Universe Infinite Canteen

The two of them had fled for six or seven miles in one go when Ma Lu thought they were finally safe. Unexpectedly, the sound of horse hooves came from behind.

Gu Qingyi's expression changed slightly, "Those guys actually chased us this far."

Although the bandits from Black Tiger Village started their pursuit later than the two of them, their mounts were faster and, more importantly, the riders had superior horsemanship.

Hearing the horse hooves drawing closer and closer, Gu Qingyi looked around, trying to find any place to hide. But in the next moment, she saw two wrapped packages flying toward her from the side.

Gu Qingyi instinctively caught the packages and found that they contained the treasures Ma Lu had swiped from the treasure vault of Black Tiger Village.

Then he winked at her, "You go back first. We'll meet at our usual spot in a week."

Without waiting for her response, Ma Lu had already leapt off his horse and grabbed a handful of pebbles from the ground.

When the bandits closed in, he threw his hand, and the pebbles shot out under the propulsion of his inner strength, hitting the bandits square in the face!

Without exception, all those bandits were struck by the pebbles, the next moment they were caught up in the melee.

Having secured the secret medicine, Ma Lu didn't care if the enemies would come at him in waves, ready to fight his way through until the countdown ended.

Seeing Ma Lu stop to fight the enemy and buy her time to escape, Gu Qingyi felt deeply moved. She was about to turn back when she heard Ma Lu's distant shout.

"Don't, don't, you go ahead. Take the items back to Yuchang County. Also, remember to catch Geng Lao Liu, don't let him get away. As for me, I have my own way to escape."

Gu Qingyi was still a bit uneasy, and watched from the side a while longer until she saw Ma Lu knocking down one opponent after another with his fists. Her heart finally settled somewhat, and she called out to Ma Lu.

"Be careful on your own, then. I'll make sure to deposit these valuables in a bank for you, so you won't miss a single coin when you come back."

"Mhm, mhm, mhm," Ma Lu nodded, while throwing the Soul Severing Spear with a backhand move, piercing a hole in a bandit's chest.

It took him about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to deal with the gang of bandits in front of him, but then he encountered another group.

Ma Lu repeated his trick and stopped them with a shower of pebbles. Another fierce fight ensued, and before they finished, a third wave of assailants had already arrived.

This time, Coach Song personally led the charge. Perhaps buoyed by the confidence from their previous evenly matched fight, he bellowed, "Let me handle this," and charged forward with Guan's sword in hand.

However, he immediately realized that something was off—the opponent, surnamed He, seemed much stronger than before, and with one strike, he lost a third of his health bar.

Coach Song could no longer find the exhilaration of a sixteen-round fight of equals. In the end, only with the help of his underlings was he able to hold on for three rounds, but in the third round, his head was chopped off by Ma Lu.@@novelbin@@

With the death of Coach Song, the other bandits finally began to feel fear.

Mainly because after so many had died one after another in fierce combat, Ma Lu's health had only dropped by less than half, indicating that it would probably take thirty or forty people attacking together to stand a chance at killing him.

Black Tiger Village could muster that many bandits, but not so many horses. A large number of horses had already been taken out earlier by Du Dalang, and the rest were here. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

The remaining bandits, seeing such an expert as Coach Song slain by Ma Lu, and with no indication of when reinforcements might arrive, naturally did not wish to rush forward to their deaths. They merely cursed from a not-too-distant place.

Ma Lu paid them no mind. Seeing no one else coming forth, he squatted down to begin searching the bodies. He looked down on the martial arts of these robbers, but the treasures they carried were worth collecting.

In the end, Ma Lu scraped together more than a hundred taels of silver, found his packhorse, and rode on towards Yuchang County.

The bandits cursed for awhile behind him; probably realizing they were no match for Ma Lu and, furthermore, with the official road drawing near, they feared encountering large merchant caravans or other people from martial arts circles. They huddled together, murmured amongst themselves for a while, and finally withdrew in silence.

Ma Lu, not in a hurry to return to the county town, rode on for awhile and unexpectedly came across an acquaintance by the roadside.

It was Han Guangzhong, with whom he had previously shared a carriage, sitting inside a stone pavilion drinking tea.

Ma Lu thought he was quite strange—what kind of person drinks tea before dawn?

Han Guangzhong, seeing Ma Lu stained with blood, also seemed surprised—as if he had not expected anyone to forsake a good night's sleep and go off to kill people before sunrise.

Nevertheless, he greeted Ma Lu, "Young Master Ma, I hope you are well. Did you get a chance to admire the maple leaves at Wanshan Temple, or have you tried the marinated cypress duck at Drunken Goose Tower? Or perhaps you, like others, went to study the Wordless Stele?"

Ma Lu shook his head, "I have important matters to attend to; I don't have time for maple leaves and steles. I did eat the duck; the flavor was decent, but not as delicious as you made it out to be."

"Not delicious enough, the marinated cypress duck from Drunken Goose Tower?" Han Guangzhong was taken aback. "Either you're boasting, or the food you had before was something not even the emperor could match."

"I've always been one to tell it like it is." After having fought a while ago, Ma Lu was indeed thirsty, so he tied up his horse nearby, entered the pavilion, and asked for tea.

Han Guangzhong didn't refuse; he personally poured three cups of tea for Ma Lu. After finishing the three cups, which relieved the dryness in his throat, Ma Lu then spoke, "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting to watch the sunrise," Han Guangzhong answered.

"Ah," Ma Lu looked around, "this place is neither on a mountain nor by the sea. With no village ahead and no shop behind, what's so special about the sunrise here?"

"It is precisely because there's no village ahead and no shop behind that the sunrise here is worth seeing," Han Guangzhong explained, shaking his head.

"Imagine the sunrise amidst famous mountains and great rivers, admired by millions, with poets composing verses in its honor. But the sunrise here belongs solely to me."

Ma Lu cast a sidelong glance at him, "I think you're just idle."

Han Guangzhong smiled slightly, "Indeed, I do have free time on my hands, unlike you, always on the go. But haste doesn't always yield hot tofu. Alternating between advance and retreat is the way of civil and martial virtues.

"Sometimes, it's when you stop to rest your feet, rather than being led by the nose, that you notice things you wouldn't otherwise see. Perhaps the answers you seek are right in front of you."

"Hm?" Ma Lu stroked his chin, "Why do I feel like there's a double meaning in your words? Do you know something about the conflict between the Beggars' Sect and the Heavenly Dragon Sect?"

Han Guangzhong shook his head, "Han is but a commoner; how could I understand the grievances of Jianghu? I've just seen enough to know that all the principles in this world interconnect."

"You'd best be as you say, for I detest those who speak in riddles," Ma Lu said.