Chapter 331: That’s How Bewitching It Was
Chapter 331: That’s How Bewitching It Was
The instant he heard the gunshot, Feng Jun knew things had gone wrong: “Damn! He actually fired the firearm.”
White smoke coiled up from the distant hillside. Clearly, Bai Yuan had fired there.
But Feng Jun peered toward Xiniuzhuang’s front—Fan Shanyue sat untouched on his tall horse. How could a firearm hit at this distance?
Indeed, Bai Yuan had missed.
Though he aimed carefully, his shot veered off. The bullet flew past at least one or two cun above Fan Shanyue’s head.
Not only did it miss Fan Shanyue, but it also missed the fierce bandits beside him.
Since Fan Shanyue rode a tall horse—high enough—the bullet simply sailed over the bandits’ heads, wounding no one. Not a single soul even noticed it.
Unfazed, Fan Shanyue and his underlings all turned to gaze at where Bai Yuan had hidden. None imagined anyone would dare ambush them from such a distance.
Fan Shanyue raised his whip and pointed at the smoke. “Send two men to check what troublemaker lurks there. That sounded like a firearm. See who’s foolish enough to shoot randomly on the hill.”
A bandit smirked, “Maybe one of our own found some official’s Three-Eyed Divine Firearm and is testing it?”
Fan Shanyue laughed, “If so, snatch it back for me!”
The others roared with laughter: “Exactly, boss deserves first dibs on any treasure!”
As they joked, thirty blinks of time had passed.
Bai Yuan had finished loading the firearm.
He instantly raised it, targeting Fan Shanyue once more.
Meanwhile, Feng Jun grew frantic, yelling at his servant: “Hurry! Stop Mr. Bai immediately. This madness won’t kill Fan Shanyue! If the bandit grows alert—”
Bang!
A second shot rang out.
A blood hole blossomed in the very center of Fan Shanyue’s face. Without a sound, he toppled from his horse, stirring a cloud of dust.
Bandits swarmed around his body, gasping: “Boss! Boss!”
“Someone murdered the boss!”
Only now—these unwary fools realized the distant shooter had assassinated their leader.
Feng Jun cried out in ecstasy: “Ha! Bullseye! Fine shooting, Mr. Bai!”
His servant chimed in joyfully: “Master, your nose… blood!”
Delirious, Feng Jun paid no mind to his gushing nosebleed, stomping and howling: “Got him! That lowlife Fan Shanyue finally met his end, hahaha!”
The servant sweated coldly. “Master, your nosebleed sprays like a mountain spring.”
Feng Jun paused, “Oh? That hard? Ahem… no wonder I feel dizzy…” He collapsed backward.
“Master! Master!” Servants scrambled to catch him, hoisting him up to flee.
Feng Jun commanded weakly: “Summon militia from nearby villages! With Fan Shanyue dead and bandits leaderless, crush them all… Gods, my head spins…”
His servants pleaded desperately: “Master, calm yourself—stop getting so worked up!”
On the other side…
Bai Yuan had succeeded in shooting Fan Shanyue, yet he shook his head with dissatisfaction. “It took me two shots to hit. Such mediocre marksmanship. I’ll have to cross out half of my skills.”
A servant urged, “Master! Run! Fan Shanyue’s men are charging!”
The spot where he’d ambushed Fan Shanyue was barely two hundred paces from Xiniuzhuang’s entrance. If the bandits closed in, it’d be perilous.
Though the straight-line distance was short, the bandits still had to climb a slope to reach him.
It mirrored Chongqing’s terrain—just 190 meters from Liziba Light Rail Station to E·Factory Cultural Park according to Gaode Map, yet a forty-minute walk. That’s how deceptive slopes could be.
Fan Shanyue’s men began scrambling up the slope.
Mid-slope, Bai Yuan remained utterly calm. He put away his firearm, stood up, and turned with the utmost grace, his white robes billowing—a perfect show-off moment. “Let’s go!”
Just as he turned, bowstrings thrummed behind him. Countless bandits at the slope’s base unleashed a volley of arrows toward him.
The show-off act vanished instantly. Bai Yuan ducked and scrambled. His servants shielded him with bucklers as they sprinted wildly into Huanglong Mountain.
Li Daoxuan, watching from above, was amused but couldn’t risk his miniature people getting hurt. He extended a finger behind Bai Yuan to block the arrows.
To the bandits’ shock, their arrows struck an invisible barrier mid-air and dropped feebly without even grazing Bai Yuan.
“They missed!” the bandits exclaimed in terror. “He caught our arrows! Heaven, he must be a monster!”
As the white-robed “monster” vanished into Huanglong Mountain, the bandits dared not pursue. They retreated in panic toward Fan Shanyue’s corpse, utterly lost.
While they stood stunned, thunderous cries erupted from all sides.
Zhang Yuanwai from lower villages, Village Chief Li from Nantai Village, Yang Dazhuang from Yang Village…
Militia forces charged in unison.
At the rear, Heyang County Magistrate Feng Jun personally commanded. Twin streams of nose blood, like crimson dragons, streaked his face. With fingers dipped in blood, he drew a ferocious mask on his cheeks and bellowed, “Bandits! You oppress the innocent! Today, you die with no grave!”
Fan Shanyue’s men recoiled: “We’re pardoned! We’re officials of the court—how dare you?”
Feng Jun retorted, “Why shouldn’t I? The Provincial Governor ordered your deaths. Skull bounty paid in Xi’an! Charge!”
Heyang patrol officers, Feng’s servants, constables, lackeys, militias, and villagers who’d suffered a year under Fan Shanyue rushed forward…
Leaderless and demoralized, the bandits broke instantly. Outnumbered, they scattered.
Villagers settled scores without mercy: hoes rained down on their skulls.
Fan Shanyue’s forces were soon wiped out—root and branch.
Not one innocent perished.
The kind-hearted had already returned to farming during the last “homecoming.” Only the wicked remained—their deaths deserved.
Li Daoxuan, observing from above, rejoiced for Heyang. Good—the year-long bandit scourge was crushed. Time now to boost economic development.