Starting as The Young Master of A Pharmacy, He Trained Swordsmanship in Seclusion For Twenty Years - Chapter 20

Bandits?

When Lu Xuan had first left the county town, he remembered the warning from the city gate guards.

Who would’ve thought he’d actually run into them?

Still, Lu Xuan was speechless. If he had been traveling alone, it might have made sense for these bandits to ambush him.

But these outlaws—were they complete idiots? Couldn’t they see how outnumbered they were?

How dare they?

“Kill them!”

The lead escort at the front of the merchant caravan raised his broadsword and leaped from his horse.

There was no need for words with bandits. Over years of escorting caravans, he had slaughtered countless highwaymen.

Bandits, mountain thieves, river pirates—they were all the same. Murderers drenched in the blood of innocent commoners.

Even the Great Xia imperial court had issued decrees ordering local officials to exterminate bandits on sight, showing no mercy.

“Damn you bastards! You’ve got a death wish, daring to mess with me!”

Liang Cheng, the officer at the rear of the caravan, also sprang into action. Without hesitation, his blade flashed, slicing open the throat of the nearest bandit.

Are you serious?!

Were these bandits brain-dead or just blind?

Was there no justice left in the world? He was a damn imperial officer! Robbing him? These outlaws truly had no fear of the law.

Normally, bandit suppression wasn’t his responsibility—that fell to the county garrison. But their audacity made Liang Cheng laugh in fury.

He unleashed the full power of his Muscle-Tempering cultivation without restraint.

Before long, under the combined assault of Liang Cheng and the caravan escorts, the bandits lay dead or dying.

The lead escort, a Bone-Forging expert, had slaughtered most of them himself.

“Damn it, we’ve bitten off more than we can chew!”

At the very back of the bandit group, a burly man cursed under his breath, his eyes filled with fear.

This was Tiger, the bandit leader. He wasn’t faring well either—a deep gash across his stomach oozed blood.

If he hadn’t dodged in time, the lead escort’s sword would have gutted him.

Bone-Forging!

Of all the rotten luck—a Bone-Forging expert in a backwater like Qingyun County!

Screw this. Tiger had no fight left in him. As a Muscle-Tempering warrior, he stood no chance against a Bone-Forging opponent.

If the enemy had been alone, he might have relied on numbers to overwhelm them. But the caravan’s forces matched theirs.

Run!

They couldn’t win this fight. Staying meant death.

That had always been Tiger’s survival strategy—why he’d evaded government troops for so long.

But before he could flee, several bandits at the front began retreating, clearly ready to bolt.

Tiger’s rage flared. His eyes burned with murderous intent as he glared at the cowards trying to slip past him.

“You worthless maggots! Running before me? Get back in there!”

I’m the boss—if anyone runs first, it’s me!

His massive hands shot out, seizing two men and hurling them forward. A swift kick sent another stumbling into the fray.

The moves flowed seamlessly, executed in seconds.

Then, without a backward glance, Tiger turned and ran.

The remaining dozen or so bandits, seeing their leader flee, dropped their weapons and scattered in all directions.

A few who were too slow to escape begged for mercy—only to be cut down without hesitation by the caravan escorts.

From the moment bandits appeared, it was kill or be killed. Surrender was never an option.

After finishing off the last pleading bandit, the lead escort coldly glanced ahead—where a fleeing figure was vanishing into the distance.

No one gave chase.

“A cornered foe is desperate.” Everyone present understood that.

Who knew what traps or ambushes lay ahead?

“Officer Liang, I’ll take my leave now. Once we return to the county, I’ll personally visit to express my gratitude for your assistance.”

The lead escort approached Liang Cheng, his tone polite.

“You flatter me, Senior Liu. Eradicating lawless bandits is our duty.”

Liang Cheng recognized the man—a renowned Bone-Forging expert in the county. The politeness was purely due to his status as a constable and his father’s influence.

With a shout, the lead escort rallied his men:

“Gather the dead and wounded! We move out!”

Blades and arrows were merciless. In the fierce skirmish, casualties were inevitable.

Even Liang Cheng and his constables bore injuries, their clothes soaked in blood.

One constable had nearly died to a bandit’s blade—until a fruit pit, shot like a bullet from Lu Xuan’s carriage, pierced the attacker’s chest and saved him.

The merchant caravan quickly picked up speed, soon leaving Lu Xuan’s group far behind.

Clearly, they feared another ambush.

“Boss… what about the bodies?”

A pale-faced constable—still shaken from the life-or-death struggle—asked weakly.

None of them had expected, as county constables, to end up in a bloody battle with ruthless bandits outside the city.

Liang Cheng glanced at the corpses littering the ground and waved dismissively.

“Leave them. Nature will take care of it.”

The mountain roads were surrounded by wilderness, home to wolves, tigers, and mutated beasts.

By nightfall, the stench of blood would draw them in.

Frankly, these corpses wouldn’t even make a decent meal.

Under Liang Cheng’s orders, the constables tossed the bodies aside and continued toward Qingyun County as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, the surviving bandits—five or six men—clung desperately to their fleeing leader: Tiger.