Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Xie Licheng arrived during the day, so he didn't strike right away.

He was patient, spending the whole day scoping out the bandits' hideout.

How many people were patrolling here?

Where was their leader holed up?

Where'd they stash the food, and where'd they keep the prisoners?

These bandits had swept down from the north, burning and looting the whole way, so they'd definitely have piled up a ton of grain and silver by now.

Word was they also liked grabbing people, so there were probably a bunch of captives stashed here too.

Knowing he couldn't kill everyone and not wanting to blow his cover, he grabbed a mask and slipped it on.

He waited till deep night, then slipped into the bandits' hideout without a sound.

At night, the patrols picked up noticeably.

Each patrol had about three or four guys.

Two teams patrolled at the same time—one heading south, the other heading north.

When the two teams crossed paths, there was a tiny window.

Xie Licheng used that gap to slip into a room without a sound.

The room wasn't empty—just one guy, who'd turned in an hour ago and should've been dead asleep by then.

In case the guy wasn't asleep yet and might yell, Xie Licheng darted to the bed the second he got in and snapped the guy's neck.

Even as the guy died, Xie Licheng had no idea if he'd been asleep or awake.

After the kill, Xie Licheng scooped up every weapon in the room.

Nothing these bandits had was really theirs.

It was all either stolen or stripped off people they'd killed.

So Xie Licheng didn't hesitate or feel a shred of guilt taking their stuff.

To deal with scum like this, you had to be even worse than them.

In this room, Xie Licheng found a big saber, two daggers, and a bow with arrows.

On top of the weapons, he also grabbed two fancy outfits.

This bandit was a rough dude—broad-shouldered, thick in the middle, and short and squat.

Those two outfits wouldn't even fit him—who knows whose family they'd been ripped off from.

Leaving the first room, Xie Licheng used the same trick to slip into the second.

Three people were in the second room, and one of them was awake.

He was probably getting up to take a piss, groggily rubbing his eyes and fumbling around in the dark.

But the second his feet hit the floor, Xie Licheng clamped a hand over his mouth and slit his throat.

To keep him from thudding to the ground, Xie Licheng caught him and lowered him down easy.

The other two bandits were still sawing logs, one snoring loud enough to shake the walls.

Xie Licheng seriously doubted the patrols outside would notice even if he made some noise.

But thinking of the protective charm Gu Zhangyuan had given him, and for caution's sake and his own safety, he figured he'd play it careful at first.

While the bandits still hadn't caught on, he could quietly thin out their numbers and make the later fight a lot easier.

With that in mind, Xie Licheng crept to the bed and quickly offed the two bandits in it.

After that, he used the same trick to slip into another room and killed four more, but then a woman spotted him.

She didn't look like a captive—she was dressed all flashy and had a string of pearls in her hand.

Not sure if she was forced or one of them, Xie Licheng held off on killing her.

Then the woman let out a scream, shoving the bandit on the bed and yelling, "Who the hell are you? You dare to break into our turf—you got a death wish or what?"

Xie Licheng got it then—she was one of them.

Without a word, he snapped her neck, then jammed a blade into the chest of the bandit next to her who'd just woken up.

Once he made sure they were dead, he had no time to scavenge this round.

He needed to hit the two rooms next door and kill more before the patrols showed up.

As Xie Licheng stepped out, three people came out of the two neighboring rooms at the same time.

The rooms these bandits were using weren't new—they'd originally been the mountain villagers' homes.

Since the villagers had built them, these rooms were all bunched together.

The other houses were way farther off, many of them standing alone and scattered across the mountain.

The bandits had started building their own places too, but since they hadn't been there long, nothing was finished yet.

So most of the bandits didn't stay here—a lot of them were holed up in a cave not far off.

By the time the other bandits came running at the noise, Xie Licheng had already cleared out everyone in this cluster of rooms.

He didn't find any stolen grain, gold, silver, or jewelry here, and no kidnapped women or young men either.

The goods and the people had to be stashed somewhere else.

Xie Licheng figured he'd clear out the bandits on the mountain first, then take his time hunting for the goods and the captives.

With that thought, Xie Licheng looked at the swarm of bandits rapidly converging on him.

He tucked the short blade into his back waistband and pulled a repeating crossbow from his personal space.

The crossbow was loaded with five bolts—one bolt per person, five bolts, five kills.

While scouting the area during the day, Xie Licheng had already loaded three crossbows ahead of time.

Three crossbows meant fifteen people.

Xie Licheng, taking advantage of the fact that they hadn't closed in yet, raised his crossbow and took aim at several of them.

One bolt hit a bandit square in the chest, killing him instantly.

One bolt hit a bandit in the neck, killing him instantly.

Another bolt landed in a bandit's left eye.

Tsk, that third one definitely wouldn't die, but his combat effectiveness would take a serious nosedive.

For the next two bolts, to conserve arrows, he aimed for the chest whenever he could.

Two bolts took down two more in an instant.

Xie Licheng pulled out another crossbow, but this time things didn't go as smoothly.

Because now they were on guard—knowing his aim was nearly infallible—many began to watch out for him.

Under these circumstances, only three of the five bolts found their mark.

Just then, a plump, big-bearded bandit hiding behind another one shouted at Xie Licheng: "Who are you? Why do you dare to break into our stronghold in the middle of the night? And why have you killed so many of my brothers?"

Xie Licheng tossed the empty crossbow aside and, hearing this, drew the short blade from his back.

Seeing the blade in his hand, the man suddenly shouted in realization before Xie Licheng could even respond: "It's you, it's you?! You're the one who killed my second and third brothers?!"

A few of the bandits who'd gone down to the village earlier had escaped back.

The stronghold already knew what had happened down the mountain.

When they described Xie Licheng, they all mentioned how he could throw that short blade like a dart.

They also said his aim was exceptional—nearly perfect every single time.

Now, seeing Xie Licheng show up here with that small short blade, a lot of them recognized him.

Xie Licheng laughed at that, genuinely amused this time.

He smiled and said, "Oh, so you're their boss. I've been looking for you all along."

Fat Beard was startled. "You—you—don't get too cocky! My stronghold's got plenty of brothers, and they won't let you kill me."

As he spoke, a bandit hiding in a distant tree shot an arrow at Xie Licheng.

His aim wasn't bad either, but unfortunately for him, Xie Licheng sensed it and, thanks to his agility, dodged it easily.

Xie Licheng had noticed that tree earlier in the day.

At the time, he'd thought it'd make a good hiding spot.

So when he came out, he'd instinctively kept an eye on it.

The moment Xie Licheng dodged, he spun around and hurled a short blade at the tree.

His blade carried fierce force, hitting the ambushing bandit with deadly accuracy and knocking him out of the tree.

Xie Licheng suddenly lost patience. "Tell me where you've hidden the goods, and I'll give you a proper burial."

Yeah, even if the guy told him where the goods were, he still planned to kill the chief.

A man like that couldn't be left alive. If the Great Zhou's feudal lords ever went to war in the future...

If he became a regional lord, the people under his rule would suffer.

He could also end up as Xie Licheng's enemy.

Since the enemy was still weak, Xie Licheng naturally wanted to nip it in the bud.

Fat Beard flew into a rage at that, shouting to the brothers around him: "Brothers, don't be afraid of him! He's just one man—no matter how skilled, he's only got two hands and two legs. Whoever kills him, I'll make him Second Chief, and I'll throw in my beauties too!!"

Hearing Fat Beard's words, the bandits who'd been scared of Xie Licheng suddenly perked up.

And just as the bandits rallied their spirits and eagerly began to surround Xie Licheng...

Fat Beard, crouching low, suddenly dashed off in one direction—clearly planning to make a run for it.

It wasn't that he didn't trust his brothers—it was mainly that this Xie Licheng was a bit uncanny.

His third brother had been highly skilled, and a man that formidable had been killed by him.

He was really worried that if his brothers failed to stop him, he might end up dead too.

As the saying goes, "Where there's life, there's hope." He figured as long as he survived, he could always find new brothers.

This Fat Beard wasn't completely useless.

He was good at winning people over, and his martial arts skills were decent too.

Of course, his "decent" was compared to ordinary people.

In front of Xie Licheng, he was just a low-level boss to farm for XP.

Seeing him try to flee, Xie Licheng pulled out a dagger in the chaos and hurled it at Fat Beard's back.

This fat man had done plenty of wicked deeds; even when he slept at night, he wore golden-thread soft armor under his clothes.

Because of the armor's cushioning, Xie Licheng's throw failed to pierce through in one go.

The fat man only felt a sharp pain in his back, and being scared shitless...

The moment he was hit, he collapsed to the ground in terror, even pissing his pants.

Xie Licheng sneered at the sight, grabbed a big saber from a bandit, and figured—surely that golden-thread soft armor couldn't block a blade this big.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side, Gu Zhangyuan was at home waiting for Xie Licheng to come back, but instead of seeing him, he saw his father, who'd been away, return.

The First Master of the Gu Family had traveled a long way without rest and looked utterly disheveled.

After a brief rest, he summoned Gu Zhangyuan to him.

While he rested, the steward had already filled him in on everything that had happened recently.

Too much had happened at home, and with the chaotic situation outside, he didn't care that it was late at night—he just wanted to have a good talk with Gu Zhangyuan.

He looked at Gu Zhangyuan with a grave expression and said, "What happened with your second uncle was indeed his fault. You were done wrong."

Gu Zhangyuan let out a quiet sigh of relief when he saw that his father did not blame him.

After all, with such a major matter and his father away from home, the authorities would not have reached a verdict so quickly.

Gu Zhangyuan was carrying a lot of anger and resentment, which was why he had sought the help of that prince.

The reason he did so was his fear that his father would soften upon returning and sweep it under the rug.

Now that he had gone behind his back and done it first, his dad was probably still a little sore about it.

However, since his father really loved him, he ultimately could not bring himself to truly lose his temper.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "As long as Dad doesn't think I was too rash, I don't feel wronged."

His father glanced at him upon hearing this, then suddenly brought up Xie Licheng.

"That horse slave—have you already taken him to bed?"

Gu Zhangyuan lowered his head slightly and gently shook it.

"Not yet."

"Good. While I was away this time, I met a fine young man. Thinking that you're not getting any younger, I want you to tie the knot with him soon. As for that horse slave, I hear he does have some skills—the reason you returned safely this time is because he protected you all along. If you feel indebted to him and can't bear to let him go, you can have your brother or sister marry him instead. But you can't get too chummy with him anymore."

Gu Zhangyuan jerked his head up upon hearing this, like he didn't even recognize his own dad anymore. He just stared at his father, dumbfounded, for a long time.

"Father, what are you saying? Why do you come back acting like a whole different person?"

Before his father left, he had encouraged Gu Zhangyuan to take charge of the household and even encouraged him to take a male slave to have some fun with.

But why, after returning, did his father talk like he'd lost his mind?

Telling him to get married fast was bad enough, but saying that if he could not bear to part with Xie Licheng, his younger brother or sister should marry him instead?

What kind of nonsense was this?

Ridiculous!

Gu Zhangyuan held back his anger and tried to speak calmly: "Father, do you think I've done a bad job running the house? Are you trying to marry me off?"

His father sighed and took his sweet time answering.

"If things were peaceful, as long as our Gu family was wealthy enough, you could easily run things yourself. But... the world out there is falling apart, and Lingzhou will probably go to hell too. I want to marry all three of you off. First, so you can find good families to lean on; second, so they can help prop up the Gu family. Even if the world truly falls into chaos, the Gu family can still stay afloat."

Seeing Gu Zhangyuan looking at him all hurt and upset, his father could only sigh and explain himself.

His father said, "The Gu family can't move. We've survived two dynasties falling, and the Gu family has never left Lingzhou. Even if Lingzhou falls into chaos in the future, as long as we pick the winning side, the Gu family will never be in danger."

"But... what if we pick the wrong side? Would we all get wiped out?"

"No, I'll protect the Gu family, and I'll protect all of you."

Gu Zhangyuan suddenly understood—his dad planned to marry all three of them off.

Three kids: two sons and one daughter—that meant three chances to marry into power.

That would tie three men, or three families, to the Gu family's fate.

Gu Zhangyuan was the most capable, the most level-headed, and the best-looking of his three children.

His dad not letting him get close to Xie Licheng was probably because the family he picked for him might get jealous.

A family that made his dad hesitate had to be big shots.

Given that they would need to look after the Gu family, they'd definitely be above the Gu family's pay grade—maybe even military bigwigs with their own armies.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be so sure they could keep the Gu family safe.

As for why he insisted on marrying his younger brother or sister to Xie Licheng, just a horse slave?

He probably figured that once the world went to hell, Xie Licheng's skills could land him a decent gig.

But he wasn't willing to throw away Gu Zhangyuan—his carefully raised eldest son—for some horse slave, so he could only use his younger brother or sister instead.

His little brother was a brat, and his little sister was a pushover.

His dad wouldn't dare marry them into super powerful families.

Because they might not do the family any good, and might even stir up trouble.

Once Gu Zhangyuan understood this, he couldn't help but feel cold inside.

Eyes welling up, Gu Zhangyuan said, "I don't want to get married. I want to move the whole clan somewhere else."

His dad looked at him, heartbroken, but still flat-out refused.

"Impossible. The Gu family's roots are in Lingzhou. If we leave, we're not the Lingzhou Gus anymore. We'd lose all our money and our good name. I can't be the one to ruin the Gu family. Even if things get really bad, we have to stay in Lingzhou."

Hearing that, Gu Zhangyuan felt dead inside.

He pursed his lips, gave a half-hearted bow, and tried to walk out on his dad.

His father looked at him, stood up with eyes all red, and said, "Don't blame me. It's my job. We can't just throw away a hundred years of the Gu family's legacy. Even if those people take over Lingzhou, they won't actually kill us. They still need us to cough up money and food. As long as we keep our money, no matter who's on the throne, we'll be fine."

Gu Zhangyuan understood his meaning and knew this was the best path for the Gu family.

But... he simply did not want to marry. He had worked so hard to go from being just some ordinary son to the future head of the Gu family.

He didn't have to go through blind arranged marriages like other sons, or worry about waiting on his in-laws.

Because he'd tasted a better, freer life, he really didn't want to settle for just anybody.

But if he said no, he was still the Gu family's eldest son.

All his fame and fortune came from the Gu family.

He couldn't enjoy all the perks and then bail when it was time to pay up.

Gu Zhangyuan was seriously conflicted!

After leaving his dad's place, Gu Zhangyuan had his nanny send someone to track down Xie Licheng.

He suddenly didn't care about the prescription anymore. He just wanted to find the guy first and have him help figure something out.

...

Xie Licheng kept fighting until dawn started breaking, but he still hadn't managed to kill all the bandits.

Not that he didn't want to kill them all—he wanted to grow stronger and clear out these pests for the people, so he wouldn't hesitate to slay them.

But the terrain in the mountains was complex, and he wasn't familiar with the area.

Many bandits, scared out of their wits, fled deeper into the mountains.

Xie Licheng couldn't chase them all down, so he had to force Fat Beard to lead him to the stash of money and grain.

The big man hadn't managed to escape either; Xie Licheng had chopped off one of his arms and slashed his back.

Because his injuries were severe, even though he had some skill, in the end he couldn't use it.

Xie Licheng made him lead the way, and the big fat man talked nonstop the whole way.

Fat Beard said, "Brother, pal, big hero, seeing how faithfully I'm leading you, please, have a big heart and spare me this once."

Xie Licheng said nothing in response but raised his blade and made a cutting motion near his body.

Fat Beard didn't dare beg for mercy anymore; he changed his tactic a bit.

He stopped pleading and instead tried to convince Xie Licheng to throw in with them.

"Brother, boss, with your skills, it's a damn shame you're not a mountain king. How about this: if you're willing to spare me, I'll be your servant, work like a mule for you, be your underling. All the money, grain, men, and women here—you can pick whatever you want."

Xie Licheng chuckled, "If I kill you and the rest of them, then the money, grain, men, women, and even the whole mountain here will all be mine."

"No, no, what's the point of being a king all by yourself? If the world goes to hell later, and no one follows you to conquer it, you couldn't even be emperor without people backing you."

Hearing this, Xie Licheng couldn't help but shoot him an amused look.

"So... you've been hoarding grain and looting valuables, you're actually planning a rebellion?"

"Rebel... no, no, we don't call it rebelling; we call it an uprising. I know a force up north that's recruiting guys everywhere under the banner of an uprising."

That keyword caught his attention, and Xie Licheng raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Up north? What's this force called? Do they have a name or title?"

By his calculations, the protagonist should be expanding his power up north right now—he wondered if this big fat man was talking about him.

"What? Boss, you... you've heard of them too?"

"Give me the name."

"I don't remember exactly. But I know they have four leaders, with the head being a military officer. The other three are a thug, a ruffian, and a scholar."

"A scholar—does he happen to have the last name Song?"

"I can't quite recall. We came south from the north to Lingzhou because we lost a turf war with them. Their banner sounds nicer than ours, claiming to fight for justice for the people. But really, they're no different from us—they loot wherever they go."

At that, Fat Beard got angry, clutching his severed arm with his hand.

Xie Licheng had bandaged the wound to keep him leading the way.

Otherwise, with just that wound, bleeding all night, he'd have bled out and died.