Chapter 36 - Leave Behind Your Lives!

Blood smirched the ground. Mister Zhong was clutching his arm, while his wife knelt beside him, holding unto his shoulder and crying. Before them stood five men or rather: One of them stood before them, holding a blood soaked sword, while the other four were seated on their horses, looking down at the couple.

"I asked you, what happened!"

Mister Zhong pressed his lips together, blood still oozed out of his wound. Madam Zhong clung to his shoulder. "We don't know anything! We already said, we don't know anything!"

"Shut up! I'm talking to your man! You must have seen that guy! What did he look like? Where did he go?"

Mister Zhong leaned against his wife. The blood loss was already making him dizzy. "Really …" He didn't get to say more.

In a flash of white robes, Qiu Ling arrived before the bandit, gifting him with a kick just like the one from before. The man crashed against a tree, slid down and stayed down. Qiu Ling turned around to the other bandits.

The four men looked at their brother, than gazed at Qiu Ling incredulously. One of them leaned over to the man in the middle. "Boss … Did that old man just … knock out fifth brother?"

The other two men also looked at the bandit in the middle. They hadn't even seen that white-haired geezer approach them, until he kicked their fifth brother, his white hair and robes swaying in the breeze.

The leader of the bandits furrowed his brow. "Old man, what is the meaning of this?"

Qiu Ling smiled at him. "I heard an interesting story yesterday."

"Ha?" One of the other bandits twitched his lips. "Tch, you're asking for a beating, old man!" He unsheathed his sword and urged on his horse.

Qiu Ling just stood still, waiting for the horse and bandit to reach him. The man thrust forth his sword. Qiu Ling sidestepped and grabbed the bandit's wrist. He pulled him out of the saddle. The bandit crashed into the ground. He wanted to roll to the side and get up, but Qiu Ling still clutched his wrist. Even worse, while the bandit struggled, he stepped onto his back, holding him down.

"I heard an interesting story yesterday", he repeated and looked up at the three men, who sat still on their horses.

The two on the side watched him with black faces, but they didn't dare act rashly. Their leader seemed to have controlled his emotions. Nothing could be gleaned from his face. His fingers tapped his thigh and he slightly narrowed his eyes. "What kind of story?"

"It's about the history of this place."

"Oh?"

"You see: Someone said, this is the Long mountain range. It isn't a mountain, but a dragon instead. This empire is blessed, because the dragon king helped the emperor, so nobody dares invade. I reckon, the dragon slumbering here, would be one of his subjects."

"The people indeed tell a story like that."

"Mn." Qiu Ling smiled. "You see, it's like that: I do have some relations with the dragon folk. Since the dragon king seems to have decided to protect this empire, I should help him, don't you think so?"

"Help him?" The leader of the bandits smiled. "Old man, I admit, you're pretty feisty for your age. But you took our fifth and fourth brother by surprise. Do you really think, you can defeat the three of us now that we're prepared?"

"Of course." Qiu Ling's smile grew even sweeter. "I believe, I heard, there is something you people tend to say in this kind of situation. What was it again?" He averted his face and squinted his eyes, all the while rubbing his fingers, as if it could help him remember. "Ah!" Qiu Ling dropped his hand. "We might have to modify it a bit." He looked at the bandits again, the playful smile gone and his lips forming a straight line. "This mountain came into being through me, these trees could grow thanks to me. Since you dared to harm my people, leave behind your lives!"

He let go of the bandit's arm and stepped on his neck. The bandit's eyes bulged, but he couldn't even cry out. Crack. His life was gone just like that. With a flourish of his sleeves, Qiu Ling sent out a gust of wind, that blew the two bandits at the side from their horses. They crashed in the ground and rolled to the side, moaning and doubling up in pain.

With one step, Qiu Ling came up to their leader. He grabbed him by the throat and lifted him from the horse. The man clutched at his hands and flailed his legs, but Qiu Ling didn't budge an inch.

"You're overestimating yourself. Seriously, if you hadn't gone after them again, you might have lived." No one was allowed to make his beloved cry!

His fingers squeezed. The leader struggled harder, but he couldn't free himself. His face only turned redder with each moment. Finally, he stopped breathing. Qiu Ling threw him to the ground. His gaze locked unto the two men, who had just gotten up.

The bandits tensed, exchanged a glance and turned around. They tried to run away, but in the next instant, Qiu Ling already stood before them, each hand grabbing one of their shoulders and holding them in place.

Daring to hurt his beloved, but not daring to bear the consequences? He'd make them pay with their lives!

Qiu Ling didn't waste time, his hands going straight for their hearts this time. He let the dead bodies fall to the ground, their blood forming a pool below them. A deep gash blemished their chests, but not even a drop of blood had soiled Qiu Ling's hands or clothes.

Looking at him like that, he seemed like a cold-blooded immortal, detached from the world. After living for too long a time, he didn't seem to care about human lives anymore. Still, he had done that to save two people.

Mister Zhong couldn't help looking at his wife, while still clutching his injured arm. "Are you sure, he's not a here—"

His wife threw him a furious glare. She really wanted to whack her husband over the head right now! But she didn't dare to behave unruly in front of this daoist master.

Qiu Ling just wanted to turn around to them and have a look at Mister Zhong's injury, when a small voice cried out to him: "Grandfather!" Jing Yi stood at the edge of the path, his small face pale with fright, while he took in the dead bodies of the five bandits.

Qiu Ling closed his eyes, barely holding back a curse. Damn it! He really wanted to kill those guys all over again!