Chapter 356: The Keeper and the Ashamed

In Yaqian Prefecture, Bingzhou, several swift horses were galloping wildly, urged on by their riders' whips.

“Giddy-up!” “Giddy-up!” “Ho!” “Giddy-up!”…

The sound of hooves thundered ceaselessly. The riders on horseback were highly skilled; despite the road conditions, they used their body control to help the horses avoid potential dangers, ensuring their speed never dropped. Many sections of the road were extremely muddy, and splashing mud and filth covered every rider.

The leading rider wore a headscarf, carried a long saber on his back, and gripped the reins with one hand, his other sleeve hanging empty.

“They’re just ahead, everyone! Let’s push harder; we can’t let them get away again!”

“Hahahaha… It was indeed wise to change horses at the last market town. Their horses are giving out.”

As they gazed far ahead at another group of people galloping along the road, one of the riders in the trailing group burst into joyful laughter, and the rest of the group echoed his sentiment. Meanwhile, the riders in front noticed their pursuers gaining on them and wished they could instantly fly away.

“Damn it, these people never give up! Giddy-up!”

“Giddy-up!” “Giddy-up!”…

This group was significantly larger than the one behind them, numbering over twenty people, all dressed in grey coarse cloth martial outfits. The trailing group, however, consisted of only seven or eight individuals. Yet, the aura of the two groups was entirely different.

After another fifteen minutes or so, the horses in front were clearly giving out, and their speed significantly decreased. Du Heng squinted, looking ahead, and said to his companion.

“Brother Wang, let’s go stop them.”

“Alright!”

Their conversation was brief, and their actions were just as decisive. After speaking, they each patted their horses’ backs and sprang into the air. Stepping off their horses, they leaped forward at a speed greater than the galloping horses, utilizing their lightness skills to accelerate further. They bypassed the people in front, landing to their left and right, directly in their path.

Du Heng and Wang Ke, one wielding a long saber and the other a broad-backed great saber, drew their weapons simultaneously in mid-air.

“Zing!” “Zing!”

The glint of their blades flashed before their eyes, blocking the group’s path.

“Thud!” “Clang!”

Of the two foremost individuals, one was instantly cut down from his horse, his horse collapsing as well, while the other swung his sword, blocking Wang Ke’s saber. As the lead horses and the fallen rider tripped several other horses, the shouts of the riders and the whinnies of the horses intertwined, and the fleeing group finally came to a halt.

Du Heng and Wang Ke stood at the front of the road. Not long after, their six other companions blocked the road from behind, trapping the twenty-plus individuals between them.

Wang Ke, originally from Yaqian Prefecture and now the Chief Constable of the Prefectural Yamen, had repeatedly clashed with these nefarious Jianghu scoundrels from Yanland during this pursuit without success, even losing several government constables. It wasn’t until Du Heng arrived with reinforcements, increasing the number of masters, that they finally managed to corner this elusive group.

The man who had just blocked Wang Ke’s saber with his sword pointed his own saber at Du Heng and said hatefully.

“Du Heng, you go your way and I’ll go mine! We have no old grudges, yet you’ve led men to hunt me for an entire month. This is beyond endurance!”

Du Heng smiled and exchanged a glance with Wang Ke beside him.

“We’re not asking you to endure it!”

Wang Ke also burst into laughter. “It’s not our fault you kept fleeing. If you truly had guts, you would have fought us to the death long ago. What, you have the courage to rape, pillage, and loot, but not the courage to face death calmly?”

Du Heng shook his head. “Brother Wang, you’ve forgotten. The more cowardly such people are, the more they bully the weak and fear the strong. They’re viciously cruel to those they can bully, but when they face someone they can’t defeat, they run away.”

The Jianghu martial artists from the trailing group had also dismounted and shouted in agreement.

“Hero Du is absolutely right!” one called out. “If these people had any courage left, they wouldn’t just flee at the sight of us. But today, it’s time to settle this!”

Among the six companions, someone had already unfastened a hip flask from their waist, taken a sip, and passed it to the person next to them. Li Tongzhou stretched his limbs, looked at the twenty-plus people still on horseback, and said loudly.

“Zhao Datong, if you commit suicide, we promise to help your family escape retribution. The same applies to the rest of you!”

The men on horseback looked at Du Heng and Wang Ke in front, then at Li Tongzhou and the other six behind them, and sneered repeatedly.

“Hmph, I, Zhao Datong, have long had no family,” he sneered. “Besides, you and I are mortal enemies. Do you think a few empty words will trick my brothers and me into killing ourselves? Dream on!”

“Yeah, dream on!” another shouted. “At worst, we fight to the death! We’re bound to take a few of you down!”

“Right!” “Let’s fight them!”

Li Tongzhou shook his head and gave a cold laugh. On the other side, Du Heng also raised his head with an indifferent expression.

“Zhao Datong,” Du Heng said, “we are different from you. We don’t make promises one moment and renege on them the next, nor do we bully the kind and fear the wicked, going back on our word. We’ve made a name for ourselves in the Jianghu over the years—when have we ever broken our word? What Brother Li said represents all of our intentions. Think about it.”

The man on horseback’s face flickered with indecision. After a moment, he still didn’t dare to accept the offer. With a loud roar, he leaped up, brandishing his saber. His brothers naturally followed suit, charging towards Du Heng and Wang Ke, who were fewer in number.

In an instant, the two groups clashed. Sabers and swords flashed, fists and feet flew. Cries of agony and shouts echoed through the forest path, and some fought while retreating into the woods, breaking the battle line into several segments.

After a full fifteen minutes or more.

“Thud!”

Li Tongzhou sent the last sturdy man flying with a palm strike; he crashed into a tree trunk and collapsed, immobile. The surrounding enemies were either dead or similarly incapacitated on the ground. Although they were significantly outnumbered, the eight individuals on Du Heng’s side were far superior in martial arts.

Li Tongzhou clapped his hands and walked over to Du Heng, watching as the latter flicked his long saber, shaking off the blood before sheathing it behind his back.

“Brother Du, Constable Wang,” Li Tongzhou remarked, “not one of them escaped this time; they’re all here. This Yanland certainly breeds bandits easily, though their methods are rather unremarkable.”

Li Tongzhou had always followed Du Heng. In the past, he had even dealt with ghosts alongside Du Heng, so dealing with these ordinary villains was naturally no challenge.

“Those harmed by them wouldn’t think so…” Wang Ke said, kicking a nearby unconscious man, and continued. “Zhao Datong, I know you’re feigning unconsciousness. You weren’t willing to take your own life just now. Heh, I’ve already seen the Prefect. Once we take you back to Yaqian Prefecture, a slow, painful death by a thousand cuts awaits you.”

The man on the ground twitched, just about to spring up, when Wang Ke lightly kicked him on the neck, truly knocking him unconscious. Li Tongzhou, who was nearby, crouched down and repeatedly jabbed at several vital points on his body.

“Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap…”

A sudden round of applause broke out, causing Du Heng and the others to look up, their bodies tensing. They saw a man in a green robe sitting on a tree branch in the forest, clapping. Neither their group of eight nor Zhao Datong’s group had noticed anyone else nearby before this.

“Who are you?” Wang Ke asked loudly, his hand resting on the hilt of the saber at his back. “Are you connected to Zhao Datong? If not, please state it clearly to avoid misunderstanding.”

Lu Shanjun’s applause finally ceased. He looked at Du Heng and Wang Ke, who was not far away, with a smile, his tone clearly cheerful.

“Hahahaha… Excellent, truly excellent,” he chuckled. “Wang Ke is very good. And Du Heng, I truly didn’t expect that losing an arm would make you even more courageous and advanced, becoming a true chivalrous hero.”

If anyone else had said this, it would have been quite irritating, but coming from Lu Shanjun, it carried a strange sense of genuine sincerity, especially to Du Heng and Wang Ke, the two people concerned.

“You flatter me,” Du Heng replied indifferently. “Please state your identity.”

Lu Shanjun was clearly in a very good mood. Seeing Wang Ke and Du Heng was like seeing the people he had once spared truly benefiting the world—it was a form of affirmation. He leaped down from the tree branch, landing softly on the ground without a sound, yet stirring a gentle breeze that swept the surrounding fallen leaves outwards. He cupped one hand in the other and bowed towards Du Heng and Wang Ke, then said with a cheerful smile.

“Gentlemen, we are old acquaintances. My name is Lu Shanjun. My old home is Niukui Mountain in Jizhou. I came specifically to find you today, and seeing your recent circumstances, my heart is deeply comforted!”

Jizhou Niukui Mountain, Lu Shanjun?

Du Heng and Wang Ke paused for a moment in surprise. Countless images flashed through their minds in an instant, settling on the mighty tiger that had bowed respectfully outside the Mountain God Temple all those years ago. A sudden warmth spread through their backs.

“Hey, hey, hey, what are you two afraid of?” Lu Shanjun chuckled. “As the saying goes, ‘A clear conscience fears no ghost at the door.’ I, Lu Shanjun, have always honored my promises, and I also admire those who keep their word, especially those who made promises to me and kept them. You two have clear consciences, what is there to be afraid of? Hahahaha…”

Lu Shanjun spoke a string of words and finished with a laugh, retracting his bow. Only then did Wang Ke and Du Heng realize they should return the gesture; one cupped his fist in a formal salute, while the other could only bow.

“Greetings, Mountain Lord!”

“Constable Wang, Brother Du, this? You know him?”

“Yes, who is this person?” Li Tongzhou and several companions nearby asked curiously. From the current situation, he seemed to be a friend, not an enemy, so why did Du Heng and Wang Ke seem so tense?

Meanwhile, Lu Shanjun seemed to recall something. After glancing at the dark clouds overhead, he opened his mouth and exhaled a faint wisp of smoke, which transformed into a gradually clearer human figure before them.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Lu Shanjun muttered to the figure. “You’re also one of the nine. Look at them; they’re so much more advanced than you. Aren’t you ashamed?”

The figure looked at Wang Ke and Du Heng with a complex expression, then bowed to Lu Shanjun.

“Replying to Mountain Lord, I am ashamed.”

“Heh, I don’t know if your shame is genuine or feigned,” Lu Shanjun replied, “but either way, it’s too late.”

“Yes!”

The sudden appearance of the figure clearly caught everyone present off guard. Everyone thought of spirits and ghosts, while Wang Ke and Du Heng were particularly unnerved. The figure that had appeared before them vaguely resembled Lan Ningke. From its appearance, it seemed to be dead.

“Oh, right, Hero Du, Constable Wang,” Lu Shanjun continued, “I have a question for you. What is the current situation of Zhao Long? I can’t quite divine his whereabouts. If you know anything, please tell me. It’s fine if you don’t want to say anything.”

Knowing this was a terrifying tiger demon, yet seeing it remained consistently courteous, Du Heng and Wang Ke’s tension eased considerably. Du Heng hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

“Some years ago, I, Du, heard,” he said, “that Brother Zhao had already become a monk and was cultivating at Luming Zen Monastery.”

“Ah? He became a monk?”