They were about two days outside of Rizhao when signs of trouble began appearing along the road. The first thing they noticed was the abrupt lack of the usual forest noises. No birdsong or rustling of small animals could be heard. Alerted to possible danger, they began scanning the wilderness around them.

As they came around a bend, they saw an overturned carriage in a ditch near the edge of the forest. It was lying on its side and had arrows stuck deeply in various places. Wide patches of the rusty brown of dried blood were liberal both on and around the broken carriage, and the ground was littered with broken branches and trampled grass.

Nearby trees revealed deep gouges and slashes, which pointed to the use of swords, and there was also evidence of there being at least one cultivator amongst them. A lingering aura of qi could be felt throughout the battleground. For it to have persisted until now, the power used must have been great. They gave the area a quick search but found no sign of bodies or survivors.

'Bandits.' Wu Chen said grimly. The scene showed them that the fight had been brutal. He did not have much hope for the passengers. There was far too much blood. 'Maybe 2-3 days ago.'

Lu Yong nodded and kept his hands on his sword hilt as he scanned the forest around them. A hidden archer could certainly be troublesome, even for a cultivator. Some archers were known to tip their arrows in poison or used arrowheads with piercing charms to penetrate protection spheres, as well as the strengthened bodies of high-level cultivators. Since they didn't know what these archers were capable of, it was best to be vigilant.

Bandits weren't uncommon near towns and cities but were generally not a threat to cultivators. With the combined powers of Lu Yong and Wu Chen, it should be easy enough for them to handle. However, the sheer brutality of the attack, coupled with an unknown and powerful cultivator, pointed to this particular band being very dangerous and unnecessarily cruel. It would be best to be on high alert and perhaps gather more information once they reached the town.

'I don't recall hearing about a dangerous bandit problem in this area.' mused Wu Chen.

'It could be that the bandits are controlling the flow of information.' Lu Yong said, still scanning the wilderness for danger.

Wu Chen worried that Lu Yong could be right. 'I'll send a message to my father letting him know. Maybe there's something they can do.'

He took out a small origami crane from his Void Pouch and held it in his hand. Using his qi, he created a messenger spell on the paper bird, then tapped it lightly with his finger. He whispered his message to it and sent it off. It disappeared in a flash.

'We should go.' Lu Yong wanted to get out of their territory as soon as possible. It was far too dangerous to stay in this place for long.

By mutual agreement, they did not ride their horses. They kept the horses on the outside and walked side by side between them instead. While this made them less of a target, and also provided them a shield of sorts to protect against arrows, the advantage of speed given by the animals was negated. It would be slow going for a while.

As they journeyed along the road, they noticed more signs. Broken tree branches which had been obviously cut, trampled areas of ground clutter, and here and there spent arrows stuck in tree trunks. How large must the band be to have a territory of such size? The more they learned, the more they realized that these were no simple bandits. This was an organized group. One that normally warranted a large and well trained party of cultivators to eradicate.

They continued like this for several hours until they seemed to have left the territory of the bandit band. There were no longer any signs of attacks, and the sounds of the forest had returned. Although they weren't necessarily out of danger, they felt they were far safer than they had been.

Lu Yong's eyes continued to scan the forest as he spoke to Wu Chen, 'We'll have to find a defensible area to camp tonight. The horses need care, and I think it would be better to be prepared for trouble rather than simply reacting should they attack us.' He shook his head and grimaced. He wasn't happy with either choice in this situation, but a decision had to be made...and quickly. 'I don't like stopping this close to their hunting grounds, but unless we want to give up on the animals altogether, there isn't much choice.'

Lu Yong's instincts were telling him that it wouldn't be a peaceful night. He was already planning several arrays that would be most effective for the situation. He hoped that they wouldn't be needed, but from what he'd seen so far, it was a slim hope at best.

They set up camp on a small hillock within sight of the road. The slight rise in elevation gave them a broader view of the area as well as the advantage of higher ground should battle be necessary.

They didn't bother lighting a fire either. Not only would it give away their position, but it would also affect their ability to use their enhanced vision. Going by what they'd seen so far, the odds were that most of the bandits would not be cultivators, so the darkness was an ally they could use to their benefit.

While Wu Chen set about caring for the horses, Lu Yong began laying out arrays for protection, sound silencing, and concealment. He also set up several that were meant to trap and kill anything that entered them. He couldn't leave anything to chance. Their lives depended on it. Then he helped the horses lay down and set a sleeping spell on them to keep them quiet and out of the way of battle. Once satisfied with his arrangements, he joined Wu Chen, who was seated on the hillock cleaning Xiao Lei.

Wu Chen glanced at Lu Yong as he sat down to replenish his qi. His voice low, he said darkly, 'And now, we wait.' His eyes were hard and glittered in the moonlight.

*********************************************

Rowdy noises and loud voices echoed within the enormous cave, while torch light cast eerie shadows that danced on its stone walls. Those walls rose to a ceiling of stalactites high above the rough crowd feasting at candlelit tables below. Occasionally, muffled cries and screams could be heard from the deeper recesses, hinting at horrors unimagined yet feared on a primal level. This was truly a scene more in keeping with a lair of devils, Chu Haoyu thought to himself.

This was not a lair of devils, however. It was much worse. It was the headquarters of the Red Talon.

Sun Shennong was the current leader and was known for his quick temper and bloodthirsty tendencies. He was a large and imposing man dressed in black leather who kept a deadly saber tucked into his belt. He had a small mustache and goatee, but not a strand of hair on his head. A scar ran from his right temple, under an eyepatch, and continued along the bridge of his nose to the top of his lip. It was a gruesome disfigurement that only added to his dangerous aura. He embodied the picture of a thug in the minds of many, and he counted on that to ensure his opponents underestimated him. Many victims had fallen because they thought him to be as simple and brutish as he looked.

Chu Haoyu wasn't fooled, though. He knew that not only was this man intelligent, but he was also a decent cultivator who was in the early stages of Foundation Building. In only a few short months, he had conquered and merged the smaller groups of bandits, been joined by several rogue cultivators, and created the Red Talon Bandits.

They were now one of the most feared and organized criminal groups currently active on the continent. It wouldn't be long before cultivators of the more righteous groups were called in to help eliminate them. Thankfully, he would only need their assistance for this one job, and then he could leave them to their destruction.

Chu Haoyu kept his face impassive despite his disgust for the place and for the man seated next to him at the head table. Sun Shennong took a sip of wine from a golden cup and turned to his temporary employer.

'So it seems you were telling the truth.' He said, as a servant with dead eyes refilled his cup, 'Two men matching the description you gave us were spotted entering our territory. One in silver and one in black.' He drank the wine in one quick gulp. 'With the danger my men will be in, I will expect the rest of the payment immediately after we finish the job.'

'That won't be a problem.' Chu Haoyu smiled, his eyes cold despite the torchlight. 'Just remember the deal, and keep your men away from the guy in silver. He's mine.'

Shu Shennong nodded, his thoughts dark. It had seemed like a sweet deal at the time. All his bandits had to do was keep the cultivator in black busy, while Chu Hoayu grabbed the one in silver. When it was over, Chu Haoyu would just take his guy and leave the 500 silver taels they were carrying, and whatever extra treasures they were able to get in the scuffle, for the bandits. He had offered them 1000 silver taels for their help and already paid half. They couldn't get the other half until the job was done. It should have been an easy 1500 silver taels, plus treasures.

Only Shu Shennong had done a little digging. The man he was supposed to keep busy was Lu Yong, an Elder of the Lu Clan, and a man who had just left a 300-year seclusion. It was rumored that he was at least Nascent Soul now. The guy in silver was Wu Chen, the second son of the leader of the Wu Clan, an accomplished dual swordsman, and said to be in the upper levels of Foundation Building. Neither of these guys were weak, and they had backing. This job had become much more difficult than it was made out to be.

He debated taking the risk to demand a larger payment, or even backing out altogether, but he was honestly afraid of Chu Haoyu. Not only was his cultivation much higher, but his aura was strong with malice. Deep down, Shu Shennong was sure that Chu Haoyu was even nastier than he was. He almost felt sympathy for that Wu Chen guy. Almost.

'Our targets have set up camp on a small hill. It appears that they've also set up some arrays and defenses, so I'll have to use mostly cultivators and archers. My men are just about ready. We'll head out after we finish eating and try to catch them when their guard is down.'

'Don't use the archers.' Chu Haoyu said, swirling his wine, his eyes watching the play of liquid against the side of the cup.

'Why not?' asked Shu Shennong.

He looked up and smiled, his eyes burning. 'I don't want my Wu Chen to get hurt.'

Shu Shennong gulped quietly, and the hair on his arms stood on end.