Chapter 179 - 176: A Sweet Dream Is Disturbed
The sun shines bright in the sky, the flowers smile at me, and the little birds go, "CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP!"
Green trees, an Earth-yellow road, and the CLIP-CLOP-CLOP of horse hooves!
Ye Xing bathed in the sunlight, drinking wine as he lay on his horse’s back, letting the animal amble along aimlessly.
He had no real destination on this trip; it was purely for the sake of experience. He would just go wherever the road took him.
A few cups of old wine later, he was already feeling tipsy. His eyes half-closed, he slowly drifted off to sleep.
The sun felt warm and comfortable on his body. Before he knew it, he had entered the land of dreams.
Ye Xing was having a wonderful dream. In it, he had somehow brought Mengxue back to Earth, and they had gotten married. Mengxue had even given birth to a big, healthy baby boy—so exquisitely cute, like he was carved from jade. Their family was happy and whole, the envy of all who saw them.
But Ye Xing still wasn’t satisfied. ’Are you kidding? One is hardly enough! We need at least eight or ten,’ he thought. ’The revolution isn’t over yet. I must continue to work hard with my Little Mengmeng!’
As he dreamed on, a wicked little smile unconsciously spread across Ye Xing’s lips. So very wicked.
...
It was a sunny day. Golden sunlight bathed the land.
Lantian Village was a small hamlet on the outskirts of Green River Town.
At this moment, the entire village—men and women, old and young—had gathered at the entrance. Terror and anxiety were etched on every face. In their hands, they clutched an array of weapons: wooden sticks, kitchen cleavers, steel pitchforks, and Great Sabers.
The villagers gripped their weapons tightly, their eyes fixed forward in terror.
Before them stood a troop of men, over a hundred by sight. Each one held a Great Saber, their killing intent thick in the air.
"Village Chief, let’s fight them! These damn bandits!"
Among the crowd of villagers, a simple and honest-looking boy of fifteen or sixteen had eyes filled with rage.
"Xiao Chong, be quiet!" the old Village Chief snapped. He paused, then hurriedly bowed and scraped before the bandits. "Third Chieftain, we truly have no money to give. The harvest was poor this year, and the villagers can barely feed themselves. We really can’t pay. I beg you, Third Chieftain, please grant us a few more months!"
"No money? If you have no money, then I, this chieftain, will slaughter your entire Lantian Village!" the bandit leader roared. "I’ll give you half an incense stick’s worth of time to consider. If you can’t produce the money, then prepare to die!"
"Third Chieftain, please, Third Chieftain, spare our lives! The village truly has no money! Even if we pooled together every last coin we have, it wouldn’t be enough to cover the protection fee you’re demanding!" the old Village Chief cried, dropping to his knees to beg for mercy.
The surrounding bandits scanned the villagers with predatory eyes.
"Looks to me like this old bastard and his people can’t pay up!"
"Heh heh, Third Chieftain, look! There are some pretty girls in this village. How about you let the brothers have some... fun... with them later?"
"Yeah, yeah! That young wife over there... big tits, big ass. That’s just my type."
"Fine. I’ll have my fill first, then you can all take a turn!"
"Thank you, Third Chieftain!"
"Hahaha!" "We’re gonna have a fucking blast!"
The bandits’ eyes were bloodshot as they prepared to massacre the village at a moment’s notice—to burn, kill, and plunder.
Soon, the half-incense stick of time was nearly up.
Cold sweat beaded on the foreheads of the Lantian villagers, their legs trembling. Though they held weapons, their hearts were filled with utter despair. They knew they were no match for these vicious bandits; a massacre and death awaited them. Some were paralyzed by fear, while others burned with a furious desire to take one or two of the bandits down with them before they died.
"Time’s up! Begin the slaughter! Men, charge! Take the women and valuables back to the stronghold. Kill everyone else!"
At the bandit leader’s command, a fire ignited in their blood. Like a pack of wolves that had spotted a flock of sheep, they let out savage howls, ready to charge and kill.
But suddenly, just then—
CLIP! CLIP... CLOP... CLOP!
The clear sound of horse hooves rang out, growing closer. A sturdy horse with a black mane had accidentally wandered into the scene. Sprawled on its back was a young man in green robes. He appeared to be asleep, his eyes closed, a wicked little smile playing on his lips.
The horse’s sudden appearance at the village entrance instantly drew everyone’s attention. The tense, volatile atmosphere paused for a fraction of a second as every pair of eyes swiveled to look.
The horse also seemed to sense the danger. It quickly turned its head, preparing to bolt.
"Third Chieftain, what about the man on the horse?"
"Since he stumbled in here, kill him and the horse! Ma the Sixth, you’re up!" the bandit leader bellowed.
"Yes, sir!"
At once, a horse-faced bandit stepped forward. He shouldered his Great Saber and ran with a savage grin toward the black horse that had wandered in. Judging by his speed, he seemed to be a Martial Artist as well.
In a few moments, the bandit named Ma the Sixth was upon the black horse. He kicked off the ground, launching himself into the air. His steel saber flashed coldly in the sunlight as he brought it down in a vicious chop, aiming to slice the green-robed youth—and his mount—in two at the waist.
At that moment, the green-robed youth on the horse was still lost in his wonderful dream. Oh, what a dream it was! The wicked smile on his lips grew wider and more mischievous as he seemed to mumble something in his sleep.
"Heh heh, my dear wife, your husband is..."
In his sleep, Ye Xing was overcome with excitement, shouting in his dream. Suddenly, he felt an intense wave of killing intent wash over him. Acting on pure Martial Artist instinct, Ye Xing’s right leg shot out.
The horse-faced bandit’s steel saber hadn’t even reached Ye Xing when he saw, to his horror, the sole of a shoe rapidly growing larger before his eyes.
THWACK!
With a muffled grunt, the sole of the shoe slammed squarely into the horse-faced bandit’s own equine features, stretching his face out comically long. The immense force of the kick sent him spinning three full 360-degree rotations in mid-air before he was flung into the distance. He crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.