Against The Enemy

Over the next three days, Xu Ning followed Tao Yungang and the others to deliver goods.

During this period, Tao Yungang had to spend a lot of effort to form good relationships with his customers, which consumed a lot of time.

Finally, three days later in the morning, everything was done, and they finally started their return journey. It had been five days since they had first left home.

The further away from Kangyun County, the fewer the people.

"The last donkey carriage ride, next time my uncle would change to horse carriages."

Guo Ye and Xu Ning were still sitting in the donkey carriage behind the leading carriage.

"Uncle Gang made a lot of money this time?"

Xu Ning asked.

"2000 taels." Guo Ye lowered his voice, "and this is the net profit after costs."

"2000 taels?" Xu Ning was shocked, "Once every three months for a business trip like this, so Uncle Gang makes 8000 taels a year?"

"Not that much."

Guo Ye waved his hand. "It depends on the situation… It was just autumn a few months ago, so it allowed us to harvest more medicinal material. But at the end of the year, a lot less medicinal material can be harvested, hence the money dies down as well."

"Also, our carriage was safely escorted without being robbed." Guo Ye added, "If we encountered ruthless robbers, we would have no income for the year, and our life might even be in danger."

Xu Ning thought about Guo Ye's words. "That is so…"

Tao Yungang received huge profits for this trip, but this was due to the hard work he did prior to the journey. Moreover, he also had to take risks.

The donkey carriages continued ahead on the roads, and two hours later, they entered the mountain roads with trees on both sides.

"Wake up, stay alert."

Tao Yungang reminded everyone.

Xu Ning clenched his steel knife, on guard against any possible dangers.

The sun shined bright and hot in the sky.

There were occasionally roars of beasts or birds chirping from the hillsides, giving off a desolate feeling.

"After we get out of here, let's grab a bite to eat."

Tao Yungang said to the people behind him.

Everyone nodded.

Suddenly, there was a sound of horses neighing from the hillside, followed by the sound of trampling hooves.

Everyone looked over.

A team of horsemen galloped down from both sides of the mountain.

They had weapons attached on their bodies, with eyes full of greed. They completely surrounded the four donkey carriages.

There were more than a dozen people.

'Is this a horse bandit robbery?'

Xu Ning suddenly remembered in his heart.

Xu Ning looked at the aggressive horse bandits. He grabbed the handle of his knife, ready to deal with the upcoming battle.

In fact, Xu Ning was a little nervous. Although he had anticipated that this might happen, when faced with the real situation, he was unable to remain completely calm.

He had faced ferocious beasts before, but had not yet encountered desperate warriors.

"Damn…"

Tao Yungang's eyebrows furrowed.

However, this was obviously not the first time Tao Yungang had encountered this situation. He gestured to everyone to stop moving.

"I wonder who is here to make friends with us?"

Tao Yungang didn't grab any weapons. He just jumped out of the carriage with his bare hands and walked towards the leader of the horse bandit.

"Are you Tao Yungang?"

The leader of the horse bandit replied.

The leader of the horse bandit was a bald man. He had a body packed with muscles and a cruel look rested on his face.

He was the bald leader who stalked Tao Yungang's carriages before they entered the city.

"What?"

Tao Yungang heard the other party call his name, and his heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach.

Instinctively, he felt something was wrong.

He seemed to have been targeted in advance.

"It is I, Tao Yungang, resident of the Tao Village."

He was nervous on the inside, but on the surface, Tao Yungang remained calm as a cucumber.

He put his hands together with a prideful look on his face.

He deliberately said he was from the Tao Village, as a reminder to the other party.

As one of the three major villages in Kangyun County, Tao Village had a good reputation.

"I know, good…"

The bald man rubbed his head. "Tell your men to lay down their weapons and get off their carriages."

Tao Yungang frowned upon hearing this.

The bald-headed man had a dangerous attitude, and he didn't seem to care about who he was.

"To whom am I speaking to?"

Tao Yungang ignored what the bald man said and asked about his identity.

The bald-headed man sneered. "My surname is Zhan, my brothers all call me Zhan Sandao."

"Brother Zhan Sandao." Tao Yungang calmly said, "this is our first time meeting, we can consider it a type of destiny. I will give you 500 taels of silver as a greeting gift, sounds good?"

"500 taels?"

Zhan Sandao smiled unexpectedly.

Guo Ye, still in the carriage, had a serious look on his face.

"Xu Ning, I'm afraid we are in big trouble."

Guo Ye pursed his lips and whispered in a quiet voice.

"What's happening?"

Xu Ning asked rhetorically.

"Before, when there were thieves, my uncle would give them 200 taels to back off. This time he offered 500 taels, indicating that the other party is troublesome to deal with, even 200 taels can't satisfy their desires."

Guo Ye explained.

"I see…"

Xu Ning was more alert than ever.

He knew that if Tao Yungang couldn't come to an agreement with the other party, he might have to take out his blade today.

"500 taels is a bit too low."

Zhan Sandao smiled, his tone was sharp. "Offer some more."

Tao Yungang's eyes narrowed, but his smile remained undiminished. "Okay, since this is our first time meeting each other, in this case, I will offer 1000 taels as a greeting gift."

"1000 taels…"

Zhan Sandao took a deep breath and said sarcastically, "Good, good!"

"In this case..."

Tao Yungang saw that Zhan Sandao had the intention of letting them go, but when he was about to withdraw the money, Zhan Sandao spoke again.

Zhan Sandao knocked on his bald head and grinned. "1000 taels is heartwarming, but my friend, I don't agree!"

A man with a broken arm rode up on his horse next to Zhan Sandao.

He smiled gloomily, and stared at Tao Yungang. "Tao Yungang, long time no see."

"You…"

Tao Yungang's pupils shrank when he saw the man.

"Guan Yinggou, it's you!"

Tao Yungang recognized this man—Guan Yinggou was the horse bandit who had robbed him in the past.

He had passed here three months ago, when Guan Yinggou asked him for thousands of taels.

But Tao Yungang refused to give it to him, instead he took the opportunity to fight back, killing and seriously wounding his subordinates, even crippling Guan Yinggou's arm.

He thought that Guan Yinggou had no subordinates left after his arm was crippled. He didn't expect him to come rob him again.

"Last time I asked you for 1000 taels, but you didn't give it. This time, not only do I want 1000 taels, but I also want your head!"

Guan Yinggou drew out a knife with one hand.

Tao Yungang had already understood the current situation and no longer had any doubts.

This time, they came here to kill him.

"Arm yourselves!"

Tao Yungang instantly moved away from Guan Yinggou and Zhan Sandao.

He took out a machete from the donkey carriage.

The others also took out their weapons, without any intention of backing down.

Finally, Tao Yungang's bodyguards could come into use.

Zhan Sandao and his subordinates began to surround Tao Yungang, Xu Ning and others.

"These people are dangerous, everyone get ready." The situation was urgent, but Tao Yungang was calm, "If anyone dies or becomes injured during battle, I will take care of your family members for the rest of their lives. Even if I die here today, my wife will take care of you all, please be rest assured."

As soon as he finished his speech, everyone who escorted the car became even more determined.

"Xu Ning."

Tao Yunmeng turned his head sharply and said, "You are the weakest here, so you don't have to fight to the death. You take Guo Ye and run up the mountain. Don't look back."

Xu Ning heard the words and nodded, knowing that the immediate crisis was urgent. "Yes, Uncle Gang."

"Yunquan, you and I are the strongest here." Tao Yunmeng said, "After I clear the way for Xu Ning and Guo Ye, you go and deal with Guan Yinggou. I will deal with Zhan Sandao."

"Understood, Brother Gang."

Tao Yunquan was Tao Yungang's long time partner, and as a veteran, he didn't panic at all.

"The rest of you, if you have a chance, flee, protect your lives!"

Before the enemy was about to attack, Tao Yungang gave one last instruction.

"Kill them!"

Zhan Sandao and his horse bandits started their attack.