Chapter 39: The Bandit Lair

Staring into the glittering beady eyes of the Bear, Mo Lin sank into thought.

This stinking bear was not as stupid as it looked.

From the very beginning, it had wanted to make a move against him.

It was only because it had seen his strength that it chose instead to make peace.

If he were to encounter danger during an adventure, there was no guarantee that the Bear would lend a hand.

In fact, it might even kick him when he was down.

Still, just as this stinking bear had so eagerly recommended itself, it did indeed know many things and had considerable strength.

As a companion, it was not a bad choice at all.

The real question was—how should he handle the delicate balance between them…

Mo Lin lowered his head in thought for a while, while on the lotus platform, the Bear looked at him at ease, waiting.

Finally, Mo Lin lifted his head.

“Alright.”

Once he had said that, Mo Lin turned and prepared to leave the Mountain God Temple.

The Bear was overjoyed when it heard this.

It quickly jumped down from the lotus platform and rushed after him in haste.

“Great, haha! Where are we going next?”

Mo Lin cast the Bear a glance and grinned.

“The bandit lair.”

“Huh?”

Leaving the stunned Bear behind, Mo Lin slithered forward without looking back.

The Bear was clever enough to guess that Mo Lin had been probing for information earlier.

But it had not realized that what Mo Lin truly wanted to know was not just the current situation of the past two years, but who might possibly have the Earth Vein Yin Marrow.

The Earth Vein Yin Marrow was born from the earth veins.

Consuming it could strengthen the body and increase demonic power—it was a precious treasure.

Anyone who obtained Earth Vein Yin Marrow would surely hide it well, terrified of letting others know.

Yongzhou was mountainous.

Where there were many mountains, there would inevitably be Earth Vein Yin Marrow within the veins.

In other words, whoever controlled more veins was more likely to possess Earth Vein Yin Marrow.

According to what the Bear had said, within a thousand miles the two forces with the greatest strength and territory were none other than the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring and the Mountain Lord.

The Bureau of Heaven Monitoring undoubtedly possessed Earth Vein Yin Marrow.

And as for the Mountain Lord, a beast who ruled this thousand-mile domain—even the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring could do nothing to it in this mountain forest.

It too, without question, was very likely to have Earth Vein Yin Marrow.

If one wanted to obtain a pound of Earth Vein Yin Marrow in the fastest way possible, targeting these two would certainly be the quickest choice.

Unfortunately, that was not realistic.

Mo Lin had no intention of dealing with a Mountain Lord of earth rank, nor did he wish to provoke the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring.

Therefore, he could only turn his sights elsewhere.

And besides those two, who occupied the largest stretches of mountain forests?

Without a doubt—it was the mountain bandits who had made themselves kings of the hills.

According to the Bear, in these past two years, besides the chaos caused by beasts in the mountains and seas, there were also many humans who, unable to survive due to taxes and corrupt governance, had taken up arms, seeking to overthrow the Great Qian Dynasty.

Yet no matter how weakened the Great Qian Dynasty became, even a dying camel was still bigger than a horse.

Many whose uprisings had failed, or who simply could not survive, had fled into the mountains, becoming marauders—bandits, kings of their stolen hills.

Thus, the third possibility of obtaining Earth Vein Yin Marrow lay with these people.

As bandits, they often survived by robbing beasts in the mountains, travelers on the roads, and especially merchants—scraping oil and water from them.

Of course, some with worse character would not only rob the goods but also kill the people.

Bandits of this sort just might have robbed someone of Earth Vein Yin Marrow.

Still, Mo Lin did not hold out too much hope.

After all, the lives of bandits were precarious, never knowing when the Great Qian Dynasty might send troops to wipe them out.

So even if they happened to rob something good, they would often use it up quickly.

But Mo Lin still intended to try his luck.

After all, Earth Vein Yin Marrow was not easily produced.

If he were to search mountain after mountain, trying to find veins that might yield it, the chances were far too slim and the time cost too great.

If there was a quicker method of finding Earth Vein Yin Marrow, he could not afford to miss it.

At the very least, even if these bandit lairs held no Earth Vein Yin Marrow, he still needed three more Hair Jiangshi and the Thousand-Soul Resentment Fire.

Using the bandits to fill those needs would also be putting things to good use.

Although Mo Lin did not know where the bandits within a thousand miles had made their dens, he happened to have by his side a bear demon who claimed to know everything about Yongzhou.

Under Mo Lin’s threatening gaze, the Bear led him to the first bandit lair.

“Hey, hey, you really plan to attack a bandit lair with just you alone? Bandits who can survive under the Great Qian Dynasty aren’t so easy to deal with…”

Mo Lin cast the Bear a look—its expression a mixture of nervousness and the anticipation of watching a good show—and shook his head.

The Bear froze.

It had already prepared a speech to persuade Mo Lin, then half-resist, half-agree, and finally sit back to enjoy the spectacle.

But now, it was stunned.

“You—you’re really going to listen to my advice, not attack the bandits?”

A trace of visible disappointment flashed across the Bear’s face.

Mo Lin shook his head again.

“Not one demon. Two demons—you and me together.”

“Huh? I have to join too?”

The Bear froze again.

Mo Lin’s cold serpent eyes locked onto the Bear.

“Otherwise, what use would you be to me?”

With that, Mo Lin slipped into the night, heading toward the bandit lair.

The Bear stomped its foot at the sight of Mo Lin already leaving it behind.

“Hey, wait for me!”

……

About a hundred meters from the bandit stronghold, Mo Lin stopped moving.

The bandits had cleared all the vegetation within that range.

If one were to recklessly barge in, it would be far too easy to be spotted.

Mo Lin hid within the trees, studying the distribution of the sentries.

Two watchtowers stood at opposite corners of the stronghold, each holding two men using torchlight to survey the Western Zhou.

But clearly they did not expect anyone to visit their mountain stronghold in the dead of night.

Each looked lethargic and unmotivated.

After committing the positions of the sentries to memory, Mo Lin glanced at the Bear beside him.

“You’re sure that, as you said, no one in this stronghold has reached Profound rank?”

The Bear picked its nose, flicked away the filth, and said:

“As far as Buddha knows, none of them are Profound rank. Not one.”

Mo Lin gave the Bear a long, meaningful look, then said:

“In that case, let’s take out those sentries together. You take the two on the left, I’ll take the two on the right. How about it?”

“You like eating humans, don’t you? This entire stronghold should be enough to satisfy you.”

The Bear rubbed its hands together.

“Forget it. Almost all of these bandits are old men who haven’t bathed in years and reek of alcohol. Buddha doesn’t like eating old men. Chewing them is like chewing dried jerky, all tough and stringy.”

It chuckled.

“Buddha only likes eating boys and girls, and they must be eaten together. That’s when the fatness and richness are just right.”

“What do you say, mountain snake demon? You’ve never tried that before, have you?”

“Next time you visit Buddha’s Mountain God Temple, Buddha will get you a pair to taste.”

Mo Lin cast the picky Bear a sidelong glance but said nothing.

Without another word, he turned and moved toward the bandit lair.

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