Transmigrating with a Five Million Dollar Retirement Life

Chapter 200 Mountain Bandits 2

There's only one more bend to pass, and then we'll have completed all thirty-six bends.

The sky was overcast today, and the woods, which should have been filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, were so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Song Jiaojiao's heart tightened. This silence was probably not normal. She looked at the woods beside the official road. The already gloomy weather, coupled with the tall bushes, made the woods pitch black.

Just then, a sharp arrow struck Song Jiaojiao's carriage, penetrating deep into the wood and only a fraction of an inch from her window.

"Kill!" A loud shout rang out, followed by a cacophony of footsteps from the woods. In an instant, the bandits appeared before them.

Zhou Dayong and his men quickly surrounded Song Jiaojiao and her group, while Ye Yi cautiously watched the increasing number of bandits in front of her.

They were surrounded by bandits from both the front and the back, and bandits kept emerging from the woods.

Under these circumstances, Song Jiaojiao and the others had no way to go ahead.

Just then, Ye Yi moved. A sword aura swept past, felling a large group of bandits. Zhou Dayong and the others rushed forward to help, leaving Zhang Li standing motionless by the carriage. This was something Zhou Dayong and the others had planned; one person needed to stay by the carriage to protect the unarmed Song Jiaojiao and the others.

Inside the carriage, Shang Xiaoxiao held a dagger tightly in her hand, while Song Jiaojiao also held the weapon she had bought some time ago.

The mountain road had too many bends, making it unsuitable for a horse-drawn carriage to travel at high speeds. Even if Song Jiaojiao and her companions managed to break through the bandits on the main road ahead, they would still have difficulty escaping. If they were not careful, they would fall off the cliff and end up with their carriage destroyed and themselves killed.

Ye Yi was like a thousand troops, and he dealt with most of the bandits. This was the first time Song Jiaojiao had seen Ye Yi use his martial arts. People with internal strength were indeed very different from ordinary people who knew a little martial arts.

"Third Master, this guy is too strong. Most of the brothers have been killed by this kid. If this continues, I'm afraid we can't go on." A man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face said anxiously.

The third leader, his face grim, looked at the dwindling number of his men and growled through gritted teeth, "Retreat!"

This group had been watching them since they entered the Thirty-Six Bends. After observing them for so many days, they thought they were a big fish that could be easily slaughtered, but they never expected to be caught off guard and fall into a trap.

When he came down the mountain, he confidently assured his elder brother that this time it would be absolutely foolproof and easy to capture. He never expected to lose so many brothers. The fourth leader, who had always been at odds with him, would probably be jumping up and down again.

Seeing that the bandits had all retreated, Yoruichi did not choose to pursue them relentlessly. Firstly, he was unfamiliar with the mountain roads. Secondly, if it was a diversionary tactic, he feared that with only a few men, they would be unable to resist.

Seeing that the bandits had retreated, the group did not linger. They simply cleared the obstacles blocking the road and quickly left.

"They're back! They're back!" shouted the bandit on guard at the village gate.

Hearing the commotion, the bandit leader laughed heartily and strode out of the village, saying as he laughed, "Haha, they're back so quickly. It seems these people are easy to deal with."

The gate of the stronghold opened, and the chief chief saw the dejected third chief in front of him, as well as the limping bandits who had suffered countless deaths and injuries.

His face instantly darkened, and he shouted sternly, "Third brother, what's going on? Didn't you say it would be a piece of cake? Is this what you call a piece of cake?!"

"Brother, it's really not my fault this time. Who knew there was a master of internal energy among those people? We ordinary people are no match for him at all," the third leader said with a mournful face.

At this moment, the fourth leader walked over, looked at the person in front of him, and said with schadenfreude, "Third brother, it's rare to see a master with internal energy. How could he be in a team with hardly any guards? Could it be that third brother is just making excuses?"

"Fourth brother, with so many brothers watching, I swear, everything I, Wang Laosan, said is true, or I'll die a horrible death." The third leader hurriedly said when he saw the fourth leader jump out. This fourth brother had always been against him. He looked like a pretty boy and didn't look like a bandit at all. He didn't know why his eldest brother had chosen him to be the fourth leader.

"Alright, stop arguing. Third brother, tell me exactly what happened?" the leader shouted.

"Brother, the plan was to surround these people tightly, but who knew that one of them, a disfigured man, killed a quarter of our brothers with a single sword strike. If I hadn't sensed the danger and retreated quickly, I would never have seen you again, brother." The third leader recounted the story half-truthfully, while carefully observing the leader's expression.

Upon hearing about the disfigured man, the head of the family suddenly recalled the news he had heard some time ago. It was said that the head of the Ye family had been murdered by a disfigured man who had also taken the head of the family's only daughter hostage. The Ye family had issued a kill order, and all the major families had received the news. He wondered if it was the same person the third brother had mentioned.

When the fourth leader saw the first leader fall silent, he knew that the third leader had probably escaped this time. His eyes darted around, and he came up with a plan.

"Big brother, if it's really as Third Brother said, why don't we do this: pass on the news about this group to the Ant Village group and let them test its authenticity!"

When the leader heard what the fourth leader said, he thought to himself, "This is a good idea. It just so happens that they and Ant Village have always been mortal enemies."

"Hmm, that's a good idea. Fourth Brother, I'll leave this to you," the leader said.

When the fourth leader heard that he was to go, his face instantly turned bitter. "Big brother, this is Third Brother's responsibility, this..."

"Alright, that's enough. With your third brother's brain, it's a miracle he doesn't mess things up. You'll have to handle this." The chief was well aware of the power struggles between the third and fourth brothers. Over the years, as long as it didn't escalate into open conflict and cause any damage to the village, he had always turned a blind eye.

"Yes." The fourth leader replied with a bitter face, knowing that there was no turning back. It was truly a case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead.

"Haha, Fourth Brother, this matter still depends on you." The Third Brother patted the Fourth Brother on the shoulder and laughed gleefully. He knew this kid had no good intentions, but he didn't expect him to end up getting himself into trouble. It seems that the eldest brother still loves him the most.

The fourth leader slapped the third leader aside and said with a sneer, "Do you think I'm as brainless as you are?"

After saying that, he left, leaving the third leader standing there, jumping up and down in anger.

Song Jiaojiao and her group were still celebrating their escape from disaster, unaware that big trouble awaited them.

“Madam, we have entered the Seventy-Two Turns,” Zhou Dadan said from the window.

Half an hour had passed since what had just happened. Song Jiaojiao told Zhou Dadan and the others to stop and rest there before continuing their journey.

After the battle, everyone was on edge, and now that they've rested, no one has spoken.

Song Jiaojiao was still shaken and didn't get out of the car. She even ate lunch in the car. It was just as she had heard that there were many bandits in the mountains. Thinking that there were still seven days left to travel through the seventy-two bends, she had a headache.

Chapter 201 Mountain Inn

After resting enough, Song Jiaojiao and her group continued on their way. The sky, which had been gloomy all morning, finally started to rain.

The light drizzle didn't have much of an impact on Song Jiaojiao and the others. However, after the rain, a thick fog began to rise in the mountains, and the damp air was cold and damp. Looking at the rain outside, Song Jiaojiao said to Zhou Dadan.

"Zhou Dadan, are there any inns or anything like that up ahead?" Song Jiaojiao asked.

“There is an inn about ten miles ahead, but Madam, the person who dares to open an inn on this road is probably not a good person,” Zhou Dadan said worriedly.

"Let's go take a look first. It's raining, and we won't be able to rest well tonight. If we find anything wrong, we can leave." This escape from the bandits has greatly boosted Song Jiaojiao's confidence. With Ye Yi around, even if something happens, he can handle it.

It was raining, and the sky was overcast. Before dark, Song Jiaojiao and her group arrived outside the inn.

Mountain Stream Inn.

The name is quite fitting, as the inn is located right in the middle of a mountain stream, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with the official road in front of it. It is a rare place with relatively flat terrain.

Song Jiaojiao and her group entered the inn, which was nearly empty. Indeed, the Seventy-Two Turns were infamous; it was rare to encounter caravans throughout the year. Even if a caravan was forced to travel this way, it would likely be attacked and assassinated by bandits before it had gone very far.

Behind the counter was a scantily clad woman with seductive eyes, who said with a smile, "Oh, we have guests. It's rare to see people around here at the Seventy-Two Turns. Gentlemen, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

"Do you have a room?" Song Jiaojiao asked.

"Young master, what are you saying? Everyone says it's rare to see a living person here. Our inn lacks everything, except rooms." The female innkeeper laughed, her body trembling slightly, her eyes constantly darting between the group of people.

"My name is Sun Erniang. How many rooms would you like, sir?" Sun Erniang looked at Song Jiaojiao with a smile, her eyes sharp and alluring. She would occasionally wink at her.

"Six superior rooms," Song Jiaojiao said calmly, ignoring Sun Erniang's flirtatious advances.

Seeing that this person was so boring, Sun Erniang didn't continue and said in a normal tone, "Come with me!"

Song Jiaojiao and the others went upstairs, while Zhang Li stayed outside to watch the carriage. He planned to guard the carriage that night to prevent it from being attacked, as it would be difficult to leave the mountains without the horses.

Sun Erniang led everyone to her room, told them to contact her if they needed anything, and then left.

"No matter what food or water the inn brings, don't touch it. Aunt Yang, take the food out of the carriage and distribute it to everyone later. We'll have to continue eating dry rations tonight. We'll treat everyone properly after we get past the Seventy-Two Turns," Song Jiaojiao instructed again. Staying at an inn tonight was a last resort; she wouldn't have made this choice if it weren't raining outside.

Everyone understood that it was essential to remain vigilant in this unfamiliar place.

After Sun Erniang went downstairs, she went into the room and said, "Go and tell the master that the goods have arrived."

The man in black nodded and then walked up the mountain.

"Da Niu, go and send some hot tea to the guests' rooms," Sun Erniang said to the honest-looking man sitting in the lobby.

After tidying up, it gradually got dark. Song Jiaojiao and her group, who were tired after a long day, were preparing to rest early when they heard a loud knocking on the door.

"Open the door! Open the door!" The man's voice boomed, making the inn tremble slightly.

This inn, which I don't know how many years ago it was built, is not soundproof at all. You can hear everything clearly, even the slightest noise.

"Coming, coming," came Sun Erniang's slightly annoyed voice.

"Gentlemen, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

"Oh, a beautiful female boss, of course. It's so late, so we brothers are going to stay here." The man's words were teasing, and his voice was much lower, whether for fear of startling the beauty in front of him or for some other reason, it was unclear.

Song Jiaojiao didn't hear the rest of the conversation, but after a short while, footsteps came from the corridor outside the room, indicating that the group had been assigned to Song Jiaojiao's floor.

As the sound faded into the distance, Song Jiaojiao was about to lie down when there was a knock on the door, and Sun Erniang's voice came from the doorway.

"Young master, are you resting?" The candles in Song Jiaojiao's room were still lit, clearly indicating to the visitor that she had not rested.

"What's wrong?" Song Jiaojiao, on guard, didn't open the door immediately, but asked instead.

"I've brewed a pot of tea, just in time to bring it to you, young master," Sun Erniang said softly from outside.

"Thank you for your trouble, but I'm going to bed now and don't need any tea," Song Jiaojiao said.

"In that case, Second Sister will take her leave now and will not disturb you any further, Young Master."

Hearing the footsteps fade away, Song Jiaojiao blew out the candles in the room and quickly caught up on some sleep.

In the middle of the night, the dark room downstairs was crowded with people. Sun Erniang sat on a stool listening to the conversation.

“Master Sun, those people are very vigilant. They even have people guarding the carriages. They don’t let the horses eat the feed we’ve prepared, and they even have to bring their own water.”

"Yes, when I went to deliver the tea in the afternoon, although I did deliver it, I didn't see them pick up the teapot until I left."

Da Niu continued.

“If we weren’t wary of these people, we wouldn’t have gotten this far. What did you say, boss?” Sun Erniang asked, looking at the men in black in the corner.

"The boss told you not to act rashly. A lot of bandits died during the day at Thirty-Six Bends. It's said that this group was responsible for their deaths. We don't know their strength yet, so don't alert them," the man in black conveyed in a low, hoarse voice.

"But judging from their appearance, they can only rest here for one night at most, and they will set off early tomorrow morning. If they miss such a good opportunity, it will be even more difficult to get one later."

Sun Erniang said with a frown.

"It's alright. It's been raining these past few days, and landslides are most likely to occur here, blocking the main road. The boss has his own arrangements for this," the man in black continued.

Upon hearing this, Sun Erniang didn't dwell on it any longer; it seemed that this was the only way to go for tonight.

A peaceful night passed, and Song Jiaojiao was still a little dazed when she got out of bed. Could it be that she was overthinking things?

Regardless, I must set off again today. Whether this inn is good or bad is none of my business.

After eating her dry rations and getting ready, Song Jiaojiao went downstairs to the counter to check out, when she heard Sun Erniang say...

"Sir, the waiter who just went out to buy supplies said that the road leading out of the mountains is blocked by a landslide and it may be difficult to get through. Sir, would you like to cancel your reservation?"

"Landslide?" Song Jiaojiao asked in confusion.

"Yes, it's raining now, isn't it? This kind of thing happens most often here, there's nothing we can do about it," Sun Erniang said helplessly.

Song Jiaojiao was aware of the landslide, but with yesterday's rainfall, it was absolutely impossible for it to have caused one.