## [Near the Blacksmith Shop - 3:05 AM]
Zhang Kuang and Li Shan approached Wang Tie's position with the confident swagger of Foundation Building cultivators facing what they assumed were helpless villagers. Chen Wei watched from his concealed position as the two bandit leaders surveyed the area.
"Where is everyone?" Li Shan growled, hefting his massive two-handed axe. "This whole village feels empty."
Zhang Kuang's iron claw gauntlets gleamed in the moonlight as he examined the unconscious form of Twin-Blade Wu. "Our man's been defeated. By who?"
Wang Tie stepped out from behind his forge, military spear held in perfect guard position. "By me."
**[Zhang Kuang - Bandit Leader Analysis]**
**[Cultivation: Foundation Building 2nd Level]**
**[Status: Surprised but not concerned]**
**[Attitude: Underestimating village resistance]**
**[Li Shan - Second in Command Analysis]**
**[Cultivation: Foundation Building 1st Level]**
**[Status: Eager for violence, poor tactical assessment]**
**[Weakness: Becomes reckless when fighting "weak" opponents]**
Li Shan laughed, a harsh sound that echoed through the night. "A village blacksmith defeated Wu? The coward probably surrendered at the first sign of trouble."
"He fought," Wang Tie said calmly. "He lost."
Zhang Kuang studied Wang Tie more carefully. His supernatural senses were better developed than his subordinate's, and something about the blacksmith's stance bothered him.
"You're no ordinary villager," Zhang Kuang said slowly. "That's a military spear stance. Former soldier?"
"Former Captain, Third Imperial Army."
"Ah." Zhang Kuang's expression shifted to one of professional respect tinged with greed. "A deserter, then? Running from your past in a remote village? I can respect that."
Wang Tie's grip on his spear tightened. "I retired honorably after my service ended."
"Sure you did." Li Shan stepped forward, axe ready. "Doesn't matter. Retired or deserter, you're still just Qi Gathering level. We're Foundation Building. This ends one way."
Chen Wei watched tensely from his hiding spot. Wang Tie was skilled and experienced, but the cultivation gap was enormous. Even with perfect technique, a Qi Gathering cultivator couldn't match Foundation Building strength and speed.
But where was Old Man Feng? Chen Wei's Advanced Qi Sense had detected him moving this way, but now his spiritual signature seemed to have vanished entirely.
Wang Tie raised his spear. "Two against one, and you outclass me in cultivation. Fair odds for bandits, I suppose."
"Nothing fair about it," Li Shan grinned nastily. "But we'll make it quick if you surrender now. Tell us where the villagers are hiding their valuables."
"Go to hell."
Li Shan's expression darkened. "Wrong answer."
The bandit second-in-command charged forward, his massive axe trailing spiritual energy. Foundation Building power made his movements blur with inhuman speed.
Wang Tie's spear met the axe in a perfectly executed defensive stance, but the impact sent him skidding backward three meters. The power gap was immediately obvious.
"Too slow, old soldier," Li Shan taunted, pressing his attack.
**[Combat Analysis: Wang Tie vs Li Shan]**
**[Skill Advantage: Wang Tie (Superior technique and experience)]**
**[Power Advantage: Li Shan (Foundation Building vs Qi Gathering)]**
**[Prediction: Wang Tie will lose within 2 minutes]**
Zhang Kuang watched the fight with professional interest but didn't intervene. He was confident his subordinate could handle one village defender, even a trained one.
That was his mistake.
A voice spoke from the shadows, calm and elderly but carrying unmistakable authority: "Young man, you should pick on someone your own size."
Old Man Feng stepped into the moonlight.
But this wasn't the bent, elderly vegetable seller the village knew. This was a cultivator in his prime, spiritual energy radiating from him like heat from a forge. His simple farmer's clothes seemed to ripple with inner power, and his eyes held the hard gleam of someone who had fought countless battles.
**[Old Man Feng - True Form Revealed]**
**[Cultivation: Foundation Building 3rd Level]**
**[Technique: Iron Body - Physical enhancement active]**
**[Martial Art: Mountain Crushing Palm - Combat ready]**
**[Aura: Former sect elder, hundreds of battles survived]**
Zhang Kuang's confident expression vanished instantly. "Foundation Building! Who the hell are you?"
"Feng Wuxian, formerly Elder Feng of the Iron Fist Sect." The old man's voice carried decades of command authority. "Currently, a vegetable vendor who dislikes bandits disturbing his peaceful retirement."
Chen Wei felt a thrill of excitement. This was exactly like the cultivation stories he'd read - the hidden master revealing himself at the crucial moment. But unlike in stories, Chen Wei knew this was real. He could feel the massive spiritual pressure radiating from Old Man Feng.
Li Shan had frozen mid-swing, his axe raised but his confidence shattered. "Iron Fist Sect? But... but that sect was destroyed twenty years ago!"
"Destroyed, yes. All my disciples dead, my sect grounds burned, my life's work reduced to ash." Old Man Feng's spiritual aura grew darker and more menacing. "I am the sole survivor. And I have very little patience for scum who threaten innocent people."
Zhang Kuang's fear of supernatural phenomena was warring with his greed and leadership responsibilities. "Even if you're Foundation Building 3rd Level, there are still fifteen of us and only one of you."
"Fifteen?" Old Man Feng looked around the empty area near the blacksmith shop. "I count two. Where are the rest of your men?"
It was a good question. Through his Advanced Qi Sense, Chen Wei realized that the eastern group of bandits had completely disappeared. Their spiritual signatures were no longer detectable anywhere near the village.
**[Alert: Eastern Bandit Group Status Unknown]**
**[6 bandits - Vanished from Qi detection range]**
**[Possible explanations: Fled, dead, or using concealment techniques]**
"They're... they're around," Zhang Kuang said, but his voice lacked conviction.
"Are they?" Old Man Feng smiled, and the expression was not pleasant. "Young Captain Wang, are you injured?"
Wang Tie, who had been preparing to resume his losing fight with Li Shan, straightened up. "Nothing serious, Elder Feng. Thank you for the assistance."
"Think nothing of it. Though I must ask - how did you know to use the old military courtesy titles? Most villagers don't recognize former sect rankings."
Wang Tie looked slightly embarrassed. "I... may have suspected you were more than a vegetable vendor, Elder. Your knife work when preparing vegetables is too precise. Only someone with advanced martial training cuts with that level of control."
"Observant." Old Man Feng nodded approvingly. "I noticed your spear techniques were far too refined for a simple blacksmith as well. Third Imperial Army, you said? I served alongside your unit during the Border Wars."
Chen Wei watched this exchange with fascination. The two hidden cultivators were revealing their backgrounds to each other while the bandits stood there like idiots, unsure whether to fight or flee.
Li Shan made the decision for them.
"I don't care if you're an elder or an emperor," he snarled. "Foundation Building 3rd Level isn't invincible!"
He launched himself at Old Man Feng with his massive axe, putting all his spiritual energy into a devastating overhead strike.
Old Man Feng didn't move until the last possible second. Then he sidestepped smoothly and struck upward with his palm.
**[Technique: Mountain Crushing Palm]**
**[Effect: Devastating impact with compressed spiritual energy]**
**[Target: Li Shan's weapon arm]**
The palm strike hit Li Shan's forearm with a sound like breaking stone. The bandit's axe went flying, and he screamed as his arm bent at an unnatural angle.
"Foundation Building 1st Level," Old Man Feng said conversationally as Li Shan collapsed, clutching his shattered arm. "Barely achieved, poorly refined, no real technique. You're not ready to fight true masters, boy."
Zhang Kuang stared at his crippled subordinate, then at the elderly man who had just demonstrated the massive gap between early and advanced Foundation Building cultivation.
"We... we surrender," Zhang Kuang said quickly.
"Do you?" Old Man Feng's tone was politely interested. "And what exactly are you surrendering? Your lives? Your freedom? Your stolen wealth?"
"Whatever you want! Just don't kill us!"
Chen Wei felt a mix of satisfaction and anticlimax. The psychological warfare had worked so well that the final confrontation was almost too easy. The bandit leaders were completely demoralized.
But then his Advanced Qi Sense detected something that made his blood run cold.
**[Alert: Multiple New Spiritual Signatures Detected]**
**[Range: 1 kilometer and closing]**
**[Cultivation Levels: 3 Foundation Building, 8 Qi Gathering]**
**[Identity: Unknown - Not part of original bandit group]**
Eleven new enemies were approaching the village. Stronger enemies.
"Elder Feng," Chen Wei called out from his hiding place, forgetting to maintain concealment in his alarm.
Old Man Feng's head snapped toward Chen Wei's position. "Young Wei'er? What are you doing here? It's not safe!"
"There are more coming," Chen Wei said urgently, stepping into view. "Eleven more, including three Foundation Building cultivators. They'll be here in ten minutes."
Everyone stared at him. Wang Tie looked confused. Zhang Kuang looked terrified at the prospect of more powerful opponents. Old Man Feng looked calculating.
"How do you know this?" Old Man Feng asked carefully.
Chen Wei realized he had revealed too much in his panic, but there was no taking it back now.
"Since my head injury, I can... I can sense spiritual energy from very far away. These new enemies are much stronger than the original bandits."
**[Cover Story: Expanding injury explanation to include long-range detection]**
**[Old Man Feng - Suspicion Level: High]**
**[Wang Tie - Confusion Level: High]**
**[Zhang Kuang - Terror Level: Maximum]**
Old Man Feng studied Chen Wei with the intense gaze of someone who had lived through many dangerous situations. "Show me. Point toward them."
Chen Wei pointed northeast, toward the approaching spiritual signatures. "Three groups. The strongest one has two Foundation Building cultivators together."
Old Man Feng closed his eyes and extended his own spiritual senses. After a moment, his expression grew grim.
"He's right. Eleven opponents, three at Foundation Building level. This wasn't a simple bandit raid - it was the opening move in a larger attack."
"What do we do?" Wang Tie asked.
Zhang Kuang, still on his knees with his hands raised, spoke up desperately: "Those aren't my men! I swear! Our group was only fifteen people! Someone else is using our attack as cover for their own operation!"
Old Man Feng looked down at the terrified bandit leader. "Explain. Quickly."
"We... we were hired! A man in black robes, face covered, paid us triple rate to attack this specific village tonight. Said it was just a normal raid, but he insisted on the exact timing!"
**[Information Revealed: Conspiracy Behind the Attack]**
**[Original bandits: Pawns in larger scheme]**
**[True enemy: Unknown faction with superior forces]**
**[Village status: Still in extreme danger]**
Chen Wei's mind raced. This wasn't in any of the cultivation stories he'd read. Bandits were supposed to be independent criminals, not hired tools for mysterious masterminds.
"Wei'er," Old Man Feng said seriously, "I need you to use that ability of yours to track the approaching enemies while I organize our defenses. Can you tell me their exact positions and cultivation levels?"
Chen Wei nodded, grateful that his revealed ability was being put to good use instead of causing suspicion.
"The strongest group has two Foundation Building 2nd Level cultivators. The other Foundation Building is 1st Level but feels... different. More refined than normal."
"Sect-trained," Old Man Feng muttered. "This gets worse and worse. Wang Tie, we need to evacuate everyone immediately. I can handle one or two Foundation Building opponents, but not three plus eight support."
"Where can we evacuate to?" Wang Tie asked. "They'll be here before we can reach the next village."
Chen Wei had been thinking the same thing. But then he remembered something from Master Liu's teachings about story patterns.
"Elder Feng," he said carefully, "what if we don't run? What if we make them think the village isn't worth attacking?"
"Explain."
"The original bandits were hired to attack at a specific time. What if the timing was important because the real enemy expected to find the bandits already engaged? If they arrive and find no battle, no destruction, no chaos..."
Old Man Feng's eyes lit up with understanding. "They might assume their plan failed and abort the mission. Clever thinking, young man."
Zhang Kuang looked up hopefully. "If you let us go, my men and I will disappear into the night. No evidence of any attack!"
"Absolutely not," Wang Tie said firmly. "We're not releasing armed bandits to terrorize other villages."
"Then what?" Zhang Kuang asked desperately.
Chen Wei had another idea, inspired by countless cultivation stories where the clever protagonist turned enemies into temporary allies.
"What if they don't disappear?" he suggested. "What if they help us fake a successful attack and then lead the real enemies into a trap?"
Everyone stared at him.
"Wei'er," Old Man Feng said slowly, "that's either brilliant or insane. Possibly both."
Through his Advanced Qi Sense, Chen Wei could feel the eleven unknown enemies getting closer. Less than eight minutes now.
"We don't have time to debate it," he said urgently. "Elder Feng, can you make them cooperate?"
Old Man Feng looked at the captured bandits, then at the approaching spiritual signatures only he could also detect.
"Zhang Kuang," he said conversationally, "would you prefer to help us deceive these mysterious employers of yours, or would you prefer I break your legs and leave you here to explain to them why your attack failed?"
Zhang Kuang's face went pale. "We... we'll help. What do you need us to do?"
**[Temporary Alliance Formed: Village + Captured Bandits]**
**[Objective: Deceive the true enemies]**
**[Time Remaining: 7 minutes]**
**[Success Rate: Unknown - Unprecedented situation]**
Chen Wei felt a mix of excitement and terror. He had just convinced a former sect elder to trust his plan to fake a bandit attack using captured bandits as actors.
Either this would be the most brilliant deception in cultivation history, or it would get everyone killed.
But one thing was certain - his quiet life as a background character was definitely over.
**[Chapter 8 Complete]**
**[Next: The Deception Begins]**