Chapter 25: A Chance For Survival starvecleric's Thoughts

Chapter 25: A Chance For Survival

Bao Gang burst into laughter. “Of course, that isn’t a problem at all! Our Blackwind Stockade welcomes men from all walks of life. Shall we get rid of these remaining guards together first?”

Despite his words, Bao Gang was thinking of something very different on the inside. Assaulting the Yu clan was a huge matter, such that he couldn’t risk even the slightest possibility of the news leaking outward. If this intruder were to get away, it would spell trouble for them.

The only reason why he dared not make a move yet was due to him being unsure of this man’s background, and their hands were currently occupied with the Yu clan’s guards. The best scenario would indubitably be for them to first get rid of the Yu clan’s guards before gathering all of the brothers to eliminate him.

In any case, this man was unlikely to be at the fifth rank or higher, or else he could have curbed the Yu clan’s guards all alone. There was no need to propose a partnership.

Behind the bushes, Ji Xiaoxi was feeling utterly confused about the current situation. She couldn’t figure out what Zu An was trying to pull here. If she hadn’t known about Zu An’s peculiar condition, she would have even suspected him of truly harboring such horrendous thoughts.

“Sounds good with me!” Zu An drew his dagger and charged forth to clash with one of the Yu clan’s guards.

The outcome of the clash was the Yu clan’s guard shook a little whereas Zu An was knocked several meters back.

The crowd from the Blackwind Stockade: “…”

The crowd from the Yu clan: “…”

They thought that they had encountered an expert in the wilderness, but it turned out that he wasn’t even a match for a third rank guard? Not to mention, the guard had just been through a bitter battle and was nearly completely exhausted by now!

You have successfully trolled Bao Gang for +99 Rage!

You have successfully trolled Blackwind Stockade Bandit A for +99 Rage!

You have successfully trolled Blackwind Stockade Bandit B for +99 Rage!

You have successfully trolled Blackwind Stockade Bandit C for +99 Rage!

…

Bao Gang thought about just how careful he had trod around the intruder earlier, calculating the chances of winning and the probability of bringing the intruder over to his side. Yet, it turned out that the intruder was merely at the second rank! This made him feel as if he had been made a fool of.

He felt incredibly tempted to end the intruder’s life right away with a slash of his blade, but at the same time, he was worried that the intruder might have just been putting on an act to get his guard down. Thus, he chose to suppress his urge for the time being. You dare to make a fool out of me? Just wait till I’m done with the Yu clan. I’ll skin you alive!

You have successfully trolled Bao Gang for +199 Rage!

Looking at Bao Gang’s twitching cheeks, Zu An felt his heart flowering in happiness. This fellow sure is kind to provide me with so much Rage points.

In the battle to come, Zu An no longer took the frontline anymore. Instead, he weaved around the battlefield and stuck his blade in from time to time. He was trying to get a feel of the battlefield while adapting to his newfound powers. After all, he had never been in a proper battle before, even when he was dealing with Plum Blossom Twelve.

However, his actions only made those from the Blackwind Stockade grit their teeth in frustration. Not only was Zu An not helping at all, but he was also hindering their attacks! If not for the Third Master’s orders, they would have already decapitated this nosey fellow by now!

You have successfully trolled Blackwind Stockade Bandit A for +33 Rage!

You have successfully trolled Blackwind Stockade Bandit B for +33 Rage!

You have successfully trolled Blackwind Stockade Bandit C for +33 Rage!

…

After a short battle, all of the Yu clan’s guards were captured. After a moment of hesitation, Bao Gang chose not to kill them on the spot. Instead, he simply planted some restrictions on their bodies.

They still needed to extract critical intelligence regarding the Yu clan from them, and they could use these people to blackmail Madame Yu.

Meanwhile, seeing that the Yu clan’s guards had been curbed, Zu An rubbed his hands licentiously and began making his way toward the carriage. “Finally, I’m going to see Madame Yu’s beautiful face in person.”

“The Yu clan will never let you off!” One of the guards who had a sword pressed against his neck glared at Zu An furiously.

You have successfully trolled Yu Bin for +299 Rage!

You have successfully trolled Yu Jun for +299 Rage!

You have successfully trolled Yu Meng for +299 Rage!

…

Zu An chuckled softly. “We’re in the wilderness. The Yu clan will never find out what I did here.”

“Bro, aren’t you getting ahead of yourself right now?” Bao Gang’s cold harrumph suddenly sounded from behind.

Zu An’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

Bao Gang waved his hand, and the black-clothed bandits immediately surrounded him. “There’s no one who wouldn’t be interested in a beauty like Madame Yu, but there are so many of us but only one of her. It wouldn’t even be enough for us to go around, so how could we share her with you?”

“You’re going to cast me away after making use of me?” Zu An pointed at Bao Gang as his body trembled in fury.

“Pui!” Bao Gang spat coldly. “Where did this ruffian come from? With your measly second rank cultivation, I really wonder where you found the galls to dare negotiate with me!”

Bao Gang was certain that Zu An was only at second rank after observing him closely throughout the entire battle. The latter definitely wasn’t feigning weak.

“Mince that fellow up and feed him to the dogs!” Bao Gang issued an order. The anger that he had been suppressing all this while was finally going to be vented, and he suddenly felt refreshed all over.

“Hold it right there!”

Meanwhile, seeing that Zu An was in a desperate situation, Ji Xiaoxi lost her patience. She wasn’t sure what Zu An was up to, but she knew that if she didn’t intervene right now, he would lose his life right after.

“There’s actually another person here!” Bao Gang exclaimed in astonishment. He did sense that there was someone in that direction, but since Zu An had leaped out, he assumed that there was only one person. He had been too careless here. If that woman were to flee the area and spread the news of their deed… Just the thought of it made him sweat profusely.

“Hahaha, Third Master! It’s yet another beautiful lass! It looks like our luck is quite good today!” Seeing Ji Xiaoxi’s beautiful face, the black-clothed bandits began catcalling in anticipation.

While they did say that they would have fun with Madam Yu earlier, they knew their own place. There was no way someone of Madame Yu’s caliber would fall into their hands. Most likely, she would be specially reserved for the masters.

However, it was different with this young woman who had just popped out of nowhere. If they could capture her, she would be theirs!

“My father is Brightmoon City’s Ji Dengtu! If you release him, we won’t divulge anything that we saw today!” Ji Xiaoxi was well aware that with her current cultivation level, it would be futile for her to confront them. Thus, she could only bring out her father’s name.

The black-clothed bandits were first a little astonished before bursting into hearty laughter. “Hah, Ji Dengtu is just a mere physician! Who do you think you are trying to scare here?”

“Shut your trap!” Bao Gang, however, frowned upon hearing those words. He had heard his big brother mentioning that there were a few people in Brightmoon City whom they absolutely couldn’t mess with, and Ji Dengtu was one of them.

Bao Gang hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he shook his head. “I have heard of Ji Dengtu’s reputation, but I’m afraid that we can’t risk this matter getting out. Brothers, capture her! The first one to get her will get the first taste of her!”

The black-clothed bandits began roaring in excitement as they rushed forward to capture her.

“Watch my Finger Flick Secret Art!”

It was then that a bellow suddenly sounded. Bao Gang heard something whizzing across the air behind him. Without any hesitation, he slashed his sword at the object and shattered it into pieces.

“Hahaha! Is this your Finger Flick Secret Art?” Bao Gang sneered coldly. However, barely after laughing a bit, his face suddenly paled in horror. “Y-you…”

Then, he fell face-first onto the ground. Even the companions around him also collapsed too.

“Third Master, what’s wrong?” The other black-clothed bandits immediately rushed forward to help him up, but a few seconds later, they also collapsed to the ground too.

Seeing this, Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. In truth, he had been finding an opportunity for those bandits to gather together so he could make use of his Poison Bottle. However, just as he was about to succeed, Ji Xiaoxi’s sudden appearance nearly foiled his plan.

He thought that he would have to fight the remaining bandits who were out of the area of effect of the Poison Bottle, but fortunately, these bandits were dumber than he thought. Too anxious to save their Third Master, they got into the range of the Poison Bottle and knocked themselves out too, sparing him a great deal of effort.

“You brat! What kind of sorcery did you cast on us?!” Bao Gang bellowed furiously from the ground. The ki in his body had been completely sealed, and he couldn’t even move his body at all. His entire body felt numb, as if it wasn’t his own anymore.

You have successfully trolled Bao Gang for +333 Rage!

“I already told you. This is my Finger Flick Secret Art. Once I use this technique, everything within an area of 30 meters will turn utterly barren. You looked down on me, and this is the price for that.” Despite saying that, Zu An dared not to approach Bao Gang. He wasn’t sure whether there were still remnants of the poison lingering in the area. If he were to get poisoned too, that would be disastrous.

“I-I understand it now! We were blind for daring to snub you.” Bao Gang quickly changed his tone after realizing the situation he was in. This intruder was really feigning weak all this while! “Madame Yu is right in there, and she’s all yours. We won’t compete with you for her anymore!”

The guards of the Yu clan were still in a daze. Everything had happened so quickly that they were having trouble trying to make sense of the change in the situation.

“Pui!” Figuring that the medicine should have mostly dispersed by now, Zu An finally walked up to Bao Gang’s side and slapped his face with his knife. “Heh, do you think that you’re in any state to compete with me right now? Who was the one who wanted to mince me up and feed me to the dogs earlier on? Who were the ones who wanted to take advantage of our Xiaoxi?”

Ji Xiaoxi was rushing over when she heard Zu An’s intimate way of addressing her, and her face reddened.

You have successfully trolled Bao Gang for +147 Rage!

As the Third Master of the Blackwind Stockade, Bao Gang had been living the life of a king over the last few years. When had anyone dared to slap his face with a knife?

“I have eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. Please have mercy on me. Our Blackwind Stockade will surely remember this grace!” As infuriated as Bao Gang was, he still quickly composed himself and brought out the Blackwind Blockade’s name, hoping that it could instill some fear in Zu An.

On the other hand, Zu An was amused by the use of the idiom. “Oh? You have Mount Tai here too? Alright then. Since you have even put out this idiom, I’ll give you a chance then. As long as you can answer my question well, I’ll spare you.”

The leader of the Yu clan’s guards was shocked to hear Zu An’s words. “You mustn’t let them go! They are vile criminals who have slaughtered many innocent people.”

Zu An rolled his eyes at the leader of the Yu Clan’s guards. “Who gave you permission to speak here? If you want to decide on how to deal with them, why didn’t you capture them earlier?”

The face of the leader of the Yu clan’s guards reddened, but he couldn’t do anything at all. Restrictions had been placed on their bodies, so they were helpless no matter what Zu An wanted to do.

You have successfully trolled Yu Bin for +111 Rage!

Zu An turned his gaze to one of the black-clothed bandits and asked, “I’ll start from you. What instruments can you play?”

The black-clothed bandit was stunned. “I can’t play the instrument.” Why in the world would bandits like them, who made a living out of plundering, learn how to play instruments?

“What’s the point of living in the world when you can’t even play good music?” Zu An sneered before ending his life with a swift slit.

You have successfully trolled the bandits of the Blackwind Stockade for +666 Rage!

Zu An moved on to the person beside him and asked, “What about you? What instruments can you play?”

That man swallowed his saliva. He couldn’t play any instruments either, but the corpse of his companion was still fresh beside him. There was no way he would dare to say those words. It was then that a spark flashed across his mind, and he replied, “I can whistle!”

“In what bloody world do you consider whistling to be playing an instrument?” Zu An ended that man’s life with a slit of his dagger too. Even as he breathed his last, there was a fawning smile on that man’s face.

You have successfully trolled the bandits of the Blackwind Stockade for +666 Rage!

The soft-hearted Ji Xiaoxi couldn’t stand to watch this sight, so she quietly went over and tugged on his sleeves. “Big brother Zu, is it a little too cruel to do this?”

Zu An sighed deeply. “Xiaoxi, you are too kind. If we had fallen into their hands, they would have shown you what true cruelty is. Besides, didn’t I give them a chance for survival over here? As long as they can give me a satisfactory answer to my question, I would spare their lives.”

The bandits from the Blackwind Stockade were all on the verge of crying. How does this count as giving us a chance for survival?

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

The idiom is not actually Mount Tai but a real person named Tai Shan. But since more people know it as Mount Tai, I’ll go with it (since it does make more sense like that too).