Chapter 171: Chapter 171: The Strategy of Luring the Tiger from the Mountain

"Little He... He’er... you scum!"

A heart-wrenching cry came from not far ahead.

Xiahou Zhen and the other two hurried over and saw a burly man, wearing tiger skin with a face full of fierce flesh, dragging a woman’s hair.

The woman, either unconscious or already dead, was being held like a chick in his hand, while his other hand held a nearly two-meter-long broadsword.

The broadsword gleamed coldly as it swung down.

Thud—

Bright red blood splattered, and the pleading villager was split in two.

Xiahou Zhen rushed forward instantly, throwing a punch.

Bam!

The fierce villain was sent flying back, dead without a doubt.

The woman, knocked around, barely opened her eyes, staring blankly first at her father lying in a pool of blood, and then tears gushed from her eyes like a fountain.

"My lord, it’s the Black Wind Stronghold!" The constable who came with Xiahou Zhen recognized the bandit.

"Black Wind Stronghold?" Xiahou Zhen looked at the soaring flames and then at the heartbroken woman, his face tense, "You quickly go and report to Lord Ye."

"Yes."

The constable quickly ran to the woods outside the village, while Xiahou Zhen took another constable to rescue people everywhere.

In the village, at the village chief’s home.

The village chief’s family of five lay on the ground, red liquid staining the floor.

Two fierce villains were licking their blades, their eyes filled with madness and bloodthirst.

"Second Brother, how long has it been since our Black Wind Stronghold had such a massacre? Tonight’s slaughter was satisfying." One of them was bald, with a hoarse voice.

"Hmph, this Dahe Village dares to disobey, have they forgotten the fierce name of our Black Wind Stronghold?!" The other had a sinister scar on the left side of his face, holding something in his hand.

Upon closer inspection, it was a young girl.

The bald man looked at the girl with a wicked expression, wiped his face, and said lewdly, "Second Brother, how about we..."

The scarred man lifted the girl up, bringing her close to his nose and taking a deep breath, "The scent of a virgin is truly unforgettable..."

"But this one must be left for Big Brother."

"Big Brother didn’t come."

"Who says Big Brother isn’t here?"

"..."

...

Somewhere outside the village.

Three shadows hid in the darkness, impossible to see with the naked eye.

Even using Qi and Blood Power sensing, they couldn’t detect the presence of the three.

"Tsk tsk, I never thought that one day I, Black Pockmarks, would join forces with the Hall Master of Xirong County’s Xingheng Martial Arts Hall and the Chief Escort Master of Wind Traveling Escort Agency."

The three hiding here were Hall Master Li Xingbai of Xingheng Martial Arts Hall and Chen Shuo of Wind Traveling Escort Agency.

As for the one calling himself Black Pockmarks, he was the chief of Black Wind Stronghold, also known as Black Whirlwind.

Black Wind Stronghold, outside the County City of Xirong County, was infamous for its banditry, burning, looting, committing all sorts of evils. In the past two years, for some reason, they’ve been much more restrained and rarely appeared.

Bandits and martial arts halls, escort agencies were supposed to be on opposite sides, so their joint action was indeed surprising.

"Black Whirlwind, I’ve heard you..." Chen Shuo spoke in a low tone, seemingly a bit fearful of Black Pockmarks.

"Chen the Escort Master, your information is well-informed, you even know about me, Black Pockmarks. Indeed, the day before yesterday, I completed the nurturing of my second organ."

Completing the nurturing of the second organ meant that Black Pockmarks was a strong practitioner with two strong organs.

"Haha, if I had known earlier that your Wind Traveling Escort Agency was associated with the Governor’s Office, I wouldn’t have robbed your passing trips."

"..." Chen Shuo remained silent, never expecting that the third person Wan Hai mentioned was the chief of Black Wind Stronghold, Black Whirlwind.

"When do we make a move?" Black Pockmarks looked at Li Xingbai, seemingly ready to follow the lead of this Hall Master.

Li Xingbai looked distantly at the fire ahead and then at the further woods, his voice deep, "It’s not the right time yet."

"Hall Master Li, what are we waiting for?" Black Pockmarks said dismissively, "It’s just a Ten Thousand Soldiers Commander, even if I can’t beat him, I won’t lose, and as for Ye Hong, Hall Master Li, can you deal with him?"

"He’s just a Junior Seventh-Grade Official, isn’t it easy for Chen the Escort Master to handle?"

"You can go, but if you mess up, your Black Wind Stronghold will be exterminated." Li Xingbai’s voice turned icy.

"You!" Black Pockmarks’ eyes bulged with anger, but after some thought, he chuckled awkwardly, "I’ll listen to Hall Master Li."

Li Xingbai didn’t speak, he was waiting, waiting for the guards protecting Chu Ming to go into the village to rescue people.

Additionally, he needed to confirm whether there were other experts escorting them in secret.

Dahe Village was just a decoy to lure them out.

...

On Chu Ming’s side.

"Black Wind Stronghold!" Ye Hong’s face turned icy upon hearing the report.

Shen Yu’s eyes flickered, his voice deep, "Black Wind Stronghold has been silent for more than two years, suddenly appearing here, probably not with good intentions."

"They likely want to lure us out of the village to rescue people."

"Lord Shen, Dahe Village has a thousand people!" Ye Hong said.

Implying he had to go rescue them, he couldn’t watch a thousand people die in front of him.

Shen Yu looked at Chu Ming, sighed, "This is obviously a trap, but if we don’t save them, Dahe Village..."

Chu Ming gazed at the towering flames in the distance, his brow slightly furrowed. Under the [Sword Gourd Spirit], he sensed three strong presences on the other side of the village, each not lower than the Refining Organ Realm.

The three presences were still, seemingly waiting for something.

What else could they be waiting for?

A regular village, worth the simultaneous action of three Refining Organ experts?

Not to mention the Refining Organ Realm, even those bandits currently slaughtering the innocents in the village shouldn’t have anyone in the Strong Bone Realm, right?

Their target... was probably him.

Sigh...

Chu Ming sighed inwardly.

In other words, Dahe Village was implicated because of him.

"Brother Shen, with Commander Meng here, nothing will happen. Lord Ye, you’d better go and slaughter the bandits."

Chu Ming didn’t consider himself virtuous, but he wasn’t cold-blooded either. A thousand lives, a village, if they were to die tragically because of him...

He has now completed nurturing three organs, his strength reaching the late stage of Refining Organs, coupled with various trump cards, he feared not even those of the Refining Organ Perfection level.

Under the coverage of the [Sword Gourd Spirit], there were only three in the Refining Organ Realm, the strongest at the Middle Stage, not much of a threat.

"Chu Ming..." Shen Yu was somewhat worried.

"Old Shen, as long as I, Meng Zhen, am here, no one can harm Brother Chu."

Meng Zhen held a long spear, clad in armor, the night wind blowing, making his battle robe flap loudly.

Over the last few days, Meng Zhen not only got along well with Shen Yu but also recognized Chu Ming, because Chu Ming had practiced martial arts a few times and performed well. In Meng Zhen’s eyes, as a Ten Thousand Soldiers Commander, Chu Ming had excellent martial arts talent.

Shen Yu looked at the long spear and the majestic armor, then at the village engulfed in flames in the distance, letting out another long sigh, "Commander Meng, is there any way to speed up martial arts training?"

If he had the combat power of Meng Zhen, he wouldn’t need all these long sighs, lamenting that the first half of his life had no talent in Martial Arts, nearing the end of his life, he finally got a cultivation technique that could refine the body from Chu Ming.

"There is. Drinking decoction or cultivating a more profound, suitable cultivation technique for you, Old Shen."

Meng Zhen looked into the distance, "But Old Shen, you haven’t condensed Qi and Blood Power yet, so you can’t drink too much decoction."

"The cultivation technique... your technique’s mysteriousness can’t compare to the Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique, but it suits you perfectly. At this rate, you can condense Qi and Blood in as fast as a month’s time..."

"Pan Cheng, take your men to assist Xiahou Zhen." Ye Hong didn’t go personally but had his subordinate Pan Cheng lead men to support.