He was delighted and "showed off" for a while, Meng Qi put away the secret book and continued to search Shen Zui's tent, unfortunately, there were no more discoveries. However, even so, he was very satisfied. Four open-minded methods of Gongfa, swordsmanship, one move of open-mindedness that could be considered a decent life-and-death swordsmanship, a sharp tool, adding up to at least 670 good deeds, which was worth the gain of a reincarnation task, and also had land deeds, house deeds, gemstones and other things that made his real-life comfortable.

  If it weren't for the urgency to save his younger brother, Meng Qi really wanted to start his own "horse bandit hunter" career now. Of course, this is also a dangerous profession. The inferior horse thieves have nothing good to offer, and the powerful ones have to risk their lives. Shen Zui's kind that was just eaten by himself belongs to the minority, and doing it many times will easily provoke the horse thieves' common hatred, and he will definitely be surrounded and killed.

  But this is still better than a repetitive task, at least there's no compulsion, if things don't go well, you can leave immediately.

  Heaving a sigh, Meng Qi tidied up the "Tianluo Diewang" hidden in his left sleeve, lest it be exposed - normally during combat, since there was a nemesis for this metal hidden weapon, Meng Qi would naturally make preparations.

  In this way, the threat of most hidden weapons to Meng Qi is greatly reduced. First, they must pass through "Tianluo Diwang", and secondly, they must break through the defense of Jinzhongzhao.

  So, Meng Qi didn't immediately shout "Duan Qing Jing" or "Luo Hong Chen", or simply issue a "Yan Luo Tie", when he saw Shen Zui. The reason why ultimate moves are called ultimate moves and trump cards are called trump cards is because the cost of using them is extremely high, or they can only be used once. If an ultimate move could be easily used at will, it wouldn't be called an ultimate move, but a normal move, which is just a normal manifestation of one's own strength, crushing the enemy from the fundamental level.

  "Duan Qing Jing" and "Luo Hong Chen" consume a lot, after one move, only ordinary combat power is left. If something unexpected happens, it may be necessary to use the "Sheshen Jue".

  This self-immolating, self-destructive technique gets more and more severe with each use, and the more times it's used, the more unstable the foundation will become, leaving behind irreparable hidden dangers. Even if the master of the six paths helps to repair it, who knows whether that won't create an even greater hidden danger? If possible, it should be used as little as possible.

  As for "Yan Luo Tie", it's a desperate move, with no room for retreat or reversal. It's hard to control and may end up killing Shen Zui directly. If Shen Zui dies, who will he ask for information then?

  Out of the tent, Meng Qi saw Gu Changqing smiling foolishly and standing there, with a sword on his back and a small package.

  This silly kid, has quite a harvest... Meng Qi thought with a relaxed mood. Gu Changqing was not a highly valued son in the Gu family village either. After opening his mind and going out to travel, he didn't receive any rewards of weapons or wealth. The long sword of that bandit earlier may not be a sharp weapon, but it's better than what he has now. As for the harvest of jewelry and wealth, there's no need to mention it.

  Meng Qi didn't interrupt his "beautiful dream", drew out the Ice Jade Sword, and carefully cut off Shen Zui's hair.

  "Do you want to disguise yourself again?" Gu Changqing came back to his senses, wiped the corner of his mouth, and asked in confusion. Why not just use a cloth to cover your head? Why do you need a fake hairstyle?

  He also didn't ask about Meng Qi's gains.

  Meng Qi nodded and said: "Even if you wear a cloth to cover your head, it's still not hard to find out that you have no hair in daily interactions."

  "Daily contact? Do we need to be in daily contact with horse bandits?" Gu Changqing was even more puzzled.

  Meng Qi smiled and looked up at him: "Right, horse bandits should be with horse bandits every day."

  "Ah, bandits?" Gu Changqing was first surprised, then thought for a moment and said, "We disguised ourselves as bandits in the past?"

  "Yes." Meng Qi replied quickly, "Although Zhen Hui has been captured by Yuan Mengzhi, the target of the evil knife's pursuit order is me, so there must be many horse bandits who will rush to that route, following Yuan Mengzhi nearby, looking for opportunities to take advantage and make a name for themselves, and get the promise of Ze Luoju."

  According to Gu Changqing's previous introduction, Yuan Meng Zhi was a strong man who had opened nine apertures. He had one eight-aperture deputy and four or five seven-aperture and six-aperture subordinates. The rest of the people who opened apertures were not few, and they were a force in the vast ocean that should not be underestimated. After Zhen Hui was captured by him, most of the Ma bandits would probably believe that the person on the Evil Knife Pursuit Order either wouldn't come to rescue or would definitely be caught by him. Therefore, the Ma bandits who were relatively far away would rather stay in their own territory and not waste time, saying that maybe that guy would pass by from their side and get discovered.

  But the horse bandits who got a little closer, it's not hard to have a lucky idea that they could kill the white-headed vulture, even if there were more coincidences, their strength can't be underestimated, maybe Yuan Mengzhi was caught off guard for a moment and only seriously injured him, allowing him to escape?

  When the time comes, whoever gets hit is whose family's accumulated virtue!

  Besides, there will always be "newcomers" with considerable strength among the horse bandits. They eagerly aspire to make a name for themselves and lead their own gang of horse bandits. How can such an opportunity be missed? Even if Meng Qi is not caught, when the horse bandits gather, defeating or killing several well-known leaders will spread their fame far and wide!

  These "new people" don't understand the rules and don't follow them either. Meng Qi wants to pretend to be one of them.

  Gu Changqing nodded: "That makes sense, the vast ocean is wide and there are many bandits like hairs on an ox's back. Those who don't know each other are actually in the majority. Even if Luo Ju himself were to recognize all the bandit leaders loyal to him, he probably wouldn't be able to do so."

  "Haha, then let's set off to 'hunt' ourselves!" Meng Qi laughed loudly.

  …………

  In the desolate land full of gravel, a small lake brought rare vitality, with twisted plants commonly found in the Gobi Desert growing around it, and weathered rocks scattered nearby.

  By the small lake's edge, no Gobi creatures can be seen, as a group of humans with an intimidating presence has arrived.

  They were all equipped with three horses, saddle bags bulging with dried provisions and long arrows, with sabers and long swords placed on either side of the horse's back, as well as strong bows and crossbows.

  Leading the way was a man with emerald green eyes and yellow whiskers, his demeanor calm and steady, holding a curved knife, lightly dismounting from his horse and walking towards the small lake.

  The rest of the horse bandits had some checking if the lake water was normal, some setting up tents and making fires, some patrolling around, some eating a few mouthfuls of dry rations and drinking clear water from their water bags before going out to hunt, and one bringing a little monk in grey robes into his tent.

  "It's Zhen Hui." After a piece of weathered rock, Meng Qi used "Transmitting Sound into the Ear" to say to Gu Changqing.

  He had "black hair" tied up, wearing a tight-fitting long gown, typical of a bandit's attire. He carried the "Red Sun Town Evil Blade" and the "Bloodthirsty Sword" on his back, with his left hand tightly gripping the hilt of the Ice Gate Sword.

  Gu Changqing, dressed similarly, replied in a low voice, "Alright, when are you going to make your move? I'll arrange the retreat."

  "Not now, wait for the right moment." Meng Qi said briefly and to the point.

  After leaving Che Li Gorge, they soon confirmed that Yuan Mengzhi's route was "Bai Shan——Yu Hai", so they came here in advance. First, to confirm whether Zhen Hui was in their hands, and second, Meng Qi said "wait for the opportunity" - because Yuan Mengzhi's news of escorting hostages to Xie Ling had spread far and wide, Meng Qi and Gu Zhangqing received this message without asking, so when they were traveling in Hanhai, they didn't have a chance to expose themselves.

  "Waiting for an opportunity?" Gu Changqing furrowed his brow in puzzlement, seeing that Meng Qi had nothing to say, and together they turned around and walked towards the tent at the edge of the wind-eroded rock.

  Meng Qi gathered his thoughts and walked while thinking: "Chang Qing, use that sword move again."

  Gu Changqing understood his intention and with a wave of his long sword, he drew five sword flowers in succession.

  Meng Qi looked carefully and suddenly drew out the Ice Palace Sword, making a false move: "If I attack here, how would you respond?"

  "It's where my swordsmanship is hard to control, if I grasp the power of life and death at that moment, I would have no choice but to change my move in response." Gu Changqing said without hiding.

  These days, Meng Qi hasn't dared to use the Red Day Town's evil knife much because of its shape resembling a forbidden knife. He found a horse knife scabbard and put it together with the Bloodthirsty Sword on his back, making it look like a war trophy - the Bloodthirsty Sword was Shen Zui's sword, and he couldn't use it often, nor could he use it to recognize horse bandits, so he had to change the sword scabbard.

  So, Meng Qi has been mainly practicing his left-handed sword skills in recent days, reviewing "Zhao Family Quick Sword" and other sword techniques, studying "Dugu Nine Swords", and occasionally seeking out Gu Zhangqing to "cross swords".

  Meng Qi smiled as if he had gained something, but his face changed as soon as he walked to the edge of the wind-eroded rock area.

  Near our tent lay three dead bodies, and several robbers were searching them and stripping off their clothes.

  These three corpses, two men and one woman, were clearly tribal herdsmen who happened to be passing by this small lake, but now they had fallen victim to the assembled horse bandits.

  Nearby, several camps were set up, and many horse bandits came and went in groups, watching everything with cold eyes.

  It was because many bandit groups had secretly followed Yuan Meng and his party that Meng Qi and Gu Changqing were not afraid to reveal their identities as they spied on the small lake - there have been more than thirty guys who have made similar moves here.

  Meng Qi's face sank as he walked back, looking at the guy who seemed to still want to take advantage of the situation, thinking of finding an excuse to take action.

  "What are you looking at? You little brat!" The horse thief, who had been disturbed from his "pleasure", glared sideways at Meng Qi with a fierce expression. He was also one of the ruthless and bloodthirsty ones, notorious among the surrounding horse thieves.

  Meng Qi didn't respond, his left hand extended with a sword, swift as an arrow, pointing directly at the bandit's throat.

  As a newly promoted "bandit" who is ready to kill his "predecessor" at any time to make a name for himself, what excuse does he need to think of to take action and kill someone?

  That bandit didn't expect the young man in front of him to suddenly attack and kill without any warning signs. He was slow to react, and Meng Qi's sword was too fast. By the time he came back to his senses, the long sword had already reached his neck.

  He hastily retreated and leaned back, but it seemed to be expected by Meng Qi. The sword tip suddenly dropped down from under his neck and pierced through his body, killing him with one sword.

  Bang! The horse thief fell to the ground with his head upturned, and fresh blood flowed out profusely.

  "You, do you know the rules?" Another bandit, both startled and shocked, drew his horse knife, trembling with his hand, pointing at Meng Qi.

  Even if the bandits were all desperate and bloodthirsty, few would be willing to engage in meaningless mortal combat. When they gather together, there are naturally some unwritten rules that constrain each other, lest they turn against each other. But this guy, without any warning, kills at will, without even blinking an eye, it's really shocking!

  He looks very young, isn't he one of those guys who can't wait to make a name for himself?

  This guy is really ruthless and lawless, completely disregarding rules, making people both hate and fear him!

  However, Han Hai and all the old masters taught him how to be a human being!

  There are few bandits who can always get away with breaking rules; either they die or they gain maturity through bloodshed!

  No matter which "line of work", after doing it for a long time, one will inevitably lose their edge, and bandits are no exception.