Chapter 159: Unhand Those Bandits, Let Me Handle This

Watching the dozen or so men in black rush out from the woods, each brandishing a Tang saber and looking extremely menacing, the members of the Zheng caravan immediately formed a circle, shielding Zheng An tightly in the center.

"Never mind me! Quick, everyone move toward the Young Master's side! Protecting the Young Master is paramount!"

While giving instructions to the accompanying caravan members to quickly move toward Li Yi's location, Zheng An shouted a loud warning to Li Yi, "Young Master, be careful!"

Seeing this, Li Yi narrowed his eyes coldly, glanced at Zheng An who was leading the people over, and raised a slight hand to stop him, signaling, "Brother Zheng, you and everyone stay put and take cover. Leave the rest to me!"

"Uh... Understood, Young Master."

Initially, Zheng An wanted to offer a few words of advice to Li Yi, warning him not to underestimate this group of bandits. However, seeing the serious expression on Li Yi's face and his tone that brooked no refusal, Zheng An obediently stayed in place with the others.

The caravan attendants all held their blades, staring at the descending men in black with an array of battle-ready postures.

Noticing that the men in black were charging not elsewhere, but directly toward their position, Li Yi slightly slanted his brows and gave a soft warning to Yue'er, "Yue'er, I don't think these people are common robbers; they look more like assassins. Be careful in a moment."

"Rest assured, Young Master!" Yue'er nodded with quiet confidence and smiled faintly.

Then, her delicate figure took two independent steps forward, positioning herself in front of Li Yi. Staring at the charging men in black, Yue'er said word by word, "If they dare to rush over, Yue'er will kill as many as come!"

Li Yi nodded with a heavy frown, saying no more. Instead, he pulled back his bowstring tautly and loosed an arrow straight at one of the men in black charging from not far away.

"Swoosh!"

With the sharp sound of a whistling arrow, the charging man in black instantly crashed to the ground with wide-open eyes, dead as dead could be.

Seeing this, the remaining men in black began providing cover with volleys of arrows while dispatching a group to charge directly at Li Yi.

Witnessing the situation, the two of them had no choice but to quickly dodge behind a carriage, evading the barrage of cold arrows flying from the front.

Taking advantage of this shifting momentum, seven or eight men in black had already closed in on Li Yi and Yue'er, reducing the distance to less than five meters.

"Brothers, kill them!" shouted the leader, Boss Hong, raising his arm abruptly.

Instantly, the remaining men in black behind him sprinted as if pumped with adrenaline, closing the distance to Li Yi and Yue'er within the span of a single breath.

"Young Master, watch out!" Issuing this soft warning, Yue'er immediately dashed out from Li Yi's side, drew a silvery-white long sword, and charged resolutely into the crowd.

Yet the men in black were not disorganized; rather, they seemed to have divided their tasks well in advance.

Five of the men in black instantly rushed at Yue'er, surrounding her tightly in the center and preventing her from breaking away.

The remaining three men in black, headed by Boss Hong himself, immediately lunged toward Li Yi.

Just as Li Yi was preparing to notch an arrow and take down one of the oncoming attackers, Cheng Chumo suddenly barged in out of nowhere, letting out a thunderous roar into the open air, "Brother Bo'an, leave those bandits to me!"

As this booming shout echoed, Cheng Chumo had already hurled himself at Boss Hong and the other two, and the two sides immediately clashed in battle.

The sounds of clashing steel and arrows cutting through the air echoed continuously across the open space.

Meanwhile, a few other men in black emerging from the side swung their Tang sabers and charged toward Zheng An and his men, intending to cut them off and prevent them from sending reinforcements to Li Yi.

"Kill!"

"Ah..."

The wretched sounds of fatal blows and agonizing shrieks echoed through the crowd from time to time.

Seeing that both sides were embroiled in a chaotic melee—not only was Yue'er pinned down, but even Cheng Chumo was being bogged down by the enemy's numerical tactics—another man in black came straight at him. Li Yi, his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed, experienced a sudden flash of profound realization.

Today, accompanying Zheng An to Lantian County was undoubtedly falling into the enemy's strategy of "startling the snake by beating the grass"!

Furthermore, the hijacking of Zheng An's caravan yesterday was also deliberately executed to "startle the snake" and lure Li Yi out into the open.

However, what Li Yi found somewhat baffling was who could be so audacious as to lure him here under the pretext of "bandits intercepting cargo" just to seize the opportunity to assassinate him.

As his thoughts spun rapidly in his mind, Li Yi realized that aside from those people from Wa, no one else would dare commit such a daring act.

Although Li Yi did not get along particularly well with Zhangsun Chong, that fellow would never dare to commit murder of this scale.

As for anyone else, they would be even less likely to attempt such a feat!

While Li Yi was lost in thought, the man in black had already rushed right up to him. Wielding his Tang saber, the assailant slashed horizontally through the air, aiming directly at the crown of Li Yi's head.

"Young Master, be careful!"

Entangled by five men in black, Yue'er caught sight of the attacker charging toward Li Yi out of the corner of her eye and shouted urgently.

Seeing this, Cheng Chumo desperately wanted to go to Li Yi's rescue, but Boss Hong, who was pinning him down, possessed formidable martial prowess, coupled with two other men in black harassing his flanks. Even with the will to save Li Yi, Cheng Chumo lacked the capacity to do so.

With no other choice, Cheng Chumo had to deal with the three men in black while shouting a warning to Li Yi, "Brother Bo'an, hurry and get out of the way!"

Witnessing this perilous scene, Zheng An could no longer heed Li Yi's previous admonitions.

"You few, go save the Young Master at once!" Zheng An commanded anxiously, prompting several caravan guards holding Tang sabers to charge toward the man in black attacking Li Yi.

However, their speed in rushing to the rescue was no match for the speed of the assassin's descending blade.

Seeing the Tang saber in the hands of the man in black, Shimano Kazuo, now only inches away, Li Yi quickly sidestepped and executed a roll near the carriage, managing to dodge the blow by a hair's breadth and narrowly escape disaster.

Shimano Kazuo's slashing strike consequently missed its mark, landing squarely on the carriage with a dull, frightening thud.

Yet, pausing merely for a fraction of a second, Shimano Kazuo raised his blade once more, repeating the exact same maneuver as before—a fierce chop straight toward Li Yi's face.

This strike was unleashed with lethal intent; once executed, it aimed to claim Li Yi's life!

In the nick of time, Li Yi hoisted the bow in his hand and blocked horizontally, narrowly escaping yet another blow and successfully reaching the front of the caravan guards.

Seeing this, the caravan guards immediately swung their blades and charged at Shimano Kazuo.

"Young Master, are... are you alright?" Zheng An asked anxiously, his eyes darting frantically over Li Yi's body to check for any injuries.

Zheng An's heart thumped with frantic panic, feeling as though thousands of ants were gnawing at him.

If anything were to happen to Li Yi, he truly would not be able to shirk the blame.

"I'm fine. Give me a blade!" Li Yi drew a deep breath and said through clenched teeth.

"Young Master..." Zheng An barely started. Without waiting for a reply or heeding Zheng An's dissuasion, Li Yi snatched a Tang saber straight from the hands of an attendant, took a large, two-step stride forward, and charged directly at Shimano Kazuo.

"Ah—!"

Accompanied by several miserable shrieks echoing through the air, the caravan attendants who had rushed up to rescue Li Yi were cut down one by one under Shimano Kazuo's blade.

At that moment, however, Li Yi, with tightly knit brows and a stern expression, had already closed the distance to Shimano Kazuo, blade in hand.

*Tai Chi Swordplay!*

Without a second thought, Li Yi executed a fluid motion, slashing toward Shimano Kazuo with his blade.

The two exchanged over a dozen blows. Even though Shimano Kazuo approached aggressively with fierce, savage swordplay fraught with deadly intent, he could not so much as harm a single hair on Li Yi's head.

"Weren't they saying... that Li Bo'an has a frail constitution and cannot endure the cold? How can he know martial arts, and why is he so formidable?" Shimano Kazuo thought, a wave of secret alarm surging within him.

Initially, he had assumed that once Yue'er was drawn away, he alone could easily dispatch Li Yi.

To his utter astonishment, however, Li Yi not only possessed a physique that was far from weak, but his swordplay was also extraordinary—far superior to his own.

After exchanging numerous blows, Shimano Kazuo gradually found himself falling into a disadvantageous position!

"Baka! The intelligence provided by Ambassador Hiniti was flawed!" Shimano Kazuo cursed inwardly through clenched teeth. "Why is this bastard Li Bo'an so formidable!"

Yet now, the arrow was already notched on the bowstring; he had no choice but to release it.

If this assassination mission failed, or if his group failed to eliminate Li Yi, they would never escape the hunt of the Tang authorities.

Furthermore, Li Yi might already have deduced the identity of the mastermind behind the assassination attempts.

With this realization, Shimano Kazuo hardened his resolve, abandoning all hesitation. He unleashed authentic Wa sword techniques, aiming every single strike directly at Li Yi's vital points.

Recognizing the distinctive Wa style of swordsmanship, Li Yi instantly confirmed his suspicions. Staring at Shimano Kazuo, he sneered, "It really is you Wa people!"

Realizing his cover was blown, Shimano Kazuo offered no verbal reply, choosing instead to press the attack with ferocious redoubled slashes in an attempt to murder Li Yi posthaste.

"Hah, you want to kill me? Do you really think your crude Wa tricks are enough?" While exchanging sarcastic remarks with a cold glare, Li Yi inwardly calculated a method for a "fatal strike."

Suddenly, inspiration flashed in Li Yi's mind as he recalled the grappling technique of "empty-handed disarming," prompting him to intentionally expose an opening.

Seeing this, Shimano Kazuo was overjoyed.

"Hmph, Li Bo'an, go to hell!" With a cold, mocking smile, Shimano Kazuo savagely slashed his blade toward Li Yi's back.

Yet, he never anticipated that the moment Li Yi exposed his back, he would suddenly roll backward, performing a carp-like spring that instantly brought him directly behind Shimano Kazuo.

Simultaneously, executing a sweeping low kick, Li Yi pivoted, clamped five fingers like iron talons around the wrist holding Shimano Kazuo's blade, and drove his knee straight into Shimano Kazuo's back.

"Crack!"

A sound resembling snapping bones rang sharply through the air. Shimano Kazuo felt a sudden, agonizing jolt in his spine, causing his facial features to twist in a spasm of pain.

The sensation was as agonizing as having multiple vertebrae snap in rapid succession.

*Clang!*

Paralyzed by excruciating pain, Shimano Kazuo dropped the Tang saber from his hand. Seizing the opportunity, Li Yi subdued him completely and immediately instructed the nearby caravan guards, "Quickly bring a rope and tie him up for me!"

"Uh... Understood, Young Master!" The caravan attendants stood dumbfounded for a long moment before snapping back to reality.

Just moments before, seeing Li Yi expose his back and Shimano Kazuo strike with his blade, they had assumed Li Yi was doomed with no escape.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, Li Yi had completely overpowered and subdued Shimano Kazuo.

This display of martial skill struck them with profound astonishment.

Only after they had securely bound Shimano Kazuo did they finally let out a collective sigh of relief, staring at Li Yi with wide, disbelieving eyes.

Li Yi paid no heed to their shock.

"Yue'er, kill all of these people! Leave none alive!" Li Yi raised his gaze toward Yue'er's location, uttered these cold words, and strode forward, blade in hand.

Momentarily catching her breath as Li Yi rushed to assist, Yue'er finally unleashed her full martial prowess.

"Puff!" "Puff!" "Puff!"

Amidst a flurry of successive strikes, Li Yi and Yue'er systematically cut down all five men in black.

Seeing this from the side, Boss Hong—who had been locked in combat with Cheng Chumo—wore a brow furrowed into a tightly twisted knot of frustration. He abruptly unleashed a fierce flurry of blows, spun around, and fled.

Observing this, Cheng Chumo felt a surge of intense displeasure.

"Little thief, where do you think you're going?!"

Roaring through clenched teeth, Cheng Chumo unleashed two forceful slashes, instantly disengaging from the two remaining men in black, and gave chase directly after Boss Hong.

*(Note: I've had some personal matters to attend to these past two days which delayed updates. I will release an extra chapter tomorrow.)*

*(End of Chapter)*