Chapter 9: Inciting Wrath

  Just as Xu Batian and his bandits were rushing towards Qin Cang in a hurry, Qin Cang and Lin Yuqing had set up a large bonfire by the lake and were sitting around it, drying their wet clothes.

  After the two left the lake, the eerie calmness of the lake finally dissipated. This may have something to do with Qin Lang and that mysterious person reaching a deal. The restored lake also regained its vitality, with clear water visible to the bottom, gentle breezes blowing across, creating ripples on the surface, the underwater grass swaying gently at the bottom, small fish swimming in and out of the grass, occasionally jumping out of the water, splashing waves.

  Of course, there are also some fish being roasted on the fire at this moment.

  "Wow, Brother Lang, how much longer until it's done? I can barely hold on." Lin Yuqing looked at the fish being roasted over the fire, and her stomach growled even more fiercely. As the saying goes, "when hungry, one doesn't pick and choose", normally accustomed to eating mountain delicacies and seafood, at this moment looking at the charred fish roasted by Qin Lang, saliva was involuntarily flowing out of her mouth.

  "Don't rush, don't rush. If this fish isn't cooked through, you'll get diarrhea from eating it." Qin Lang slowly turned the branch with the fresh fish on it and said slowly: "Don't look at how charred the outside is, but the meat inside is still tender. However, the conditions are limited right now. If we add some seasoning salt and fragrant oil, I guarantee the aroma will spread for ten miles."

  "Wow..." Lin Yuqing listened to Qin Lang's self-satisfied boasting, and the feeling of hunger grew even stronger.

  Qin Lang looked at Lin Yuqing's big eyes staring at the roasted fish, and his mouth also curled up slightly. This scene was something he had never encountered in his decade-long wandering career. He could not have imagined that one day he would be roasting fish with a beautiful woman by the lake. Looking at Lin Yuqing's longing gaze, he felt a warmth he had never experienced before.

  But beautiful things are always disturbed by discordant factors. Just as Qin Lang was immersed in this warmth, his ears moved, and his eyebrows furrowed slightly, his face also becoming serious.

  "Lang Gege, what's wrong?" Seeing Qin Lang's abnormality, Lin Yuqing also felt a tightness in her heart.

  "No big deal, it seems that we'll have to wait a bit longer to eat this roasted fish. Those guys are here." Qin Lang said expressionlessly, although at this moment he didn't doubt his own strength, which was a feeling of power in his hands, an unwavering confidence. However, after all, this was his first real confrontation with a group of desperate fugitives, and it was inevitable that he felt a bit tense inside. But more than the tension, there was a kind of excitement, a eagerness to verify his own strength.

  "Ah, has Xu Batian and his gang arrived?" Lin Yuqing also came to her senses, suddenly standing up, her whole body trembling. Xu Batian had left a terrible impression on her, if it wasn't for being with Qin Cang, she wouldn't have dared to face that perverted deadbeat again in this lifetime.

  "Haha! I thought you guys had escaped, but unexpectedly, there's still such a good thing in the world, heaven won't destroy me!" Accompanied by bursts of laughter, Xu Baitian's voice came from the forest. Immediately afterwards, dozens of tattered bandits emerged from the forest and appeared on the lake shore.

  Without any order, the bandits formed a semicircle and surrounded Qin Liang and Lin Yuqing by the lake. Xu Batian held a big knife and walked out unsteadily, standing five zhang in front of Qin Liang.

  "Yes, yes, yes. Heaven won't kill you, I will. But you've come at a bad time, my roasted fish isn't even done yet!" Qin Lang continued to turn the branch in his hand and spoke slowly, without any hint of fear on his face. Lin Yuzhen saw Qin Lang's fearless attitude and also sat down slowly, although she didn't say anything, her heart was still a bit tense and fearful, and she unconsciously sat closer to Qin Lang.

  Seeing Qin Lang's fearless appearance, Xu Bao Tian's heart also skipped a beat. The more relaxed Qin Lang appeared, the more tense he became inside.

  "These two had already run away without a trace and could have escaped completely. But now they are deliberately luring me out, is there some trickery involved?" Xu Ba Tian thought to himself, but his mouth remained silent, his eyes fixed tightly on Qin Cang, as if trying to read something from his face, or waiting for something.

  After counting his breath, a thin little bandit appeared beside Xu Biao Tian and whispered in his ear: "Brother, I've checked it out, within a radius of one mile, there's no ambush."

  "Haha! I thought you had something to rely on, but it turns out you're just blinded by your own ignorance and coming to seek death yourself." Having received the news he wanted, Xu Batian also felt much more at ease. No matter what kind of tricks this little brat was playing, for now, he had the upper hand with a large crowd, while his opponent was just a weak-looking kid and a small servant girl. Even if they did have something to rely on, it wouldn't be enough to stir up any big waves.

  Xu Batian suddenly burst out laughing, while Qin Cang turned his head and gave Xu Batian a pitiful look, as if in Qin Cang's eyes, Xu Batian was already a dead man.

  Xu Batian saw Qin Lang giving him such a look, and suddenly flew into a rage: "You stinky little brat, you're still so arrogant even when death is staring you in the face! If you're willing to kneel down and kowtow to me, I might consider leaving your corpse intact. And as for that little girl from the Lin family, if you're willing to serve me willingly and take good care of me, I might consider sparing your life. Hahahaha, what do you say?"

  "This suggestion of yours is really not good, a group of people who are idle and want to gain without effort, it's not worth pitying their death." Qin Lang has now transformed into the embodiment of justice. After a round of righteous words, he thought of himself who often eats "bully meals", which is also a kind of gaining without effort.

  "Hmph, I'm not getting something for nothing, it's just a temporary loan, one day I'll pay back all the money I've spent on eating at the tyrant's table." Qin Lang comforted himself in his heart.

  "Since you don't know what's good for you, don't blame me for being ruthless. You guys, cut this stinky brat into eight pieces for me." With a single order, several quick-reacting bandits rushed out, seeing it as an opportunity to gain merit. However, Xu Batian swung his large knife and stood still on the spot without moving.

  "Wait a minute!" Qin Lang shouted loudly, and the bandits who rushed out were stunned, but they stood still on the spot.

  "Do you know what it means to be afraid?" Xu Ba Tian's mouth curled up into a cruel smile.

  "Scared of you, big-headed ghost!" Qin Lang didn't even look at Xu Ba Tian, turned around and handed the branch in his hand to Lin Yu Qing beside him, saying: "You see, this branch has to keep turning like this, so that the meat inside can be roasted evenly, not raw on one side and burnt on the other. You just roast it like this, wait for me to deal with these people, and soon we can eat."

  "Ah! Turtle son, brothers, give me..."

  "Xu Batian!" Qin Lang interrupted Xu Batian's words once again, shaking his head and saying: "You said that when you became the boss, everything would be done by calling on your younger brothers to go first. Are you not capable? In the future, when you get married, will you also call on your younger brothers to go first?"

  "You dare to humiliate me! If I don't take you down, my surname isn't Xu! You stinky little brat, come and meet your maker!" Xu Batian finally couldn't stand Qin Lang's disdainful gaze, swung the large knife in his hand, pushed through the crowd, and strode towards Qin Lang.

  "Xu Batian, then you'll be taking my surname from now on!" Qin Lang burst out laughing.

  Qin Lang wanted to achieve this effect, those shrimp soldiers and crab generals didn't take themselves seriously, besides, those people were robbers, what did they have to do with him? His only enemy was Xu Biaotian. But looking at the situation earlier, it was clear that Xu Biaotian had some reservations in his heart, he was just directing his subordinates to deal with Qin Lang, if Qin Lang showed his true strength, what if Xu Biaotian turned and ran? And there was still this burden, Xiaoyu, by his side, should he chase or not?

  Qin Lang would never let such a situation occur, so he deliberately provoked the anger in Xu Ba Tian's heart, letting him take action against himself.

  Xu Batian was completely unaware of Qin Lang's strength. As a bandit leader, he was used to seeing others' fearful eyes under his knife, but now he was being directly ignored by someone else. No matter what, he couldn't swallow this insult, it was really too hard to accept.

  One is calm and collected, with a clear plan in mind, while the other is consumed by rage, with flames of anger burning in his brain.