Chapter 15: The Thief Who Wields a Sword Well

Gang Mudeok, who had been glancing at the direction from which the arrow had flown, approached Feng Yanchao and shouted,

"Take care of the petty thieves!"

As the order was given, the bodyguards standing by the cart drew their swords.

Feng Yanchao took a few steps back, as if he had encountered a tiger. In fact, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that to him, Gang Mudeok was a tiger.

With his best arrow attack failing, Feng Yanchao fell into a state of panic.

Indeed, the Wan Shou Merchant Guild was different from the Nan Yang Merchant Guild.

Not only did they have a numerical advantage, but the name 'Luolin' didn't intimidate them either.

In such a situation, the best course of action was to run.

Just as Feng Yanchao was about to turn his body to flee, someone quickly passed by him and stepped in front of Gang Mudeok.

Lian Jieha.

Startled, Feng Yanchao reached out to stop him, but his hand didn't reach Lian Jieha.

Gang Mudeok was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the small, wiry boy.

"Hmph! A kid who's already stealing at this age! You must have had bad parents! Today, I'll take your parents' place and..."

Lian Jieha, who had been listening quietly, interrupted Gang Mudeok.

"Don't insult my nanny."

Despite having experienced a mountain trip once, Lian Jieha's expression remained calm.

In fact, there was a reason for his composure.

When Gang Mudeok cut the arrow earlier, it felt as if he was seeing Tian Jide. It was an indescribable feeling that he wouldn't lose. The move that made Feng Yanchao tremble with fear boosted Lian Jieha's confidence.

"What! A kid who hasn't even grown up, talking big..."

Gang Mudeok suddenly lunged with his sword.

At the same time, Lian Jieha's broadsword sliced through the air.

Swish. Clang.

'Huh?'

Gang Mudeok looked at the front with wide eyes.

The moment he heard the sharp metallic sound, he knew something was wrong.

When he came to his senses, the sword he was holding was cut in half.

A terrifyingly sharp edge flowed from the old broadsword in the boy's hand.

'He's a master!'

Any slight movement and his limbs would be severed.

Gang Mudeok stood frozen like a statue, holding the half-cut sword.

Cold sweat trickled down his face, which was tense with extreme anxiety.

Lian Jieha frowned and said,

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I still can't control my strength well. I almost cut off your head."

Only then did Zhang Mudeok feel a burning sensation in his neck.

Feeling it with his left hand, he found sticky blood.

'What! The broadsword didn't even reach me...'

That meant the tangible sword qi had extended in that split second.

Gang Mudeok's face turned pale.

There's a saying in the martial world, "Be careful of children, women, and the elderly." It seemed he had met his match today.

"S-Spare me, please."

With those words from Gang Mudeok, the fight was over.

A short while later, Feng Yanchao arrogantly received forty taels of silver from Guo Rensheng.

Even after being robbed, Guo Rensheng bowed in gratitude.

On the way back to the mountain stronghold, Feng Yanchao casually asked Lian Jieha,

"Jieha, what was that just now?"

"Cutting the sword?"

"Yeah, that."

"It's the Demon-Slaying Sword Technique taught by my second brother."

"The Demon-Slaying Sword Technique?"

Feng Yanchao, glancing at Lian Jieha and Zhuo Gao Ming, tilted his head.

His Heavenly Earth Sword Technique and the Demon-Slaying Sword Technique were both third-rate techniques. To think that such a technique could cut through Jiang Mudeok's sword! He couldn't believe it even though he saw it with his own eyes.

As soon as they returned to the mountain stronghold, Feng Yanchao asked Lian Jieha to demonstrate the Demon-Slaying Sword Technique.

In the middle of the courtyard, Lian Jieha performed the three moves of the Demon-Slaying Sword Technique.

With each movement of the broadsword, sword qi spread in all directions.

When the branches caught in the sword qi snapped, the mouths of the nine bandits dropped open.

This wasn't the Demon-Slaying Sword Technique from the market.

If there were demons in the world, they would flee in terror.

After that day, the bandits begged Zhuo Gao Ming to teach them the Demon-Slaying Sword Technique for a while.

***

By winter, the Five Peaks Mountain Stronghold had become quite famous in the area.

After paying tolls to both the Nan Yang Merchant Guild and the Wan Shou Merchant Guild, merchants voluntarily paid money. Feng Yanchao wouldn't cause trouble as long as each merchant paid about one tael of silver.

As their reputation spread in the local community, bandits who were being chased by the army began to seek them out.

By the time the year changed, the Five Peaks Mountain Stronghold had twenty bandits.

The Great Wall Mountain Stronghold even sent wine to congratulate them when they heard the news.

Lian Jieha went on a total of fifteen mountain trips from autumn to winter.

During this time, there were five sword fights.

The bodyguards of the merchant guilds couldn't withstand Lian Jieha's single move and fell.

A rumor spread among the merchants' bodyguards who crossed the Five Peaks Mountain: "There's a thief who wields a sword well on the Five Peaks Mountain."

After the five battles, the merchants who passed through the Five Peaks Mountain quietly paid the toll. As a result, Lian Jieha no longer had to use his broadsword.

One night, Zhang Sufeng, the sixth in command, quietly called out Lian Jieha.

As they walked through the snow-covered front yard, Zhang Sufeng casually asked,

"Jieha, the new recruits aren't listening to you, right?"

"Not really."

A strange smile appeared on Zhang Sufeng's face.

He couldn't tell if the new recruits were listening or not.

"Big brother seems a bit worried. He's afraid you might be too harsh. It would be troublesome if the new recruits' limbs were cut off before the mountain trip."

The new recruits who recently joined the stronghold were all notorious. Some of them were even known as madmen in Henan Province.

What they wanted was to rise in the ranks.

From the eighth, Li Tieshan, to the tenth, Han Caiyan, they all bowed to him, so he didn't touch them. The first obstacle for the madmen who wanted to rise higher was the seventh, Lian Jieha.

Ever since Lian Jieha declared, "If you want to challenge the older brothers, you have to go through me," it became the rule. It was essentially a warning not to touch the first six.

Suddenly, Zhang Sufeng looked at Lian Jieha with a gentle gaze.

He found Lian Jieha both burdensome and grateful.

When Feng Yanchao and Zhuo Gao Ming found him almost dead last summer, he, as the youngest at the time, had taken care of the aftermath. That's why, even though Lian Jieha could rise higher, he stayed at the seventh position.

It seemed like only yesterday when he praised Lian Jieha for not being afraid and doing well, but in just four months, Lian Jieha had changed beyond recognition. A mere seventeen-year-old bandit from a small village had become famous!

Zhang Sufeng was even envious of the somewhat ambiguous rumor, "There's a thief who wields a sword well on the Five Peaks Mountain." After all, nicknames often arise this way!

Lian Jieha stopped and asked,

"Brother, is it because of the duel tomorrow? Are you worried they might get hurt?"

With the snowfall preventing mountain trips for days, the new recruits had requested a duel.

They wanted to settle the ranks once and for all.

"Huh? Uh..."

Zhang Sufeng was taken aback by the unbridled curses.

While it was true that the madmen were known for their foul mouths and rough behavior, hearing "rude old men" from the young Lian Jieha felt strange.

"Do you dislike them?"

"Han Caiyan said those old men were cursing Big Brother behind his back. If they had crossed me, I would have pulled out all their teeth on the spot..."

"Ah!"

Only then did Zhang Sufeng realize why Lian Jieha was unusually agitated.

He wouldn't stand by if someone disrespected him or his sworn brothers.

It seemed the new recruits had firmly caught Lian Jieha's eye for their disrespect.

Zhang Sufeng didn't say anything more.

If it was a matter of respect, even if Big Brother intervened, Lian Jieha wouldn't listen.

'Unless he stays quiet like a bundle of barley...'

Once Lian Jieha made up his mind, no one could stop him.

At the same time, the other bandits' quarters were also noisy due to the upcoming duel.

A man with a square jaw spoke, spitting out saliva,

"Once we knock out the seventh, the young one, the rest will be smooth sailing. Apart from Chief Feng and Deputy Chief Zhuo, the third to sixth positions are just a punch away. They can't even look us in the eye."

An old man with a goatee, Gumiufujian Xin Yangjue, scratched his head and asked,

"Do you know anything about Chief Feng and Deputy Chief Zhuo?"

"I heard Chief Feng practices the Heavenly Earth Sword Technique, and Deputy Chief practices the Demon-Slaying Sword Technique."

"Sounds familiar. Surely, it's not the same technique those wandering medicine sellers show in the market, right?"

"Why not? Chief Feng definitely learned from a medicine seller, and Deputy Chief learned from a temple."

"Tsk! That's no way for the elders to behave. We have to maintain the dignity of Luolin."

The recently joined man with a square jaw, Duxin Langren Huang Yaoming, spat out,

"Exactly. The Luolin Conference is coming in the spring. We need to settle things now. I heard the ranks are determined by the order in which people joined the mountain. What kind of Luolin is this? It's not a school for children. Please help establish the spirit of the mountain stronghold. We trust the two elders."

Another old man, Wuying Shentou Bai Jiao, who had been listening silently, spoke up,

"But don't we lack information on the seventh, Lian Jieha?"

Huang Yaoming hesitated.

In fact, he knew almost nothing about Lian Jieha.

He had asked Han Caiyan a few times, but she just smiled. The same was true for the long-time residents like Li Tieshan and Tian Jide.

"From what I've heard, Lian Jieha learned the Demon-Slaying Sword Technique from Deputy Chief. There's no need to worry too much..."

"Rubbish."

Bai Jiao immediately cursed.

There was a reason the merchant guild's bodyguards called him "the thief who wields a sword well on the Five Peaks Mountain." The Demon-Slaying Sword Technique was far from enough.

Huang Yaoming, realizing his words didn't make sense, remained silent.

Xin Yangjue stroked his goatee and said,

"Heh. Don't worry too much. Even if Lian Jieha's skills are as rumored, he can't match Brother Bai. The name Wuying Shentou strikes fear into the hearts of even the Five Great Families' masters."

"Haha. Flattery. I can only hope to be as good as Brother Xin."

Xin Yangjue and Bai Jiao exchanged meaningful glances.

They were thinking about what would happen after Lian Jieha. One of them would have to become the chief, and both hoped the other would step down.

Considering their reputations, it wouldn't be strange for either of them to become the chief.

"We trust the two elders."

Huang Yaoming, representing the newly joined powerful bandits, bowed.

***

As the day broke, a strange tension filled the Five Peaks Mountain Stronghold.

Today was the day of the bandits' rank competition.

The stronghold had a total of twenty-five members.

Twenty of them had no complaints about Chief Feng Yanchao's leadership. Not only was Chief Feng Yanchao's temper manageable, but they also respected Lian Jieha's wishes.

However, the five who had recently joined were different.

They roamed around with intense eyes and stern faces from the morning.

Their movements clearly indicated that a fight was about to break out.

As the sun rose high in the sky, Xin Yangjue signaled to Huang Yaoming, who was in the room.

It was a sign to start the plan.