Chapter 92

Snowflakes were gently falling from the sky, not in large quantities, but refreshing to the soul.

Tanyu squatted by a bonfire, completely unconcerned, holding a roasted pig's hind leg in both hands, and bit into the thick, fatty meat with great force.

The flames sizzled as oil dripped, and a plump mountain pig hung upside down over the fire, its skin crispy and its meat tender.

"Indeed, it's delicious! Commander Xu Qian, would you like a piece?" He glanced at the leader of the Taihu Gang, Xu Qian, whose face was full of ruggedness.

"No, no, thank you!" Xu Qian swallowed hard, quickly glanced at the blood-eyed old man standing with his sleeves folded, and hurriedly waved his hand.

"Well, you've had plenty of time to think about it. Give me a straight answer!" Tanyu took two more bites, feeling a bit greasy, and then threw the leg to Zhang Ren.

Zhang Ren was overjoyed, snatching the still mostly intact roasted pig's leg with his left hand and began to chew it voraciously. Seeing this, Shi Huang couldn't help but feel his mouth water, but as the leader of the group, he had to maintain a cool and perfect image.

He glared at Tanyu, only to catch Xu Qian sneaking a peek at him, which made this glance particularly glaring.

Xu Qian shivered twice, sensing a great killing aura! It seemed this old demon was getting very impatient.

"Brother, our Taihu Gang has been following these broken carts from Yangzhou, braving the wind and rain, rolling in mud and snow. Why? For this cargo, of course. Just tell us, what share will you give us? If it's worth it, we'll join you."

Tanyu found a pile of snow on the ground and gently wiped his hands.

"Fixed price, you get two shares, the same as Chaohu and Poyanghu." He smiled faintly, "Xu Qian, I only have one question for you: in or out?"

At first, there were two more groups of pirates, and together they would have taken six shares.

This was Tanyu's greatest concession.

This way, he and Xizhi Cai would each get two shares.

Negotiation was best, but if it didn't work, killing the leaders and rallying the pirates would also do.

Xu Qian sensed the meaning in Tanyu's words and felt a chill. "Did you ask the leaders of Poyanghu and Chaohu?"

"Of course. Brother Zheng Bao of Chaohu is a real man, he agreed without a second thought; Commander Zhang of Poyanghu, after being persuaded by my Wudang predecessor, also agreed readily."

Behind him, Zhang Ren chewed on the pig's leg, thinking, "Persuaded... Yes, if that Zhang Duo had dared to say no, the Bixue Bao Dao would have been thirsty and hungry."

Xu Qian's thick eyebrows twitched. These three people felt very special. His gang was hidden so far away, yet they were found so easily. Moreover, just three people dared to raid his stronghold, easily defeating over twenty of his fierce subordinates, including a peak Mingjing leader.

It was too easy!

That old man seemed to be taking a walk, not even out of breath.

Those who could sit in the position of a leader were not ordinary bandits; they had to be more cunning, more sinister, and more street-smart.

Xu Qian's realm was not high, and he didn't rank among the Dark Realm experts, but he had a good eye for people. So he stopped his five closest subordinates from attacking and tried to learn more about the visitors.

The more he learned, the colder his heart grew.

These two young men were more than he could handle!

As for the old man behind them, with his bloodshot eyes, he was terrifying. One glance made Xu Qian feel like he had died again.

Where did these Wudang experts come from? He had never heard of them.

Too scary!

He couldn't resist.

"Alright, since those two brothers have agreed, I'm just a junior, so of course I'll follow." Xu Qian made up his mind.

Tanyu smiled, "This time, you don't need to follow; you need to lead."

The three major bandit gangs had been following the convoy from Yangzhou, but they never found a chance to strike. What was supposed to be a robbery felt more like an escort. For the leaders of the three lakes, this was an incredibly humiliating situation.

After seeing the fate of the Wuling Xiongxi, everyone's hearts were colder than ice. Fortunately, they hadn't acted, or they would have suffered the same fate.

Xu Qian had already planned to return, so their current position was the best.

The bandits from Chaohu and Poyanghu were hiding in front of the treasure convoy, in a lower position, originally hoping to be closer to the treasure when they struck. However, they were now facing the strong bows and arrows of the Zhong Army.

Therefore, they all demanded that Xu Qian, who was behind them, take the first move to break through the Zhong Army's defenses.

Tanyu had no prejudice against the three major bandit gangs and agreed when the other two made sense.

Xu Qian was stunned, vaguely feeling that he had been tricked and would suffer a great loss.

He glanced at his five closest subordinates, his fingers twitching slightly.

"Commander Xu, the terrain in front of you is flat, easy to attack but hard to defend, and the treasure cart has little protection. It's perfect for a first strike. Then, perhaps we can give more of the treasure to our Taihu Gang."

"But..." Xu Qian felt a chill in his back when Shi Huang glared at him, and his resolve to argue diminished significantly. "The other side has martial arts experts."

"Any strong opponent will be dealt with by us. Don't worry. The skills of these five behind you look deep, and they all have iron shields. Excellent! When the signal comes, let them lead, and we'll charge together."

"Charge together with you?" Xu Qian looked at Tanyu in surprise.

"What, do you think it's not worth it for these treasures?" Tanyu slowly raised the black spear in his left hand.

He suddenly stood up and shouted, "Today, we five major gangs will join forces to seize the treasure. The Taoists of Huainan will be dealt with by me. You just need to charge, rob, and take out those archers! Seize the gold and silver from the wagons! When you hear the drum, charge together. Understand? You, you, and you!" He pointed at the five bandits behind Xu Qian.

"Who the hell are you to give orders to us?" One of the tall and strong bandits behind Xu Qian finally couldn't hold back, jumping out with an iron shield in his left hand and a ring-headed saber in his right, pointing the blade at Tanyu and shouting.

How audacious! Zhang Ren's eyes narrowed, putting down the pig's leg and letting his right hand hang down.

Tanyu glanced at him, another peak Mingjing expert, with considerable natural strength.

"Who is this dead man?" Tanyu raised his right hand slightly, restraining Zhang Ren's hidden move. This wasn't the time for underhanded tactics.

Blood must be shed!

"Second Brother, don't offend the Wudang expert!" Xu Qian pretended to stop him.

"Bullshit!" The second bandit from Taihu clashed his shield and saber, "I've been in the江湖 for decades and never heard of any famous Wudang sect or experts..."

"You have a foul mouth!" Tanyu frowned in disgust and pointed at him casually, "You can die now!"

A red shadow suddenly flipped up, moving so fast that it wrapped the bandit, shield, and saber together. Internal energy was released, and the giant man was already flying through the air.

The red shadow vanished in a flash.

The bandits watched in shock as the second bandit was thrown up two or three zhang high, dropping his iron shield and saber, and falling rapidly. They screamed and scattered.

Xu Qian's other four subordinates were in an uproar, and some wanted to rush out to catch their second brother, but Xu Qian stopped them, ordering in a low voice, "No one move!"

Thud!

A loud, crisp sound.

The second bandit's head hit the half-melted, hard ground first, his brain splattering, his body twisting, and red and white matter flying everywhere.

"Those who disobey orders will meet the same fate," Tanyu said casually.

Shi Huang's bloodshot eyes coldly scanned Xu Qian and his four subordinates.

Xu Qian bowed his head first, shouting loudly, "We of Taihu will follow your orders, sir."

The four subordinates were pale, their hands trembling behind their backs, and their eyes no longer held any defiance.

The surrounding bandits mostly fell to the ground, not daring to look up.

Seeing the mangled, twisted body of the second bandit, even the most dim-witted among them understood that their leader had been shattered by the old man's internal energy in the air and was already dead.

This old man was truly a peak Dark Realm expert!

Under Tanyu's slightly mocking gaze, Xu Qian suddenly drew his waist knife and shouted, "Men, prepare to attack!"

At that moment, Shi Huang suddenly cried out, "That's..."

Tanyu quickly turned his head, following Shi Huang's gaze to see a black spherical shadow floating in the distance.

The target was the Zhong Army's convoy.

"What is that?" Zhang Ren asked.

Shi Huang focused his eyes but didn't answer.

"It must be... someone coming to rob the treasure," Tanyu shook his head. Although he couldn't see clearly, it was definitely related to the treasure.

He was extremely annoyed. Just as they were about to make their move, someone had to come and interrupt, which was truly frustrating.

"That's the Floating Light Technique!" Shi Huang finally confirmed, warning Tanyu and his brother, "This is a special movement technique that only a Transformation Realm master can use. It seems a Transformation Realm expert is coming to cause trouble. Be careful."

"Understood!" Tanyu and Zhang Ren both nodded.

"What do we do now?" Zhang Ren was a bit confused. Transformation Realm?

"Wait for Old Wang's signal!" Tanyu said calmly.

Although it was sudden, they had already planned a second option. If things went wrong, they would immediately run.

With the three major Yangzhou bandits in front to take the brunt, no one would notice them.

They anxiously waited for Wang Yue's decision. If they needed to retreat, the signal would be three gongs.

Wang Yue didn't disappoint. Five minutes later, he made his decision.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three loud, powerful sounds suddenly rang out.

This was the signal for the attack!

Tanyu, Shi Huang, and Zhang Ren were all invigorated, smiling at each other. Old Mr. Wang was never one to back down!

The main event was finally about to begin!

Shi Huang sighed, "Even a Transformation Realm master can't stop Mr. Wang's divine sword!"

"Then, Old Man, you stay behind!" Tanyu laughed, "Xu Qian, charge with me!"

————

...I had a bad headache yesterday, so I'm making up for it with a long chapter today.

Page break AD starts

Page break AD ends