Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 115 Climbing the Mountain, Testing Courage

Time flies.

These past few days I've been completely quiet, staying indoors, practicing standing meditation for an hour, and then doing whatever I feel like, whatever comes to mind.

Tai Chi, Bagua, Xingyi, Tongbi, Pigua, and White Crane.

These internal martial arts techniques come naturally to him; he had only seen the manuals for many of them but had never practiced them much.

But once you've mastered a skill, you'll understand everything.

In just one or two days, he had figured out the basics of some boxing techniques.

After practicing for a few more hours, you'll get the hang of it.

This is why those who have reached the level of "Transformation of Power" are called "Grandmasters." A Grandmaster is the origin of a path, the essence of a path, returning to simplicity and truth, and unifying all methods.

Chen Zhan sparred with Ye Ningzhen every day, and with such a master providing close guidance, he improved rapidly.

It's even faster than when the master gives guidance.

After all, the woman was older, and the master had to avoid any appearance of impropriety, so he couldn't give her too intimate instructions, and many of her movements couldn't be corrected.

The two of them, on the other hand, did not have this concern.

On the fourth day after returning from the Gong family, Sister Hua brought news that Li Yaobai and the other four had returned.

It was somewhat tragic, and also somewhat funny.

As for why it took so long, it was because on the way back, they encountered bandits who robbed them. A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle, so they were robbed of everything and beaten up.

Four people, who begged their way back.
When Chen Zhan saw the group, he was both amused and exasperated. Their clothes were tattered, and their cotton hats had been taken away. The three of them had suffered from frostbite on their ears, hands, and feet from the cold.

In this state, and after being beaten, with injuries to his hands and feet, he can't even steal.

Bai Wu and another younger brother suffered broken arms.

They were beaten pretty badly.

Luckily, the robbery happened on the way back, not on the way there.

"Master Chen, please don't laugh. We're in such a sorry state. Look at Xiao Wu's arm," Li Yao said, feeling aggrieved.

“Hiss!~”

Bai Wu's bones were set by Ye Ningzhen and fixed with bamboo sticks, causing him to let out a miserable scream.

"Let him/her take care of it. He/She will be fine in a month or two," Ye Ningzhen said with a smile.

"Tell me, where were you robbed?"

"When we were almost at Phoenix Mountain, the train was stopped, and everyone was forced off," Li Yao replied to Chen Zhan.

Chen Zhan smiled, now he understood.

Phoenix Mountain is located west of Fengtian, in Yishan County.

With towering mountains and forests, it's normal for a few bandits and brigands to live there. Coincidentally, Yishan County is not far from Fuxin.

"It's on my way. I'll be going out on errands in a few days, so I'll just cook them all together," Chen Zhan said casually.

"Really? Master Chen?" Li Yao asked in surprise.

“You come along too, Xiao Wu will come with me, and then you can take revenge yourself,” Chen Zhan said with a smile.

Chen Zhan had no interest in a bunch of bandits and highwaymen.

They might have some skill to rob a train, but they can't compare to the Three Fiends. Those guys don't need to rob to survive; they use all the latest Japanese equipment.

"Really? We're willing! We want to follow Master Chen and take revenge ourselves!"

Bai Wu suddenly became interested. He thought that he should stay at home to recuperate, and that he wouldn't be taken along even if something happened.

Who wouldn't want to take revenge themselves?

Hua Jie hesitated a bit when asked about his injuries. In her opinion, it was good that no one had died, and a few injuries were nothing.

The Thieves' Guild had suffered many injustices. Chen Zhan had helped them avenge the Japanese, but it still wasn't enough.

There's no need to make enemies with the bandits in Fuxin.

"It's alright, they're just bandits. It'll be good for you to practice your skills, so you won't be too afraid to kill the Japanese later."

Chen Zhan set the tone, and Sister Hua said no more.

From the moment Chen Zhan killed Kawashima Kenji, she was completely convinced and even applauded Chen Zhan's blatant misrepresentation.

Two more days passed.

Gong Ruomei sent a secret letter: "Ma San will take the train tomorrow morning."

The group agreed to leave a day early, traveling separately by car. The members of the Thieves' Guild disguised themselves, with Xiao Wu following Chen Zhan and Ye Ningzhen following Sister Hua.

I didn't meet Gong Ruomei, but we were on the same train, though in different carriages.

"Clang~ Clang~ Clatter~"

The train started its journey. This time it was a short trip; Fengtian is not far from Fuxin, and we arrived in half a day.

As afternoon approached, the group met up in Fuxin, no longer needing to hide from the Japanese spies.

Fuxin was a small city, and at that time there were no Japanese troops stationed in the city.

After having a meal in the city, we left Fuxin and rode horses southwest along the railway line. The further we went, the more mountains there were and the denser the forests became.

Ye Ningzhen distributed the guns she had previously seized to everyone, two guns to each person.

We took all the guns we could carry with us from the Japanese soldiers we killed earlier.

As darkness fell and visibility was reduced, the group of thieves, though mostly experienced with guns, were not very skilled and were somewhat nervous.

"Master Chen, are we just going into the mountains like this?" Bai Wu couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, let's go straight into the mountains."

Chen Zhan and Bai Wu led the way, seemingly reckless and impulsive, but Chen Zhan was now fully focused, his senses incredibly sharp.

By the time we reached the halfway point up the mountain, it was completely dark.

The forest rustled, and Chen Zhan glanced around, then pushed off with his legs, spurring his horse's belly. The black horse whimpered, and Chen Zhan shot off like lightning.

The pesky pesky on another old tree had just spotted Chen Zhan and his group from afar.

The next moment, the thick old tree beneath him snapped with a crash.

"Holy crap! An earthquake?"

Ma Zi jumped up immediately, landed and rolled forward. He landed on a tree more than ten meters high. If he hadn't been skilled, he would have been seriously injured.

Upon landing, I realized there hadn't been an earthquake. The next moment, I was lifted up, screaming "Ah~ Ah~" as both my arms were dislocated.

Chen Zhan returned, carrying a mountain bandit with a pockmarked face.

"Lead the way up the mountain."

"What mountain are you going up?"

"Go to your nest."

Ma Zi's eyes darted around, and he quickly said, "I...I went up the mountain to gather herbs, why are you arresting me?"

Chen Zhan smiled, too lazy to argue with him, and flicked out two needles, inserting them into the Sanyinjiao acupoint on the inside of the calf and the Weizhong acupoint in the popliteal fossa behind the knee.

Both acupoints are extremely painful when pressed, and the pain is even more unbearable when needles are inserted.

"Ouch! Ouch! Damn it! That hurts!"

At first, Ma Zi didn't feel anything was wrong, but the pain kept getting worse until he was rolling around in agony. Even having his arm joint dislocated didn't bother him anymore.

"I'll take it, I'll take it!"

Chen Zhan put away the needles and asked him to lead the way to the village, with the others following behind.

Phoenix Mountain is neither large nor high.

However, there are several legends that have been passed down since ancient times, so much so that they are considered miraculous and have earned the respect and reverence of the local people.

The village is located halfway up the mountain. Bandits cannot build their strongholds in too steep terrain. Nowadays, they mainly travel by horseback, as horses are difficult to move up and down the mountain and even more difficult to raise.

Once they reached the location of the mountain stronghold, which could be seen in the distance, Chen Zhan could already hear the sounds.

The faint, short breaths and sobs.

After walking another ten or so steps, everyone heard it too. Sister Hua's expression changed: "They're trying to snatch people? Why didn't you two say anything?"

Li Yao and Bai Wu, with pained expressions, innocently said, "They're bandits. They robbed all the men and took the women. Need I say more?"

"Stop talking, just kill them!"

Chen Zhan took the lead, grabbed Bai Wu, and charged into the mountain stronghold.

The stronghold wasn't large, and there weren't many people keeping watch at the entrance. Most of the people were inside, warming themselves by the fire, drinking and eating meat, and raping and abducting women.

"Big brother, second brother, we still have to follow you. We've had such a miserable life for the past twenty years. The Japanese bullied us, and we couldn't afford to mess with the Northeast Army. This is so much better, so much more satisfying!"

"Hahahaha, that's right, following the Twin Tigers of Phoenix Mountain means you'll live a life of luxury."

The two men at the head of the table were wearing tiger skins and had rugged faces; the one on the left had a big beard and the one on the right was bald.

Several scantily clad women were tied to the side.

The two men talked and drank, occasionally touching the woman next to them.

“Once we pull off a few more heists and our forces grow stronger, we’ll need to go further afield. It’s too close to Fengtian from here; it’s too dangerous,” the bald man said.

"Second brother, you're too cautious. What are you afraid of? The Japanese and the Northeast Army are keeping each other in check and don't have time to cause us any trouble. There are countless groups like us in the three northeastern provinces. They can't possibly wipe us out."

"Let's hope so, let's have a drink."

The voice just fell.

"Oh!"

Suddenly, the tightly closed hall door burst open, letting in a howling wind.

The bandits suddenly sobered up; the wooden door was secured with a bolt, and the wind couldn't blow it open!

"Whoosh!"

"Snapped!"

The flying stones shot out, shattering the wine bowl in the bearded man's hand. He barely dodged the fatal blow by tilting his head, but still got a bloody cut on his forehead.

If the wine bowl hadn't blocked half the force, he would have surely died.

This is still with the gates wide open and precautions in place.

"There are experts!"

"Which expert from which path has antagonized the Twin Tigers of Phoenix Mountain? If I have offended them, please tell me."

The response he received was not a human voice.

Instead, it was Ye Ningzhen's five consecutive shots fired in anger.

There were many women inside the hall, which made it difficult for others to fire their guns, but Ye Ningzhen's marksmanship was not affected in the slightest.

Five gunshots rang out.

The two tigers fell to the ground in response. Even if they had some skill, they couldn't possibly dodge the several shots fired by Ye Ningzhen in her anger.

"Wow~"

Both men were shot in the forehead and chest, and chaos instantly erupted in the hall.

Ye Ningzhen fired a few more shots, killing several bandits who were running around. Chen Zhan's figure had already gone inside, like autumn leaves being swept away by the wind.

The speed was unbelievable, the movement was like a thunderclap, and it appeared in front of the bandit in the hall without warning. It reached out, wrapped its hand, and flung him away, sending him flying seven or eight feet into the courtyard, where he was thrown into a daze.

The strange thing about Chen Zhan's speed is that it has "no starting momentum". Ordinary martial artists always have the premonition of "sinking the waist and raising the qi" before exerting force. Even if it is as fast as lightning, there is still a traceable pattern.

But as if on a whim, his blood and qi flowed through his entire body, the compressed spring was released instantly, and his body could "change direction, stop abruptly, and turn back" at any time, like water flowing around a stone but not breaking it.

Figures moved about inside the house. A dozen or so bandits fired five shots in total, but it was unclear where they hit.

Before half a cup of tea was brewed, it was all thrown into the yard, piled up like arhats.

They were piled up in one place, and even the lightest one had a broken hand.

The woman inside was barely clothed, so Chen Zhan didn't linger and left Hua Jie and Ye Ningzhen to deal with her.

Outside, Bai Wu and Li Yao stared in disbelief as one by one they tumbled out of the hall, gradually piling up into a heap.

The first time I saw Chen Zhan go all out, he was simply unstoppable, with overwhelming force, almost single-handedly taking down more than a dozen armed bandits in the blink of an eye.

How can this be a human being?
They finally understood where Chen Zhan got his confidence from, fighting the Japanese all by himself and leaving them helpless.

"Who hit you?" Chen Zhan asked with a smile.

Li Yaobai suddenly realized what was happening and pointed at the long-dead bearded man, saying, "He, he led the team, and these guys were the ones who did it!"

"Okay, let's do it, kill him."

"Did you kill him?" Bai Wu's face was pale. He had come full of enthusiasm, but now he was afraid to actually kill someone.
(End of this chapter)