Three burly, powerfully built figures masked in black cloth walked inside.
Then, the trio pulled off their masks.
They appeared to be arguing about something, and in the next moment, a bundle dropped to the ground.
Clatter!
A pile of silver ingots rolled out of the bundle, accompanied by various pieces of jewelry.
Lu Changsheng's eyes went wide.
Evidently, he had deduced their identities.
They were certainly not men of righteous standing—almost certainly bandits or thieves.
And this gold, silver, and jewelry was almost certainly stolen loot.
Seeing the treasure spill from the bundle, two of them exchanged a glance before drawing their broadswords.
Squelch!
One of the men collapsed into a pool of blood; the other two had joined forces to slaughter their comrade.
Picking up the bundle from the ground, one sneered, "Hmph. Liu San, you brought this on yourself. Don't blame us—you were simply too greedy."
"Big Brother, why waste words on him? With Liu San out of the way, there's even more gold and silver for the two of us."
Greed gleamed in both of their eyes.
With so much treasure, they planned to lay low for a while after this.
The two strode further in, preparing to stash the bundle away.
Suddenly, one of them twitched his nose, catching a faint scent.
"Who's there? Come out!"
The man's gaze swept across the surroundings, finally locking onto a corner.
*Have I been found out?*
Lu Changsheng's heart jolted. Yet in such cramped quarters, now that he was spotted, staying hidden was impossible.
And so, Lu Changsheng stepped straight out. Looking directly at them, he spoke in a calm voice. "I'm an herb gatherer. I came into the mountains to pick herbs."
He still carried the woven basket on his back.
The two bandits looked; indeed, there were medicinal herbs inside.
"Whatever your business is, it has nothing to do with me."
"Just pretend I was never here, and I never saw you either. How about it?" Lu Changsheng proposed steadily.
The two exchanged a glance, tightened their grips on their blades, and sneered. "Blame your bad luck for stumbling into our hiding cave—and seeing our faces to boot."
Broadswords in hand, the two closed in.
"Wait! I didn't come into the mountains alone. I have companions!"
"Right now, my companions must be scouring the area for me. If you kill me, you'll be in serious trouble."
Lu Changsheng backed away step by step.
"You have companions? Looks like we can't stay here after all. Once we kill you, we're heading straight down the mountain!"
A savage glint flashed in their eyes as they continued advancing with raised blades.
One step, two steps, three steps...
Lu Changsheng was already backed against the rock wall, with nowhere left to retreat.
*I only have one chance.*
*It has to be one strike, one kill!*
Lu Changsheng's gaze grew resolute.
He was acutely aware that his body had not yet finished growing, and in every physical attribute, he fell short against these two hardened bandits.
Even though he had practiced martial arts, his qi and blood had only just begun to grow—what did that amount to?
Any other apprentice facing these two ruthless men would undoubtedly meet their doom.
Yet Lu Changsheng still had a slim ray of hope.
Because he had mastered the Tiger Pounce Hand to large accomplishment!
The Tiger Pounce Hand mimicked a ferocious tiger lunging at its prey, emphasizing a single fatal strike.
As long as he could dispatch one bandit first, he would have a fighting chance against the remaining one.
Lu Changsheng crouched slightly, holding completely still.
He was gathering his strength, just like a true predator watching its quarry.
Once a weakness was laid bare, the tiger would strike to kill in a single blow.
The two bandits clearly paid no heed to a teenage boy.
Taking two strides in the space of three, one bandit charged straight at him.
The instant the man raised his broadsword, a sharp light glinted in Lu Changsheng's eyes.
*Now!*
With knees bent and body low like a genuine ferocious tiger, Lu Changsheng kicked off with all his might.
Whoosh!
His pounce was swift as lightning, charged with tremendous momentum.
For a split second, the bandit felt as though he were facing not a mere boy, but a wild beast.
Moving with such explosive speed, Lu Changsheng crashed into the bandit before the man could even react, slamming him straight to the ground.
Thud!
Having tackled the man down, Lu Changsheng grabbed the rock he had earlier broken off the cave wall and smashed it ruthlessly against the bandit's head.
Once, twice, three times...
In just a few strikes, the bandit's head was reduced to a mangled mess of blood and flesh, his breathing entirely gone.
"Ah..."
Only then did the other bandit snap out of his stupor, his eyes bulging and crimson with rage.
"Second Brother..."
The bandit swung his broadsword down toward Lu Changsheng.
Rolling across the ground, Lu Changsheng evaded the slash, instantly coiled into the tiger pounce posture once more, and launched himself violently at the remaining man.
This lunge bowled the second bandit to the ground as well.
Using the same brutal method, Lu Changsheng raised the rock and hammered it down against the man's head.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
After several fierce strikes, the bandit's head was smashed to a pulp, and he lay limp on the ground, completely still.
*Tiger Pounce Hand reaches perfection. Comprehension +2.*
A line of small characters floated before Lu Changsheng's eyes.
*What? The Tiger Pounce Hand reached perfection?*
Lu Changsheng's spirits soared.
Ever since he had grasped the intent of the ferocious tiger, his practice of the Tiger Pounce Hand had proceeded without hindrance, progressing at a rapid pace.
He had never expected that after using the Tiger Pounce Hand to kill two bandits in a life-or-death struggle, it would reach perfection outright.
However, he was utterly exhausted, with no energy left to inspect his attribute panel.
"Phew..."
Lu Changsheng collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
Those two clashes just now had thoroughly drained his physical strength.
Looking back on the fight, the two bandits had been robust and muscular, yet they seemingly knew no true martial arts, which was why they had failed to best a youth like him.
And Lu Changsheng had only just begun his martial training.
Given more time to cultivate and build stronger qi and blood, foes like these would pose no threat to him whatsoever.
After resting for a while and feeling some strength return, he immediately inventoried the contents of the bandits' bundle.
By rough estimate, the gold, silver, and jewelry were worth around five hundred taels.
Searching the three corpses, he uncovered several banknotes amounting to roughly three hundred taels.
Altogether, it totaled more than eight hundred taels.
What did eight hundred-odd taels signify?
In Nanyang City, a two-courtyard residence cost a mere thirty to fifty taels of silver.
This sum of more than eight hundred taels was undeniably an immense fortune.
No wonder the two bandits had said that once they divided the silver, they could retire for a few years.
*I need to rejoin the apprentices. I can't carry silver on me—not even the banknotes. If someone searches me, it'll cause trouble.*
Lu Changsheng was thoroughly cautious.
Glancing at the three bodies, he dragged them out into the valley and gave them a hasty burial.
Then he cleaned the cave thoroughly to ensure no lingering smell of blood would draw wild beasts.
Next, he processed and stored the herbs he had gathered, leaving them hidden inside the cave for the time being.
In his woven basket, he kept only a portion of the herbs—just enough to ensure he would not be penalized.
With all this settled, Lu Changsheng departed the valley, leaving subtle markers along the path to ensure he could find his way back on his next trip into the mountains.
Around midday, Lu Changsheng finally regrouped with the rest of the apprentices from Miaoshou Garden.
"Lu Changsheng, how did you do today?" an apprentice asked, looking at Lu Changsheng covered in dust and drenched in sweat.
In truth, the youth merely wanted to boast, for his own basket was brimful of herbs.
Lu Changsheng shook his head, feigning disappointment. "My luck was only so-so today; I only managed to find this much. Never mind, I'd better hurry and try to gather a few more."
He hurried off into the mountain brush once more.
Yet in truth, with that windfall in hand, Lu Changsheng did not care in the slightest about Miaoshou Garden's meager reward.
Everything he did now was merely putting on an act.
Before long, dusk fell over the mountains.
Miaoshou Garden gathered the apprentices once again.
One unlucky apprentice had accidentally slipped off a cliff while picking herbs and fallen to his death; not even his body could be recovered.
Three other apprentices had stepped into hunters' traps left in the hills and sustained injuries.
The rest returned safe and sound.
Among them, an apprentice named Ruan Jin had achieved a bountiful haul, ranking first in both quantity and quality of herbs collected.
For his efforts, Ruan Jin was publicly rewarded five taels of silver by Miaoshou Garden.
This was considered a handsome reward, drawing envious glances from many apprentices.
However, this gathering trip had concluded, and no one knew when the next would take place.
Some rejoiced while others worried.
Soon, the apprentices promptly departed Wuniu Mountain.
Chapter 5