Chapter 13: Encounter

The three men continued forward, leading their horses, but after walking for a distance, they discovered that Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue had vanished from the mountain path ahead.

"That shouldn't be right. Did they pick up their pace?"

Meng Shan looked puzzled. Beside him, Yuan Mei placed her hand back on her saber hilt, warningly, "It's also possible they've hidden ahead to set an ambush, intending to strike us."

Meng Shan's gaze swept across the dense, deep mountain forests ahead. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he said, "That is a possibility. Be careful from here on!"

Yuan Mei nodded slightly. Leading the scholar, she gradually slowed their pace, cautiously continuing along the mountain path.

After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Meng Shan's ears twitched. He abruptly stopped and waved his hand to halt Yuan Mei and the scholar.

Staring toward the thicket of bushes ahead, he suddenly shouted in a heavy voice, "Come out!"

Soon, a rustling sound emerged from the woods, followed by a group of burly men leaping out from behind the trees, brandishing sabers and spears.

These men wore red headbands, and each was large, rugged, and fierce-looking, perfectly blocking their path.

Seeing this, both Meng Shan and Yuan Mei were stunned.

They had assumed Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue were lying in ambush here, but they hadn't expected these fellows to jump out instead.

The two instinctively exchanged a glance. Their first reaction was: where had Li Musheng and the other gone?

Or, were they actually in league with these men?

However, before they could think further, their thoughts were interrupted by a burst of laughter that sounded like rolling thunder.

Another large figure appeared from the forest. He stepped upon flying leaves, leaping lightly and swiftly through the air as if gliding, arriving before them in the blink of an eye.

"I've been guarding this godforsaken place for nearly ten days without seeing so much as a single hair, but today, we finally caught some fish."

The man was bald, with a thick patch of black hair on his exposed chest, and he held an iron fishing rod as thick as a baby's arm horizontally in his hands.

He laughed loudly as he looked at Meng Shan's trio: "Surprised? This Hall Master has been waiting for you in this wretched place for many days!"

Meng Shan's expression darkened. He cautiously scanned the surroundings and said in a low voice, "Where are those two hiding?"

Hearing this, the bald man grinned and said, "Oh, quite alert, aren't you? But with this Hall Master personally taking action, I won't need the rest of my men. They're back at the stronghold lighting fires and roasting meat to celebrate with the brothers!"

As soon as he spoke, the group of burly men around them burst into loud laughter, their gazes toward Meng Shan's trio looking as if they were viewing lambs destined for slaughter.

At that moment, the bald man slammed the iron fishing rod heavily into the ground.

With a dull thud accompanied by sparks, the rod pierced into the rock beneath his feet nearly a foot deep, as if stabbing through tofu.

"Speak up. Are you spies from the Yinshan Sect? Or scouts from Yanjiu City?"

Upon hearing this, both Meng Shan and Yuan Mei frowned.

They came from Shangyang City and were naturally unfamiliar with the Chongzhou region. The only reason they knew of this hidden path was through information obtained via connections in Yanjiu City.

However, that certainly didn't prove they were scouts from Yanjiu City; in this situation, it was likely the enemy had targeted the wrong people.

What they still could not confirm was exactly what the relationship was between Li Musheng's duo and this bald man.

Therefore, besides having to deal with the bald man, who was clearly an Xiantian-level expert, they also had to guard against a sneak attack from Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue.

In short, the pressure on Meng Shan and Yuan Mei was immense.

Thus, Meng Shan took the initiative to lower his stance. He cupped his hands toward the bald man and said, "Great hero, the three of us are from Jingzhou. We have no connection to either of the two factions you mentioned. Please show mercy and allow us to pass."

"Bullshit! Do you think I'm a three-year-old child to be trifled with?"

The bald man spat, showing absolutely no belief in Meng Shan's lies.

"Why wouldn't you take the water routes or the official roads? An outsider choosing to walk this desolate, godforsaken mountain path—if you aren't spies, then I'm a ghost!"

He said fiercely, "I advise you to be sensible and confess everything to this Hall Master, lest you suffer the pain of the flesh."

Meanwhile, several fierce-looking men around them began to close in slowly, sneering with sabers and spears in hand.

"It seems there is no room for negotiation."

Meng Shan's expression instantly turned cold. He silently signaled Yuan Mei to watch for ambushes from the shadows, while he suddenly lunged forward.

With the piercing sound of a long saber being unsheathed, his martial qi boiled, and he struck without warning.

*Swish! Swish!*

Two flashes of white saber light streaked past, and two fierce heads rolled to the ground, blood spraying three feet high.

"How dare you!"

The bald man's teeth ground together in rage. His scalding qi instantly condensed in his hands as he yanked up the fishing rod and swung it violently toward Meng Shan.

Whistling sounds tore through the air as the silver-glinting lines at the tip of the rod sliced through the air like sharp blades, appearing as if they would tear Meng Shan to pieces.

At the critical moment, Meng Shan spun and threw a punch. His perfected Mountain-Shaking Fist force acted like a massive hammer, shattering the sharp lines in mid-air.

The lines fell past his side, slicing straight through the hard mountain stone, causing a series of explosions as countless rocks flew everywhere.

In the next instant, Meng Shan's eyes flashed with ferocity. Meeting offense with offense, his saber tip pointed directly at the bald man as he charged forward, leaving a residual shadow in his wake!

On the other side, while guarding against the shadows, Yuan Mei had already made her move.

Her saber techniques were extremely fast; the surrounding men were no match for her, and in a single breath, several heads fell.

...

In the dense forest not far away, Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue stood atop a large tree, quietly observing the scene.

"These roadblock people aren't much good. They're like a ragtag mob; so many died in just one encounter."

Li Musheng wasn't particularly fond of bloody scenes, shaking his head and clicking his tongue.

Cang Yinyue glanced at him and said, "This is fine. With them clearing the way in front, we can avoid a lot of trouble, and I can save myself a lot of worry."

"Is that so? I feel like this seems a bit unreliable," Li Musheng expressed his doubt.

Just then, the battle on the other side had already taken on a one-sided trend.

The bald man clearly hadn't expected Meng Shan and Yuan Mei to be such tough customers; both were Xiantian experts no weaker than himself.

It hadn't been long before his men had been slaughtered to a pulp.

And he himself was being tied down by Meng Shan, unable to gain the upper hand for the time being, neither able to overcome the other.

"Those two are in league with you, aren't they? They haven't made a move even now; they probably abandoned you and ran long ago."

Meng Shan swung his saber down, clashing against the man's fishing rod. The powerful aftershock of their qi directly snapped a tree as thick as a bowl several yards away.

"What are you barking about? You killed so many of my brothers, I'll tear you into a thousand pieces!"

The bald man gnashed his teeth, but suddenly pulled a bamboo tube from his robe. Activating it with his qi, he shot a dazzling red firework into the sky!

(End of Chapter)