Chapter 21: Seeing Injustice on the Road and Going to Help

  "Enemy attack! Protect the tribute!" The guards' nerves immediately tightened, but they didn't panic, having seen many scenes like this on the border over the years.

  The guards quickly divided into two groups, one led by Nie Han to protect the tribute, and the other led by Ru Qiusheng, surrounding Yang Yuxi in the middle.

  Yang Lin's face was gloomy, standing alone on horseback at the forefront, his eyes fixed on the depths of the forest.

  "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!"

  Time flies, in the blink of an eye, a shower of arrows shot out from the dense forest, each arrowhead with a chilly glow, that wave of movement actually had the surging of yuan power, but all were very weak.

  Yang Lin seemed as if he hadn't seen those arrows at all, his eyes still fixed on the depths of the dense forest.

  It wasn't until the arrow rain poured down on the entire team that Yang Lin's eyes flashed with a hint of 'essence', and an invisible barrier stretched out between the team and the arrow rain.

  The arrows hit the shield, splashing open threads of ripples, and then the force was filtered out, falling powerlessly to the ground.

  "Who's there? Come out!"

  Yang Lin suddenly let out a loud shout, not at all like a sixty-year-old elderly man. As he shouted, the forest in front of him automatically parted, and dozens of people hidden inside appeared before everyone with shocked faces.

  "What kind of people are you?!" Yang Lin rode his horse up to those people and asked.

  Yang Yu Xi behind him was muttering to himself: What's there to ask, obviously they're just bandits, can't we just capture them all at once!!

  However, when he saw those people, his face suddenly changed color.

  "Huh, when did mountain bandits start dressing like this?"

  What stood before him were not mountain bandits, but rather a few dozen ordinary village hunters, dressed in animal hides of various kinds, holding crude homemade bows and arrows, with quivers containing over ten arrow shafts on their backs.

  The first man looked to be in his thirties, with dark skin and a robust physique that seemed to be stuck to his body. He was holding a hardwood bow and was now looking at Yang Lin with some confusion.

  "Answer me, who are you?" Yang Lin pulled tight on the reins and asked again.

  The first person's face had already calmed down, and he slowly opened his mouth to say: "We are villagers from Hei Shan Village outside Hai Yang City. I am their new village chief."

  "Damn it! So the whole village is full of bandits. What Black Mountain Village, it's clearly a black-hearted village." Yang Yu Xi muttered to herself.

  Yang Lin turned back and glanced at him, Yang Yu Xi pouted and closed his mouth. Yang Lin looked at the man again, frowned and asked: "Originally from Hei Shan Village, but I remember that the village chief of Hei Shan Village is not Lao Renjia? How could it be you?"

  Upon hearing Yang Lin's words, the group of people was visibly startled and immediately began whispering to each other. The young village chief took a step forward, looked up at Yang Lin, and asked: "How do you know the old village chief? Who are you?"

  Yang Lin looked at the young man in front of him and said, "We are from Xiyang City and are on our way to Haiyang City to pay tribute."

  "Are you Yang Lin, the senior?" The young man's face was 'excited', staring at Yang Lin for a moment, then knelt down on one knee with a respectful face. The villagers behind him also quickly knelt down when they saw him like this.

  Yang Lin dismounted and walked forward to help the young man up, his expression now much less guarded. "I am Yang Lin," he said. "Where is Old Man Luo Mu?"

  When he heard this, the strong young man's eyes turned red, and he tightly grasped Yang Lin's hand, choking with sobs: "Yang senior, you must take charge of Hei Shan village for me!"

  "Please, Yang senior, preside over Hei Shan Village!" Behind him, all the villagers put down their bows and arrows, and with faces full of sorrow, they kowtowed.

  "What's wrong, don't be impatient. Speak slowly." Yang Lin also realized that the problem might be serious, and he ordered Nie Hanruo Qiu Sheng to lead the troops to rest first, while he himself went to understand the situation from this young village chief.

  Yang Yu Xi lay down leaning against a tree trunk, picked a large leaf to cover her head and fell fast asleep.

  After a while, Yang Lin roughly understood the situation, stood up and patted the village chief's shoulder, his face very serious.

  From what he knew, the village chief's name was Luo Tianyou, the son of Luo Mu. He had been practicing outside for several years and had just returned to the village recently, so he didn't know Yang Lin.

  Hei Shan Village was originally a very peaceful village, where people rose with the sun and rested with the sunset. It had always been on good terms with Xi Yang City. However, half a month ago, Hai Yang City sent someone to demand that they hand over ten times the usual tribute.

  Heishan Village is a primitive village, where did so many tributes come from? As a result, Luo Mu, the village chief, represented the whole village and negotiated with the visitors. Unexpectedly, he was beaten up. Poor Luo Mu was already 80 years old. How could he withstand such a beating? He passed away a few days ago.

  Lu Tianyou was furious and went to reason with him. Although he had also practiced, he was fundamentally unable to compare with the masters in Haiyang City, and only managed to survive because of his strong physique.

  In a few days, Hai Yangcheng will come to collect the tribute. In order to oppress Luo Tianyou, Hai Yangcheng will take away his wife and children. If he can't 'hand over' the tribute, he's afraid that this life will never be seen again.

  Under duress, Luo Tianyou had no choice but to lead the villagers in this line of work, but unexpectedly they ran into Yang Lin and others on their first outing. Everyone had heard Luo Mu talk about Yang Lin before, saying he was a powerful cultivator, so naturally they were overjoyed.

  Yang Lin's expression was solemn, this matter shouldn't be interfered with, interfering might even bring trouble upon himself, but considering his relationship with Luo Mu and also feeling somewhat indignant after hearing it, not intervening would also be unbearable for his conscience.

  Yang Lin and Luo Tianyou greeted each other and returned to their respective troops, gathering everyone together to briefly explain the situation.

  "Alright, alright, I'll take care of it!" Yang Yu Xi, who was half asleep, suddenly sprang up and shouted loudly.

  Yang Lin glared at him and said, "Do you know what this involves? For Haiyang City, our Yexing City and Heishan Village are subordinate cities. Openly resisting is considered rebellion, do you understand?"

  Yang Yu Xi shrank his head, but still said in a low voice: "But it was Haiyang City that was wrong first, the book says, whoever is wrong should be overthrown, no matter who made the mistake!"

  Yang Lin looked at Yang Yu Xi with some astonishment, seemingly surprised by Yang Yu Xi's sense of right and wrong, and how did he know what Yang Yu Xi was thinking.

  Yang Yu Xi thought, since it's like this, I'll have to go to Hei Shan Village, and since I'm going to Hei Shan Village, I'll have to stay for a few days, and if I stay for a few days, I can return a few days later, and if I return a few days later, I can see Lan Yu Yan and Nan Gong Zang Jie a few days later... Hmm, it's settled then, I must take care of this!

  After a brief discussion, Yang Lin still decided to take care of this matter. In fact, he was not afraid of causing trouble in his heart, but only considered Yang San's thoughts and had some reservations.

  He walked up to Luo Tianyou, who hastily stood up and said with a sincere expression: "Senior..."

  Yang Lin nodded to him, then saw that Luo Tianyou's eyes were filled with excitement and relaxation. Luo Tianyou knelt down on one knee, clasped his fists: "Senior, great kindness doesn't need to be thanked, from now on, Luo Tianyou is willing to serve senior in front of the horse and behind!"

  Yang Lin helped him up, saying: "Alas, I also have a good personal relationship with Luo Mu. This matter, I definitely can't just watch and do nothing. But you should also know that this matter can be big or small. If it's big, then it's disobedience to superiors, which is rebellion. The consequences of rebellion, I'm sure you're clear about..."

  Luo Tianyou was slightly stunned, then immediately understood the implication of Yang Lin's words: I am also risking my life to help you, although I'm helping you, whether we succeed or not is hard to say, at critical moments I must prioritize the interests of Xiucheng.

  Luo Tianyou had a faint, almost imperceptible bitter smile at the corner of his mouth, which he quickly concealed. He said, "Senior, I naturally understand the pros and cons of this matter. I will never harm the interests of Yushuang City for personal gain."

  "Well, in that case, let's set off." Yang Lin raised his head and gazed into the distance, his eyes fixing on a large city looming vaguely in the distance.

  The next day, everyone arrived at Heishan Village, which was located under a mountain with beautiful scenery and pleasant environment. Even Yang Yuxi fell in love with this place at first sight.

  Unfortunately, behind comfort, there is always an undercurrent surging.

  At night, Yang Lin was meditating in his room when he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

  Yang Lin got up and opened the door. It was Luo Tianyou. He invited Luo Tianyou in, and Luo Tianyou turned around and closed the door.

  "Hmm, what's wrong?" Yang Lin noticed Luo Tianyou's tension and asked with a smile.

  Luo Tianyou stared at Yang Lin and said: "Tomorrow, they will come tomorrow."

  "Uh-huh, I know." Yang Lin still had a hint of a smile on her face.

  "Senior, you don't seem nervous at all?" Luo Tianyou looked at Yang Lin's smile and felt even more uncertain, hesitating for a moment before asking.

  "What's there to be nervous about?" Yang Lin asked back with a smile.

  Luo Tianyou became somewhat anxious and said: "There are masters among them!"

  Yang Lin looked at the young man in front of him, who should be very steady in his thirties, but now he was very impatient. It could be seen that the position of his wife and daughter was very important in his heart.

  Yang Lin's smile faded away, and he spoke seriously: "Your current cultivation is at the level of Microcosm Three Stars. It's not weak anymore. What do you mean by 'high-level expert'?"

  Lu Tianyou was slightly stunned, trying hard to recall, then shook his head and said: "I'm not quite sure, I couldn't get close to them at all. There must be a few Five-Star Microns among them. One of them is said to have already reached the Extreme Dust Boundary, and he's definitely not the strongest."

  "Oh? Ji Chen Boundary?" Yang Lin muttered to himself, the Ji Chen Boundary was already considered a top-notch expert in this marginal city, and yet someone was even stronger than him.

  Of course, the extreme dust boundary is a great figure who will be valued wherever he goes. Among the younger generation this year, only a few people have reached the extreme dust boundary, such as Rujisheng and Weixinhao.

  However, the closer you get to the capital city, the more old antiques there are, and the Extreme Dust Boundary is no longer that popular.

  "That's right, it's the Extreme Dust Boundary. I've heard from seniors that the Extreme Dust Boundary is divided into nine heavens and is a major watershed for cultivation." Luo Tianyou said.

  "That's right."

  "Th... " Luo Tianyou considered his words carefully and finally gritted his teeth to say, "Are you confident in dealing with a master of several heavenly layers?"

  Yang Lin smiled slightly and took the teacup, slowly rotating it in his hand. He said quietly, "If it's just the Extreme Dust Boundary, several layers of heaven won't be a problem."