Chương 94: Clashing with the Black Iron Stronghold

Eagle's Sorrow Ravine. Considering the weight of the two secret manuals in his hands, Song Que decided to save the man first. As for the risk of exposing himself, he would have to plan carefully later. Furthermore, given the shocking extent of Young Master Chen's injuries, it wasn't guaranteed he could even save him! Placing his hand on the man's abdomen, Song Que began channeling energy into him.

Inside the body, particularly behind the palm print on his back, there lingered a foreign energy constantly spreading and wreaking havoc through the meridians! Grandee Song had to expend considerable effort to finally expel it. What miraculous True Qi! Having faintly guessed the identity of the perpetrator, Song Que couldn't help but marvel at the wondrous nature of martial arts! A burst of ownerless True Qi could actually act like maggots in a corpse, relentlessly taking root and destroying another's body!

This only intensified his longing and anticipation for his future martial path! After neutralizing the hidden threat for Chen Zihao, Song Que channeled a bit more healing energy into him and then ignored him. Covering him tightly with a cloth and a layer of medicinal herbs, the two spurred their horses and continued their journey. Whether this Young Master Chen could hold onto his last breath until they returned home would depend entirely on his own fate....

Venturing deeper into Eagle's Sorrow Ravine, Song Que quickly followed Yun Xi's instructions. He pulled a flag from his bag and hoisted it at the front of the carriage. The flag bore the image of a nine-story pagoda, alongside the words 'Sea of Clouds Pavilion'—it was clearly the banner of the Yun Family Merchant Guild! The Yun Family had long since negotiated with the bandits here; flying this flag guaranteed a safe and unimpeded passage.

"Halt!" Not far into the ravine, a group of people blocked the road ahead. Having traveled this route once before, Song Que clearly remembered this was the territory of the Rooster Stronghold! Raising a hand to stop Xiong Ba from charging forward, he cupped his hands from afar and called out to the men:"We are from the Yun Family Merchant Guild! Greetings, brothers of the Rooster Stronghold!"

"Isn't it too early for your Yun Family's scheduled delivery? Why are you passing through today?" The other party didn't make any aggressive moves; they just asked as a matter of routine. Song Que slowly rode forward, stopping about ten meters from them. He pulled the token from his robes, tossed it over for inspection, and smiled:"It's because the Qinghe branch suddenly requested more medicinal herbs! This little brother had to hurriedly transport a cart of goods over today."

The token was undoubtedly genuine; they saw it once or twice a month, so the bandits couldn't mistake it. He quickly tossed it back to Song Que, licked his lips, and smiled slyly:"Little brother, why is there only one cart? We brothers have been sitting here all day and haven't even had a grain of rice enter our bellies yet!"

"Haha, don't worry, big brother! Regarding today's toll, our Pavilion Master instructed that it should be doubled! We certainly couldn't let you brothers suffer a loss!" Knowing exactly what the man meant—he was just hinting that their convoy was too small to be worth the usual cut—Song Que readily pulled out twenty taels of silver and tossed it over. Catching the silver, the bandit grinned from ear to ear, happily expressing his thanks. He then turned around and waved his hand.

Immediately, the group hiding on the cliffs above lowered their bows and retreated behind the rocks to rest. Song Que smiled, cupped his hands to the man, and continued on his way. As he rode, he couldn't help but run the numbers. According to the usual toll of ten taels of silver per cart, the Yun Family sent no fewer than fifty carts back and forth through here every month! That alone meant each bandit stronghold pocketed 500 taels!

Furthermore, with other merchant guilds and the 'side business' of robbing passing travelers, these bandits had an incredibly lucrative harvest! If he could control this trade route and widen the road to make it easier for carriages, he could sit back and rake in the gold in the future! The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. But thinking about it, that was still far off. His current strength was nowhere near enough to secure such a lucrative path to wealth....

The next stop was the Forest Lock Stronghold. Protected by the Yun Family banner, Song Que and Xiong Ba passed through peacefully without any trouble. Naturally, no one checked the goods on their cart. After all, both sides had a tacit understanding. Traveling this road was just like passing through a highway toll booth! You pay the toll, you pass safely, and there are absolutely no police standing guard! Very quickly, they arrived at the Black Iron Stronghold!

Once past here, it was only another twenty miles to Qinghe County, and they would be home in no time! If they rode at full gallop, they would probably already be in bed sleeping by this hour! Reaching this place, Song Que suddenly remembered that the Chieftain of the Black Iron Stronghold had spread the word that he wanted revenge against him! But it had been all thunder and no rain; so many days had passed without any action. He guessed this Chieftain probably didn't even know what he looked like!

Following protocol, Song Que was about to pay the toll to the bandit leader and pass through, when the leader suddenly called out suspiciously:"Brother, you look familiar. Have we met before?" Looking at the man's buck teeth and the long scar across his cheek, Song Que thought that with such a 'distinctive' appearance, it would be hard to forget him! Grandee Song replied with absolute certainty:"Big Brother, you must be mistaken. We have never met."

"Is that so? I must have mistaken you for someone else then." The bandit leader patted his head and laughed:"My memory isn't the best. I say you look familiar, but I can't even remember who you look like! Hehe."

"Tall, handsome... this face looks like... like..." Patting his head repeatedly seemed to jog his memory. Suddenly, he felt Song Que looked incredibly familiar—very much like the portrait the Chieftain had shown them! Realizing this, the bandit leader was startled. He pulled a scroll from his robes, unrolled it, took one look, and then his eyes bulged as he shouted:"You are Song Que!" This time it was Grandee Song's turn to be startled!

Before he could reply, the other party turned and ran, simultaneously letting out a bizarre howl:"Song Que! He is Song Que! Brothers, kill him!" In the desolate mountain pass, this shout echoed loudly. The bandits lazing around in the distance instantly perked up! Taking another look at Song Que's face, they excitedly drew their sabers and charged! Oh, f ck me! * They actually recognized this Young Master?! Thinking for a moment, Song Que quickly figured out the reason.

He couldn't help but admire the portrait-drawing technology of this era! Perhaps I'm just too handsome! All they had to do was draw a face and write 'The Most Handsome Man in the World' above it, and there's no way they could mistake me! Cursing internally, Song Que shouted back over his shoulder:"Saber!" Xiong Ba, who had been keeping a close eye on him, swiftly unhooked the Black Iron Saber from 'Wu Yun Da Xue' and tossed it over, simultaneously charging forward himself!

The bandits guarding the road were just a motley crew of no more than ten people! Song Que and Xiong Ba quickly beat the crap out of them, leaving behind several corpses while the rest scrambled away in a panic! Song Que didn't have time to chase them. The men positioned above started firing arrows down, forcing them to swing their sabers to defend themselves! Looking at the archers hidden on the cliffs on both sides, Grandee Song was furious!

"Xiong Ba, fall back!" Returning to his horse, he reached out and grabbed his Silver-Wing Bow. Carefully observing the enemy positions below via 'Lightning', Song Que shouted coldly:"Xiong Ba, lead the carriage and go on ahead! I will clear the path for you!"

"Understood, Young Master!" Completely obedient, Xiong Ba didn't hesitate. Riding Wu Zhui and pulling the carriage, he immediately charged forward! Grandee Song followed slowly behind. Raising his bow and drawing it fully, he continuously fired at the cliffs on both sides! Ordinary bows and arrows might be helpless against bandits hiding high up, but for the Silver-Wing Bow, it was child's play! Completely caught off guard, the bandits quickly tasted bitter suffering! There were over twenty people hiding above.

After one round of Song Que's rapid fire, ten of them had been hit! The remaining ones were terrified out of their wits and hurriedly shrank back to hide! A few stubborn ones tried to stand up and return fire. But before they could even draw their bows, an arrow pierced through their heads or hearts, pinning them straight to the rock wall behind! This terrified the remaining bandits so much they wished they could shrink themselves even smaller! Song Que strolled leisurely like the God of Death.

With 'Lightning' observing from above, whether it was bandits on the cliffs or those scrambling on the ground—as long as there was a clear line of sight, he rewarded them with an arrow! Waiting until Xiong Ba and the carriage were far away and seeing no more bandits poking their heads out, he finally sneered, spurred his horse to catch up, and left behind no fewer than twenty corpses on the ground! A long while later, when the screams of agony had finally ceased, the few surviving bandits dared to peek out.

Witnessing the tragic state of their comrades, a chill ran down their spines!

"We... we should... go... go back... report to the Chieftain!" Stammering to each other, the group abandoned any thought of collecting tolls and frantically ran back to their stronghold! No one had the time to care about the corpses of their comrades!...

"Any problems with the carriage?" After catching up to Xiong Ba and seeing he was fine, Song Que finally asked, relieved.

"No problems, Young Master! A few arrows were fired at me, but I blocked them all!" Everything was perfect. Looking at the small nicks on the blade of Xiong Ba's saber, Grandee Song smiled in satisfaction:"Well done! When we get home, I'll get you a better saber! If we can buy a Black Iron Saber like mine, great! If not, I'll at least get you a heavy saber. This one isn't very useful anymore."

"Hehe, thank you, Young Master!"

"Alright, let's go home! We'll settle the score with these bandits next time!" The grudge-holding Grandee Song deeply engraved the bandits of the Black Iron Stronghold and their Chieftain into his ledger of grudges! Xiong Ba also nodded in agreement with a fierce expression. Today's matter would definitely not be forgiven!