The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 20 High-spirited
"This is your own path, I won't interfere."

Shen Cangming threw the branches into the campfire to make the flames rise. They weren't far from the bandits' territory. They had exhausted themselves traveling today, so Shen Cangming told Zhou Yan to rest first and they would try their skills against the Shuangcui Peak bandits listed in the notice tomorrow.

Zhou Yan was a little nervous, and nodded.

Shen Cangming succinctly stated: "Between life and death, you can only rely on yourself."

"Don't let your guard down, but don't be overly tense either."

"If you die there, I will avenge you."

"But I won't make a move before that, Zhou Yan. Remember, don't count on me. You can only rely on yourself and the knife in your hand."

Shen Cangming's words were harsh today, but he finally quelled his anger:

"Go to sleep."

Zhou Yan slept with his knife in his arms. Although he felt nervous, scared, expectant, and excited, his sleep schedule had become exceptionally healthy since he started practicing martial arts, and he quickly fell asleep, his breathing becoming steady.

Shen Cangming opened his eyes and looked at the big black horse over there.

Da Ma snorted and obediently walked to Zhou Yan's side. He first knelt down, but when he noticed Shen Cangming's calm gaze, he seemed to sigh helplessly. Then he lay down on the ground to shield Zhou Yan from the wind and make him warmer.

Shen Cangming, holding his sword, said, "Protect him."

The border troops' warhorses could crush a wolf's head with a single hoofbeat. They could kick heavily armored soldiers more than ten feet away, causing their armor to collapse.

The horse was intelligent and nodded.

Shen Cangming, carrying his sword, tucked the corners of Zhou Yan's thin blanket in, noticing that Zhou Yan's breathing was steady and that he was sleeping soundly. Then he got up, took a few steps, and disappeared into the mountains.

…………

In the Gathering Hall of Shuangcui Peak, a group of people were drinking when a bald man with bulging muscles and a chest covered in embroidered tattoos laughed loudly:
"Hahaha, I heard that some wandering knight has taken down the proclamation from our village again? Looks like our village is about to open for business again!"

"Yes, it's all thanks to our eldest brother!"

"The other villages are all thinking about how to plunder those ordinary people. Hey, don't they think about those peasants? First they were wiped out by the rebels, then by the government troops, and finally by the defeated soldiers. How much money could they possibly have left?"

"How about we do this: just sweep up these wandering knights. These knights are at least more valuable than those commoners. Their knives and swords can easily fetch seven or eight hundred coins. Add in their horses and travel expenses, and hehe, they'll all be rolling in money."

These ruthless bandits laughed loudly. They deliberately left some clues for the officials to discover, and killed or wounded more than 20 people, most of whom were slashed. They killed a few people, which was the level at which the officials would put up notices and offer rewards, but would not conduct a large-scale search of the mountain.

These bounties will attract many wandering knights.

Then they would kill these rangers.

Robbing wandering knights yields greater profits than robbing ordinary people. They also deliberately conceal their strength to ensure that those who come misjudge them and are caught off guard. Shuangcui Peak has thrived and lived a comfortable life in recent years by relying on this method.

The burly man at the head of the group chuckled coldly:
"We'll open for business every few days and kill that so-called wandering knight!"

"Hehe, this time we've prepared some excellent stuff. We have crossbows, traps, and poison. We'll dig a hole in front of it and put a few wailing dolls there. We're not afraid those wandering knights won't take the bait."

They laughed and clinked glasses. A tall, thin man went out to relieve himself. As he pushed open the door, a rumble of thunder sounded in the sky outside, followed by a bolt of lightning. In the light and shadow, a man nearly eight feet tall, extremely imposing, stood outside the door.

In the Tang Dynasty, there were large and small rulers. When talking about height, the small ruler was used.

Zhou Yan had calculated that Shen Cangming was about eight feet tall. According to the measurements he was familiar with, his bare height was about 1.96 meters. If he were fully covered in mountain-patterned armor, wearing thick-soled combat boots and a helmet, his total height would exceed 2.3 meters. His cold gaze lowered.

A murderous aura assaulted his face. The tall, thin man prided himself on his ruthlessness, having roamed the countryside long before the chaos began, killing twelve or thirteen people without blinking an eye. But in front of this man who was more than a head taller than him, he was too terrified to speak.

The person inside laughed and shouted, "What's wrong? Sixth Brother, hahaha, don't pee at the door!"

"Ugly!"

Those inside saw the tall, thin man turn his head stiffly.

The face that was always grinning menacingly twitched, its eyes bulging out, tears streaming down its face. The laughter inside froze, and then they watched as someone slowly walked out of the shadows.

With curly black hair, a stubble-covered face, and one cold eye, he held the head of the tall, thin man in one hand, leaving the latter's feet off the ground, like a rabbit caught in a tiger's jaws, unable to move.

"What?!!"

"The idea is prickly!"

Enraged, the bandits' leader overturned the table, pulled out a long spear, and the bald giant took out two ornate axes, swinging them in a wide arc towards Shen Cangming, causing an uproar.

Shen Cangming, expressionless, threw the tall, thin man out.

The man was cleaved in two at the waist by the axe, screaming in agony. The axe lost its aim, and the spear swirled and struck. Shen Cangming slashed with his horizontal saber, splitting the spear in two from the tip, and then the saber struck the bandit leader's face, embedding itself in his cheek.

"Big Brother!!!" The bald, burly man swung his axe at him.

Shen Cangming bent his elbow and suddenly retreated with a short-range strike.

The bald man's spine suddenly bulged out and broke, his eyes widened, thick black blood flowed from his mouth, and he collapsed to the ground. Shen Cangming kicked him forward, and the bandit leader knelt down, his head bowed.

Shen Cangming gripped the hilt of the knife.

Snapped! ! !
A wooden stick as thick as a wrist was struck on Shen Cangming's shoulder and shattered instantly.

Shen Cangming didn't turn around, clenched his fist, and swung his arm horizontally.

The fist slammed into the face of the martial artist who had launched the sneak attack. The latter's cheeks twitched and deformed rapidly, his teeth flew out, and he crashed into the wall, clearly beyond saving. Shen Cangming gripped the hilt of his knife, stepped on the bandit leader's shoulder, and slowly pulled the knife out.

The blade was like an iron saw, and the bandit leader, who enjoyed torturing people for amusement, died in agony.

In just a short breath, Shen Cangming killed all the ruthless experts in this bandit den, and then determined that the remaining minor leaders and ordinary mountain bandits would put pressure on Zhou Yan, but not enough to threaten his life.

He went to the bandits who had tied them up, untied them, and then told them to hide and not go down the mountain yet.

A woman who appeared to have had some schooling said:

"Great hero, aren't you going to save us?"

Shen Cangming said, "In two hours, a young man will come here with a knife, defeat the bandits, and rescue you."

The woman froze, sized up Shen Cangming, and said:
"May I ask, why him?"

Shen Cangming flicked his wrist, spilling the dirty blood from his sword onto the ground. The cold, hard man turned around, his back tall and imposing. He held the sword in one hand, the blade against the scabbard, slowly drawing it in. Yet, he seemed to vaguely recall his youth.

In the border army, the veterans would secretly clear out the barbarian positions first, and then send the new recruits there. Before they went, they would deliberately make it sound very scary, so that the new recruits would be terrified and eventually get fed up with their fear and overcome it. Then, they would fight with all their might in the battle.

Then they celebrate their victory.

Their first victory in their youth will forever inspire them. Even when they are at their wits' end, there is still a last flame. That is the meaning of the initial victory and the flame that is passed down from generation to generation among their comrades.

Hey kid, not bad!

The pressure, the danger of actual combat, and the necessity of victory.

The blade was sheathed, the crisp sound of the hilt striking the blade mingling with the echo of the blade striking the sheath.

"Because he is still young."

He didn't say those words aloud; he just thought them to himself.

"A young man should be spirited and full of vigor."

"He can't lose."

"At the very least, we can't lose this time."

When Zhou Yan woke up, sunlight fell on the corner of the boy's eyes. He was languid. He suddenly sat up and saw Shen Cangming leaning against the tree next to him, asleep, holding the horizontal sword in his arms, breathing evenly.

Zhou Yan carefully got up, washed his face, and then made a bowl of porridge.

When Shen Cangming woke up, he heard the sound of a blade cutting through the air. Looking over, he saw Zhou Yan practicing his swordsmanship meticulously, and the sound of the blade cutting through the air had become rhythmic.

The boy wore a string hanging from his waist as a pendant, and in the wind, it produced a series of high and low notes, accompanying the sound of Zhou Yan's sword.

Shen Cangming looked at the bowl of porridge and saw the black horse eating bean cakes.

He held the knife, tilted his head back, and leaned against the tree trunk. Even in his drifting state, he felt a strange sense of peace. He put down the knife, picked up the warm porridge, and slowly sipped it, lost in thought.

That's really extravagant...

Shen Cangming said in a solemn voice, "Prepare to attack. I will not intervene."

"That's your own business."

Success or failure is entirely up to oneself.

Zhou Yan nodded vigorously. He stepped onto the mountain stronghold of Shuangcui Peak. The bandits in the stronghold had just woken up and were unaware that all their trump cards had been wiped out. When they saw a young man coming, they thought that good stuff had arrived again, and they shouted and rushed forward.

Zhou Yan exhaled and gripped the knife.

The blade is drawn.

(End of this chapter)