Two bandits were shot and collapsed to the ground.
The others froze for a moment before suddenly lunging forward together, refusing to give Li Daoxuan any chance to reload his firearm.
Li Yan was startled. He wanted to help, but he was only a scholar who could barely tie up a chicken. He had no idea how to assist and could only stand there in panic.
Amid the chaos, Li Daoxuan actually turned his head and smiled at Li Yan.
"Step aside. Don't worry about me."
Li Yan rubbed his eyes, feeling that something was off.
That man's head… had it just rotated halfway around to talk to him?
His body didn't seem to move at all.
When he focused again, Li Daoxuan's head had already turned back, leaving only the back of his head visible. Li Yan wasn't even sure whether the man's body had moved at all.
At the same time, two bandits had already rushed up to Li Daoxuan and slashed their blades down.
Slash! Slash!
Both strikes landed.
One blade sank into his left shoulder, the other into his right.
Originally both attacks were aimed at his head, but Li Daoxuan tilted his head slightly left and right like a "focus test dummy," causing the blades to miss his skull and hit his shoulders instead.
For an ordinary person, taking two cuts like that would already be enough to cripple them.
But Li Daoxuan simply grinned.
Both fists shot forward simultaneously.
Bang! Bang!
The two bandits were struck and sent flying backward.
Niu Jinxing was stunned.
His subordinates were even more stunned.
But the situation had already reached this point. No matter how strange their opponent was, they had no choice but to attack.
The group rushed forward again.
With a metallic clang, blades suddenly sprang out from Li Daoxuan's left and right elbows.
With his left hand, he stabbed one bandit in the stomach.
With his right hand, he sliced off another bandit's arm.
He continued using the same old fighting style.
He didn't dodge or evade the incoming attacks at all.
After all, he couldn't dodge them anyway.
So he simply endured them head-on.
That way, it was easier for him to counterattack.
In the blink of an eye, Li Daoxuan's body had been struck by who knew how many blades.
But it didn't matter.
To him, it was nothing more than a splash of water.
Meanwhile, the blades in his hands cut down several more enemies.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
In less than half a minute…
All of Niu Jinxing's men were lying on the ground.
Li Yan stared blankly, completely stunned.
But Niu Jinxing was terrified, his entire body trembling.
"Y-you… what kind of monster are you?!"
"I already told you earlier."
"Higher than… the Cult Leader…"
Only now did Niu Jinxing truly feel the terror behind those words.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
He must have been lying to me.
Just as Niu Jinxing was panicking, one of the wounded bandits suddenly sprang up and fled into the distance.
Li Daoxuan's attention instantly shifted toward the fleeing bandit.
Niu Jinxing was overjoyed.
Heaven is helping me!
He immediately ran in the opposite direction.
One to the left, one to the right.
They split up completely.
After all, Li Daoxuan was only one person—there was no way he could chase both at once.
Li Daoxuan chuckled.
"Trying tricks like that."
He clasped both hands together with interlocked fingers, then suddenly pulled them apart.
Crack! Crack!
Both of his hands were torn off.
From the wrists, dark cannon barrels were revealed.
Behind him, Li Yan nearly screamed in shock.
Li Daoxuan raised his left arm and aimed at the fleeing Niu Jinxing.
Then he raised his right arm and aimed at the escaping bandit.
Both arms pointed in opposite directions like the shape of a cross.
Li Yan was drenched in sweat.
"What… what are you doing?"
Li Daoxuan grinned.
"Don't just stand there. Help me light the fuse. Both my hands are busy."
Still dazed, Li Yan walked over, took out a fire striker, and lit the fuses protruding from Li Daoxuan's arms.
Throughout the entire process, his mind remained blank.
Boom! Boom!
Two cannon blasts rang out, one after another.
Two small cannon shells shot out simultaneously.
Then came the second explosions.
BOOM! BOOM!
Although the shots were slightly off target, the shrapnel flying in all directions easily engulfed both Niu Jinxing and the fleeing bandit.
Several fragments struck their bodies.
They screamed twice before collapsing to the ground, motionless.
Only then did Li Daoxuan retract the cannon barrels.
He waved his armless wrists and said to Li Yan,
"What are you staring at? Pick up the hands on the ground and help me attach them back."
"Ah? O-okay!"
Li Yan hurriedly crouched down and picked up the pair of hands from the ground.
They were still locked together with interlaced fingers.
When he picked them up, he realized that although they looked like human flesh, they were actually made of some strange rubber-like material, with steel bones inside.
They were surprisingly heavy.
Li Yan cautiously asked,
"What… exactly are you?"
Li Daoxuan smiled.
"As you can see. Anyway, I'm not human."
Li Yan inhaled sharply.
"Let's go," Li Daoxuan said. "We can't stay here long. We just fired cannons. The sound will reach the mountain, and Li Zicheng will send people to investigate soon."
"Li Zicheng?" Li Yan asked in surprise. "Who?"
"The Chuang Wang," Li Daoxuan replied with a grin. "Li Zicheng is his real name."
Li Yan was shocked.
"You even know the Chuang Wang real name? No one knows that."
Li Daoxuan said calmly,
"I just told you. I'm not human."
Li Yan: "..."
The two left the bamboo forest and walked onto the official road at the foot of Panlong Mountain, hiring a carriage and heading toward Jinan Prefecture.
Li Yan now knew that Li Daoxuan was the leader of the Firearm Rebels. He had many questions he wanted to ask, but since they had only just met—and since the man might not even be human—he didn't dare ask too much.
The journey passed in silence.
Before long, they arrived at Jinan Prefecture City.
As soon as they reached the city gate, Li Yan noticed that many more soldiers had appeared there, all wearing bright armor.
He was startled.
"Reinforcements from the court have arrived."
Li Daoxuan nodded.
"Yes. The Minister of War, Sun Chuanting, has arrived in Jinan."
Upon hearing the name Sun Chuanting, Li Yan paused.
"The man who killed the previous Chuang Wang."
"Yes."
"If he's in Jinan, how can we enter the city?" Li Yan asked. "Your people should be avoiding him. If he discovers you, a battle will surely break out."
"Don't worry."
Li Daoxuan smiled.
"He's one of ours."
Li Yan gasped.
The Minister of War… actually working with the Firearm Rebels?
Wouldn't that mean the entire Ming court—
Li Daoxuan smiled faintly.
"In terms of military strength, we could storm the capital and overthrow the Ming at any time."
"But if everything is destroyed through force alone, what meaning would that have?"
"If everything is smashed to pieces, what good would it do for the common people?"
Li Yan fell silent.
Li Daoxuan brought him straight into the military camp.
Liu Maopao spotted Li Yan immediately and smiled slightly.
Then he bowed deeply toward Li Daoxuan.
"Tianzun, you've rescued him."
Li Daoxuan replied,
"I'll leave the rest to you."
Liu Maopao said respectfully,
"As you command."
When Li Yan heard the words "as you command", he felt even more shocked.
Li Daoxuan walked over to a transport wagon, lay down on it, and stopped moving.
Li Yan stared in astonishment.
Liu Maopao walked over and smiled.
"When we met last time, I had no idea you were actually Li Yan, the strategist of the Chuang Wang. Please forgive my earlier disrespect."
"Tianzun has gone to attend to other matters."
"From here on, I'll be the one showing you around."
"Anything you want to know…"
"I will tell you everything."