From bone collectors to the supreme ruler of humanity

Chapter 28 Wind Return Style

As Lin Yan passed by the two people, he kept walking with his head down.

"stop."

Lin Yan stopped and looked back at the two waiters, his fingers already touching the dagger at his waist.

One of them looked him up and down, then suddenly asked, "What are you doing in the city?"

"Buy medicine."

Lin Yan pointed to a corner of a medicine packet sticking out of the basket and said with a fawning smile, "I bought it for the elderly in my family."

The man stared at him for a couple more seconds before impatiently waving his hand and saying, "Go."

Lin Yan turned and left, his palms sweaty.

Just a moment ago, he almost drew his sword.

But to take action in this town would be tantamount to walking into a trap.

He quickened his pace and walked out of town. He hadn't gone far when he suddenly heard a commotion behind him.

Looking back, they saw a bandit being pinned to the ground by two of Qingfengxiang's men, while Xiong Kuo and two others stood by, confronting several of the men.

Lin Yan strode over, "What happened?"

Xiong Kuo said somewhat helplessly, "He's been recognized. The person in this portrait looks too much like him."

Lin Yan glanced at the portrait; it did indeed look very similar.

The waiter said coldly, "We noticed this person was acting suspiciously and tried to stop him for questioning, but he tried to run away."

"We're here to sell firewood."

Lin Yan pointed to the firewood load that Xiong Kuo was carrying, "This is my brother, not the person you're looking for. He was in a hurry to sell his firewood and go home, and he was afraid of the officials, so he tried to hide."

"Fear?"

The shop assistant sneered and said, "If you have nothing to hide, what are you afraid of the officials for?"

He shoved Lin Yan aside and bent down to grab the bandit on the ground.

Lin Yan took a deep breath, preparing to make a move, when Xiong Kuo suddenly stepped forward, slammed the bundle of firewood on the ground, and said gruffly, "Are you even being reasonable! We're not selling this firewood, we're leaving!"

The bundle of firewood fell to the ground, and half a bag of copper coins fell out from the scattered firewood.

These copper coins were the change I got from buying medicine earlier.

The scene fell silent for a moment.

The shopkeeper looked at the half-bag of copper coins, then at Lin Yan and his group, and suddenly revealed a meaningful smile.

"A wood seller carrying so much money?"

Lin Yan knew she couldn't hide it any longer.

He glanced at Xiong Kuo and nodded slightly.

Xiong Kuo understood what he meant and suddenly kicked the guy in front of him to the ground.

At the same time, Lin Yan drew his dagger and plunged it into the back of another waiter's leg. The man screamed and fell to his knees.

"run!"

Lin Yan gave a low shout, grabbed the bandit on the ground, and rushed out of the town.

Xiong Kuo and two others followed closely behind, and the five of them mingled into the crowd at the market, winding their way towards the earthen wall on the east side of the town.

A whistle sounded behind them, and more and more Qingfengxiang employees surged in from all directions.

As Lin Yan ran, he used [Mountain Observation] to sense the location of his pursuers.

There is a wild forest outside the earthen wall on the east side; if we rush in, we can shake off our pursuers.

However, there is a gap in the earthen wall that is about two people high, which needs to be climbed over.

"Xiong Kuo, you go first!" Lin Yan shouted.

Xiong Kuo was the first to climb over the earthen wall, followed by two other bandits and the bandit who had been scratched.

Lin Yan was the last one. When he tried to climb over the wall, the pursuers were already twenty paces away.

He flipped over and jumped off the earthen wall. When he landed, he stepped on something soft. Looking down, he realized it was a dead cat.

Lin Yan didn't have time to think it through.

They followed Xiong Kuo and the other four into the wild forest.

They ran for about two miles through the woods before shaking off their pursuers.

The five stopped and gasped for breath. Lin Yan's basket had a hole torn in it by a tree branch, and the medicine bag almost fell out.

"Chieftain,"

Xiong Kuo, panting heavily, said, "I'm sorry, I couldn't control myself."

"Let's talk about it when we get back. We shouldn't stay here any longer, let's go."

The five men returned to the mountain stronghold along the same route and did not encounter any pursuers along the way.

Before dark, the group finally returned to Jiming Ridge.

As soon as Lin Yan entered the village gate, he was stunned by the scene before him.

The village was in a mess; several wooden houses were burned down, the granary door was smashed, and various debris was scattered on the ground.

The dozen or so bandits were either wounded or sitting, their faces filled with anger and helplessness.

"What happened?"

Xiong Kuo grabbed a bandit and asked.

"Boss, you just left, and Qingfengxiang's men have already come up here."

The bandit said, "There were more than twenty of them, all trained. They injured several of our brothers and stole our stored grain and medicine. If it weren't for our brothers' desperate resistance, they would have almost breached the stronghold."

Lin Yan's face darkened.

He handed the medicine packet to a bandit and strode into the Chen family's wooden house.

Chen and Lin Xiu sat in a corner, surrounded by several women from the village.

Upon seeing Lin Yan return, Lin Xiu rushed over and hugged his leg.

"elder brother!"

"fine."

Lin Yan patted her younger sister's head and looked at her mother with concern, asking, "Mother, are you alright?"

Madam Chen shook her head. "It's nothing, just a fright. Yan'er, will those people come again?"

"No," Lin Yan said. "My son promises."

He turned and left the wooden house, standing on the flat ground, looking at the gloomy and dejected people in the village.

Xiong Kuo walked over, bowing his head in self-reproach. "Chief, it's my fault. I shouldn't have acted impulsively and caused trouble."

"It's not your fault."

Lin Yan interrupted him, "If Zhao Yuanlang can't find me, he'll keep watching this area. The village will be discovered sooner or later."

Looking at the vast mountains and forests outside the village, Lin Yan suddenly said, "Get a good rest tonight. Starting tomorrow, everyone in the village will train with me."

The next morning, before dawn, the twelve bandits in the village were already lined up on the flat ground.

Xiong Kuo stood at the very front.

Lin Yan stood in front of them, holding the broken blade in his hand.

"I don't want what happened yesterday to happen again." He spoke, his voice not loud, but everyone heard him clearly. "You are my people. If you guard the village, I can guard you."

He drew his knife and held it horizontally in front of him.

"From today onwards, I will teach you military swordsmanship, not the basic techniques that Xiong Kuo taught before, but the complete manual, from the first move to the ninth move."

Xiong Kuo suddenly looked up, "Chief, you..."

"During the days I sparred with you, I thoroughly mastered your swordsmanship." Lin Yan glanced at Xiong Kuo. "You've only practiced up to the fifth move, but I guess the complete manual should have nine moves."

Xiong Kuo stared at him in shock. "How did you know?"

"Because the core of your sword technique's power generation method wasn't fully utilized after the fifth move," Lin Yan said. "The first five moves are slashing, and the last four moves are variations."

You haven't practiced the last four movements, but your body has memorized the power generation methods for them; you just haven't mastered them yet.

Xiong Kuo opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

He had trained in martial arts in the border army for ten years, but he had never seen the last four moves of the sword technique. Lin Yan only fought with him a few times, but he was able to figure it out.

"First move, decapitation strike. Second move, armor-piercing strike. Third move, horizontal slash. Fourth move, sweeping strike. Fifth move, mountain-splitting strike."

Lin Yan would strike with his knife for every name he read out.

He executed the first five moves of the [Mysterious Blade Technique] even more accurately than Xiong Kuo.

After finishing the five moves, he paused for a moment, and then continued.

"Sixth Form, Returning Wind Form."