The unremarkable black-robed youth descended the mountain. Along the way, the bodies of bandits tumbled from both sides of him, landing directly on the road.

All the bandits bore no marks of sword or knife wounds. Only on their backs, napes, or ankles were one or two pinhole-sized bloody traces, their life status unclear.

A hidden weapon? Yang Er wondered, looking at the black-robed youth, his heart filled with uncertainty, not knowing if the other was friend or foe.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw the stocky bandit cup his fists. Mounted on horseback, the bandit shouted loudly to the black-robed youth, "A friend in the Household Sun and Moon Palace, a comrade on the road! Seeing that this mark isn't carrying much wealth, please be sharp-eyed, don't spoil the game, and give us established local brothers a way out."

Upon hearing this, Yang Er immediately started cursing inwardly. He understood the bandit's jargon: "Friends in the martial world, we rely on parents at home and comrades on the road. This bodyguard isn't carrying much wealth and isn't our primary target. Please, be discerning, don't ruin things for everyone, and give us local bandits a chance to survive."

The bandit delivered his cant with a tone that was neither servile nor overbearing.

Unfortunately, Li Ang, who had stepped into the middle of the road, just blinked and said, "What the heck? Are you trying to give me an 8848 titanium mobile phone encrypted call? Wubba lubba dub-dub?"

"..."

Bandit Hu Wan looked utterly bewildered, having no idea what 'titanium mobile phones' or 'encrypted calls' were in the slang of the martial world. He had no choice but to steel himself and ask, "May I ask who you are, sir?"

"My name?" Li Ang, draped in a black cloak, sneered. "Is a bandit like you even worthy of knowing this Daoist Master's name? If you know what's good for you, chop off your own head and save me the trouble."

"You're courting death!"

Provoked into a rage, Hu Wan's face twisted into a sinister smile. He grabbed a roasted human arm strapped to the side of his horse, took a savage bite, and chewed aggressively.

The lukewarm meat churned between his teeth, and blood, not yet dry, surged into his throat.

Hu Wan felt a fierce flame ignite within his chest and belly. His eyes, blood-red, looked as if they were about to burst. He bellowed, "I'll chop off your head first!"

Raising his machete, he slapped his horse and charged.

Yang Er, the guard, grew anxious. He hastily dropped his useless saber, drew his bow, and shot an arrow at Hu Wan's back, shouting to Li Ang, "Daoist, be careful! This bandit is invulnerable to blades or spears..."

BANG!

Li Ang casually flicked up a human-head-sized stone from the roadside with the tip of his shoe and forcefully kicked it toward the onrushing bandit.

Mounted on his horse, Hu Wan was fully channeling his so-called Diamond Invulnerability Method. He reacted too slowly and couldn't dodge in time. The stone smashed him in the head, sending him flying off his horse to crash hard onto the ground.

An ordinary person struck like that would have had their brains splattered, dying instantly.

Although Hu Wan was protected by his divine skill, he was momentarily dazed, his mind a vortex of confusion.

"I hear you're impervious to blades and spears?"

Li Ang's boot pressed down on Hu Wan's chest, slowly applying pressure. CRACK! CRACK! The sound of ribs breaking echoed continuously.

Hu Wan lost all his previous ferocity. His face streamed with tears and snot as he screamed, begging for mercy and uttering all sorts of humble pleas. Under Li Ang's questioning, he incoherently confessed all his past deeds.

"White Lotus Emissary?"

Li Ang's eyebrows raised. I've only just come down the mountain and I'm already hearing news of the White Lotus Cult, he thought. "How do I contact them?"

"Well..." Hu Wan's eyes flickered. "I don't know. The two Lady Saints haven't appeared since that day we parted."

"And that Secret Manual?"

"I burned it after I finished reading it."

"Alright then," Li Ang said, shaking his head. "Saves me the trouble of finding and destroying it." He then pressed down harder with his foot.

"Wait!" Hu Wan cried out in panic. "I have many treasures and women on the mountain! I can offer them all to you, Daoist..."

CRACK.

The bandit's chest caved in completely. The panicked light in his eyes quickly faded.

His so-called Diamond Invulnerability appeared ludicrous and laughable when faced with such unreasonable, exaggerated brute force.

Li Ang slowly lifted his boot, wiping the blood on Hu Wan's leather armor. He turned to look back and addressed Xing Hechou and the others standing in the middle of the road, "Their camp is in the eleven o'clock direction, about a thousand meters away. There are some bandits guarding it, along with the hostages they've taken."

"I'll go," Wanli Fengdao said. He nodded, tapped the ground with his toes, leaped into the forest, and rushed toward the bandits' camp, following the Scout Soldier Bee flying high above.

The members of the merchant team, having just been rescued, were momentarily at a loss. The guard Yang Er hesitated, then dismounted and approached Li Ang with a cupped fist salute. "I am Yang Er of the Pingyuan Escort Agency in Wengzhou, Lu County. I am immensely grateful for your life-saving grace, Daoist. May I ask for your honored name?"

"I am a Necromancer from overseas, a Daoist known as Xi Menzi," Li Ang replied. "These are my colleagues."

He pointed at Xing Hechou. "Gree Mountain Man."

He pointed at Liu Wu Dai. "Haier Scholar."

He pointed at Wanli Fengdao, who had just run off. "Mister Jiuyang."

Well, all names of home appliance brands, Xing Hechou thought. His eye twitched slightly; he was accustomed to Li Ang's taste for mischief.

There's still some time before the extraordinary event, so there's no need to rush to Lvzhou City. Besides, blending in with the merchant team is a good way to gather intelligence. Once we're in the city, their connections could make things easier.

Yang Er harbored no suspicions. Li Ang glanced at the merchant team's wagons. "Are you heading to Lvzhou City?"

"First to Lvzhou, then to Cenzhou."

"In that case, we're on the same path," Li Ang said with a smile. "You don't mind giving us a lift, do you?"

"Not at all, not at all!" Yang Er hurriedly replied. "I'll go speak with the Merchant Team Manager right away to arrange a wagon for you, Daoist."

If it hadn't been for this young Daoist's rescue, everyone in our merchant convoy would surely have died under that rain of arrows. We might even have been captured by that short, stout bandit with the hard-trained skills, ending up like the owner of that severed human arm—a two-legged lamb. With bandits rampant on this road, having this Daoist's protection should make the journey much safer. It's just... this Daoist has short hair and wears a pitch-black cloak, which looks somewhat unconventional.

(Taoist Robes are divided into six types, including the dagua and deluo. One type of Daoist attire, called a Crane Cloak, is woven from stork or crane feathers.)

As for whether he has any malicious intent... Nonsense! If a Daoist capable of easily killing so many bandits were truly a malefactor, we wouldn't be able to escape even if we wanted to.

Yang Er led his horse back to the team, found the Merchant Team Manager under one of the wagons, and brought him to express profound gratitude to Li Ang. They promptly cleared out two wagons for Li Ang and his companions.

Since they now had a Daoist escort, the merchant team didn't hurry to set out. They instructed the accompanying peddlers and porters to take out shovels, dig several pits on the mountainside, and hastily bury the bandits' bodies to prevent an outbreak of plague.

As for the leader, Hu Wan, his head was cut off and preserved in lime so the merchant team could present it to the authorities and explain the situation upon entering the city.

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