Chapter Fourteen: Slaying the Mountain Bandits

A fierce night wind swept down from Mount Daqing, carrying a hint of chill. Liu Shuang and three bandits were hiding in the woods outside Elm Bay.

“Liu Shuang, are you sure that man has so much money?”

“Yeah, how could a rich man possibly come out of a poor place like Elm Bay?”

Even though they’d already decided to make a move on Elm Bay, the two henchmen still teased Liu Shuang.

“Brothers, I wouldn’t dare lie to you even if I had a tiger’s heart!” Liu Shuang, his face bruised and swollen, was wrapped in tattered clothes stolen from who knows where; his pitiful appearance was hardly better than a beggar’s in Dangyang County. “That Zhao Hengyi used to be a fool—who knows how he got lucky. Now he’s rolling in money and grain, enough to live a life of ease!”

Liu Shuang was clearly being less than honest. He’d snuck back to the village earlier that day and coaxed a good deal of information from Sun Xiuying, but he kept some things back, worried the bandits would lose their nerve about robbing Zhao Hengyi.

“All right, enough talk. Liu Shuang, look over there—where the lights are burning bright. Is that the rich man Zhao’s home?” The leader of the bandits, a man in his forties with an air of caution, narrowed his eyes. “So many people gathered together—are you sure you didn’t let something slip?”

The three bandits didn’t trust Liu Shuang completely. Before setting out to rob, they’d checked up on Zhao Hengyi themselves.

A few days ago, Zhao Hengyi had been remembered by his looks when he came to town with his hunting party to sell game. That was what had drawn the bandits’ attention.

After all, just the two deer they sold fetched twenty taels of silver, and the rest of the game brought in another ten or so—an absolute fortune, even by the standards of the county seat!

“No, no!” Liu Shuang replied hastily. “Zhao Hengyi’s been spreading rumors about me in the village. Now the chief’s got everyone out looking for me—if they catch me, it’s a beating for sure. I’ve been hiding all day! No one could have found out from me!” He was clearly more afraid of the bandit leader than the others. “The lights in his house are because that little bastard set up a bunch of looms, and he’s got all the village women working for him in shifts!”

At the mention of all those women, the eyes of the two henchmen immediately gleamed!

These bandits, used to throwing their weight around and never expecting serious resistance from ordinary villagers, were already imagining not just a big haul tonight, but also a dozen women to abuse as they pleased.

“In that case, let’s get ready!” The leader flashed a vicious grin, his long knife glinting coldly under the moon. “Leave no one alive tonight. We take the money, and tomorrow I’ll take you both to Golden Sparrow House for a good time!”

“Thank you, Second Boss!”

“Second Boss, you just watch us!”

The two henchmen quickly flattered the leader, brandishing their knives. Tonight, blood would be spilled.

“When we’re done, don’t be too quick to kill everyone. Leave a couple for this kid to practice on!” The second boss’s eyes gleamed like a starving wolf as he glanced at the already terrified Liu Shuang.

“Second Boss, I—I don’t dare kill…” stammered Liu Shuang.

“Enough talk! You’re one of us now—if you don’t get your hands dirty, no one will treat you as a brother.”

“That’s right, if you don’t shed blood, who’ll trust you?”

Before Liu Shuang could finish, the two henchmen set upon him, raining down punches and kicks until he was howling in pain.

The second boss paid no mind—joining the bandits required an initiation, and making Liu Shuang kill his own villagers was just standard practice.

Under the moonlight, the three bandits dragged the staggering Liu Shuang out of the woods, ready to storm Elm Bay and make their fortune.

Thunk!

The muffled twang of a crossbow broke the night silence. A single bolt struck the second boss, leading the charge, right in the eye, its force driving it clear through his skull.

The two henchmen behind him had no time to react before they were drenched in his spurting blood.

“Ghosts!” shrieked one, despite having several lives on his hands already. But in the next instant, a crossbow bolt punched through his throat.

The last henchman reacted faster, ducking and turning to flee. But he’d barely taken two steps when another bolt flew from the darkness, piercing his thigh and sending him tumbling to the ground, screaming.

The night’s peace was shattered. Zhao Hengyi and his men, who’d been lying in wait outside the woods, charged out, torches flaring to life one after another.

Liu Shuang, still dazed from his earlier beating, had no idea what was happening. In the blink of an eye, two bandits were dead and one wounded beside him. The second boss, his head transfixed by the crossbow, sprayed a bloody rain of brain and bone fragments all over Liu Shuang, who fainted on the spot in terror.

When Liu Shuang came to, he saw the wounded bandit being pinned to the ground by Wang Dahu, normally the most honest man in the village. A sharp knife flashed across the bandit’s throat, and Liu Shuang heard the hiss of blood spurting onto the earth.

His eyes rolled back, and he fainted again.

“Master, we got it out of him. Those three are from Second Ditch, not locals,” Wang Dahu reported calmly, his clothes soaked in blood as if he’d only slaughtered a chicken. “What about Liu Shuang? We can’t keep him alive.”

Besides Wang Dahu and his brother Wang Erhu, several others who’d served in the army had joined Zhao Hengyi in the ambush. The younger hunters, except for Wang Erhu, had all been kept out of the fight, stationed with the village chief and the elders near Zhao Hengyi’s home. If the bandits broke through, they’d be the last line of defense for Elm Bay.

In other words, if Zhao Hengyi killed Liu Shuang now, only these few would know, and their shared bloodshed would guarantee their silence.

“Hengyi, please spare me, spare me!” Liu Shuang wailed, coming to again. “Hengyi, you’re my ancestor! Spare this dog’s life, I’ll never do it again!”

Wang Erhu, who’d dropped a bandit with a crossbow to the neck, stepped up and slapped Liu Shuang a dozen times, leaving his face swollen as a steamed bun. He tore off Liu Shuang’s rags, stuffed his mouth, and tied him hand and foot, before turning to Zhao Hengyi, eyes shining with murderous intent.

A born killer.

“Liu Shuang can’t die—at least not by our hands,” Zhao Hengyi said, his own face pale from this first encounter with such bloodshed. He forced himself to think it through. “Liu Shuang’s father once saved villagers’ lives. Let the old chief decide what to do with him.”