Chapter 59: The Iron Cavalry's Past (Part 1)

  Xiao Ziyang arrived in front of the Second Master, who was lying at the foot of the mountain cliff. The Second Master glared fiercely at Xiao Ziyang, his eyes seeming to spit out fire.

  Xiao Ziyang smiled lightly, "You must be very curious why I saw through you?......" Xiao Ziyang took out the palm-sized flying dragon from his cloak and said, "Do you recognize this hand crossbow?"

  The second master looked at this crossbow and his face showed a surprised and uncertain expression.

  Xiao Ziyang coldly laughed and said: "In the past, I spared your dog life, but you didn't reflect on your mistakes. Today, I originally planned to let you off again, but you still aren't willing to give up... As the saying goes, 'Heaven's fault can be forgiven, but one's own fault cannot be forgiven...'". After finishing speaking, he swung his hand and struck with a knife...

  Xiao Ziyang turned around and walked towards the several women who were tied up. The women saw Xiao Ziyang walking towards them, and they were so scared that they trembled with fear, as if Xiao Ziyang was a devil one hundred times more terrifying than the mountain bandits. Xiao Ziyang couldn't help but smile bitterly, and didn't say much, bending down to untie the ropes on their bodies. "Alright, you can go home now." The women looked at each other, then suddenly got up and ran hastily towards the direction of Du's village.

  Xiao Ziyang shook his head, turned around and threw the only living mountain bandit onto a horse with one hand, not caring that his wound had only been half-bandaged. He rode on the black hoof dragon scale horse, coldly saying to the bandit: "Lead the way!"

  Two men walked on the rugged mountain road, Xiao Ziyang casually asked about the bandit who led the way, what exactly did the Cao brothers offend the Hanmo Fortress that year.

  The bandit who led the way began to tell Xiao Ziyang in a stammering manner. This bandit was one of Cao's brothers' confidants and knew the course of events very clearly.

  The Iron Riders Association is one of the largest bandit groups on the Golden State Road. The leader, Cao Tianhao, is a top-notch master, and in the Golden State, only the Hanmo Fortress and the Magu Pavilion have a handful of people who are slightly better than him. The two great protectors of the association are also top-notch masters, and the six flag owners below them are all top-notch second-rate experts.

  The Iron Riders were brutal and cruel, having ravaged the remote Beichang County to the point where the people were on the brink of death. With nothing more to gain, they set their sights on Huanglong County, which was only home to a few dozen mid-sized bandits.

  With their formidable strength, the Iron Riders swept through Huanglong County in just a few months. The several groups of horse bandits that had been entrenched there either scattered or surrendered. The people of Huanglong County were still unaware that they had become a delicious meal in the eyes of the ruthless Iron Riders gang.

  After several major battles, Cao Tianhao brought a few trusted subordinates to Ancheng Town in Jinzhou Prefecture.

  Cao Tianhao wasn't paying attention to the situation in Zhen'an City. The Jinzhou bandits were rampant, but they only dared to plunder rural areas and didn't even dare to touch the county government, let alone the prefectural city.

  Moreover, Zhen'an City is one of the border strongholds facing the northern grasslands in Western Qin, with over 100,000 elite infantry and cavalry stationed within, not something a group of horse thieves can shake.

  Even if the Iron Riders had the ability to take down Shuo An City, Cao Tianhao would not dare to make a move. Attacking a county government with official troops stationed there would be considered rebellion. Once that happens, the Iron Riders would no longer be annoying flies in the eyes of the imperial court, but real rebels.

  The Western Xia Empire was at the height of its power, with a strong military, and the garrison in Jinzhou often clashed with the nomadic tribes on the northern grasslands; its military strength was unparalleled in Western Qin. Once the government got serious, the famous Jinzhou Iron Cavalry would be summoned, and the invincible cavalry would immediately face disaster. With an imperial edict, the masters gathered at the Mazigou Temple in Hankou Town participated in the siege, and the so-called masters under Cao Tianhao were no different from chickens and dogs.

  These bandits may not dare to confront the authorities head-on, but playing a role as flying thieves or great flower thieves is their everyday business.

  After several days of intense battle, the leaders of the Iron Riders had been feeling suffocated in the mountainous countryside, so they decided to enter the city together to have some fun. At the city gate, everyone went their separate ways, with some rushing straight to the casino and others rushing straight to the brothel. Meanwhile, Cao Tianhao took his two younger brothers on a wild adventure seeking thrills and romance.

  Cao Tianhao is actually not a lecher. His two younger brothers, Cao Tianjie and Cao Tianyu, are the real lechers. Moreover, these two men do not like to visit prostitutes, but they extremely enjoy using *** good women from respectable families.

  Cao Tianhao was cruel and ruthless, but he doted on his two younger brothers. Although their martial arts skills were not high, they barely qualified as second-rate fighters, yet they held the title of Vice-Presidents of the Iron Riders Association.

  Three brothers entered the largest wine tower in the county, and as soon as they went up to the second floor, they saw An Shi's sisters returning home for a family visit. Cao Tianjie and Cao Tianyu were immediately startled by the beautiful three sisters like losing their souls.

  That night, Cao Tianhao stopped his two younger brothers who wanted to take the three sisters up the mountain immediately. He saw that among the several women accompanying the An family sisters, two of them had excellent martial arts skills, although not as good as his own. The others, except for An Yurong and An Yuexian who were too young, all had better martial arts skills than his two younger brothers. With just the three of them, they couldn't take down the An family sisters' group.

  So the three of them discussed and decided to send their subordinates to follow An's sisters first, and then gather their subordinates tomorrow to take action.

  The next day, the scouts reported that An Jia sisters and others had entered Anjiazhuang. Cao Tianhao considered Huanglong County as a piece of cake, so he naturally inquired about the situation in Huanglong County. He knew that Anjiazhuang was not weak, and An Yuanwai was a retired military officer, so the consequences of attacking Anjiazhuang were difficult to predict. He had planned to give up, but couldn't bear the repeated pleas of his two younger brothers, and decided to attack and plunder Anjiazhuang three days later.

  The scouts of the Iron Riders were all inquiring about news in rural taverns, and naturally they couldn't find out that the three young ladies of the An family were actually disciples of Mazigu Temple, and had already formed an alliance with the Hanmo Fortress.

  The An sisters were from the Jinzhou Huanglong County, their father was a retired military officer who had been a deputy general of the fifth rank; the An family was a well-known and respected clan in the local area. The An family's compound had high walls and abundant grain, and with the head of the household having a military background, they trained several hundred village militiamen who were quite capable in battle, making it one of the few safe havens in Jinzhou Huanglong County where bandits roamed freely.

  An Yuexiang doted on his three daughters and sent them to the Mazi Temple to learn martial arts from a young age. Although the Mazi Temple was not one of the top ten sects, it was considered second only to the top ten sects in Jinzhou, and even the Hanmo Fortress had to give way to it. The temple's rules were strict and only accepted female disciples.

  Ma Guan and Han Mo Fortress are located in Jinzhou, so they naturally have frequent exchanges. Han Mo Fortress's left protector, Wei Zhiyuan's son, Wei Chenyi, is a second-generation figure of Han Mo Fortress, one of the top figures in the martial arts world, with exceptional skills at the age of twenty.

  Once, Wei Chenyi visited a senior at Ma Guan with his father and saw An Yuxuan studying under the senior. After returning home, he asked his father to propose marriage to An's family; after inquiring about it, Wei Huofa was very satisfied with An Yuxuan and sent a matchmaker to propose to An's family.

  The Western Liang State's Wulin door forces are extremely powerful, with six major thousand-year-old doors, each having the title of Guo Guan Temple and Guo Guan Temple. The masters of each door were all sealed as national teachers. Under the door, there are good fields of millions of mu, gold and silver in the treasury like mountains, and thousands of guards and disciples under the door, each wearing armor and holding sharp weapons. The Western Liang imperial family has a deep relationship with these six major doors, and it has been a tradition to send noble children into the six factions to learn martial arts, and after they have learned, they are incorporated into the Imperial Guard; more than half of the officers in the Imperial Guard are disciples of the six factions.