Clenching his fist, You Ping once more focused on his opponents.
"Hah, look at those dirty scoundrels! Hiding behind rocks and thinking of themselves as great shit!" He had to do his job properly and protect the others to the best of his abilities.
"Common your wussies, show me some guts! Oh, sorry, I forgot you don't even have dicks." At his words, even those that had been calmer seemed a bit annoyed right now.
You Ping had been cussing at them in so many different ways, and it was only getting worse and worse. They did not doubt he would soon be cursing their nine generations without a spare thought.
Zhen Yu, the man sent to fight You Ping with another ten thieves, had veins throbbing all over his body while his eyes burned with fury.
'This bastard! There are two fucking rats on his side and he dares to speak about us!'
However, he would not recklessly charge in just because of that. The opponent was of unknown origin and there was a certain possibility he had not shown his full power just yet.
Since he knew that, Zhen Yu immediately sent his men to march forward and confront the opponent.
All the while, both Yueshi and Zhu Xiong were trying to kill the marching opponents or even those remaining behind; unfortunately, every time they sent an arrow out their enemies would snipe at them or even intercept their attacks with their own – this was clearly not something average people could do.
Seeing that, You Ping sighed.
If Liangshi came out of hiding, they would be able to keep the pretenses about his strength, however, they would give away another of their trump cards.
With that being so, he opted for dealing with them himself.
What followed were the groans of pain from the wounded people, and their sharp scream when they fell or were thrown out of the pathway, plunging to the depths below.
Each time a man was killed, Zhen Yu's expression grew more dreary and, eventually, he ordered them all to retreat – yet, five of his men had already died by them.
However, instead of being afraid, the group sighed when the man decided to fight himself – he was merely at the third stage.
At the same time, they became concerned if there were any stronger fighters on the other side, and how strong was their leader to command this group.
— - -
From where he was standing, Yueshi had a good view of the place where the fights were taking place and, under his observant eyes, You Ping easily triumphed against the other side.
The man, Zhen Yu, was eventually made to retreat by the leader.
What happened next, however, surprised them – another two people were sent out, instead of the leader showing up to fight.
Not only that, to their annoyance, they found the two were at the fourth stage, even if only at the early phase.
Chances were that the leader was even stronger.
And though You Ping had not suffered a lot of wounds in the prior fight against the Frostbite Ape King, he was still not in top condition.
Thanks to that, they had to reveal Liangshi, despite being unwilling; at the same time, they started to think about how to deal with the enemy leader.
The following battle was a bit dangerous, and some parts of the path broke apart and fell to the bottom of the canyon.
Fortunately, You Ping was stronger than the two men; and while Liangshi's cultivation was lower than theirs, she had more experience in combat.
The result was that one died, his head cut off, and the other was severely injured.
On their side, Liangshi had suffered a heavy cut to her shoulder, a few centimeters deep, and would probably not be able to use her sword for now.
You Ping, on the other hand, seemed to be in pristine condition.
Seeing the results, the bandit leader's expression was ice-cold as he gazed at You Ping. He had been cautious and that resulted in some of his trusted men suffering a lot, so he was clearly enraged.
"I will go face him. If anything happens heed Zhu San's orders, and if it looks like I may lose, then flee." Before leaving, he gazed at his man one last time.
Yueshi was sure they had their own story, but, just like You Ping, he was determined to do whatever it took to protect the group and Yuan Yue.
Above all, he did not believe those guys were good people.
However, just as he was starting to relax, the situation changed fast.
In the path, You Ping readied his blade, his expression becoming tense.
He was always smiling and grinning, but he knew that he should not underestimate an opponent – he always took all his fights seriously. Therefore, he obviously would not foolishly think the bandit leader was weak.
"You managed to anger me." While approaching, the other side spoke icily.
"Really? I guess I achieved what I wanted them." You Ping shrugged, smiling – his eyes, however, were just as cold and sharp.
The two stared at each other for some time, none of them giving another step forward or starting the battle.
On both sides, some people gulped because of anxiety and worry; at the same time, in the darkness not too far away, a shadow flickered.
Suddenly, You Ping disappeared, becoming a blur as he rushed toward his opponent. His blade glinted with a sharp light as he started his slash even before arriving.
And since his opponent made his move, the bandit leader also went into action. In a swift and smooth motion, he took his weapon from a dimensional storage - a heavy-looking saber.
When You Ping arrived close enough, his sword slash was already descending toward his opponent's neck.
A moment later, the rattling sound of metal colliding against metal echoed, their blades exchanging slashes.
The sound then echoed again and again as they attacked each other, their movements so fast that their images became blurs in the eyes of most.
You Ping's blade was fast and powerful, each slash tore the air apart and made it screech; however, the bandit leader was even more impressive in Yueshi's eyes.
His sword moves were not eye-catching, elegant, domineering… no, they were quite plain. However, as he moved around, his sword was like a viper, its sheer unpredictability and flexibility being enough to stop all of You Ping's attacks on their track.
For those watching, it was as if the two were dancing a dangerous dance, under the rhythmical sound of their swords clashing.
At one second, they were face-to-face, on the other, one was leaping while the other was swirling around – it was enough to leave anyone mesmerized.
There was beauty in watching two evenly matched opponents that knew of their art, which, in this case, was a dance of blades.
However, just as everyone was bewitched by the fight, changes started to take place.
Liu Bai was faster than the others and had cultivated a footwork technique before; at his full speed, not even You Ping was able to catch him.
Because of that, he made the way around the canyon, entered it through the other side, and infiltrated the enemy camp when everyone was paying attention to You Ping.
Now, with the tiger having left its lair, it was finally time for him to act.
Unsheathing the two short blades he carried in his waist, he moved out of the shadows.
His speed was so fast that no one was able to notice him, and the thieves only noticed his presence when a fountain of blood spurted on the air, drenching everyone near.
As screams echoed across the canyon, many eyes were drawn toward the newcomer. And while they were shocked, Liu Bai continued his slaughter.
His blades flashed once more, decapitating another man.
Then one more, and another… and then another one.
It was as if he was a bloody god, his blades swirling around and cutting everyone around him, ending their lives in a gory way.
Heads flew in the air four or five times before the bandits were able to get their act back together, finally holding him back from continuing his slaughter.
The bandit leader seemed extremely angry with what happened. He had already lost a few good men, and now, even more of them had died.
It did not matter if it was because of his plans for the future or because of his subordinates, he had all the reasons in the world to explode in fury. And so he did.
His blade became even more slippery and fierce, and seemed to become two and then four… however, it was not a cultivation technique or martial art – it was pure and sheer speed.
Before anyone could react, one of his slashes had already left a cut on You Ping's chest and another at his waist; yet, his movements did not stop.
Watching such development, Yueshi frowned hard. 'Don't tell me he was holding back just now?'
The situation was dreary; You Ping was on the losing side and Liu Bai was being held back right now. If things continued like this, they would lose!
As time passed, the situation they were in worsened even more.
The man that had been severely hurt in the last conflict with You Ping and Liangshi paid with one of his arms to break a few bones of Liu Bai's left arm.
You Ping also wasn't in a good situation as the number of cuts in his body continued to increase.
Liangshi could not fight right now, and Yueshi and Zhu Xiong's arrows continued to be deflected by their opponents.
All in all, the result of the battle was becoming apparent, and, if no great change took place, their side would lose.
Yueshi stood at the top of the canyon watching everything with a frown.
Now that the bandit leader was releasing all his strength, he could sense his cultivation stage properly and knew that, if he helped You Ping, they could find a way to deal with him – he was just at the fifth stage, after all.
The problem was that the time it would take for him to get there was enough for that man to deal with You Ping and return and take Liu Bai's head.
Yet, he could not stay here and do nothing, just watching them die.
His eyes wandered around, trying to find a way down or at least a way to help. All the while, the clash of swords did not stop, with the sporadically sound of flesh being torn echoing together with it.
Yueshi's heart could not help but leap a beat with every clash.
'Damn. If this is how it should be, then so be it!' Throwing the bow aside, he settled for the only option he had right now.
Grabbing the spear he had left by his side, he looked at the canyon's rock-hard walls. The fall from where he stood to the pathway where the fight was taking place would probably break his legs and leave him paralyzed for life - and that was the best possible outcome.
However, there is always a way to mitigate the fall.
'I don't have time to waste thinking.' Concluding so, Yueshi stopped pondering if there was a better way.
If You Ping lost, they were basically doomed, so he had to do something.
Gripping the spear's shaft firmly, he started to move, running forward and trying to find the best spot to descend.
It would be good if he could find a place with some sharp rock protruding mid-way, which he would be able to use as a stepping stone. However, he found no such place and had to settle with the straightest one.
Drawing in a big breath, he thought of nothing else and jumped, taking care to not stay too close to the canyon walls, but near enough so that his spear could reach them.
Because the walls were not perfectly straight, and were more like a slope, staying too close meant that as he fell there was the possibility of him crashing against the walls – which would spell trouble, an enormous one.
Because of the intensity of the fight, almost no one noticed his actions; only Zhu Xiong watching from the other side of the canyon seemed to see it, her mouth going wide-open in disbelief and astonishment.
Yueshi wasn't even given time to think about anything as he fell like a meteor, crashing directly toward the path below!