Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

Curls of smoke wafted from the beast-headed bronze tripod, and a faint, pleasant scent filled the meeting hall.

Drilling Mountain Leopard sat in the master’s seat, a Fragrant Mink cradled in his arms as he gently stroked its neck.

"So, you’re the only one who made it back?"

Drilling Mountain Leopard glanced up at Wang Mazi and said flatly.

"Yes. Over seventy brothers went out. I’m the only one who came back alive."

Wang Mazi’s expression was grim, and he still seemed shaken.

Drilling Mountain Leopard’s hand stilled. "Wait a minute," he said suddenly. "You just said... you, our second-in-command, and Hua Yingzi all fled in different directions. How could you possibly know they’re both dead?"

Wang Mazi swallowed hard and explained, "It was just a guess. I glanced back at one point and saw that guy Zhao chasing after Hua Yingzi. There’s no way he could have survived. The second-in-command still isn’t back, so I figure he got caught, too."

"Sounds plausible enough."

Drilling Mountain Leopard grunted, then asked, "The four of you couldn’t take him on, just one man?"

Wang Mazi shook his head. "It wasn’t like that. If we’d fought him out in the open, fair and square, we might have had a chance. But that bastard can not only fly, he’s like an owl—he can see perfectly at night."

"He cornered us in the woods last night..."

He shivered involuntarily at the memory.

’He can see in the dark, and he can fly...’ Drilling Mountain Leopard frowned, suspicious.

’What in the world did that kid ingest? You can’t gain abilities like that just from practicing martial arts!’

Wang Mazi grew more agitated as he spoke. "Boss, we have to gather the men and leave! We can’t stay on Baitou Mountain any longer..."

Drilling Mountain Leopard asked impassively, "Leave? And go where?"

Wang Mazi answered without thinking, "I heard that Xue Li Fei of Hongdu Mountain is a man of honor. We could seek refuge with him. And aren’t you on good terms with Yi Cuo Mao from Shuoxing, Boss?"

"So you’ve already planned out an escape route."

Drilling Mountain Leopard raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. "You think I can’t handle that Zhao punk?"

Wang Mazi jumped in fright and stammered, "No, no, no... That’s not what I meant! The decision is yours to make, Boss."

"You haven’t told anyone else about this, have you?" Drilling Mountain Leopard asked casually.

"No," Wang Mazi said. "I was worried it would affect morale. Besides, how we break it to the brothers is up to you, Boss."

"Excellent!"

Drilling Mountain Leopard set the Fragrant Mink aside. A kindly smile spread across his face as he suddenly shot out his right arm, plunging his talon-like fingers toward the crown of Wang Mazi’s head.

The strike was lightning-fast and utterly ruthless. Before Wang Mazi could even react, five bloody holes appeared on the top of his head.

"You..." Wang Mazi’s eyes flew open, filled with confusion and disbelief.

"Since you’ve already lost your nerve, you’re useless to me alive!"

Drilling Mountain Leopard’s fingers slid down to his neck and squeezed hard.

With a sickening CRACK, Wang Mazi slumped back in his chair, motionless.

"Rest easy now!"

Drilling Mountain Leopard sneered as he wiped the blood from his hand on the corpse. He then pressed a mechanism on the armrest. A stone slab in the floor rumbled open, and Wang Mazi’s body tumbled through.

’It’s not that I’m unwilling to leave.’

Drilling Mountain Leopard paced back and forth in the hall, a crazed glint in his eyes. He strode outside and said to the guard on duty, "Bring me Chairman Li and Wang Cui."

"Yes, sir." The bandit on guard duty hurried away.

A short while later, two young men in their early twenties walked into the hall.

"Father!"

Chairman Li and Wang Cui knelt in unison.

A smile touched Drilling Mountain Leopard’s lips. "Rise."

Unlike the other bandits, these two were orphans. Drilling Mountain Leopard had taken them in as his adoptive sons when they were children, and they addressed each other as father and son when alone.

The two were fiercely loyal to Drilling Mountain Leopard. Though their cultivation levels were not high—one was at the Skin Tempering realm, the other at Bone Tempering—he had entrusted both with great responsibility.

Chairman Li was the mountain’s Director Dong, responsible for dealing with the official channels, while Wang Cui served as the chief steward in charge of logistics. Both were fairly important positions.

The two rose to their feet and asked, "Father, why have you summoned us?"

Drilling Mountain Leopard smiled. "Zhu Huaishan, the Sect Leader of the Liuhe Sect, has an elderly wife in her seventies. She lives in the Six Harmonies Courtyard in West City. I want you to go kill her."

As soon as the words left his mouth, both Chairman Li and Wang Cui were taken aback. "The Master of the Six Harmonies Sect is a Blood Realm expert..."

Drilling Mountain Leopard snorted. "What’s a Blood Realm warrior in his seventies or eighties? He’s nothing but an empty shell. Just go do as I say!"

"Remember, after you kill her, leave our mark on the body! I want that bastard Zhao to live with the guilt for the rest of his life!"

He had avoided such things in the past, not wanting to make too many enemies. But now, he had no such reservations.

Chairman Li and Wang Cui replied without the slightest hesitation, "Rest assured, Father. We will not fail you!"

Drilling Mountain Leopard nodded in satisfaction. "Once it’s done, don’t come back here. Go to Songyuan County and lay low. I’ll contact you there."

...

Under the cover of night, Zhao Lin returned to the woods, carrying the heads of Xu Mabang and Liu Huaying.

"You killed them all?"

Liang Song ran out from the trees, also carrying a severed head. From the features, it was clearly Yang Dan.

Zhao Lin nodded. "I only got two of them. Wang Mazi escaped."

Xu Mabang was the bandits’ second-in-command, a much more important target. With him dead, Drilling Mountain Leopard was the only one left of the so-called three chieftains.

It had taken Zhao Lin over an hour to finally catch up with Xu Mabang.

The man had been ferocious. Knowing he couldn’t escape, he had put his back to a large boulder and, armed with a heavy iron staff, managed to hold out for nearly a hundred exchanges before he was ultimately defeated.

Zhao Lin knew it was too late to chase after Wang Mazi, so he had returned to the woods to rendezvous with Liang Song. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

When Liang Song saw Xu Mabang’s head, his nostrils flared and tears welled up. "Brother Zhao," he choked out, "he’s the one who led the men who killed my father and older brother."

Zhao Lin comforted him for a moment before saying, "Brother Liang, take these three heads back to the city. First thing tomorrow morning, go find Magistrate Liu."

Liang Song froze. "Find Magistrate Liu? What should I tell him?"

Zhao Lin spoke slowly, "Ask Magistrate Liu to assemble the Garrison Army and the constables. It would be best if he also rallied some martial artists from the various sects and dojos. Tell him to lead them to Fuli Valley to exterminate the bandits."

This was all part of the plan he had formulated on his way back.

The bandits had terrorized the Baitou Mountain area for years, and the county authorities were naturally eager to eradicate them. Unfortunately, the bandits were elusive, gathering and scattering without warning, and several military campaigns against them had already failed.

Meanwhile, the local sects and dojos were focused on self-preservation and unwilling to invite trouble.

The bandits were a hard nut to crack, one that nobody was willing to take on, which is why they had been allowed to run rampant for so long.

But now, with their second-in-command, third-in-command, and several other key leaders dead, it was a classic case of kicking a man while he’s down. It wouldn’t be hard to persuade the various factions to capitalize on the bandits’ weakness.

From what Zhao Lin had heard of Magistrate Liu, he knew the man was ambitious. An opportunity for such a major accomplishment was something he would never refuse.

"Give the heads to Magistrate Liu and tell him the backbone of the bandit group is essentially broken. He’ll agree..."

Zhao Lin laid out his plan for Liang Song.

After hearing the plan, Liang Song agreed it sounded feasible. "Alright," he said, "I’ll go at once!"

Zhao Lin thought for a moment, then added, "Right, tell my master about this as well. I’m worried the bandits will get desperate, like a cornered beast, and do something crazy."

Liang Song agreed and took the heads, then suddenly asked, "Right, and what about you?"

Zhao Lin gazed in the direction of Fuli Valley and said, each word deliberate, "I’m going to keep an eye on Drilling Mountain Leopard. I can’t let him get away!"