The newcomers were all dressed in dark blue-black martial robes. The leader wore a brocade-cloud jade-inlaid belt and a silver-threaded curved saber at his waist. His face was sharp as a blade, his eyebrows arched like sabers, and his eyes were filled with heedless provocation.
Beside him, a man with a displeased expression held a bow in his hand, as if frustrated. His cold, sinister eyes swept over Su Yan.
This person was Gu Hong, the leader of the Little Mountain Gang. The arrow just now was fired by him.
'The bastard has a tough life; he dodged my arrow.'
It was a spur-of-the-moment attack, and though he was annoyed that the arrow missed, it wasn't enough to enrage him overly. He had plenty of ways to kill this lowlife who dared to oppose him.
"Yin Ruguang, do you want a fight?"
Li Jinshan was furious and stared coldly at the leader of the Seven Sabers Martial Hall.
This was the second most senior true disciple of the Seven Sabers Martial Hall, the Deer-Slaying Saber Yin Ruguang.
The Wild Mountain is unlike the outside world; here, force is the only rule.
Given the relationship between the Golden Ape Martial Hall and the Seven Sabers Martial Hall, a fight to the death would not be strange here.
Yin Ruguang raised an eyebrow and said flippantly: "Brother Li misunderstands. My brother Gu and I were just hunting and made a slight mistake. However, speaking of which, banditry is a crime subject to arrest. Does Brother Li want to try it?"
His words were velvet-wrapped needles. There are No Laws in the Wild Mountain (Huangshan Wu Faling). If you have the guts to enter, but no fate to leave, a death is just a death.
It would merely be reported that a Savage Beast killed the person, and no one could, or would, investigate.
This was the unwritten rule.
But similarly, with profit as the primary concern, a second unwritten rule dictated that on this main access road, no matter how deep the enmity between the two families, they could not commit murder. Anyone who violated this would be jointly attacked by all factions.
If everyone targeted this road for foul play, all families would be unable to conduct their business.
Yin Ruguang and Gu Hong's provocation relied on this rule, betting that Li Jinshan would not dare to start a massive fight.
As for the death of one or two disciples, that genuinely wasn't a major issue, unless it was a true disciple or a direct kin.
"Roar!"
Just as Li Jinshan was about to reply, a tiger's roar came. Earlier, as the sudden confrontation began, Su Yan was attacked, and everyone was on guard.
Unexpectedly, Li Shun, in a moment of distraction, was caught off guard by the ferocious tiger, which flipped him away with its tail, causing him to stumble.
"Hahaha, so these are the new disciples of your Golden Ape Martial Hall? Not impressive at all."
Yin Ruguang became even more brazen at the sight. If they couldn't even subdue a mere Quasi-Tier-one tiger, what kind of Golden Ape Martial Hall were they? They were nothing but monkeys.
"Su Yan!"
Li Jinshan's anger flared up. He couldn't act because Yin Ruguang's words had backed him into a corner.
Su Yan heard this and knew that Li Jinshan was being forced to a passive position and couldn't easily intervene.
He strode forward, speaking before he even reached the spot: "Stand back."
At this, Li Ying, Ma Xiaodong, and Liu Yinglong stiffened their faces but immediately retreated a few steps.
Su Yan strode over. The fierce tiger, seeing him alone, pounced.
As the vicious tiger leaped, its orange-striped body pressed down like a great mountain.
Su Yan was neither rushed nor slow. In a flash of lightning, he used a variation of the Old Ape Supporting the Mountain stance, exerting force with both arms, pushing against the tiger's shoulder, and shaking it to send it flying.
The thousand-pound great tiger was thrown backward five or six meters, crashing down right onto Yin Ruguang and Gu Hong's side.
It landed with a dull thud on the hard cobblestones, its bones clicking and rattling.
The fierce tiger struggled up, now thoroughly terrified. Su Yan locked his aura onto it, his eyes sharp as knives.
The fierce tiger actually turned its head and ran, charging straight toward Gu Hong and his group.
"Hmph, a child's trick."
Gu Hong showed disdain, and Yin Ruguang was contemptuous.
It was just a Quasi-Tier-one tiger; how could throwing it at them embarrass them?
Yin Ruguang drew his curved saber, ready to strike.
"Be careful, Brothers!"
Su Yan shouted loudly, seemingly worried that the fierce tiger would hurt them.
However, before the shout was finished, he had already grabbed the refined steel longbow from his back. His hands moved like lightning, and arrows flew like shooting stars. Whoosh, whoosh, he released a rapid volley of three or four consecutive arrows.
"Not good!"
The three or four sharp arrows were incredibly fast, and what's more, they flew with a curve, passing the ferocious tiger and heading straight for Gu Hong, Yin Ruguang, and the others.
Ostensibly shooting the tiger, but actually aiming for the men!
Before the tiger arrived, the cold glint of the arrows was already upon them.
Yin Ruguang's saber flashed like white silk, swiftly cutting down two arrows, their cross-sections polished smooth as a mirror.
Gu Hong, holding only a bow, had no sharp weapon. Furious, he swept with the bow to block the arrows.
However, as he looked up, several more breaking-air sounds arrived, arrows aligned in a line, coming in rapid succession.
Yin Ruguang swung his saber like lightning, continuously cutting down the arrows. This level of archery could not defeat him.
But Gu Hong only had a bow, and with the volley of arrows, his movement was constrained. Moreover, Su Yan deliberately targeted him, sending four or five arrows from three different angles.
While swinging his bow-arm, he could only move his body to dodge, looking somewhat disheveled. His fine robe was even torn in a hasty scramble.
At this moment, the tiger was upon them, trying to escape. Yin Ruguang's eyes blazed with anger. He slashed his curved saber, and a flash of saber energy cleaved the ferocious tiger in two, killing it instantly.
Blood rained down and splattered on the ground and their clothes, making them look quite embarrassed.
Yin Ruguang's reputation as the Deer-Slaying Saber was for the speed of his blade.
However, at this moment, even the fastest saber could not beat the speed of a 'boomerang.'
"Hahahahaha! The Seven Sabers Martial Hall indeed has excellent saber techniques! I am impressed, impressed! My Junior Brother's archery is poor; he can't even hit a tiger. Thank you for your help, Brother Yin!"
Li Jinshan laughed heartily, his voice sounding somewhat like a tiger's roar echoing in the mountains.
As he spoke, he had quietly taken a step forward, shielding Su Yan. His aura condensed like an ape's, and his fierce eyes locked onto the people in front.
With this stance, even if Yin Ruguang disregarded the rules and attacked violently, he would have to face Li Jinshan first.
Yin Ruguang's face was ashen, knowing he had been utterly tricked. His gaze was murderous.
"Su Yan... I'll remember this. Don't die in the Wild Mountain. Let's go!"
Yin Ruguang's impromptu provocation failed, and he lost face. At this point, even he didn't dare to openly ambush and kill them.
Setting aside the issue of manpower disparity, escalating the conflict would truly violate the rules, and he couldn't bear the consequences of that.
Disappointed, he left, his hatred for Su Yan increasing severalfold.
"Brother Yin, it's all my fault. If I hadn't been reckless and shot at that base mountain-dweller, you wouldn't have lost face."
Once inside the forest, Gu Hong immediately apologized to Yin Ruguang as they returned along the original path to the Seven Sabers Martial Hall and Little Mountain Gang contingent.
Though annoyed, Yin Ruguang couldn't fall out with the Little Mountain Gang, as the Seven Sabers Martial Hall and the gang were on good terms.
He waved his hand and said, "It's nothing. I didn't like that kid either. Where does he come from?"
Gu Hong said scornfully, "A base mountain-dweller who latched onto Song Qi of the Hundred Herbs Hall and was accepted into the Golden Ape Martial Hall. He's got a little talent, that's all. If he didn't have someone protecting him, how could he act so arrogant?"
He narrowed his eyes and suddenly mentioned: "By the way, judging by the size of their team, aren't they going to rest at Wawanshan tonight?"
"What are you planning? Li Jinshan is not someone easy to deal with. If you break the rules, let alone Manager Gu, even the Second Gang Leader won't be able to protect you."
"I know that, of course."
Gu Hong, however, gave a sinister, cold laugh: "The Wild Mountain is never short of rampaging Savage Beasts."
"Junior Brother did well. I didn't realize you possessed such formidable archery skills."
Li Jinshan praised him repeatedly. He naturally had a good eye; even if the archery wasn't a special martial skill.
The arrows flying like shooting stars and guided as if by hand showed that the skill was deeply ingrained, worthy of being called Great Completion Archery, comparable to martial skills like the Ape Fist.
Great Completion in his Fists, Great Completion in his Stance, Great Completion in his Archery... this Junior Brother's understanding of techniques was truly exceptional.
"Senior Brother exaggerates," Su Yan grinned. "I just don't shoot straight."
Li Jinshan burst into laughter—a good 'not shooting straight.'
No, what he should admire most wasn't his Junior Brother's comprehension, but his courage.
Martial artists strive. If you don't dare to strive, what kind of martial artist are you?
Someone helped Su Yan collect his arrows and returned his bow to him, which he then tucked into his waist.
Suddenly, he asked, seemingly out of curiosity, "Senior Brother, the Seven Sabers Martial Hall and the Little Mountain Gang are also entering the mountain, so why did they go in that direction? Didn't you say everyone rests at Wawanshan?"
Li Jinshan casually replied: "The main road needs to pass horses and carts, so resting at Wawanshan is natural, as the area is more open. But if there are few people, and they are all martial artists without large cargo, the road through Green Tooth Valley is faster, and travelers often stay there."
"Green Tooth Valley?"
Su Yan's eyes lit up slightly: "Is it far?"
"Not far. It's less than four or five li east of Wawanshan, just over a mountain peak."