The people behind him managed to rein in their horses in time, but the shock was still enough to make the horses neigh violently.
The one who fell from his horse wasn’t so lucky and immediately plummeted into the trap they had set earlier, dying on the spot.
The forest was silent, with no birds in flight, and the leader’s face turned ugly with rage as he shouted, "I am Huo Li, the chief disciple of Xuanzong, how dare you!"
Yue Rujing sneered, "This idiot, do I not know he is Huo Li? The very Huo Li I am robbing today. Last time, it was joyous robbing us; now it’s his turn to see how craven he looks!"
Yue Rujing snorted dismissively and gestured to the people behind him before leaping forward with a broadsword that was five inches wide.
He shouted loudly to the leader, "This mountain is mine, these trees I planted, if you wish to pass, leave behind a toll!"
Surrounded by his men, Huo Li sized up the line of people who had suddenly appeared.
In the outskirts of Beijing, it was unexpected for a group of ten men dressed in black to emerge from the forest in broad daylight.
And they were certainly not some common highwaymen.
"What do you intend to do?"
However, after his mind raced, Huo Li realized who the attackers were.
Yue Rujing said with a cold laugh, "Unwilling to part with your wealth, then does that mean you wish to part with your life?"
Having said that, he let out a great shout and charged forward with his broadsword towards the lead man.
Such a large blade was most suited for cutting down horses, and within moments, three men had fallen from their steeds.
Each of the men behind him wielded similar broadswords, rushing forth like a band of bandits who cared for neither their lives nor their noise, fighting fiercely with Huo Li and his men.
The ten men in black led by Yue Rujing knocked Huo Li’s men off their horses, and the combatants on both sides were inextricably engaged in battle.
Yet, Huo Li, as the leader, remained on his horse, watching indifferently from behind the crowd.
"Kill all these money-grubbing fools!" yelled Yue Rujing, still in a frenzy.
Seeing his own men falling out of favor, suffering severe casualties, Huo Li finally showed some concern.
He drew the long sword from his back and roared, "Do not push people too far."
Yue Rujing responded with a thumbs-down gesture towards him and continued fighting fiercely with his sword.
Huo Li’s face twitched with anger, frustration boiling up inside him.
He had urgent business leaving the city today, yet he hadn’t expected to be intercepted by this rabble.
They had tripped each other up more than once, both openly and covertly, yet had always known to measure their actions, never daring to break the unspoken rules of their game.
But seeing Yue Rujing’s demeanor now, was he really intending to have all the men Huo Li had brought with him perish here?
"Good, since you started this..." Huo Li’s face was twisted with rage and murderous intent, and as he spoke forcefully, the Cold Light Sword in his hand stood upright in midair. Immediately following, a cold moonlight-colored Taiji Eight Trigram symbol burst forth from beneath the sword’s hilt, expanding in size and stirring up the sand and stones as it slowly spread towards Yue Rujing and his men.
Yue Rujing’s eyes widened in shock, and he quickly retreated several steps, slamming his sword into the ground to halt the spread of the Eight Trigrams.
Those too slow to retreat were touched by the Eight Trigrams, their bodies instantly alight with a cold flame; upon closer inspection, it looked like many strange insects crawling over them.
There’s something wrong with that sword?
Screams erupted everywhere, and Yue Rujing, greatly alarmed, urgently shouted, "Get rid of the burning clothes!"
Upon hearing this, everyone hastily used their swords to strip off their flaming garments, then rolled repeatedly on the grass to completely extinguish the fire on their bodies.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that those things were not fire at all, but a type of bizarre insect, carrying on their bodies what appeared to be floating, soft, moon-white fur. With each movement, they resembled leaping flames.