Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

Chapter 199 The Village

In front of the village stood a burly man with a black face dressed in black robes. When he saw someone coming, he whistled.

The gate creaked open, and soon several burly men with scars and menacing expressions emerged, carrying batons and swaggering out. Their breath reeked of blood, their faces were ferocious, and they chuckled hoarsely, "Tsk tsk, another business opportunity!"

As they were talking, Hu San'er led the group of merchants and travelers closer.

"Oh ho, it's Hu San'er. Didn't you say you weren't going to run a business anymore? Why are you here again? Did your wife run off with someone else and take all the family money?" The burly man at the head of the group recognized Hu San'er and immediately started teasing him with nonsense.

Standing next to Li Xingzhi, Li Linzhi saw several burly men with stern faces come out with sticks. She thought they were bandits. Hearing the burly men's lewd words, she was furious. She reached for her waist and was about to attack them.

Seeing that the people around him showed no signs of vigilance or defensiveness, Li Xingzhi knew that the newcomers were not a threat.

He looked at the restless girl beside him, grasped her hand that was wielding the whip, and shook his head slightly.

He rarely wanted to experience the life of an ordinary person, but he didn't want Li Linzhi to ruin it. Besides, if he beat up this big man to vent his anger today, the big man would definitely blame Hu San'er, which was not what he wanted.

Li Linzhi looked at Li Xingzhi shaking his head, feeling quite annoyed and disheartened.

Li Xingzhi knew that she possessed martial arts skills but had not had a chance to demonstrate them until she seized an opportunity. He didn't pay much attention to her and stood aside, simply observing the situation.

Hu San'er, who was at the front of the line, had been wandering around for many years and had heard a lot of nonsense, but he didn't care. He clasped his hands and said, "So it's Master Jiao. Originally, I wasn't planning to make this trip again, but my nephew wanted to come out and see the world, so I brought him out to broaden his horizons, lest he become blind to people in the future."

As he spoke, he pulled a large gourd from his waist and tossed it over.

Jiao Er took the gourd and felt its weight. He shook it, but it made no sound. It seemed to be a full pot.

He uncorked the bottle, took a deep sniff with obvious enjoyment, smacked his lips, and carefully put it back in. His previously gloomy expression instantly brightened considerably.

"You, Hu San'er, are the one who wants it!"

Jiao Er waved his hand, and the people behind him made way, allowing the dozen or so people to pass. Hu San'er walked at the very back, watching the mules and people pass by. He took a jingling cloth bag from his waist, tossed it to Jiao Er, and then followed behind, passing through the cliff village.

Li Xingzhi and his two companions were shielded in the middle. Watching Hu San'er's social interactions, they realized that he was a bandit who collected tolls.

Li Linzhi, who had hoped to cause some trouble, was ultimately disappointed. The road was smoother than she had imagined. The burly bandits in the village greeted Hu San'er and his gang from time to time, chatted for a few words, and a few children happily gathered around to buy some trinkets.

However, perhaps still having some concerns, even as it was getting late, the group still took the lead and left the mountain stronghold. After walking for another half an hour, they finally set up camp.

After dinner, the sky grew even darker, and the howls of wolves and the cries of monkeys filled the air, occasionally mingled with the howls of jackals and dogs. The once lush and green forests were suddenly plunged into darkness and a grim atmosphere, with demons roaming freely and ferocious beasts roaming about, baring their teeth to devour flesh and their eyes gleaming with blood!

Li Xingzhi and his two companions had been traveling in the mountains for nearly a month, so what were they afraid of now? Even Zhou Rou'er, who was usually the most timid, was now breathing steadily and gradually falling asleep.

As summer fades into early autumn, the weather grows increasingly hot.

But by evening, the autumn moon was cool.

The pale moon rose high in the sky, and the once bustling forest gradually quieted down. The howling of wolves, the whistling of monkeys, the sounds of insects, snakes and birds all seemed to have fallen asleep.

At the foot of the nameless mountain, the fire was almost extinguished, and two burly men were dozing off beside it.

At that moment, the sound of rustling footsteps rose and then faded into the distance.

Li Xingzhi, who was lying on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes. Without bending his legs, he stood up like a zombie, gently pulled back the curtain, twitched his ears, and without moving his feet, floated out like a ghost, stepping on the grass and branches without making a sound.

The mountain breeze was cool, and the slight chill penetrated to his bones, making him feel refreshed all over.

He watched the two dark figures not far away, slowly hanging behind them.

The two dark figures walked back along the mountain path, without any burdens and at a good speed. Before long, they returned to the village.

They knocked on the gate a few times, and soon a burly man opened it while cursing. After a while, dozens of men in black robes, wielding broadswords and clubs, looking menacing, led by two dark figures, headed down the mountain.

Upon seeing this, Li Xingzhi understood.

He moved his feet, intending to finish them off, but then he changed his mind and stopped, no longer paying attention to the men who exuded murderous aura.

People are like a gentle breeze, drifting back.

Li Xingzhi stood in front of the small shed, pulled back the curtain, and was met with a pair of bright, bulging, angry eyes in the darkness.

"Humph!"

The girl had already woken up. Seeing that no one was beside her, she knew that Li Xingzhi had found something fun again and had gone out by himself.

"Why did you wake up? Well, wake Rou'er up too, trouble is brewing."

Li Xingzhi wasn't embarrassed. He saw those people coming and knew they hadn't slept well, so he naturally had to wake them up to be on guard.

"trouble?"

Seeing Li Xingzhi's nonchalant expression, the girl knew they were just petty thieves and bandits, posing no real danger. Even so, it still excited her.

Immediately, disregarding Li Xingzhi's "eating alone" incident, he woke Zhou Rou'er and walked outside.

"I wonder what urgent matter has brought you to wake us up, young man."

Hu San'er was an old and shrewd man, and he had also noticed that Li Xingzhi and the other two were quite extraordinary. Although he was impatient, he still patiently asked in a low voice.

The other burly men had no such patience or politeness, and shouted loudly, "Yeah, what's the matter?! If you can't give me a straight answer, I'll cut off a few pieces of your tender flesh to have a taste!"

Several burly men stared at Li Xingzhi's glistening, tender flesh, their eyes gleaming with greed. Their throats tightened, and they swallowed hard. These men, who had tasted blood before, had all been familiar with the delicacy of human flesh. In this era, during times of famine, what was inedible? Let alone the flesh of others, even their own children were sometimes exchanged for food.

In the Central Plains, the initial famine had passed, and it was the reign of Emperor Zhenguan. With the promotion of corn and sweet potatoes, the granaries were full. Li Xingzhi and his companions often lived in the capital region, yet they had never encountered such a vicious person.

He looked into the wolf-like eyes of the burly men, barely suppressing the urge to kill them, and said coldly, "Take a look around and see if anyone is missing."

Seeing that Li Xingzhi wasn't acting unreasonably, the crowd turned to look at the number of people around them with some skepticism, then suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Where are Boss Wu and Boss Wu 2?!" Then, several burly men glared fiercely at Li Xingzhi and said in a menacing voice, "Kid, was this your doing?!"

"If Brother Li were up to something, would he have woken you up? You're so brainless!" Before Li Xingzhi could speak, Li Linzhi jumped out, looked at the burly man, and cursed.

"Little girl, you're asking for death!" The burly man took a step forward, his eyes wide with malice, and said in a gruff voice.

Seeing the brute who was about to lash out, Hu San'er stood in front of him and said, "Alright, young man, tell me what's going on."

“I don’t know what happened either.” Li Xingzhi paused, then continued, “I just saw the two of them sneaking out, and I was afraid it wasn’t anything good, so I woke everyone up.”

These burly men listened to Li Xingzhi's words with some disapproval and started shouting and cursing again.

Hearing footsteps that were already over a hundred meters away, Li Xingzhi simply didn't offer any explanation and waited for someone to arrive.

Before long, Hu San'er, who was standing at the front, seemed to have heard something. He pricked up his ears and soon shouted, "Someone's coming! Everyone grab your weapons!" As he spoke, he continued cursing, "Those two brats from the Wu family really sold us out."

As soon as everyone raised their knives and clubs, dozens of fierce-looking men who had emerged from the village arrived.

Seeing that word had leaked out, these thugs no longer hid and emerged one by one from the roadside.

Two groups of people, swords and clubs drawn, clashed under the crimson glow of the firelight, creating an eerie and tense atmosphere. The tension was palpable!

----

Oh my god, I was planning to finish writing this section.

As a result, the evening self-study session, which lasted from 7:30 to 10:00, was only this short. We'll continue tomorrow.