The Unruly Immortals

As soon as Li Huowang drew his sword, a thick murderous aura filled the entire Juyi Hall, making every person present feel as if they were at the center of a battlefield.

The sound of swords being drawn echoed continuously, as bandits armed with various weapons charged forward, struggling against the killing intent.

However, some of the bandits couldn't hold out much longer, with the fear in their eyes deepening.

When the sword was sheathed again, calm swiftly returned to the surroundings.

At this moment, the bandit leader's laughter also faded, and the three men who had been drinking and eating meat looked up with chins tilted, staring motionlessly at Li Huowang.

In this oppressively tense atmosphere, the bald man sitting in the seat of honor popped a fried peanut into his mouth.

A bandit with a broad, smiling face immediately came out from the side to smooth things over.

"Esteemed Immortal, no need to rush. If there's something troubling you, let's talk it over. Meeting here is fate, so why not sit down and have a drink together?"

Li Huowang didn't shy away and went straight over to sit down, grabbing some of the leftovers to eat.

The round-faced man who had smoothed things over bowed at the waist, standing next to Li Huowang with the attentiveness of a waiter.

He took out a paper fan painted with landscapes from his bosom and fanned Li Huowang gently. After fanning, he suddenly pointed the fan toward a bald man seated majestically at the main seat of the Eight Immortals' table.

"This is our boss, the Golden Dragon."

"This is our Second Master, the Mountain Tiger," said the bandit dressed in a tiger-skin coat with a cold snort.

After saying this, he ended there, not bothering to introduce the last person.

The last man at the table, with a gloomy expression, picked up a sea bowl and took a big gulp.

He was quite distinctive. Besides his similarly fierce appearance, he had the character "prisoner" tattooed on the left side of his forehead.

No matter who among the three was observed, their frames were all exceptionally large, dwarfing the others by a sizable margin.

Then that round-faced man pointed to his own nose with the fan. "I am Liu Xiang, the calligrapher of the stronghold. Pleased to meet you, immortal."

"Is the troupe still here? How many have died?" Li Huowang went straight to the point.

The man in the tiger-skin coat next to him was about to angrily say something when he was subdued by a look from the Golden Dragon.

After the Golden Dragon gestured with his hand, it wasn't long before several disheveled people were brought out—these were the long-missing members of the Lv Family Troupe.

Seeing Li Huowang sitting with the bandit leaders, Top Scholar Lv immediately knelt down, continuously kowtowing with a voice filled with desperation.

"Taoist Master, ah! Taoist Master, save me!!"

After picking the meat out from between his teeth with his tongue, Li Huowang glanced over the faces of the bandits and then stood up, ready to walk out of the cave.

Top Scholar Lv, overwhelmed with joy and tears, quickly grabbed his son, who had been beaten and bloodied, and prepared to follow.

"Hold on there—did I say you could leave?"

With these arrogant words, the bandits immediately blocked Li Huowang's path.

When Li Huowang turned around, he found that the speaker was not the so-called boss, the Golden Dragon, but rather the gloomy man with the "prisoner" character on his forehead.

He tapped the table with his thick knuckles and said, "Come on, keep drinking. We'll set the matter of the troupe aside for a moment. What's your relationship with the You family of Siqi?"

"The You family of Siqi?"

Seeing Li Huowang's perplexed expression, the man chuckled and tossed a soybean in his mouth before swigging another drink.

"Stop pretending. That sword of yours belongs to You Zixiong, doesn't it? Why would he give you that sword for no reason?"

Seeing the man look toward the sword on his back, Li Huowang started to catch on that there might be more to the sword than meets the eye.

After looking at the faces of the three men for a while, Li Huowang sensed something was amiss.

It seemed that the bandits were led by the so-called boss. However, this man spoke in a brash tone, not showing the slightest bit of respect.

"And who might you be? The third master of this stronghold?"

"Dogshit Third Master! My fucking name is Wang Deqiu!"

The man suddenly erupted, sending a palm strike directly into Li Huowang's chest, launching him into the air.

This force was immense, almost sending Li Huowang flying completely.

Gao Zhijian, towering beside Li Huowang, rushed over quickly, catching him with his broad hands.

Covering his chest in unbearable pain, Li Huowang was immediately filled with rage and drew his sword, charging at the man.

Wang Deqiu stood there with a look of surprise, watching Li Huowang rush towards him, thinking to himself, "This guy survived my palm strike, and his heart and liver didn't even shatter? He's quite skilled."

"Damn it! I'll kill this bastard!" Golden Dragon kicked with his foot, sending the Eight Immortals table flying, and then pulled out a Wolf Fang Club, charging head-on.

With this move, chaos immediately ensued all around, as all the bandits rushed forth.

It seemed that there was a huge disparity in strength between the two sides, and Li Huowang's side was bound to lose, but when they actually clashed, it was not so.

Gao Zhijian roared, swinging his club with all his might, sending three men flying.

Just as two bandits with daggers tried to get behind him, a pair of hands with black fingernails pierced through their necks.

A few bandits who were about to fire their crossbows from a distance watched as Chun Xiaoman swiftly opened the "Great Thousand Record", slicing off her own fingernails along with the flesh.

Amidst Chun Xiaoman's screams, the fingernails flew out, and everyone between her and those holding Long Crossbows was abruptly decapitated.

Li Huowang didn't pay attention to what was happening behind him; his focus was entirely on the three men in front of him, for they were the core of the bandit lair.

"Clang!" The massive ring saber of the Mountain Tiger heavily collided with Li Huowang's Longsword, pushing him back several steps.

But that was as far as it went. Accompanied by the sound of tearing metal, Li Huowang's sharp sword blade easily sliced through the Mountain Tiger's ring saber and headed straight for his face.

"Big Brother!" Golden Dragon roared as he rushed forward to save his brother, but Wang Deqiu beat him to the punch.

He gripped a jet-black straight saber and slashed towards Li Huowang's sword-wielding hand with a shadowy trail following.

"Clang~!" With a crisp clash of metal, a notch appeared on the edge of the straight saber.

Li Huowang retreated, changing his target of attack.

The three men were clearly more skilled than Li Huowang, but their Achilles' heel, just as lethal, was their weaponry—which all broke against Li Huowang's sword.

As a result, the three of them began to focus on containment, no longer daring to engage Li Huowang directly.

As the pressure lessened, a woman covered by a red bridal veil came to the rescue.

"Boom boom boom!! Once the drumstick hits, the drum sounds; once the drum sounds, invite the immortals, but first press on the inner immortal, three layers of Wolf Lord, three barriers..."

The red veil swiftly rose into three wolf heads, fiercely biting into Golden Dragon's neck. Fuming, he raised his Wolf Fang Club and, desperate, hammered the wolf heads beneath the red veil.

The wolf heads were quickly dented in but then promptly regained shape, biting fiercely again, breaking Golden Dragon's bones, and his blood sprayed, dying the red veil an even deeper red.

Taking advantage of this opening, Li Huowang cut off the Second Master's head and, holding his bloodied sword, turned to look at Wang Deqiu.

"They say there are rules among bandits, but I find that's all crap. The only rule is the sword in your hand!"

Faced with this dire situation, Wang Deqiu laughed. "There are rules, but obeying them depends on the person. People from Huo Shu don't follow the rules with the You Family of Siqi."

"What do you mean?"

"You Family of Siqi are of the military. How many from Huo Shu did they kill? Did you really think you could just waltz through here?"

"Heh, since when do bandits consider national loyalty? If you really cared about that, why did you start a rebellion in the first place?"

Facing Li Huowang's scorn, Wang Deqiu smiled and remained silent.

Li Huowang stared at his smiling face, and his expression slowly cooled as he suddenly realized the man's true identity.

"Wait, you're not bandits! You're soldiers!"

"Heh, bandits or soldiers, is there a need to differentiate so clearly? Aren't both just killers?"