Chapter 24: The Ambush, Zhao Dongyan the Snow Demon

Thanks to his extraordinary physique, a single night without sleep had no effect on Li Dao.

The next morning.

Shen San, having rested for the night, was sent out once again to track the caravan of the Tamu Tribe’s First Prince. Finally, by noon, Shen San came running back, his stout body huffing and puffing.

"I found them! I saw the Tamu Tribe’s caravan. It must be that so-called First Prince," Shen San said, gasping for breath.

"Finally?"

Sun Zheng and Gao Liang, the two Imperial Guards, rose immediately, an aura of sharpness radiating from them. Gao Liang glanced at Li Dao and the others, shedding the frivolous attitude he had shown during their chat the night before. He said in a deep voice, "Everyone, prepare yourselves, and remember what our mission is."

...

Meanwhile, on the side of the valley, a caravan was approaching from afar.

The caravan was painted entirely in red, and many of the wagons carrying goods were adorned with large red flowers, looking remarkably out of place in this desolate valley.

"Master Liu, do you think this is really necessary? It is just a woman who has already lost her purity; why go through such a grand display?"

Within the caravan, a young man riding a white horse spoke with evident impatience to the middle-aged man riding beside him, who was dressed in a green Daoist robe.

The middle-aged man nodded. "It is necessary. Princess Mingyue is the favorite daughter of the Great Qian Emperor. Even if she has lost her purity, her status remains the highest among all the princesses of the Great Qian royal family."

The young man frowned. "Even so, this is excessive. Couldn't we wait until we enter the borders of Great Qian to do all this?"

"No. You must understand what we are seeking, so we must be fully prepared."

Hearing this, the young man curled his lip. "Fine. I heard that Princess Mingyue is the greatest beauty in Great Qian. So what if she’s not pure? I’ll just treat it as a bit of fun."

These words revealed the young man’s identity: he was none other than the First Prince of the Tamu Tribe. The man beside him, referred to as Master Liu, was his lifelong mentor and the protector of the Prince’s journey.

The caravan moved slowly into the valley.

At this moment, on the side of the valley, Li Dao and his companions had been waiting for a long time.

"Gentlemen, how shall we proceed?"

Knowing that the two Imperial Guards, Sun Zheng and Gao Liang, were the commanders of this operation, Li Dao naturally would not overstep his authority.

Sun Zheng scanned the caravan below and quickly made a judgment. "Look, two people are being guarded in the center by a group, and they are dressed differently from the rest. One of them must be the Tamu First Prince who is here for the marriage alliance."

He then looked at the wagons toward the rear of the caravan. "Those carriages behind should contain the dowry for the alliance. If everything goes as expected, the special treasure is hidden within one of them."

"So, the plan is simple: create chaos, then find the treasure in the caravan and take it. The mission will then be complete."

"And one more thing, of the utmost importance: do whatever you want to the others in the caravan, but the Tamu First Prince must not die by our hands."

Li Dao looked at the two guards. "How shall we divide the tasks?"

Sun Zheng looked at Li Dao and his group. "What are your thoughts?"

Shen San spoke up first with a grin. "I’m not good at killing, but I’m an expert at stealing. Leave the treasure to me."

Li Dao glanced at the other three members of his group. "Then let Old Ghost and the others assist you. After all, there are quite a few guards protecting the rear."

He then turned back to Sun Zheng and Gao Liang. "I will join you in creating the chaos."

For no other reason than that he wanted to see what this "toad who wanted to eat swan meat" looked like.

"Agreed." Sun Zheng nodded.

As time passed, the Tamu First Prince’s caravan drew closer to their ambush point.

"Release!"

At Sun Zheng’s command, Li Dao and Xu Hu pushed two massive boulders down from the hillside.

"Attack!"

Seeing this, Gao Liang gave the order and led his men in a charge toward the caravan.

At the same time, the caravan in the valley was moving steadily forward when two loud crashes echoed through the empty valley. As the group looked up, they saw two giant boulders hurtling toward them.

The caravan was thrown into instant panic.

"Ambush!" The guards surrounding the First Prince became instantly alert.

"Master Liu!" The Prince, startled by the sudden upheaval, hurriedly looked toward the man beside him.

"Do not worry, First Prince. It will be fine." The middle-aged man known as Master Liu scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes and quickly spotted the figures descending from the hillside.

"Assassins! Everyone, prepare!"

Following his command, the guards formed a protective formation around the Prince. The middle-aged man then cupped his hands toward the Prince and said, "First Prince, stay here and wait. I will go and exterminate these assassins."

With that, he tapped his feet and launched himself forward.

On the other side, Sun Zheng and Gao Liang saw the middle-aged man charging toward them. When they saw the surging internal energy around him, a single term crossed their minds.

A Xiantian warrior!

"I’ll handle him!" Gao Liang left these words behind and rushed straight toward the man.

As a hundred-man commander of the Imperial Guards, he was also a Xiantian warrior; otherwise, he would not hold his position.

"Hmph!" Seeing that his opponent dared to attack him, a cold sneer flashed in the middle-aged man’s eyes, and he struck out with a palm.

Gao Liang did not fear him and met the strike with his own palm.

*Bang!*

The palms collided in mid-air. But the next second, Gao Liang’s face drained of color. He performed a mid-air maneuver, retreated, and landed on the ground. He looked down at his palm and saw a layer of frost forming, sending a bone-chilling cold through him. Moreover, an icy energy was continuously eroding his hand.

"This is... the Tianshan Sect’s supreme skill, the Cold Palm?" Gao Liang said, his expression grim.

The middle-aged man sneered, "You have some insight to recognize the Cold Palm."

At this moment, Sun Zheng and the others arrived beside Gao Liang. They could see at a glance that Gao Liang had fallen into a disadvantageous position after just one exchange. Sun Zheng noticed the strange state of Gao Liang’s hand and was shocked. "The Cold Palm?"

He quickly turned his gaze to the middle-aged man. Suddenly, his brow furrowed, and his expression froze as he blurted out, "It’s you. The culprit who committed countless bloodbaths at the border fifteen years ago—the Snow Demon, Zhao Dongyan."

Upon hearing the name, the middle-aged man was momentarily stunned, followed by a playful expression. "To think that after fifteen years, someone still remembers the name and title of the Snow Demon, Zhao Dongyan. That is truly rare. I am becoming curious about your identities."

"Who is the Snow Demon, Zhao Dongyan?" Shen San asked curiously from the side.

Sun Zheng’s expression was grave. "A traitor of the Tianshan Sect. Fifteen years ago, the sect hunted him to the border, where he committed countless atrocities. It was said he was severely wounded by a Tianshan master and escaped into the northern barbarian lands. I thought he had died there, but it seems he survived."

Shen San couldn't help but ask, "Is he very strong?"

"He was already a Xiantian warrior fifteen years ago. What do you think?"

A Xiantian warrior fifteen years ago... then now...

Shen San shivered and subconsciously moved closer to Li Dao for safety, only to be intimidated by a glare and forced to stop.

The middle-aged man shook his head and smiled. "Zhao Dongyan was my name fifteen years ago. I have since joined the Tamu Tribe and reinvented myself. You may call me Liu Yan."

Sun Zheng sneered, "No matter how you change your name, you cannot change the fact that you are a traitor who betrayed his master and a murderous maniac. And now, you can add treason to that list."

Liu Yan looked indifferent. "Say what you will. It won't change the reality that you are all going to die here today."

Having survived against the experts of the Tianshan Sect, he relied on two things: his strength and his thick skin. Otherwise, he would never have joined the Tamu Tribe.

In the next second, Liu Yan vanished from where he stood, his palm wreathed in freezing air as he lunged toward Gao Liang. Clearly, he intended to eliminate one opponent first.

Sun Zheng, seeing this, moved to intercept. Neither he nor Gao Liang could defeat Liu Yan in a one-on-one fight, so he could not let him succeed. Soon, the two sides were locked in battle.

Seeing this, Shen San said, "Boss, what do we do now? Maybe we should run. It looks like those two are in trouble."

"Run where? If they both die, do you think you’ll be any better off?" Li Dao said irritably.

Shen San looked aggrieved. "Then what should we do?"

Li Dao scanned the caravan at the foot of the hill. "The mission continues. You lot keep looking for that so-called treasure."

"And you?"

"I’m going to help them."

Seeing that Shen San wanted to protest, Li Dao set off without another word. Shen San quickly stepped aside, not daring to say more.

As he passed by, Old Ghost chuckled and pulled out a small bottle, handing it over. "Little Boss, this might help that Imperial Guard, but remember to recover them for me."

Recover them? Li Dao didn't quite understand what he meant.

Xu Hu said nothing as they passed, as he simply obeyed orders. Little Madman followed along with Xu Hu.

After they left, Li Dao looked at the bottle and hurried to Gao Liang’s side.

"What are you doing?"

"Applying medicine."

Li Dao opened the bottle and poured out the contents. To his surprise, the "medicine" consisted of several plump little worms.

Gao Liang was stunned upon seeing them and asked subconsciously, "How am I supposed to apply this?"

Li Dao frowned. "Don't tell me this is meant for oral consumption?"

Hearing this, Gao Liang shook his head frantically. "I’d rather die than eat these."

At that moment, one of the worms accidentally crawled out of the bottle and landed on Gao Liang’s frost-covered right hand. The worm suddenly turned blue, and the layer of frost began to recede.

Seeing this, Li Dao understood. He immediately poured all the worms onto Gao Liang’s right hand. All the worms began to glow blue, seemingly absorbing the frost created by the internal energy. Before long, the frost faded, and Gao Liang’s hand returned to its normal state.

"It’s gone!" Gao Liang stared at his right hand in amazement.

Li Dao looked down and saw that the worms had all become stiff. Realizing what Old Ghost meant by "recover," he gathered the worms and placed them back into the bottle.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Sun Zheng was struggling to hold on. Although he was also a Xiantian warrior, there was a clear gap in cultivation between him and Liu Yan. The most critical factor was Liu Yan’s Cold Palm; without special means, Sun Zheng could not handle it and dared not touch him, which made him increasingly cautious and hesitant.