Chapter 887 - River Bandits at Night
By dawn, the river was littered with corpses, most of whom were bandits. The Sun siblings threw up at the sight. The carnage was staggering. There were enough bodies to blanket the entire river.
Wails of grief rose from every passenger ship. Plenty of travelers had died in the night raid. After recovering from the shock, the siblings searched for Han Wu’s ship and found him eating breakfast on deck. The floating bodies around him did not seem to affect his appetite at all.
“Thank you for saving my life.” Sun Fuqiang bowed deeply.
Sun Fubao copied her brother’s bow, eyes wide with curiosity about Han Wu. She wondered what kind of fighter could slaughter bandits by the hundreds and heal a mortal wound.
“You’ve said your thanks. If there’s nothing else, move along,” Han Wu said, shooing them away. The siblings were interfering with his “fishing.”
Sun Fuqiang refused to leave. “You saved my life. That makes you our family’s benefactor. I’d like to invite you to be a guest at our home.”
Sun Fuqiang had brought up his family more than once. The Sun family of Huai City was likely quite powerful. Moreover, their destination was Huai City too, the same as Han Wu’s.
“Do you know anything about the White Lotus Sect?” Han Wu asked.
“The White Lotus Sect traffics people and kidnaps children.” Sun Fuqiang sneered in disgust. “They deserve no mercy. Are you involved with them?”
Han Wu didn’t expect him to actually know them, let alone have a grudge against them.
“I’ve got a score to settle with them,” Han Wu said, “Keep your distance from me, or you’ll get dragged in.”
Sun Fuqiang perked up. “My family has a blood feud with the White Lotus Sect. My father always said the enemy of my enemy is my friend. You’re clearly powerful. Why not join forces with the Sun family to take them on together?”
Han Wu glanced at him. For someone of Sun Fuqiang’s abilities to propose a partnership was frankly laughable. His family, on the other hand, could have something to offer. It would lighten Han Wu’s burden considerably if someone could draw fire during the assault on the White Lotus Sect and provide intelligence support.
“Fine. We’ll partner with the Sun family,” Han Wu agreed.
Sun Fuqiang looked confused. “We?”
Han Wu didn’t bother explaining, instead waving him off so he could go back to his “fishing.”
Meanwhile, in a river village, the bandit chief Lang Lidao’s expression was grim. He had led the raid on the passenger ships last night, but they had barely taken any loot and lost a significant number of men. His crew was on the verge of mutiny, with many demanding they split up.
“Brothers, I know you’re upset about last night, but there was nothing we could do. We ran into a hard target.” Lang Lidao had seen it himself, a figure holding a white blade leaping across the water. Everywhere that figure went, his men dropped like flies.
A spy planted among the passengers confirmed there was a man who stood on the deck every day, flaunting a white blade. Lang Lidao was certain this man had killed his men.
“I know who did it. He’s strong, but our brothers didn’t die for nothing. Tonight we strike again, to kill that bastard and avenge the dead!” Lang Lidao declared.
That night, Lang Lidao picked six of his best men and paddled a small boat toward the ship that their spy had marked. They found it quickly, climbed aboard silently, and killed the boatman before finally sneaking into the cabins.
The cabin was pitch black, but the six had accustomed their eyes to the dark and could make out blurry figures inside.
Three figures sat cross-legged in the darkness, but the man with the white blade was nowhere to be seen. Lang Lidao didn’t care. Anyone on this ship was fair game. He moved to strike.
The three figures moved before the attack could land. Jia Gui vanished from his spot like a gust of wind, while Qin Shuang gathered lightning in both hands.
Grunts of pain sounded as the lightning pierced through the darkness, and two of Lang Lidao’s men collapsed, their flesh charred black.
Realizing their target was tougher than expected, Lang Lidao grabbed his remaining men to flee. He Xu intercepted them. With a flick of his wrist, dozens of hair-needles shot out with brutal force and struck Lang Lidao’s two companions.
At the same time, Han Wu entered the cabin with Peerless in hand. “Don’t be in such a rush. I went through a lot of trouble saving my boatman.”
Lang Lidao was surrounded with no way out. He drew his curved blade and poured all his internal energy into it. A faint sound of crashing waves resonated from the steel.
“Emerald Wave Slash!” Unleashing his strongest technique, he charged straight at Han Wu. The strike carried a thunderous wave and brought upon the power of a torrent.
Han Wu drew Peerless and met the attack head-on. Lang Lidao’s curved blade was a fine weapon in its own right, but Peerless was a true masterpiece. One clash shattered Lang Lidao’s blade. The residual sword qi cut deep into his body.
Lang Lidao couldn’t believe it. His near First-rate power hadn’t been enough to survive a single exchange.
As Han Wu activated the Kunpeng Divine Art to drain him, Lang Lidao shouted, “Don’t kill me! I’m an outer gate steward of the White Lotus Sect. Kill me, and they won’t let you go!”
Han Wu paused.
Taking this as a sign of fear, Lang Lidao started to list his contributions to the White Lotus Sect. “I’ve delivered 780 women, 320 laborers, and over 400 children to the White Lotus Sect. I’m a major contributor. Hurt me, and they’ll come for you. I know you’re strong, but you’ve got family, don’t you? You can’t protect them every second of every day.”
This threat had struck Qin Shuang’s nerve, and lightning whipped across the cabin.
Comments