The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 149 - 117 Catch the Rogue in the Mountains_2

Chapter 149: Chapter 117 Catch the Rogue in the Mountains_2

At first, it was a bit slow, but as the speed picked up, the ship master began waving a long bamboo pole, shuttling back and forth at both ends of the boat.

Like a master of Force Transformation, he always managed to find that perfect exertion point, working with the flow of the water, making the small boat both stable and fast.

"Ship master, you’ve got great skills."

Sha Lifei’s expression eased slightly. People from the pugilistic world respected no officials and cared little for wealthy gentry, but they held craftsmen in high esteem.

Whether you were a swindler, a performer, from Upper Nine Streams or Lower Nine Streams, as long as you had a unique skill, you would always receive praise.

Wang Daoxuan also smiled and said, "With such skills, why not run a boat and earn a living on the water? That tea stand is far off and really doesn’t make much money.

"Alas, the boat’s sold..."

The ship master sighed, "Living off the water isn’t easy either. You need to pay taxes to the court, make contributions to the gangs, and even when delivering goods, you have to offer some bribes to get jobs."

"My ungrateful son couldn’t bear the hardships of boat life, sold the boat to gather money and ran off to the wealthy lands of Jiangnan. Hasn’t sent a letter in years, no clue if he’s dead or alive..."

Sha Lifei shook his head and said, "Don’t be anxious, ship master. A man’s ambition lies in all directions, who knows, maybe one day he’ll strike it rich and come back to take care of you."

"Forget it!"

The tea stand owner shook his head dismissively, "If he’s alive and has food to eat, that’s enough. We, the old couple, will just get by."

"One should be content, as long as we’re alive, that’s how things are..."

They had left in the morning, and now dusk was settling in. The mountains on both sides were serene, with red twilight rays slanting from the horizon, and the river shimmered like fish scales.

"What a beautiful scenery!"

Unable to hold himself back, Sha Lifei walked to the bow, took off the wine flask from his waist, and took a few swigs. He opened his mouth to spit out a verse to affect an air of elegance, but his mind went blank and the words eluded him.

After straining for a while, he cursed, "The ship master is right, these ship captains are lazy. Such a peaceful place, how could it not be... What’s that?"

Before he finished, he cried out in shock.

On the river’s surface, something bobbed up and down. On closer inspection, it was shockingly a dead body, pale and purplish, long dead, with a sinister smile still on its face.

"Don’t... don’t touch it!"

The tea stand owner was visibly startled, and with a push of his bamboo pole, the small boat swiftly avoided it, then looked at the departing corpse behind the boat with an unsettled expression, "There really is such a thing..."

Wang Daoxuan slowly stood up, his face becoming serious, "Ship master, that was caused by unclean forces, what exactly do you know?"

The tea stand owner swallowed, "There’s a legend about this river, called ’the smiling face’. It’s said that if a boatman on this river catches ’the smiling face’s’ attention, he will drown, and this is how the corpses look like."

Sha Lifei became displeased, "Ship master, that’s really dishonest of you."

The owner defended, "It’s just a rumor that passes around, when asked, nobody has actually seen it. I thought it was just a myth."

As they were speaking, suddenly a boat appeared on the shore ahead. The boat was not small, new, and sturdy, obviously valuable.

But there was no one on the boat, tied casually with a rope to the stones ashore, with many chaotic footprints left in the mud, leading into the nearby mountains.

"I remember now."

The tea stand owner suddenly spoke up, "That’s the boat from this morning. Are these people crossing over the mountains to Lantian County, why abandon their boat?"

Li Yan stood up, looking pensive towards the distance, "Ship master, can one cross over to Lantian from here?"

"Uh-huh." The owner nodded eagerly, pointing towards the distance, "From here, over the ridge, passing through several gullies, and down the mountain, you’ll reach Lantian."

"Although it’s a bit of a detour, the river path ahead is flanked by cliffs, totally impassable. Also, there are many wolves in these mountains. I see that you are all capable heroes, but it’s still best to be cautious!"

"Thanks!"

Sha Lifei casually threw a handful of silver, and he along with Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan jumped down from the boat and walked towards the hillside.

Watching their figures gradually disappearing, the tea stand owner had a thought, picked up a rock, and started sinking his own battered boat with thuds, then jumped onto the fine boat, untied the rope and with a push of the pole, quickly sailed away...

...

"Brother Yan, what have you noticed?"

Just as they were climbing the hillside, Sha Lifei hurriedly asked.

His eyes were sharp, having noticed that since seeing that corpse in the river, Li Yan’s expression turned somber, and a murderous glint was in his eyes.

Li Yan nodded slightly, turning to Wang Daoxuan, "Daoist, do you remember I told you about the Cold Altar Rampaging Soldier that possessed the Evil Wolf and caused trouble at the Li Family Castle?"

"Of course, I remember."

Wang Daoxuan seemed to realize, "Was that just now one as well?"

Li Yan nodded, "It’s gone now. The lingering scent was slightly different, but very similar."

Wang Daoxuan pondered for a moment, "It must be then."

"Rampaging Soldiers come in many varieties, depending on their origins and training methods, their abilities differ. The one in your village was probably the Soul Hooker, and the one just now might be related to the river."

Saying this, he looked towards the distant mountains, contemplating for a moment, then asked, "What do you think?"

Li Yan nodded and said, "It’s worth a try."

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Sha Lifei immediately expressed his dissatisfaction, "What are you two whispering about? Is there something you have to hide from me?"

Wang Daoxuan could not help but laugh, shaking his head, "Brother Yan meant that since the Cold Altar Rampant Soldier ran away from here, there must be a ruined Cold Altar temple in the mountain."

"There might still be some Mage’s leftovers, and more importantly, those Rampant Soldiers. My yin soldiers have been lost, if I can subdue some of them, then facing enemies in the future wouldn’t be so difficult."

Li Yan also spoke solemnly, "Keeping these things is ultimately a disaster. If we can clear them out, we’d be doing a favor for the folks back home."

"Great idea!"

Sha Lifei, intrigued by the conversation, said, "A gift that comes knocking at your door, how can we let it slip by? Let’s hurry."

Their horses had been stabled early on at the carriage inn, and with a bit of silver, they would be sent back to Xianyang.

Now, with Li Yan leading the way, Sha Lifei with the Mage basket gifted by Luo Mingzi on his back, and the Cloud Thunder Divine Drum also hanging thereon, Wang Daoxuan flanked his side.

It was not that Li Yan was lazy, but he needed to scout ahead; if they encountered a fight while he still had the Divine Drum on his back, and it got punctured, it would be too late for regrets.

The group ahead was unknown, and even without Li Yan’s Divine Skills, their messy footsteps showed the direction they headed.

Of course, these people were not Li Yan’s target.

However, among these people, there still lingered the scent of Rampant Soldiers...

It wasn’t long before they found two corpses.

One had its heart pierced by a blade, and the other’s neck was chopped halfway through, but the head, twisted strangely to one side, also bore that eerie smile.

"Tsk, tsk..."

Sha Lifei shook his head, "These guys are really unlucky, mixing with a Rampant Soldier and not knowing to run away quickly."

Li Yan thoughtfully said, "They must have had other urgent matters..."

...

"Quick! Tie him down!"

Lu Xiaowu’s face was ferocious, holding a bloody dagger in his hand.

He had secretly set out last night, hoping to avoid some prying eyes, but in these deep mountains, he encountered unclean things.

Fortunately, he was shrewd enough to use a strategy to identify the "traitor."

On the tree, with two guards, Feng Ping secured another guard with a rope soaked in black dog blood.

The black dog blood, prepared when entering the mountain as a safeguard, unexpectedly came into use.

At this moment, the bound guard struggled and howled, his face showing that chilling smile, his skin turning ghastly pale and cold, oozing drops of water.

The black dog blood clearly couldn’t destroy the Rampant Soldier, but after soaking the hemp rope, it could trap him firmly within his body.

"Let’s go, he’s beyond saving."

Lu Xiaowu, panting heavily, shook his head and signaled everyone to leave.

He didn’t lack acquaintances among the Magicians, but as his mother had said, the treasure site was extremely extraordinary. If a Magician recognized it, they might become greedy, so this time he brought only trusted servants.

Everyone was thoroughly frightened and quickly pushed the wooden cart forward, and on the cart was Lu Kang’s coffin.

"Old Zhou, I’m sorry..."

The guard leader Feng Ping glanced at the bound guard, feeling sorrowful inside.

They owed Lu Kang a great debt, had grown up together learning skills, and now in the Lu family’s crisis, one good brother after another was leaving.

Seeing the expression of the people, Lu Xiaowu quickly spoke in a stern voice, "Rest assured, gentlemen, after this task, the Lu family will relocate."

"From now on, as long as the Lu family exists, there will be wealth and honor for you!"

"Thank you, Second Young Master!"

Having consoled the group, Lu Xiaowu took out a cloth scroll from his bosom, with detailed information about the location of the treasure site and burial methods.

He couldn’t help but feel hopeful, not expecting that his father, on his deathbed, had prepared such a contingency. If he followed his father’s plans, maybe one day he could stand in the Golden Throne Hall!

Thinking this, a heat surged in his heart.

Before long, Li Yan and his two companions caught up as well.

Seeing the guard tied to the tree, wearing an eerie smile, Li Yan could not help but laugh silently, "This saves us the trouble of taking action. Daoist, get ready."

Wang Daoxuan nodded, unfolding a yellow cloth and dipping a brush in cinnabar ink. He drew a large talisman on the cloth while also taking out a black ceramic jar.

Li Yan, meanwhile, spread his left palm to reveal the Hook Seal...