Harassment

At the border of Baishi and Qinghe, in the Yang Family's northern mine.

"Please... please spare me..."

Crack!

Before the bandit leader could finish his plea, Yang Linghu snapped his neck.

Surveying the corpses scattered around him, he wiped the blood from his body and calmly turned to leave.

This was the fifth group of bandits he had dealt with in recent days.

These unlucky fools were greedy, all wanting to occupy this mine as their stronghold, not realizing that this remote mine was guarded by a cultivator at the Second Level of Qi Gathering.

By the time they discovered Yang Linghu was no ordinary person, it was already too late to escape.

Yang Linghu returned to the mine. The clan soldiers guarding it stood at attention and saluted upon seeing him.

"Welcome, Immortal Master Linghu!"

Yang Linghu nodded and returned to his quarters.

As soon as he entered the room, he sat on a meditation cushion and began to review his actions.

This was a habit he had gradually developed over the more than a year he had been guarding the mine alone.

He knew he didn't have as sharp a mind as Lingqing, so he thought things through carefully before and after acting, to avoid any mistakes.

After mentally replaying the day's events, Yang Linghu slowly opened his eyes.

"Today, the leader's eleven Qi Meridians were all open, appearing to be on the verge of forming a Qi Mansion."

Yang Linghu thought, "Lingqing's previous letter also mentioned that this area would be a hotbed for bandits. I must not act impulsively and must be extra careful."

He got up and walked to the window, looking at the dark clouds in the sky, a sense of foreboding lingering in his heart.

"Wait, something's not right."

A sudden flash of memory struck Yang Linghu. He took out a map and marked the locations where the five groups of bandits had appeared.

Looking at it this way, he clearly noticed a commonality in the movement trajectories of the five bandit groups.

They initially entered from the east, then split in different directions, but all moved northward before turning south, heading towards the mine.

It was as if someone had shown them the way?

Yang Linghu spread the map out and examined it closely, his fingertip tracing a path northward before stopping at a location.

Sanglu Valley!

Yang Linghu suddenly understood. The Zhang Family must be involved in this.

Realizing this, he immediately changed his mind.

"Someone."

"I am here, Immortal Master. What are your orders!"

A clan soldier captain wearing rattan armor entered the room.

"Relay my order: mining will cease starting today. Within three days, all stored goods and laborers in the mine are to be sent home."

Yang Linghu instructed, "After they leave, you and the clan soldiers should also return."

"Ah! Immortal Master, you intend to stay here alone?"

The clan soldier captain was shocked. "That won't do! When we came, Immortal Master Lingqing instructed..."

Yang Linghu raised his hand, signaling him to stop. He then handed over a written letter.

"This is my personal letter. Lingqing will understand when she sees it. The future bandit threats are beyond your capabilities to handle. It was not easy for the family to raise you, and it's not worth losing your lives here for nothing."

"This..."

The clan soldier captain opened his mouth, but finally agreed and immediately began organizing the miners and laborers to transfer the stored ore.

Meanwhile, north of the mine, not far from Sanglu Valley, on a mountain peak.

A group of bandits had gathered here and even built a stronghold.

More than a hundred people were gathered in the stronghold, feasting on wine and meat. These provisions were all obtained through their plundering and killing along the way. It was unknown how many innocent civilians had suffered.

"Young Master Zhang, thanks to you, we brothers have managed to establish ourselves. I toast you!"

In the central tent of the stronghold, a burly man with a thick beard raised a wine jar and toasted Zhang Chen.

This man was the leader of these bandits.

Beside him sat two others: one with a feminine appearance dressed in white, and the other with a scarred face.

These two were the sworn brothers of the bearded man and also the second and third-in-command of the bandit forces.

Seeing their elder brother toast, the two followed suit.

"Young Master Zhang, you are our brothers' benefactor. I toast you too!"

"I'll join in!"

"Hahaha, it's nothing, it's nothing!"

Zhang Chen was in high spirits, downing three large cups of wine in quick succession, which drew repeated cheers from the other three.

"Young Master Zhang has a great capacity!"

"Such heroism, his future is limitless!"

After finishing the round, Zhang Chen put down his wine cup and brought up the main business.

"Liao Feng, I bent the rules to help you and your three brothers this time, and the risk is not small."

Zhang Chen said slowly, "You must handle that matter properly for me."

"That's natural! Young Master Zhang, rest assured, this matter has been in the works for many days, and we're just waiting to reel it in."

The big boss, Liao Feng, readily agreed.

"Good! With your word, I'm relieved. Come, let's drink!"

The reason Zhang Chen was mingling with these bandits has to be traced back to the start of the war between the two countries.

Ever since failing to seize the mine over a year ago, Zhang Chen had kept it in his heart, always thinking of how to snatch it back.

However, because Zhang Tianqi and the others were focused on the cave mansion in Sanglu Valley, they had no plans in this regard, so he had to put his thoughts aside for the time being.

When the war between the two countries broke out, and banditry began to appear and worsen, the Town Chief of Qinghe Town sent a plea for help to the Yang Family, hoping they would assist in clearing out the bandits.

At that time, the Yang Family had made some progress in researching the cave mansion's restrictions, and Zhang Tianqi and the others were unwilling to be pulled away. It just so happened that Zhang Chen had a realm breakthrough, reaching the Second Level of Qi Gathering.

Zhang Tianqi wanted to use this opportunity to train Zhang Chen, so he handed him the task of assisting in suppressing the bandits. To ensure his safety, he also gave him a protective jade pendant from the family.

With this jade pendant, he would be capable of dealing with even a Cultivator at the Third Level of Qi Gathering.

In the beginning, Zhang Chen took the bandit suppression seriously, but after a few days, his hidden wicked thoughts began to surface.

"Currently, bandits are rampant everywhere. The Yang Family, unlike our Sanglu Valley, doesn't have a geographical advantage and must be having a headache over this."

"That mine is a long distance from the Yang Family. That old geezer Yang Guanfeng would definitely not abandon his home to guard such a distant mine. It should still be that Yang Family brat at the First Level of Qi Gathering guarding it."

Thinking this, he came up with an idea.

"Why not simply divert the disaster south, drive all the bandits over there, and then pick a few powerful bandits, give them some benefits, and have them directly kill the people at the mine along with that Yang Family brat, a case of killing with a borrowed knife!"

"Heh heh, in this way, wouldn't it become the Yang Family's own incompetence, unable to defend their property against bandits, ultimately losing soldiers and generals? Who could they blame?"

"Then, I can step forward and clear the bandits in this area, thus earning merit for suppressing bandits and legitimately taking over the mine!"

With this plan, he immediately began to act. First, he drove some of the remaining powerful bandits south, then he won over Liao Feng and the other two, allowing them to set up camp near Sanglu Valley and providing them with plenty of supplies.

Liao Feng was originally a squad leader of strongmen under a prince of the Eastern Desolation Dynasty. He entered the Dao through martial arts and possessed the realm of the Second Level of Qi Gathering. His two sworn brothers were both Cultivators at the First Level of Qi Gathering.

Among the bandits, their strength could be considered extremely formidable. The hundred or so men under his command had been acquired through fighting and annexation.

"Hmph, once I reclaim this mine, you will all clearly see who can represent the future of the Yang Family!" Zhang Chen thought excitedly as the wine went down.