Chapter 38: 38
“Who? Who did that?” The third boss roared out . Although he was injured, he still possessed his skills . Who could possibly be capable of killing under the gazes of so many bandits?
Thud! Another bandit had his throat slit, collapsing on the ground . He was the one who had answered the third boss first and had suggested cutting Li Qingshan to pieces .
A terrifying demon seemed to be hidden within the dark mountains and forest, and the frightening shade immediately engulfed all of the mountain bandits . None of them saw the attacker or knew how their companions had died . None of them knew whether they would be the next one to die . The fear of the unknown was the most terrifying .
In the chaos, the third and fourth bandit collapsed on the ground as if the scythe of the god of death had claimed their lives .
In the cold, night wind, a fine hunting blade slid through the tall, dried grass like a venomous snake . The blade was smeared with deeply-coloured juices from the grasses, so it was not reflective .
It was a moonless night .
Li Qingshan stood in the dark forest on a hill and watched over everything . Only he could see Xiao An wielding the hunting blade as he moved in between the mountain bandits . Fury filled his face .
The words of the mountains had completely infuriated him . His heart that had grown numb and withered away for so long experienced intense emotion once again . He wanted to kill all of these people .
Li Qingshan saw Xiao An attempt to approach the third boss several times, but he was forced back every time . The vitality of third-rate masters was extremely vigorous, enough to suppress ghosts . Xiao An could only try to approach him because Li Qingshan’s aura as a living person had nurtured him daily .
“Argh!” “Argh!” Along with two cries, another two bandits were killed . The third boss was not useless . He called out, “Everyone get over here! Gather together!” All of the bandits packed around him; the third boss wanted to guarantee his own safety first .
With the vitality and living auras of so many people gathered together, they seemed to become a huge fire that Xiao An was afraid to approach .
Li Qingshan took a sip of the spiritual alcohol in his gourd . The Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength was not about speed, nor did he have any so-called movement techniques . He had purely relied on his ox-like endurance and the replenishment from the spiritual alcohol to catch up .
He replenished his energy and lifted up the Stone Splitter bow . Now, it’s my turn!
A thrum pierced through the pitch-black night . From the sound alone, it was possible to tell that the string of an extremely heavy bow had been released . It was swift and crisp, containing a sharp force capable of cutting through air .
By the time the bandits heard the release of the bow, they had already been struck . The bandits had experienced something like this many times in the past, but none of them actually managed to react in time . The third boss knew that the arrow was faster than sound, so the archer must be an adept at archery . In all of Qingyang, there was probably only a single person who could shoot such arrows .
No, it can’t be that person, or I would be dead already! The third boss glanced at his wounded right shoulder and remembered the kid who had forced him into such a state . Originally, he thought he had simply been too rash and careless, which was why he had fallen for the sneak attack . However, he never imagined that the kid’s archery would be so terrifying . In reality, Li Qingshan’s archery was still not particularly accurate, especially when abruptly using a heavy bow like the Stone Splitter bow from so far away . The bandits were gathered together, so there was no need for him to put any effort into aiming . He only had to shoot at the centre and his arrow would land .
“Third boss, it’s the kid from before . He has chased us all the way here . ”
“H- he wants to kill us all!”
“The arrow is from that direction . Let’s all get him!”
“No, we can’t . Once we separate…”
As they argued, a second arrow pierced the chest of another bandit . The faces of all the bandits became twisted from fear . They were as frantic as sheep waiting to be slaughtered .
The third boss ordered, “This is all because of that kid . Let’s charge over and kill him!” Along with the other bandits, he charged towards the hill as they let loose battle cries . Li Qingshan remained where he was, unfazed, continuing to fire arrow after arrow .
He fired an arrow from the taut bowstring . It whistled through the darkness, piercing through three dead leaves as it spun and plunged into a bandit before passing through a layer of flesh . Finally, the arrow embedded itself into bone . Only then would it stop spinning .
The tremendous force of the arrows did not even give the bandits the time to cry out . A bandit on the side stopped and looked over in horror . Before his fear could even subside, he felt a piercing pain from his head then nothing else .
The interval between the arrows was actually so brief . The bandits’ charge fell apart as they looked for cover in a hurry . However, before they could even catch their breaths, the mysterious, bloody wounds began appearing on their necks once more . It was even more accurate and terrifying than the arrows .
Someone died at every moment . Their morale that had erupted due to fear collapsed once more . By the time they had returned to their senses, they discovered that the third boss had already mounted his pony and was riding towards the Black Wind stronghold hastily . All of them scattered immediately upon that realisation .
Li Qingshan carried the Stone Splitter bow on his back as he felt his arms ache . The force of a three stone bow truly was extraordinary . However, after shooting over a dozen arrows in succession, he felt like he could not last much longer . Taking in a deep breath, he took another sip of the alcohol .
“Xiao An, we’re chasing them!”
The villagers were still uneasy and in fear back at the Crouching Ox village . Li Long had ordered people to collect the corpses and lay them to rest . “A’Long, why has this happened?” An old, dignified voice rang out from the darkness .
Li Long shuddered . “Master, why have you come?” He was the master of the Iron Fist school renowned in Qingyang city, the Iron Lion Liu Hong .
“I was afraid you couldn’t repel these mountain bandits, so I came to have a look . ” Liu Hong emerged from the darkness . His eyes shone brightly as he naturally gave off a dignified aura . He wore a set of large, luxurious robes . He was awe-inspiring like a mighty lion . He looked at the corpses of the bandits . “You’ve fallen out with the Black Wind stronghold… Hmm? It’s not you . What great force . Tell me, what happened?”
Li Long could only tell him everything in full detail . When Liu Hong heard about the third boss’s words and actions, he snorted coldly . “To think that you would look down on me and the Iron Fist school so much . If I were present, I would’ve personally taken his life . I would like to see whether that bear would be bold enough to turn against me . ”
When he heard about Li Qingshan’s actions, he praised, “How daring and skillful . How old is the Li Qingshan you speak of?”
“Around fifteen . ” Li Long himself was rather surprised as well . Only when he mentioned it himself did he remember that Li Qingshan was only a teenager .
“What? Only fifteen!” Liu Hong was shocked . He was an experienced member of the jianghu . Let alone fifteen or sixteen year old third-rate masters, he had even seen first-rate masters at such an age . However, there would always be the shadows of large clans or sects behind these talented youths . At the very least, they would have a master of great martial prowess .