With the Blade-Chapter 61 - 56: The Cunning Rabbit Has Three Burrows

Chapter 61: Chapter 56: The Cunning Rabbit Has Three Burrows

Thus, before Yang Sanlang woke up, Du Chengfeng once again mounted his horse, preparing to throw away the Unlucky Curved Saber.

Strictly speaking, this curved saber could actually be considered a good thing. As a weapon that could influence luck, it was the first time Du Chengfeng had seen such a thing—however, no matter how good this kind of item was, it could never stay in his hands, as its effects were indeed too strange.

Although this Unlucky Curved Saber could indeed make a person fortunate, even escaping death, all this was not without a cost.

The cost was that the holder of the saber would first be tormented to death.

As they say, you can’t escape death without coming close to it, can you?

Based on Du Chengfeng’s review of the experiences of the saber’s previous two owners, he had already understood the operations of this saber—in short, it first made someone extremely unlucky, tormented to the brink of death, and then offered a sliver of hope, giving them a sense of fortune.

Rather than calling it a lucky curved saber, it would be better to say it was a blade of torment.

Du Chengfeng felt that his life was already torturous enough without adding more to it.

After all, his original plan had already been completely disrupted.

"It truly is..."

Gazing at the wisps of smoke rising over Yang’s Stronghold, Du Chengfeng was momentarily speechless.

The once ruined village had indeed regained its vitality, but those curling wisps of smoke had become the most obvious target.

He Xiqing was squatting in Jizhou to the south, while ambushes set by He Xiqing were still advancing from the north. Du Chengfeng really couldn’t figure out how the people of Yang’s Stronghold would survive without him there.

Yet at this moment, he had to take a trip out. Otherwise, if the saber was left in the village, it might bring even greater calamities.

"So, let’s leave this axe with you for now."

After contemplating, Du Chengfeng found the most trustworthy person, Carpenter Li, and took out the ancient battle axe.

Faced with the faintly menacing aura of the battle axe, Carpenter Li naturally dared not touch it, as this fainthearted carpenter had never even killed a chicken, let alone dared to accept such an obviously lethal weapon.

"It, it seems to be staring at me."

Carpenter Li’s hands were trembling.

"It’s telling me to, to kill..."

"Then just ignore it for now."

Saying this, Du Chengfeng placed the battle axe in the storeroom of Carpenter Li’s house, piled together with other carpentry tools, making it look just like an ordinary woodcutting axe.

"But, but if something really happens in Yang’s Stronghold..."

Having settled the axe, Du Chengfeng wrapped an arm around Carpenter Li’s shoulders and lowered his voice.

"If there’s truly a change in Yang’s Stronghold, just listen to it."

"This..."

Carpenter Li was still hesitant, but Du Chengfeng had already mounted his horse.

His schedule was tight today, with little time to waste.

The first task was naturally to get rid of the curved saber as quickly as possible. Du Chengfeng already had a plan in mind and soon discovered the scouts released by He Xiqing around the city as he arrived in Jizhen.

It made perfect sense; the He Xiqing, no matter how brilliant, would still need to gather some external information to assess the situation after being holed up for a night.

So, facing the grassland nomads not far away, Du Chengfeng spurred his horse forward, and with a fling of his arm, the Unlucky Curved Saber pierced through one of them completely.

Seeing that the killing god who had come yesterday was back again, and took a life immediately, the scouts of the grassland nomads immediately fled towards the city in panic, afraid of being cut down if left outside.

After these scouts ran off, Du Chengfeng also turned and fled.

This time, he was only here to deal with the curved saber and had no time to exhaust himself fighting He Xiqing.

More important matters awaited him than killing.

Riding swiftly, bypassing several gentle slopes and ravines, Du Chengfeng quickly found a hidden hideout in the wasteland—this semi-underground entrance had initially been a resting place for some Jiubei bandits, but with the grassland people moving south, these bandits had long since fled thoroughly.

After ensuring the stability of the internal structure and checking the stores of grain the bandits had not managed to take, Du Chengfeng rode off to the next stronghold.

Moving from place to place, Du Chengfeng found about a dozen such hideouts, big and small, originally the haunts of bandit horsemen, now becoming precious gifts from nature.

Of course, there were two bandit groups that hadn’t had time to move and were unwilling to offer gifts. Faced with these criminals, who didn’t understand peaceful coexistence, Du Chengfeng took up a broadsword and returned them to nature on the spot.

Yes, this was his second task of the day.

Even rabbits know to dig a few more burrows; anyone would know it’s unsafe to stay in one place. Furthermore, even if he were safe, the returning people of Yang’s Stronghold would not be—out of neighborhood responsibility, these bandit hideouts were prepared for them. Allowing the entire Yang’s Stronghold to scatter and hide in these covert locations would ensure their relative safety.

Of course, it would also benefit Du Chengfeng himself. Although Yang’s courtyard was good, it was far too conspicuous; he needed more supply points, more refuges, to better execute this guerrilla warfare.

Indeed, though He Xiqing possessed unmatched valor and unparalleled wisdom, commanding numerous soldiers, Du Chengfeng had sufficient geographic advantages. After sharpening the daggers left by the bandits, Du Chengfeng had already comprehended the entire geography of Jizhou. Moreover, he had previously sharpened the grassland people’s weapons, so he could even claim to understand the grassland people better than most of their own.

Knowing both self and enemy, this is the biggest reason Du Chengfeng dared to battle He Xiqing.

"Prepare fifteen hideouts for now, and search for new ones later."

Du Chengfeng’s plan seemed perfect.

But what he hadn’t anticipated was that someone else had the same idea to seize the bandits’ hideouts.

"...And you are?"

In the fifteenth and final hideout, Du Chengfeng looked at the man with a longsword on his waist and wide sleeves before him, feeling a little bewildered.

If he remembered correctly... this should be an acquaintance, right?

"It’s you!"

The man with the sword immediately brightened up.

"You were right last time! That really is part of the practice!"

"...Ah?"

Du Chengfeng suddenly had a bad feeling.

The sense of madness was all too familiar.

"My apologies, I took a wrong turn."

Memories rushed back, and Du Chengfeng turned to leave.

His tasks weren’t yet done—he had no time to get entangled with a lunatic here.

But even though he wanted to leave, the lunatic had no intention of letting him go.

"Thank you for your guidance, sir. I’ve already defeated my old enemy... but it’s still not enough."

Saying this, the swordsman named Cui Yuan drew a broken sword and walked over.

"Originally, I thought I only needed to defeat Liu Qingyun to achieve true swordsmanship, but whenever I delve deeply into training, your shadow comes unbidden to mind..."

"..."

Though this speech sounded a bit odd, Du Chengfeng roughly understood Cui Yuan’s meaning.

This prompted him to reach towards his saddlebag.

"Today, meeting you is a blessing... indeed, it’s because of your guidance I’ve come to fully understand everything."

As he spoke, the swordsman named Cui Yuan suddenly stepped and twisted his waist, charging rapidly forward!

"This is also part of my practice! Please enlighten me, sir!"

"I knew you kid couldn’t spit out anything decent!"

Before Cui Yuan could get close, a five-foot sheathed longsword was already fiercely pressing against his chest.