Chapter 17  : Return Journey

“Boss!”

A horse bandit heard Zhan Sandao’s cry for help. He was about to rush forward when he saw Tao Yungang slice his big sword, followed by Zhan Sandao’s head rolling on the ground.

He cried out in horror.

“Boss… Boss is killed!”

He instantly lost his will to fight, and he screamed as he fled.

Zhan Sandao was not only the strongest person in the group, but also everyone’s spiritual pillar.

But now that Zhan Sandao was killed, his mental pillar collapsed.

“Boss is killed?”

The other horse bandits were still besieging Tao Yunquan and the rest.. They looked back and saw Zhan Sandao was dead, and they lost their fighting spirit instantly.

“Go, let’s go!”

Their siege against Tao Yunquan instantly collapsed.

“Tao Yungang!”

Guan Yinggou was furious.

He thought that his missing arm was about to be avenged, but the situation changed in the blink of an eye.

He himself was not worthy of being Tao Yungang’s opponent. If he had not taken refuge in Zhan Sandao’s camp, he would never dare to seek revenge at all.

Zhan Sandao was killed, and he, who had lost an arm, was definitely not Tao Yungang’s opponent.

“Run!”

Guan Yinggou gritted his teeth and went on his horse.

“Guan Yinggou!”

Tao Yungang immediately noticed Guan Yinggou’s escape.

He also grabbed a horse and chased after him.

“All of this is because of you! Accept your death!”

Tao Yungang caught up with his horse and swung his sword.

Guan Yinggou was holding the reins with one arm, with no chance of dodging the attack, he fell down from the horse.

Guan Yinggou was seriously injured. He was dripping with blood as he screamed.

Tao Yungang didn’t show any mercy. He immediately dismounted and swung at Guan Yinggou again.

“Yunquan!”

The horse bandits who had previously surrounded Tao Yunquan had either escaped or died. Tao Yungang quickly went to Tao Yunquan to check his injuries.

Tao Yunquan was missing a hand. There were many wounds all over his body.

Because of his excessive bleeding, his lips turned white and his consciousness was slipping away.

“I’ll grab the hemostatic medicine!”

Xu Ning also rushed over. After seeing Tao Yunquan’s injury, he quickly went to the donkey carriage.

The donkey carriage carried medicine in the case of accidents.

“How are the others doing?”

Tao Yunquan’s injury stopped bleeding, but his whole body had lost its strength. He leaned on the wheel of the donkey carriage.

“Except for a few of us, the rest… are gone.”

The man who fought with Tao Yunquan inspected the bodies of their three companions.

He was also slightly injured, but because of Tao Yunquan’s protection, his injuries were less severe.

“I’m sorry everyone!”

Tao Yungang, who was on the verge of life and death, finally showed fatigue, and feelings of guilt came like a torrent.

He knelt on the ground and looked at the three dead companions. His eyes staring blankly.

Xu Ning stood aside and sighed.

Just a few days ago, everyone was drinking and chatting at the dinner table, but now, some had already lost their lives.

Xu Ning looked at the blood on the ground and the messy weapons, for the first time, he truly thought that the world of martial arts was horrifying.

Whether it was an ordinary person or a warrior, everyone was like a lone ship in a rainstorm, able to be capsized at any time.

“Uncle Gang…”

Xu Ning walked over and held Tao Yungang’s shoulders.

He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

“Yungang.”

Tao Yunquan stood up and dragged his injured body over.

He glanced at Xu Ning first and gave him a kind look.

Tao Yunquan did not see Xu Ning suddenly appear to help Tao Yungang behead Zhan Sandao. But he did see Xu Ning’s blade being covered in blood after returning back to the battlefield. He respected the loyalty and courage of this outsider.

“Yungang, I understand how you’re feeling right now.” Tao Yunquan said to Tao Yungang, “but everyone made this decision when they accepted to work for you—they knew the risks.”

“You paid our wages, and we escorted the carriage as our job. Moreover, you paid us generously and treated us fairly. We have no complaints. We didn’t want to face this incident today, but what has happened has happened. You have to forgive yourself.”

Tao Yunquan’s words made Tao Yungang’s eyes gently light up, but sadness and shame still hovered in his heart.

He had worked in the medicinal materials business for more than a decade, and he had witnessed his brothers being injured and forced to retire.

But this was the first time three people had died under his watch.

“I know.”

Tao Yungang tried to comfort himself.

He stood up and looked at Xu Ning.

“Xu Ning, thank you for what you’ve done!”

Tao Yungang shook Xu Ning’s hand. “If you didn’t risk your life to attack Zhan Sandao from behind, all of us might have died here this time.”

Tao Yunquan and the other person looked at Xu Ning with astonishment in their eyes.

They all knew that Xu Ning hadn’t cultivated his internal skill and was in the intermediate realm of his Gale Knife Technique.

But he still risked his life to attack Zhan Sandao. This righteous act moved their hearts.

“You’re too kind, Uncle Gang.”

Xu Ning said to Tao Yungang, “Just like what Uncle Yunquan said, this is my job—this is what you paid me for. You and Guo Ye have also been helping me in the past. This is just a small repayment.”

“Xu Ning… kid…”

Tao Yungang was unable to speak for a while.

After a long time, he stabilized his mood and asked, “Where is Guo Ye?”

“We took the bandit’s horse, and I asked him to go back to the village first.”

Xu Ning responded.

Tao Yungang’s lips trembled a little. He patted Xu Ning’s shoulder again and finally sounded relieved. “Guo Ye’s greatest honor in life is having a brother like you.”

“Okay, okay, let’s get ready to go.” Tao Yungang sorted out his emotions and said, “it’s not wise to stay here for a long time. Let’s clean up the battlefield and take our brothers… home.”

Soon after, they roughly cleaned out the battlefield.

Because there were only four people left to ride the four donkey carriages, they untied the ropes for two of the donkey carriages and tied them to the other two donkey carriages, with two donkeys pulling each carriage.

The two horses left by the horse bandits were also taken by them.

After that, they set off on their return journey.

…

More than two hours had passed, and they still hadn’t arrived at the Tao Village.

They suddenly heard a shout from the distance.

“Uncle!”

It was Guo Ye’s voice.

Xu Ning and the rest looked over, and they saw Guo Ye with a dozen people behind him.

The leader was Tao Yunmeng, Xu Ning’s previous instructor.

“They should be the rescuers Guo Ye brought.”

Xu Ning instantly knew what was going on.

This was the advantage of a big village. If one person got into trouble outside, the whole village would help them.

The two parties met each other.

“Uncle, Xu Ning, you guys are still alive!”

After seeing Tao Yungang and Xu Ning in good condition, the weight on Guo Ye’s shoulders were finally lifted.

“Brother Yungang, you are back.”

It was Tao Yunmeng who was talking.

After Guo Ye fled back to the village, he immediately reported the situation.

The village quickly gathered people together, with Tao Yunmeng taking the lead to rescue them. Although a long time had passed and they didn’t know what the current situation was, everyone was still determined to rescue them.

“We’re back.”

Tao Yungang nodded and turned his head. “It’s just…”

Everyone followed his gaze and saw the bodies of their companions on the carriage. There was a moment of silence.

Everyone scattered behind the two donkey carriages and followed them.

The group finally returned to the Tao Village by sunset.

…

“Xu Ning, I will come back and thank you on another day.”

After arriving at the Tao Village, Tao Yungang stopped Xu Ning before returning home. “I have to let my brothers rest in peace.”

“Uncle Gang, don’t worry about me, take care of yourself.”

Xu Ning said.

Tao Yungang did not reply. He had to deal with the funeral of his brothers.

Guo Ye didn’t talk much to Xu Ning either. They just looked at each other before he followed Tao Yungang and went away.

‘Only with strength and power can I gain a firm foothold in this world and protect my family.’

On the way home, Xu Ning kept thinking.

He had made a decision. After a short period of resting, he would enter the inner circle of Yunze Mountains and seek more resources to improve his martial arts.

Soon, he arrived at the doorstep of his house.

Xu Ning pushed open the courtyard door. He finally felt a sense of warmth in his heart.

“I’m back!”