Chapter 137: Even the Mountains

Naizi Mountain is named after its shape, which resembles a certain part of a woman's body.

Located in northeastern Guilin and belonging to the Dayao Mountain Range, Naizi Mountain features steep terrain, and its deep recesses remain isolated from the outside world, shrouded in mist all year round.

"Cut the crap, keep moving!" On a rugged mountain path winding toward Naizi Mountain, a bandit finally lost his patience with Li Sanjian's endless babbling, shoved him fiercely, and barked.

It was said that a gang of outlaws occupied Naizi Mountain, and the government had launched several suppression campaigns in vain. The reason was that Naizi Mountain was high and densely forested, with numerous peaks and streams, while the bandits were exceptionally familiar with the terrain. Consequently, government troops had returned empty-handed time and again.

Although these fierce bandits were arrogant, engaging in murder, pillage, and plundering, they usually refrained from committing crimes in the immediate vicinity of Guizhou, preferring to harass outlying areas. For reasons unknown, however, they had ventured deep into Guizhou territory this time to plunder, abducting both Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue and dragging them toward Naizi Mountain.

"I say, good brothers, why must you do this? Why make it so hard on yourselves? This humble scholar and you fine leaders have no grievances from a past life, no enmities in this one, and no ties in the next—why force someone against their will? I am merely a destitute scholar, and I truly cannot walk another step. How about we sit down for a moment and appreciate this magnificent scenery instead?" Li Sanjian continued chattering away.

"Will you... please say less... be careful..." Cai Rongxue could no longer bear it either, and whispered to Li Sanjian.

Throughout the entire journey, Li Sanjian's tongue had been as fluent as a flowing river, running on incessantly. He spoke to the cutthroats as if he had encountered old acquaintances in a distant land, treating them like long-lost friends. He had even struck up sworn brotherhood with several of them, becoming so familiar it was hard to believe, casually tossing about vulgar slang and coarse idioms that left Cai Rongxue dumbfounded.

Ordinarily, Li Sanjian spoke in refined classical phrases, playing the part of a cultured scholar. Yet now his true colors were fully exposed, revealing the kind of person he really was, and Cai Rongxue felt a silent contempt for him.

At the same time, however, Cai Rongxue could not help harboring a shred of admiration for Li Sanjian. She admired his composure in the face of chaos; captured by bandits, he was still cracking jokes and chatting cheerfully, a complete contrast to how he had been at the very beginning.

"Careful of what? Hmph, this young master insists on resting right here, and insists on enjoying the scenery. What can you do about it?" With that, Li Sanjian strolled over to the edge of the cliff and calmly admired the mist-shrouded peaks of Naizi Mountain as if no one else was around...

Contrary to conventional practice, when the bandits captured Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue and hauled them up the mountain, they never blindfolded them at all, which was why Li Sanjian had the opportunity to admire the scenery of Naizi Mountain.

Given such complex terrain, what could a poor, weak scholar and a young woman possibly see or remember? Were they afraid they might leak intelligence? Did they even have a chance to leak anything? Once brought up to Naizi Mountain, would they ever have a chance to go back down? Such were the thoughts shared by all the bandits.

Li Sanjian simply refused to walk any further, leaving the gang staring at one another in dismay, completely at a loss for what to do.

If they forced him to march, they feared he would struggle desperately, and on such a perilous mountain path, an accident could lead to a loss not worth the trouble. If they did not force him, he would simply plant himself there and refuse to budge, leaving the bandits caught in a dilemma.

"Sour scholar, are you going to walk or not? If you don't, watch me chop you into pieces and feed you to the beasts of the mountain!" A heavily bearded bandit brandished the sharp blade in his hand and barked fiercely at Li Sanjian.

Hearing this, Li Sanjian tucked his hands into his wide sleeves, turned around, glanced contemptuously at the bandit, and said, "Chop? Go ahead and chop! Right here. If this young master so much as frowns, I am no hero."

By this point, Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue were likely out of danger. If the bandits wanted to kill them, they would have done so long ago—why wait until now? Having gone to all the trouble of dragging him and Cai Rongxue up the mountain, weren't they simply hoping to sell them for a good price? Weren't they holding them for ransom?

Cai Rongxue was dressed like the daughter of a wealthy family, which certainly explained why she had caught the bandits' attention. But Li Sanjian was dressed as a penniless scholar—why had he been dragged up the mountain as well? Li Sanjian racked his brain but could not figure it out.

Perhaps it was due to his dashing and romantic aura? Li Sanjian thought with smug satisfaction.

"You... you motherfucking sour pickle, are you going to walk or not?" The bearded bandit flew into a rage from embarrassment, raised his broadsword, and roared.

"This young master has always meant what he says. When I say I won't walk, I won't walk." At this stage, Li Sanjian had no choice but to bluff his way through to the end.

After all, one couldn't lose face in front of a beauty, could one?

"Not walking, are you? You son of a bitch really think your grandpa doesn't dare chop you?" The bearded bandit pressed the blade against Li Sanjian's neck and bellowed.

"Chop then! Go ahead and chop! I bet you don't have the guts." Li Sanjian kept up a bold front, though his voice was already trembling slightly...

Hearing this, the bearded bandit grew even more frantic with rage, swinging his broadsword down fiercely toward Li Sanjian's head. The wind whistled, and the momentum was ferocious and terrifying.

My life is over! Li Sanjian felt a chilling sensation around his head and neck, his soul scaring right out of his body as he secretly regretted trying to act so tough...

In a flash, with a *whoosh*, the broadsword grazed Li Sanjian's topknot and struck the ground, hitting the rock face and sending up several sparks.

Cai Rongxue let out a piercing scream and tightly shut her eyes. Li Sanjian bit his lower lip, remaining silent as his face turned paler and paler.

"Are you going to walk?" The bearded bandit used his blade to prop himself up against the ground, panting heavily as he asked again.

Whether out of anger or pure exhaustion, the bearded bandit's breathing sounded like a bellows.

"I won't... walk. If you want me to walk... fine, let me rest properly first," Li Sanjian finally replied, softening his tone slightly.

"Someone, carry him!" The bearded bandit seemed to be a minor leader, so he angrily ordered his subordinates.

"Hold on," Li Sanjian said hastily upon hearing this. "Men and women should not touch when giving or receiving things, let alone men among men? How would that look? I won't walk, still won't walk..."

These bandits probably rarely washed all year round. If he rode on one of their backs, wouldn't he be fumigated unconscious? Li Sanjian thought to himself.

"What on earth do you want?" The bearded bandit was practically on the verge of being infuriated to death; instead of getting angry, he laughed and asked.

"A shoulder-carriage, also known as a sliding pole, is a stretcher made by binding two sturdy long bamboo poles together, with a reclining chair woven from bamboo strips or a seat made of ropes suspended in the middle, and a footrest hanging in front. When riding..." Li Sanjian replied.

Li Sanjian was making all this fuss not for his own sake, but for Cai Rongxue.

He himself could manage, but Cai Rongxue was a delicate and charming young lady. To have her tramping through the deep wilderness alongside a group of rough, wild men—one moment stepping deep, the next stepping shallow—made Li Sanjian's heart ache.

If they wanted to use Cai Rongxue to extort a ransom, a price had to be paid, Li Sanjian thought to himself.

Once Cai Rongxue arrived at the bandit lair, her prospects would be grim. What good could possibly come to such a delicate and charming young lady entering a bandit den? Already, some of the bandits were looking at her with restless eyes. Feeling utterly helpless, Li Sanjian could only take things one step at a time and improvise later to see if he could protect her.

"Someone, cut some bamboo, make a sliding pole, and carry him up," the bearded bandit said, too lazy to argue further with Li Sanjian, and gave orders to his subordinates.

Too much time had already been wasted, and fearing that government troops might track them down, the bearded bandit decisively added, "Act quickly, do not delay the hour."

"Wait, make two," Li Sanjian pushed his luck and continued.

"Go on, go on, cut more bamboo and make two!" The bearded bandit glared at Li Sanjian with intense hatred and spat, "When we reach the stronghold, your grandpa will show you what's coming. I'll chop you into pieces and feed you to the dogs then."

The bandits had lived in the southwestern region for a long time; how could they not know what a sliding pole was? Working together, they quickly constructed two sliding poles and then hoisted Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue up, rushing toward the mountain stronghold.

And so, a group of burly, vicious villains carried a scholar and a woman through the towering mountains, forming a rather picturesque scene. Under the circumstances, this looked nothing like a kidnapping; it clearly resembled an invitation extended to a wealthy young lady and a young master of a prominent family to visit a mountain stronghold as honored guests...

"Pardon the trouble, two brothers. Might I ask your esteemed names?"

"......"

"Wild folk of the mountains, nameless and surname-less."

"Brother, you are mistaken. Humans have surnames, and spirits have names. If a person retains their humanity yet bears a spirit's name, they are called a 'named spirit'—meaning even if you are to be a spirit, you should be a famous one, otherwise you might as well go home and sell roasted yams..."

"Damn it, say another word and see if I don't pitch you into a ravine to rot into a heap of flesh!"

"Brother, once again you are mistaken. In such a scenic place of limpid waters and lush mountains, to be laid to rest here—how could that ever be a heap of rotting flesh? Loyal bones are buried in green mountains everywhere; to find one's final resting place here is to become a renowned corpse, a loyal corpse..."

"......."

............

The bandits were long-time residents of this region and were thoroughly familiar with every path. Unhindered, they quickly returned to their stronghold.

The stronghold of the Naizi Mountain bandits was a heavily fortified encampment established over many years. Its terrain was extremely perilous, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only a single path leading up the front. The entrance was narrow enough for only four or five people to walk abreast, while sheer cliffs flanked both sides. Any attack had to be launched from the front, meaning assailants would have to withstand a ferocious barrage of front-facing archers and crossbows, rolling logs, and falling boulders.

Easy to defend and hard to attack—this was precisely one of the reasons why the suppression campaigns by Guizhou had repeatedly failed.

"First Chief, Second Chief, the boys are back!" Upon reaching the stronghold, the bandits cupped their fists in salute to the chieftains who had come out to welcome them.

With a heavy *thud*, the two bandits carrying Li Sanjian dumped him unceremoniously out of the sliding pole.

Throughout the entire journey, the pair had endured enough of Li Sanjian's endless chatter, and at that moment they wished they could hack him into seventeen or eighteen pieces.

Li Sanjian sprawled out on his back, but he didn't get angry. He cheerfully scrambled to his feet, brushed the dirt off his clothes, straightened his attire, and looked up at the two bandit leaders standing before him.

One of them was in his thirties, rugged in appearance, with a thatch-like clump of straw-colored beard sprouting beneath his chin. His knuckles were thick and coarse, marking him instantly as someone who had spent his life practicing martial arts or doing hard farm labor.

The other man appeared to be in his early twenties, tall and slender. What drew the eye most was his skin—uncommonly white, so white that one suspected he had applied an exceptionally thick layer of powder, giving him a somewhat ghostly pallor. Stuck into his hair were five ornamental hairpins.