Martial Arts Have Mastery - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: His Cultivation Skills Are More Than Enough

Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen

Shen Ling knew very well that his identity as Elder Young Master from the Shen family wasn’t seen as anything special in the eyes of the bandits.

Therefore, he had to be even more aggressive.

“Good.”

The chief turned his gaze to look at Shen Ling and nodded his head, clearly satisfied with what he saw. “You have both strength and courage. You are qualified to make a deal with us.”

“Come, bring a chair so that Young Master Shen could have a seat!”

As he said this, two axemen carried a chair over.

Shen Ling retracted the ax from the axeman’s neck, then returned it to the axeman.

Seeing this, the chief showed his appreciation for the gesture by saying, “I hope Young Master Shen is not offended by their rudeness.”

Shen Ling smiled and replied, “It’s okay. I just don’t know where my suggestion stands with you. Have you already made up your mind?”

The chief said in a soft voice, “You were right. Currently, the fortress has a grain shortage. We only have enough grain to last for half a month. However, the goods from Chennan Trading Company do not come cheap. How much is Young Master Shen willing to fork up in exchange for the goods?”

Shen Ling hesitated for a moment there.

Without a doubt, the chief had placed the hot potato into his hands.

If he gave them a low price, the chief of the bandits might immediately turn on him and break the deal from that point on.

On the other hand, if he set the price too high, then he would suffer losses.

The thing Shen Ling had to watch out for was that he had no clue the actual value of the goods. He only heard rumors that they were very valuable.

He simply could not make an offer right now!

Giving this some good thought, with a smile on his face, Shen Ling said, “Chief, I think it’s better if you name your price.”

The chief of the bandits turned to look at Shen Ling and said, “Young Master Shen is a really cautious man. Then how about a price of 9,000 stones of grain. What do you think?”

“9,000 stones?”

Shen Ling rapidly blinked his eyes.

According to his calculations, one stone of grain equaled 50 kilograms, so 9,000 stones of grain equaled 450,000 kilograms.

If he calculated correctly, if each person in this fortress consumed 50 grams of grain per day, then that meant there should be more than 3,000 people in this group.

Such a large number.

The chief of the bandits saw the hesitation in Shen Ling’s eyes and said in a slow voice, “What? Is the price too high?”

“Of course not.”

Shen Ling shook his head back and forth and said in a soft voice, “It’s just that I did not expect that the chief would be so genuine towards my request and thus I am slightly stunned. Then it’s a deal — 9,000 stones of grain for the batch of goods.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem at all.”

The chief nodded his head and said, “You can take the batch of goods with you at any time, but I want to see the grains by seven days’ time.”

“If I don’t see it by that time, then I will go and get it myself.”

The chief said these words very calmly. It was because of his confidence in the strength of his people that he was not very worried about whether Shen Ling would uphold his end of the bargain or not.

“Don’t worry. I, Shen Ling, will keep my word.”

Shen Ling said in a deep and rumbling voice.

In all honesty, this trip to the fortress was turning out smoother than he had originally expected.

Even though he was confident that he would leave here all in one piece, he wasn’t so sure about being able to snatch all the goods back all on his own.

If he could not get the goods, then there was no point in using force and starting a fight in the first place.

After another round of discussion, the chief personally stood up to send off his guest. Shen Ling made his way out of the house.

Soon after, a bandit took Shen Ling to the site where they were storing the batch of goods from the Chennan Trading Company. The drivers of the cargo, who had also been kidnapped by the bandits, were released at this time.

The drivers were scared out of their minds. When they saw the bandits, their bodies quivered out of fear.

After figuring out what had gone down, the drivers all looked relieved and delighted.

They drove the carriages and slowly followed behind Shen Ling.

The chief of the bandits was also there to send them off.

However, just as they were about to reach the entrance of the mountain fortress, Shen Ling noted that there were a bunch of bandits standing around. A bearded bandit was staring at him fiercely.

“Ma San, what do you think you are doing?”

When the chief saw the bearded bandit and his crowd, he appeared very furious.

“Ma San greets the chief.”

When he saw the chief of the bandits, Ma San immediately bowed his head down. “I heard from my brothers from the Green Mountain Village that they saw the murderer of Gu Dashan, so I’m here to pay him a visit.”

The chief thought it over for a few seconds before saying in a slow voice, “Gu Dashan, from the Green Mountain Village?”

“That’s right.”

Ma San nodded his head and said in a slow voice, “Gu Dashan was like a brother to me. The last time I was seriously hurt, he was one who saved my life and I wouldn’t have been here but for him. Now that someone has killed him, I just can’t turn a blind eye.”

“I’ve always risked my life for the betterment of the fortress for so many years, and I have asked for nothing. Now, please let me avenge Gu Dashan’s death.”

Ma San’s words came from his heart.

However, the chief had just made a deal with Shen Ling. How could he break his promise just like that?

“No, Young Master Shen is a distinguished guest of mine.”

The chief turned Ma San down.

Shen Ling turned to look at Ma San and quickly recalled the information he had memorized on Ma San in the bandits handbook.

This particular fellow had cultivated a body technique and proved to be quite capable of wielding the saber. He was notorious among the bandits for his combat skills.

However, in the bandit fortress, this guy’s strength was not the most powerful. He was not someone who Shen Ling should be wary of.

“If it’s a life-and-death battle, I’d be glad to put a finish to it.”

Just as Ma San was about to back down, Shen Ling spoke up at this time.

“Come forward!”

Ma San did not beat around the bush.

The chief turned to look at Shen Ling with a frown on his face. “Young Master Shen, you…”

Shen Ling smiled and said, “If I accidentally kill him, don’t blame me for his death.”

The chief of the bandits said in a slow voice, “There are rules for life-and-death battles that you must follow. The matters of the fight must be sorted out within the battlefield. But you have to think this over carefully. This is not some child’s play. Once you accept, you can’t back out.”

The chief gave Shen Ling a quiet look. It was obvious what he meant.

He knew that Shen Ling was a very courageous and skilled man, but Ma Shan was a fighter who had been through countless battles. Shen Ling might be no match for Ma San on the battlefield.

It was still a hope of his that Shen Ling would send more grain to alleviate the food crisis. Naturally, it was not his wish for Shen Ling to die here.

But as the chief of the bandits, he could not just let Shen Ling walk away without participating in the battle first.

That would make him appear biased towards outsiders to his people.

“That shouldn’t be a problem for me.”

Unfortunately, Shen Ling completely put aside the bandit leader’s goodwill. Instead, he happily accepted the challenge.

There was no need to arrange an arena for a life-and-death battle. The bandits formed a ring around the fighters and a make-do arena was created just like that.

“Pass me a saber.”

Positioned opposite of Ma San, Shen Ling looked at the bandits surrounding him and said in a soft voice.

Unfortunately, none of the bandits wanted to give him their sabers.

“Here, take mine.”

Just as Shen Ling was starting to feel slightly awkward, a bandit tossed his saber over.

This saber was of average quality and even had a slight crack in the blade. It looked much weaker than the good saber Ma San was clutching in his hand. To others, if they fought like this, Shen Ling would definitely lose.

However, according to Shen Ling, any saber would be good enough for him to take down his opponent.

“You can begin.”

Under the eyes of the chief and countless other bandits, the life-and-death battle had officially begun.

Shen Ling right away launched an attack.

He adopted the mountain-splitting stance and activated the instant slash.

Before the group of bandits could see what happened, a gush of blood spurted from Ma San’s throat and then his entire head fell to the ground.

Within no more than a few seconds, the battle was already over.

The group of bandits stared down at Ma San’s dead body, their faces filled with doubt and shock.

What happened just now?

“Here’s you saber. Thanks!”

Shen Ling returned the saber to the bandit and thanked him.

The bandit looked dumbfounded. He studied the saber stained with blood in his hand and couldn’t imagine that it was his saber that had chopped off Ma San’s head.

“It’s…it’s alright…”

After hesitating for a good moment, the bandit finally spoke.

Shen Ling had already turned around and prepared to leave, his mind already focused on their journey ahead..