Chapter 47: Jianghu is Dangerous

The slightly corpulent man in the carriage seemed to be forcing himself to remain calm as he carefully emerged from it.

Wei Wuwei had certainly heard of the Thirteen Bandits of Yan. He knew they were a group of highly skilled and ruthless desperadoes, and that when dealing with such vicious criminals, it was generally best for ordinary people not to be too unyielding.

“Sir… Sir Xiang! That blue jade is actually just an ancestral jade pendant; it has no miraculous properties whatsoever. Do you want money or jewels? I can give you whatever you want, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied. How about that?”

As Wei Wuwei spoke, he took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Even in the dim light, his face was clearly etched with panic. Seeing his two bleeding, wounded guards with blades held to their throats, his complexion worsened further.

Seven fierce individuals surrounded the carriage. Xiang Feng merely looked expressionlessly at the clean-shaven, corpulent man.

“Money is certainly good. How about this: 5,000 taels for your three lives? As for that blue jade, whether it truly possesses mystical power or is just a false rumor, I will have it!”

As he spoke, Xiang Feng was already walking step by step towards Wei Wuwei.

“Sir… Sir Xiang, I truly… I—I may be the head of the Wei family, but I was only just appointed by the Old Master. That blue jade will only be passed to me after our family banquet on the fifteenth of next month… it’s really not on me!”

Xiang Feng sneered.

“Hmph, so you want to die?”

In reality, whether the blue jade was on Wei Wuwei or not, none of the three would survive. However, Wei Wuwei was temporarily of some use, as he was connected to another item.

Seeing the fierce individual approaching, Wei Wuwei trembled with fear and frantically fumbled at his collar.

“No, no, no, no! Let’s talk, let’s talk! The blue jade is with me, it’s with me!”

As he spoke, his chubby hand frantically tugged at a red cord around his neck, pulling a dark blue jade pendant from beneath his collar.

“Here… this, this is it…”

Blue jade pendants were already extremely rare. This particular one felt extraordinary the moment it was seen, standing out even in the dimness after dusk.

Xiang Feng couldn't help but show a hint of delight, watching the slightly trembling, chubby hand offer it, and subconsciously reached out to take the pendant.

However, the moment he touched the jade pendant, Wei Wuwei, who had been sweating profusely and seemingly scared to death, suddenly shot three silver needles from his right fingertips, striking with lightning speed. The three needles pierced Xiang Feng's chest in a triangular formation with soft ‘pffft’ sounds.

Immediately after, his left hand, at the same moment, powerfully delivered a fierce palm strike to Xiang Feng's chest, releasing a burst of energy.

“Bang!”

Unable to even hold his goose-feather blade, Xiang Feng was sent flying two zhang (approximately 6 meters) away, and fell rigidly to the ground.

“Boss! Boss!”

As the other bandits cried out in alarm, Wei Wuwei, abandoning his earlier cowardice, became as fierce as if he were a different person. While those around him were still stunned, he charged like a galloping stallion towards the bandits holding his two guards.

“Get out of the way!”

Dodging two instinctively swung blades from the bandits, fierce palm forces surged out from his left and right hands.

“Thump!” “Thump!”

The two bandits were sent flying, their bodies bent backward, and at that very moment, the seemingly corpulent man pursued them at an astonishing speed, delivering two more palm strikes while the two bandits were still in mid-air before they could hit the ground.

“Thump!” “Thump!”

“Pffft…” “Pffft…”

The two formidable bandits, who were skilled in martial arts, spewed blood violently, flew three zhang (approximately 9 meters) away, and crashed into the nearby woods, utterly lifeless.

“Seventh Brother! Eighth Brother!” “Bastard!” “This beast is insidious!”

This sudden turn of events unfolded incredibly fast, with the leader of the Thirteen Bandits severely injured and two bandits killed before anyone else could even react.

“Ugh… retching…”

Xiang Feng struggled to stand, but he couldn't muster any strength. He also felt an intense nausea and an itchy numbness, clearly indicating that the three needles were laced with potent poison.

“Wei… Wei Wuwei… you, you actually… how could you…”

The poison took effect incredibly fast. Combined with the palm strike that penetrated his internal organs, Xiang Feng couldn't even complete a sentence, despite forcefully circulating his internal energy.

“Possess martial arts?”

Wei Wuwei turned around and looked at him.

“Surprised? Annoyed? Unwilling? Hehehehe, I absolutely love seeing that expression on your face!”

Wei Wuwei's laugh was almost viciously gleeful. He seemingly arrogantly allowed the remaining bandits to gather around Xiang Feng and feed him a pill. In reality, he was also recovering his breath while slowly approaching the few bandits, who now regarded him as a formidable enemy.

Although the two wounded guards were equally shocked, they had already regrouped and moved to Wei Wuwei's side.

“Without you, Xiang Feng, the remaining four bandits are no match for me. Now, I’ll give you a chance to live: Tell me who told you about my Wei family’s ancestral blue jade. Is it the same person who previously told you about the Fan family’s Sword Intent Scroll?”

“Hmph… hehe… cough… If we tell you, will you let us go?”

As Xiang Feng circulated his internal energy to counteract the medicine, his tone of reply was mocking.

“I, Wei Wuwei, am not like you scoundrels of the martial world. My actions are always honorable and straightforward, and I always keep my word!”

Having just witnessed Wei Wuwei’s series of unscrupulous acts—feigning cowardice, using poisoned needles, and relentlessly pursuing with palm strikes to kill—it would be strange for Xiang Feng and the other bandits to believe such words coming from his mouth now.

Ji Yuan, observing the changes unfolding before him, was also somewhat dumbfounded. He hadn't expected this Wei character to be feigning weakness to ambush. His claim of being “honorable and straightforward” was simply outlandish. The martial world is truly treacherous!

Wei Wuwei, at this moment, felt an immense exhilaration. Having pretended to be an ordinary person for so long, the more he suppressed himself, the more satisfying the release felt. Seeing that Xiang Feng seemed to be trying to buy time, he stopped wasting words. His body moved from stillness to action, his hands stirring up palm winds.

“Follow me! First, cripple the other four bandits, then interrogate Xiang Feng!”

“Yes, sir!” “Yes, sir!”

With their affirmation, the two guards joined Wei Wuwei in attacking the remaining bandits of Yan.

Just then, three whistling sounds cut through the air.

As Wei Wuwei and his two guards were forced to dodge the hidden weapons, two figures clad in dark blue night attire leapt out from the woods on the other side. They stepped lightly over bushes and delicate branches mid-air, and landed softly in front of Wei Wuwei and his group.

Seeing this level of lightness skill, Wei Wuwei’s pupils contracted. He instantly became tense. There were actually two more masters, whose depths he couldn’t fathom. And why hadn’t they appeared to ambush them from the start?

“Last time, they lost the Sword Intent Scroll. This time, they’ve fallen into Wei Wuwei’s hands again. The Thirteen Bandits of Yan are truly worse than useless. If we hadn’t followed, Wei Wuwei might have truly gotten some vital information out of them!”

“Let’s finish this quickly; we have our own matters to attend to!”

As one of them finished speaking, he already moved with an eerie, ghost-like stride and chillingly made his move, pointing a finger strike at Wei Wuwei. The other assailant attacked the two guards.

Wei Wuwei retreated frantically, but he couldn't evade the sharp attack. He could only violently swing his palm to meet it, finger and palm clashing.

With a ‘sizzle’ sound, like a water pouch being punctured.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, he suddenly exerted force with his legs. Wei Wuwei’s entire slightly corpulent body flipped backward, escaping, and out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed that his right palm had been pierced.

‘Damn it, I probably won’t be able to leave today!’

The thought had just crossed his mind when Wei Wuwei, who had just landed, suddenly realized that the assailant’s bizarre footwork had already brought him right in front of him. He kept retreating with small steps, using the momentum from his backward leap, but the assailant clung to him like a shadow, and aimed another finger strike at his eye, utterly unavoidable!