Chapter 33: Killing the Pig

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Puchi!

The sickle fell, chopping directly into the pig’s head. With one strike, half of the fat pig’s neck was sliced open, spraying blood mist everywhere.

‘The fat pig never expected such a sudden devastating blow. In its agony, it instinctively tried to charge forward with all four hooves scraping the ground. However, Xu Yan’s pig-killing method used clever leverage, and the downward strike hammered the fat pig down hard. The pig couldn’t immediately struggle back to its feet.’

Just as the large fat pig was getting up, Xu Yan’s second strike came crashing down again.

Puff!

Puff!

Three consecutive strikes, and the pig’s head rolled away. Blood gushed from the body cavity like rain. Several nearby cooks were drenched head to toe. But it wasn’t over yet—the instantly beheaded fat pig had lost its head, but its body could still move. Its four hooves desperately clawed at the ground, and it charged straight toward the fat head cook standing opposite.

‘Faced with a headless fat pig’s charge, the fat head cook was stunned. He was a cook who had seen pig slaughtering countless times, but he had never seen anyone behead a pig.’

Watching the headless pig charge at him, the fat head cook was so frightened by this bizarre scene that he tumbled backward. The headless pig charged a few steps before crashing down right at the fat head cook’s feet, spraying pig blood all over his head and face.

“Ahhh!”

Screaming in terror, the fat head cook scrambled up and darted to the side.

‘He was truly frightened. To kill a pig in such a bloody and horrifying manner—was that little Taoist priest too stupid, or was it intentional?’

The cooks all stared straight at the little Taoist priest. Xu Yan scratched his head embarrassedly and said: “I’ve… I’ve never slaughtered a pig before. I heard that serious criminals get beheaded before death. Since the pig was about to die, it should be beheaded too, right?”

‘Comparing a pig to a death row criminal—only someone incredibly stupid could think of such a thing.’

‘The cooks finally snapped out of their daze, cursing and grumbling as they went back to clean their clothes. Slaughtering one pig had gotten everyone covered in blood. If word of this got out, the kitchen staff would be laughed to death by the bandits in the stronghold.’

‘Beheading a pig—no one had ever seen such a scene. The fat head cook pointed at Xu Yan’s nose for a long time, so angry he couldn’t even curse properly. After calling him useless, he hurried off to wash the blood stains.’

“Just stay away from him, that’s right. Saves getting splattered with blood.”

‘Zhang He in the distance watched the group of disheveled cooks with amusement, feeling very satisfied with his own foresight. But as he laughed, Zhang He couldn’t laugh anymore, because he saw Xu Yan carrying the pig’s head while grinning foolishly at him.’

‘The originally somewhat foolish smile could make the little Taoist priest look even more stupid, but against the backdrop of blood everywhere, the little Taoist priest carrying a pig’s head looked exactly like those bloodthirsty asuras, making the back of Zhang He’s neck feel cold.’

After slaughtering a large fat pig, Yuan Mountain Stronghold’s dinner was extremely lavish. Large chunks of fat meat were sent from the kitchen to various places. The stronghold was filled with loud shouting and calling. After dinner, the sound of blade sharpening rose and fell continuously.

‘Tomorrow there would be a big job—dull blades wouldn’t do.’

‘The Yuan Mountain bandits had to set out before dawn. They were robbers—if they didn’t leave early and their targets got away, who would they rob?’

‘No one knew where the leaders had gathered their intelligence. Xu Yan heard the cooks mention that a wealthy family from a distant large town was transporting spices, fabrics, and sheepskins to Riverside Town.’

‘Not many families could afford spices these days. Although Pu Nation was prosperous, most common people remained poor. Being able to fill their stomachs was already good enough, especially with the continuous natural disasters of recent years making the number of poor people even greater.’

In just a few more days, Xu Yan would have been at Yuan Mountain Stronghold for a full three months. Once Zhang He stopped monitoring him, Xu Yan would immediately leave this bandit den. But just as he was about to depart for distant lands, a tragedy he didn’t want to witness was about to unfold.

For this raid, all the Yuan Mountain bandits would mobilize—even the kitchen cooks had to take up blades and leave the mountain.

‘The wealthy family from the large town was indeed a fat sheep, but fat sheep weren’t fools. In recent years, the Yuan Mountain bandit troubles had made people in the surrounding areas live in constant fear. Anyone who could take a detour around the mountain roads below Yuan Mountain absolutely wouldn’t dare travel there, especially wealthy families. Who would willingly hand over their goods to a group of murderous bandits?’

‘The intelligence Yuan Mountain Stronghold received wasn’t very clear, and the route between the two towns didn’t necessarily pass through Qi Yuan Mountain. Flying Centipede couldn’t determine which path they would take, so he had to dispatch all his subordinates to ambush the official road and several mountain paths.’

‘He was determined to get this cargo!’

‘Most Yuan Mountain bandits lived in the mountains, but some also operated in the surrounding towns, gathering intelligence. If they just waited like sitting ducks, they wouldn’t be fierce bandits but stupid bandits.’

Learning that he too needed to leave the mountain, Xu Yan frowned slightly.

‘He was about to leave this bandit den and didn’t want any complications, much less to kill innocent people. He was sick of life in the bandit stronghold, which was why he spent all day pretending to be a pig. Now, just as freedom was within reach, he was being dragged along by a group of blade-wielding cooks to ambush a mountain path ten li away from Yuan Mountain.’

‘Yuan Mountain Stronghold had over a thousand people, all bloodthirsty fierce bandits. Don’t let the fact that this group of cooks usually handled cooking and food preparation fool you—when they picked up blades, they could kill just as well.’

‘Xu Yan didn’t know how many groups the Yuan Mountain bandits had split into. His group alone had a full hundred bandits, and this was just one of the less traveled mountain paths. The bandits ambushing near the official road probably numbered even more.’

They left the mountain under moonlight and waited until the blazing sun was overhead, but no wealthy family’s caravan appeared on the distant mountain road.

A few poor woodcutters did pass by, but the Yuan Mountain bandits just glanced at them without caring. They completely ignored them.

‘They had no interest in poor people.’

The big sun moved from overhead to the western mountains. By dusk, the yawning cooks were all listless.

‘They hadn’t eaten all day. Yesterday’s good meal had long since become fertilizer, nourishing the grass and trees beside the mountain path.’

The one-eyed minor leader looked at the sky and called out. The others emerged from their hiding places one after another, streaming back toward Qi Yuan Mountain. Today had been a waste.

‘Not encountering the wealthy family’s caravan made Xu Yan quite happy as he returned to the stronghold with the bandits.’

Just reaching the entrance of Yuan Mountain Stronghold, Xu Yan heard the chaotic sounds of banging and hammering from inside the stronghold, accompanied by the bandits’ loud shouting and calling. It looked very lively. Several large carts sat in the stronghold, their compartments filled with fabrics and sheepskins, their shafts covered in bloodstains.

‘The group of bandits Xu Yan had followed indeed gained nothing, but the bandits ambushing elsewhere had actually successfully intercepted the wealthy family’s caravan.’

Frowning slightly, Xu Yan felt heavy-hearted, but he couldn’t show it on the surface. He could only follow the bandits in foolish laughter while his eyes surveyed the surroundings.

Xu Yan saw some outsiders—they should be guards who had escorted the caravan. There were twenty or thirty of them, tied to wooden stakes in the open area, all bruised and battered, most bearing knife wounds.

The Yuan Mountain bandits now surrounded the open area. Third Leader Nine-Headed Snake Lu Hai held a steel blade, speaking to the first guard: “Kill one of your companions, and you’ll be one of us at Yuan Mountain Stronghold. From now on, good wine, good meat, and doing whatever you please.”

“Bah! You bandits will come to no good end!”

Puff!

Before the guard finished speaking, his head had already rolled to the ground.

Lu Hai sneered and walked to the second person, repeating the same words. The second guard was clearly frightened by the killing, hesitating and stammering. Lu Hai found it annoying and after waiting just a moment, chopped down with his blade again.

“Those who can kill join Yuan Mountain Stronghold. Those who act like old women can go die!” Nine-Headed Snake snarled: “I only ask each person once. Those who kill decisively can live. Those who don’t kill, those who hesitate—all die!”

“Yuan Mountain Stronghold doesn’t want cowards!”

“Hurry up and kill! We’re still waiting to drink celebration wine. If you don’t kill your companions, we’ll slaughter you all!”

‘The surrounding bandits clamored noisily, each one looking like a fierce demon. Several guards did steel their hearts, took up blades, and killed their companions to join the bandit ranks, but most died under Lu Hai’s blade.’

‘Dozens of corpses lay in pools of blood. The bloody scene made the bandits even more excited, and they shouted and surged toward the largest wooden building with the Third Leader. That wooden building should have been the hall for dividing spoils, but today it had become a wedding hall.’