Knife splashing

Chapter 15: Bandits and Strange Snakes
People in the underworld can smell something from miles away.

This is originally a proverb, which means that as people in the same world, their twists and turns and little tricks may deceive ordinary people, but they cannot deceive their peers.

But for Li Yan, he could really smell the smell.

After that night, his sense of smell became more acute.

The group of people were speeding on the official road, still a hundred meters away from each other, but the strong smell of blood on their bodies could not be hidden from Li Yan's nose at all.

That's the smell of human blood!
Not only that, it also smells like a corpse.

Fortunately, Li Yan could still distinguish that these smells were real and different from the special smells such as the smells of Changbing and Tudi Temple.

He could see that Sharifei, the old man, was naturally more alert. He immediately stood up and whispered to the people around him: "Something is wrong, everyone be careful..."

After saying that, he quickly stood up, and stood on his feet in a ding-ding, ba-ba-ba stance, with his elbows slightly bent, and his palms no more than three inches away from the hilt of the knife.

This is a defensive posture of a swordsman.

When meeting a stranger in the martial arts world, he would neither draw his sword to avoid misunderstanding nor draw his sword immediately to gain the upper hand.

Li Yan's sharp sword came from the same school as Sha Lifei's, so he was naturally recognizable.

Not only that, he could also see that the old fox had his center of gravity at the back, and was obviously planning to run away as soon as something went wrong.

The wheat harvesters asked the swordsmen to lead them, not only to get work, but also as a safety guarantee. After all, the people in Guanzhong are tough and there is never a shortage of bandits who rob people on the road.

But Sharifei obviously doesn't have that kind of responsibility.

The wheat pickers around were even more nervous and clenched their sickles.

Some of them have learned the tricks, and although the rest cannot use a sickle, they have been using farm tools for many years and have become proficient in it. They can also chop people when they are in a hurry.

In addition, they had the advantage in numbers and had the courage to stand still instead of turning around and running away.

As the sound of horse hooves got closer, the group of people stopped their horses and looked up.

Under the bamboo hats are weather-beaten faces, all with gloomy expressions, and their eyes are either amusement or full of disdain.

Li Yan has now confirmed that this group of people are bandits.

No matter how they dressed or what weapons they used, they all wore a loose black cloth around their necks.

This is a characteristic of a bandit. If he wants to work, he can just reach out and cover his face.

But bandits also have their own rules.

Are these people crazy, parading around in broad daylight?
At this time, Sharifei reluctantly took a step forward, laughed, clasped his hands and said, "There are five peaks in the mountains, five lakes in the water, and there is a knife in the northwest. You all look unfamiliar, where did you come from?"

This is the underworld code, and others were confused when they heard it, but Li Yan understood it.

There are five mountains and five lakes, referring to the four directions of China.

Sharifei noticed that these people looked unfamiliar and did not seem to be from Guanzhong Dao. He also pointed out his identity as a man of the underworld to make the other party feel uneasy.

After all, there is a saying that a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake.

Of course, Sharifei is not a dragon, and he doesn't even qualify as a snake.

But that’s how it is in the world. If you can scare people, you have to scare them first.

Generally speaking, after Sharifei asked, the other party would answer by saying something like which mountain they lived on, which river they crossed, which incense they offered, etc.

This is called "Plain Dealing", where you get to know each other clearly to avoid misunderstandings.

Unexpectedly, the other side did not respond at all.

Some of them were playing with knives, with malicious eyes.

At this moment, the leader shouted in a low voice, "Let's go, we are all poor peasants, don't waste time."

Judging from their accent, it is completely different from that in Guanzhong.

Qilu bandits!

Li Yan's heart skipped a beat and he immediately guessed the identities of these people.

There are many strong men in the green forest, and many of them are famous, such as the Guandong bandits, the Guanzhong knife bandits, the Zhongyuan bandits, the Qilu bandits, the Taihu water bandits, etc.

They are all from the Lan family who are good at kidnapping, robbing and looting.

Generally speaking, everyone has their own hills and territories, and rarely crosses borders.

There must be something strange about them coming here in such a grand manner.

Sharifei also noticed it and his legs were trembling.

Fortunately, at the command of the leader, the bandits did not stop, but urged their horses on, and went away in the billowing smoke and dust.

After waiting for a while, Sharifei suddenly stepped forward, drew out his knife with a clang, pointed at the distance and cursed: "You ignorant bastards, if it weren't for the villagers, I would have taught you a lesson today!"

Li Yan was speechless and rolled his eyes.

What's the point of saying these things now that everyone has left.

The wheat pickers around hurried forward and pulled them aside to persuade them.

"Sha Da Xia, calm down..."

"Yeah, don't call him back..."

Sharifei was still furious. After sheathing his knife, he cursed, "You are a bunch of bandits. I, Sharifei, really don't take you seriously. If I wasn't afraid that you would get hurt... Humph!"

An old man was still in a state of fear, "This year is a bit uneasy, how about we leave quickly?"

"What are we going to do?!"

Sharifei glared at him and said, "Those guys just left. Maybe they're going to fight in the front. They're courting death. Let's leave later to avoid them."

Upon hearing this, Li Yan nodded secretly.

Although this guy is timid, he has a lot of experience in the underworld.

The wheat pickers all nodded in agreement. They were out there to make money, and no matter who those people were, they would try not to cause trouble.

However, not long after, Li Yan stood up with a somersault, drew his sword with a clang, and stared into the distance with nervous eyes.

"what happened again?"

Sharifei was startled and hurried over to ask.

Li Yan held the Guanshan knife tightly and said in a deep voice: "Something is coming!"

What he was talking about was certainly not a human being.

Not long after the bandits left, he smelled another smell, cold and icy, with a strong fishy smell. It was several times stronger than the previous "Blind Third".

Li Yan was frightened. Could it be that he had spiritual roots and was being targeted by something while passing by?

What kind of powerful thing dares to appear in the middle of the day...

Sharifei was also startled. He drew out his two swords and looked around, but the surroundings were flat, no one was in sight, and no horse sound was heard. He couldn't help but wonder, "Are you hysterical? Where is there anyone?"

"what is that!"

Before he could finish his words, Heidan pointed to the left and exclaimed.

Everyone looked up and saw that in the wheat field on the left side of the official road, the wheat waves were swaying and constantly separating, as if something was running fast.

And judging from the situation, it is definitely not small in size.

Just as everyone was puzzled, a giant snake as thick as a bowl slowly raised its head from the wheat field, hissing and spitting out its tongue, its scales sparkling in the sun.

What's even weirder is that there's something like a rooster's comb on its head.

"Cockscomb snake!"

Many pickers turned pale with fright.

There is a folk rumor that the cockscomb snake has a head like a rooster with a crest, and anyone who is bitten by it will die.

This snake has an evil nature and likes to burrow into tombs and ancient tombs. Old people’s stories often mention that grave diggers encountered this snake and suffered retribution.

What’s more important is that everyone says this thing is a demon snake with magical powers.

Li Yan was also covered in hair. He could sense it more clearly than others. This crested snake gave off a cold and fishy smell, which was stronger than the smell of incense in the land temple.

Moreover, that cold gaze seemed to be staring at him.

Li Yan stretched out his hand and touched the red cloth bag containing the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coins and Knife Tassel.

Fortunately, this thing has a body, and we may be able to kill it with the help of the treasure.

I just wonder if after I kill it, it will become some weird thing and haunt him...

"Don't move!"

At this moment, Sharifei let out a low cry, stared at the front, and said in a trembling voice: "I have heard that this kind of snake with Taoism can measure people."

"As long as you're taller than him, this thing will scare you to death."

"Quick, stack them up!"

Many people have heard this rumor.

Even in the ancient books that the storyteller talked about, there are related records: Snakes have their own ways, and they like to compete with people. If they win, they bite people, and if they lose, they die. However, they must show their faces to people, not to compete secretly. If you see them in the mountains, you can rush up with an umbrella, and the snake will die if it loses.

Although I don't know whether it is true or not, I can only follow orders.

They are not fools. Everyone saw how fast the crested snake was just now. It couldn't escape at all.

Soon, the wheat pickers formed a pyramid.

They are very familiar with this childhood game. The strong ones stand at the bottom, while the thinner ones climb onto their shoulders by stepping on their hands.

So it is not as good as those street performers, but in the blink of an eye it has folded three layers.

To their surprise, the crested snake was just staring at the wheat field in the distance, as if it was hesitating, and did not move forward.

"It's done, I told you it can work!"

Sharifei was strong and healthy, and he looked very proud as he carried two people on his back.

However, his face quickly froze.

The crested snake suddenly raised its head, and its upper body stood upright, getting taller and taller, and soon it surpassed the Arhat they had stacked.

"Hurry up, get another one!"

"Who...who has diarrhea!"

Everyone was in a panic. Li Yan also leaped forward, stepped on the big locust tree next to him, jumped to the top of the human wall, and stood there with a knife in his hand.

For this unknown thing, he could only trust Sharifei's method.

But for some reason, he felt that the snake was mocking him.

At this moment, the crested snake suddenly twisted its neck, as if listening to something, and then dived into the wheat field, like a gust of wind, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The wind blows the wheat fields, and in the distance there seems to be the sound of a flute...

Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, each of them limp from fear.

One of the old wheat pickers couldn't help cursing, "What's wrong this year? Bandits and strange snakes. Did you run into Tai Sui when you went out?"

Li Yan looked into the distance thoughtfully.

He had a feeling that the crested snake's target was those bandits.

After this series of shocks, everyone was obviously a little flustered.

Seeing that people's hearts were unsettled, Sharifei boasted and patted his chest again, then gathered the team and continued to move forward.

Their original plan was to take a shortcut through a remote mountain road.

But in this situation, Sharifei was also afraid that if he took everyone along the official road, it would inevitably take an extra day.

Fortunately, nothing strange happened along the way.

Sha Lifei was an old hand, so he naturally asked tea stalls and passers-by on the way about the whereabouts of the bandits. Fortunately, these people did not appear again after passing the fork in the official road.

In this way, after several days, we finally saw the city of Xianyang.

Instead of entering the city, the group, led by Sharifei, headed towards a nearby village.

Sharifei then boasted proudly, "The one we went to this year was very generous. The wages were higher than those of the other ones, and the land was larger."

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have had this opportunity..."

Li Yan was absent-minded and looked around.

Sharifei promised that after settling all the wheat pickers, he would take him to Xianyang City to visit Wang Daoxuan.

I don’t know if the other party has the real tricks, and whether he is willing to teach him...

(End of this chapter)