"Boss, that buyer dealing with Wu Zimian right now—it looks like Yichuan's infamous horse bandit, Zhao Ying."
At the sound of that name, Wang Zuogua's mind flashed with the image of a tough-as-nails woman. He clicked his tongue. "Tch. Nope. Don't think about it. Bad for the soul."
"That woman calls herself a righteous outlaw," Wang Zuogua muttered. "Claims she only robs officials, never commoners. Hah. She's always looked down on us—said we drag peasants into our fights and aren't real men. Damn her—cough, I mean—ah, forget it. Since she doesn't treat us as her kind, we won't treat her as ours. When the time comes, take her horses too."
His men snickered. "Yes, Boss!"
Miao Mei, Flying Tiger, and Red Wolf scattered instantly.
They'd been running around Huanglong Mountain for years; every cliff and gully was like home turf. As night fell, their troops slipped through the valleys like shadows—silent, invisible.
Within an hour, Wang Zuogua's men had completely surrounded Duzhong Village.
Up above, Li Daoxuan frowned.
He tapped the "South" rune on his divine console. Xing Honglang and Cheng Xu were still four or five li away—basically the last to arrive.
If they kept moving forward, they'd slam right into Red Wolf's ambush line.
Tianzun Li Daoxuan wasn't about to let his people wander into a trap. He was about to warn them when—
Two scouts ran up from the front. One was Lao Zhu from Xing Honglang's team, the other Shi Jian from the Gao Village militia.
They bowed quickly. "Report! Situation ahead's complicated. Another bandit force has appeared between us and Duzhong Village. Hard to see in the dark, but from formation and noise, we think it's Wang Zuogua's men."
Li Daoxuan's expression softened into a satisfied smile. Good kids. Sending scouts ahead instead of rushing in blind. Babysitter Tianzun worried for nothing.
Cheng Xu frowned. "They're after us?"
"Doesn't seem like it," Shi Jian said. "Looks more like they're targeting Wu Zimian."
"Oh?" Cheng Xu smirked. "Now that's interesting."
He glanced at Xing Honglang.
Xing Honglang grinned back. "So, Instructor He, any grand plan?"
Cheng Xu chuckled. "Simple—let's sit back and watch the tigers fight. Sure, Tianzun's not short on money, but paying thirty thousand taels to that greaseball Wu Zimian? That hurts my soul. If we can let the crooks rob each other blind, we'll save every tael. I'm just helping Tianzun save money. He'll be proud."
Xing Honglang snorted. "You think more like a bandit than I do."
"Do I?" Cheng Xu blinked innocently.
"I'll say it straight," she said, smirking. "You sound like an official!"
Cheng Xu nearly jumped. "Whoa, whoa! Every bureaucrat in the empire would protest that! You're saying officials are worse than bandits?"
"Am I wrong?" Xing Honglang deadpanned.
"I'm not, I didn't—I'm a good citizen!" Cheng Xu said quickly. "Instructor He, from Hejia Village! Tianzun can vouch for me!"
Xing Honglang rolled her eyes. "There's no Hejia Village in Chengcheng County."
Cheng Xu whistled, staring at the sky. "Ah, lovely moonlight tonight, isn't it?"
Xing Honglang laughed under her breath. This guy…
Still, she didn't reject his plan. Sure, Tianzun isn't short on silver, but giving that much money to a corrupt official for a few horses? Wasteful. Better to save it for the people.
"Fine," she said. "We'll play black-eats-black. But we don't know the situation in Duzhong Village or how many enemies are out there. If we rush in, we might get eaten ourselves."
"True," Cheng Xu admitted. "If it's really Wang Zuogua blocking the road, he knows this mountain far better than we do—"
He broke off with a yelp. "Ow! What the—?"
He'd suddenly tripped over… something. But the ground ahead was empty.
Cheng Xu looked up—and froze. A low, glowing cloud floated above him.
He immediately understood. "Ha! Tianzun's here! His hand's right in front of us—we just can't see it."
"Eh?" Xing Honglang blinked.
When it came to reading divine intent, Cheng Xu's instincts were imperial official level. He scrambled up, grabbing hold of the unseen hand.
Xing Honglang recognized the gesture. "Right! Last time, when we fought the He Yang rebels, Tianzun lifted you to scout the terrain. Can I go too?"
Cheng Xu grinned and beckoned. "Tianzun never treated you like an outsider. Come on."
Delighted, Xing Honglang reached forward, found the invisible palm's edge, and climbed up.
Moments later, both sat safely in Li Daoxuan's divine hand.
The Tianzun raised his palm, carrying them into the night sky.
The last trace of sunset vanished. Darkness swallowed Huanglong Mountain.
In that fading twilight, Zhao Ying finally finished negotiating with Wu Zimian's servants—thirty-two thousand taels of silver for five hundred horses.
But being chased here by Hong Chengchou's men, she didn't have a coin on her.
She might've agreed on a price, but she had no way to pay. Her mind raced, trying to stall Wu Zimian's men a little longer—
When suddenly—!
From the eastern woods came a thunderous drumbeat, followed by a roar:
"Wang Zuogua of Yichuan has arrived! Officials, prepare to die!"
The forest erupted as a full army stormed out.
At the front marched hardened soldiers wearing official armor.
Ever since the Guyuan mutiny, frontier troops had splintered. Many unpaid soldiers had turned bandit, and even dismissed couriers joined the chaos.
Wang Zuogua had gathered plenty of them. His army now looked—and fought—like a proper regiment.
Their sudden charge sent Wu Zimian reeling. "By the ancestors—Wang Zuogua dares to come here?! Men! Seize him for this general!"
Ming Context:
By the late Ming, unpaid troops and dismissed couriers often turned to banditry, blurring the line between "official army" and "outlaw." Figures like Wang Zuogua embodied that chaotic overlap of authority and rebellion.
Trivia:
When Xing Honglang calls Cheng Xu "more like an official than a bandit," it's the Ming-era equivalent of: "Bro, you're more corrupt than the people we're robbing."