"Something happened?"
Chen An thought to himself.
Before setting off, Bai Qing told him about the situation.
The person he was waiting for should have arrived long ago.
But now it was almost dusk, and he hadn't seen a single person yet.
This situation was clearly abnormal.
"No way there isn't a single person here."
Chen An opened his eyes and looked around.
Since early morning, there hadn't been many people passing by here.
Although the road was already sparsely populated, it shouldn't be like this.
"It seems like the territory of the Black Tiger Lair is ahead."
Chen An silently stood up, contemplated for a moment, and held his knife and moved forward.
Without much hesitation, he headed directly towards the direction of the Black Tiger Lair.
Unlike in his past life, in this world, besides some well-maintained official roads, most of the other roads were lined with densely packed mountain strongholds.
Most of these strongholds were formed by bandits, but often their leaders had some martial arts skills.
The smaller ones would rob and plunder, looting others' belongings, sometimes involving human trafficking, kidnapping, and other illicit businesses.
But the larger ones were a different story.
The larger strongholds not only stopped looting, but actively maintained order in the area, driving away marauders from other places.
Of course, they did not do this out of goodwill, but only to extort protection money.
Anyone passing through their territory had to pay a protection fee, and if they didn't pay, the consequences were uncertain.
According to the information Chen An knew, the people occupying this area were the Black Tiger Lair.
Perhaps there was a conflict on the road?
Chen An thought to himself.
This was the most likely scenario.
Outsiders were unaware of the strength of these local forces, so conflicts were not uncommon.
Perhaps White Qing's friend was detained by the Black Tiger Lair because she did not pay the protection fee.
Of course, it might not be the case.
Regardless, going to investigate would clear things up.
If you wanted to know what was happening in this area, you just had to find the Black Tiger Lair.
Chen An quickly moved forward, walking along the path.
Soon, he noticed that something was amiss.
Usually, there were many sentries along the way to watch the passing pedestrians and prevent them from sneaking past.
But today, there was no one, as if they had disappeared.
Seeing no one around, Chen An quickly realized that something was wrong.
After a moment of contemplation, he became more cautious, silently covering his tracks and moving forward.
He quickly crossed the area and found something.
In the vicinity, there were signs of fighting, and quite a number of them.
Dozens of bodies were lying on the side of the road, including members of the Black Tiger Lair and outsiders.
Occasionally, he found the bodies of pedestrians on the side of the road, as if they had also been killed.
This behavior was very unusual.
"There are people over there!"
Chen An walked to a body and was about to inspect it when shouts came from afar.
Looking up, he saw several figures ahead, wearing different clothes but holding identical long knives.
These were probably members of the Black Tiger Lair.
Chen An stood up, ready to negotiate, but the other party did not seem interested in talking and instead attacked him with their knives.
Crack!
The sound of the broken long knife rang out.
Chen An remained calm, crushing the long knife in his hand, and simply looked at the three people.
"I ask, you answer."
Watching the three people, whose faces changed dramatically with fear, Chen An spoke calmly.
After a while, Chen An got the answers he wanted.
"It really happened."
After dealing with the three people, Chen An rushed forward.
These three were just ordinary members and didn't know many specifics.
The only thing they knew was that the head of the Black Tiger Lair had given orders yesterday for them to bring back everyone they saw on the road, and anyone who resisted would be killed on the spot.
This was why they attacked Chen An when they saw him.
Hearing this, Chen An realized the trouble he was in.
As per Bai Qing's information, her friend was supposed to come this way today.
The head of the Black Tiger Lair had given orders yesterday.
The probability of this being a coincidence was too low.
So, what was the real reason behind this?
Chen An thought to himself.
He walked forward silently in the direction he had inquired about.
"Have we caught that woman yet?"
Inside the stronghold, the head of the Black Tiger Lair frowned and asked.
"We've located her position, so we should be able to get her soon."
Someone beside him responded.
"Good."
The head nodded.
Contrary to what others might expect, as the head of the Black Tiger Lair, he did not look brutish. On the contrary, he appeared very amiable, like a mild-mannered middle-aged man.
However, despite his appearance, his hands were stained with at least hundreds of lives.
The reason the head of the Black Tiger Lair was able to dominate this area for years was not only his terrifying strength but also his fierce character.
Once someone disrespected him, their entire family would be wiped out at night, leaving only that person with severed limbs to live as a beggar in front of their wife and children for the rest of their lives.
Of course, besides his brutal methods and considerable strength, the backing behind him was also a significant reason.
Without this, with his brutal methods, someone would have come to take care of him long ago.
"Tell the brothers to be more careful."
After thinking for a moment, the head spoke, "That girl is the young master's target. Don't harm her, let alone lay a hand on her!"
"If any harm comes to her, we're all done for, understand?"
He looked around coldly and said.
"We understand."
The leaders around him nodded.
Everyone present was well aware of the means behind the head.
If they didn't do as instructed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
At this moment, someone entered from outside.
It was a small leader of the Black Tiger Lair, his face anxious, as he barged in.
"Why are you so flustered?"
The head glanced at him, a look of dissatisfaction appearing on his usually gentle face, "How many times have I told you to report before entering!"
"Yes, yes."
The small leader knelt down in fear, not daring to say a word.
The head was finally satisfied, "Speak, what's the matter?"
"A young man with great strength has arrived from outside and is heading towards that girl."
"What!" The head's voice suddenly rose, almost reflexively standing up, "Where is the third leader?"
"The third leader was careless and has already been taken care of by that person," the small leader continued.
"Such a big matter, why are you only telling me now, do you want to die?"
The head was furious, not caring about anything at this point, and said directly, "Bring me my weapon, everyone, follow me!"
"Yes!"
Everyone nodded, and they all left together.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
"Are you one of Sister Qing's people?"
A voice came from a stream.
"Something happened?"
Chen An thought to himself.
Before setting off, Bai Qing told him about the situation.
The person he was waiting for should have arrived long ago.
But now it was almost dusk, and he hadn't seen a single person yet.
This situation was clearly abnormal.
"No way there isn't a single person here."
Chen An opened his eyes and looked around.
Since early morning, there hadn't been many people passing by here.
Although the road was already sparsely populated, it shouldn't be like this.
"It seems like the territory of the Black Tiger Lair is ahead."
Chen An silently stood up, contemplated for a moment, and held his knife and moved forward.
Without much hesitation, he headed directly towards the direction of the Black Tiger Lair.
Unlike in his past life, in this world, besides some well-maintained official roads, most of the other roads were lined with densely packed mountain strongholds.
Most of these strongholds were formed by bandits, but often their leaders had some martial arts skills.
The smaller ones would rob and plunder, looting others' belongings, sometimes involving human trafficking, kidnapping, and other illicit businesses.
But the larger ones were a different story.
The larger strongholds not only stopped looting, but actively maintained order in the area, driving away marauders from other places.
Of course, they did not do this out of goodwill, but only to extort protection money.
Anyone passing through their territory had to pay a protection fee, and if they didn't pay, the consequences were uncertain.
According to the information Chen An knew, the people occupying this area were the Black Tiger Lair.
Perhaps there was a conflict on the road?
Chen An thought to himself.
This was the most likely scenario.
Outsiders were unaware of the strength of these local forces, so conflicts were not uncommon.
Perhaps White Qing's friend was detained by the Black Tiger Lair because she did not pay the protection fee.
Of course, it might not be the case.
Regardless, going to investigate would clear things up.
If you wanted to know what was happening in this area, you just had to find the Black Tiger Lair.
Chen An quickly moved forward, walking along the path.
Soon, he noticed that something was amiss.
Usually, there were many sentries along the way to watch the passing pedestrians and prevent them from sneaking past.
But today, there was no one, as if they had disappeared.
Seeing no one around, Chen An quickly realized that something was wrong.
After a moment of contemplation, he became more cautious, silently covering his tracks and moving forward.
He quickly crossed the area and found something.
In the vicinity, there were signs of fighting, and quite a number of them.
Dozens of bodies were lying on the side of the road, including members of the Black Tiger Lair and outsiders.
Occasionally, he found the bodies of pedestrians on the side of the road, as if they had also been killed.
This behavior was very unusual.
"There are people over there!"
Chen An walked to a body and was about to inspect it when shouts came from afar.
Looking up, he saw several figures ahead, wearing different clothes but holding identical long knives.
These were probably members of the Black Tiger Lair.
Chen An stood up, ready to negotiate, but the other party did not seem interested in talking and instead attacked him with their knives.
Crack!
The sound of the broken long knife rang out.
Chen An remained calm, crushing the long knife in his hand, and simply looked at the three people.
"I ask, you answer."
Watching the three people, whose faces changed dramatically with fear, Chen An spoke calmly.
After a while, Chen An got the answers he wanted.
"It really happened."
After dealing with the three people, Chen An rushed forward.
These three were just ordinary members and didn't know many specifics.
The only thing they knew was that the head of the Black Tiger Lair had given orders yesterday for them to bring back everyone they saw on the road, and anyone who resisted would be killed on the spot.
This was why they attacked Chen An when they saw him.
Hearing this, Chen An realized the trouble he was in.
As per Bai Qing's information, her friend was supposed to come this way today.
The head of the Black Tiger Lair had given orders yesterday.
The probability of this being a coincidence was too low.
So, what was the real reason behind this?
Chen An thought to himself.
He walked forward silently in the direction he had inquired about.
"Have we caught that woman yet?"
Inside the stronghold, the head of the Black Tiger Lair frowned and asked.
"We've located her position, so we should be able to get her soon."
Someone beside him responded.
"Good."
The head nodded.
Contrary to what others might expect, as the head of the Black Tiger Lair, he did not look brutish. On the contrary, he appeared very amiable, like a mild-mannered middle-aged man.
However, despite his appearance, his hands were stained with at least hundreds of lives.
The reason the head of the Black Tiger Lair was able to dominate this area for years was not only his terrifying strength but also his fierce character.
Once someone disrespected him, their entire family would be wiped out at night, leaving only that person with severed limbs to live as a beggar in front of their wife and children for the rest of their lives.
Of course, besides his brutal methods and considerable strength, the backing behind him was also a significant reason.
Without this, with his brutal methods, someone would have come to take care of him long ago.
"Tell the brothers to be more careful."
After thinking for a moment, the head spoke, "That girl is the young master's target. Don't harm her, let alone lay a hand on her!"
"If any harm comes to her, we're all done for, understand?"
He looked around coldly and said.
"We understand."
The leaders around him nodded.
Everyone present was well aware of the means behind the head.
If they didn't do as instructed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
At this moment, someone entered from outside.
It was a small leader of the Black Tiger Lair, his face anxious, as he barged in.
"Why are you so flustered?"
The head glanced at him, a look of dissatisfaction appearing on his usually gentle face, "How many times have I told you to report before entering!"
"Yes, yes."
The small leader knelt down in fear, not daring to say a word.
The head was finally satisfied, "Speak, what's the matter?"
"A young man with great strength has arrived from outside and is heading towards that girl."
"What!" The head's voice suddenly rose, almost reflexively standing up, "Where is the third leader?"
"The third leader was careless and has already been taken care of by that person," the small leader continued.
"Such a big matter, why are you only telling me now, do you want to die?"
The head was furious, not caring about anything at this point, and said directly, "Bring me my weapon, everyone, follow me!"
"Yes!"
Everyone nodded, and they all left together.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
"Are you one of Sister Qing's people?"
A voice came from a stream.
