20: How blind! Even the imperial officials dare to rob!

Bandits?

Lu Xuan still remembered what the city gate guards said when he left the county town.

He didn't expect to actually encounter them.

However, Lu Xuan was a bit speechless. If he were still alone, it would make sense for these bandits to block the road and rob him.

Why did these bandits and vagrants give him the feeling of being a greenhorn? Didn't they see that they had a numerical advantage?

How dare they?

"Kill them!"

The lead escort at the front of the caravan, holding a large saber, leaped directly from his horse.

There was nothing to say about bandits. They had killed countless bandits during their many years of escorting goods.

Bandits, brigands, and notorious outlaws—these people were all villains with the blood of common folk on their hands, executioners who killed without batting an eye.

Even the Great Xia Dynasty had posted notices, demanding that local authorities immediately dispatch troops to encircle and annihilate bandits and brigands upon discovery, showing no mercy.

"Damn it, you bunch of bandits, I think you have a death wish! How dare you provoke even me!"

Liang Cheng, at the back of the caravan, also made his move, unhesitatingly cleaving with his saber, directly slitting the throat of a bandit who approached him.

Are you serious, guys?!

Are you bandits stupid or blind?!

Is there no justice left? I'm a Yamen Runner of the Great Xia Dynasty! They even dared to rob him. These bandits are truly lawless.

Originally, the matter of suppressing bandits had little to do with him, a Yamen Runner from the county yamen; that was the concern of the county town's soldiers.

But the bandits' actions made Liang Cheng laugh in extreme anger.

His full strength at the Flesh Refinement Realm was unleashed without reservation at this moment.

It wasn't long before, under the full assault of Liang Cheng and the caravan's escorts, the bandits suffered heavy casualties.

Especially the lead escort at the front, a Bone Refinement Realm expert; more than half of the bandits died by his sword.

"Damn it, we ran into a tough opponent!"

The big man at the very back of the bandits cursed under his breath, his eyes filled with fear.

This was none other than Brother Hu, the leader of this group of bandits. He was not feeling well either, with a clear bloody mark on his abdomen, and a trace of blood oozing from the wound.

If he hadn't run fast, he would have had his belly pierced by the opposing lead escort's sword.

Bone Refinement Realm!

The other side actually had a Bone Refinement Realm expert! In the small Qingyun County, Bone Refinement Realm experts were few and far between, and he actually ran into one!

Damn it, he capsized in a ditch. Brother Hu's Battle Intent was completely gone. He, a Martial Artist of the Flesh Refinement Realm, was simply no match for a Bone Refinement Realm opponent.

If the opponent had been alone, he might have been able to kill him by virtue of their numerical superiority, but now the opponent's numbers were no less than theirs.

Run!

These people were simply no match for the other side. If they didn't run, they would only be waiting for death.

Brother Hu had only this one thought in his mind, which was also why he had survived so many official encirclements.

However, before Brother Hu could prepare to flee, several bandits in front began to retreat, looking as if they were about to escape.

Brother Hu immediately became furious, his eyes revealing a fierce glint as he looked at the men trying to run past him.

"Damn it, you useless cowards dare to run? All of you, attack!"

These bastards, I haven't even run yet, and you're already trying to flee.

Brother Hu stretched out his large hands and grabbed two men who were close to him.

Then he threw them forward with force, immediately followed by a kick, sending another man flying as well.

These actions were as smooth as flowing water, completed within a few breaths.

After finishing these actions, Brother Hu ran off without looking back.

The remaining dozen or so bandits, seeing their boss flee, also threw away their weapons and scattered in all directions.

A few bandits who didn't have time to run tried to beg for mercy and surrender, but were mercilessly killed by the caravan's escorts.

Because from the moment they saw the bandits, it meant it was either you die or I live; there was never any talk of surrender.

After dealing with the last bandit who begged for mercy, the lead escort silently glanced ahead, where a fleeing figure could be seen.

The lead escort did not pursue Brother Hu's escape, nor did anyone else.

As the saying goes, do not pursue a cornered foe, a principle everyone present understood.

Who knew if there would be a trap or other bandit remnants ambushing them if they pursued?

"Captain Liang, I shall take my leave first. When I return to the county town, I will certainly pay you a visit to thank you for your assistance."

Seeing that all the bandits had been dealt with, the lead escort walked up to Liang Cheng and said politely.

"Not at all, not at all, Senior Liu, you are too kind. Eliminating these lawless bandits is what we should do."

Liang Cheng clearly recognized the identity of the lead escort and did not dare to presume, quickly returning the courtesy.

The other party was a Bone Refinement Realm expert, a well-known Martial Artist in the county town. His politeness towards him was only out of respect for his position as captain and his father's Face.

After the lead escort finished speaking, he shouted to the caravan escorts: "Bring along the dead and injured comrades! Let's go!"

Swords and blades have no eyes; casualties were inevitable during the fierce struggle with the bandits.

Even Liang Cheng and several Yamen Runners around him were injured, blood soaking their clothes.

One Yamen Runner almost died by a bandit's saber, but was ultimately saved from within Lu Xuan's carriage.

A fruit pit, as fast as a bullet, shot out, instantly piercing the bandit's chest and saving the Yamen Runner.

The escort caravan in front was clearly traveling several times faster than before.

In no time, they had left Lu Xuan and his group far behind.

Evidently, these people were worried about another ambush or attack from those bandits.

"Chief, what should we do with these bodies?"

A Yamen Runner's Face showed an expression of surviving a disaster, his voice trembling slightly, seemingly still unable to break free from the scene of the recent life-and-death struggle.

The main reason was that they never expected that as Yamen Runners of the county yamen, they would one day engage in a life-and-death struggle with these vicious bandits outside the county town.

Liang Cheng glanced at the scattered bodies on the ground, waved his hand, and said in a calm tone.

"Don't worry about them; something will naturally clean up these bodies."

"All of you, prepare yourselves! We're returning to the county town immediately to report to the County Magistrate."

"Yes, Chief!"

The official road was surrounded by mountains on all sides, and the wilderness and deep mountains were filled with countless jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards, as well as some mutated fierce wild beasts.

After nightfall, these fierce wild beasts would smell the strong scent of blood here.

To put it bluntly, the bodies here wouldn't even be enough to fill their teeth.

Under Liang Cheng's command, several Yamen Runners threw the obstructing bodies to the side, then continued on their way to Qingyun County as if nothing had happened.

On the other side, the remaining five or six bandits followed closely behind a big man, who was none other than Brother Hu, who had just escaped.