The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 279 Man-Eating Bandits
The black steamed buns, freshly taken from the fire, were not meant to be touched by hand, but the two children couldn't resist holding them in their hands, even though they were scalding hot.

Wu Chengyu just baked two steamed buns, each weighing about four ounces. If they were children, it would be enough for three people, since their stomachs can't hold too much food at once.

"You gave us some, so what will you eat? We'll just take one, you can take this one back."

"Don't worry about me. Let's feed ourselves first. There are many other delicious foods in this world besides baked buns, like roast chicken."

Wu Chengyu shamelessly took out a lotus leaf bag from his backpack. Inside was the Zhao family roast chicken he had bought from the town at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain. He had only bought one, and it would spoil if he didn't eat it today. This roast chicken was indeed very good. No wonder the old Taoist priest Zhenxiang kept talking about it.

Wu Chengyu slowly opened the lotus leaf package, and the aroma inside immediately filled everyone's noses. The black steamed buns in the children's hands suddenly lost their appeal. Tempted by the delicious food, the three boys were all restless. Wu Chengyu even felt that the little wolf cub would pounce on them at any moment.

"What are you looking at? If you want roast chicken, you can have it if you can beat me. This whole roast chicken is yours."

And you little wolf cub, you've treated me like my father's killer from the very beginning. Those eyes of yours are really annoying.

"Alright, you kneel down and kowtow a few times now, and I'll leave you all these chicken heads, chicken butts, chicken feet, and chicken bones, how about that?"

Wu Chengyu is now very interested in this little wolf cub and can't help but tease him.

The little wolf cub glared fiercely at Wu Chengyu, gripping the broken piece of iron in his hand even tighter, but finally lowered his head, forcing himself not to look at Wu Chengyu anymore.

The other two children knew better who the king and queen were, and after Wu Chengyu finished speaking, they dared not look at the roast chicken again.

However, with the roast chicken, they no longer felt embarrassed to eat the black steamed buns that Wu Chengyu gave them.

One of the children broke a black steamed bun in half, then divided the half into three portions: one for himself, one for the wolf cub, and one for another child. He wrapped the remaining half black steamed bun in a dirty, tattered black cloth and stuffed it into his pocket.

The three children sat around the fire, nibbling on the black bread bit by bit, eating with great relish, taking small bites so as not to drop even a crumb.

Wu Chengyu ate a few bites of roast chicken and then stopped. He had only meant to tease them, but in reality, ever since he heard the words "cannibalism," he had lost his appetite.

After the three children finished their steamed buns, they were still hungry. They had each eaten less than an ounce of food, so how could they possibly be full?

But the three little ones were unusually resolute, refusing to touch any of the remaining steamed buns.

Perhaps it was Wu Chengyu's teasing that made them feel that Wu Chengyu did not have ulterior motives, and they sensed Wu Chengyu's goodwill.

The little wolf cub finally spoke: "You're not a bad person, but you're not necessarily a good person either. I can sense that you've killed people, and quite a few at that."

Wu Chengyu raised an eyebrow. This little wolf cub's senses were quite sharp. He had stayed with the old Taoist Zhenxiang for a month, and the murderous aura was not so obvious, but it was not completely eliminated. Yet this kid sensed it immediately.

"But since you've given us food, I'll tell you one thing: after dawn, don't head west. Go around that mountain to the east, then change course and head west." "Why go around the mountain? Do you know that would add hundreds of miles to my journey? That mountain is huge; it's practically a deep, dark forest. Why would I want to make things difficult for myself?"

"Because the fortress to the west is inhabited by cannibalistic monsters. They are a group of bandits who plunder and bully the common people. Moreover, they like to eat people. If they encounter ordinary people, they will be captured and taken back. Regardless of age or gender, they will eventually be dismembered and eaten by them."

You're so good-looking, they'd definitely love to eat your flesh. I heard that last time they captured a scholar, and they ate him slowly, cutting off a little bit of flesh every day, and it took them three days to finish.

"Although you are better fighters than us, and can suddenly render us immobile and speechless, there are hundreds of men in that fortress, all of them fierce and menacing. You definitely can't defeat them."

Looking at their little faces, Wu Chengyu noticed that while the other two showed fear when the fortress was mentioned, only the little wolf cub's face showed hatred.

"It must be close to that fortress now. Since you know it's dangerous there, why did you risk coming here? And why did you suddenly attack me?"

The wolf cub gritted his teeth and fell silent. The other two children, one after the other, finally managed to explain the situation clearly.

"That day, a group of bandits suddenly entered the mountains. Our friends couldn't dodge in time and were captured by them. They were all our friends who grew up together and foraged for food in the mountains. We wanted to save them, but we couldn't beat them. So the leader said..."

"Wait, tell me, who is the boss?"

The two boys turned to the wolf cub, who unconsciously puffed out his chest and said, "I am their leader, the chief of Black Wind Ridge in Qingfeng Mountain. I have hundreds of brothers under my command."

A young man next to him immediately showed his fear and interjected with a low voice: "There are only about a hundred homeless children in total. The older dozen or so have all been arrested, and the rest can't even beat a dog."

The wolf cub turned its head and glared at him, then lowered its head in a somewhat deflated manner.

"So, let me guess, your leader acted impulsively and led the two of you down the mountain to rescue someone, right? And then, seeing me alone, he tried to steal my things?"

"We didn't want to save anyone; we knew we couldn't. But the leader was unwilling to give up, so he ran down the mountain to find someone to help him."

"We weren't trying to rob you. The leader said you've killed people before, so you must be with those bandits. And you just happened to be alone. We planned to kill you tonight while you were asleep to avenge the brothers. Who knew you'd discover us as soon as we got close?"

Wu Chengyu nodded. Under his psychological suggestion, these children would not lie to him. They were just a group of orphans who huddled together for warmth and hid in the mountains. However, in this place under the rule of the Jin Dynasty, they lived a life that was neither human nor ghost.

And that fortress, there really are cannibalistic bandits there. Since we've encountered these creatures who can no longer be called human, there's no reason to let them go.

In that instant, Wu Chengyu remembered his dream of wandering the world and becoming a chivalrous hero. These past two days, he had been complaining that being a chivalrous hero meant enduring hardships and long journeys, and that life was worse than that of a dog.

Now that I've encountered someone like this, I can finally lift a finger and get back at him. It's like I'm finally finding a sense of chivalry again.

(End of this chapter)