The young man stood absent-mindedly, remembering the body previous owner’s whole life. He was also called Pei Ziyun , but compared to that waste he could be considered a legend.
After quarreling with his family at 17 years old, he left to Shenzhen with ten thousand yuan, he ate from lunch boxes and slept in bas.e.m.e.nts. One year later, he had earned five hundred thousand with self-taught methods, but then lost all of it when the market went down.
He went back home for a year, then relied on his silver tongue to borrow 50 thousand from newly made friends. He entered the stock market once again, and even in the bearish market he managed to earn 3 millions in 3 years, turning a 3000% profit.
Afterwards, he received threats because of his brilliant results and was forced into becoming a government trader in the system, laundering corruption money. He was full of resentment, dealing with tangled interests that needn’t be said here, until that car hit him and sent him flying.
For a long while, the young man’s sight fell on the mission, and suddenly information came flowing out.
"I already died, but the body’s original used some unknown method to drag me to this world. And this inborn plum blossom spiritual treasure became the system, according to my memories?"
In the bamboo forest, the young man opened his eyes after digesting the memories and emotions.
"If I fail this mission then I’ll lose this plum blossom?"
"Well this doesn’t matter, but the timing isn’t right, this body’s previous owner is really a fool!"
"Only three bandits are enough to scare this village with 50 able men into submission and pay out money and women. This body belongs to a weak scholar, what do you want me to do in this situation?"
"Idiot!"
"Although this world has dao laws, but the official laws are still like iron, who dares to face them head on?"
"Moreover since Great Xu was established, the center of gravity lied in the core regions, hence why they still haven’t cleaned out the bandits from far away areas yet, but it’ll happen sooner or later - the Black Wind Bandits won’t be able to hide their bunny tail."
"The original was a studious scholar preparing for examinations and a minister in waiting. You just need to understand this point and you would still have ways to save the situation, even if your hand lacks the strength to truss a chicken. Now I’m being forced in a corner, he’s really an idiot!"
"3 days earlier I could have borrowed the authorities and easily solved this crisis, now I can only risk my life."
Although he wasn’t an army general, as a trader he was still well versed in b.l.o.o.d.y battles. What he least lacked was the decisiveness to strike and kill. The young man methodically arranged his clothes, took the machete knife and hacked across, cutting down a stalk of green bamboo.
Not far away, the young girl was still hiding inside the house and desperately trying to gain a lifeline. She forced down her fear and faced the men outside, showing her most pitiful appearance. She didn’t want to become the whatever eating delicious meals and drinking spicy bandit wife, and said beseechingly: "Uncles and aunties, I beg you to let me go, I’m going to die if I go there – "
"Pu Pu"
The young girl’s begging voice carried through the bamboo forest, but when the young man heard he only chopped his machete down a few times and kept sharpening a bamboo spear, muttering to himself: "The villagers won’t be trusting enough to trade with the bandits in the dead of the night, they will wait until dawn to pay out the goods and women!"
"Right now I still have some time!"
The young man’s heart quieted down as he grabbed a spear in one hand and machete in the other, making a beeline out of the village.
The village had mud walls, but that could only scare the bandits. As an insider he naturally knew many holes and climbing out was an easy task for him.
When Pei Ziyun crawled out from the mud walls, his body was covered in dirt and earth, and so was his face. When Pei Ziyun pa.s.sed by a pond outside, he saw his own appearance under the bright moonlight reflected on the lake’s surface. What he saw didn’t shock him but made him happy instead; apart from people he was intimate who would recognize him with the mud pasted on his face as camouflage?
When he was coming out he had heard several shouting voices. The Black Wind bandits were standing at the village’s entrance, and not only were they unafraid of being surrounded by several dozen villagers, they even forced them to take out some chickens and were making a barbecue fire in the night.
The village wasn’t big and right now the moon was hanging in the west, creating gloomy shadows under the northern, eastern and southern walls. It would just do as cover. Pei Ziyun ran towards the village entrance, spear and machete in hand.
At the village entrance, the Black Wind Bandits were busy turning their chickens over the fire. The chickens weren’t big and had already been plucked bald, their stomach and intestines pulled and casually tossed off. The bandits had made a few cuts on the chickens and sprinkled salt and pepper on them, cooking them over the fire. The grease made sizzling "Zi Zi" sounds as it dripped on the fire.
At that moment, Zhang Dashan was holding his wooden stick hatedly on the mud wall. He had shaved a few layers from the sharp stick but it wasn’t enough to quell his frustration, just watching those wretched bandits roast the mountain chicken was enough to fill his heart with fear and anger.
Those were the old hens his family had raised and they were used to lay eggs. In the end those bandits clamored they wanted to eat chicken, and someone took them right away, tying their feet and throwing them out.
Zhang Dashan was full of hatred and vented his anger on the wooden stick, shaving off layer after layer as he cursed: "Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!"
Pei Ziyun approached the village entrance and had already seen the three Black Wind bandits. At the first sight of them, the memories of his body’s previous life stirred.
The middle-aged bandit was right in the middle, the other two bandits around him seemed to be both faintly deferring to him. His face was thin and elongated, his body wrapped in black clothes, and he was laughing right now while his eyes still emitted cold light. This man was the Black Wind bandit’s third master and back then he was the one who s.n.a.t.c.hed Ye Su’er away, creating the mistake and regets from the previous life.
Watching those gangsters sitting around the fire, Pei Ziyun touched his bamboo spear and subdued his hand. This wasn’t the time to act yet; he crouched motionless, lurking in the darkness.
One chicken was already done cooking, carrying grilled a yellow color unique to barbecues, the oil shining and sizzling. The mountain bandit who was grilling this chicken took it and tore off a small piece, putting it in his mouth and judging the taste.
He discovered the taste was very good, this village raised its chicken pretty fat, and they still carried the chicken’s perennial fragrance. Really delicious. He didn’t dare taste too much of it and quickly offered it to the middle-aged man.
The latter took the chicken and smelled it. Feeling that just the scent was enough to make his mouth water, he tore a small piece and threw it in his mouth to taste. The meat diffused its aroma in his mouth and greatly raised his appet.i.te.
He cruelly tore the chicken with his two hands and took a big chunk of chicken leg, chewing in big mouthfuls. After a few mouthfuls he felt something lacking and grabbed a wine bag from his bosom, raised the bag and lifted his head, fiercely drinking a mouthful while shouting: "That’s the life!"
Pei Ziyun was crouched under the trees, in this season the foliage was dense. Above were tall trees and on the ground were dense shrubs, he hid in the trees’ shadow and was preparing for a.s.sa.s.sination, but the distance was too far away. Waiting for an opportunity, Pei Ziyun clenched his knife and spear then loosened his hands, loosened then clenched again, sweating coldly.
The body’s original owner had only discovered the plum blossom treasure five years later, enabling him to enter a sect and cultivate. Though he had martial techniques and dao laws, he hadn’t cultivated them himself. And although those mountain bandits were ignorant, having no way to learn dao methods or martial techniques, and could naturally be killed with a single stab of the bamboo spear - but he too was also an ordinary person.
Those Black Wind bandits were hunched together around the fire and Pei Ziyun had no way but to quiet the killing urge in his heart. One person could be killed, against two persons he would be helpless, facing three he could only flee for his life.
Unable to overwhelm them with strength, he could only outwit them with ruse. Pei Ziyun had no choice but to recall everything in his memories about the bandits, when suddenly something from back then emerged in his mind, suddenly shining light in his heart. A plan was forming.
In the previous life, he was weak and incompetent and had no power to fight against the village’s choice. He had followed them from far behind and had witnessed the last expression on Ye Su’er face when she had been delivered.
When the village chief and his men had escorted her to the village’s entrance, the Black Wind bandits had come from a temple not far away.
He could still remember that temple and its side houses, one person could sleep in them. Although those Black Wind bandits had made a fire at the village’s entrance, eating chicken and showing off, they still had needed to rest the night away in the temple.
Pei Ziyun smiled coldly; now he had a plan. Even the Heavens had sealed those bandits’ fate. He first took a look back and quickly receded, no reluctant to part with this place any longer.
When the three Black Wind bandits were gorging themselves with chicken, their leader suddenly felt alarm in his heart and abruptly turned to look towards the woods Pei Ziyun had been hiding in. He took his saber in hand and stood up, walking there.
"Third master, what’s wrong?" One bandit was still gnawing on chicken claws when he saw his third master going towards the tree and had no choice but follow.
The trees in front of them were all tall, maybe 3 to 4 meters tall, and they blocked the sight of the moon in the sky, casting large shadows on the ground. As that mountain bandit looked there he couldn’t see anything except shrubs and the shadows.
That middle-aged third master also felt puzzled, just earlier it had seemed like someone was spying on them, but now that he’s carefully observing he couldn’t see anything. Thinking about it, his heart felt uneasy, and without saying a word he walked towards the bushes, subconsciously lowering the noises he made and quieting his footsteps.
When he came near the middle-aged bandit still couldn’t see anything, but he didn’t relax in the least, but instead clenched his saber harder. As someone who could survive even after a dozen years as an outlaw he naturally had his own experience. When he came even nearer something suddenly moved in the bushes.
"There’s someone who wants to attack us?" The middle-aged man’s eyes became cold and chopped his saber down. Puff, his weapon found a target and blood flew out, sprinkling on this Black Wind bandit’s, face, making him look very savage.
The blade in his hand fully reeked of blood. He parted the bushes and exposed the appearance of the thing lying there, but he only saw a wild dog twitching on the ground with almost half its body cut off.
"Heh, worthy of the third master, that saber skill is top-notch, one blade one life, splitting a big half from the neck to the body. Tonight we can have another full meal."
The bandit who’d been following him winked and flattered him, then weighed the dog’s corpse in his with a smile. He threw it near the fire and started skinning. "Dog meat can’t be slashed like chicken, let’s pour salt and wait until we’re at the temple to take care of it."
It was a bit beyond the middle-aged man’s expectations, he had thought there was someone hiding and didn’t imagine it could be a big wild dog. But it was a good surprise anyway, he sheathed his blade back in its scabbard and wiped the blood off from his face. He drank two mouthful of alcohol and looked at the moon in the sky; tonight’s moon was really full and round.
Pei Ziyun watched in the distance and couldn’t help but sweat cold sweats. This Black Wind bandit was worthy of being called an intrepid bandit, although there wasn’t much to be said about his martial abilities, but he used simple and direct methods learned from fighting with his life on the line.
Fortunately he hadn’t directly charged in. Pei Ziyun composed himself and looked at the temple as he arrived there.
This was a land deity temple, it was surrounded by walls but they hadn’t been repaired in years and had big holes in them. It was really a good place to kill people. He observed the terrain and made a few nooses, but suddenly heard footsteps and hurriedly stopped. He cupped his hands to his ears and listened carefully.
From outside the temple came the voices of the bandits, Pei Ziyun turned away with some regret and hid himself in the darkness, his body vanishing from sight.