88: Chapter 88 Encountering Injustice on the Road, Received the Crimson Flame Ginseng as a Gift

Ye Tian paused his footsteps, his brows slightly furrowed.

He did not want to meddle in other people's business; the Jianghu was treacherous, right and wrong were difficult to distinguish, and rashly getting involved would be unwise.

However, just as he intended to take a detour, those ferocious and cruel laughs, that overbearing sense of bullying the few with the many and leaving no survivors, suddenly pierced deep into his memory.

Almost instantly, the cold smile of Yan She, the blood-stained hands of Tu Qianshan, and the scenes of the Ye Family Disciples falling in blood... all flooded into his mind!

An irrepressible rage surged up from the bottom of his heart!

"Hmph!"

Cold light flashed in Ye Tian's eyes, his figure flickered, and he headed towards the source of the sound.

It was not out of chivalry to intervene in injustice, but rather out of a deep-seated hatred and murderous intent towards existences like the Black Cloud Stronghold!

In a few leaps, he had quietly crouched behind a giant rock, his gaze sweeping downwards.

The situation in the valley was clear at a glance.

Five men dressed in uniform brown martial attire with fierce expressions were surrounding and attacking three people.

The three being surrounded, two men and one woman, seemed to be Disciples of some Family based on their attire and bearing.

An old man of about fifty years, holding a thick-backed saber, had a cultivation at the Qi Gathering Eighth Layer, but at this moment, a deep wound reaching the bone on his left shoulder was bleeding profusely, his face was deathly pale, his aura was weak, and he was relying entirely on sheer willpower to hold on.

A young man in his early twenties, wielding a long spear, had a cultivation of Qi Gathering Level 6. Although his spear technique was sharp, he was struggling to parry and was covered in multiple wounds.

The most eye-catching was the young girl, about sixteen years old, wearing a green martial outfit that outlined her lithe figure. Her face was beautiful, but at this moment, her willow-like brows were furrowed in anger, her lips stained with blood, and she held twin short swords. Her cultivation had actually reached the Qi Gathering Realm - Level 7!

Her movement technique was agile, and her twin swords were ruthless; she was actually the most tenacious defender among the three. However, facing an absolute disadvantage, she was already drenched in sweat, her breathing ragged.

The five men in brown clothing surrounding them had a minimum cultivation of Qi Gathering Realm - Level 7, and the leader had even reached the Peak of the Ninth Level of Qi Gathering Realm. He held a ghost-head saber, and his sword technique was ruthless and tricky. Every strike forced the old man into danger, clearly intending to first disable the strongest combatant.

"Old Zhong! Hold on!"

The young man desperately thrust his long spear at an enemy, but it was easily parried, and a backhand strike added another bloody wound to his ribs.

"Young Miss... This old servant is incompetent... In a moment, I will block them at the cost of my life, you and A'Cheng must leave quickly!"

The old man, called Old Zhong, shouted hoarsely, his eyes full of determination.

"No! Uncle Zhong, if we die, we die together!"

The young girl in green said with a firm tone, dancing her twin swords to parry the incoming blade, and shouted, "Who exactly sent you? Why are you ambushing our Zhong Family?"

The bandit leader sneered, his offensive not stopping: "The Zhong Family? Hmph! You only have the Zhong Family to blame for offending someone you shouldn't have! Young Miss Zhong, I advise you to be sensible and come with me! Otherwise..."

Before he finished speaking, his ghost-head saber shone with a dark light, and seizing the moment when Old Zhong was exhausted, he slashed fiercely at his neck!

If this strike landed, Old Zhong would certainly be decapitated!

"Uncle Zhong!" the young girl cried out in alarm, disregarding her own safety, her twin swords thrusting directly at the bandit leader's back in an attempt to relieve the pressure on Old Zhong, but she was entangled by two other bandits and could not rescue him at all.

The young man, A'Cheng, was unable to reach them in time, his eyes filled with despair.

Just as the tragedy was about to happen...

"Swish!"

A sharp sound of breaking through the air rang out from the top of the valley!

A cyan finger wind, carrying cold murderous intent, arrived later but reached the target first; its speed was so fast that it was hard for the naked eye to capture, shooting towards the one-eyed bandit's wrist holding the saber!

This finger strike was not some profound Martial Skill, but simply Ye Tian shooting out highly compressed True Qi. However, its power and speed were far beyond what a Martial Artist of the Qi Gathering Realm could imagine!

"Ah!"

The one-eyed man only felt a sharp pain from his wrist, his entire arm instantly went numb, and the ghost-head saber fell from his hand with a "clang"!

He looked up in horror, only to see that a figure in green robes had appeared on the giant rock at some point. The figure had a cold expression, eyes like ice, and was coldly looking down at him.

That gaze made even the battle-hardened bandit leader feel afraid!

"Who is it?!"

The other bandits were also startled by this sudden change, and their offensive involuntarily slowed down.

On the rock, Ye Tian slowly stood up. He did not glance at the three members of the Zhong Family, his gaze locked onto the five bandits.

Seeing the actions of these people, the images of the Black Cloud Stronghold bandits ravaging the Ye Family became increasingly clear in his mind, and the rage ignited by this association in his chest burned brighter and brighter!

"You... remind me of some unpleasant things."

Ye Tian's voice carried a chill.

The young girl in green was stunned when she saw Ye Tian suddenly appear. When she saw that he was just a young man in green robes even younger than herself, a flash of shock crossed her eyes, but she still shouted urgently, "Young Master, leave quickly! These people are desperate criminals, don't throw away your life in vain!"

She was kind-hearted and did not want to implicate an innocent person.

The bandit leader endured the sharp pain and saw that Ye Tian looked young. Although he was terrified by the elusive finger strike from earlier, he still shouted sternly, "Where did this reckless brat come from, daring to ruin our good deeds? Attack together and slaughter him!"

Immediately, two bandits of the Qi Gathering Realm - Level 7 showed fierce expressions, one on the left and one on the right, brandishing their weapons, and lunged at Ye Tian!

Ye Tian's eyes turned cold. He didn't even use the long sword on his back; he leaped down from the rock, and in mid-air, threw out both fists simultaneously!

On his fists, the pale golden Dragon-Elephant Power faintly swirled!

"Bang! Bang!"

Two muffled, loud noises erupted simultaneously!

The chests of the two lunging bandits visibly caved in, their protective True Qi like paper, their eyes bulging out. They couldn't even let out a scream before they crashed into the mountain wall and slid down limply, already dead!

Seeing this scene, the scene immediately fell into silence.

The remaining three bandits, including the bandit leader, and the three members of the Zhong Family, all froze in place, staring blankly at the two corpses and the young man in green robes slowly landing.

Instant kill!

And it was so clean and neat!

Two experts of the Qi Gathering Realm - Level 7 were like nothing but dogs and chickens before this young man!

The fierceness on the bandit leader's face was completely covered by fear, and his voice trembled: "Ning... Ningyuan Realm! Senior, spare my life! We were blind..."

Only now did he realize what kind of terrifying existence he had provoked!

Such a young Ningyuan Realm expert must be one of the Prodigy Disciples from those major Sects!

"Begging for mercy now? It's too late."

Ye Tian's voice was cold, devoid of any emotion.

He moved again, appearing in front of the bandit at the Qi Gathering Eighth Layer within two breaths. In the bandit's terrified gaze, he printed a punch onto his chest.

"Pfft!" The bandit spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with pieces of internal organs and fell backward.

Ye Tian did not stop, having already blocked the path of the fleeing bandit leader.

The bandit leader was so scared that tears and snot flowed down: "Senior! It... it was Ge..."

He seemed to want to reveal the mastermind behind it.

But Ye Tian had no desire to listen at all!

He had no interest in the grudges behind these bandits; he acted only because they had stirred up his monstrous rage towards the Black Cloud Stronghold!

"Die!" With two fingers joined, a wisp of True Qi shot out from his fingertips, instantly piercing the bandit leader's brow.

The bandit leader's body stiffened, the light in his eyes scattered, and he opened his mouth wanting to say something, but he collapsed before he could utter a single word.

In the blink of an eye, all five fierce bandits were executed!

Ye Tian smelled the thick scent of blood, his eyes without a ripple.

The three members of the Zhong Family watched, their minds shocked, almost forgetting to breathe.

Especially the Young Miss Zhong, her beautiful eyes wide open, looking at Ye Tian with a gaze full of horror.

She had just been worried that this young man would throw his life away in vain, but she never expected that the other party was such a terrifying expert!

Old Zhong endured the sharp pain, and with A'Cheng's support, struggled to step forward and bowed deeply to Ye Tian, his voice trembling from excitement and his injuries: "This old one... the manager of the Qingmu Town Zhong Family, Zhong Yunshan, along with our Young Miss Zhong Linger and guard A'Cheng, kowtow to thank you, Senior, for saving our lives! Senior's great kindness, our Zhong Family will never forget!"

He directly addressed Ye Tian as "Senior"; the capable are first, this is the rule of the Martial Artist world.

The young girl named Zhong Linger also quickly bowed gracefully, her voice crisp but carrying a trace of lingering fear: "Zhong Linger thanks you, Senior, for saving our lives!"

At this moment, the rage in Ye Tian's chest had gradually calmed down as the bandits were executed. He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the three of them, his tone flat: "No need to call me Senior, my surname is Ye. Just passing by, it's good that you are all fine."

He did not act to save them; it was purely to vent his rage. He accepted this gratitude with indifference.

Seeing that although Ye Tian was young, he had an extraordinary bearing, unfathomable strength, and did not wish to claim the title of benefactor, Zhong Yunshan was even more admiring and quickly said: "So it is Young Master Ye! Young Master Ye is highly righteous, this old one admires you! Is Young Master heading to Qingmu Town? If you don't mind, please be sure to come to our humble residence to take a rest, let us fulfill our duties as hosts, and also repay your kindness, Young Master."

Ye Tian pondered for a moment. He had originally intended to go to Qingmu Town to inquire for information and rest, so he nodded: "Very well, then I will impose upon you."

Seeing Ye Tian agree, a look of joy immediately appeared on Zhong Linger's pretty face.

Without needing to be told, A'Cheng had already nimbly gone to clean up the battlefield, searching some valuables and identity tokens from the bandits.

Zhong Yunshan carefully took out a box made of special cold jade from his bosom and presented it to Ye Tian with both hands, saying sincerely: "Young Master Ye, great kindness cannot be repaid with words. This item is called the Red Flame Ginseng, a Spirit Medicine with three hundred years of maturity that our Zhong Family obtained by chance. Its medicinal properties are fierce and vast, and it has miraculous effects for tempering the Physical Body and enhancing Qi and blood. It is a meager gift, not representing our full respect, but I hope Young Master will accept it."

Ye Tian's gaze fell on the jade box, and he could feel the scorching energy contained within it.

This Red Flame Ginseng was indeed of great benefit to his Cultivation of the Dragon Elephant Art.

Seeing their sincere attitude, he no longer declined and took the jade box: "Since that is the case, I will accept it. Thank you."

Seeing Ye Tian accept the gift, both Zhong Yunshan and Zhong Linger breathed a sigh of relief.

After tidying up a little and simply bandaging Zhong Yunshan to stop the bleeding, the group left the valley and headed towards the nearby Qingmu Town.

On the way, from the conversation between Zhong Yunshan and Zhong Linger, Ye Tian roughly understood that their ambush might have stemmed from Family disputes, but he did not care about this and just listened silently.