Chapter 6: Villain Ranking Eighth!
“No man’s land, please feel free.”
Finally, a clear, cold voice came from the temple.
“Then thank you, friend.”
The Wei Yuan Escort Agency crowd then entered the ruined temple.
Chief Escort Han Jin swept his gaze around the temple and saw a man wearing a cloak on his head and a white robe.
Perhaps due to traveling too long in the mountain area, the white robe on the man had turned black and gray, covered in stains.
There was a woven basket behind the man.
A girl about six or seven years old was sitting in the woven basket, poking out her head, her lively eyes curiously watching the escort agency crowd.
Han Jin walked toward the white-robed man.
He noticed the man suddenly gripping the hilt tightly, so he immediately stopped, keeping a certain distance from the man, and cupped his fists. “I am Chief Escort Han Jin of the Wei Yuan Escort Agency. We’ve disturbed you today; please forgive us, brother.”
“This distance, do not approach!”
Ji Qing didn’t even look up, but drew a line on the ground with charcoal.
Han Jin glanced at the line under his feet and nodded. “Jianghu rules, we naturally understand. Han will not disturb you.”
Han Jin turned and left.
The escort agency people cleared out a space on the other side of the ruined temple and immediately began making a fire to cook.
Among the crowd was a woman in white long skirt, with a graceful figure, wearing a veiled hat that covered her face, accompanied by a maidservant. She didn’t look like someone from the escort agency traveling the jianghu.
Han Jin called the woman to a corner and said softly, “That person should be a traveler resting in the temple, not coming for us. Miss Lin, you can rest assured.”
“With the Chief Escort guarding, I am naturally reassured. This trip owes much to the Chief Escort, but the closer we get to Li City, the more uneasy I feel. My third uncle is ruthless and cruel; he probably won’t let me return so easily.”
“Miss Lin, rest assured. Since Han has taken this escort job, he will naturally deliver Miss Lin safely to Li City! We’re already very close to Li City now; just two or three days’ journey left. Miss Lin, go eat first, rest early. We must set off early tomorrow morning.”
Miss Lin nodded.
The escort agency crowd finished their meal. Except for the escorts on night watch who remained vigilant, the others gradually fell asleep.
No one knew how much time had passed.
The ground of the temple began to vibrate slightly.
“Swish.”
Han Jin was immediately startled awake.
He immediately gripped the hilt and asked the escort on night watch, “What’s going on?”
“Chief Escort, a horse team is coming. The commotion sounds big; probably quite a few people.”
The escort reported.
“Horse team? Wake everyone up quickly!”
Han Jin was shocked.
The crowd in the ruined temple was roused one after another.
“Brother, there’s a horse team outside. Please be careful, brother.”
Han Jin kindly reminded Ji Qing.
“Thank you, Escort Han.”
Ji Qing also responded aloud.
With such a big commotion from the horse team outside, he had actually woken up long ago.
He had even discerned the number of horses in the team.
There should be eighteen fast horses.
The horse team soon arrived.
Eighteen horses, eighteen men in black, standing quietly in front of the ruined temple, exuding an intangible aura of killing intent!
The originally noisy sounds suddenly quieted down.
“By Third Master’s order, we specially come to invite Miss Lin into the city!”
One of the men in black shouted loudly.
Miss Lin’s heart sank upon hearing this.
Her third uncle had finally couldn’t hold back.
“Go back and tell Third Uncle that I have escorts from the Wei Yuan Escort Agency protecting me, so no need to trouble Third Uncle.”
As soon as Miss Lin spoke, Han Jin and the other numerous escorts immediately blocked the ruined temple entrance, staring tightly at the eighteen men in black.
“Third Master said, if Miss Lin doesn’t cooperate, don’t blame us for not being polite!”
“Swish.”
The eighteen men in black simultaneously drew their curved sabers.
The snow-bright curved sabers gleamed fiercely under the torchlight.
“Protect the escort!”
Han Jin shouted loudly.
The “escort” the Wei Yuan Escort Agency was delivering this trip was actually Miss Lin.
This was a “living escort.”
Normally, the Wei Yuan Escort Agency did not take living escorts.
But Miss Lin’s father had a great favor to the Wei Yuan Escort Agency, so Han Jin could only grit his teeth and escort a “living escort” this once.
He knew this trip would definitely have trouble, and now it seemed the trouble had indeed come!
“Kill anyone except Miss Lin without mercy!”
The eighteen men in black instantly charged toward the ruined temple.
Han Jin was a third-rank martial artist and the strongest in the Wei Yuan Escort Agency.
Thus, he raised his saber and rushed out of the ruined temple, drawing his saber to clash with one man in black.
“Bang.”
The two clashed hard, and Han Jin shuddered all over.
“Such strong internal energy, and this is just one person?”
Han Jin was very shocked inside.
One person was already a third-rank martial artist.
The enemy had eighteen men in black; how to block them?
After all, the entire escort agency only had three third-rank martial artists; the gap was too big.
Sure enough, as the fighting unfolded, the escort agency crowd collapsed at the first blow.
After a few rounds, the escort agency suffered heavy casualties.
Even Han Jin was injured; his hand was slashed, fortunately not seriously.
“I remember now, you are the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert!”
Han Jin’s gaze swept over the eighteen men in black one by one.
The weapons of these men in black were too distinctive.
Not the common long sabers in the jianghu.
But curved sabers!
Generally, few in the jianghu used curved sabers.
Plus, all eighteen were skilled riders, matching exactly the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert that Han Jin knew.
“Heh heh, didn’t expect there to be someone in the jianghu who knows us. Since you know we are the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert, you should know the consequences of fighting us.”
The leader of the men in black sneered.
Han Jin’s heart sank as he gripped his long saber tightly.
The Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert were actually eighteen horse bandits rampant in the great desert.
These eighteen horse bandits committed many evils, specializing in robbing merchant teams or raiding villages.
Once they struck, they often massacred entire villages, leaving no chicken or dog alive, committing countless crimes in the great desert.
Later, the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert were wanted by the government and couldn’t stay, so they fled into the jianghu, unexpectedly taken in by “Third Master Lin.”
“Today, it seems the Wei Yuan Escort Agency is doomed…”
Han Jin retreated into the temple, and the escorts who could still move gathered together.
Though they knew they were no match, not a single escort flinched.
Escort agency rules: while the escort is safe, we live; if the escort is lost, we die!
Miss Lin was the “living escort”; to take Miss Lin, they had to step over their corpses!
“Brother, I’m scared…”
At this time, a timid voice sounded from the temple.
“Swish.”
Everyone’s gazes turned toward the girl who made the sound.
Ji Qing gently stroked the girl’s head and said calmly, “Yao’er, don’t be afraid. Brother is here.”
Although comforted by Ji Qing, Ji Yao was only six years old, and the scene before her was too bloody for a six-year-old girl.
Ji Qing raised his head and looked at the night curtain outside the ruined temple.
“You three, how long do you plan to watch the show?”
His voice was soft, but it clearly reached everyone’s ears.
Whether the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert or the Wei Yuan Escort Agency crowd, all were startled.
Besides them, were there others here?
But they looked around, and in the pitch-black night, where were there any others?
“Hahaha, worthy of being the new Villain Ranking Eighth, the ruthless demon. You’ve already noticed us three?”
A hearty laugh approached from afar, echoing in everyone’s ears.
By the time they came to their senses, they discovered that outside the ruined temple, three short-statured, oddly appearing martial artists had appeared at some point.
