A long-legged [1] woman dressed in red robes with a trident on her back stood forward; she glanced at Mo Wuji and sized him up before saying, "Friend, where are you heading?"
Her robes were stained with blood, her neck also had a few scabs of blood. From the looks of it, she must have undergone several battles on her journey.
Mo Wuji answered, "I’m heading to Wu Xue Prefecture, do you know the way?"
The woman pointed the the east, "Follow this direction and continuously walk straight. You will be able to reach Qian Tai State. From Qian Tai State, you will be able to find the maps to anywhere you want to go, and there will also be beast carriages for rent."
"Then may I ask where are we at now?" Mo Wuji asked another question.
The woman now pointed to the east, "Over there, is the Yu Guang State territory. This is the center of Qian Tai State and Yu Guang State, it’s known as the Sick Woods."
The woman seemed to be extremely clear of the surroundings and directions, and she seemed to be part of a mercenary group; Mo Wuji’s heart pounded as he rushed to ask, "Have you heard of Wu Xue Prefecture?"
"I’ve been there before," The woman answered in an extremely simple manner.
"I’ve heard that Wu Xue Prefecture has a gang of horse bandits called the Black Tailed Bees, have you heard of that gang?" Mo Wuji hurriedly asked. The Black Tailed Bees were the ones who killed Leng Jingbei’s entire family, and they were nested up in Wu Xue Prefecture.
Leng Jingbei, Aunt Eleven and Mo Xiangtong were together, and if they wanted to seek revenge, they would definitely go to the Wu Xue Prefecture to look for the Black Tailed Bees.
"I don’t know…" The woman grunted, turned and left; her face no longer had her previous calm. After the woman left, some of the members stared warily at Mo Wuji.
Mo Wuji immediately discerned that this woman must definitely be related to the Black Tailed Bees. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have displayed such an att.i.tude.
"That fella knows the Black Tailed Bees, should we get rid of him?" Even though Mo Wuji didn’t follow after them, he heard someone whispering within the group. He had spiritual will, and his power far exceeded the other party; even though the other party was speaking extremely softly, the words weren’t able to escape Mo Wuji’s ears.
"Let’s not get new problems on our plate. Moreover, he called the the Black Tailed Bees, bandits. They shouldn’t be from the same group." Another person added softly.
"Hmph, the Black Tailed Bees are bandits."
From the discussion, Mo Wuji could tell that this group had enmity towards the Black Tailed Bees.
Just as Mo Wuji was about to step forward and explain that he also had a vengeance towards the Black Tailed Bees, he heard the rumble of beasts trampling against the ground.
"Enemy!" A shrill voice shouted as two people on horses came rus.h.i.+ng over. In an instant, they had reached the group. From the looks of it, these two must be the scouts of the group.
Mo Wuji was secretly shocked; the appearance of those beasts came as a shock, even he had just heard of their arrival. No wonder why those two scouts didn’t discover them sooner.
"Hurry, let’s go!" Including those who were cooking, everyone rushed to pick up their weapons and ran towards their la.s.soed mounts and a horse carriage. The few who were staring at Mo Wuji, did not continue to stare at him, but joined the rest to pack up.
Mo Wuji was a little speechless; from afar, he could already see a row of man on horses racing over. By the time they frantically packed their stuff up, this group would already be surrounded. Taking a step back, even if they abandoned their belongings, would they actually escape these horse riders?
"There’s no need to pack up, form up…" The woman who first talked to Mo Wuji came to an understanding; this time around, they had discovered the enemy a little too late, there’s already no hope of running.
Just at the group formed up into the formations, the riders had already charged over. There were at least 30 to 40 riders. On the woman’s side, including those two scouts, the group had a measly nine people. Furthermore, from Mo Wuji’s view, all nine of them were injured.
As the team of riders came over, they did not immediately rush to the front, but suddenly reined in their rides and stopped a few meters from the group of nine.
"Hand the thing over." From the team, one of the horses strutted forward. The well-built rider stared at the woman and said coldly.
Mo Wuji finally came to an understanding of the situation; the two parties must have been fighting for something, and this something ended up in the hands of the small group of nine. Now, this team of riders had chased over for that something.
Mo Wuji did not know what these people were fighting for, nor did he care; he immediately turned and left. He did not intend to leave this place, but hide by the side and observe.
"Kill him." What Mo Wuji did not expect was that the moment he turned, the rider that stood out from the group would roar out that command. Following that command, an arrow was shot over.
Mo Wuji tilted his head; that arrow brushed across his ear.
This arrow enraged Mo Wuji. If not for him tilting his head, that arrow would have bored into the back of his skull and emerge through his forehead.
"I’m not with them. Friend, to act so indiscriminately, shouldn’t you give an explanation?" Mo Wuji turned over and his voice brought with it a hint of killing intent. If it was any other cultivator, he wouldn’t have bothered asking this question and started the slaughter. Mo Wuji might have become a cultivator, but he wasn’t used to such ruthless behaviour, to start killing and slaughtering without reason.
"Ha Ha, you want our Wuchangwushuang to give you an explanation? Who cares if you’re not with them? When our Wuchangwushuang men come over, our rule is that no one is to move. You have flouted our Wuchangwushuang rules. Everyone, let him know that our Wuchangwushuang rules are not to be randomly flouted…" The rider at the front chortled and waved his hand.
This time around, it wasn’t a single arrow, but a volley of 30 to 40 arrows shot towards Mo uji.
Mo Wuji raised both his hand; these arrows were incomparably slow in his eyes. In the blink of an eye, all 30 plus arrows were in Mo Wuji’s hands. Before anyone could make sense of the situation, Mo Wuji swung both his hands, and all 30 plus arrows were thrown out.
"Ah….ah… ah…." Tens of aggrieved voices were heard, followed by a thick fog of blood. 35 riders fell from their horses and collapsed onto the ground.
Everyone of these riders had an arrow stuck on their forehead. Due to the collapse of their owners, the 30 plus horses started to get restless. However, these horses were clearly trained, as they immediately quelled their restlessness.
The rider who stood forward was the only one left alive. He had a blank expression on his face as he turned and had a clear look of the fallen riders. Each of these riders had an arrow stuck on their heads, and the arrows were at the exact same position. He was instantly frozen in shock.
The anxious group of nine were also shocked still. These 36 riders who could have easily ended their lives were turned into 35 corpses in a single breath, and the last one was too astounded to even react.
Mo Wuji slowly walked to the rider who was still alive; his voice pulled the rider out of his astonishment and blankness, "What now? I flouted your Wuchangwushuang rules again."
As he spoke, Mo Wuji swept his leg across, instantly shattering the legs of the horse this rider was on. The horse gave out a hoa.r.s.e cry and fell to the ground. The rider also fell and was left sprawled on the ground. The rider was a tall and burly man, but he was left speechless. His previous arrogance and coldness seemed like a joke in this current situation.
"Three Tender Hunters, Hua Xuan greets senior. Previously, I didn’t recognise senior. I seek your forgiveness." The woman who gave Mo Wuji directions, but instantly turned away when Mo Wuji mentioned the Black Tailed Bees, hurried over and bowed to Mo Wuji.
Mo Wuji asked, "Three Tender Hunters, you’re a group of adventurers?"
Hua Xuan rushed to explain, "We can’t be considered a group of adventurers, we could barely be considered mercenaries. Currently, we do some escort work."
Mo Wuji nodded, "Then what is this Wuchangwushuang sh*t?"
Hua Xuan explained seriously, "Wuchangwushuang is the Sick Woods’ strongest mercenaries, or more accurately, they’re a gang of horse bandits. Their leaders are a pair of brother-sister siblings, they’re called Wuchang and Wushuang respectively. They have always been surviving in this land between Qian Tai State and Yu Guang State, and their strength is extremely high. At their peak, they at least have 10,000 horse riders. They run around rampant in these lands, committing all sorts of evil deeds and killing people like ants. At first, any merchant groups would be killed by Wuchangwushuang. But they changed their rules, any merchant groups who pa.s.sed by the Sick Woods would have to surrender half of their goods. Anyone who resisted would be killed."
Mo Wuji asked quizzically, "If that’s the case, why haven’t they been exterminated by the two states?
Hua Xuan sighed, "It’s because Wuchangwushuang’s military power is far too strong, and they move incredibly fast, so they simply can’t be exterminated. Moreover, I suspect that Wuchangwushuang has some sort of agreement with the two states."
"Senior, our leaders, Lord Wuchang and Lord Wushuang are both immortal masters…"
The rider who was knocked down by Mo Wuji took to opportunity to say this sentence. He wanted to instill some hesitation in Mo Wuji’s heart so that Mo Wuji would spare his life. However, he did not even manage to finish this sentence before Mo Wuji stepped down on him.
"What thing do they want from you?" Originally, Mo Wuji did not intend to ask this question; in a conflict between mortals, would anything even be good enough for him? But when he heard that Wuchang and Wushuang were both immortal masters, he immediately wanted to know what Wuchang and Wushuang were pursuing desperately.
Hua Xuan bowed and said, "Senior, it’s a map. This map leads to an immortal residence in this sea. But this map isn’t on me, I’ve already pa.s.sed it to Big Sis Aunt Eleven."
Even Wuchang and Wushuang know of the map, there was no need for her to conceal this fact in front of this strong expert.
"Aunt Eleven?" Mo Wuji suddenly heard a very familiar name and he hurried to ask that question.
Hua Xuan hastily replied, "Aunt Eleven is the Big Sis of our Three Tender Hunters."
"If there’s a Big Sis, then the must be a Second Sis, right?" Mo Wuji continued to ask.
"Yes, our Three Tender Hunters’s Second Sis is Leng Jingbei, our Third Sis is Mo Xiangtong…"
"Where are they now?" Mo Wuji agitatedly interrupted Hua Xuan’s words. Seeing the face of astoundment on Hua Xuan’s face, Mo Wuji explained, "Aunt Eleven is my friend, Mo Xiangtong is my aunt. I asked about the Black Tailed Bees, is because Leng Jingbei wishes to seek revenge against the Black Tailed Bees. That’s why I wanted to inquire about them."
[1] Long legs are very attractive in Chinese culture. What do the rest of the world think?