Coiled Serpent Gang

Ding Wei's heart raced as he stumbled upon the remnants of the merchant's camp that night. The sky shimmered with starlight, casting a haunting glow on the scene of horror before him. Three corpses lay atop the charred remains of last night's campfire, their bodies burnt to a crisp.

Among them, it was the smallest lifeless form that ignited the fiercest anger within him. A tiny body, scarcely reaching his thigh, with a grotesque hole in the center of her head and no exit wound. This young girl, no more than four years old, had been shot in the head, the arrow callously salvaged before her lifeless body had been tossed onto the flames alongside her mother.

A wave of nausea overwhelmed Wei, and he emptied the contents of his stomach, overcome with disgust.

Despite the gruesome sight, he couldn't help but admire Chen Shang's fortitude in the face of such brutality. It took a truly strong man to witness such horrors without crumbling entirely.

"They've obscured their tracks." he observed.

Though their efforts were imperfect, it indicated their intent to remain concealed. Were it not for Wei's ability to perceive Qi, he would have missed their trail entirely. Only a skilled tracker could have noticed their faint footprints, something he was not. If he had arrived any later, their residual Qi would have dissipated, leaving him with nothing to follow.

Their hideout was located several hours away—a cave nestled within the encircling mountains of Guangzhu. A wooden frame and door masked its entrance, but the bandits reveled outside, gathered around a blazing campfire.

To Wei's surprise, he recognized several of them from the village. All were shirtless, their left arms adorned with intricate serpent tattoos. The serpent's head resembled a horned python, a snake he couldn't recall encountering in any of his childhood books.

"If only the boss allowed us to bring that woman here, we could truly celebrate!" one of the men exclaimed.

"Boss Kang forbids such indulgence; it attracts unwanted attention."

"But what about our attacks on the caravans? Isn't that just as risky?"

"Not when we select our targets carefully. Mortals and cultivators seldom cross paths; they might as well belong to different species. As long as we avoid attacking anyone associated with a cultivator, we'll face no problems."

"I see, I see..."

Wei observed the bandits for a while longer until their leader raised a hand, signaling for silence.

Instantly, the camp fell quiet. While their leader didn't possess an immediately imposing figure, his hardened gaze and dangerous aura commanded respect.

"It appears we have a rat among us." Kang declared, swiftly drawing his bow.

An arrow shot forth from the camp, piercing Wei's body.

He wasn't the only one capable of sensing energies. Their leader was in the second level of cultivation, able to detect Wei's presence even amidst the dense foliage.

"Damn..." Wei muttered, toppling from his perch.

Despite the wound, he managed to land on his feet, adrenaline surging through his veins. Clutching his left shoulder, blood flowing freely, he began running. If he had not sensed it coming and dodged it would have been his head instead of his shoulder.

"After him! We can't risk stronger parties discovering us!" the leader urged, and his underlings gave chase. Over a dozen armed men pursued Wei, all of them muscular and fit by mortal standards.

Utilizing Shadow Steps as he ran, Wei blurred forward in elusive movements, temporarily confounding his pursuers.

Performing the technique under such pressure proved exceedingly difficult, prompting him to cautiously attempt only one step at a time. He waited until the energy in his legs steadied and his breathing normalized before employing the technique once more.

His efforts created a significant distance between himself and the roaring gangsters. Eventually, they lost sight of him, and without their leader joining the pursuit none possessed the skill to track him down.

"Damn, he was fast!" gasped the largest of the group, towering above the rest with bulging arms.

"It's not just speed; he employed some cultivation technique! I saw it with my own eyes." one bandit exclaimed.

The bandits congregated to discuss, now that their spy had eluded them.

"Wait... If he used a cultivation technique, that means he must be a cultivator himself. How are we supposed to deal with someone like that?"

"If he were a cultivator, he would be new to the path, still in the early levels of cultivation. Had his skin been strengthened, the arrow would not have pierced so easily. I reckon he's only in the first or second level of the Awakening Stage."

The speaker's refined voice contrasted sharply with his status as bandit, resembling that of a scholar instead.

"As always, Brother Zhou, your analysis is invaluable. No wonder Boss Kang calls you our tactician." One of the bandits remarked.

The youngest of their number, a boy only three years older than Wei himself, approached the three most confident figures. "Senior Brothers, I know that boy from my village. He is Ding Wei, a mere custodian, and his cultivation has been stuck at the first level for five years."

Brother Zhou scratched his chin thoughtfully. "That's helpful information, Su An. It suggests that, with his injury, he won't be too formidable for us to handle."

"Ah, I'm about to face off against a cultivator. How thrilling!" the burly bandit exclaimed.

"...Don't underestimate him. Even if he's in the first level and injured, he'll still be stronger and faster than any of us. If you encounter him, keep your distance and attack fiercely with your blades, preventing him from countering. Catching him off guard is our best chance!"

The bandits nodded in agreement.

"Let's spread out and find him! With the amount of blood he's losing, he won't get far. He'll need to tend to his wound, or he risks bleeding to death."