Chapter One Hundred: Venturing into Danger Alone

In less than a day, the mountain bandits had seized half of Cangzhou City, capturing its granaries and armories.

The government offices were the first to fall; all the constables were killed, and the bandits established their Thunder Hall's temporary base there. All the wealthy merchants in Cangzhou were also taken captive.

Their speed and precision were staggering.

It was hard not to suspect premeditation.

Could there have been insiders within the city all along?

On the streets, some soldiers clashed fiercely with the bandits, but overwhelmed by numbers, they were soon surrounded.

One soldier had just slain a bandit with a single stroke. Turning around, he saw his comrade bleeding from a stab wound to the abdomen, collapsing at his feet.

“Ahhhhh!”

With a roar of rage, the soldier lifted his blade and struck down the bandit who had killed his brother. Then, swinging his sword wildly, he cut down another.

He knelt, gripping his brother’s hand tightly, only to find his own hand stained with blood. His brother’s body convulsed, blood spewing from his mouth, eyes glazing over.

Others rushed forward, blades raised, fighting desperately to protect them. The man’s eyes reddened as he heard his brother’s lips moving. He pressed his ear close.

“It hurts... it hurts so much...”

Anger surged through him as he clutched his brother’s hand tighter. Moments after those words, his brother breathed his last. Gently laying his head down, the man unleashed a furious counterattack.

Having just slain three bandits, an arrow suddenly shot toward him, piercing his chest. Pain surged as blood spread rapidly along the arrow’s shaft.

With a cry, he ignored the arrow and continued slashing at the bandits. Two more arrows came flying.

One struck his arm, forcing him to drop his sword with a clang. The other pierced his abdomen.

It seemed a fatal blow. He gritted his teeth, eyes blazing blood-red, and tried to grab the fallen sword with his other hand.

Just as he grasped the hilt, an arrow struck his calf, causing him to collapse to his knees. Then countless arrows rained down, and he died in a kneeling position.

His comrades, seeing his brutal death, were filled with fury and swung their swords wildly. But the bandits’ archers continued their deadly barrage, one by one they fell.

Before the last soldier died, he pulled a grenade from his body, lit it on a nearby pile of burning debris, and hurled it outward with a smile, then collapsed backward.

Boom!

A tremendous explosion shook the area, bodies strewn everywhere. The bandits nearby had no time to flee and were blown apart. Even those farther away were caught in the blast, suffering various injuries.

---

Elsewhere, in an alley not far from the explosion, Li Pingyang was startled by the loud noise. Judging by the sound, someone had detonated a fire bomb, which made him uneasy.

During his earlier standoff with Chen Le, Li Pingyang had stalled by claiming he could help them and babbled nonsense to buy time.

Chen Le grew impatient, sensing his adversary’s frustration, and they finally returned to the matter at hand.

“You didn’t just occupy Cangzhou for food, did you?”

At these words, Chen Le glanced at him but said nothing. Li Pingyang read his expression and knew he was right.

He pressed on, “I don’t understand why you’re rounding up the wealthy merchants one by one. Is this some kind of resentment against the rich?”

“But those you’ve captured are all small fry! The richest here is a man named Li Goudan. How about this—don’t kill me, and I’ll take you to him.”

Li Pingyang struck a deal with Chen Le.

Though Chen Le was a formidable fighter, he was not very clever, stubborn to the point of naivety, and actually believed Li Pingyang. Yet he was still suspicious and asked why he would help.

Li Pingyang explained that he had long disliked Li Goudan! Except for being a bit wealthy, good-looking, and talented—he even wrote some worthless book...

Hearing Li Pingyang’s angry rant, Chen Le patted his shoulder, signaling he understood and that there was no need to get worked up.

But Chen Le felt something was off. This didn’t sound like an insult—it almost sounded like a disguised compliment.

“Let’s go. If we wait any longer, he’ll be gone.”

Chen Le was shaken out of his thoughts by Li Pingyang’s call and followed him as they headed toward the Pingyang Inn.

Along the way, Li Pingyang saw the bodies of many soldiers stationed in Cangzhou who had died protecting civilians.

Many stalls had been set aflame, blackened by fire. Winding through the corpses, he looked upon the ruined city with both sorrow and rage.

He resolved to stay and rescue those taken captive, telling his parents and the Li household servants to leave first.

Before long, the two arrived at the Pingyang Inn.

Li Pingyang pushed open the door and went straight to a side room. Inside, standing before a vase, he rotated it once.

A mechanism clicked open, and the wall pivoted to reveal a secret passage. Chen Le was startled. Li Pingyang explained that Li Goudan was hiding inside.

They entered the passage, one after the other. As the door slammed shut behind them, Chen Le glanced back—but when he turned again, Li Pingyang had vanished!

Realizing he had been tricked, Chen Le’s face darkened with anger. He tried to backtrack but had only taken a few steps when the floor bricks beneath him gave way, triggering another trap.

---

Whoosh!

Two curved blades swung vertically, aiming to strike Chen Le. He braced his sword against the ground, swiftly twisting his body and leaping up. Just as the blades were about to hit, he pushed off the walls with his legs and avoided the strike.

No sooner had he landed than three more projectiles flew at him. Chen Le reacted quickly, catching four triangular iron darts between his index and middle fingers.

Another projectile was blocked by his sword’s scabbard.

But unexpectedly, from the walls on either side, bricks sank inward, and numerous small black snakes slithered out.

Cursing Li Pingyang in his heart, Chen Le sprinted down the corridor, the black snakes hot on his heels.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Pingyang reached the basement’s secret door entrance. Pressing the base of a candle holder, a staircase extending downward was revealed.

Li Hu and the others waited anxiously. Little Dragonfly’s ears twitched; she claimed to hear footsteps.

For safety, Li Hu instructed everyone to hide while he drew his blade, nervously watching the stair entrance.

After a moment, Li Pingyang descended.

“Young master! The young master has come!”

Little Dragonfly excitedly announced to the group. Li Shenfang and A Jiao approached, relieved to see their son unharmed.

Li Pingyang’s expression was grim. As Li Hu turned to tell everyone to prepare to leave, Li Pingyang suddenly said, “You all go first!”

Li Hu froze, telling him not to joke around; everyone knew how dire the situation was. If they didn’t leave now, escape would be impossible.

The secret passage’s discovery was inevitable. But Li Pingyang had made up his mind. He glanced at his parents, then at the few civilians they had rescued hiding in the basement.

“I’m staying. Many are still captured, and I have to save them! Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

No sooner had he spoken than an explosion rocked the surface above, shaking dust down. Everyone’s expressions tightened once more.

Li Hu said, “Be careful,” then escorted everyone out, promising to return and help Li Pingyang. The group began to withdraw, with A Jiao casting reluctant glances back at her son as they left.

Once everyone had gone, Li Pingyang exited the basement and detonated a pre-set gunpowder trap, blowing up the entrance and sealing the passage.