Chapter 15: The Ambushers

Faced with Li Guanxuan’s questioning, the portly bandit cultivator hesitated for a moment. But as soon as he sensed the two tier-one low-grade magical daggers pressed against his body, the fat on his face quivered, and he stammered, “It was... Bi Zhou…”

Bi Zhou?

Li Guanxuan’s spirits lifted—wasn’t that Shu Yao’s partner?

“That son of a... uh, gun.” Chen Yinshan exploded in rage, ready to storm over to Shu Yao’s house and settle the score, but then he froze in shock.

The next instant, he watched as the fat bandit’s throat was pierced by the azure sword, its energy erupting, pulverizing his head and scattering blood, flesh, and bone upon the ground.

Zhao Guili was left dumbstruck. She had always thought Li Guanxuan a timid coward, but now, seeing him act with such ruthless decisiveness, leaving no chance for reprieve, she was utterly stunned.

Li Guanxuan, however, remained calm, explaining, “Bi Zhou and Shu Yao have already fled—or rather, they haven’t fled at all. They’ve been watching us from the shadows. If I hadn’t eliminated these three bandits immediately, the two of them would’ve rushed to their aid, and then we’d be the ones in danger.”

He swept his gaze, sharp as a blade, over the surroundings.

If only he possessed spiritual sense—then he could have searched the area within a dozen yards at once, rooting out Bi Zhou and Shu Yao and finishing them off together.

After all, now that they had been targeted, he wouldn’t be able to sleep easy until those two hidden threats were removed.

“What do we do now?” Chen Yinshan, feeling at a loss, turned to Li Guanxuan for guidance.

“Pack up only what's essential. Forget the crops in the spirit fields.”

With that, Li Guanxuan began collecting loot.

Their haul included two low-grade magical weapons, one mid-grade magical weapon, six mid-grade Essence Recovery Pills, three mid-grade Vitality Cultivation Pills, and forty-seven low-grade spirit stones.

That was more than enough to make up for the loss of the spirit fields.

Li Guanxuan handed two of the Essence Recovery Pills to Chen Yinshan and Zhao Guili, instructing them to restore their wounds at once to guard against a sneak attack from Bi Zhou.

When everything was packed, Li Guanxuan fetched Wen Rongxin, took down the protective talisman from the house, and the four of them departed without looking back.

Just then, several figures slowly approached.

“Who would’ve thought Fellow Daoist Li was a fourth-layer Qi Refiner…”

“He’s certainly ruthless—only asked one question before killing.”

“He had to kill! You heard what he said: if Bi Zhou had rushed over, the two fourth-layer Qi Refiners together could have wiped out both their families.”

“So that means the five members of Fellow Daoist Guan’s family were all killed by Bi Zhou.”

Neighbors conversed in hushed voices as they rifled through the corpses, searching for anything of value.

Some headed indoors to rummage, others harvested the spiritual grains and vegetables from the fields.

Some even went so far as to divvy up the corpse of the fat bandit.

Life in the slums was harsh—no one would let even a scrap of resources go to waste.

…

It was only after they reached the outer city of Qing’an and spotted patrolling guards that Li Guanxuan finally slowed his pace.

He was fine, but the three with him were gasping for breath.

“O-old Li, aren’t you tired?” Chen Yinshan panted, disbelief written all over his face.

Calmly, Li Guanxuan replied, “I was hunted once. Learned to run for my life.”

“…”

After a long pause, Chen Yinshan managed to squeeze out, “Impressive.”

“How did Bi Zhou find out about our sudden windfall? We never flaunted our wealth in public.” Zhao Guili, still puzzled, turned to Wen Rongxin. “Shu Yao often chatted with you—could you have let something slip?”

Wen Rongxin hurriedly waved her hands, flustered. “N-no, she just asked if I needed pills, or invited me to her house for meals, or to go out together... that’s all…”

Li Guanxuan said, “Rongxin has never been good at socializing. I warned her long ago not to get too close to Shu Yao—she can’t be trusted. It seems she really did bring a wolf into the slums.”

Chen Yinshan glared at his wife and barked, “With Old Li, the sly fox, watching over her every day, how could Rongxin let anything slip? Use your brain, will you?”

Li Guanxuan: “…”

Was that praise, or an insult?

Zhao Guili clarified, “I wasn’t blaming Rongxin. She’s just too naive—people like Shu Yao and Bi Zhou easily take advantage of that.”

Wen Rongxin blushed and murmured, “I’m not a fool…”

“My fault, my fault…” Zhao Guili was taken aback, then smiled and hugged Wen Rongxin in apology.

All the while, Li Guanxuan pondered the sequence of events.

Back at Ping’an Court, he asked, “Does Bi Zhou often go around the slums selling pills? And shamelessly freeload at people’s houses?”

Chen Yinshan and his wife had spent the past year gathering herbs and hunting beasts in the Ten-Thousand Mountains, so they had no idea.

Wen Rongxin nodded. “Yes, the neighbors all talked about it, but he never cared.”

Li Guanxuan sighed and explained, “That’s probably how he figured out Fellow Daoist Guan’s family’s secrets and wiped them out. Also, Old Chen is a third-layer Qi Refiner and lived right next door. After you two came back from the mountains safe and sound, looking so pleased, he must have guessed you’d found something valuable. So, while Old Chen and I were out, he set up a formation in your house to ambush and rob you.”

Zhao Guili’s face darkened. “No wonder that wretch Shu Yao brought me gifts this morning—she had ulterior motives!”

Li Guanxuan chuckled. “Luckily, you were at my place teaching Rongxin cultivation, or the consequences would have been dire.”

Thinking back, Zhao Guili broke out in a cold sweat.

“Damn it, if I run into those two scum, I’ll cut them down on the spot!” Chen Yinshan cursed.

Li Guanxuan said, “Don’t worry. One’s a first-layer, the other’s a fourth-layer Qi Refiner—they can’t have gone far from Qing’an City. We’ll get our chance. Besides, Bi Zhou’s been slaughtering whole families for their treasures—he’s surely made plenty of enemies. We’re probably not the only ones after them.”

“You’re the crafty one. How about setting a trap for them?” Chen Yinshan suggested.

“No time. I have talismans to draw and cultivation to do.”

Li Guanxuan rolled his eyes, then reminded him, “I suggest you swallow your anger for now. There’s plenty of time to catch them later. Improving your cultivation is what truly matters.”

Zhao Guili agreed, sternly admonishing, “Old Chen, remember what Old Li said. Don’t act on your own, and you must report to me before you go out!”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” Chen Yinshan waved her off impatiently, though he was still fuming inside.

Just as Li Guanxuan had said, if his wife hadn’t been teaching Wen Rongxin that day, she would likely have already fallen prey to those three bandits.

Li Guanxuan, sensing Chen Yinshan’s frustration, took out four protective talismans, the mid-grade magical dagger he’d just acquired, and two mid-grade Vitality Cultivation Pills, handing them over. “Stick the talismans in your house—they’ll muffle sound and save your life. The pills might help you reach the fourth Qi Refining layer sooner; there’s one for Guili too.”

“These are your spoils. I can’t accept them—unless you take these spirit stones as well, or I’ll feel guilty.” Chen Yinshan solemnly offered a hundred low-grade spirit stones.

“Fine, fine, stop fussing like an old woman.” Li Guanxuan laughed, took fifty of the stones, and said lightly, “You owe me the other fifty. Don’t forget.”