Chapter Thirty-Three: Encounter with a Female Bandit

  Just as Zhu Cong was telling the story of the Sweat-Blood Horse to everyone, Ling Mu Yun noticed that a few people eating and drinking at a table not far away frequently cast their eyes towards them.

  All of them were in their early twenties, wearing white robes, with a precious fox fur coat turned up at the neck. Each one was elegant and beautiful. With his keen eyesight, Ling Mu Yun also saw a hint of earrings on their earlobes, and it turned out that they were all women disguised as men. Thinking back to the four double-humped white camels he had seen outside the store earlier, Ling Mu Yun suddenly realized: "It seems that these few are the concubines of Ou Yang Ke's followers."

  Four women in white listened to Zhu Cong's story about the Sweat-Blood Horse, constantly turning their heads to glance at the small red horse outside the door, with envy and admiration on their faces. The people in white then began to discuss in hushed tones. Ling Mu Yun, with his deep internal strength and keen senses, intentionally paid attention and overheard all of their discussions. One of the women said: "If we're going to make a move, let's do it now. We've already put him on horseback, how can he still catch up?"

  Another woman said: "There are many people here, and he has companions, it's really not good to make a move."

  Another woman said, "If they dare to come and block us, let's kill them together. We'll offer this precious horse to the young master, and when he rides it to the capital, it will be even more impressive. Those so-called Immortal Old Freaks and Spiritual Wisdom Masters won't be able to show off their power anymore, and they'll know the ferocity of our White Camel Mountain Villa."

  The woman who spoke first said, "If you want to take action, hurry up and do it. In the past few days, we've encountered many of those ** guys on the road, all of whom are underlings of Peng Lianhu, the Thousand-Handed Butcher. They must also be heading to the capital for a gathering. If they were to see this fine horse, would we still have a share?"

  The four women whispered to each other for a while, deciding to leave the town first and wait on the road. They would take action when Guo Jing left the town and steal his precious horse. After that, these women chattered about romantic affairs, saying things like "Young Master" likes you the most, "Young Master" must be thinking of you at this time, taking the horse to present it to "Young Master", "Young Master" will definitely reward them with a few more nights...

  Ling Muyun couldn't help but secretly admire him in his heart, this Ouyang Ke was indeed a top-notch lecher, not only greedy for beauty and color, but also skilled in training women. Just look at these concubines of his, they don't even envy or quarrel with each other, instead they compete to curry favor and please him, doing whatever it takes to steal treasures and snatch women for him, they are more loyal and obedient than his most trusted subordinates, Ling Muyun couldn't help but feel a little envious, wondering how Ouyang Ke had trained them.

  Those women again whispered and laughed for a while, then hastily ate some wine and dishes, settled the bill and went out, mounted on white camels and whistled away, presumably to go ahead and ambush.

  As he saw the several women going far away, Ke Zhen'e, who had been lowering his head to eat, suddenly raised his head and asked Guo Jing: "Jing'er, how is the kung fu of these few women?"

  "Girl? Where did this girl come from?"

  Zhu Cong smiled and said: "Big brother, they are all dressed as men, Jing Er has little experience in the jianghu, so she didn't notice."

  Ke Zhen said again: "Who knows Bai Tu Shan?"

  Zhu Cong and others all said they had never heard of it. Ling Yun knew at this time that Ke Zhen'e must have also heard the discussion between Ouyang Ke's concubines, after all, blind people generally have an advantage in terms of hearing. Although Ling Yun knew the inside story of Bai Dushan, he didn't say it out loud. If Jiangnan Six Freaks knew that the owner of Bai Dushan was Western Venom Ouyang Feng, they would definitely insist on staying with their apprentice Guo Jing and not let him practice alone, which would inevitably interfere with his actions.

  Ke Zhenwu then repeated the words of the several Ou Yang Ke concubines to everyone. Zhu Cong and others, upon hearing that these women were so bold as to want to move earth on Mount Tai, found it laughable. Han Xiaoyin said: "Among them, two women have high noses and green eyes, they are not people from the Central Plains."

  Han Bao said: "Yes, such a pure white camel can only be found in the Western Regions."

  Ke Zhen said, "The horse theft is a small matter, but they said that many formidable foot soldiers will gather in Zhongdu, and there must be a major plot in the middle, which will likely harm the Great Song Dynasty. It's possible that they want to kill my thousands of Han people. Since we've stumbled upon this, we can't just ignore it."

  Quan Jinfa said: "The martial arts competition in Jiaxing is about to begin, and there can be no more delays."

  Six people hesitated for a long time, all feeling that the matter was difficult to decide.

  Nanshirong suddenly said: "Jing'er go first!"

  Han Xiaoying said: "Fourth brother said that Jing'er should go to Jiaxing first, and we will follow after investigating this matter?"

  Nancy nodded.

  Zhu Cong said: "That's right, Jing Er should also experience some trials. Besides, with Ling Shaoxiao accompanying her, nothing bad will happen."

  Ling Muyun smiled and said: "You seniors can rest assured, with me here, Brother Guo won't be in any danger."

  Hearing Ling Muyun say this, the six freaks of Jiangnan were greatly relieved. After all, Ling Muyun's strength was evident, and he was one of the few who had traveled the jianghu alone, with ample experience to boot. With him by their side, they felt that they could handle any danger that came their way.

  Guo Jing heard that he had to part with his masters, and was reluctant to leave. Ke Zhen'e scolded: "At your age, how can you still be like a child? You're really useless."

  Han Xiaoying comforted him: "You go ahead and wait for us, we'll be right behind you in less than a month."

  Zhu Cong said: "The martial arts gathering in Jiaxing, we haven't explained it to you in detail yet. To put it simply, on the 24th of March at noon, you must rush to the Drunken Immortal Wine House in Jiaxing Prefecture. Even if something big happens, you can't miss this appointment."

  Guo Jing nodded in agreement, and then bid farewell to his several masters, setting off on the road with Linghu Chong. The Six Freaks of Jiangnan knew that Linghu Chong's martial arts skills were exceptional, so although they clearly knew that those few women would definitely be lying in ambush ahead waiting for Guo Jing, they didn't have any worries at all. Seeing Guo Jing leave, they began to discuss how to gather information.

  Guo Jing and Ling Zhiyun rode side by side southward, leaving the town behind. Guo Jing had spent over a decade with his six masters, sharing their daily lives, and now that they were parting ways, he couldn't help but shed tears on horseback. He also thought of his solitary stay in the desert, where although Temujin and Duerbolu took care of him, providing for his needs, he still felt lonely, and his heart ached once more.

  Ling Zhiyun saw this and burst out laughing: "Brother Guo, what's wrong with you? A true hero should have ambitions that span the four directions. Now that you've mastered your skills, shouldn't you be venturing out on your own? Are you going to spend your whole life hiding under the wings of those few masters of yours?"

  "Ling brothers, you're right. The young eagles will eventually fly solo in the sky." Guo Jing wiped away his tears and boosted his spirits before turning to Ling Miao Yun: "Ling brother, earlier Master said those women would be lying in wait up ahead, what do you think we should do?"

  "This is easy to handle, with your current martial arts skills, you can be considered a master in the Jianghu. As long as you don't panic when things happen and exert your due strength, there are not many people in Jianghu who can win against you. Those few women I also saw, although they all have martial arts skills, but compared to you, brother, they are still far behind. You might as well use them to practice your hands."

  Guo Jing scratched his head and said: "This... isn't quite right, are they? They're all women..."

  "Haha, didn't expect that, Brother Guo, you still have quite a bit of gentlemanly demeanor." Ling Mu Yun smiled and said: "If you don't want to fight them, then just charge over directly, anyway your horse is fast, they won't be able to catch up."

  "This method is not bad, but Brother Ling, your horse isn't that fast. What if they catch up?"

  Ling Muyun smiled confidently and said: "Brother Guo, don't worry about this. With my skills, do you think those few women can handle me?"

  Guo Jing chuckled and said, "That's also true."

  The two of them galloped out for over ten miles, and found the terrain becoming increasingly steep. The road was flanked by towering mountains, with strange rocks jutting out at sharp angles. Guo Jing, who had never been on a journey before, couldn't help but feel secretly frightened by this treacherous landscape. Even Linghu Chong, who was pressing his hand against the hilt of his sword and raising his guard, believed that confidence should not be equated with recklessness. After all, there were many instances in history where people had fallen into hidden pitfalls, and Linghu Chong did not want to become one of them.

  At this time, the road became narrower and narrower. After turning over a mountain pass, suddenly in front of them appeared a white blurry mass. It was four women dressed as men wearing white clothes riding on white camels, blocking their way.

  Guo Jing's heart skipped a beat as he reined in his horse from afar and shouted loudly: "Excuse me, excuse me!"

  Ying stepped on the reins and stopped his horse, watching Guo Jing's reaction.

  Four women burst out laughing. One of them laughed and said: "Young man, what are you afraid of? Come on over, we won't eat you."

  Guo Jing's face flushed with anxiety, unsure whether to try to reason with them or charge forward and fight.

  Another woman laughed and said: "Your horse is quite good, come here, let sister take a look."

  Her tone was light and frivolous, completely the kind of voice used to speak to little children. Guo Jing felt a surge of anger in his heart, but seeing the high mountain wall on his right and the seemingly bottomless gorge on his left, with misty clouds swirling about, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. He thought back to Ling Zhiyun's words earlier and turned his head to say to him: "Ling brother, let's charge forward together."

  Ling Mu Yun nodded and said: "Good."

  Jing Yun agreed, Guo Jing immediately pulled the reins, clamped his legs on the horse's belly, and drove the little red horse forward like an arrow. At the same time, he shouted loudly: "The horse is coming, get out of the way! If anyone gets knocked down the valley, it has nothing to do with me!"

  Guo Jing's horse was fast, and in the blink of an eye, it had already rushed to the front of the four women, as swift as a whirlwind. The four women were all shocked, one of them reacted quickly, hastily displaying her lightness skill, jumping down from the camel's back, and stretching out her hand to grab the reins of the little red horse. The red horse let out a long whinny, suddenly leaping into the air, dodging over the four camels.

  Just then, a woman's voice shouted angrily. Guo Jing turned his head and saw two shiny projectiles flying towards him. As he was new to the martial arts world, he remembered his masters' warnings and was cautious in everything, fearing that the projectiles might be poisonous, so he didn't dare to catch them with his hands. He took off his hat and used it to deflect the projectiles, catching both of them inside. Guo Jing looked down and saw that the projectiles were two silver needles, with sharp tips and extremely sharp edges on both sides, which would certainly cause death if they hit their target.

  "Everyone has no grudges or grievances, you just covet my horse and want to take people's lives, it's really too cruel!"

  At this time, the several women's soft voices were angrily scolding. Guo Jing raised his eyes to take a look and found that Ling Mu Yun's horse was slow, only now rushing to the front of the four women. The women didn't stop Guo Jing, suddenly pouring all their anger onto Ling Mu Yun, this latecomer, each drawing their blades together to attack him.

  Guo Jing hastily shouted out a reminder: "Brother Ling, be careful!"

  Finally made it to the new book chart on the homepage, but the position is really precarious, and with a little carelessness, I'll be blasted off the charts. Mingyue is here to beg for everyone's support, please collect and vote for a recommendation ticket, so that Mingyue can sit more stably, thank you!

  ;