Chapter Eleven: Traveling with Bandits

  "Ah!" The knight leader let out a sigh of relief, finally getting the other person to remove the dagger from his neck. This experience of brushing against death left a deep impression on him! Seeing Hu Fei holding the knife in his hand and staring at him with sparkling eyes, this guy still didn't know that he was waiting for an answer?

  "My name is Zhao Fugui, and at home I'm the third son, nicknamed Old Three. My Jianghu appellation is Scarface the Third." When he mentioned his Jianghu appellation, this Scarface the Third looked a bit embarrassed. Indeed, there was a scar on his face, but it wasn't very noticeable, and it didn't severely disfigure his facial features. Most people would rather not mention their physical disabilities, so it was surprising that he used his scar as his appellation, which added to Hu Fei's curiosity.

  "Scar Three? Haha, that's a good name. I'll still call you Old Three, it's easier to say. Old Three, do you really know the location of Wanghai Mountain's Third Ditch?" Looking at Scar Three's age, he must be over thirty, but Hu Fei is only sixteen this year, and he calls him Old Three without fear of messing up their seniority.

  "We all know that our Big Boss and Wang Hai Shan's General Tao are sworn brothers, we've followed Big Boss to San Dao Gou several times. Moreover, Old North Wind is a well-known hero on the Liaoxi Road, who doesn't know? Wang Hai Shan in San Dao Gou, in Liaoxi, is like blowing a trumpet through a door crack, his reputation precedes him! What's your honorable surname and name, little brother? Do you have business with Wang Hai Shan?"

  "Uh, my name is Hu Fei, from Jiutai Village. The village was invaded by the Japanese devils and my whole family was killed! I'm going to Wanghai Mountain's Third Ditch to join the bandit leader Lao Beifeng, planning to join their ranks!" Since these people just said they also fought against the Japanese devils, Hu Fei didn't plan on hiding it from them.

  "Has Dong Yang Gui entered Jiutai Village?" Scarface San was shocked, and the bearded men around him also looked surprised, clearly they all knew that Jiutai Village was Lao Bei Feng's hometown.

  "A man can't come back to life, so don't be too sad, Old Hu. Since you're from Jiutai Village, go join the San Daogou gang and that'll be settled! Once the Big Boss hears about it, he'll immediately lead people to avenge your family's death at your old home. You won't need much time to avenge your whole family! Who knows, our big boss might even go over to help you, and when the time comes, we brothers will go together to help you take revenge on those inhumane Japanese devils!"

  "Thank you, everyone! Those people walked with me for a while, now that I'm going to follow you all to Wanghai Mountain, I'll go say goodbye to them." Hu Fei turned his head and looked at Yang Xi's group of people, having traveled so far together, it was only right to go back and bid farewell.

  "Hey, since they're our own people, we can't take their stuff. Old Six, return the things you took from those friends!" Scarface Three was quite clever and thought that if he wanted to build a relationship with Hu Fei, he might as well do it thoroughly. With one order, Sun Lao Liu and his gang of unkempt beards agreed and each returned the loot they had taken from Yang Xi's group.

  "Yang Xi, uncle, I'm leaving with these people and won't be traveling with you anymore. Take care on your journey to Guan Nei!" Hu Fei walked over to bid farewell to Yang Xi and his son.

  "Ah, ah." Old Yang nodded repeatedly, while Yang Xi stared at Hu Fei with a mixture of envy and fear in his eyes. Just a moment ago, they were still chatting and laughing together, but now Hu Fei was about to join forces with Hu Zi! "Take care, Hu Fei," Old Yang hesitated for a moment before whispering to Hu Fei: "Be careful when you're with these people, be cautious in all things!"

  "Ah, I've got it in mind, thank you Uncle Yang!" Hu Fei clasped his fists and bowed, "Yang Xi, we'll meet again! Maybe someday we'll have the chance to see each other again!" After saying that, he turned around and returned to the group of three people with scars.

  "Let's go!" Just like that, Hu Fei seemed to have become the leader of these people. The Green Forest Road has always been a place where strength is paramount, and since Hu Fei had gone up and defeated their leader, Pockmark Three, Pockmark Three himself didn't seem to have any objections, so naturally the others didn't either.

  Because of concerns that Hu Fei was too young to ride a horse, Zhuo Er pointed out one of his men to ride with Hu Fei on the same horse. The group mounted their horses and whistled loudly, the sound of horseshoes echoing rapidly as they sped along the small path towards the distance.

  "Dad, won't Hu Fei be in danger following these people?" Yang Xi asked his father with a worried face. Having just gotten to know her friend for a short while, Yang Xi felt a bit reluctant to part ways so soon.

  "Alas, a person's fate is predetermined, and everyone has their own destiny! Since this child chose this path himself, we outsiders can only wish him good luck in our hearts. Let's go, let's worry about ourselves instead. We're still far from the Great Wall!" Old Yang looked back at the direction Hu Fei was heading in and sighed. He had a family to support, and his entire household relied on him for survival. He already had enough trouble taking care of his own affairs, so how could he have the energy to worry about others?

  "Old Three, how much further is it to Wanghai Mountain's Third Ditch?" They had been riding for almost an hour, but ahead of them there was still no sign of approaching the mountains, so Hu Fei naturally asked about the distance.

  "It's still early, we've got at least half a day's journey ahead of us. Judging by the current time, if we hurry and make haste, it'll be good if we can arrive before midnight. Our horse can't travel at night, so when evening falls, we'll find a place to rest for the night, and I reckon we'll arrive at our destination around mid-afternoon tomorrow." Scarface Three glanced up at the sun in the sky, made an estimate, and gave Hu Fei a fairly accurate time.

  "It's mainly because we have too few horses. Hu Fei, you and Old Six are sharing a horse, definitely can't compare to one person per horse in terms of speed." Another bandit, standing on the side, looked at Hu Fei and Old Six riding together and sighed, "If only we hadn't returned that money to them back then, and instead used it to buy another horse in the next town, we would have definitely arrived by tomorrow noon."

  "Liu Mazi, what nonsense are you spouting? That's Hu Fei's friend, do you understand what a friend is? Can we take money from a friend?" Scarface Three glared at Liu Mazi with wide eyes and scolded him loudly. "This guy is talking nonsense, Brother Hu don't bother with him."

  "No big deal, since we're all together, we're all brothers. What's there to blame?" Hu Fei smiled and shook his head, but he had always been a bit puzzled in his heart - why did this group of people seem to be so reverent towards him? If they were just ordinary bandits, even if they couldn't beat him, they could have just run away on horseback. There was no need for them to specially run long distances to act as guides for him.

  "Up ahead is Pan Mountain, let's go into the city to feed and rest the horses, how about that?" After walking for more than an hour, the houses on both sides of the road gradually increased. Pockmarked Liu looked around and turned to ask Hu Fei what to do next. He now completely regarded Hu Fei as the leader of this group.

  "Time to let the horses rest, we've been traveling for a long time." Hu Fei was puzzled that Pockmark Three would ask him about everything, but he actually quite enjoyed the feeling. A sixteen-year-old young man, of course, hoped to stand out and be respected by others, even if these people were a group of bandits.