Jianghu folks can smell each other miles away.
It's a saying—same trade, same tricks. You can fool outsiders, but not your own kind.
For Li Yan, he *literally* smelled them.
After that night, his nose was sharper.
The riders galloped on the highway, still a hundred meters off, but their thick blood scent hit him hard.
*Human* blood.
Mixed with a whiff of corpse rot.
Good thing he could tell it was real, not like the *mad soldier* or temple's weird smells.
Sha Lifei, the old jianghu hand, sensed trouble too, standing and whispering, "Something's off. Stay sharp…"
He stepped into a stance—feet not quite square, elbows bent, hands three inches from his hilts.
A knifeman's guard.
No draw to avoid trouble, but ready to strike first.
Li Yan, trained in the same school, knew it.
He also saw Sha's weight on his back foot—ready to bolt if things went south.
Reapers hired knifemen for jobs *and* protection. Guanzhong's rough folk meant bandits were common.
Sha, though, wasn't the heroic type.
The reapers gripped their sickles tighter.
Some knew basic moves; others, just farmers, wielded tools with ease. Desperate, they'd hack.
Outnumbering the riders gave them courage—no one fled.
Hooves slowed. The riders stopped, eyeing them.
Under straw hats, weathered faces glared, some mocking, others dismissive.
Li Yan was sure now—these were bandits.
Whatever their gear or weapons, each had a loose black scarf around their neck.
Bandit hallmark—yank it up, and it's a mask.
But bandits had rules.
Parading in broad daylight? Were they nuts?
Sha stepped forward, forcing a laugh, cupping his fists. "Five peaks on land, five lakes by water, a blade rules the northwest. You lot look new—where from?"
Jianghu code, gibberish to outsiders, clear to Li Yan.
*Five peaks, five lakes*—all corners of the realm.
Sha pegged them as outsiders, not Guanzhong locals, flashing his jianghu cred to make them wary.
Strong dragons don't cross local snakes.
Sha was no dragon, barely a snake.
But in the jianghu, you bluff first, figure it out later.
Normally, they'd reply—name their mountain, river, or shrine.
It's called *probing paths*, sizing each other up to avoid fights.
But these guys didn't bite.
Some toyed with their blades, eyes gleaming with bad intent.
The leader barked, "Move. Just poor dirtlegs. Don't miss our timing."
His accent wasn't Guanzhong.
Qilu bandits!
Li Yan's gut jolted, pegging them.
The greenwood had many crews—Eastern Liaodong gangs, Guanzhong blade bandits, Central Plains polemen, Qilu horsemen, Taihu lake pirates. All robbers, kidnappers, thieves.
Each had their turf, rarely crossing.
This bold march meant trouble.
Sha saw it too, legs trembling.
But at the leader's call, the bandits rode off, kicking up dust, gone.
After a bit, Sha stomped forward, drawing his blade with a *clang*, cursing at their backs. "No-damn-manners dogs! If I wasn't with my folks, I'd teach you a lesson!"
Li Yan rolled his eyes.
They're gone, what's the point?
The reapers rushed to calm him.
"Hero Sha, cool it…"
"Don't call 'em back…"
Sha, still fuming, sheathed his blade, grumbling, "Bunch of horsemen—I, Sha Lifei, don't sweat 'em. Just didn't want you hurt… hmph!"
An old reaper, shaken, said, "Year's been wild. Let's move?"
"Move where?!" Sha glared. "They just left, might be fighting ahead. Rushing to die? Wait, dodge 'em."
Li Yan nodded inwardly.
Sha was a coward, but his jianghu instincts were sharp.
The reapers agreed—here for coin, not trouble.
But soon, Li Yan leapt up, drawing his blade with a *clang*, eyes locked ahead, tense.
"What now?" Sha hurried over.
Gripping his Guanshan blade, Li Yan growled, "Something's coming!"
Not human.
Right after the bandits left, he caught a new scent—icy, rank, heavier than "Blind Third" from before.
His heart sank. Was his spirit root drawing another monster?
What beast dared roam at high noon…
Sha, startled, drew both knives, scanning. The flat fields showed no one, no hooves. He doubted, "You gone crazy? Ain't nobody here."
"What's *that*?!" Black Egg pointed left, shouting.
Heads turned. In the left field, wheat waves parted fast, something big charging through.
Before they could guess, a bowl-thick snake rose, hissing, scales glinting in the sun.
Weirder—its head had a cockscomb-like crest.
"Cockscomb snake!"
Reapers paled.
Folklore said cockscomb snakes, with rooster-like crests, killed on contact.
Yin by nature, they haunted graves and tombs. Old tales warned grave robbers met their doom with these.
Worse, they were said to be demon snakes with cultivation.
Li Yan's skin crawled. His nose told him this snake's icy stench outpowered the temple's incense.
And its cold gaze locked on *him*.
He reached for the red bag with the *Three Powers* tassel.
It had a body—maybe his relic could kill it.
But would slaying it draw another weird curse?
"Don't move!" Sha hissed, staring ahead, trembling. "Heard these snakes size you up.
"Taller than them, they scare to death.
"Stack up!"
Many knew the tale.
Even old books said snakes with cultivation compared heights. Win, they bite; lose, they die—but only face-to-face, no sneaking. Travelers used umbrellas to outheight them, and the snake would perish.
True or not, they obeyed.
They'd seen the snake's speed—no escaping.
Reapers, familiar with childhood games, stacked like acrobats. Strong ones below, slimmer ones climbing shoulders.
In moments, they formed a three-layer human tower.
To their relief, the snake watched from the field, hesitating, not advancing.
"See? Told ya!" Sha, bearing two men, grinned smugly.
His face froze.
The snake reared, rising higher, surpassing their tower.
"Quick, more men!"
"Who the hell shat?!"
Panic hit. Li Yan leapt, using a locust tree to climb atop the tower, blade ready.
Against this unknown, he trusted Sha's plan.
But somehow, he felt the snake was… mocking them.
Suddenly, it twisted its neck, listening, then dove into the wheat, vanishing like wind.
Wheat swayed. A faint flute wailed in the distance…
The reapers collapsed, trembling.
An old one cursed, "What's with this year? Bandits, now monster snakes—hit the bad luck star?"
Li Yan, thoughtful, looked afar.
He sensed the snake was after the bandits.
Spooked, the group grew jittery.
Seeing morale dip, Sha boasted and thumped his chest, rallying them to march on.
They'd planned a quiet mountain shortcut.
But now, Sha, spooked too, stuck to the main highway, adding a day.
Luckily, no more oddities.
Sha, the old hand, asked tea stalls and passersby about the bandits. They'd vanished at a fork.
Days later, Xianyang's walls loomed.
They didn't enter, following Sha to a nearby village.
Sha bragged, "This client's generous—pays better, more land.
"Without me, you'd miss this…"
Li Yan, distracted, glanced around.
Sha promised to take him to Wang Daoxuan in Xianyang after settling the reapers.
Would this guy be legit? Would he take Li Yan in?
*(End of Chapter)*