This robbery situation was somewhat different from the previous ones.
There was no sudden sneak attack, and no chaotic mob of thieves charging at them.
"Please wait, everyone. My siblings and I wish to ask your esteemed escort agency for payment for tea."
The three martial artists, two men and one woman, did not even use the small trick of masking their faces.
"Chief镖头, I know this rule. I've seen it when I was on a mission with the old镖头. There are always martial artists from the Jianghu who come to beg for money. Giving them a hundred or two taels of silver as a toll fee is usually enough to get rid of them. It's like we're making friends."
A soldier reminded Lin Ce.
"What? One or two hundred taels? What kind of friend costs so much?"
Lin Ce's eyes widened. "Anyone who comes along asks for one or two hundred taels. How many people along the way can afford one or two hundred taels? No wonder the escort agency is going out of business."
"Uh, these are all industry practices..."
“I don’t know anything about industry rules. I only know that since I’m here, everything has to be done according to my rules.”
Li Qingshan took over the conversation, stepped forward, and pointed his sword ahead.
"Come on, let you become the resources for my breakthrough, and take the first step towards making Li Qingshan famous throughout the world."
"Chief镖头, are you sure this is alright?"
Seeing Li Qingshan take the initiative to challenge them, the young men of the Tangzi team were quite apprehensive.
They wanted to remind this newly recruited镖师 (bodyguard/escort) that for those who escort goods, keeping things peaceful is the best thing to do.
Unfortunately, the person in charge of the escort team at that moment was also an amateur.
Lin Ce snorted and stared coldly ahead.
"One or two hundred taels, that's more than my monthly salary. Do you really think money is so easy to earn?"
"interesting."
The leader on the other side looked at Li Qingshan and said, "I'll spar with you, but let's make this clear first: what if you lose?"
"How could I possibly lose?"
Li Qingshan smiled proudly.
"I mean, what if you lose? What then?"
The person opposite frowned, feeling that this seemingly decent guy was a little off his head.
"If he loses, then of course he loses."
Lin Ce then spoke up from behind.
"Who are you...?"
"This is our chief镖头 (chief镖师, head镖师)."
Some of the scouts shouted in unison, their eyes fixed on Lin Ce with great eagerness.
No one knew Lin Ce's strength better than them. After the last escort mission and the month of training, the image of the chief escort had become infinitely lofty in their minds.
Although three martial artists were blocking their way and trying to take advantage of them, the young warriors did not feel any pressure whatsoever.
Escort agencies frequently engage in escorting goods; many agencies are not incapable of dealing with these opportunistic martial artists, but simply have no reason to.
But since their chief镖头 (chief镖师, a kind of bodyguard/escort) had chosen to make friends through martial arts, the镖师 were naturally very much looking forward to it.
They were still passionate young men at heart.
"So it was the chief镖头 (chief镖头 is a term for a bodyguard/escort) in person."
The person opposite nodded slightly and continued to ask.
"If this friend loses, will you, as the chief镖头 (chief镖师, a term referring to a high-ranking镖师 in Chinese martial arts novels), take over?"
"That's right."
"What if you lose too?"
"I can't lose."
"..."
The man's hands and feet trembled as he exhaled with difficulty, "I mean, if."
"Are you implying that if I lose, I have to hand over the prize with both hands?"
"That's right, my friend really knows what he's doing."
"No, I don't understand."
Lin Ce looked at the man as if he were an idiot. "With so many brothers around, if we really encountered that situation, of course we would all draw our swords and attack you together. How could we possibly hand over the goods with both hands?"
"..."
The man exchanged glances with the two men accompanying him before bowing to Lin Ce and asking:
"Is this your first time escorting goods, friend?"
No, this is the second time.
"..."
The man remained silent.
"Are we still going to fight? You've got too much nonsense to say."
With a clang, Li Qingshan drew his longsword and thrust it toward the man.
He had given prior notice before drawing his sword, so it wasn't exactly a sneak attack.
Moreover, he thrust out his sword while simultaneously attacking the three opponents, attempting to fight all three at once.
This arrogant attitude clearly angered the other party.
"interesting."
"He actually thinks he can fight against the three heroes of Li Yuan all by himself."
"They really don't know how to write the word 'death'."
As Li Qingshan drew his sword, at the same time, the three people opposite him each uttered a sentence, and the meaning expressed in their words was surprisingly in sync.
The three of them drew their swords simultaneously and charged towards Li Qingshan.
The longsword was pointing in three directions that it was difficult to cover simultaneously.
Unable to attend to both at the same time, Li Qingshan simply ignored the fact that he was about to be pierced by the longsword and continued to launch attacks.
This approach proved remarkably effective.
The three people opposite him quickly sheathed their swords and retreated, clearly not wanting to trade their lives for his.
Li Yuansan was furious:
"You're just a bodyguard, you can only earn twenty taels of silver a month at most, why risk your life?"
"Who's fighting you to the death?"
Li Qingshan persisted and continued his attack.
Using the "Flying Sand Step" light footwork, he caught up with the three in an instant.
Although he could tell that the three of them were all at the ninth-rank level, he was not afraid at all.
"Don't go too far, who's afraid of who?"
Seeing Li Qingshan approaching again, the three heroes of Liyuan were clearly enraged.
Three longswords flashed towards Li Qingshan.
They simply didn't believe that this person had any reason to run headlong into the sword's edge.
Then they saw that the person opposite them actually crashed into the tip of their sword.
After breaking through to the second level (perfection) of "Qingyanyi", Li Qingshan's confidence increased greatly, and even his fighting style obviously changed.
Li Yuan and his two comrades instinctively tried to sheathe their swords and retreat, but it was too late.
The three longswords pierced the opponent's body, but only managed to tear through his outer clothing, unable to advance any further.
At the same time, Li Qingshan's long sword thrust repeatedly, landing on them.
They felt a sharp pain in their wrists and shoulders almost simultaneously, and they could no longer hold onto their longswords, which clattered to the ground.
"Have you given up yet?"
Having achieved an overwhelming victory against three opponents, Li Qingshan was extremely pleased with himself and subconsciously glanced at Chief Escort Lin Ce.
Lin Ce, however, seemed not to have seen his brilliant performance at all. He simply stepped forward and stared intently at the three men who had lost their weapons.
"With your level of skill, you dare to try and rob a caravan? Do you really think money is so easy to earn?"
"We're not here to rob a caravan."
The woman from the Three Righteous Men spoke up indignantly, "We came to deliver this message out of kindness."
Are you taking advantage of my bad memory?
Lin Ce's expression turned cold. "Which three heroes were it that asked for payment for tea earlier?"
"We came to deliver the message, so isn't it only right that we get some reward for doing so?"
The woman argued her case forcefully.
Another member of the Three Righteous Men of Liyuan spoke up, saying, "I think there's some misunderstanding between us, and we need to sit down and calmly discuss it in detail."
"That sounds like it makes some sense."
Lin Ce nodded. "However, I don't have the habit of talking to prisoners in detail. You should hand over your valuables first, and after you've redeemed your freedom, we can talk again."
"you--"
The woman glared at Lin Ce.
"You don't want to?"
Lin Ce beckoned two porters over.
"Search all their valuables."
Li Qingshan disdained to get involved in these matters and sheathed his sword before retreating.
"Third Sister, run!"
Two men roared and charged at Lin Ce, while the remaining woman ran away.
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