Chapter Twenty-Nine: Succession

The Wild Wolf Gang was a small band of outlaws, eking out a living by robbing minor merchant caravans. They didn’t dare venture deep into the Eightfold Path, only daring to lurk around its fringes. Today, they had received word that a convoy carrying rice would be passing through, so they had lain in wait since dawn in the small woods bordering the Poison Miasma Forest.

“Could that fat bastard have tricked me?” muttered a one-eyed man, leaning against a tree. This was Chen Dong, the Wild Wolf Gang’s leader, known as the One-Eyed Wolf. Growing impatient, he snapped at the fat man beside him. “Li Qing, just how the hell did you get your information? By your word, they should have arrived ages ago!”

“My brother-in-law, I swear it's reliable. They must’ve been delayed on the road!” the fat man, Li Qing, replied.

“If they don’t show up today, I’ll skin you alive!” Chen Dong barked, glaring at the pudgy man before him. He couldn’t fathom why his sister had fallen for this useless lump—couldn’t fight, couldn’t carry, just lazed about all day. Useless. No, perhaps he had one use: he could keep Chen Dong’s sister utterly docile, never daring to defy his will. But that only made things worse for Chen Dong. Like now—this fat fool had somehow sniffed out the news of this convoy and pestered Chen Dong to let him come along. When refused, he’d even set Chen Dong’s sister on him, and after much wailing and threats, Chen Dong had no choice but to bring him.

Li Qing’s rolls quivered as he chuckled, “Don’t worry, brother-in-law! They’ve just been delayed, I’m sure of it!” He was confident because his informant was a guard from the convoy itself, who’d told him that while they were supposedly transporting rice, the sacks were actually filled with gleaming gold bars.

“Hmph!” Chen Dong grunted, then ordered one of his men, “Pass the word—tell the brothers to stay sharp!”

“Yes, boss!” The bandit hurried off.

******

Over three hundred bandits, led by Cui Ba and his men, emerged from the Poison Miasma Forest.

“Cui Ba, just ahead is where the Wild Wolf Gang’s ambush is set up. Not sure of their exact numbers, but probably a few dozen,” explained Leng Lao’er as soon as they were clear of the forest.

“Stop!” Cui Ba raised his hand, halting the throng in unison. “Wang Wu, Zhao Liu—you each take a squad and flank them from both sides! The rest, follow me for a frontal assault!” Though the Wild Wolf Gang was not notorious, Cui Ba took no chances. Any bandit group surviving near the Eightfold Path was not to be underestimated.

At his command, the group split into three. Wang Wu and Zhao Liu each took a hundred or so to circle around, while the remaining hundred moved forward with Cui Ba. Among them was Lei Yan, who, after Leng Lao’er’s words, immediately extended his supernatural senses. In an instant, he detected the ambushers up ahead, each wielding a single saber—apparently a favored weapon for its convenience.

“Godfather, there are dozens of men with sabers lying in wait a mile ahead!” Lei Yan suddenly alerted.

Cui Ba looked at Lei Yan, puzzled as to how he could sense people a mile away.

“Godfather, this is the result of my recent cultivation. I can sense everything on the ground within several miles—though only on land, not in the air,” Lei Yan explained, choosing a plausible excuse for his ability, knowing Cui Ba wouldn’t believe the truth even if told.

“Oh, I see!” Lu Kai exclaimed, realization dawning. “No wonder the young master could sense Long Ba’s territory last time with his eyes closed!”

Lei Yan felt a flash of irritation—he had just claimed this sense was a recent development, yet Lu Kai had already exposed his earlier use of it. “That’s right. The range was smaller before, but now it has grown.”

“Excellent! To think you possess such a wondrous talent!” Cui Ba praised, unconcerned with the details. He turned and roared, “Brothers, a mile ahead—attack!” At his order, the hundred or so men surged forward with a deafening battle cry.

The roar swept through the woods, startling Chen Dong, who, seeing the rising dust ahead, readied himself to fight. But before he could, Wang Wu and Zhao Liu’s flanking squads closed in. Seeing the overwhelming numbers, Chen Dong’s resolve faltered. With such odds, his men—mere ordinary fighters—stood no chance.

“Retreat!” he bellowed, fleeing while smacking Li Qing on the head with the flat of his saber. “This is the information you got me? Did you bring me here to die with you?”

Li Qing could only cover his head and scamper. He was never one for running, and with Chen Dong raining blows upon him, his legs soon gave out and he collapsed.

As the Wild Wolf Gang scattered, they were cut down by Long Ba’s men. Blades flashed, limbs flew, blood spattered, and screams echoed through the woods.

The carnage, the blood, and the pitiful howls forced Chen Dong to abandon any thoughts of turning back. He could feel his men falling, one after another, until suddenly the woods fell silent—no more death cries from his brothers. Years of uneasy existence on the edge of the Eightfold Path had ended in a single disastrous day, all because he’d trusted that fat fool.

“The fat bastard! If he dies, my sister will be widowed!” The thought struck Chen Dong mid-flight. He spun, saber gleaming, and charged into the pursuing bandits, cleaving one in two, viscera gushing out as the upper body slid to the ground. In a few steps, he reached Li Qing, who, seeing Chen Dong return, was overcome with emotion.

“Brother-in-law, I knew you wouldn’t abandon me!” Tears sprang from his eyes, uncontrollable.

But before Chen Dong could scold him, hundreds of bandits from both flanks closed in, surrounding them. Glancing at the severed limbs and pools of blood, Chen Dong realized escape was impossible. Resigned, he called out, “I don’t know how my Wild Wolf Gang has offended your leader, that you must slaughter us all!”

Before he could finish, the crowd parted. Cui Ba strode forth, Lei Yan and others by his side.

Without hesitation, Cui Ba ordered, “Kill them—leave no survivors.”

“Yes!” Leng Lao’er’s saber flickered as he lunged at Chen Dong.

“Die!” Leng Lao’er’s blade flashed in concentric arcs, whirling toward Chen Dong like rings of light.

“Damn!” Chen Dong’s expression changed—his opponent was a master, and his saber technique was bizarre and unstoppable. Planting his foot, he sprang onto a branch, evading the attack. But in dodging, he left Li Qing exposed, and the next instant, the swirling blades sliced him apart. The fat man didn’t even have time to scream before his body was hacked to pieces, his head rolling to one side.

“No!” Chen Dong cried out at his companion’s death. “I’ll remember this!” He leaped toward another tree, desperate to escape and seek vengeance.

“Then take your complaint to the underworld!” Leng Lao’er intercepted him in a flash, swinging his saber in a horizontal arc.

Clang!

Chen Dong parried, but Leng Lao’er’s attack was backed by full force. Though Chen Dong blocked the blade, he couldn’t stop the slicing energy—the saber light pierced his chest.

As Leng Lao’er landed lightly, Chen Dong crashed to the ground, exhausted. Without giving him a chance to recover, Leng Lao’er darted forward, his blade flashing as it swept across Chen Dong’s throat, ending him in an instant.

Cheers erupted as Chen Dong’s death marked their victory. Cui Ba turned to Lu Kai and instructed, “Search their bodies thoroughly!” Though such orders were hardly needed among bandits, it was their trade.

“Second Brother, clean up here and have the men lie in wait,” Cui Ba said to Leng Lao’er.

“Yes!” Leng Lao’er replied respectfully. Soon after, Long Ba’s men took over the sentry duty once held by the Wild Wolf Gang.