Chapter 10

As dozens of fast horses galloped from afar, the village was thrown into chaos. More than twenty villagers rushed to the front and back of the village, quickly shutting the wooden gates!

The wooden gates were made up of dozens of tree trunks, each several dozen centimeters thick, standing four to five meters high. With the help of some tools, the strong men in the village quickly closed the gates.

Su Peng watched as the village chief, Doctor Han, walked out of his house and climbed up a hill. Ji Ming and his old hunter master followed Doctor Han up the hill.

Su Peng followed them, standing on the hill and looking down. He saw that outside the village gate, about seventy to eighty men on fast horses had gathered. They were armed with various weapons, including long spears and machetes. Behind them were over two hundred more men, each holding steel knives and iron swords, standing menacingly below the village gate.

Doctor Han looked down and his expression turned grim. He shouted loudly, "Chief Ling! Our Green Mountain Village always pays the monthly tribute in full. What does Chief Ling mean by bringing your men here this time?"

Su Peng also looked down with some confusion. Ji Ming, standing beside him, explained, "The Green Dragon Gang is a band of robbers between Jiangning County and Green Mountain Village. They are very fierce. They usually live off the tolls paid by passing merchants and also come to the village to gather firewood. Most villages pay a regular sum to keep the peace."

Su Peng nodded, then looked at the mounted bandits below. The leader, dressed in a green armor and with dark red hair, laughed loudly, "Ha! Chief Han, your village does pay the monthly tribute, but recently this area has been quite unstable. A few groups of bandits have been causing trouble. We from Green Dragon Mountain have sent out troops several times to suppress them. We can't let our men starve while protecting you, can we? You should show some consideration."

Doctor Han frowned. He knew the area had been unstable recently, with some traveling merchants being robbed. However, it could also be the work of the Green Dragon Mountain bandits. The so-called suppression of bandits might just be an excuse to extort money from Green Mountain Village.

However, he couldn't refuse to pay, or the bandits might attack the village directly.

"Chief Ling! It's just money, please wait a moment," Doctor Han shouted, then turned to instruct a few strong young men. These young men, looking angry, were stopped by Doctor Han and left reluctantly.

Soon, these young men carried a large chest over. The chest was locked with a big lock. They carried it over and then lowered it with a rope.

"This chest of silver is a token of our appreciation for Chief Ling and your men!" Doctor Han said, nodding to the old hunter beside him. The old hunter, who usually seemed a bit listless, suddenly had a glint in his eyes. He drew his bow and shot an arrow!

"Whoosh!"

Su Peng barely saw the arrow's trajectory. The arrow hit the chest, and with a "bang," the iron-clad lid of the chest was shattered, sending wood chips flying. Copper and silver coins rolled out onto the ground!

"Amazing!" Su Peng couldn't help but look at the old hunter. If that arrow had been aimed at him, he wouldn't have been able to dodge it. Thinking of this, Su Peng glanced at Ji Ming, who stood behind the old hunter. Was Ji Ming aware that the old hunter was a hidden expert, which is why he became his disciple?

"Amazing!" Below, the red-haired Chief Ling, dressed in armor, also praised, "I didn't expect a small village like Green Mountain to have a Hunter King-level archer... I underestimated you."

"Thank you for the compliment," Doctor Han said, then continued, "Chief Ling, we have paid the money for the suppression of bandits. Can we leave now?"

"Ha ha ha, Chief Han, you made your Hunter King show his skills. How can I let you go without showing mine? Watch this!" Chief Ling laughed, dismounted from his horse, and drew a green longbow. He shot an arrow, which flew towards the village at lightning speed!

The old hunter in the village was already prepared, with a long arrow on his bow. He shot almost simultaneously!

"Boom!" The two arrows, moving so fast they seemed to have no shadow, collided in mid-air. Su Peng felt the air rush past his face, painful as if hit by a gust of wind. Both men had clearly imbued their arrows with internal energy!

However, their archery skills had a clear difference. The old hunter's arrow hit Chief Ling's long arrow but was shattered by the impact. Chief Ling's arrow pierced through and hit the village, shattering a flagpole behind Su Peng and the others with a "bang"!

"Ha ha ha... This arrow is a gift to you! We always do business for money! Men, take the chest and let's go!" Chief Ling pulled on his horse's reins and said to his men.

Immediately, about seven or eight men rushed forward, gathered the coins from the chest into bags, and then the Green Dragon Mountain bandits rode away from the village.

Su Peng's eyes followed Chief Ling, and he noticed a cold smile on his face as he glanced back at the village gate, his eyes like those of a predator!

"Trouble!" Su Peng's heart sank. He keenly sensed that this man had murderous intentions!

"Old Hu, how was it?" Doctor Han turned to look at the broken flagpole and asked the old hunter.

"That young man is incredibly skilled! His aim is not as good as mine, but his internal energy is stronger, and his bow is better!" The old hunter looked at Chief Ling's retreating figure and said to Doctor Han.

Doctor Han looked worried and said, "With such a powerful chief, the Green Dragon Mountain bandits will make our lives difficult..."

Su Peng also looked at the retreating Green Dragon Mountain bandits. He had a strong feeling that things wouldn't end so easily.

"Let's go, everyone's gone. We should head down," Ji Ming patted Su Peng and said.

Su Peng nodded, but his unease did not diminish.

The village quickly returned to its usual order. Su Peng first went to the butcher's shop to sell the beef he had on him. He also had a few snakes he had killed. Remembering that the village carpenter, Cao, had once said he wanted to buy snake meat at a high price, Su Peng went to Cao's house.

Just as he approached the residential area near Cao's house, Su Peng suddenly heard two people arguing in low voices around a corner.

"Didn't I tell you? I asked you to notify the Green Dragon Mountain people to come and ambush nearby, waiting for my signal to attack the village at night. I would open the village gate at the right time and let them in! But why did Ling Tian and the others from Green Dragon Mountain come during the day?!"

Su Peng was startled. There was a traitor in the village?

"How should I know? I just relayed the message. Who knows what the Green Dragon Mountain people were thinking? And, is your information accurate? Is that thing really in Green Mountain Village?"

"I noticed some abnormalities. It's very likely in Green Mountain Village. I have confirmed the identity of the person. We must attack Green Mountain Village tonight, or this person will escape. His true identity is..."

Their voices lowered, and Su Peng couldn't hear clearly. He tried to get closer but accidentally stepped on a dry branch, making a cracking sound.

Su Peng knew it was bad. Sure enough, the voices stopped, and then there was silence.

Su Peng quickly turned around the house but found that the speakers had already left.

Looking at the ground, Su Peng saw footprints belonging to two people. He followed the footprints but soon lost them. The two speakers had disappeared.

"This matter is definitely not simple... From what they said, Green Mountain Village seems to have something of high value that the Green Dragon Mountain bandits are determined to get... and someone has infiltrated the village as a spy!" Su Peng thought.

Seeing that he couldn't track the two speakers, Su Peng thought for a moment and continued to Cao's house.

He soon arrived at Cao's house and sold the two snakes he had killed to Cao. At the same time, he observed Cao's reaction. The residential area where he heard the conversation was very close to Cao's house. The speakers could have been Cao.

However, Cao seemed to have had some drinks, his face flushed, and his tongue thick. He pulled Su Peng to drink with him. Su Peng, with some common sense, saw that Cao had been drinking for some time, making it unlikely that he was one of the speakers.

"It doesn't seem to be him... but who were those two?" Su Peng thought.

Declining Cao's invitation to drink, Su Peng quickly headed to Doctor Han's house.

Entering Doctor Han's house, the old man was there. Su Peng greeted him and then said...