Chapter 87: The Cannon Fodder in a Dogblood Novel (87)
After offering incense to the Bodhisattva in the main hall, Lu Yanli remained silent for a moment before walking out with the support of his subordinates.
His body had reached its limit, and his knees were ground into a bloody mess. Every movement pulled at a piercing pain.
Fortunately, Yuntai Temple had guest rooms. Lu Yanli simply wiped his body, applied medicine to his knees, and changed into a clean set of clothes. Only then did he look less wretched.
The vegetarian meal sent by the monk was simple green vegetables and tofu. He had no appetite; after hastily eating a few mouthfuls, he put down his chopsticks.
When leaving, Lu Yanli donated a large sum of money to the temple. Although sincerity makes spirits efficacious, he also believed that money could make the devil turn the millstone. Donating more money was never wrong.
The abbot personally saw him to the car. There was no helping it; this donor simply gave too much. He had grown up in this temple since childhood, for 62 years now, and had never seen so much incense money in his life.
The car drove slowly down the mountain.
The winding mountain road was a two-lane road, so narrow that two cars could barely pass each other. On one side was a steep mountain wall, and on the other was a bottomless cliff.
Night had fallen, making the mountain road difficult to navigate. A thin layer of mist covered the car windows. It had snowed last night, but luckily today was a sunny day, so the snow on the road had all melted, leaving the ground somewhat muddy.
The driver slowed down, his attention fully on the road ahead.
Lu Yanli closed his eyes, his fingertips rubbing the Buddhist beads, leaning against the seat back to rest his mind.
Suddenly, a harsh engine roar came from behind. Lu Yanli opened his eyes abruptly. A black sedan appeared in the rearview mirror, ramming straight toward the rear of their car.
“Watch out,” the man in the passenger seat suddenly shouted.
The driver was startled too, but he didn’t panic excessively in this situation. He slammed the steering wheel, pulling close to the mountain wall side.
The sound of tires frictioning against the ground was sharp enough to make one’s heart skip a beat. The car body scraped against the gravel of the mountain wall, instantly splashing dirt onto the windows.
Before the car could stabilize, the black sedan accelerated again, swerving violently from the right side, attempting to squeeze them toward the cliff.
Lu Yanli’s body slammed heavily against the car door, his forehead throbbing with pain.
Obviously, this car was coming for them. His face darkened completely, coldness surging in his eyes. There were always people who didn’t know death seeking his bad luck.
“Accelerate, rush past the bend ahead.”
As soon as Lu Yanli spoke, the driver immediately stepped on the gas. But the car behind chased relentlessly, sticking close to their body every time it merged, nearly colliding several times.
Just as they were about to shake off the black car, a black off-road vehicle came from the front. Attacked from front and back, the driver was forced to stop the car helplessly.
The headlights illuminated the area brightly. People from both cars got out, surrounding Lu Yanli’s car with iron rods in hand. It was clearly premeditated.
“Master Lu…”
The driver in the front seat and the man in the passenger seat looked at Lu Yanli in unison, seeming to wait for his instructions.
Lu Yanli snorted coldly. He really wanted to be a good person, but these people just wouldn’t give him the chance. It was truly—very annoying!
“Go down and meet them. Haven’t made a move for a long time; it’s made them think I’m a sick cat.”
Lu Yanli took a gun from the armrest box. He pushed open the door and got out, enduring the discomfort in his legs.
He aimed the gun at the man leading in the front and spoke coldly, “Did Bo Nian send you to die?”
The group of minions holding iron rods looked at the gun in Lu Yanli’s hand and instantly froze in place.
Big Brother didn’t say the opponent had a gun! Isn’t this sending heads to the opponent? People will die.
…
The leading man hadn’t expected Lu Yanli to carry a gun either. Upon receiving the notice, he had rushed to Wuxian with his men. Hearing that Lu Yanli went to Yuntai Temple to worship Buddha today, he chose to act on this desolate winding mountain road.
Now the arrow was on the string. No matter what, he couldn’t let Lu Yanli leave alive today.
He gritted his teeth and shouted to his minions, “He only has one gun. We have many people. Attack together! Take out Lu Yanli, and we won’t have to worry about food and drink for the rest of our lives.”
They were all desperadoes; how could they not be moved by this sentence?
As the leading man rushed forward with the iron rod, everyone charged at Lu Yanli as if injected with chicken blood (adrenaline).
The expression on Lu Yanli’s face became even colder. A bunch of things that didn’t know death; did they really think he dared not shoot?
Bang—
When the echo of the gunshot dissipated in the mountains, the leading man’s scream rang out in the silent night. The bullet penetrated his shoulder blade, bringing out a spray of blood…
He stumbled and fell to his knees, the iron rod crashing to the ground with a clang. His previous arrogance vanished, leaving only a face full of pain.
The group of desperadoes who were originally red-eyed and ready to rush up were also nailed in place by this shot. Looking at Lu Yanli, their eyes were full of apprehension, and they subconsciously backed away.
The night wind blew over wrapped in mountain mist, lifting the hem of Lu Yanli’s dust-stained clothes. His hand holding the gun was steady without a single tremor.
His gaze fell on the leading man, as if looking at a cold corpse.
“Still coming? The next bullet will land between your eyebrows—”
Everyone was silent. The man kneeling on the ground had a pale face. The “pie of wealth” he had painted just now was still in his ears, but facing Lu Yanli’s muzzle at this moment sobered everyone up—they came to take a life, not to give one.
Even if Lu Yanli only had one gun, who knew if they would be the next unlucky egg to get shot?
Lu Yanli’s subordinates had already grabbed folding batons and rushed up, their movements so swift the opponents had no time to react. The muffled sound of batons hitting bones rose and fell, occasionally mixed with a few cries of pain, but were quickly covered by the wind.
Lu Yanli didn’t shoot again. He just stood there, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the Buddhist beads in his pocket, his eyes cold as if watching a farce unrelated to him.
He came to worship Buddha, not to “kill living beings,” but these people insisted on hitting the blade.
It seemed that when he returned to Beijing, he would have to settle the score properly with Bo Nian.
Within a few minutes, the ground was covered with wailing people.
The leading man tried to retreat to the car in the chaos, but was stepped on the back by Lu Yanli’s subordinate, unable to move.
He turned his head, watching Lu Yanli approach step by step, his voice full of begging for mercy.
“Master Lu, we were wrong! You are a great person who doesn’t count the faults of small people, please give us a way out!”
Lu Yanli squatted down, the muzzle lightly pressed against his temple, his tone so flat no emotion could be heard.
“Go back and tell Bo Nian, if he dares to send people again next time, it won’t be as simple as scratching the skin.”
He paused, his finger pad pressing on the trigger; a slight force brought a bone-chilling pressure.
“Also, clean up the mess here. Don’t dirty the ground on this mountain.”
He didn’t want to kill. He hadn’t prayed for his next life with Shen Tangqing yet; he didn’t want his hands stained with blood again.
The leading man nodded frantically, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. Only when Lu Yanli withdrew the gun did he collapse on the ground, gasping for breath, as if he had retrieved his life.
Lu Yanli didn’t look at them again, turning back to the car. The subordinates put away their folding batons and followed him into the car.
Seeing Lu Yanli’s face wasn’t good, the man in the passenger seat asked with concern, “Master Lu, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Lu Yanli leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, holding that string of Buddhist beads in his hand.
The hostility from the fight just now hadn’t dissipated, but the moment he touched the Buddhist beads, he remembered the prayer under the candlelight in the main hall—his heart calmed down strangely.
The car restarted, driving down along the winding mountain road.
The mist on the window gradually dispersed, and the lights of Wuxian in the distance could be seen, scattered sparsely in the night.
Lu Yanli opened his eyes, looking at the tree shadows flashing past the window, and suddenly spoke softly.
“Next time we come, let’s go slower.”
The subordinate was stunned for a moment, then responded with a “Yes.”
He didn’t know when the “next time” Lu Yanli mentioned would be.
The night wind drilled in through the crack in the car window, carrying a bit of the scent of mountain vegetation.
Lu Yanli clenched the Buddhist beads in his palm. His gaze was thicker than the night.
The next life is too long…
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