61. Windfall

Xie An knew that Zhang Hengshui had set his sights on him.

Although Zhang Hengshui had no evidence.

However, this was not the peaceful and prosperous era of his past life, where everyone placed importance on legal evidence. This was a feudal, chaotic era, and the Fierce Tiger Sect was a pugilistic martial arts sect. Many people did not play by the rules when doing things.

Targeted by a ferocious wolf, how could Xie An possibly have any peaceful days ahead?

Xie An only wanted to develop quietly in peace, and then slowly pursue eternal life. He had no desire for killing and fighting... but he was being forced into it.

Then he could not blame anyone else.

His gaze turned fierce and resolute.

As an older man, Xie An considered himself... someone who always emphasized steady development, possessed a mind as vast as the sea, and treated others with kindness. He rarely became this resolute.

"That fellow Zhang Hengshui, just like Zhang Biao, is used to being arrogant and domineering. His words are bound to be harsh at times, so please don't take it to heart, old brother," Zhang Lin reminded him at the opportune moment.

Xie An snapped out of his thoughts and chuckled softly, "Rest assured, I am already advanced in years, so naturally I won't fuss over such trivial matters. Let's hurry and find a place to set up an ambush."

Acting as though he truly did not care, Xie An led Zhang Lin out of the ancestral hall and began searching for a suitable hiding spot in the surroundings.

Yet, Zhang Lin muttered inwardly: Can my old brother really not care about such a minor slight? No matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem quite right...

With the Plum Blossom Monster looming as an imminent threat right now, Zhang Lin suppressed these thoughts and began searching for a suitable place to lie in wait.

Finally, Zhang Lin pointed to a debris-storing room beside the back door of the Chen residence and said, "Old brother, this spot is suitable for lying in wait. I estimate that there is a high probability the Plum Blossom Monster will leave through the back door. This place is most appropriate to ambush him."

Xie An glanced sideways at Zhang Lin and flatly rejected it, "This place is not bad, but it won't do."

Zhang Lin's mind failed to turn the corner for a moment, "Why?"

Xie An replied speechlessly, "Because in this place... we might genuinely run into the Plum Blossom Monster."

Hiss.

Zhang Lin instantly sucked in a breath of cold air. Only then did he understand the profound wisdom of his "old brother," and he was filled with admiration. Fortunately, he was following a good brother; otherwise, it would have been far too dangerous.

Xie An, however, did not find it remarkable at all. "Wiping out the Plum Blossom Monster is the business of the hall masters and incense masters. If we meddle in it, we are just throwing our lives away. Furthermore, Incense Master Wei told us to leave that dangerous ancestral hall precisely to preserve our faction's strength. How could we disappoint Incense Master Wei's good intentions?"

"What the old brother says is entirely correct. Matters of charging into battle should be left to the hall masters and incense masters; why should we muddy these murky waters?" Zhang Lin repeatedly cupped his fists in salute.

When it came to pugilistic experience, Zhang Lin felt he lagged far behind his old brother.

The closer it got to a critical moment, the more obvious this gap became.

Imperceptibly, Xie An had become his backbone.

Xie An nodded and said, "Mr. Zhang and I have been working together for quite some time now, and I naturally regard Mr. Zhang as my own brother. I am unwilling to see Mr. Zhang put himself in danger. Follow me out of this dangerous place that is the Chen residence, and we will find a spot to lie in wait in the woods opposite the back courtyard. In this way, not even mentioning staying far away from trouble, should we happen to encounter the Plum Blossom Monster, we can still decide our own advance or retreat."

Zhang Lin readily agreed, "I will listen to my old brother."

Xie An breathed a sigh of relief, smiling cheerfully as he accompanied Zhang Lin out of the back door and entered the dense forest opposite to hide.

Not long after, a tremor came from the ground.

"Someone is coming!"

Zhang Lin immediately grew vigilant. He poked his head out from behind a tree to look down the path, but seeing no one, he pressed his ear against the ground to listen, "It's the sound of horse hooves..."

Giddy-up!

Shortly after, a group of men dressed in black came galloping fiercely on horseback, causing the ground to tremble ceaselessly and kicking up a flurry of dust across the earth.

Beneath the bright moonlight, Xie An saw twelve sabers-carrying men riding towards them on horses, every single one of them exuding an overwhelming aura of murderous intent. Moreover, the cavalry formation was meticulously arranged, divided into six rows with two men per row. Even at a breakneck riding speed, they maintained an orderly formation, sweeping towards the back door of the Chen residence like a torrent of steel.

It was evident that this group not only possessed astonishing equestrian skills but also had impeccable coordination. At a glance, they frequently traveled together, rivaling the elite cavalry of an army.

This was clearly no ordinary band of bandits, but extremely thorny and fierce outlaws.

Having stayed in Wuqiao Town for so many years, this was Xie An's first time seeing such a formidable and magnificent troop of horse bandits. He shrank his body slightly further behind the tree trunk to ensure he would not be spotted.

Hmm?

Xie An had sharp eyes and noticed that a masked man at the front right of the cavalry troop looked very familiar...

Because his face was covered, Xie An could not make a more detailed identification, only feeling that this person had a seventy percent resemblance to the Plum Blossom Monster he had seen that day, yet they were not entirely identical.

The situation was critical at the moment, so Xie An could not afford to overthink and kept his eyes locked firmly ahead.

Whoa, steady!

When the cavalry troop reached the back door of the Chen residence, they pulled on the reins and brought their horses to a halt.

The Plum Blossom Monster, positioned at the front right of the cavalry troop, immediately flipped down from his saddle and drew the precious saber at his waist with a metallic *clang*.

The eleven horse bandits behind him successively dismounted, drawing their sabers from their scabbards with a chorus of *clangs*. With high spirits, they stood firmly behind the Plum Blossom Monster, radiating a chilling aura of death.

"Brothers, charge in with me! Slaughter these scoundrels and retrieve our Corpse Refining Hall's supreme treasure."

The Plum Blossom Monster took a step forward and led the way by vaulting over the wall.

The others also gave each other a hand for leverage and leaped over the courtyard wall.

The courtyard wall was over a zhang high, but for martial artists... leaping over with a bit of leverage was not a problem at all.

Watching all twelve mighty and valiant horse bandits leap over the wall into the Chen residence, Zhang Lin, hiding in the woods, finally exhaled a long breath and sighed deeply in admiration.

"It is still my old brother who considers things comprehensively. If I had listened to my own idea earlier... and squatted in the back courtyard's utility room, I'm afraid I would already be a dead man by now."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Zhang Lin felt a wave of lingering fear, his spine turning cold.

At the same time, Zhang Lin felt an even greater sense of his old brother's "profound foresight." He had saved his life! Inevitably, a feeling arose in his heart—following Wei Dian was far less useful than following his old brother.

Seeing the expression on Zhang Lin's face, Xie An knew that Zhang Lin had already developed the intention of following him.

This could not entirely be blamed on Zhang Lin; it was mainly because Zhang Lin had not witnessed the sheer ruthlessness of the Plum Blossom Monster.

Xie An, however, had witnessed it and deeply understood how perilous the Plum Blossom Monster was.

"We will wait right here. The fighting inside should start shortly."

Perhaps intimidated by the reputation of the Plum Blossom Monster, or perhaps because Bai Fangyu had personally arrived to hold the line, Zhang Lin merely imagined the scene of the upcoming battle in the ancestral hall and felt a palpitation of lingering fear.

"I will heed whatever arrangement my old brother makes." Having lost his composure somewhat, Zhang Lin found an anchor upon hearing these words and harbored no more doubts.

Xie An said no more, tightening his grip on the four-stone heavy bow at his waist and watching the direction of the back door of the Chen residence vigilantly.

Before long, intense sounds of combat echoed from inside the Chen residence, accompanied by earth-shaking battle cries...

With his exceptionally keen senses, Xie An acutely perceived from these chaotic noises that the battle inside was extremely fierce and locked in a stalemate. Fearing the two sides would not be able to break apart anytime soon, he said, "Mr. Zhang, come with me to make a windfall."

Hearing the battle cries had filled Zhang Lin with anxiety and panic, and he failed to catch the meaning for a moment, "What windfall?"

Xie An pointed at the twelve horses tethered at the entrance of the Chen residence, "These are all fine horses. If we take them to be sold, every single horse can easily fetch thirty to forty taels of silver. Combined, that's four to five hundred taels. Should Incense Master Wei ask about it, we can also say we cut off the Plum Blossom Monster's retreat path, which gives us a plausible account either way."

Zhang Lin froze for a moment, then gave a thumbs-up, "Old brother's move is brilliant. Serving two purposes at once, excellent, excellent, excellent."