Free Web NovelChapter 5: Chapter 5: Ambushed
It wasn’t often he made it to the county town, so Chen Li certainly wasn’t going to return empty-handed.
He spent another day making purchases—cloth, salt, tea, and other goods—loading his ox-cart until it was full to the brim before finally driving out of town.
Less than ten li down the road, he saw three burly, fierce-looking men sitting under a tree by the roadside. They cradled gleaming sabers, their malicious gazes scanning the passersby.
They whispered amongst themselves, occasionally glancing back toward the county town, clearly waiting for something.
This was a main road, and on open plains at that. It was always bustling with travelers, and he’d never heard of bandits here. ’Where did these three pop out from?’
Alarm bells rang in Chen Li’s mind.
However, he was no longer the greenhorn he once was.
He had practiced Martial Arts for ten years. And while he hadn’t formally learned any techniques for fists, feet, or blades, his Inner Strength had grown many times stronger than when he was at the Entry-level. His movements had also become much more agile.
Chen Li was confident he could handle ordinary bandits with ease.
He subconsciously tightened his grip on the Iron Staff hidden in the cart, the one he had spent a hundred taels of silver to have forged. His Inner Qi began to circulate quietly, flowing through his meridians.
His expression remained impassive as he continued to drive the cart at a leisurely pace, passing them as if nothing was amiss.
However, not long after the ox-cart passed the three men, he heard the sound of shuffling footsteps from behind.
He glanced back and saw the three men had gotten to their feet. They were following him at a steady, unhurried pace, their eyes locked onto his ox-cart.
’They’re after me.’
Chen Li’s heart sank. Without another moment’s hesitation, he cracked his whip hard against the old ox’s back.
The old ox bellowed in pain and strained to pull the cart forward, breaking into a run.
"Hey, cart driver! Stop right there!" Seeing this, the scar-faced leader yelled and broke into a sprint after him.
Chen Li urged the cart onward for a while. When he looked back, he saw that although the three men were pursuing him closely, they were already gasping for breath. Clearly, they were no Martial Arts masters, and he felt a bit more at ease.
Seeing the old ox was also about to give out, he simply slowed down and stopped the cart by the side of the road. Turning around, he cupped his hands in a salute. "My good sirs, why are you chasing me? Is there something I can help you with?"
The scar-faced man caught up, leaning on his knees and panting heavily. He snarled, "Cut the crap! Your granddaddy’s asking you a question. What’s your name? Where are you from? And where are you going?" fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Chen Li gave a fake name. "My name is Han Li, from Lingxi Village. I came into town today to purchase some goods and am on my way home." freēwēbηovel.c૦m
The three men exchanged uncertain glances.
The man beside them, the one with a large, fleshy lump on his forehead, suddenly pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his robes. He looked back and forth between the paper and Chen Li, then flew into a rage. "Bullshit! You dare lie to your granddaddy? Your name is clearly Chen Li, don’t you dare deny it!"
Chen Li was inwardly shocked. ’How did these bandits learn my name?’ he wondered. Outwardly, however, he maintained a look of confusion. "My good sir, you must have the wrong person. My surname really is Han."
Scarface had clearly lost his patience. "Fuck! Still trying to argue?!" he snarled. "Years ago, your father, Chen the Dog, owed us five hundred taels of silver. It’s only right for a son to pay his father’s debts. If you don’t hand over the money today, I’ll chop you into pieces and feed you to the dogs!"
’Chen Li sneered. His father had indeed racked up significant debt for that Courtesan back in the day, but every loan had a written IOU, and he had long since paid them all off. It was impossible for him to owe this sort of dubious debt.’
’This so-called "debt" was most likely just an excuse. Their real motive was probably something else.’
He knew this encounter was unlikely to end peacefully, but he still said, "Sirs, there must be a misunderstanding. My father never owed any money. Please, I ask you to be merciful and let me pass."
"Misunderstanding, my ass!"
The fleshy-faced thug had long since lost his patience. He shot to his feet, pointing his saber straight at Chen Li. "If you can’t produce the money, we’ll make sure there isn’t a whole corpse left of you today!"
Before his voice had even faded, the eyes of all three men turned vicious. They exploded into action at once, charging at Chen Li with sabers drawn from three different directions.
Startled but not panicked, Chen Li instantly snatched the Iron Staff from the ox-cart and leaped down.
"You’re courting death!" The fleshy-faced thug was the first to reach him, bringing his saber down in a powerful overhead chop that whistled through the air.
Chen Li took a deep breath as the Inner Qi surged through his body and into his arms. Without dodging or evading, he swung the Iron Staff upward in a fierce arc.
CLANG!
A piercing screech of metal on metal rang out.
The thug felt an irresistible force travel up the blade. The webbing of his hand split open, and his saber was snapped in two by the sheer force of the blow.
The Iron Staff’s momentum didn’t slow as it thrust heavily into his chest.
"Pfft..."
The thug’s eyes bulged as he spat a mouthful of blood. His body was sent flying over ten feet, and he crashed to the ground, twitching and writhing in agony.
"Fuck! This guy’s tough! Let’s get him together!"
Seeing this, Scarface and the lump-headed man were both shocked and enraged. They attacked simultaneously from the left and right, their sabers slashing toward Chen Li’s ribs.
With a quick sidestep, Chen Li moved swiftly beside the ox-cart, cleverly dodging the blade from the left. At the same moment, using the cart for cover, he whipped his Iron Staff out, striking Scarface squarely on the shoulder blade.
CRACK!
The sickening crunch of breaking bone echoed.
"Aaargh..."
Scarface let out a piercing shriek. His saber clattered to the ground as he staggered and fell, clutching his mangled shoulder and writhing in agony, unable to get up.
Seeing his two companions crippled by that unassuming Iron Staff, their bones shattered as they lay writhing like heaps of mud, the last remaining thug—the one with the lump—was scared out of his wits. All his earlier ferocity had vanished.
He let out a strange cry, turned, and fled for his life back toward the county town.
"Trying to run?"
Chen Li pushed off the ground, his body shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
The Iron Staff tore through the air with a low whine, sweeping with unerring accuracy into the back of the man’s left knee.
CRACK!
The sickening sound of bone shattering was clearly audible.
"Aaargh..."
The lump-headed man howled in agony and collapsed, clutching his twisted and mangled leg as he writhed on the ground.
His face an emotionless mask, Chen Li walked over to the three men, Iron Staff in hand.
Eyes wide with terror, the three men tried to drag their broken bodies away from him.
Chen Li showed no mercy. He swung the Iron Staff again, smashing each of their remaining unbroken legs.
"Aaargh..."
"Mercy!"
Their piercing screams echoed along the empty road, only to be swiftly carried away by the cold wind.
Now completely crippled, the three men lay paralyzed on the cold, muddy ground, convulsing in pain with tears and snot streaming down their faces.
Chen Li dragged the three of them into a pile. He planted his Iron Staff in the ground and stared down at them coldly. "Speak. Who sent you?"
"N-Nobody sent us," Scarface stammered through the pain. "Mercy, good sir, mercy! We brothers were just desperate... wanted to get our hands on some money..."
"Don’t want to talk?"
A cold smile touched the corner of Chen Li’s mouth as he slowly raised the Iron Staff. "Then die."
"Wait! Don’t kill me!"
Terrified beyond belief, Scarface shrieked, "We’re from the San Dao Bang! If you dare to kill us, our Gang Leader will never forgive you! He’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth and tear you limb from limb!"
"The San Dao Bang?"
Chen Li scoffed, pressing the Iron Staff against his neck. "I could smash you to bits right now and feed you to the dogs. Do you really think your Gang Leader would ever find out?"
