Chapter 198 - 148: Robbery and Murder 2
He had tried his best to overestimate the bandits here, but he still hadn’t expected them to be this powerful.
"Haha, perfect! We were just looking to borrow your heads."
Wang Teng laughed heartily and, like a great bird, pounced on one of the Qi Sensing Martial Masters.
Seeing this, the other Martial Scholars, who had been hesitating, cast aside their doubts and charged forward as well.
~~~~~~
Time passed, and a quarter of an hour quickly went by.
Fang Yue and the other Martial Scholars were still locked in a fierce battle with the bandits.
For a time, the two sides were evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand.
But Fang Yue and the others knew the truth in their hearts.
If the stalemate continued, they would undoubtedly be the ones to suffer in the end.
The bandits’ reinforcements were likely already on their way and would arrive before long. When that happened, they’d be attacked from both front and rear, with no chance of escape.
Finally, as time wore on...
A loud commotion arose in the distance. The bandits’ reinforcements were rapidly approaching.
Seeing this, some of the Martial Scholars on the fringes of the battle immediately abandoned their opponents and fled toward Sanshui County.
This was, in fact, a deeply dishonorable act.
After all, they had only been holding back the bandits by fighting together.
Now, with some of the Martial Scholars breaking away, the pressure on the remaining fighters instantly intensified.
And the more that happened, the more the rest wanted to flee.
Their formation fell into chaos, making it even harder to fend off the bandits.
Soon, people started to fall.
~~~~~~
An unknown amount of time passed. The eastern sky slowly began to show the pale white of dawn.
Several Martial Scholars stared at the increasingly tall city walls ahead and gradually slowed to a stop.
"HUFF... HUFF... Looks like they’re not following us anymore."
Wang Teng said to the others, panting as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"HUFF... HUFF!"
Hearing this, the other Martial Scholars also took deep breaths and gasped for air, feeling as if their bodies had been completely drained of energy.
However, a quick headcount revealed that just over half of them were left.
"We should be safe now. Everyone, I’ll be taking my leave."
With one person taking the lead, the already loose alliance immediately dissolved.
Fang Yue, always a loner, headed toward Sanshui County Town by himself. He planned to find his horse, leave this place of conflict, and return directly to Shanyang Prefecture City.
That way, whatever happened next would have nothing to do with him.
He was certain he could pass the Prefecture Examination, and based on the targets he had killed, his ranking wouldn’t be low.
There was no need to stay any longer.
「An hour later.」
Fang Yue was already on the main road back to Shanyang Prefecture.
Just as he reached a three-way intersection, Fang Yue was blocked.
"Heh, I remember you. Your surname is Fang, right? If you know what’s good for you, leave your bag."
Fang Yue glanced over and saw that three masked Martial Artists in black were blocking his path.
These men clearly weren’t bandits. Suddenly, Fang Yue noticed the boots on one of them. If he recalled correctly, one of the Martial Scholars who had broken out of the encirclement earlier had been wearing the exact same kind of boots.
Furthermore, the tear on the top of the boot was identical.
It was obvious now. The three men before him were not bandits, but fellow Martial Scholars.
They had stopped him and immediately demanded his bag. Their intentions were self-evident: they wanted to steal the heads he carried as proof of his kills.
’Heh, as expected. The human heart is the last thing you can ever trust.’
’Just a moment ago we were fighting side-by-side, and now they’re ready to stab me in the back.’
No hesitation, just decisive action.
’It’s clear they must have been targeting me from the start.’
"Heh," Fang Yue sneered softly. "To think that Wang Teng, the dignified third-ranked candidate in the Prefecture Examination, would stoop to something like this. Truly unexpected."
"Sigh. I was originally planning to let you live, but you just had to know too much," Wang Teng replied. "You insisted on exposing me, seeking your own death. You’re just determined to die, aren’t you!"
Done with the pretense, Wang Teng ripped off his mask and lunged at Fang Yue.
His ranking was already much higher than Fang Yue’s, yet here he was, with a three-to-one advantage, still launching a sneak attack.
It was the height of despicability.
Fang Yue couldn’t help but shake his head, but he felt no fear.
He immediately raised his hands to counter. His Qi and blood surged like a column of wolf smoke, roaring throughout his body as immense power erupted.
An unrivaled force swept forth, bearing down on Wang Teng with crushing intent.
Seeing this, Wang Teng roared, his body erupting with a surging aura as he clashed with Fang Yue.
"BANG!"
With a muffled bang, both men were thrown back.
"I never thought you’d be this strong!" Wang Teng stumbled back seven or eight steps before he could steady himself, his eyes locked on Fang Yue. He couldn’t believe it. In a pure contest of strength, Fang Yue was actually more powerful than him.
As the third-ranked candidate in the Prefecture Examination, his strength had already surpassed ten thousand pounds, reaching a total of thirteen thousand.
But now, at full power, he was still no match for his opponent.
A vicious look crossed his face, and he immediately shouted:
"This one’s tough! Everyone, attack together!"
But the fight had already begun, leaving no room for regret. At Wang Teng’s roar, the two black-clad Martial Artists who had been holding back immediately charged toward Fang Yue.
But at that exact moment, Wang Teng didn’t join the attack. Instead, he turned and fled for his life without a hint of hesitation.
Seeing this, Fang Yue was momentarily stunned.
At the same time, the two Martial Scholars attacking Fang Yue also saw what had happened.
A bitter feeling washed over them. How could they not know that Wang Teng had just thrown them under the bus?
But it was too late. Their attacks were already committed, and there was no pulling back.
They could only grit their teeth and press their attack on Fang Yue.
"BANG! BANG! BANG!"
A series of loud clashes rang out. The two men in black, attacking in unison, were astonishingly powerful.
But, in the next moment...
The two black figures were sent flying backward even faster than they had charged in.
"SPURT! SPURT!"
Bright red blood sprayed through the air.
"How is this possible?!"
Seeing his underlings instantly defeated in a single move, Wang Teng, who was already dozens of yards away, wore a look of utter disbelief. But he quickly realized those two wastes of space hadn’t bought him much time at all. ’Damn it!’
Without further hesitation, Wang Teng...
...leapt forward and sprinted toward Sanshui County.
~~~~~~~~~
A quarter of an hour later, Fang Yue watched as the bodies of Wang Teng and his men sank to the bottom of the river.
He let out a cold snort, then turned and left.
「That night.」
Fang Yue was back in Sanshui County.
However, he had changed his clothes and altered his appearance, disguising both his build and his face.
Anyone who didn’t know him extremely well would be unable to recognize him.
He was here, of course, to find the wealth Wang Teng had left behind.
After killing them earlier, he had searched their bodies and found no valuables at all—just a few taels of scattered silver. They were poorer than a common bandit from Tenglong Stronghold.
This was obviously impossible. After all, Wang Teng came from a major family in Shanyang Prefecture; how could he be penniless?
At the very least, the heads of the bandits they had killed hadn’t been on them. They must have been left behind in Sanshui County Town.
Since he had already killed the men, how could he possibly pass up their fortune?
So, he had snuck back into Sanshui County Town, determined to make a score before leaving.
After some discreet inquiries, Fang Yue learned where Wang Teng had been staying.
It was a small, private courtyard that Wang Teng had rented out entirely.
Under the cover of darkness, Fang Yue simply blasted the courtyard gate open and walked inside.
~~~~~~
’He’s still not back? Could something have happened to Eldest Young Master Wang?’
’Impossible. It was just chasing down a perfectly ordinary Martial Scholar. Nothing should have gone wrong. Did something happen on the road?’
Inside the room, Lin San stared at the several bags on the table.
In the flickering candlelight, his expression was a mixture of light and shadow.
’There’s a full ten thousand taels of silver worth of goods here. If I take it back, it’s enough for me to buy my own property. More importantly, there are these heads. Even though they’re only Marrow Transformation bandit leaders, together they represent a huge amount of merit. It should be enough to get me into the top fifteen.’
Gradually, Lin San’s breathing grew ragged.
If he took all of this for himself, he could completely turn his life around when he got back.
But, if Wang Teng came back unharmed in the end, his own fate would be grim.
At that thought, the hand he had just extended quickly retracted.
In truth, the very reason Wang Teng had left him behind was because Lin San was a coward.
To put it bluntly, he was the type of person with the heart of a thief but none of the nerve.
Otherwise, given Wang Teng’s personality, he would never have been able to leave with peace of mind.
CREAK.
Just as he was wrestling with his thoughts, the door to the room opened.
"Ah, Eldest Young Master Wang, you’ve returned."
Lin San didn’t even look at the person, shouting out quickly with a guilty conscience.
But the moment he turned around, the expression on his face froze!