Chapter 159: There Really Are Bandits! (Two-in-one)
With a muffled thud!
Like a ripe fruit bursting open, blood splattered everywhere.
The white-haired old Ji, like a kite with a broken string, fell straight down to the stream by the valley.
Crimson blood flowed along the riverbank into the stream, instantly spreading out, and her straw-like white hair was now disheveled and plastered to her aged face.
At this moment, she scrambled to her feet, looked up, and saw the bright moon hanging high, casting a cold silver glow that illuminated the high cliff in a ghastly white.
Taizhen, Qiyun, and Changqing were tightly entangled by six hovering Spirit Swords and two ghost-like shifting figures.
Sword shadows flickered, and cold light was sharp. Each collision stirred up visible ripples of Spiritual Qi, glowing with a cold, eerie light under the moonlight.
At this moment, a Dao Sword fell from the sky before her.
It was the Tianshu Academy Instructor, his face gloomy, swinging his sword, carrying immense Spiritual Qi and a whistling killing intent.
The Floating Smoke Old Woman was greatly alarmed. She immediately struck the ground with her palm, using the force to get up and block horizontally.
With a clang, as metal clashed, the iron sword in the Floating Smoke Old Woman's hand could not bear the heavy burden and instantly broke, turning into countless fragments. She was thrown into the river by the powerful Qi, and her throat made gasping sounds like a broken bellows, ceaselessly.
When she was young, she encountered a Bottleneck, so she left her Family alone and came to Feng Province.
At that time, there were very few Immortal Villas in Feng Province, far from the scale it is today.
So she established Floating Smoke Manor here, plundering tribute and transporting it back to Liang Province, offering it to Worldly Sect, and her status within the Family steadily climbed.
Later, Worldly Sect in various provinces multiplied excessively, with countless descendants, and they also set their sights on Feng Province.
In these years, the power of Immortal Villas in Feng Province waxed and waned; some took root, others were expelled, but overall, it was considered harmonious.
Whether it was producing resources or Spirit Mines and Immortal Seedlings, everything was evenly distributed in an orderly manner.
But at that time, no one paid attention to a place in Feng Province called Yuyang County.
That place had nothing but grain cultivation; not even Spirit Seedlings could be cultivated there. There was sparse human habitation within a thousand miles around, and even Immortal Villas were unwilling to choose that location.
Then came Taiwu 2, when something happened in Yuyang County.
Fengxian Mountain Manor tried to capture young girls to refine Medicinal Pills, which exposed a Junior Third Realm Completion who was not yet crowned, and he was exceptionally admitted into Tianshu Academy.
Actually, at that time, she was already wary.
Over the years, Feng Province has been the most stringent place for capturing “rogue cultivators,” the reason being that the Immortal Villas here do not wish for Worldly Sect to be established.
Unfortunately, this news came too suddenly, and they did not have time to react at the time.
Because although they held absolute power in Feng Province, they ultimately did not dare to kill people in Tianshu Academy, so they could only comfort themselves, thinking it was just a rogue cultivator from the countryside, and it should be fine.
Later, they heard that this rogue cultivator from the countryside met the second son of the Chu Family, and was then sent to Qi Ridge as cannon fodder, which made them breathe a sigh of relief.
But who knew that he did not die in Qi Ridge, and then learned Sword Dao at Lingjian Mountain, subsequently defeating the Chu Family, and truly entering the Inner Courtyard.
From that moment on, her own impending doom might have already been sealed.
But all of this came too fast for them! A sharp sword cry, like the whisper of death.
The Floating Smoke Old Woman's head fell to the ground, her forehead splattered with her own warm blood, but her eyes remained wide open, unable to close.
And before her Divine Soul dissipated, she saw a massive Sword Qi rising from the cliff, striking fiercely. The Taizhen Villa Master's steel whip was directly severed, and he himself fell towards the cliff.
However, before he could fall, a long sword overflowing with Spiritual Qi flew out, and the severed head was tossed up as it fell, overlapping with the bright moon before her eyes.
Under the moon, a Young Master held a sword towards the sky, covered in blood, and the scene was thus frozen.
Through a night of revolving stars and moon, the fighting in the mountains did not cease, countless gleaming Sword Qi traversed the mountain range until dawn broke.
At this moment, the distant horizon lightened, and the golden rooster crowed.
The common people who had hidden in Night City, or fled to its surroundings, all emerged with the first light of dawn, looking towards Night City Mountain.
Last night, Immortals fought in the mountains, shaking the mountains and keeping people awake.
Then, news spread among the populace without being contained, saying that bandits had appeared in the mountains, and the Immortals were jointly suppressing them.
At this moment, they looked at the stream flowing out of the valley, which was an eerie pink, and their hearts were filled with fear.
A few farm households very close to Night City Mountain had peered through window cracks for a long time. Now, under the dawn, they finally saw figures emerging from the mountain.
A man in a red robe, a woman in a red robe, and a large, stout man in a red robe with a prominent chest.
After the Death of the Sun-Rising Villa Master, that old woman from Floating Smoke was slain by Cao Jinsong.
Afterward, there was no longer a situation of evenly matched forces, but rather an unreserved suppression. Everything was as they had predicted.
Because in the inn, Ji You had said that if their strength was unequal, they should try every means to kill one first, and then Ji You told them to find a way to hold back four, as he wanted to try killing an Integration Realm. This had always been their goal.
Whether it was Cao Jinsong and Pei Ruyi first leading the enemy after entering the mountain, or Ji You's subsequent sword sneak attack, it was all for this goal.
However, although these Integration Realm from the Immortal Villas had their Realms accumulated through Medicinal Pills, they were still Integration Realm after all.
When the two first heard him say this, their hearts were actually filled with worry.
But he said he would try to kill one, and in the end, he actually did kill one.
Thinking back now, that scene still makes one feel profoundly shocked.
“That’s the State Prefecture ahead.”
Cao Jinsong, holding a dripping sword, murmured, looking somewhat tired.
Pei Ruyi gasped, “I wonder if anyone will come out to stop us further ahead. Feng Province doesn’t only have these five Immortal Villas.”
“Probably not.”
“Really?”
“Those who hesitated and chose not to act last night probably won’t dare to act today. Cultivators are no different from Mortals; bullying the weak and fearing the strong is the norm. If we enter the city now, we might even be able to have breakfast.”
After speaking, the two turned to look at Ji You, only to see him squatting by the stream, covered in blood, submerging his sword in the water to wash it, then washing his hands as well, wiping off the bloodstains.
Killing old men and old women all night was indeed quite tiring.
Ji You sighed softly, then pulled out a pile of Storage Gourds from his Pregnant, glanced at them, and then tucked them back in. He currently had no strength to check what treasures were inside or how much they were worth.
First, go to the State Prefecture to sign the documents, then take a bath, sleep soundly, and then check the spoils.
Seeing this, Cao Jinsong and Pei Ruyi exchanged glances, looking at each other blankly.
“Some of what these Immortal Villas said was not wrong, or rather, they were prescient.”
“Indeed, there really are bandits in the mountains.”
Cao Jinsong looked at her: “Not bandits, but fierce bandits.”
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Ji You washed his sword and hands, then stood up and walked southwest into the morning light.
At this time, within the Feng Province city, cultivators filled the seats.
These people all came from the Disciples of Immortal Villas who had not participated in last night's encirclement and killing. Now, their eyes were burning as they gazed at the horizon.
Immortal Villas like theirs never wanted to get involved in such life-and-death situations, but they harbored the desire to reap the benefits. So, they thought that when they woke up this morning, they would hear the news that the Five Great Xian Villages of Feng Province had jointly suppressed the bandits, and the bandit leader had been executed on the spot.
After all, eighteen Profound Passages plus five Integration Realm, besieging one Profound Passage plus two Integration Realm—no matter how you look at it, this battle could not be lost.
With their Divine Thought perception ability, although they could not see too far, they could confirm that the battle in the mountains had subsided.
Their expressions were serene.
In contrast, officials from various commanderies sat in a tea stall on the west side of the city gate.
Their expressions varied, and their eyes were complex.
Among them, Prefectural Governor Liu and Dan Shui County Prefect Xiang sat together, with their Family members beside them, a total of sixteen people, all of whom had rushed here overnight. They hadn't even had time to send their carriages to the post station before hurrying to the city gate.
And the fear on their faces was even greater than that of the common people who had listened to the fighting all night.
“Fu Sheng, have you found out anything?”
Fu Sheng bowed and whispered under the tea stall, “I just walked around the city. Those Immortal Lords from the Immortal Villas all say that there’s no sound in the mountains anymore, so it should be over.”
Prefect Xiang's brows furrowed: “Could it be that they retreated from the mountain?”
“Someone is staying in the city. They say no one was seen retreating.”
Upon hearing this, Prefect Xiang and Prefectural Governor Liu's expressions became very solemn.
Besides them, there was also the Guiyun Commandery Prefect. His son had also entered Tianshu Academy a few days ago, and he was equally anxious now.
Because they believed that Ji You would eventually become the Lord of Feng Province, and by having their children enter Tianshu Academy now, they could take a long-term view and lay the foundation for their Family's hundred, or even thousand, years.
When Ji You established a Family in Feng Province, they could directly attach themselves to him, which would be much better than attaching themselves to those foreign Immortal Villas.
But they never imagined that Ji You would come without a moment's delay.
He seemed to have no patience, wanting the present, not the future; not even an hour's delay was acceptable.
In their opinion, if they had known that Ji You was so impatient and incapable of biding his time, how could they have agreed to send their children to Tianshu Academy in the first place?
“Eighteen Profound Passages, five Integration Realm. I am not a cultivator, but I understand arithmetic. If Ji You dies in the mountains this time, everything will be in vain. Feng Province will forever remain the Feng Province of the Immortal Villas, and sending our children to Tianshu Academy will be meaningless.”
Prefectural Governor Liu, trembling, pulled up his sleeves and said, “Brother Xiang, he was too hasty, and we were too hasty—”
Prefect Xiang looked at Prefectural Governor Liu, thinking, “Was I too hasty?!”
That day at my residence, I didn't even know who Ji You was. You were the one who rushed here, leading your son to apprentice, wandering around my residence. Was I too hasty?!
It was clearly you, thinking of establishing this connection first, so that in the future, when Ji You established a Worldly Family, you could immediately attach yourself through your son's connection.
Now, it's all for naught; everything will become an illusion!
Xiang Fu looked at them, somewhat puzzled: “Didn’t they say they were jointly suppressing bandits tonight? What does that have to do with Ji You?”
“It’s bandit suppression, because that Ji You is a bandit.”
“How could Ji You be a bandit?”
“He’s a lone, self-cultivating rustic with no Worldly Family or clan backing him, yet he’s rushing to claim the offerings. In the eyes of the external Immortal Villas, he’s naturally a bandit. Dead men tell no tales, so he can’t defend himself. When all the Immortal Villas say he’s a bandit, then he is a bandit.”
Fu Sheng couldn’t help but speak at this moment: “Master, I heard something else in the city.”
Prefect Xiang looked over: “What is it?”
“I heard that at first, those Immortal Villas weren’t so aggressive about killing him; they considered negotiating and even offered 20% of Feng Province’s tax offerings as a show of sincerity, but he didn’t agree. So those Immortal Sects asked him how much he wanted.”
“How much did he want?”
Fu Sheng repeated the four sentences he had heard, and then saw Prefectural Governor Liu and Prefect Xiang exchange glances, their expressions instantly becoming extremely grim.
This Ji You, who came from a self-cultivating rustic background, indeed had an unclear stance. He didn’t know that the pattern of this Qingyun World had existed for thousands of years, and he actually spoke such words to the Villa Masters of those Immortal Villas who already harbored killing intent.
Young Master’s spiritedness is a good thing, but sometimes it can also be fatal!
His actions, if placed in a play, might be called heroic, but in reality, they can only be described as foolish and naive.
Royal Law?
Now that imperial power is still beneath Immortal power, where is there any Royal Law?
However, as the two of them were continuously criticizing him internally, a commotion suddenly arose on the city wall. The countless cultivators on the city wall looked into the distance and all changed their expressions.
They saw a figure striding along the main road leading to the State Prefecture, drawing closer and closer. His crimson robes were strikingly vibrant under the sunlight, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding earthy yellow.
The three from Tianshu Academy were all dressed in white, and some couldn't help but smile.
But soon, someone used Divine Thought to perceive that it was white clothing stained red with blood.
“Is it Ji You?!”
“How could it be him?”
“Where are the five Villa Masters? Where are the others? Why didn’t they stop him? Are they really going to let him consume all of Feng Province’s offerings?
3
At this moment, Ji You strode to the city gate, holding a long sword, and then stopped.
Whoosh!
With a flick of his sleeve, a pile of heads appeared in the Mystic Light, thrown beneath the city wall, rolling across the ground like exploded watermelons.
These heads were either white-haired and grizzled, or a mix of black and white, some facing up, some turned to the side, all filled with unwillingness and fear.
Seeing this scene, everyone in front of the city gate held their breath.
Because they recognized that those heads were originally the property of the Villa Masters, offerings, and Elders of the Five Great Xian Villages.
Eighteen Profound Passages, five Integration Realm, all dead with eyes open, yet this one, who should have been besieged and killed, now stood here.
At this moment, everyone couldn’t help but look at Ji You, and saw that he also looked back at them with cold eyes.
“A naturally formed Spirit Treasure appeared on Night City Mountain last night, attracting a group of self-cultivating bandits who entered the mountain to seize the Treasure Trove.”
“Upon hearing the news, I thought that as a Feng Province Disciple, I must not let bandits wreak havoc here, so I entered the mountain to suppress them overnight.”
“Now, all the bandit leaders have been executed, and their heads are displayed here for all to see.”
After a brief silence, the entire city burst into an uproar.
Especially those Disciples from the Immortal Villas, who thought, “Oh no, we’ve become bandits!”
And the officials and their relatives under the tea shed all stood up at this moment, coughing as they watched this scene, unable to help but gape in astonishment.
So many people from the Five Great Xian Villages entered the mountain, and the worst among them were at least his equal in Realm, yet now all of their heads have been severed, and it is he who has emerged from the mountain.
They had anticipated his death, anticipated his defeat, but never dared to imagine such a result.
Xiang Fu couldn't help but stand up at this moment, her gaze fixed on the man beneath the city wall.
His entire body was truly not clean, but at this moment, his back was straight, his Sword Intent soared to the sky, his head held high, and his blood-stained robes fluttered in the autumn wind.
“Didn’t you just say that Ji You was the bandit?”
Xiang Fu gazed at him for a long time before turning her eyes back, unable to help but ask her father.
Prefect Xiang also barely recovered, opening his mouth in disbelief: “Only the dead are bandits—”
Prefectural Governor Liu now propped himself up on the table, looking at one of the heads, his gaze seemingly frozen.
That person was from Floating Smoke Manor, not the Villa Master, but an offering named Wei Dongxu.
Because Prefectural Governor Liu’s residence was extremely close to Floating Smoke Manor, they often had dealings, and he primarily interacted with this person.
In the past, at the mansion, he had always been respectful to this person, offering sacrifices for a long time. He never expected that now this person would only be left with a single head, thrown onto the yellow earth.
People are like this: when things they hear are too far away, they always feel vague,
But once someone close to them is involved, there is a reference point.
Prefectural Governor Liu originally thought that all cultivators were the same, but at this moment, seeing Wei Dongyang with only one head left, and even the Villa Master whom Wei Dongyang praised daily also only had one head left, he understood how powerful the man holding the sword truly was.
“Everyone, although the bandit leaders have been executed, I haven’t found the Spirit Treasure yet. It is said that they came from five major mountain strongholds and have been wreaking havoc here for many years. It is likely that they have hidden the Spirit Treasure in their strongholds, or with organizations closely related to these five major strongholds. Perhaps we need to raid and search the strongholds.”
!
Upon hearing these words, an even stronger clamor immediately erupted, and everyone looked at Ji You in disbelief.
The naturally formed Spirit Treasure was just a pretext for killing; it didn't exist at all!
But now he was forcefully using this excuse to raid homes!
The Five Great Xian Villages are now leaderless; from the Villa Masters down to the offerings, all have died here, leaving only some Disciples. Who can stop him from raiding homes!
Feng Province has been a masterless land for these years.
Logically speaking, with the heavy casualties among these Five Great Xian Villages, they would inevitably be annexed, people and wealth included, by other Immortal Villas. But now that Ji You has uttered such a statement, all Immortal Villas still in this area cannot act lightly.
Because if you dare to move, he will claim that you took the Spirit Treasure, and then raid your home as well.
After the War of Ancient Times, the Human Race has been recuperating, superficially maintaining a peaceful coexistence. Even the Seven Great Immortal Sects need a reason to act, to maintain the balance between the various Immortal Sects and Worldly Sect.
And this non-existent Spirit Treasure is very likely to become a reason he can use indefinitely.
If he suspects you of hoarding a Spirit Treasure, then he can act against you.
Last night on Night City Mountain, there really were bandits. Cao Jinsong and Pei Ruyi also arrived at the city gate at this moment, standing by and watching this scene, thinking that Feng Province was getting better, because it would soon have the largest legitimate bandit den.
Ji You paid no attention to the discussions around him. He left the heads in front of the city gate, then stepped into the city and headed towards the State Prefecture.
All eyes in the city were now on him, watching him gradually move away, but no one wanted to intercept him, because beneath the city wall, countless heads were still warning them of the cost of intervention.
From the main city avenue inwards, people were already waiting on the street, and then led Ji You forward.
Within moments, he arrived in front of the State Prefecture gate, where he saw an old man in official robes waiting.
He was the Governor of Feng Province, named He Zhang. Nominally, he was the most powerful person in Feng Province, but in reality, he had no say in Feng Province.
The true controllers of Feng Province were those Immortal Villas.
So he had known about what happened last night all along, but because he had no say, he could only pretend not to know.
If Ji You died, everything here would remain as before, never changing, and he would still be the Governor serving the Immortal Villas, forgetting about last night’s events.
Because it is truly difficult for another Upper Five Realms to emerge in Feng Province who can enter the Inner Courtyard of an Immortal Sect.
And after the Ji You incident, the Immortal Villas here would become even more vigilant, not allowing any hint of trouble to appear again.
Perhaps by then, with the Worldly Sect secretly operating, even the cultivation quotas in Feng Province would be cancelled.
At this moment, as he saw the floating blood-stained robes coming down the street, He Zhang’s heart trembled greatly.
“Lord He.”
“Young Master Ji, the Tianshu Academy register has been sent. Please follow me into the mansion.”
Ji You, reeking of blood, stepped over the threshold of the State Prefecture. He followed He Zhang through the courtyard, walking towards the study.
In the State Prefecture, there were many He Family relatives, madams, Young Misses, and Young Masters, everywhere.
At this moment, seeing a man covered in blood walk in, they were all startled, but also filled with endless curiosity.
Because they all knew that the master had not slept all night, pacing back and forth in the courtyard, anxious and restless.
Thus, they surmised that something major had happened, but never expected to see such a blood-soaked person.
At this moment, Ji You followed He Zhang into the study and found the Tianshu Academy register and the Great Xia documents laid out on the desk.
The Tianshu Academy register recorded Ji You’s Immortal registration and the approved establishment of his Worldly Family.
The Great Xia documents recorded matters related to tax offerings, now laid out before him one by one.
“This year’s tax collection is about to begin. Young Master Ji, you’ve arrived just in time. If you sign these two documents, your Worldly Family will be established, and Feng Province will have its first cultivating Worldly Family from then on.”
Upon hearing this, the madams, Young Misses, and Young Masters who were secretly listening inside the mansion all couldn’t help but widen their eyes.
Ji You then picked up the brush on the table, carefully read every line of text on the documents and register, and then wrote his name at the top.
“From now on, Feng Province will no longer pay offerings to external Immortal Villas.”
(Two chapters in one. I’ll try to write more tomorrow. Please give me your monthly votes—)
