The Unruly Immortals

Watching the other party rolling on the ground, clutching their ears and wailing miserably, Li Huowang couldn't be bothered to waste words anymore.

He simply lifted his longsword, ready to chop off the enemy's head.

"Brother Li, look what this is!" An abrupt voice stopped Li Huowang.

Off to the side, Sun Baolu came over holding something in his hand. Li Huowang looked over and was surprised to discover it was a polished old smoking pipe.

And the pipe, as well as the pattern on the cloth tobacco pouch, looked incredibly familiar.

"Brother Li, this is Band Leader Lv's tobacco pouch! It's unmistakably his, he even shared it with me for a few puffs when we set off together."

Li Huowang reached out to take it, and after scrutinizing it closely, his expression turned serious.

It seemed very likely that Band Leader Lv had been captured by these bandits.

He shook the smoking pipe in front of the bandit on the ground and asked with an icy voice, "Where did this come from? Have you guys recently robbed a troupe of performers?"

"If you've got the guts, kill me! I, Liu Waizui, am an upright and bold hero! Don't even dream of making me betray my brothers!" The bandit retorted defiantly, with an unabashed look on his face.

Seeing him like this, a surge of anger rushed to Li Huowang's head, and he laughed as he untied the sheepskin bag at his waist.

The sound of metal clashing echoed out as a row of various well-polished and spotless torture devices were laid out.

"You want me to kill you? Dream on!"

In the following brief moment, Liu Waizui's fingers were slowly ground away inch by inch, his screams piercing through the stone mountains and traveling a great distance.

The others turned their heads away, unable to bear the sight any longer.

It wasn't until his left hand had been reduced to just a wrist that he, with a face smeared with snot and tears, finally spilled everything.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! Our chief, some days ago on account of his elderly mother's seventieth birthday, specifically captured a group of performers! They're still up on the mountain!"

Li Huowang casually tossed the bloody torture device in front of him, scaring Liu Waizui so badly he recoiled violently.

"Get up. If you don't want more torment, lead me to your stronghold."

Liu Waizui, who dared not delay any further, crawled up like a beaten cur and oddly started to lead the way.

Just then, Sun Baolu, who had wiped his sword clean of blood, spoke up with a hint of hesitation, "Brother Li, should we just let it go? It's better not to get involved in more affairs. Band Leader Lv is neither kin nor friend to us…"

When he saw Li Huowang's stern gaze sweep over, he averted his eyes.

"I am Li Huowang, not Master Danyang. If I didn't know, it would be one thing, but now that I am aware that Band Leader Lv has been taken, I must find a way to rescue him!"

"Moreover, these scum dare to start a fight without a word, I still need to settle accounts with them!"

It's one thing to let go, but if a bunch of bandits can bully one without resistance, it's just too suffocating to live.

In this world, there are some things you can't provoke, but at the same time, there are also things you can.

The carriage veered off, following Liu Waizui towards the bandit stronghold in the mountains.

"May you have a smooth journey, Real Person. We shall meet again."

The voice came from behind him. Li Huowang turned his head and saw that the speaker was an elderly man he had been traveling with, who had now climbed over the blocking rocks.

Li Huowang casually bowed his hand towards him and continued on.

The elderly fellow traveler was quickly forgotten as Li Huowang focused all his attention on the imminent matters ahead.

Through Zhao Waizui's account, Li Huowang quickly learned about the scale of this gang of mountain bandits.

Their leader was known as the Golden Dragon, and this area of Savage Mountain was his territory.

They weren't roaming bandits, but well-established ones with a long-standing lair.

"What does 'well-established' mean?" Li Huowang inquired as he walked.

From Zhao Waizui's mouth, Li Huowang heard a plethora of titles.

But in sum, it was actually a rank for those working within the bandit's lair.

The robbing "Bladelings,"

The "Grain Overseers" in charge of supplies,

The "Water Sentries" in charge of both visible and hidden sentries within the stronghold,

The "Stack Turners" who devised stratagems,

The "Shooters" who abducted wealthy captives to the mountains,

The "Silver Tongues" who intimidated captives' families into paying ransoms.

The "Scouts" disguised as civilians to gather intelligence,

And finally, the "Scribes" who wrote extortion letters and dealt with other literary tasks.

First there were the Band Leaders, Second Masters, then these key pillars, and afterwards the lackeys who did odd jobs.

The entire bandit's lair was like a pyramid, orderly and clear at a glance.

"You're just bandits, but you keep order as if you were a military camp. How many people do you have on your mountain?"

"Never counted, probably a few hundred,"

Zhao Waizui completely collapsed after that, spilling everything like a dog that had lost its home.

"How capable is your Band Leader? Does he have any Divine Skills?"

"No Divine Skills, our Band Leader is a big fellow, his weapon is a hammer,"

"Several hundred men? No Divine Skills? Just regular bandits..." Li Huowang silently calculated the strength of both friends and foes in his mind.

They had come by horse, but Li Huowang had walked. It was almost dark by the time he neared the bandit's lair.

Soon, Li Huowang and his men went up the mountain and saw lights on the hillside, which should be their destination.

"Chirp chirp~chirp~" Suddenly, a clear bird call came from the hillside beside them.

Li Huowang kicked Zhao Waizui on his backside with his foot, "Tell them I'm here to call on the mountain. It's best if we can sit down and talk nicely, or else we'll let our actions do the talking."

"You have seen what I'm capable of before. Think about it—if we really start fighting, how many of you will die."

Zhao Waizui, holding his hand, nodded dejectedly and began to whistle with the tip of his tongue against his lower jaw.

The same bird call came from his mouth as before.

Soon, the same bird call responded.

The way was clear and unobstructed the rest of the journey, with no one stopping them.

Before long, a cave entrance on the hillside appeared in front of them, with a few menacing bandits holding torches, glaring at Li Huowang at the doorway.

"Kid, you've got guts, killing our brothers and still daring to come call on the mountain!"

Li Huowang, however, couldn't be bothered to waste words with these common bandits and walked straight in.

Soon, inside the so-called Juyi Hall, Li Huowang saw three coarse men eating meat and drinking, cursing and laughing obscenely.

Their voices gradually lowered as they all sized up Li Huowang.

"A real Taoist? Or just playing the part?" asked a bald man, the first to speak.

Yet Li Huowang couldn't be bothered to exchange coded phrases with them.

"Since I could come here, all you shopkeepers must understand. Hand over that opera troupe, and we'll call it even over the previous highway robbery."

"Ha ha ha~!!" The three of them burst into laughter.

"Clang!" The sword was drawn from the scabbard, and a dense murderous aura spread instantly throughout the Juyi Hall.