Chapter 18

Qingchen, as expected of Yu Xu Zi's senior disciple, wielded his sword with the grace of flowing clouds, light and elegant. In just a few exchanges, he had already pierced one of the two men he was fighting. Although the man did not die, he was too weak to get up and fight again. The other villain, now facing him alone, could only defend himself and had no chance to counterattack. Seeing that he was about to be defeated, fortunately, a companion came to his aid, and the two barely managed to fight Qingchen to a standstill.

The two young Taoist disciples, though they had not practiced martial arts for long and were not as skilled as Qingchen, had received personal instruction from Yu Xu Zi. They could not fight two at once, but one-on-one was no problem. The bandits, though strong and fierce, were used to fighting in groups and relying on brute strength. In terms of martial arts, they were no match for the disciples of Yu Xu Zi. If it weren't for the lack of experience of the Yu Xu Zi disciples, the bandits would have been defeated much more severely.

On Wang Feng and Zhong Ziqi's side, the situation was similar to Qingchen's. Although Wang Feng, in his previous life, did not like to provoke trouble and rarely fought, he had practiced Wing Chun for over ten years. He often sparred with his fellow practitioners and had participated in many competitions, so he had considerable combat experience. However, it was his first time fighting for his life, and he was a bit nervous. Moreover, he was not used to the sword Yu Xu Zi had given him before they set out—Yu Xu Zi said that since they were pretending to be Taoists, they should look the part. Therefore, he did not perform as gracefully as Qingchen, but he had already knocked down one bandit and was now fighting another with his fists. Zhong Ziqi performed better; at least her sword was not just for show. She had already killed one bandit. First, she had studied under Yu Xu Zi for many years and was skilled. Second, the person who hired them had said not to hurt her, so the bandits were hesitant, which gave Miss Zhong an advantage. The other people from Yu Xu Zi's temple mostly used surprise attacks, striking their opponents unexpectedly, and even if they missed, they could still scare them. This strategy worked quite well.

The black-faced giant, however, looked grim, though his dark complexion made it hard for others to notice. He was now quite regretful, regretting his overconfidence in sending only half of his men in the first wave. He did not expect these seemingly weak Taoist disciples to be so difficult to handle. In a short time, three or four of his men were injured, and they were now outnumbered. He knew he could not wait any longer, so he waved his hand and led the remaining ten men into the fray. This put the Yu Xu Zi disciples on the defensive.

Zhong Ziqi had just felled one of her opponents when another burly man, wielding a large club, charged at her with a roar. The bandits had now realized that the employer had specifically instructed them not to hurt this young girl, who was a formidable opponent. If they did not subdue her, more of their men would be injured. Ignoring the employer's instructions, this man, known as the Stupid Diamond Ma San, swung his club fiercely at Zhong Ziqi. Unfortunately, Miss Zhong's martial arts were not well-suited to dealing with such brute force, so she had to retreat and look for an opportunity to use her skills. However, she tripped on a stone and stumbled, barely preventing a fall with her sword. This exposed a weakness. Ma San saw his chance and rushed forward, raising his club to strike her head. Seeing Miss Zhong about to be killed, Wang Feng, a few steps away, was frantic with worry. He knew he could not reach her in time, so in a moment of desperation, he threw the sword he had not used much at Ma San. Thanks to the time travel, Wang Feng's strength had increased, and he threw the sword with all his might. It flew like an arrow, piercing Ma San's side. Ma San, about to strike, heard a whistling sound and realized something was coming. He had to stop his attack and twist his body to deflect the sword. This pause gave Zhong Ziqi time to regain her footing and resume the fight.

Seeing that his throw had saved Zhong Ziqi, Wang Feng felt a bit relieved. However, when he turned around, he found himself in a dangerous situation. A bandit, taking advantage of his moment of distraction, had rushed to him and raised his large knife to strike. Wang Feng had no time to dodge, so he jumped backward, falling to the ground. As he reached for something in his chest, the bandit, seeing his missed strike, followed up with another. Just as he raised his knife to strike, there were two loud bangs, almost deafening him. He felt a powerful blow to his chest and saw two holes appear, blood gushing out. His strength seemed to drain away with the blood. The fallen Taoist, holding a strange L-shaped object that was smoking, pointed it at him. The bandit took a few steps forward but could not hold on and fell, his body twitching but unable to rise again. His eyes, losing their light, were filled with confusion.

The fighting stopped as everyone turned to look at Wang Feng. Except for Zhang Weixin, Fan Wucheng, and Yang Xin, no one understood what had happened. They looked at Wang Feng, who had narrowly escaped death, and the strange L-shaped object in his hand, wondering how such a small thing could kill a strong man. The once noisy road fell silent, except for the distant chirping of cicadas. Wang Feng, clearly shocked by his first act of killing, sat on the ground for a moment. When he accidentally touched the hot barrel of the gun, he snapped out of it, jumped up, and aimed at the stunned Ma San, firing two more shots.

There were two more loud bangs, and the Stupid Diamond was awakened by the shock. Just as he was about to raise his club again, he felt a burning sensation in his neck and found his hands covered in blood. He tried to ask his companions what was happening, but only managed to make a few strange sounds. His body swayed and he fell to the ground, unable to get up.

Seeing this, the black-faced giant, who was fighting Qingchen, was filled with regret. He regretted listening to Xu Wuchi's sweet talk and being blinded by the gold in his hand, agreeing to this seemingly simple job. He had forgotten that the Taoists might have magical powers. He had heard that some old Taoists could create a weapon called "Palm Thunder" that could kill silently from a distance. Today, the Taoist might have used such a weapon. His reputation as "Liangxiang Tiger" Shi Feihu was ruined, and he might even lose his life. Thinking this, he decided to save himself. While most were still stunned, he ran to his horse. Just as he was about to untie the reins, there was another loud bang. He felt a searing pain in his back and turned to see one of the three Taoists on the cart, holding the same weapon as the one who threw the sword, pointing it at him. He could not believe that these ordinary Taoists had such a legendary weapon. There were two more bangs, and his chest was pierced with two more holes. His massive body could not stand and he fell, filled with regret and anger.

Yang Xin had already drawn his gun when the second wave of bandits attacked. He had been waiting for an opportunity to avoid hitting his own side. The short pause caused by Wang Feng's shots gave him the chance to choose a target. Seeing the black giant trying to escape, he fired without hesitation.

Seeing their leader dead, the stunned bandits finally came to their senses. Someone shouted, "Run!" and the rest turned and ran in different directions, faster than Usain Bolt. Wang Feng and Yang Xin fired, hitting three more, but their magazines were empty. While they were reloading, the remaining bandits ran out of range. They stopped shooting, put away their guns, and tried to calm down. The once brave and heroic Wang Feng, now surrounded by the smell of blood, felt his stomach churn and vomited. Soon, everyone except Qingchen and the old steward Zhong Fu followed suit. After a while, they stopped vomiting and sat down to discuss their next move.

After counting, they found that nine bandits had been killed, and the rest, whether injured or not, had fled. On their side, only one young Taoist and two servants were injured, but not seriously, and had been bandaged. They were lucky to have suffered such minor injuries. First, the bandits had been overconfident, sending only half their men in the first wave, giving them a chance to fight one by one. Second, Wang Feng's timely shots had prevented a more severe loss. They were relieved but puzzled about who had hired the bandits to attack them. Neither the people from Yu Xu Zi's temple nor the Zhong family had many enemies, let alone deep grudges. They decided to think about it later and discuss it when they returned to the temple.

They decided to report the incident to the authorities. Since this was a major road, the bodies would be discovered soon, unlike the mountain bandits. Qingchen sent Zhong Fu to report to the Liangxiang County Office, while the others split into two groups. One group stayed to wait for the authorities, and the other group returned to Yu Xu Zi's temple and the Zhong family to inform them and ask for help.

After the arrangements were made, Zhong Fu rode to Liangxiang County. The two young Taoists and other servants returned to the temple, while Miss Zhong and Wang Feng rode to the Zhong family. The others who stayed behind rested in the woods, while Qingchen continued to stab the dead bandits with his sword. Seeing this, Zhang Weixin asked, puzzled, "Brother Qingchen, what are you doing? Are you afraid they are faking death?"

Qingchen shook his head and continued stabbing, saying, "No, no. I am doing this to cover up the truth." Seeing Zhang Weixin's confusion, he stopped and explained, "Wang and Yang used a very powerful weapon to kill many bandits. The wounds on their bodies are small round holes, very different from the wounds caused by common weapons. When the county officials and coroners come to inspect the bodies, they will be suspicious. By stabbing the bodies in the same places, I can cover up the original wounds and avoid unnecessary trouble."

Zhang Weixin nodded, impressed by Qingchen's foresight and thoroughness, and returned to the woods to rest.