Chapter 358: The Hermit

In an inn located in a small town, there was not an empty seat to be found. A group of martial arts enthusiasts from all corners of the land had gathered here, engaged in heated discussions.
"Have you heard? The Demon Lord Dong Zhang has appeared."
Here is the translation to English, preserving the original HTML tags:"What? Everyone in the martial arts world is looking for him right now, yet he still dares to show himself at this juncture?"
"That part is unknown. Rumor has it that someone spotted him near Xiangyang City, and it was really him in person."
"Hiss..."
"Those people are still alive?!"
"Still alive. Dong Zhang didn't kill anyone."
"Tsk... This is quite different from the rumors!"
The crowd was filled with doubt and surprise. As the saying goes, a person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. Wherever Li Mochou went, she was known for slaughtering entire families. However, Dong Zhang actually spared the lives of those who deliberately sought trouble with him, which was a bit hard to comprehend.
Everyone knows that Dong Zhang is definitely not a good person, and killing a few people is not a big deal for him. Since he can spare this group of people, there is only one possibility, which is that he simply disdains to kill these small minions.
The thought of this possibility made everyone fall into silence unanimously, feeling both the shame and anger of being looked down upon, and admiration for the other party's magnanimity.
And indeed, this was the case. Dong Zhang didn't even bother to kill such small fries; if he were to kill, he would target the organizers.
At this point, nearly half an hour had passed since Dong Zhang's appearance. Some people who considered themselves to have some strength gradually became more active in their hearts. As long as they could obtain Dong Zhang's head, they would easily acquire official ranks, gold, beautiful women, martial arts manuals, and so on.
The Thirteen Guards of Tuofeng are representative figures among them. The thirteen men are not biological brothers, but war orphans who grew up together in the slums. In their early years, they suffered from famine and couldn't get enough to eat. They once shaved their heads and became monks, learning some martial arts skills in the temple.
Later, dissatisfied with the bland food and ascetic life in the temple, and considering his martial arts skills, his courage gradually grew. A group of thirteen people escaped from the temple and started a life of robbery and plunder. From the initial trepidation and unease of killing someone for the first time, they gradually became accustomed to it.
They gradually realized that killing and robbing was the quickest way to make money. Later on, the group was no longer content with petty crimes and had the audacity to set their sights on official goods, which led to a situation spiraling out of control.
As they grew up together since childhood, they had an incredibly tacit understanding and cooperation with each other. Often, they could tell what the other wanted to do with just a glance. In several battles, even their stronger opponents were killed by their seamless coordination.
By chance, they obtained an anonymous sword formation manual from a group of people who were killed, which undoubtedly added to the strength of the thirteen men. Even the top-notch masters in the martial arts world dared not confront them directly. As time went by, their notorious reputation gradually rose.
The government was pursuing them, and the aspiring individuals in the jianghu were also searching for them. However, they didn't have a fixed hideout and were constantly on the move. In their early years, they had a brief encounter with Li Mochou, and even Li Mochou marveled at the exquisiteness of their sword formation, which bore a resemblance to the miniature version of the Quanzhen Sect's Big Dipper Seven Star Sword Formation.
Here is the translation with original HTML tags preserved:After a brief skirmish, they did not engage further. If the fight had continued, Li Mochou would have ultimately been defeated and captured by them. The fate that awaited her if she fell into their hands was all too imaginable. With Li Mochou's beauty, she would inevitably suffer humiliation and violation.
If any one of the thirteen individuals were to face Li Mochou alone, they would not be a match for her, as their skills range from second-rate to first-rate. However, due to their seamless coordination, the destructive power of their sword formation reaches the level of top-tier first-rate masters.
Since receiving the arrest warrant issued by Kublai Khan earlier, a sense of greed had surged within them, these people from the slums. They wanted noble titles, to become the upper class, and to no longer live at the mercy of others. This was the shared obsession of the thirteen of them.
At this moment, they unexpectedly heard news about Dong Zhang in the inn. The thirteen people looked at each other in dismay. They got up and walked to the burly man they had previously encountered Dong Zhang with, coldly asking, "Where did you run into Dong Zhang?"
The burly man, surrounded by the crowd, raised his head upon hearing the sound. He saw thirteen people, all dressed in black, wearing bamboo hats with black veils hanging down, obscuring their faces. However, there was one thing that made the burly man's heart tremble - each of these thirteen individuals emanated an ominous aura.
Swallowing nervously, the burly man pointed outside the door and said, "West City Alley, that's where I ran into him."
Without waiting for a response, the thirteen turned and quickly stepped out of the store, vanishing into the vast sea of people in an instant.
Here is the translation in English with the original HTML tags preserved:After the people left, the burly man asked those around him, "Who are they? Why do they have such a heavy murderous aura?"
Upon hearing the question, the group fell silent. A pale-faced scholar shook his head and said, "The Thirteen Guards of Tuofeng."
"Hiss... it's them?!" The crowd was shocked, apparently having heard of their notorious reputation.
"Indeed, who would have thought that even these long-infamous villains would emerge for this demon-slaying gathering. This... will be a rare spectacle in the martial arts world...."
The thirteen escorts of Tuofeng were notorious for their ferocity. The blood of the elderly, women, and children had all been spilled by their hands. They were undoubtedly brutal individuals. Upon receiving information about Dong Zhang's whereabouts, the thirteen immediately set off towards the west of the city, employing their movement techniques.
They all hoped that Dong Zhang would not leave too quickly, so that they could take his head and exchange it for wealth and glory.
In the west of the city, on the Ten Mile Slope, there was a dilapidated pavilion. A young man was leaning against a pillar, his right leg bent, leisurely drinking wine, appearing carefree and content.
Before long, the desolate and uninhabited area suddenly echoed with the sound of highly disciplined galloping. Thirteen silhouettes raced from the horizon, all clad in black and wearing conical hats. The thirteen figures were of similar height, resembling shadows as they approached.
The leader was the first to notice the young man leisurely drinking in the pavilion. He immediately waved his hand, signaling his companions to stop. All thirteen of them simultaneously fixed their gazes on the black blade resting by the young man's feet and the hideous red mark on his forehead.
The crowd tensed up, but they saw a man with a sword step out from the group and stop ten meters away from the youth. He asked in a deep voice, "Are you Dong Zhang?"
His voice was hoarse and unpleasant, like a jammed radio, making people feel extremely uncomfortable when hearing it.
Hearing this, the young man, holding a wine jug in one hand, turned his head and glanced at the thirteen black-clad men, smiling brightly, "You guys are really slow....."
The young man's aggressive gaze swept over each of the thirteen people in front of him, and he chuckled, "Only you thirteen little shrimps showed up?"
Here is the translation to English, preserving the original HTML tags:"Looking to die!" Two black-clothed men from the group stepped forward and said in a low voice.
"Hehe, it wasn't easy for you to come all this way to throw away your lives. How about this, kid - I'll let you die last. Should I break your legs first, or your arms? You pick one," said the gray-clothed youth, Dong Zhang, still leaning against the pavilion pillar, in an indifferent manner.
Theoretically speaking, with Dong Zhang's speed, he should have left long ago. So why is he still leisurely lying in the pavilion and not leaving? Is he waiting for someone to come and kill him? Anyway, there is nothing to do now, so killing a few people to intimidate the younger ones would be good.
At the same time.
In Shaanxi, a gloomy-faced man stood in the mountains, with a brutish man holding a cleaver behind him.
"This martial arts world has been silent for far too long. It hasn't been this lively in a long time. Master Dong...."
Here is the translation with original HTML tags preserved:"Why don't we also go meet this suddenly appearing Demon Lord?"
These two people, one was the hermit Hundred Herbs Immortal, and the other was the only person possessing a Dark Iron kitchen knife, the chef. These two people were also the type of figures in the martial world who were both righteous and evil, and their reputations were not prominent, but they were absolutely top-notch experts of the highest level.
In addition to them, there were also many other reclusive figures who sprang into action, all for the sake of a single person - Dong Zhang.