knife

Chapter 178 is both a surprise and a shock.
Li Dachui stared blankly at a flag fluttering in the jungle not far away.

They ignored even the calls from Wang Shan and Cui Hu.

That was a flag with a hawk.

A dark blue eagle with outstretched wings has sharp eyes and dark red talons, seemingly hunting.

This flag is renowned in the Northern Yuan Dynasty; even Li Dachui, who lives outside the Great Wall, knows their name.

They were also bandits.

They come without a trace and go without a trace, utterly mysterious.

Without any prior warning, they appeared out of nowhere.

During their nearly ten years as bandits, they faced countless encirclements and suppressions by the Northern Yuan army, but the only known fact about the Northern Yuan army was that their stronghold was in the Qilian Mountains.

Despite numerous large-scale encirclements and annihilations at great cost, they failed to even touch a hair on the enemy's head. Their achievements were so remarkable that even Li Dachui was amazed and full of admiration.

It should be noted that the reason why Li Dachui's bandit gang was able to run rampant outside the Great Wall was not because Linghu Ye was truly unable to deal with him, but simply because he had some reservations.

If it weren't for Zhou Zhi, a master of innate martial arts, standing behind Li Dachui, Li Dachui wouldn't have had such an easy time in those years.

Naturally, Helan Plain would not have become a development base later on.

Now, Li Dachui understands why this army disappears without a trace so often.

He scurried into the cave and said that even a god would have to break the legs of the Northern Yuan army.

And is this the only exit you can make?

There are definitely more than that.

Li Dachui remembered that the river had split several times on their way here.

Perhaps each divergence represents an exit.
Without a doubt, these outlets must have been controlled by Cui Hu.

What's easily discovered has probably already been destroyed.

Only those exits that are extremely well hidden or extremely advantageous to them will be preserved.

“Military Advisor Cui, you have truly shocked me!” Li Dachui shook his head with a smile: “To be honest, I never imagined that the infamous Eagle Bandits would be you. So, you have two armed forces under your command, one is the Dragon Flame Army in the open, and the other is the Eagle Bandits. Moreover, the Eagle Bandits are your true strength.”

"The world is always full of surprises!" Cui Hu said with a smile. "Just like we never expected your identity. Let's go, Protector, let's go see them!"

"The eagle bandits must have more than one habitat, right?" Li Dachui asked.

Cui Hu nodded and said, "Yes, this is just one of them. In fact, the Protector should have guessed it. Each branch of the river corresponds to an outlet. This is just a base for storing supplies, not the starting point for our team. Usually, only a small guard team is stationed here."

"I can guess. This place isn't suitable for cavalry to station for long!" Li Dachui said, "Military Advisor Cui, how many men do we have in total?"

“Two thousand men!” Cui Hu said. “Protector, several leaders of the Eagle Bandits have arrived, and they all want to see you. However, they are all rough men, so please don’t blame them for being impolite.”

“I’m no refined person either!” Li Dachui chuckled. “Military Advisor Cui, don’t forget, I’m a bandit too. So I won’t blame them for their rudeness, but they shouldn’t blame me either. We’re even.”

Wang Shan said, "I am not actually the true military leader of Dragon Flame Valley. I am only nominally in charge of military training and cultivating new recruits within the valley. The real military leader is the Grand Commander of our Eagle Bandits."

“Guanshan!” Li Dachui replied directly.

Cui Hu nodded and smiled, "You two used to be colleagues, so it seems the Protector-General has heard of him."

"I've not only heard of them, but I've also sent people to try and contact this fellow traveler. Once, a shipment I sent to Beiyuan was lost to the Eagle Bandits. I wanted to ask them to do me a favor and return the goods, but no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't find out where they were. Even the people who specialize in this business on the black market can't say anything about the Eagle Bandits' whereabouts. It seems like they never have to worry about finding a market for the goods they rob. Now that I think about it, it makes sense. Tens of thousands of people need them! Where would they sell them? And those valuable strategic materials, you've stockpiled them for any eventuality."

Cui Hu laughed loudly: "This is truly a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple; family members don't recognize each other anymore!"

Amidst the laughter, Li Dachui took a deep breath.

It was indeed a shock, but also a genuine surprise.

One can imagine that if Princess Chang Le were alive, Dragon Flame Valley would be safe, and the Eagle Bandits would remain just Eagle Bandits, engaging in robbery and plunder.

But once Princess Chang Le is gone, and the Yuan people want to devour Dragon Flame Valley in one bite, when they find it difficult to crack this tough nut, the Eagle Bandits will lurk from the outside and make the Yuan people taste what it means to suffer a visceral pain.

They colluded with both internal and external forces, thus causing even greater harm to the Yuan people.

Perhaps they will ultimately not escape their fate of destruction, but they will inevitably leave indelible scars on the body of the Yuan Kingdom.

These are all ruthless people! They are patient and discreet; each and every one of them is a talent capable of great things!

There was a commotion in the woods ahead, and Cui Hu and Wang Shan stopped in their tracks, but Li Dachui smiled and stepped forward.

As Li Dachui moved forward, a figure flashed in the woods, and a thin man emerged.

"Guanshan!"

"Li Dachui!"

Before Li Dachui could finish speaking, a figure flashed before his eyes, and Guan Shan was already close at hand, raising his hand and throwing a punch at Li Dachui.

The fist landed first, and then the sonic boom rang out.

A punch is faster than a sound.

Li Dachui remained motionless, not retreating even a step. As if he had sensed something was amiss, he spread his right palm wide, his five fingers like hooks, and grabbed at the fist that was coming at him.

He suddenly pulled his fist back and threw another punch at Li Dachui's lower abdomen.

Li Dachui's right hand was already waiting there.

With a roar, Guan Shan punched out with both fists, leaving afterimages. But no matter how he changed his moves, every time his punch was about to hit, he was met with a right hand.

When the fist aimed at his face struck his right hand again, Guan Shan gritted his teeth and punched straight out.

There was no loud bang as expected. Guan Shan's hand was firmly gripped by this outstretched right hand. Before Guan Shan could react, a gentle, warm breath surged into Guan Shan's body like a tide along the grasping fist.

Guan Shan was terrified and tried to break free from the other party's control, but found that he could not break free at all. The warm feeling that seemed to have no murderous intent spread throughout his body in an instant, as if he were soaking in warm water. Guan Shan even wanted to close his eyes and have a good sleep.

Two angry roars came from the forest, and two streaks of light flashed in the air like bolts of lightning.

Li Dachui drew his sword with a backhand motion.

It wasn't the Minghong Blade he was used to; it was just an ordinary horizontal sword.

There was no dazzling light; the strike looked slow, so slow that everyone could see its trajectory. Yet, he blocked the path of the two strikes. With a crisp sound, both strikes broke at the same time, and the two men fell straight down from the air.

At the same time, Li Dachui finally released his grip on Guan Shan's hand and took a step back.

Guan Shan broke free of control and wanted to retreat, but when he tried to take a step, his legs felt weak.

Looking at his two companions who had also fallen to the ground and were struggling to get up, Guan Shan stared at Li Dachui opposite him in astonishment and asked, "Innate Realm?"

Li Dachui shook his head: "I'm still a little short. But it'll be soon. If everything goes smoothly, I think I'll be able to reach the Innate Realm by next year at the latest."

Guan Shan let out a heavy sigh: "I didn't lose unjustly!"

Through this encounter, Li Dachui also learned the details about Guan Shan and his two companions.

Guan Shan's martial arts cultivation level is at the eighth rank of Xuan Yuan, which is similar to Fang Xiaomao's, but weaker than Gu Xiaoman's.

Gu Xiaoman could reach the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan at any time.

His other two companions were both at the seventh rank of Xuan Yuan, similar to Wang Shan.

All three leaders are at the Profound Origin Realm, which is indeed rare, and it's no wonder that the Eagle Bandits are so famous in Northern Yuan.

Inside the cabin, several people sat cross-legged. Cui Hu, Guan Shan, and the others sat on three sides, while Li Dachui sat on one side, making it seem like a joint trial.

“A couple of days ago, when Chief Clerk Zhao came to me and told me about this matter, I was indeed shocked.” Guan Shan stared directly at Li Dachui. “But thinking about it, it makes sense. Crown Prince Anze and Crown Princess are not ordinary people. How could they so easily cause someone to be childless? Protector Li, I agree that everyone should leave Dragon Flame Valley and return to their homes. But this is not because you are Crown Prince Anze’s son.”

After a moment of silence, Guan Shan continued, "When the Crown Prince's plot failed and our elders and colleagues were implicated, suffering heavy casualties, we actually owed the Crown Prince nothing. How many of the people sitting here today didn't have family members who died because of this?"

Li Dachui nodded and said, "My parents owe you something in this matter, so I want to make it up to you."

Guan Shan smiled and said, "I agreed to let everyone leave because, looking at the bigger picture, our Dragon Flame Valley has no future. Even though we've done a lot over the years and seem very powerful, if the Yuan people really want to deal with us one day, we have no hope of winning. Don't be fooled by our internal and external strength; once the Yuan people figure out the relationship between our Eagle Bandits and Dragon Flame Valley, dealing with us will be too easy. They only need to focus on attacking Dragon Flame Valley to force us to reveal ourselves, and then they can easily wipe us out by besieging the stronghold and attacking our reinforcements."

Li Dachui nodded: "That's right. You've kept this a secret for decades, but there's no such thing as a secret that stays hidden forever. Once even the slightest word gets out, even with Princess Chang Le's protection, you'll probably still face destruction. You've been dancing on a tightrope all along."

“So leaving is the best option, but with so many people, it’s not an easy thing to leave, is it?” Guan Shan said.

“Once everyone reaches a consensus, I will naturally take charge of the rest!” Li Dachui said. “No matter what the cost, I will accomplish this.”

(End of this chapter)