The group made their way through the shadowy mountain cave.
Leading the way was Victor Blackridge and the young girl escorting him. Behind them followed the sinister bandit who’d killed the old strategist, with Jack Young holding him at knifepoint. After the Blackridge Bandits’ higher-ups were wiped out, this villainous bandit somehow became the new second-in-command—barely worth mentioning, but Jack grabbed a hostage anyway, just in case.
They’d already gotten the key—turns out, it was in the very same guest room where Jack and the girl had just been. Supposedly, there wasn’t a second room in all of Blackridge Bandits’ hideout with a cabinet, so the key could only be there.
Now, with the key in hand, they headed to the far left passage of the Blackridge Bandits’ lair—a route said to be unexplored, so deep even the bandits hadn’t ventured there.
“Hey, girl, not to nag, but I’ll bet fifty cents Victor Blackridge has some kind of trap planned. Nothing too fancy—these Blackridge Bandits aren’t smart enough for that—but a couple of axe-wielding thugs popping out around the corner, or a sneaky arrow from the shadows? Totally doable.” Jack said as he shoved the sinister bandit in front of him like a human shield. “Whatever weird stuff pops up, just use the hostage as cover, got it?”
The girl considered this, then nodded. “You’re right, sis. Better safe than sorry. But Victor Blackridge’s powers are already busted up by me. If I hit him with my palm, he’s dead on the spot. He won’t be causing trouble.” As she spoke, she pressed her palm against Victor’s back. He shuddered and quickly cried, “I wouldn’t dare pull any tricks! I wouldn’t dare!”
After making his stance clear, Victor Blackridge meekly led the way.
Soon, they reached a big door. The door was set into the cave wall, with a few torches lighting the area. Beyond that, it was pitch black.
“Open the door!”
“Yes, sir.” Victor Blackridge obediently fished out the key and fiddled with the lock.
Jack Young shoved the sinister bandit past Victor Blackridge and took a couple steps toward the deeper side of the cave, reaching out to test the air—sure enough, the draft was coming from further inside.
"This dungeon map is way bigger than I thought," Jack Young muttered to himself. With a loud creak, the door to the women's cell finally swung open.
The girl peeked inside and snorted at Victor Blackridge. "At least you’re honest—no tricks. Ladies inside, come on out! We’re here to save you. It’s safe now, let’s go home!"
Instantly, a chorus of excited women’s voices erupted from inside, and a bunch of them poured out. The girl shot Jack Young a smug smile. "See, sis? No problem. You think I can’t handle Victor Blackridge?"
Just then, Jack Young’s sharp eyes caught two figures—dressed as women, but moving quickly toward the girl, a flash of cold steel glinting from their sleeves!
"Watch out, it’s a trick!"
The warning came just in time. Two blades slashed straight for her face. The girl bent backward in a perfect dodge—flexible as a gymnast. She spun and slapped one attacker away, about to deal with the other, when pain shot through her back. She turned to see Victor Blackridge grinning viciously.
"Hahaha! You think Victor Blackridge loses that easily? If you hadn’t blindsided me at the start, messing up my insides, you’d never have beaten me! Now, taste my Crimson Poison Palm!" With that, he swung his toxic palm at the girl.
The girl gritted her teeth and lasted two moves, but her cheeks flushed red—the poison was already in her veins. About to lose, she managed to gasp, "Sis—run!"
Victor Blackridge grabbed the girl, laughing wildly. "Run? Go ahead—if you don’t care about your maid’s life!"
But when he turned around, all he saw was the sinister bandit bleeding out on the ground—and The Peach Bandit had already vanished into thin air. That threat? He’d been talking to no one.
"That—that damned woman!" Jack Young acted faster than Victor Blackridge expected and shouted, "Guards!"
In a blink, dozens of bandits rushed over. "Boss, we’re here!"
"All of you, go after her! Whoever brings me The Peach Bandit alive gets this pretty little maid as a prize—her martial arts gone, of course!"
Instantly, the bandits charged deeper into the cave, fired up and ready to chase.
Victor Blackridge grabbed the girl’s cheeks and glared, ranting hysterically, "You brat! Thanks to you, I get a second chance. If what The Peach Bandit said was true, I’d be finished right now! Hah! You think some clueless rookie can take down Victor Blackridge? Bah! Swear to heaven, fight the Mongols? Bah! I’ll make you wish you were dead, worse than a beast!"
The girl tried her best to fight the poison, but couldn’t speak. A single tear of regret slipped down her cheek.
She regretted everything—if only she’d listened to her sister, none of this would’ve happened! Now, both of them were doomed to humiliation.
But enough about her regrets—let’s talk about Jack Young.
Seeing things go south, Jack Young didn’t hesitate—he killed his hostage and bolted. If the girl got caught and Jack wasn’t there, as long as she stayed free, she’d be safe for a while. After all, she was still a big threat to the Blackridge Bandits. But if Victor Blackridge grabbed a hostage right then, things would get messy.
So Jack Young ran, no hesitation.
Jack Young sprinted down the torch-lit path, fast but not panicked. As he ran, he snuffed out each torch, plunging the tunnel behind him into darkness. At the same time, he pulled out the medicine bottles from the cloth pouch at his waist, checking and sorting them, memorizing which bottle held what.
Soon, Jack reached a fork in the cave—one last torch burned at the crossroads. Without hesitation, he snuffed it out, and everything went pitch black.
"Left for men, right for women!" he whispered, locking the memory in his mind, then dove fearlessly into the right-hand tunnel—okay, maybe Jack Young was really getting into character as The Peach Bandit in this dream.
(This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^ Click next page to keep reading!)
Soon, a bunch of bandits waving torches rushed to the fork. They glanced left and right—there was a big reward for that pretty little maid, so nobody wanted to miss out! No time to hesitate!
"Split up! How far can one woman run?"
"Yeah, split up!"
So, the bandits stepped into territory they’d never explored before.
The underground cave kept splitting and twisting, tunnels crisscrossing everywhere. The bandits broke into smaller groups, each fighting their own battle—soon, nobody could even find each other.
One squad of three bandits rushed ahead with torches, not noticing the rope stretched across the ground. When they ran over it, the rope snapped taut—bam! All three went flying. As they tried to get up, a cloud of knockout smoke sprayed out, and the trio dropped to the ground, out cold.
Out of the darkness, a pair of hands dragged away the tallest bandit. Moments later, someone reappeared in a bandit’s outfit—only, their chest was a bit too prominent, so they had to hunch over to hide it. Their head was wrapped in cloth, hiding their hair and face.
After finishing off the other two unconscious bandits, the disguised figure tested their voice a couple times, sounding satisfied. Then they picked up a torch and disappeared into the darkness.
Soon, another pair of bandits spotted a flickering torchlight up ahead. They couldn’t see clearly from a distance, but it looked urgent—maybe someone was signaling them.
Did they catch that woman? The two exchanged excited glances. She was a real beauty—if they found her first, maybe they could have a little fun before handing her over to the boss. You keep quiet, I keep quiet, and if they cut out her tongue, who’s gonna know?
"Quick! Look, something’s up!"
The person waving them over seemed frantic. The two bandits hurried around the corner—and found three Blackridge Bandits dead in a pool of blood, one stripped completely naked! They froze in shock—turns out, that woman was way tougher than expected!
But wait—a naked bandit meant...
Before they could react, both felt a sharp pain at the back of their necks—a wet spray followed. They reached back, brought their hands forward, and stared—blood, everywhere!
"Ah—! Ah—! Help!" The two scrambled away, screaming, their cries echoing through the cave. If they’d kept calm and pressed their wounds, maybe they’d survive. But at this rate, panic was all they had.
"Hmph, that’s five." The fake bandit with the cloth-wrapped head kept count coldly, eyes glittering with a deadly light.