The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

Shen An was eating a persimmon that the little girl had picked for him when he saw a commotion coming from the direction he had entered the village earlier.

Before he even got close, he saw one person supporting another blood-covered figure as they staggered out of the reeds, each step leaving a bloody footprint in the mud behind them.

The figure's right arm was missing, while his left arm was tightly covering the gap in his severed arm. Blood continued to gush out from between his fingers, staining half of his body bright red.

Although his face was covered in blood and looked ferocious, Shen An still recognized him as Chief Escort Shi!

At this moment, Chief Escort Shi was at his last gasp. His eyes were bloodshot, his lips were pale, and he was only holding on by sheer willpower. He could only mutter, hoarsely roaring with all his might:

"Chief镖师...Quick...Where is the Chief镖师?"

"What happened, Chief Escort Shi?"

A voice that was neither familiar nor unfamiliar rang in his ears.

Chief镖师 Shi was startled, almost thinking he was hallucinating.

He turned his head with difficulty and saw Shen An.

At this moment, Shen Anzheng frowned slightly and instructed the person who had just helped Chief Escort Shi over, "Chief Escort Lin is at the village chief's house. Go and find him quickly. I'll take care of Chief Escort Shi for now."

At this moment, Shen An showed no signs of being foolish or stupid.

Chief镖师 (bodyguard/escort) froze, his eyes wide as if he were seeing this person for the first time. His mind was a complete blank, and he blurted out, "You...you're not stupid?"

"I never said that."

Shen An simply couldn't be bothered to explain his identity and background. The name "Shen An" was quite well-known in Hengyang. Judging from their discussion of the Sword Testing Tournament, it was clear how much trouble they would cause if they knew he was Shen An.

Moreover, being treated as a mentally challenged child and ignored by others allowed Shen An to learn more information.

They just kept acting, since they were just not saying anything anyway.

However, now is clearly not the time to continue playing dumb.

Shen An reached out and tapped Shi Biaotou's right shoulder twice to stop the bleeding, then steadied his swaying body, his hand finding it hot and sticky. A surge of pure internal energy flowed through his arm, temporarily protecting Shi Biaotou's heart.

Chief镖师 felt a warm current flow into his body, which invigorated him, but the shock in his heart far outweighed that feeling.

Shen An didn't give him time to remain shocked, and quickly said, "It's a bit troublesome to explain. Once this matter is settled, I will explain it to Chief Escort Lin."

Chief镖师 understood instantly.

At this moment, the man had already attracted Lin Zhennan over.

"Old Shi!" Lin Zhennan's face turned deathly pale in an instant. He rushed forward, his eyes wide with rage as he stared at Shi the镖头's empty right arm. "Your hand! Who did this?!"

"Chief...Chief Escort..." Chief Escort Shi gasped for breath, speaking rapidly and incoherently, "It was two monsters... one black and one white... who suddenly emerged from the water to rob the caravan... Escorts Cui and Ji were taken down in an instant. Brothers, brothers, we couldn't hold them off!"

His voice was filled with despair and fear: "Fortunately...fortunately, Li Longtou and his men happened to arrive in time to save me and sent someone to bring me here to deliver the message."

Li Donglai?!

Lin Zhennan felt a sense of relief, a glimmer of hope, but then a deeper unease arose within him.

Even Li Donglai could only stand his ground against the other party, so these two robbers must be quite capable.

Lin Zhennan looked towards the riverbank, but what he saw made his eyes widen in horror.

In that direction, a faint orange-red flame could be seen.

"The ship!" Lin Zhennan cried out in despair, as if struck by lightning.

"Quick!" Shen An reacted even faster. He released Shi Biaotou and tried to draw the sword from his waist. But he found that Shi Biaotou's waist was empty; clearly, the hand that had been holding the sword had been cut off.

Helpless, he took a 30-centimeter-long knife from a nearby villager's house—he didn't know what kind of knife it was, but he grabbed it and charged ahead towards the boat.

Lin Zhennan was startled awake by his shout and recovered from the shock. He stared blankly at his figure. But he knew now was not the time to think about these things, so he followed closely behind, his eyes reddening.

……

The river wind howled, whipping up mud and sand that stung people's faces.

When Shen An and Lin Zhennan arrived at the riverbank, the scene before them made them stop in their tracks.

Lin Zhennan first let out a long sigh of relief.

In the distance, the Fuwei Escort Agency's large ship was moored intact in the river bay.

However, the next second, his heart, which had just settled down, shrank back as if it had been ripped open and was being whipped by the cold wind.

On the open ground by the shore, a huge bonfire was burning.

The flickering flames bathed everything in an eerie orange hue.

On one side of the campfire, a rather burly-looking man, presumably Li Donglai, was leading twenty or thirty of his men in a standoff with a giant man of unusually tall stature and pale skin.

Li Donglai's men were all armed with weapons. In addition to swords and knives, those at the front carried long weapons, some with long bamboo poles, some with sharp fishing spears, and some even had a huge fishing net spread out. However, their faces were filled with fear as they protected Li Donglai in the middle, as if facing a formidable enemy, but dared not step forward rashly.

Clearly, they had already experienced the other's prowess firsthand.

On the other side of the campfire, the scene resembled a hellish landscape.

Another monk, dark and thin as charcoal, sat cross-legged beside the fire. In front of him, he slowly roasted something that had fallen from the镖头 (镖头 is a derogatory term for a skilled镖师, a legendary镖师) over the fire, propped up with two tree branches. The grease dripped into the flames, making a sizzling sound, and an indescribable, eerie odor, a mixture of burnt and meaty smells, filled the air, making one want to vomit.

Behind the black-robed monk were seven or eight bodyguards from the Fuwei Escort Agency, who were also tied up.

They were stripped naked, bound tightly with thick hemp ropes, and gagged with rags, only able to utter desperate moans. Their eyes were wide open like copper bells, staring intently at the hand rolling in the fire, their bodies trembling violently with extreme fear; some had even soiled themselves in terror.

"My two heroes!" It was Li Donglai who ended the tense standoff. "What's so good about this stuff? It's dry, tough, and gets stuck in your teeth! If word gets out and the brothers in the underworld find out, they'll think I, Li Donglai, don't even know the proper etiquette for entertaining guests, leaving two heroes starving to eat bones. Where will I put my old face then?"

"How about this!" Li Donglai patted his chest and said generously, "Gentlemen, please do me the honor of letting these镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) go. Later, I will slaughter pigs and sheep, prepare fine wine and meat, and offer you five hundred taels of silver as compensation for my poor hospitality! What do you say?"

"Good wine and good meat?" Bai Xiong smiled understandingly. Just when Li Donglai thought there was hope, he pointed to the hand on the fire, then to himself, "I appreciate Li Longtou's kindness, but I just love this! What delicacies? None of them are as satisfying as this stuff."

The black bear over there also raised its head, adopting a friendly and approachable expression, but this expression appeared quite eerie as it roasted its severed arm.

"Li Longtou, don't panic. Although my brother and I are greedy, we are not unreasonable brutes. You must have heard of our name, the 'Two Bears of the Northern Desert'."

He paused, seemingly enjoying the increasingly ugly expression on Li Donglai's face, before continuing, "We brothers have always understood the rules of the underworld. We only eat these lackeys who guard the homes of landlords, rich merchants, and tycoons! We never lay a finger on our fellow underworld members. Everyone in the world knows this! So rest assured, we won't lay a hand on you."

"Moreover, after we two brothers have eaten and drunk our fill, we have a big business deal to discuss with you, the local bigwig from Xiangdong."