Chapter 10 - Bounty

Tiger Mouth Mountain.

The escort group had traveled nonstop until noon and was now at the foot of the mountain. The mountain's intimidating name came from the large bandit stronghold within. For an ordinary person, entering the mountain was as dangerous as entering the mouth of a tiger, hence the name.

Fang Dingwu called for everyone to stop and take a break while munching on dry rations. He then walked over to Ye Beizhi, who took a white bun from inside his clothes.

"There’s a stronghold on this mountain called the Mountain Wolf Stronghold, which is the base for over two hundred bandits. It's one of the largest bandit groups in the area. But Brother Ye, you needn't worry. I’ve had some dealings with Chief Chen, the leader of the Mountain Wolf bandits before, so I'm sure Old Dog Chen will give me some face and let us pass through peacefully."

Ye Beizhi glanced at Fang Dingwu and stated, "I'm not worried."

Then he took out a box of osmanthus cakes and began to savor one slowly.

Fang Dingwu awkwardly scratched the back of his head, thinking of what else to say.

Whoosh—Thwack!

A whistling sound came, and an arrow scraped past Fang Dingwu's nose to lodge into the side of the carriage where Ye Beizhi was sitting. The tail of the arrow was still quivering from the force of the shot.

Ye Beizhi casually continued chewing on the osmanthus cake, only briefly glancing at the feathered protrusion beside his ear.

Fang Dingwu broke out in a cold sweat. He swiveled his head toward the forest where the arrow had come from and shouted, "Which hero is there?!"

The experienced escort guards instantly dropped their food and drew their weapons, cautiously surveying their surroundings.

Rustling sounds came from all sides of the forest. Fang Dingwu's heart sank, they had been surrounded. He retreated a few steps and whispered to Ye Beizhi, "Brother Ye, be careful. From the sound, there are quite a few people coming."

Ye Beizhi took out another piece of osmanthus cake and continued eating, merely nodding nonchalantly in response.

Several figures gradually emerged from the thick forest. Their chief was a giant man draped in a bearskin cloak and carrying a broad ax.

From a distance he rumbled, "I was wondering who came. So it’s Armed Escort Team Leader Fang, huh!"

Behind the bearskin-wearing giant was a dense band of bandits. They approached the escort group and only stopped when they were about three zhang away.

"Escort Leader Fang, I bet you didn’t come to see me, huh? Where is your convoy headed to this time?"

Fang Dingwu frowned slightly and said, "So it's Chief Chen. It is great to see you again. This time, I'm heading to Meizhou after passing through your territory. I hope Chief Chen can let us pass."

The bearskin-wearing giant settled down on a boulder by the roadside, resting his broad ax beside him and cajoled, "I could let you go, but my underlings all depend on this route for their livelihoods... It’s hard to do business nowadays, huh."

"That’s understandable. If Chief Chen can be accommodating, I am more than happy to offer a hundred taels of silver," said Fang Dingwu as he cupped his hands to show his respect.

"A hundred taels of silver ... Do you take me to be a beggar? You think you can shoo away with that loose change, huh Mr. Fang?!"

The bearskin-wearing giant slammed his broad ax into the ground, spraying stones everywhere. The air filled with metallic clangs as bandits behind him all drew their weapons.

"My head alone has a bounty of three hundred taels of gold. You think you can bribe me with a measly hundred taels of silver? Escort Leader Fang, you’re too far off the mark this time, huh!"

Fang Dingwu's frown deepened and he paused. "Then what do you think is an appropriate amount?"

"Huh. What do I think? I think all the cargo on this convoy should remain here on Tiger Mouth Mountain." The bearskin-wearing giant sneered.

"Chief Chen, I'm afraid that would break our rules"—Fang Dingwu tightened his grip on his pair of sabers—"This convoy is just carrying fabrics and silks. Even if you take them, you can’t sell it easily either. It would be more worthwhile for Chief Chen to accept some actual gold and silver from me."

The tension mounted as the bearskin-wearing giant and Fang Dingwu confronted each other. It seemed as if neither would budge an inch.

At this critical moment, the sound of an impact was heard from behind Fang Dingwu.

Ye Beizhi had jumped from the carriage and sat on the carriage shaft. Idly, he continued to eat osmanthus cakes, grabbed a water bag from the horse’s back, and drank when he grew thirsty.

"..."

Both sides watched Ye Beizhi find a more comfortable snacking position in stunned silence.

Unable to contain himself, the bearskin-wearing giant asked, "Escort Leader Fang, where did you find this ignorant armed escort? Is this his first time out? Or is he looking down on us, huh?"

"Well..." Fang Dingwu didn’t quite know how to respond. Chief Chen happened to be correct on both accounts.

"Forget it. I’m a generous man. If you leave this convoy behind, I’ll let the bygones be bygones." The bearskin-wearing giant said while waving his hand.

Fang Dingwu tightened his grip on his pair of sabers again and thundered, "Old Dog Chen, you couldn’t handle our convoy if you tried!"

The bearskin-wearing giant narrowed his eyes into slits.

"Huh? Are you finally going to get real with me? Little brat of the Fang family! Let me make this clear, if you know what's good for you, leave the convoy and scram like a good little boy! If you don’t take my final offer, you might just end up losing your life here today as well!"

Fang Dingwu pursed his lips together, taking two steps back to Ye Beizhi’s side, he whispered, "Brother Ye, it looks like things can’t be resolved peacefully today. Your martial skills are the greatest, so take the Transcendence Stone and run. We’ll hold them back."

Behind his back, Fang Dingwu secretly handed the Transcendence Stone to Ye Beizhi.

Ye Beizhi, who was still eating, looked up at Fang Dingwu’s back and then at the cloth bag containing the Transcendence Stone, before finally reaching out to take it.

Unexpectedly, a sharp-eyed bandit beside the bearskin-wearing giant saw the movement and shouted, "Don’t move! The one eating! What are you grabbing so sneakily?!"

The bearskin-wearing giant squinted and looked over.

"Oh? What is Escort Leader Fang doing? Could that be... the Transcendence Stone?"

"What?!" Fang Dingwu exclaimed in shock, "You! How did you find out!?"

Ye Beizhi glanced briefly at the bearskin-wearing giant, took the Transcendence Stone, stuffed it into his coat, and resumed his snacking.

Seeing Fang Dingwu’s reaction, the bearskin-wearing giant was certain that he was right.

"Ha ha! After letting you off easy so many times, you finally brought me a real treasure. You don't have to worry about whether I can handle it or not. Who would want to continue doing this dirty head-bashing business anymore? I can easily exchange this Transcendence Stone for all the money in the world. After that, my hundreds of brothers and I won’t have to worry for the rest of our lives!"

Upon hearing Chief Chen's words, the two-hundred-plus bandits behind cheered uproariously.

At this moment, the sharp-eyed bandit next to Chief Chen saw that Ye Beizhi still remained calm and continued eating his osmanthus cake as if he were spectating a show.

He aimed his crossbow and fired, jeering, "You bastard, what are you still eating for?!"

Whoosh—

The crossbow bolt pierced the wooden box in Ye Beizhi’s hand that was holding the osmanthus cakes, knocking the box to the ground.

The osmanthus cakes scattered like petals across the forest floor.

The bandit who fired the arrow laughed contemptuously and reloaded the crossbow.

Ye Beizhi sat still on the carriage shaft with his head down for a moment, then jumped down and walked over to retrieve the wooden box. The crossbow bolt had pierced through the box, leaving a hole. Ye Beizhi carefully placed the scattered osmanthus cakes back into the box, then put the box back into his coat.

He deliberately raised his head and focused on the bandit holding the crossbow.

"Brother Ye... Is everything alright?" Fang Dingwu walked over and hesitantly asked. Standing next to the tense Ye Beizhi, he felt like countless pins and needles were pricking him.

Ye Beizhi slowly advanced towards the sharp-eyed bandit.

"Brother Ye, don’t—" Fang Dingwu intended to persuade Ye Beizhi but stopped himself.

"Little brat, what are you doing?" The bandit with the crossbow chortled as Ye Beizhi approached.

Ye Beizhi said nothing and just walked straight toward him.

When he felt that Ye Beizhi was coming too close, the bandit aimed the crossbow bolt at Ye Beizhi’s forehead.

"I’m asking you, what are you doing?! Are you mute or something?"

"You broke it."

"Oh! So you’re not mute? So what? Do you want me to compensate you? Ha ha!" The bandit taunted and joked with his companions, "Look, this idiot thinks I should pay him back, ha ha!"

The bandits all burst into laughter. One chimed, "Ha ha, you’d better ask him how much that thing is worth. It might just be a priceless treasure that you broke with your crossbolt!"

"Hey! Why don’t we just give him one wen on account of how pitiful he looks!"

The crossbow-wielding bandit glared fiercely at Ye Beizhi. "Do you know, I could kill you right now?!"

Ye Beizhi looked at the bandit and seriously replied, "No."

"—You’re still messing around with me?!" The bandit angrily pulled the trigger!

The bandit expected the insolent brat to drop dead, but he suddenly saw something familiar appear before his eyes. Somehow, his own crossbow was pointed at his face!

Then he felt a sharp pain burst across his abdomen as Ye Beizhi delivered an explosive knee strike that carried the bandit more than one zhang into the air!

Ye Beizhi then raised the bandit’s crossbow and pulled the trigger repeatedly!

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

Three crossbow bolts shot through the bandit's open mouth and tore a bloody exit through the back of his head.

Thud—

The bandit’s lifeless, riddled body fell heavily to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, the crossbowman was slain by his own weapon. The bandits and armed escorts alike were unable to react. They could only stare blankly as Ye Beizhi casually discarded the crossbow and inexorably made his way to the bandit chief, Old Dog Chen, who had gone rigid in his stony seat.

Chief Chen strained his eyes, looking up at the man standing before him. The noon sun backlit the man's face with a golden halo.

Mountain Wolf Stronghold Chief Chen only heard a voice ask, "So your head is worth three hundred taels of gold?"