This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 17 Something Wrong with the Ancient Times

Earlier, when Tao Yuanming and his two companions were having dinner in the restaurant, two bamboo rafts finally found a suitable mudflat to dock on a river tributary a little away from Wuling City.

It's quite a distance from the port, but for safety reasons, it's understandable to be cautious. Just remember the exact direction.

Zhuang Lin and others dragged the two bamboo rafts out of the water and placed them there, then looked up at their surroundings.

Although there is no obvious road at first glance, you can still see a small path passing by if you look closely.

Zhuang Lin breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the people around him who were feeling uneasy. Even Mr. Mu seemed somewhat uneasy at the moment.

"Master Zhuang, that harbor just now is Wuling City, right?"

Zhuang Lin shook his head.

"I don't know either, but I must go in that direction and take a look!"

"What if I need a pass to go to the city?"

"Then think of another way! Or ask the locals if they have any ideas. There can't be anyone outside the city, right?

Besides, the Jin Dynasty certainly wasn't a clean government. As the saying goes, money makes the world go round. We've got some gold and silver on us, so we can get a pass!"

Zhuang Lin's words gave everyone a lot of confidence. He looked at several people as he spoke.

"Let's go, it should be that direction!"

Zhuang Lin grabbed the package on his shoulder with one hand and pointed to the north with the other. Although they had just deviated from the waterway, they had been paying attention to the direction and estimated that it should not be a big problem.

Seeing that Mr. Mu was a little depressed, Zhuang Lin spoke to comfort him.

"Mr. Liu must have been in a bad state recently. We all have the responsibility for not being able to find him. If that were the case, he would have sneaked out on his own instead of following Mr. Yuan Liang. That would have been even more troublesome. Now at least there are traces to follow. The most urgent thing is to find him first!"

Seeing this, others also tried to persuade him.

"Well, Master Zhuang is right. Doctor Mu, it's useless to overthink it!"

"Yeah, none of us wants this!"

"Come on, cheer up, the sun will set soon!"

"Ok!"

Old Master Mu felt a little better, and the others cheered themselves up, took another look at the location where the bamboo raft was placed, and then walked along the trail together.

Zhuang Lin and a hunter were in front, and the others followed. The burly man Fu Zeyang walked behind. Everyone checked their personal belongings as they walked.

They had no money from the Jin Dynasty, and all they carried were gold and silver jewelry collected by the people in the valley, as well as arrows, hatchets, and some tools that might be used, plus some clothes, dry food, and medicine.
However, after walking for a long time, the few people realized that the population density was indeed not high in ancient times.

Logically speaking, although they were some distance away from the port, it was not too far. According to the era they came from, the population density near the city was very high.

Wuling is at least a relatively famous ancient place name in later generations. It could be a big city, right?
But as they moved forward, they could not see any people in front, behind, or around them, let alone any villages or the like.

If there were not tire marks on the path under their feet and traces of people cutting down trees nearby, they would have suspected that they were walking in the deep mountains and forests.

However, although it is not a deep mountain forest, it is obviously not an open and flat place. The path winds through the high and low hills, or it is more like a small mound than a hill. There are many weeds on it, which greatly blocks the view.

No wonder there are no pedestrians at this time. This kind of place is not only a good hiding place for snakes, insects, rats and ants, but also a great place for robbery!

Zhuang Lin and the others were in good physical condition. Even Grandpa Mu often went into the mountains to collect herbs and was well versed in health preservation, so they made rapid progress.

But the sun seemed to set faster than expected. The sky was already red, and the chirping of insects and birds on the nearby hills became more frequent. Frogs waking up from hibernation also croaked in waves, drowning out other sounds.
In this environment, several people unconsciously quickened their pace.

"Help—help—"

An exclamation broke the relative calm.

Although the sound was not very loud, it was unique enough in this environment. Perhaps because of the startle, even the croaking of frogs nearby suddenly disappeared.

Zhuang Lin and the other six all paused and looked at each other.

"Is someone in danger?" "Save them or not?"

"Go and have a look first!"

"Let's go, remember to be quiet!"

The six people walked quickly forward, this time not following the path, but walking directly over the mound.

Especially the hunter brothers Li and the strong man Fu Zeyang, who were extremely agile and could reach the top of a mound in just seven or eight steps. Then came Zhuang Lin, and the other two were not far behind.

Everyone had a good understanding of each other. Although the speed was fast, they controlled their pace and did not make much noise.

However, after passing through several mounds, there was still no trace, as if the sound was an illusion, but from time to time there were some subtle movements, which could still be distinguished in the silence around.

Finally, on top of a large mound, everyone crouched down, hiding themselves behind bushes and weeds, and then looked around to continue searching for the source of the sound.

"Can anyone tell which direction it is coming from?" "Why is there no sound all of a sudden?"

"Hush, there's laughter over there"

The eldest brother of the Li family had sharp eyes and pointed to an inconspicuous road in the distance. Everyone looked in the direction of his finger and found that there seemed to be several people on that path.

"one two three four"

There were five people in total, four of them were in the same group, and the other one should be a woman, whose hands and feet were controlled and her mouth was covered, and there was a knife at her neck.

All four of them let out a slight laugh, and their laughter revealed a meaning that all men understood.

Even though they were at a distance and couldn't see their faces clearly, Zhuang Lin and the others imagined that the four men looked ferocious and lustful.

However, Zhuang Lin was also a little confused, because the person who just shouted for help clearly sounded like a man.

At this moment, there were faint sounds of struggling and the man's teasing voice.

"Young lady, just obey us, and we will make sure you are comfortable."

"Hehehe, the sun has already set, and he's still having a tryst with his little lover? If you ask me, we're better than him!"

"That's right, that guy peed his pants when he saw us. He gave us money and kowtowed, then he just let go and ran away without even looking back! He didn't care if you lived or died."

"Hahahahahahaha" "Hey, if you behave yourself, I'll make you feel comfortable. If you don't behave yourself, I'll kill you. To be honest, we brothers have killed people on our hands!"

"If you don't say anything, it means you agree!"

"Ahahahaha, I'll go first."

Amidst the threats and teasing, the woman seemed to be terrified to the extreme, her body trembling but not daring to struggle too much.
Thanks to Tao Yuanming's adaptation during those few days, otherwise Zhuang Lin and others would have been unable to understand the speed and accent of these people's speech.

But now, if I guess 70% of what they say and 100% of what they do, I can probably tell that they are definitely not good people!
"Master Zhuang, should we intervene?"

The people on the mound showed signs of struggle and hesitation, and then all looked at Zhuang Lin, obviously having formed path dependence.

Zhuang Lin's brows were furrowed into a frown, and his knuckles were clenched into fists, but he was surprisingly not afraid at the moment. He looked at the others and knew that they were obviously inclined towards the same thing.

Punishing evil and promoting good is a normal human emotion, although rationally speaking, it is not convenient to intervene in their current situation.

But if you think about it from another perspective, if you take care of it, firstly, you can save people, and secondly, given the situation of the six people, you may also be able to find someone who can help you break through.

In an instant, Zhuang Lin made the decision!
"Of the four of them, two have knives and two have sticks. We only have hatchets and hoes. Fighting head-on is not an option, but we have bows! Brothers Li, I know you're quite skilled. Do you dare to shoot anyone?"

Zhuang Lin paused at this point and looked at the hunter brothers while asking.

The Li brothers are skilled in the use of bows and arrows. They can even shoot fleeing prey in the mountains. Shooting people should be no problem for them. It’s just a matter of whether they dare or not.

The two brothers looked at each other and tightened their bows and arrows in their hands.

"What's there to be afraid of? Just be a beast. I'll shoot the guy who grabbed the girl, and you shoot the guy next to him holding the knife!"

"Get it!"

"it is good!"

Zhuang Lin looked at the man on the other side.

"Brother Fu, you often practice martial arts in the valley, and you are strong and sturdy. Are you sure you can handle one of them?"

Fu Zeyang gritted his teeth and nodded immediately. This was a real fight of life and death, and he could not afford to retreat!
Zhuang Lin looked at Mr. Mu and Tang Bin again.

"Brother Tang and I will fight one of them with hatchets. Then we'll attack together. Brother Li can choose to wait for an opportunity to shoot again or come to help directly. We'll solve all of them as soon as possible. Grandpa Mu will hide. In case we get injured and need your treatment!"

"And don't be afraid. These rural bandits may look scary, but they just rely on their fierce appearance and numbers to do evil. The four of them are not that tall. They are just like the ruffians in our city. They do a lot of bad things but most of them have no real skills!

There's no such thing as a true martial art capable of leaping over rooftops, climbing walls, breaking monuments, or splitting rocks. Even if someone could do it, it's only a handful of gifted generals in history. We have so many people and we're coming by surprise, so we'll definitely be able to do it. Just prioritize your own safety and try not to get hurt!"

"Yeah!" "Okay"

Zhuang Lin spoke a lot in one breath, encouraging everyone and himself. Thanks to the training he had received during this period of time, he was now extremely calm.

At this moment, the man who was controlling the woman grabbed her and carried her into the nearby bushes, as if they were preparing to take turns.

Zhuang Lin's eyes lit up and he immediately gave an order in a low voice.

"Right now, let's put down the extra items and move over. The Li brothers will watch our position and act immediately when we get there!"

Without saying anything more, as soon as Zhuang Lin finished speaking, everyone put down their packages and other things.

Fu Zeyang rushed out immediately with a hatchet in hand. His speed was so fast that everyone was dumbfounded. It was like a black panther moving silently in the shadow of the grass in the dim dusk.

Oh my god! This Fu Zeyang is really something!
Zhuang Lin was stunned for a moment before he reacted and immediately moved over there, while the bachelor Tang Bin hurried to follow.

Fu Zeyang had obviously used all his skills. While Zhuang Lin and the other man were still halfway there, he had already quietly arrived not far from the three men who were laughing and talking.

Far away on the mound, the Li brothers had already drawn their bows. The target was about thirty meters away, and they were sure to hit it!

But the two of them were mainly paying attention to the bandits. Their vision was affected at dusk, and when they saw Fu Zeyang arriving from afar, they thought everyone had arrived.

At this moment, the brothers were in sync with each other. They locked onto the target with that feeling and then released the strings together.

"Go!"

"Boom~" "Boom~"

The subtle sound of the bowstring was heard, and two sharp arrows instantly pierced through the space.

"Puff~" "Puff~"

"Uh." "Uh."

Suddenly, there was a flash of blood. Two arrows, one on the left and one on the right, pierced into the throat of a bandit respectively. The two men couldn't even make any sound. In the painful and suffocating feeling of bleeding, they were knocked down by the inertia of the arrows.

what's up?

The other gangster looked at his companion in astonishment, panicking and at a loss. At this moment, Fu Zeyang jumped out of the bushes, holding a hatchet and slashing at the man's face, shouting softly.
"Death."

"what--"

The man screamed and only had time to raise the wooden stick to block it. Then there was a "crack" sound, and the hatchet broke the stick and hit his face with the same strong force.

"Bang~"

With a dull thud, the third gangster fell to the ground, his body still twitching.

When Zhuang Lin and Tang Bin arrived, they saw all three gangsters lying down.

"There is still one!"

After a moment of hesitation, Zhuang Lin reacted immediately and rushed towards the bushes. Fu Zeyang, who was trembling with excitement, also rushed in.

But when the two of them rushed to the depths of the bushes and saw the situation clearly, they both froze on the spot.

They didn't need to deal with the fourth man. He was lying on the ground with his clothes in disarray and his pants half-off. He had a look of fear on his face and there was a large tear on his neck that was bigger than a fist. There were trickles of blood flowing out. It was obvious that he was dead.

The woman has disappeared.
"Master Zhuang, do you smell a faint stench, like the one at the zoo?"

"Have"

At this moment, Zhuang Lin and Fu Zeyang inexplicably felt a chill running from the soles of their feet straight up to the top of their heads!

(End of this chapter)