Guerilla Tactics

Seven days had passed since Ding Wei had first encountered the hideout of the Coiled Serpent Gang. He had camped in the forest since then, running for miles each day. Since he could not brute force an attack on their base while Leader Kang was there, he had taken to ambushing them off whenever they left their hideout.

After all, they couldn't stay inside the cave forever. At the least they would have to collect water, food or relieve themselves. Three had died collecting water or food. One took a knife to the throat while wandering the forest.

He had even taken out four men with their pantses down in the bushes, doing their business. It had been gross but effective. The men became terrified, worried that their lifeless body would be the next discovered.

After that they travelled in pairs, then never left the cave at all.

It may seem rather dishonorable of him to ambush the bandits when they were unable to properly defend themselves, but to him there was no reason to consider something like honor when dealing with lowlifes. Why concern yourself with the rules of good conduct when you're dealing with those who don't abide by them?

It was foolish and lead to all sorts of problems. No, the only regret Wei had was that he had missed the promised deadline for returning to the village.

"It seems that I will have to apologize to the two of you, Han Jin, Fatty Wan. These bandits have been a lot harder to deal with than I thought they would be..."

Soon after he'd started his slow dismantling of the Coiled Serpent Gang their leader had come out personally. Leader Kang wasn't as intimidating physically as many of his underlings, he was shorter even than Ding Wei, but with a bow in hand he became a terrifying figure. He could spot Wei perfectly even in total darkness thanks to his cultivation level and the arrows he shot were powerful enough to penetrate half-way up the shaft into pine trees. Now that their leader stood on guard whenever any of them went out Ding Wei's killing spree had ground to a halt.

His first kills had all taken place in a single day but he had only managed to kill one bandit since, picking him out when he'd strayed too far away from the rest of their group and been left unguarded.

It was a very slow pace, an impossibly slow pace, and so he had decided to attack the hideout head-on. There was no other way he could kill them all in a reasonable time, at his current rate it would take many months to finish his task.

Still, he had made a lot of progress in his cultivation. Startling progress, considering his previous speed.

He had learned the Seven Inferior Cycling Method to the point that he could keep using it even whilst doing other things, without needing to use the focusing gestures. He wasn't yet able to keep it up indefinitely but it was close, and he would occasionally lapse into doing it unaware.

Reaching the third level of the Awakening Stage, the Inner-Opening Stage, had given him the ability to feel the Qi flowing through his meridians as clearly as he could feel the wind on his skin. Without it he would not have been able to progress as far as he had.

The difference was so profound that he couldn't believe he had been able to learn the Shadow Steps technique before. It was like painting a portrait in the dark, an impossible task.

Speaking of Shadow Steps, thanks to the raids he conducted on the Coiled Serpent Gang and the many arrows he'd had to avoid, he was now able to use the technique comfortably at least a half-dozen times in quick sequence.

He flitted through the trees with ease, his balance and confidence levels higher.

He had toyed with the idea of leaving the forest and heading back to the village now that the bandits had switched to defense and were unlikely to ambush him on the way. He could gather more strength, hone his technique further and come back once he was a level higher. It would greatly increase his chances of victory and decrease the chance that he fell to the same fate that Fei Tian had. But he quickly gave up that idea.

Leader Kang was a very careful sort, now that a cultivator had found them he would surely leave his hideout as soon as he was able to find a safer place to work from.

And if he did that Wei's chances of finding it were slim.

Guangzhu Forest was large and the mountains that surrounded it were larger still. Several armies could rest within its borders and never stumble on the other.

Which lead him to making a very dangerous plan. After several days of lulling the bandits into routine, attacking at the same times and being seen in the same places, Wei had snuck near the cave in the hours just before sunrise. The bandits were awake for most of the night and slept mostly in shifts, but this was the single time when they all slept.

He had taken some of the cooking oil from his borrowed camping gear and poured it on a few trees then set them all alight. He hadn't used much on each, just enough to help the trees catch flame, but at that point nature took over and the clearing burned.

Smoke billowed, flames danced and an intense heat radiated from the blaze.

Eventually someone woke up and took notice. Panicked voices sounded from the cave, along with a flurry of activity and objects being knocked over. Some of the more foolish ran through the flames unprepared, sustaining some burns. Others threw water over themselves and covered their faces.

Many of them fell victim to Ding Wei's knife in the panic and blood-covered bodies lay outside the ring of fire.

An arrow whistled and thanks to many hours of dangerous practice, Wei dodged the projectile.

"You little bastard! How dare you attack us, the Coiled Serpent Gang, in this manner!"

Leader Kang huffed with fury, a trail of drool still hung from his mouth and his eyes were bright red. Waking to find the outside of your home on fire was probably rather startling.

"I have no pity for animals like you." Wei said, disregarding the man.

"Then I shall teach you a lesson in manners, and pay you back thrice-fold for the harm you've caused my underlings!"