MLMD -Chapter 113 Ambushed

Seeing Bai Kai looking around nervously, a young guard walking behind him laughed and said, “Hey, Xiao Bai, what’s wrong? Eat something bad last night and looking for a latrine?”

“Bah, you’re the one who ate something bad,” Bai Kai replied without turning his head. “Xiao Li, don’t you feel that this place is creepy? I don’t know why, but I’ve got a bad feeling in my gut.”

Hearing this, a middle-aged man in his thirties nearby chuckled. “If you ask me, this kid from the Bai family is just missing a woman!”

“Hahaha…”
Laughter rippled through the group. On a long, tedious journey like this, joking around helped ease fatigue and relieve tension, so everyone enjoyed teasing Bai Kai and the other youngest members of the team.

While they were joking with one another, several hundred paces away, a group of men crouched silently in the grass. Leading them was a bald man dressed in short black clothes. He was not very old—only in his early twenties—but a deep knife scar ran from his left cheek up to the corner of his eye. His triangular eyes constantly gleamed with a vicious light, enough to make anyone shudder at first glance.

This scar-faced man was known for his ferocity and love of fighting. He had even given himself a resounding nickname—Leopard Head. The nickname was so well known that most people had long forgotten his real name. At this moment, Leopard Head watched the approaching group quietly, a savage grin creeping onto his lips.

Just then, a rat-faced fellow carrying a crude saber walked over and whispered into Leopard Head’s ear, “Brother Bao, the targets are almost here. Should we rush out and kill them now?”

“Wait a bit,” Leopard Head replied. “Did you see that? Those people all have long sabers at their waists, and some even have crossbows. They’re tough ones.”

Leopard Head wasn’t merely reckless—he was surprisingly cautious. Seeing the armed guards ahead, hesitation flickered in his eyes.

“Brother Bao, you’re being too careful,” the man said dismissively. “They only have a few blades. Even official troops don’t have many bows and crossbows—how could these people have them? I say it’s just for show.”

“You’ve got a point,” Leopard Head muttered.

The muscles on his face twitched as his hoarse voice sounded again. “No rush. Let them get closer. Lord Lin said it clearly—anyone who dares stick their claws into Lüzi Pass is our enemy. As for those who dare steal our food, there’s only one word for them—kill. Lai Zi, keep your eyes open later. Don’t let a single one escape.”

As he spoke, his facial muscles twisted constantly, making him look even more ferocious.

“Got it!” Lai Zi nodded, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes.

“Ah—choo!”

At that very moment, a sudden sound rang out behind them. With the weather turning cold, one of the men had caught a chill and let out a loud sneeze.

“Damn it! Which bastard made that noise?!”
Leopard Head spun around at once, his eyes blazing with rage and killing intent. He nearly drew his blade to cut the sneezing man down on the spot—but he restrained himself.

The reason was simple: the people ahead had already turned to look toward their hiding place, and some were even drawing their weapons. Leopard Head knew their position had been exposed.

He sprang to his feet, drew his saber, and shouted, “Brothers, charge! Hack these bastards to death for trying to steal our food! Kill!”

“Kill!”

With Leopard Head’s roar, more than two hundred men rose from the grass and rushed toward the group of just over a hundred.

As the bandits charged, chaos immediately erupted among Bai Kai’s group. A man in his thirties drew his saber and shouted, “Brothers, bandits! All the prospecting masters, fall back! All men with weapons, follow me! Kill one and you break even—kill two and you profit! Charge!”

These guards were hired hands, paid to do a job, but none of them ran. They knew all too well that if they turned and fled in these desolate mountains, their only fate would be to be cut down from behind. Better to turn and fight.

What’s more, they believed that even if they died, Lord Yue would not mistreat their families. Yue Yang’s reputation for righteousness was well known.

Bai Kai also drew his saber and charged forward with the group—but the leader grabbed him.

“Xiao Bai! You know this area best,” the man barked. “Run back and tell Lord Yue what happened. Let him avenge us! Go, now!”

“Uncle Song… I—” Bai Kai cried anxiously, but he was cut off.

“Go! If you die too, there’ll be no one left to deliver the message! Run!”

Gritting his teeth amid Uncle Song’s hoarse shouts, Bai Kai threw off his pack and sprinted madly back the way they had come. When he looked back one last time, he saw that charging at the front of the enemy was a burly, bald man.

Watching Bai Kai disappear, Uncle Song let out a long breath and then rushed forward as well…

Two quarters of an hour later, the hilly ground was carpeted with corpses. A small portion wore assorted clothing; the majority were dressed in green.

Leopard Head walked among the bodies. Whenever he saw someone in green who was still breathing, he cut them down without hesitation. Before long, not a single living soul remained.

Leopard Head’s expression was ugly, filled with anger and shock. He had never expected these people to be so fierce. Worse still, the weapons they carried were no joke—every blade was forged from fine steel, and there were more than ten crossbows. In the first exchange alone, seven or eight of his men had fallen to those crossbows. If not for their superior numbers, the outcome might have been uncertain.

“Brother Bao, we’ve struck it rich!” Lai Zi ran over, holding a crossbow in one hand and a steel saber in the other, grinning as he showed them off. “Look at this, Brother Bao—top-grade stuff! These sabers are all fine steel, and these crossbows… I’ve heard only elite border troops carry gear like this!”

“Put it aside,” Leopard Head said curtly.

“What’s wrong, Brother Bao?”

“Lai Zi,” Leopard Head said gravely, “don’t you find their background suspicious?”

He took the steel saber, weighed it in his hand, then swung it hard at a small tree as thick as a bowl. With a light swish, the tree was cut clean in half, the surface smooth as a mirror.

Leopard Head’s face darkened further. “Tell me—do you really think a bunch of starving wretches could afford weapons like this?”

“Uh…” Lai Zi scratched his head, doubt flickering in his triangular eyes. But he soon relaxed and laughed. “Brother Bao, you’re overthinking it. Even if they were soldiers, so what? We’ve seen plenty of troops over the years. What can they do to us? If soldiers come, all the better—they’ll just bring us more weapons, just like this lot. It’s just that this time, we lost a bit too many men.”

As he spoke, Lai Zi ground his teeth and stomped hard on a corpse beside him.

—

As for Bai Kai, the one who escaped—being a local familiar with the terrain, he took shortcuts the whole way. After walking day and night without rest, he finally saw the gates of Yingzhou City on the afternoon of the second day. At that point, he could no longer hold on and collapsed.

Before losing consciousness, he vaguely saw several gate guards running toward him.

Crash!

The sound of something shattering rang out in Yue Yang’s study.

“So… what a dangerous Lüzi Pass,” Yue Yang said through clenched teeth. “It seems I’ve been far too soft-hearted.”

His face was iron-blue. Tea lay spilled across the floor, shards of porcelain scattered everywhere. Standing before him in full armor, Hu Laosan didn’t dare even breathe loudly.

After Bai Kai collapsed, the gate guards noticed the saber at his waist and the torn clothing covering his body, so they summoned a physician. Several hours later, Bai Kai woke up and immediately reported everything to Yue Yang.

After venting his fury, Yue Yang said coldly, “Hu Laosan, what do you think of this?”

Hu Laosan replied quickly, “My lord, according to the messenger, they were ambushed in a valley at Lüzi Pass. The leader was a burly, bald man. From what I know, there is indeed a notorious strongman in that area who matches this description.”

“Who is he?” Yue Yang asked, each word squeezed out through his teeth.

“His… his nickname is Leopard Head. He’s a ruthless brute in the Lüzi Pass region, known for leaving no survivors in a fight. That’s why everyone there fears him.” After a pause, Hu Laosan added, “Also, I’ve heard that Leopard Head pledged himself to the Lin family last year, and that they value him greatly.”

“The Lin family? Lin Yuanteng’s family?” Yue Yang’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“Yes,” Hu Laosan swallowed and continued. “It’s said the Lin family seized several more mining sites last year with Leopard Head’s help.”

“Lin Yuanteng!”
A chilling light shot from Yue Yang’s eyes. “I hadn’t even settled accounts with you yet, and you dare come knocking on my door first. It seems I really have been too soft-hearted!”

Yue Yang shouted, “Hu Laosan!”

Hu Laosan jolted upright and stepped forward. “This subordinate is here!”

“Tomorrow, assemble three thousand troops at once. You’ll accompany me into the mountains to settle accounts with Lin Yuanteng and his lot!”

“Yes!”