Chapter 33 The Ruffians Snatch the Deer

“I’ve never seen a bandit chief as pathetic as you. Take it!”

Lin Ling’er shot her an annoyed glare, rummaged by the bedside for a while, and tossed over a pouch of silver.

“Just for my Ling’er’s generosity alone, you’re bound to marry into a fine family one day!” Bai Yuxiang caught the silver and showered her with exaggerated praise.

“Shut up. You didn’t even fulfill the promise you made to me, and you still have the nerve to borrow money from me,” Lin Ling’er snapped.

“Sister, that wasn’t my fault, was it? I had already set up an ambush along the official road, waiting for those bandits to pass by so I could kill them, rescue you, and then go back and finish off your second uncle. Who would have thought some young master would drop from the sky and save you instead? The bandits from Black Wind Stronghold were probably all killed by him too. Now even their bodies can’t be found. Our whole plan went to waste…” Bai Yuxiang rolled her eyes in mock grievance.

If Li Chen had been there, he would have instantly understood why Lin Ling’er had not seemed very afraid that night, and why she had deceived him.

“Enough, stop complaining. I finally had a chance to use you, and it didn’t even work,” Lin Ling’er said, glancing outside. “Go investigate that young man’s background for me. I keep feeling he might be the one who saved me.”

“Consider it done. I’ll dig up everything about him,” Bai Yuxiang said proudly, shaking the silver pouch.

“Also, leave someone behind and wait for my message. This time, by sheer coincidence, that young man alarmed the Black Wind Stronghold’s spy planted here. With profits this large, how could Black Wind Stronghold possibly let it go? They’ll certainly target this refined salt. When they make their move, we’ll use the salt trade to lure them into attacking. Ideally, they’ll send everyone. Then you ambush them and wipe them out in one sweep.”

A cold glint appeared in Lin Ling’er’s eyes.

“No problem, sister.” Bai Yuxiang snapped her fingers. “I’ll leave people behind and wait for your signal. Now I’m going to personally check on that young master.”

“Be careful.”

“Don’t worry.”

With a grin, Bai Yuxiang leapt straight out of the rear window. On the way down, she stepped lightly on an open window on the first floor, landed smoothly, and disappeared into the alley.

She truly never took the ordinary path.

…

Li Chen drove the large cart around the county for quite some time. Four small mares pulling 500 kilograms of salt was effortless.

Since he had obtained the salt without spending a single coin, Li Chen went to the grain shop and bought another 500 kilograms of grain, 250 kilograms of coarse rice and 250 kilograms of mixed flour. He also purchased over 50 kilograms of winter melon, bottle gourd, and other vegetables suitable for storage, as well as 100 iron arrowheads.

At the market, he bought a large quantity of eggs and meat, and spent a little extra money on 50 kilograms of assorted livestock bones.

The 30 taels of silver he had brought with him were almost entirely spent, leaving less than 100 copper coins. Only then did he drive the cart out of the county.

On the road back, a cold glint appeared in his eyes. Someone seemed to be deliberately following him from a distance.

Narrowing his eyes, once he reached the official road, he suddenly urged the horses into a gallop. When he passed the fork toward Muer Village, he did not slow down at all and sped straight past it.

After traveling 10 kilometers farther, he turned abruptly into a dense forest. From there, he followed a narrow woodland path, emerged elsewhere, returned to the official road, and deliberately used other cart tracks to confuse his trail. Only then did he circle back to Muer Village, completely shaking off the tail behind him.

In the forest, the sound of hooves rang out. Wearing a bamboo hat and a dust veil, Bai Yuxiang rode a fine horse to the edge of the woods. Shock filled her narrow phoenix eyes.

“That brat actually noticed I was following him? He circled around so many times that even I got confused. Damn it, I don’t even know where he disappeared to…”

…

By then, Li Chen had already reached the woods at the foot of the mountain near the village. He retrieved another horse and hurried home.

The moment he entered the village, he froze.

A large crowd had gathered near his deer pen. There was even the sound of crying.

He immediately drove the cart over.

Village head Xu Jiang saw him and called out anxiously, “Chen, you’re finally back. Something’s happened…”

“What happened?” Li Chen asked as he pushed through the crowd.

But the instant he stepped through, his eyes turned ice-cold.

His three younger brothers, Liu Chenxu, Hou Xiaobai, and Zhao Dashi, were lying on the ground, covered in blood.

Yu Qingwan and Liu Chenyi were crying as they washed their wounds with water. Hou Xiaobai’s mother held her son and wept uncontrollably. Zhao Dashi’s father, Zhao the Blacksmith, cradled his son and called out to him through tears.

Xu Jiang sighed. “Just now, a few ruffians from Baisha Village heard that you had caught deer and came to take a look. Xiao Wan’er and Chenxu were watching the deer and smoking the leopard skin. When those ruffians saw the deer and the leopard skin, and how beautiful Xiao Wan’er was, they were immediately tempted. Not only did they want to take several deer and the leopard skin, they even tried to assault Xiao Wan’er.

“Your brothers fought them. But the ruffians had numbers on their side and beat them all down. These boys are loyal, though. Xiaobai guarded the deer herd desperately. He would rather be stabbed than retreat. Dashi knocked down two of them. The ruffian leader, Wu Tian, who tried to assault Xiao Wan’er, was thrown to the ground and beaten by Dashi. But there were too many of them. They pinned him down and beat him. He was nearly beaten to death but still refused to let go.

“Chenxu clung to the leopard skin and refused to release it, so they smashed him unconscious with stones. Fortunately, Xiao Wan’er and Chenyi ran out to call for help. When the ruffians heard we were coming, they snatched a fawn and the leopard skin and ran. We couldn’t catch up, and we were worried about the boys’ lives, so we came back…”

As Xu Jiang spoke, Li Chen knelt to examine their injuries.

Hou Xiaobai had been stabbed, but the wound was on his left arm. It had cut into muscle but did not hit bone. It was not life-threatening and would heal in a few days. There was a large bump on his forehead, but his skull was intact.

Zhao Dashi was worse off, beaten until his face was swollen and bruised. He had fainted, though no bones were broken.

Liu Chenxu had been struck on the head with a stone. His scalp was split and bleeding heavily, but fortunately the skull seemed unbroken.

Yu Qingwan and Liu Chenyi had escaped to call for help and were unharmed.

“I understand, Uncle Xu. Please help me take care of my brothers. Also, gather some men to move the goods to my house. I’m going to demand an explanation from them.”

Li Chen stood up, his eyes filled with icy fury. Anyone who met his gaze felt a chill run through their heart, as though plunged into an ice cave.

They had beaten his brothers, stolen his things, and even tried to assault his servant wife.

Li Chen was truly enraged.

He led out a horse, mounted it, tugged the reins, shouted “Hyah!” and rode straight down the path toward Baisha Village.