Enemies on a Narrow Path

"Aiyo, how is it that blockhead!" Sha Lifei had clearly spotted him too. He instinctively hunched his shoulders and shrank back, but seeing Li Yan standing tall with his left hand gripping his saber hilt, Sha Lifei pulled a sour face and straightened his back as well. "Everyone, I have returned." Troupe Leader Zhou grunted and prepared to lead them inside the courtyard. A bare-chested fat man standing nearby grinned playfully at the sight. "Oho, Troupe Leader Zhou truly keeps his word. The boys and I were just thinking that if you took any longer, we'd go right on in…" "Get lost!" Before the words had finished leaving his mouth, a hand reached out from beside him and shoved him so hard he stumbled. The fat man was about to curse, but upon seeing who it was, he clamped his mouth shut. The one who had struck was none other than Meng Haicheng. He stared at Li Yan, eyes gleaming with vindictive delight. "Well, well, enemies really do meet on a narrow path! You son of a bitch, I was just thinking of hunting you down!" Li Yan shot him a flat glance. "Still not convinced? Looking for another round?" Hearing them speak, Troupe Leader Zhou was visibly astonished. He had never expected this young man accompanying Daoist Wang to have an old grudge with the Iron Saber Gang as well. "Trade moves with you? Like hell!" Meng Haicheng's face flushed red, and he barked, "Forget where you are? This is Xianyang! Brothers, knock this kid flat first!" "Right away, Brother Hai!" The rabble of hoodlums immediately closed in. "Hey, hey, hey…" Panic rose in Sha Lifei's chest, and he shouted, "Meng Haicheng, have you got no shame at all? Ganging up on one man—where's your sense of jianghu honor!" Meng Haicheng sneered in contempt. "Honor? You think you're worthy of it?" *Whoosh!* Before the sneer could fade, a figure darted straight toward him. It was Li Yan, lunging forward with sudden explosive speed, his left hand bracing ahead while his right dipped low. "That trick again!" Meng Haicheng saw it and flared with rage. Last time, Li Yan had taken that exact stance before driving a brutal heart-thrusting elbow into his chest, forcing him to abandon his wheat reapers and flee in utter disgrace. Meng Haicheng knew that his days in the harvesting trade were finished for good. Setting aside the unbearable mockery from peers, abandoning his wheat reapers midway was something no one would forgive; regardless of the excuse, not a soul would ever follow him again. As for Li Yan's worry that he might ask Zhou Pan to step in, it had been entirely misplaced. Meng Haicheng knew what kind of man his master was better than anyone. Had he beaten Li Yan, it would have been fine, but if Zhou Pan learned he had lost face and taken a beating, there would be hell to pay. Therefore, he had not dared to make a sound, dreading that word would reach Zhou Pan's ears. After turning it over in his mind, knowing there was no future left for him as an independent bladesman, he had simply gritted his teeth, run to Xianyang City, and thrown his lot in with his senior martial brother as a lackey. Seeing Li Yan charge, Meng Haicheng did not dodge. He dropped low, twisted his waist, and hooked his right arm overhead in a canopy guard, looking for all the world like a big macaque squatting on the ground. It looked ridiculous, yet it was a lethal maneuver passed down by Zhou Pan. If Li Yan continued forward with the heart-thrusting elbow, Meng Haicheng could unleash 'Old Ape Drops the Branch'—a snapping sweep of his foot aiming straight for the groin to turn Li Yan into a eunuch. If Li Yan switched to a side kick, Meng could flow into 'Nimble Monkey Entangling Silk,' clawing out his opponent's eyes and shredding his face to ribbons. High, middle, low—every route held a counter, each fiercer and nastier than the last. Now that he was prepared, how could he suffer the same humiliation twice? Yet the hand Li Yan had lowered toward his waist suddenly clamped around his saber hilt, followed by a blinding change of stance and a violent snap. *Clang!* The blade flashed like cold light, slicing through the curtain of rain. The Guanzhong fast blade was not something to be taken lightly. Before Meng Haicheng could even react, cold steel was pressed against his neck. The freezing edge dug tight against his skin, already biting through the flesh. To the onlookers, it was a comical sight: Meng Haicheng crouched on the dirt, as if Li Yan were holding a blade to slaughter a monkey. Humiliated once more, Meng Haicheng snarled in fury, "We were matching fists and kicks! You pulled a blade—you don't fight by the rules!" Li Yan raised a brow. "Rules… do you think you're worthy of them?" "You…" Meng Haicheng was so furious that his head buzzed. Before he could say another word, his expression twisted, and he stumbled backward in panic. Li Yan pressed forward with the blade, forcing him step by step back into the courtyard. Li Yan then turned his head, his voice dead calm. "Whoever dares cross this gate, his head is my gift to you." Unfortunately, these words did not intimidate the Iron Saber Gang members outside. While these fellows were not like bladesmen who carried their heads on their belts, they were still desperate scoundrels who lived only for the day. During the previous dynasty, Great Xing had called them *lahu*, the Golden Horde Khanate called them "masterless rogues," and their various organizations went by names like the "Reckless Life Societies"—all of them reckless outlaws. Much like the "pot brotherhoods" around Jinmen today, where men drew lots for death duels, leaped into boiling vats of oil, took three blades and six holes, or gouged out their own eyes without so much as flinching, they would never admit to being lesser men. The people of Guanzhong were raw, abrasive, headstrong, and stubborn by nature, and these ruffians were certainly no exception. Right away, an unevenly cross-eyed brute strode forward. Brandishing a short blade, he craned his neck, glared, and sneered, "Oho, pulling knives now, are we?" He jabbed a finger at his own neck. "Come on, let him go and take a swing right here! Cut me down and I'll call you a real man! Brothers, keep your eyes wide open!" "Hahaha…" The gang of thugs roared with laughter, entirely devoid of fear. They had seen plenty of bladesmen and knew precisely how to deal with them. The trick was playing shameless! The laws of the Great Xuan Dynasty were strict, showing no favor whether one walked the jianghu or the Xuanmen. Murderers were immediately placed on wanted posters with bounties on their heads, especially for killings committed in broad daylight. As for the thugs, they had nothing to fear. First, they had the Iron Saber Gang backing them, grease having already been spread across official channels. Second, they carried a written debt note and were merely loitering at the gate; even hauled before the magistrate, they would come out on top. Facing a bladesman, they held one single mindset: if I die, it's just my bad luck, but you can forget about an easy life—the government will put a price on your head, and the gang will post a bounty for your life. And if you don't dare kill me… Heh heh, today becomes the day I make my name! To survive between the light and the dark, how could they lack such tricks? Faced with this reckless degenerate, Li Yan could not be bothered to waste words. With a cold chuckle, he applied pressure to his wrist, sinking the blade edge straight into flesh. Blood gushed from Meng Haicheng's neck, instantly soaking half his torso red. "Wait, wait, don't!" Meng Haicheng's face went deathly pale from pure terror. His scalp went numb, and he screamed at the top of his lungs, "Don't come any closer! This guy is a madman—are you trying to get me killed?!" Hearing him, the Iron Saber Gang members outside halted, but their gazes toward Meng Haicheng turned thick with mockery. This fellow was the gang leader's junior martial brother; if he died, it would be troublesome to explain. Who would have guessed that a man so loud and domineering on normal days would turn out to be such a spineless coward when it counted? Li Yan did not spare a glance for those hoodlums. Their way of operating was entirely different from genuine jianghu men. Though they seemed ferocious, they were merely leaning on the law to constrain martial artists while using their fists to terrorize ordinary folk. Were they out in the barren wilderness beyond the reach of the law, every single one of them would have been slaughtered clean without a second thought. Such a commotion had already alerted those inside the compound. From within the dilapidated mansion, a crowd came pouring out—men and women, old and young, almost all ordinary folk without any martial arts training. There was an ugly girl with tear-streaked cheeks clutching a broom, an elderly musician trembling as he raised a short knife, and even children gripping wooden sticks. Of course, there were plenty of young men as well, their faces flushed with fury. With one glance, Li Yan understood why Troupe Leader Zhou, despite his formidable martial skill, had not dared resist these thugs in the slightest. A shadow puppet troupe generally required vocalists, puppet manipulators, and instrumentalists. Sometimes a vocalist also played an instrument, singing while bowing the strings; together with a dedicated puppet manipulator, as few as two people could form a troupe to perform at temple fairs. Evidently, the Spring Breeze Troupe was an unusually large company. Beyond the performers themselves, they had likely brought along their families and children as well. It was an inevitable outcome. With aggressive land consolidation running rampant over recent years, the people of the Divine Land were deeply attached to their soil; had they not lost their lands, who among them would willingly drag their whole families across the rivers and lakes? "It's fine, it's fine!" Though caught off guard by the rapid turn of events, Troupe Leader Zhou forced himself to maintain his composure and called out, "This is Daoist Wang, whom I went to invite. Go back inside, all of you, and don't add to the chaos!" With that, he looked toward Li Yan, hesitating as if wanting to speak. He felt utterly helpless. He had never expected the savior he brought back to be a bringer of disaster as well—drawing steel over a single disagreement and already nursing an old grudge against the Iron Saber Gang. Once this hothead vented his temper, he could wipe his hands and walk away, holing up in hiding for a while at worst. But the troupe would be left behind to face the Iron Saber Gang's vengeance. At this thought, Troupe Leader Zhou found himself entirely out of moves. Wang Daoxuan's expression softened slightly upon seeing this, and he nodded. "Troupe Leader Zhou, rest assured. One matter at a time—your business, this poor Daoist accepts." Seeing this household of elderly, women, and children, most of his suspicions had dissolved. A family like this looked nothing like wicked sorcerers who flayed human skins to practice sinister crafts. Even so, he still looked toward Li Yan. With his saber held in one hand, Li Yan formed the Yang mudra with the other and took a deep breath. Scents from within a hundred paces rushed into his nasal cavity, after which he sealed them off using the Yin mudra. The scent of the puppet skins inside the trunks came entirely from livestock. Within the troupe, there was not the slightest trace of sinister or foul energy. He gave Wang Daoxuan a nod, then suddenly raised his foot, kicked a stone up from the ground, caught it, and flung it casually over the courtyard wall. The locust stone technique was something almost every wandering fighter in the jianghu knew. Li Yan had herded sheep for a period back home, able to strike a ram's horn with a flick of his wrist to make it rejoin the flock, so he practiced the throw with practiced ease. "Aargh, you bastard!" The moment the stone cleared the wall, a shriek of pain erupted from behind it. One of the thugs had indeed been trying to scale the rear wall to snatch a member of the troupe to trade for Meng Haicheng, only to be caught by Li Yan. Li Yan chuckled coldly, patted Meng Haicheng's cheek with the saber's hilt, and said placidly, "This matter—do you want to settle it today, or settle it in a few days?" Meng Haicheng gritted his teeth. "What does settling it today mean?" "Simple!" Li Yan raised a brow. "First I butcher you, then I wipe out the rest of those bastards outside, take the court's bounty on my head, and go lie low somewhere else." Meng Haicheng swallowed hard. "And settling it in a few days?" Li Yan lifted his eyes. "Then we do it by the rules of the martial circles. Once this job is done, I step up, you bring whoever you want, and we fight to the death on the dueling ring!" Trapped in this corner, Meng Haicheng had no other choice, yet he still spat a parting threat: "Fine! Just make sure you don't run!" Li Yan scoffed. "Li Hu's son running away on Zhou the Monkey's turf? You might love that, but your young master doesn't!" With that, he kicked Meng Haicheng right through the gate. Meng Haicheng possessed martial training after all; though he stumbled through the doorway, he quickly caught his footing. Turning back, he bellowed, "Little bastard, in three days, I'll be collecting your corpse!" "Let's go!" With a wave of his arm, he turned and led his men away. Only after they were gone did Li Yan turn around. "Uncle Sha, go spread the word. Say Li Hu's son has arrived! When the time comes, they won't be able to back out of the ring even if they want to!" "Understood!" Sha Lifei caught on at once and rushed out in high spirits. Only after Li Yan finished handling the matter did Wang Daoxuan nod and turn to Troupe Leader Zhou. "The rain should stop tomorrow. Troupe Leader Zhou, prepare the items as quickly as you can." "Tomorrow night, we head to the mass graves!"