Chapter 65: Come with me!

"It's just right in front. Qinghu, you'll be able to see your bride very soon, haha…" The people from the Teng Clan said teasingly.

Teng Qinghu, who was usually quick to retort, only blushed slightly and smiled blissfully.

The Great Li Village was just right in front of them. However, despite being in a good mood earlier, Teng Qingshan noticed that there were plenty of hoofprints of horses on the ground. "There are so many hoofprints? Only bandits would have so many horses. Did the Great Li Village encounter bandits?" Teng Qingshan looked toward the Great Li Village and observed carefully.

There were no traces of blood.

"They were probably only passing by." Teng Qingshan thought.

Just then, the chief of the Great Li Village led quite a number of the people from the clan to the entrance to welcome them. All of them appeared ghastly. The chief of the Great Li Village only managed to squeeze out a smile.

The group of people from Teng Jia Village clearly felt that the atmosphere was not right!

Usually, when the groom was there to receive the bride, the people from the bride's side should be playing the cymbals and drums, and the women would be out to watch the fun. However, Great Li Village's entrance was very quiet and only a small group of them had come out to welcome them. There was no one playing the drums or cymbals either.

The people of Teng Jia Village had arrived to escort and welcome the bride. Yet, there were no music or sounds of cymbals and drums. Moreover, the people of the Great Li Village appeared gloomy. Of course Teng Yunlong would be unhappy. However, Teng Yunlong also sensed that… there should be some explanation for this. Otherwise, Teng Yunlong would have flown into a rage.

"In-laws!" Someone behind the group of Great Li Villagers suddenly dashed out. He went before Teng Yunlong and dropped to his knees as he let out an agonizing cry, "Our Luoxiang… She has been taken away by the White Horse Gang!!! You guys… You guys must save my daughter! Please save her!"

Teng Qinghu, who initially appeared confused, instantly became pale.

"Chief Li, what on earth happened?!" Teng Yunlong's expression became unpleasant as he shouted.

Chief Li smiled helplessly and said, "Brother Teng, forgive the Great Li Village! I would never have expected… that the White Horse Gang chose to wipe out the Iron Mountain Gang today.

When the White Horse Gang passed by our village, their young master and the others took quite a number of the young ladies from our clan and Luoxiang was one of them. They even killed out clan's great master. We were left with no choice! We could only watch as the White Horse Gang take away the girls from our village."

Teng Yunlong's expression turned grim.

"Those b*stards!" Teng Qinghu, who was on a horse, let out a furious bellow and jumped off the horse.

"What do you want to do?!" Teng Yunlong glared at Teng Qinghu as he stretched his hand and grabbed onto Teng Qinghu.

Teng Qinghu was so angry that he was trembling. This was the first girl he loved, but this girl had been abducted by the members of White Horse Gang. How could Teng Qinghu not feel any rage?

"Chief Li," Teng Yunlong pat Chief Li on the shoulder and sighed, "Our Teng Jia Village isn't unreasonable. This is not your fault! Sigh… If something like this happened, we would have no choice but to endure. The 6th of March…is a good date. It is really unexpected that the White Horse Gang had also chosen this day to wipe out the Iron Mountain Gang! If we knew, we wouldn't have chosen this date."

Everyone understood this as well.

The reason the White Horse Gang had chosen this day for their great fight was that it was a good date. It was the same reason why Teng Qinghu had chosen this day to get married. And so, Luoxiang had been abducted today. It's fate! Bitter fate!

"Chief Li," Teng Qinghu stared at Chief Li, "How long has it been since the people of the White Horse Gang left?"

"About an hour." Chief Li replied.

"Qinghu, go back with me." Teng Yunlong bellowed. Teng Qinghu stood on the same spot. He clenched his fist tightly and gnashed his teeth.

"In-laws, you guys are the only one who can save our Luoxiang." Li Laosan was tearing up and kowtowing anxiously. Seeing this, Chief Li's countenance turned grim and he bellowed, "Drag him home! He's now out of his mind!" The people from Li Clan quickly grabbed Li Laosan dragged him back to the village.

"Save our Luoxiang… I beg of you…" Li Laosan's face was covered in dirt but he still continued to kowtow to the extent that his head was bleeding.

Teng Qinghu watched as the people of the Great Li Village drag Li Laosan, who was supposed to become his 'father-in-law,' back into the village.

"Qinghu! Go back!" Teng Yunlong bellowed furiously.

Teng Qinghu looked bitterly towards the direction the hoofprints headed before he clenched his teeth and leaped onto the horse. He then headed towards the Teng Jia Village with the other clansmen.

...

While they were on their way back, Teng Yunlong said slowly, "Qinghu, you aren't young anymore. You should know the severity of the situation! What do bandits do? Bandits rob and kill. That's what they do! The White Horse Gang rules over Yi City and they are already considered good bandits since they only accept a certain amount of money every year. They only abduct some women occasionally. The village life is much better than the village life during the time when I was young.

"You should know that your second aunt had been taken by bandits. Go ahead and ask the others! How many girls during your father's generation had been abducted? Those bandits want children too! They want women too!" Teng Yunlong sighed and said, "It's already customary for them to snatch women from the various villages each year."

Teng Qinghu remained silent.

Teng Qingshan listened as he walked and couldn't help but feel sad. It was indeed very difficult to survive in this world.

"Over the course of these years, Teng Jia Village had become famous. The gangs of bandits normally kidnap women from the weaker villages. The gangs of bandits today are worried that the members of Teng Jia Village would go berserk and fight it out with them." Teng Yunlong exclaimed, "Our lives twenty years ago was about the same as the lives at the Great Li Village! It was a difficult time."

"Grandfather…" Teng Qinghu opened his mouth.

Teng Qingshan felt very sad.

He understood that it was impossible to eradicate bandits from this world. Even if he could wipe out the White Horse Gang, another gang would probably appear and dominate Yi City. That gang might be greedier than the White Horse Gang.

"Just my power alone is insufficient as it cannot protect the dignity of Teng Jia Village." Teng Qingshan was well aware of this. "There is only one way...I must join Gui Yuan Sect and assume a high position in the sect! By then, my words would be enough to prevent the White Horse Gang from stirring up any trouble in Teng Jia Village."

Teng Qingshan's intention of joining the Gui Yuan Sect grew even stronger.

After all, Gui Yuan Sect ruled over the entire Jiangning County! Gui Yuan Sect was at the very top! If Gui Yuan Sect wished to wipe out the White Horse Gang, it would be as easy as crushing an ant.

...

As the members of Teng Clan continued walking, the atmosphere felt very heavy.

"Qinghu," Teng Qingshan suddenly spoke.

Many people looked towards Teng Qingshan, who said, "Qinghu, come with me!"

Teng Qinghu looked towards Teng Qingshan with his eyes gleaming.

"Qingshan, what are you doing?" Teng Yunlong was greatly alarmed as he shouted, "Are you also out of your mind?" In Teng Yunlong's opinion, Teng Qingshan had always been a very intelligent and reliable kid who never made him worry! Moreover, Teng Qingshan's unrivaled martial prowess also cause the people of the clan to view him as the spiritual leader.

Back then, when the Iron Mountain Gang fought their way to the Teng Jia Village, Teng Qingshan was the one who had stepped forth and spoke up.

"Grandfather, don't worry. I won't mess up." Teng Qingshan said confidently.

Teng Yunlong only felt slightly relieved when he saw Teng Qingshan's expression. He then said, "Although Qinghu is older than you, he is more impulsive… This experience will be good for him in the future as well. One must not let one's emotions control oneself and do things recklessly. You mustn't make us worry either."

"I understand," Teng Qingshan said, "Grandfather, don't worry. There won't be any problems."

Teng Qinghu had already leaped off the horse and went up to Teng Qingshan, "Qingshan!"

"Grandfather, bring the rest of the clan back first! Qinghu and I will return very soon." Teng Qingshan said.

"Qingshan, I won't stop you from doing the things you want to do, but I want to say something. No matter what decision you make, you must remember that there are still over 2,000 people in Teng Jia Village!" Teng Yunlong said.

"I know," Teng Qingshan nodded.

"Qinghu, let's go." Teng Qingshan carried the Reincarnation Spear on his back and rushed toward the base of the Iron Mountain Gang with Qinghu.

*******

The base of the White Horse Gang was located at the White Horse Lake near Yi City. The White Horse Lake had a circumference of several tens of Li. It was a considerably reputable lake in the entire Jiangning County. There was a small island in the center of the lake and the White Horse Gang had situated their base on that island. Being in the center of the lake, it was easy for them to guard but hard for others to attack.

This was also one reason why the White Horse Gang could remain the local despot of Yi City for so many years.

On the other hand, Iron Mountain Gang was situated to the southeast of the Great Yan Mountain.

If one were to rush to the Iron Mountain Gang from the White Horse Lake, they would need to go around the entire Great Yan Mountain. Although the area south to the Yi City was close to two hundred Li, the road was not a straight path. It required one to go around the entire Great Yan Mountain… Therefore, the distance between the White Horse Lake and the Iron Mountain Gang was a total of three hundred Li.

The members of the White Horse Gang departed in the morning. With so many men, they would probably only arrive at the base of the Iron Mountain Gang in the evening.

"The members of the White Horse Gang probably didn't take any breaks during noon. They must have only eaten some rations." Teng Qingshan deduced after he scrutinized the tracks on the road. At the same time, both he and Teng Qinghu moved rapidly along the path. If Teng Qingshan was alone, his running speed would far surpass that of a warhorse. However, Teng Qinghu's speed was slower.

Although Teng Qinghu had the strength to lift a weight of two thousand Jin, his internal organs were not strong enough. He was only at the level of a marathon runner in the modern society.

The journey from the Great Li Village to the Iron Mountain Gan was over one hundred Li.

Even if Teng Qinghu ran till he was on he was on the verge of death, it would still take about four hours or more.

"Qingshan, will Luoxiang be alright?" Teng Qinghu panted, feeling a little worried.

"It's hard to say." Teng Qingshan couldn't guarantee that Luoxiang was safe. After all, military troops tend to bring along prostitutes with them. Bandits were even more chaotic. It would be perfectly normal for them to abduct some women and have some fun during the journey. There was no way that they could expect bandits to be even more disciplined than soldiers.

Four hours had passed and the sun was about to set.

"Look! The bandits are ahead." Teng Qingshan pointed to the front. On the vast wasteland in the distant, there were a large number of densely packed bandits who were resting. Some of them had already climbed onto their horses and were about to leave.

"They're leaving?" Teng Qinghu asked.

"This place is only an hour away from the base of the Iron Mountain Gang." Teng Qingshan said with a frown, "The men of the White Horse Gang must have rushed all the way here without resting at all. They will probably set off and wipe out the Iron Mountain Gang in one swoop when they had enough rest and food.