บท 128: Just 'Simple' - Bandit Scuffle.
"DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME, GET OUT!" The voice yelled once more, followed by a few threatening bangs, the sound of metal on wood rang out as one of them tried to frighten the passengers by banging their pommel against their shield.
"W-what should we do?" Xiao Fu asked, looking between his two 'guards' before fixating on Wang Li "Wang Li! You've dealt with a few bandits before, you can do something right?!" he asked, looking hopeful.
'Of course, he barely just met me, so he'd ask the person he trusts me, but…' Shu He glanced over at Wang Li.
Wang Li, opened the curtains of the cabin, looking outside for a moment before closing the curtains and coming back in.
"I'd suggest staying in the cabin, it'd make it easier to protect you" Shu He said, keeping an eye on the other guard.
As expected, Wang Li's brow twitched slightly "No, didn't you hear? We all need to leave!".
Shu He didn't even frown as he responded, "They don't know how many are inside, he can remain while we deal with them, they won't notice a thing".
"No! That's too risky! We need to follow their orders and look for a chance to counter-attack" Wang Li argued back.
Shu He sighed and closed his eyes "Well, Xiao Fu, what should we do?".
The merchant looked at Shu He and thought for a second "What you said sounds right, but Wang Li has dealt with these types easily before, we should do what he says".
Shu He glanced at Wang Li once more, seeing that his expression eased slightly, he shrugged lightly and stood up "Alright then".
"Don't try to act like a hero or you'll get us all killed" Wang Li warned Shu He, glaring at him from the side.
"I won't" Shu He replied lightly.
Thus, with Wang Li walking first the cabin door was opened and the three of them stepped outside on to the dirt path.
"Good! Now, kneel on the floor and put your hands behind your head!" The leader of the bandits with an eyepatch and scruffy brown hair declared laughed.
Xiao Fu did so immediately, with Wang Li following afterwards, all that was left was Shu He.
*Whooosh* An arrow flew past Shu He's face, attempting to frighten him yet he didn't flinch.
'Guess I'll play along' he dropped to the floor like he was frightened, holding his hands up.
He already had a complete grasp of how many men were here, just three in front of the cabin, four on the two sides of the roads with bows aimed at them.
'They're amateur bowmen, that arrow before we poorly aimed and the form was horrendous, they'd probably miss more than fifty percent of the time'.
"Good" The leader nodded, signalling his other men to move in "Check the cabin, the stuffs in the back so you go get it".
"W-Wang Li? They're going to take my merchandise!" Xiao Fu spoke quietly, sweat forming on his brow.
"Wait just a bit more…" Wang Li said, seemingly confident.
Shu He wanted to scoff at his acting, but he remained stoic; He wasn't worried at all, the only people here were mortals and not even particularly impressive ones at that.
One thing he did notice though, was that they didn't seem to want to kill them, the coachman that was still sitting at the front of the cabin was shaking in fear, but he was unharmed; They could have easily killed him from the get-go, but they didn't.
The reason was quite simple, robbery was a far less severe crime than murder.
If they were to murder the entire carriage then take the merchandise, they'd likely get a subjugation order put out for them and the stuff they stole would be proof of identity, let alone if one of the victims got away and knew your face.
But it's much less likely for an order to be put out for a robbery unless it becomes a serial event.
'At least you kept your life' is how the law makers put it.
And so, it was likely true that they'd get away alive if they did as they say, but…
'Well, aren't I popular?' Shu He felt like smirking, he could feel the stares of all the bandits fixated on him, not just them, his fellow guard as well.
"You there, the bulky one, come here!" One of the men shouted as he went behind the wagon.
"…Keep put, this is a chance" Wang Li whispered as he stood up and slowly stepped away… behind the other two.
*Clink* A quiet sound that could barely be heard came from behind and then-
*SWOOSH*
Shu He jumped forward from his spot, skidding on the floor as he shifted to turn the other direction, he saw Wang Li stood there, swinging his sword by the blade, his pommel outwards.
"Tch" The guard spat as he changed his grip on the sword.
"Huh? Wang Li?! What are you doing?!" Xiao Fu stared wide eyed at his guard who had just attacked Shu He.
"Yes, what are you doing, Wang Li?" Sarcasm oozed from Shu He's voice as he smiled slightly.
"That guy is working with the bandits! I'm sure of it! I wanted to take him out!" Wang Li stated.
"Oh, that's odd, why aren't the other guys trying to stop you then?" Shu He asked, one of his brows raised.
The other bandits hadn't moved an inch seeing the attack, yet right now they began to shift and attempt to encircle Shu He.
"Wang Li you…" Xiao Fu grit his teeth as he flashed a look at Shu He, he had quickly realised the truth.
The next moment, Wang Li moved as his hand reached towards Xiao Fu who flinched, but-
*BANG*
Without wasting another second, Shu He stepped in, covering the short distance in barely a tenth of a second and delivering a great uppercut to the man's chin, knocking him a foot in the air before falling back, and then right after delivering the punch he grabbed Xiao Fu's robes and-
Threw him in to the cabin.
"AAAAAH!" The small man screamed as he hit the other side of the inside, picking himself up in pain.
"Lock yourself in!" Shu He ordered; the man was surprised for a moment but then did as said without another second wasted.
With a click, all that was left was Shu He and 8 men outside.
"Urgh…" Wang Li laid back on the ground, unable to move, Shu He had struck him hard on the chin after all, the shock to the brain would put him out for a little while.
"Bastard! Who are you? Why are you here?!" The 'leader' of the bandits yelled, clearly nervous.
"I'm just a simple traveller, you see" Shu He spoke with a sterile smile plastered on his face as his eyes narrowed.
"If you're just a simple traveller, then stay out of the way! Then you won't be harmed!".
"That won't do, you see I'm also a 'simple' guard as well, that fellow asked me to, you see?".
The leader grit his teeth in anger "Then, don't blame us when you get hurt!".
From behind, one of the other men swung his sword at Shu He's back as he sidestepped and kicked him in the abdomen, causing him to drop his weapon and spit out his stomach contents while groaning in pain, clutching it.
One holding a spear charged at Shu He, the sharp tip pointed at his chest, but Shu He merely jumped up slightly as his foot landed on the spear's tip, then he forced it down with his weight till it buried itself in the dirt, the charging bandit stumbled as he had braced the spear which was now stuck, Shu He took the chance to smack the man's temple with one of his knuckles, knocking him out.
"ARRROWS! FIRE THE DAMN ARROWS!" the leader screamed.
The four men that had been completely flabbergasted as they watched Shu He easily deal with their friends snapped out of it as they quickly drew their bows and shot them.
*Thunk Thunk Thunk Thunk*
Four sounds sounded out, and the eyes of the bowmen almost popped out of their skulls.
"See, I'm also a 'simple' bowman as well, I dabble with them every now and then" Shu He stood there as he held the four arrows in one hand, each between his fingers and thumb.
"Monster!" One of them screamed.
"Now, that's not a pleasant thing to say to someone you just met, here, have your arrows back".
"We don't want them!" One of the bandits with a bow screamed as he dropped it to turn to run.
But before they got a chance-
"Aaaaaah!"
"Auuuuugh!"
"Agh!"
"Guh!"
Four exclamations of pain echoed as Shu He swung his hand while spinning and the arrows flew directly into the shoulders of the four men, drawing blood.
"Just you, then?" Shu He asked, smiling at the leader who was trembling slightly before his expression shifted "Or not" He turned slightly, seeing Wang Li stand up, shaking slightly, his eyes filled with bloody murder as he glared as Shu He.
"Oi, Boss, what the hell, who is this guy?! You said this was an easy mark?!" The leader exclaimed, questioning Wang Li.
"…Someone Xiao Fu found on the side of the road, I didn't think he'd be this much trouble" the larger man cracked his neck as he armed himself with his sword once more, there was clear killing intent in his voice now.
Shu He sighed "Yes, what a pity that I had to deal with such poor acting".
"Brat, leave now or die" Wang Li glared, his muscles pumping blood as veins grew on the surface.
"Are you really in a position to threaten me?" Shu He questioned, not a hint of fear in his eyes.
"Fuck all this talking, let's get him!" The leader screamed as he ran in, swinging his sword at Shu He's neck.
'They never learn…' Shu He thought as his hand gripped around the sword's blade like a vice, pulling it along with the man who didn't let go, the leader tried to bring the wooden shield in front of him to protect his chest, but Shu He's fist went straight through it, striking him on the centre of the ribcage; There was definitely an audible crack as he slumped over.
Then he pulled the man's limp body behind him as Wang Li's rusted blade slashed for him.
"AAAAH!" The slumped man screamed as the blade struggled to slice into his flesh, leaving a wound on his back.
"No respect for your allies, huh?". Shu He murmured as he dropped the man to the floor.
"Another scar won't hurt him" Wang Li scoffed.
"I see" Shu He stepped towards him "Then let's end this".
Wang Li stepped backwards slightly, he spoke big but he was already fearful of his young man, in fact he was already thinking of ways he can get away.
But of course, Shu He wouldn't allow that, not anymore.
Then, as Shu He stepped forward, placing his weight on his dominant foot to dash, Wang Li pulled something out of a pouch.
*SHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII*
A bright light shone, lighting the area with a drowning white colour.
It was a flash bomb! A common tool for mercenaries.
'Heh, young idiot will be blind for hours!' Wang Li though as he turned to run, but-
*BANG*
He felt an impact on his back, sending him flying forward, by the time the flash bomb had run out he was laying face down in the first as he felt two weights placed on his arms as a pain travelled up his back.
He struggled and move his head to the side to see Shu He standing on them, his eyes closed.
"What the hell?! Are you actually a blind monk or something?!" He couldn't help but scream.
Shu He opened his eyes as he looked down at Wang Li "No, just a 'simple' martial artist".
"Fuck you and your 'simple' bullcrap!" The bulky man screeched in anger.
In the next moment, Shu He reached down and gripped the back of Wang Li's neck with his hand, the brown gauntlets he was wearing now exposed to the light, the leather pressing against his skin.
"W-what are you doing?" Wang Li asked, feeling fear as he felt the grip tighten on his neck.
"You seem quite durable, so I'm just using some insurance to make sure you stay down for a while".
"What do yo-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH" Wang Li screamed as Shu He's grip tightened slightly, it went on for 10 seconds before he flopped silent, completely unconscious.
Shu He then stood up, brushing off his clothes and nodding to himself.
"That wasn't too bad".
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