you at home?"

"We're Northerners," Pan Long answered calmly. "The Northern way is this: come to me as a friend, and if I have a cup of wine, you'll have half a cup. But come to me as an enemy, and I'll kill even the chickens and dogs in your household. I won't leave them the slightest chance to avenge you!"

Realization dawned on Li Qiang. When he looked at the two of them again, there was a new measure of awe in his eyes.

"I'd heard Northerners were fierce—that even their children could ride, shoot arrows, and swing swords to kill. I always thought it was nonsense. Now I know the people who told me weren't joking at all!"

He sighed. "Don't do anything yet. I'll go into the village and talk to them."

"What's there to talk about? We'll get ready tonight and wait for them to come!" Han Feng sneered. "Our travel funds are running a little low after buying this carriage anyway. Once we kill them all tonight, we can search the village from end to end. We're bound to find some money."

Li Qiang shook his head again and again. "No, no! Better let me talk to them first. Don't worry. Most people in this world are willing to listen to reason, and they can be reasoned with."

With that, he hurried down from the carriage and rushed into the village.

Watching him go, Pan Long said, "We scared him badly."

Han Feng kept shaking his head. "How can a grown man be such a coward? It's just drawing a sword and killing people. What's so frightening about that? And he says he's roamed the Martial World!"

No, I think... his reaction may be the normal one. Maybe it's our way of thinking that's a little abnormal.

Pan Long had his doubts, but he kept them to himself.

"Fighting one less battle is a good thing," he said. "Killing an entire village would be a lot of trouble."

Han Feng had always respected his judgment, so he raised no objection.

Li Qiang returned before long. He had gone empty-handed, but now he carried a bundle. Five or six burly men followed behind him.

The men's faces looked far from friendly, and Pan Long and Han Feng quietly went on guard. But instead of following Li Qiang out of the village, the men entered a house beside the village entrance. They dragged out several barricades made of sturdy hardwood, lined them up across the entrance, and soon had a defensive barrier in place.

The two watched in bewilderment, unable to make sense of it.

As soon as Li Qiang got back to the carriage, Han Feng hurriedly asked what was going on.

Li Qiang sighed. "I told them where you two came from, and they were scared out of their wits. They rushed to give us some flatbreads and smoked meat for the road."

"Old Li! I asked why they're blocking the entrance!" Han Feng interrupted unhappily.

Li Qiang gave him a long look. "If a few people showed up at your doorstep and said they were going to kill your whole family, what would you do?"

"Hack them to death first, obviously!" Han Feng answered at once.

Li Qiang sighed and covered his face with one hand.

"I'm a fool. Such a fool!"

Han Feng was about to ask more, but Pan Long, who now understood completely, stopped him.

"Here, I'll explain," he said. "The villagers really do moonlight as bandits. So when they heard we'd kill a bandit's entire family, they panicked. They gave us provisions, then hurried to block the village entrance in case we attacked in the middle of the night."

Han Feng's eyes widened. "Why would we attack them in the middle of the night? They only moonlight as bandits. It's not as if robbing homes is all they do. As long as they don't bother us, why should I care what they do at home? I'm not a Great Xia constable!"

"That's how you see it, but they don't dare see it that way," Pan Long said with a sigh. "Looks like Brother Qiang was right. We Northerners really do have a fearsome reputation. A few words were enough to scare a whole village of part-time bandits into blocking their entrance."

Han Feng burst out laughing. "That's great! Us Northerners have a reputation!"

Pan Long smiled and didn't argue, though worry stirred quietly in his heart.

Now I'm starting to wonder whether those stories the townsfolk used to tell about 'standing up for justice' were true. What exactly did they do after leaving Dingfeng Town?

What were Northerners really like when they roamed the martial world? Heh. Heh heh heh...

(End of chapter)