"Not bad, a man who knows the times is indeed extraordinary. A big shot like you, alone in a foreign land, single-handedly leading a group of bandits, no matter how you look at it, is indeed extraordinary." Meng Qi withdrew his gaze and smiled at Shen Zui.

  "You must keep your word."

  "I swear to the Buddha." Meng Qi used to make vows as easily as drinking water, but in this world with many powerful and virtuous Buddhas, he had become more cautious about making vows. However, this matter was not a big deal, after all, he could do it himself.

  "Yesterday, a white-headed bird brought news that 'Fan Tian' Yuan Mengzhi's men were ambushed on the road to 'Bo Mi' at 'Che Li', and they captured your junior fellow apprentice, planning to send him to 'Xie Ling' as bait."

  "Fan Tian Xiong" is a notorious horse thief who submits to Ze Luo Ju, with hundreds of strong and fierce men under his command. He himself is also a master with nine openings, roaming freely in the carriage and cart area, comparable to a king. While Zhen Hui is not stupid, he has shallow Jianghu experience and doesn't know about the evil knife pursuit order, so it's normal for him to be caught by Fan Tian Xiong.

  The "Evil Ridge" was originally called "Kurzha Mountain", located in the southeast of the vast sea, it is Zhen Luo's old nest, and it was renamed because of him. It is not far from the oasis where Meng Qi killed Anguo Xie at the beginning - at that time, Anguo Xie had the idea of hiding in Evil Ridge when necessary, so he chose this route.

  "Are you ready to send him to 'Xie Ling'?" Meng Qi furrowed his brow and said, this news Shen Zui couldn't possibly be lying about, because if Yuan Mengzhi really wanted to use little Shidi as bait, he would definitely make a big show of it, and everyone would know.

  Gu Changqing took a deep breath, trying to forget the nausea, and thought: "The distance from here to Xie Ling is closer than Che Li, maybe we can intercept them halfway, but what if Yuan Meng's move of sending bait is itself a trap, luring us into ambushing."

  Meng Qi nodded: "I think so too, the evil knife's pursuit order is aimed at me. Even if we catch Xiao Shidi, it won't get us then Luoju's promise. If Yuan Meng Zhi wants to maximize his interests, he must hope to capture me through Xiao Shidi. How long does it take from Che Li to Xie Ling?"

  He asked Shen Zui, but Gu Changqing had never taken this route before and could only make an educated guess.

  "If you don't hurry, it will take about 14 or 15 days for the carriage to reach Evil Ridge. After all, there are many dangers in the vast ocean, and among the three routes, each has two or three must-pass places. As long as you investigate the route clearly, you can intercept them halfway." Shen Zui wished he could finish his explanation quickly and die early to be reborn early.

  Meng Qi hesitated and said, "If Yuan Mengzhi is thinking of intercepting us halfway, he will not deliberately conceal the route information. If he doesn't think so, we can only intercept him before Evil Ridge."

  Xia Ling's lair was the old nest, Meng Qi and Gu Changqing didn't dare to rush in directly. If they wanted to intercept someone, the oasis before Xia Ling was the last mobile phone signal. However, if Yuan Meng forced his way through with his strength as a nine-senses high hand, it wasn't impossible for him to take Zhen Hui and cross that desert without entering the oasis.

  "Yuan Mengzhi is a self-important person who values his time, he will definitely choose to send someone off with great fanfare and lure you out to capture you." Shen Zui suddenly revealed a strange smile.

  Meng Qi looked puzzled and asked: "Is time tight?"

  Is it urgent for yourself and others?

  It seemed that Shen Zui had found some psychological comfort and chuckled: "Little Shifu, you don't seem to have any sense of being a direct disciple of a big sect at all?"

  "Huh?" Meng Qi was even more perplexed.

  "Shaolin didn't expect the Cry of the Old Man to reappear suddenly, putting you and your master in a predicament. How could they not come to rescue? Although far away in the Western Regions, their power is beyond reach, unable to get the news at the first time, but there are always merchant caravans and travelers close to Shaolin who will pass on the message."

  "Calculating the time, at most there are still ten days left. This news will soon reach Shaolin Temple, and by then, monks from the outer peaks of Mount Heng will definitely come to provide assistance. It's possible that even a monk with the character 'Kong' in their name will arrive, given their speed, traveling day and night, they can reach Hanhai within ten days."

  At first, Xuán Bēi spent half a year to reach the edge of the vast ocean because he was waiting for other monks to inform various major sects and also brought Méng Qí and Zhēn Huì two burdens. If they really hurried on the road, it would only take about half a month. Just like now, he and the crying old man fought all the way, but in just ten days, they had already penetrated several thousand miles into the vast ocean.

  Meng Qi nodded slightly: "They are indeed in a hurry, but Yuan Mengzhi is also brave. Knowing that Shaolin will have reinforcements arriving soon, they still dare to act like this."

  Making such a big fuss about using Shaolin disciples as bait, the monks who come to rescue them will definitely not discover it. If they attract outsiders at the peak of the scene, or even half-step Fa Shen monks, the joke will be huge!

  "What's the fear? Just pass the 15th or 16th day, and before they lure you in, I'll get rid of that little monk. Hide in the vast wilderness, hide in the secret places of the ocean, how can the monk find us? Wait for them to leave, then come out of the mountain again, gather the troops, and be a 'good fellow' once more." Shen Zui burst into loud laughter.

  Gu Changqing explained to Meng Qi, "The vast ocean has many places to hide, and the noble monks of the temple cannot stay here for long. Unless a land deity of the Dharma body level personally comes to kill him, 'Great Ashura' Meng Nan can't see any other Dharma body experts entering the Western Regions."

  "Hmm." Meng Qi nodded slowly, so Ma Fei was unwilling to provoke the local major factions such as Xue Shan Pai, but had little regard for the Central Plains martial arts sects like Shaolin. "So, our time is also pressing, we must rescue him before they kill Little Shidi or send him into Evil Ridge."

  Yu Mengzhi is a bright and upright plot, it just depends on whether Meng Qi and others care about true wisdom.

  Meng Qi finished speaking and stared at Shen Zui: "You explained too much in detail, what's your purpose?"

  "Ha! I'm a dying man, what purpose could I possibly have? Nothing but to seek a thrill! If you go to rescue him, you'll definitely die at the hands of Yuan Meng and his bandits. But if you don't rescue him, watching that little monk get killed will haunt you for the rest of your life, and you'll be tormented by guilt!"

  "Just thinking about you won't have a good ending makes me very happy, haha!"

  A hint of resentment and hatred was evident in his smile.

  Meng Qi waited calmly for him to finish laughing, and then asked calmly: "Which route do you think Yuan Meng Zhi will take? Where is Ze Luo Ju currently located?"

  "Are you really going?" Shen Zui couldn't wait for Meng Qi to go and die, avenging his own grievances. Without hiding anything, he said, "The old man is fighting a fierce battle in the depths of the desert, it's hard to divide his attention. 'Hale' has made some unusual moves, and Yan Shi's chariot is having a bit of trouble, so Luo Lao Da hurried over to assist."

  "Halle" is not the only one who excels in outdoor scenes, even among the Gobi horse bandits, there are four or five people who excel in outdoor scenes, let alone the Western Regions' "Halle".

  He looked at Meng Qi's expressionless face and continued: "Since Yuan Mengzhi wants to lead you to rescue people, he will definitely choose a route that is not convenient for you to escape. That is, the 'Guan Yue' - 'Bo Da' - 'Bai Shan' - 'Yu Hai' - 'Tan Han' route. Among them, 'Yu Hai' is a prosperous place in the vast ocean, where dragons and snakes are mixed together, making it convenient for you to hide and take action. Of course, Yuan Mengzhi must have thought so too."

  Meng Qi asked a few more things and got satisfactory answers. He nodded slightly and said, "Alright, I'll send you to the West now."

  With eyes full of hatred and intoxication, he let out a mournful cry:

  "I'll be waiting for you downstairs!"

  A dark red light flashed, and Shen Zui's throat had an additional blood stain, fresh blood slowly overflowing, his eyes wide open in anger, as if he wanted to see how Meng Qi would die.

  Meng Qi picked up the Ice Palace Sword and turned to look at Gu Changqing: "Changqing, this matter is indeed dangerous, but I must try it out. If not, I will have a knot in my heart that cannot be untied, and I will blame myself for the rest of my life. You are an unrelated person, so don't take this strange risk."

  A martial artist, once having a knot in the heart or a demon in the mind, means that their martial skills will either stagnate or go astray, completely becoming demonic.

  Gu Changqing clenched his teeth, a stubborn look on his face. After a while, he said: "I know I'm not strong enough, if we fight, it will only drag you down. But I still want to go with you. I'm familiar with 'Fish Sea', I can find hiding places for you, arrange escape routes for you, and help you gather information. They don't know me, they won't notice me, I'll be fine."

  Meng Qi looked into his eyes and saw a pair of strong and determined eyes burning with ideal light. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Alright then, in any case, except for assisting, you can consider yourself an outsider to everything else. Whether it succeeds or not, just be a good spectator."

  In this way, it won't implicate Gu Changqing.

  Gu Changqing nodded vigorously: "I'll spare you, but you'd better be careful too, keep your useful self alive, and there will still be a chance for revenge."

  Meng Qi held a knife in his right hand and grasped a sword with his left, smiling as he said:

  "Saving a life and taking a life are different, requiring different strengths, I'm not without opportunity."

  Afterwards, Meng Qi and Gu Changqing searched for Shen Zui's and several other masters' tents with the spirit of "not wasting", and the result made Meng Qi extremely delighted. It seemed that this guy had brought most of his wealth on him!

  "There are three deeds for the land in Jiangdong, and two house deeds for Shendu. It seems that Da Dianzi has the idea of washing his hands with a golden basin and returning to Zhongyuan to spend his old age." Meng Qi looked at the paper in his hand and smiled.

  No one wants to be a bandit for life, their main goals are wealth, women and martial arts. Once they have accumulated enough wealth, they will think of not being a bandit anymore and living a peaceful life as a rich man. But as the leader of a bandit group, there are many restrictions in this regard, you can't just get rich yourself and abandon your poor brothers.

  So Shen Zui quietly exchanged most of the wealth he had plundered for these five thin pieces of paper, which were enough to bring him a life of luxury and happiness for the rest of his days.

  Moreover, Ma Fei and his gang had a habit of not trusting their companions, so the remaining wealth was exchanged for a bag of precious gems, which they carried with them, making it cheaper for Meng Qi - although it wasn't explicitly stated, Meng Qi and Gu Zhangqing had a tacit understanding: he took Shen Zui's belongings, while Gu Zhangqing got the "inheritance" of the other four Ma Fei gang members. This was the reward for their heroic actions!

  Meng Qi put away the deed, and his desire to leave Shaolin's life grew stronger. He picked up Shen Zui's long sword, wiped it clean, and felt that the sword's energy was introverted. The ordinary-looking fine iron seemed to be hiding a faint blood stain, which slightly pained his fingertips. Recalling how he had been stabbed earlier and felt as if his fresh blood was being sucked away, Meng Qi was certain that this was a sharp blade, with quality similar to that of the Ice Palace Sword.

  "Bloodthirsty..." Meng Qi murmured the inscription on the sword's body, feeling an unusual sense of joy, this was a good deed!

  In this exciting and happy state, Meng Qi walked into Shen Zui's tent and saw the secret book he was browsing through before but didn't have time to put away!

  "Horizontal River Sword Method"... "Two Instruments Wave Sword"... "Zhao Family Quick Sword"... "Sunlight Three Folded Waves"... "Pure Bright Heart Method"... Meng Qi recited them one by one, overjoyed, and after a brief review, found that they were all opening period skills and sword methods, a total of four volumes, while "Yang Guan San Die Lang" was a single sword move, Shen Zui's final desperate attempt.

  He couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Haha, being a heroic outlaw is indeed a good thing!"

  "No wonder all great heroes start by killing bandits and thieves! The ancients were indeed truthful with me!"