บท 22: Chapter 21: Encounter with Bandits
Chu Mo furrowed his brows and started to walk towards the bushes nearby.
He wasn't afraid, he just didn't want to stir up trouble. Right now, all he wanted was to rush back to Great Xia, back to Yanhuang City, and share his accomplishments with his grandfather.
"Stop!"
"Don't run!"
"Hey kid, we're talking about you!"
A noisy clamour rang out from the distance, coming from the group of men.
Then, the group galloped towards Chu Mo on their horses.
A flicker of anger passed over Chu Mo's youthful yet valiant face. Why was he being called a 'kid'? He despised this nickname, as it painfully reminded him of his experiences at the foot of the Lonely God Peak.
However, on looking down at his own ragged clothes, Chu Mo's lips twitched, a sense of resignation in his heart.
In his current state, he indeed looked like a pauper. Compared to his previous self – a handsome youth clad in black leather – he was a completely different person.
Chu Mo did not have any clean clothes to change into. After all, the Demon Lord wasn't his nanny and naturally didn't think of such things.
Throughout his journey, exposed to wind and rain, coupled with several battles, Chu Mo's clothes were in tatters.
His long, dense, black hair was casually tied back with a beast tendon. Dressed in ragged clothes, he looked like a young savage, brimming with wild charm!
The group surrounding Chu Mo was quite large, over a dozen men. Staring at Chu Mo with malicious intent, two sharp-eyed individuals spotted what Chu Mo was carrying on his back and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"My god, that kid has materials from a primordial beast on his back!"
"That's right, there's still primordial force emanating from it!"
"Hahaha, I see a third-rank primordial beast hide! We're rich!"
"Who would've thought we'd make such a big score on this trip! If any other groups found out, they would be green with envy!"
"You're wrong, they won't be envious. They will... certainly be jealous!"
"Jealous, right, exactly! Hahaha, Old Wang, you really are educated!"
The men laughed and joked, completely disregarding Chu Mo.
Well, no wonder. A boy who looked about thirteen or fourteen, dressed in tattered clothes. Anyone who saw him probably wouldn't take him seriously.
At this moment, from among the group, a middle-aged man riding a tall date-red horse strolled leisurely to Chu Mo. Looking down at him with an air of arrogance, he exuded a strong murderous aura.
He remained silent, seemingly wanting this child-like wild boy to lose his nerve on his own.
This was something he often did, relishing the helpless expressions of his victims as they crumbled under his oppressive aura.
But this time, he miscalculated.
The fluctuations of primordial force on his body could barely reach a second level peak, not nearly enough to exert any pressure on Chu Mo.
Consequently, Chu Mo stared at the middle-aged man in confusion, asking, "What are you doing?"
The man replied with a conceited smile, oblivious to the issue within Chu Mo's words.
'What are you doing' and 'what do you want to do?' were two entirely different things. He simply assumed that the 'kid' had already succumbed to the immense pressure he was emanating.
"Kid, where did you get all these things? Did you steal them? Hmm?"
The man's voice was frosty, even menacing. Any ordinary thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy would certainly be intimidated by him.
The others in the group were also smirking, as if they had Chu Mo figured out.
"Are you planning to rob me?" Ignoring the middle-aged man's question, Chu Mo's eyebrows arched in challenge while a cold smile dawned on his handsome face.
"What robbery! You little beast, dared to steal the primordial beasts that we hunted. How do you plan to atone for that?" A dark-skinned man in his thirties spurred his horse towards Chu Mo. Seeing that Chu Mo remained unmoved, he abruptly yanked the horse's reins, causing the horse to rear up on its hind legs to a stop. The others immediately cheered.
"Haha, Three Zhao's horsemanship skills have become even more impressive!"
"Indeed, he's rightfully known to be the best horse rider in our group!"
"That little runaway has been scared silly, hahaha!"
Chu Mo laughed out of rage. He couldn't believe that just after leaving the woods, he was immediately faced with an attempted robbery.
He lifted his head to look at the dark-skinned man and very seriously said, "I hunted these primordial beasts myself. What you are doing is wrong!"
"Huh? Are you trying to reason with us, kid?" The dark-skinned man laughed uproariously as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
The others laughed along, finding the 'kid' to be very naive. As for Chu Mo's statement that he had hunted the beasts himself, they chose to disregard it.
Who would believe that?
Chu Mo insisted seriously, "I'm telling the truth, and I'm not deceiving you. Please don't make trouble for me. Otherwise..."
"You little bastard!" The dark-skinned man coldly interrupted Chu Mo, lifted his whip, and lashed it down towards Chu Mo's head. It was time to stop toying with him and start getting serious!
Smack!
The whip cracked in the air with a sonorous sound, splitting the air with a piercing noise.
If someone were to be hit by this whip on their face, it would definitely leave a bloody mark!
The others didn't show a hint of sympathy. They were merely treating this as entertainment.
A glint of cold light flashed in Chu Mo's eyes. Swiftly moving to the side, he shot his hand up, catching the whip in mid-air: "I hadn't finished speaking. You are not only ugly, but you're also rude!"
Quickly pulling the whip—
"Ah!" The dark-skinned man let out a panicked yell as he was yanked off the horse and brutally slammed face-first into the ground, emitting a dull 'thump'.
Silence enveloped the area.
Everyone had their eyes wide, mouths agape at this unexpected turn of events, unable to believe their eyes.
No one believed that this kid-like beggar would have such strength, to be able to pull a tall and sturdy adult off a horse. Moreover, they didn't expect him to have such impressive skills - even they wouldn't dare to endure such a fierce whip-lash head-on.
With the whip firmly in his grip, Chu Mo stared at the group, calmly saying: "Have you had enough? Greed leads to crime. To dispossess others for personal gain is not the mark of a gentleman. I don't want to stir up trouble. Please leave."
"Ouch... Oh god, you little brute… Damn it, what the hell are you bastards waiting for? Hurry up and take him down for me!" The dark-skinned youth groaned in pain while shouting angrily.
The eyes of the others were now all filled with a fierce glint, as they stared at Chu Mo, like a pack of wolves watching its prey.
The middle-aged man from before sneered, "Well, well, little runt, you're quite tough. Let's get him together. Take him down!"
More than ten men, upon hearing that, jumped down from their horses, each pulling out their weapons as they circled Chu Mo.
"Little brute, blades have no eyes. If you know what's good for you, hand over everything on you to us. We'll spare your life. Or else, you'll lose an arm or a leg… even your life. You've got no one else to blame but yourself if we're ruthless!" The middle-aged man stared fiercely at Chu Mo.
Chu Mo glared back at the middle-aged man with an equally angry expression, "You're really going to do this?"
The middle-aged man was taken aback by Chu Mo's gaze, but then, he was filled with anger. For the first time, he felt threatened by a 13-14-year-old rascal. This would be a laughing stock if the word got out.
"Little bastard, don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!" The middle-aged man coldly ordered.
"Old Wang, why are you wasting words with him? Get rid of him!" The dark-skinned youth struggled to get up from the ground, his face covered with mud and grass, his nose bleeding. He looked so pathetic and was utterly furious.
"Kill!" Old Wang, transfixed by the pure, black, but cold glimmer in Chu Mo's eyes, felt somewhat guilty but made up his mind to heed his companion's call.
A dozen men roared with anger and rushed towards the 13-year-old boy.
Anyone would think that they had a deep, deadly vendetta with him. Little did they know that these grown men were actually trying to rob and kill a mere boy.
Chu Mo stood there in his shabby clothes, looking coldly at these villains, completely fearless.
"Little pest, die!" A young man in leather armor swung a shining knife towards Chu Mo's head, aiming to kill.
Buzz!
The heavy knife cut through the air, producing a dull sound, and instantly approached Chu Mo's head.
Chu Mo stepped forward fluidly like a ghost, stretching out his left hand—
Smack!
He slapped the blade of the knife. The powerful force made the young man lose his grip, and the knife fell to the ground instantly.
Chu Mo quickly closed in on the young man and swung a powerful punch to his face.
Bang!
A punch full of power and weight.
The Dragon Elephant Power of the third level of the Yellow Rank hit the young man's face with a muffled sound.
Crack!
The sound of breaking bones echoed from the young man's face, as if he'd been hit by a mountain.
He was directly knocked away, falling heavily to the ground several meters away, passing out on the spot.
Immediately after, Chu Mo used his elbow to hit a man who tried to sneak attack him.
Crack!
Again, a sound of breaking bones echoed, and the man screamed as he fell backward.
Chu Mo was furious. These robbers were ruthless and efficient. Who knows how many similar things they had done before?
Being kind to enemies was being cruel to oneself.
This was what his grandfather taught him.
"The enemy soldiers on the battlefield also have their families, loved ones, and their own stories. But war is war! If you are kind, your comrades, family, home... will be trampled over!"
So—
Facing these evil and brutal robbers, Chu Mo didn't hold back.
In the blink of an eye, two more men were seriously injured by Chu Mo.
The strength of the third level of the Yellow Rank was more than this group of men, the most powerful of whom was only the second level of the Yellow Rank, could resist.
Chu Mo, though alone, was like a high-level human-shaped Primordial Beast, rushing from left to right among the group of men. In just a moment, seven or eight men fell to the ground, unable to get up and wailing in pain.
Only that middle-aged man and three other men were left. They looked at each other and retreated several steps involuntarily.
They all saw fear in each other's eyes.
And regret!
Before, they couldn't even dream that a boy who seemed to be only 13 or 14 years old would have such terrifying fighting power. They finally remembered what the boy had said before.
"These Primordial Beasts are all hunted by me!"
It turned out that the youth wasn't lying at all; he was stating a fact!
Such a terrifying creature, where did he come from?
Could he be a disciple of a prominent sect?
Right now, the middle-aged man was full of regret.
Due to a moment of greed, he not only got themselves into trouble but also might have jeopardized his master's plan. If that happened, he would have no way to make amends.
If only time could be reversed.
But where is there a cure for regret in this world?
Chu Mo looked at the middle-aged man and asked coldly, "Had enough? Want to continue?"
The corner of the middle-aged man's mouth twitched violently. Looking at Chu Mo, he gritted his teeth and asked, "What else do you want?"
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It's one in the morning, I finally finished a chapter. After revising, my eyes can barely stay open. Please, brothers and sisters, appreciate my hard work and give me a vote!
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