Chapter 417 Jincheng

Seeing the bandits approaching, the fourth brother's voice trembled with fear.

"Mother, what should we do?"

Song Chunxue drew two swords from the carriage, tucked a rolling pin behind her waist, and jumped off the carriage.

"Take care of yourself, don't hold me back!"

The fourth brother drew his sword, swallowed hard, but it was too late to stop her from going forward.

There are at least seven of these bandits; how could my mother possibly be a match for them all by herself?

My mother meditates all day long. She even killed some bandits before, but those were all by chance.

The fourth brother gripped the reins, thinking that if he couldn't win the fight, he would drive the carriage over there.

"Oh ho, this old woman still has her charms, and she's even carrying a sword. She's really overestimating herself."

The man on the left grinned lewdly, "Boss, please go easy on me."

The man in the lead had thick eyebrows and big eyes, with a black mole between his eyebrows. He carried a large machete and stopped three meters away from Song Chunxue.

"Young lady, put down your sword, or my knife won't have eyes. We're not ruthless bandits who only care about money, not lives."

As he spoke, his expression sharpened, and he brandished the machete in his hand. "Otherwise, you'll be in for a world of hurt later."

Song Chunxue smiled enigmatically, "Everyone needs to get things done when they're out and about. Without money, you can't move an inch. If we give you all the money, what will we use?"

“If you really don’t want money, just ask for some money to pass through, why did you have to kidnap them all?”

The burly man with thick eyebrows laughed, revealing a set of perfectly aligned teeth. He had a wolf tail tied around his waist and took two steps forward.

"If they're really pushing their luck, then why are we even bothering with robbery? We might as well go home and farm."

Song Chunxue drew her longsword and twirled it around her wrist. "Then why don't you just farm properly? Why do you rob people? Aren't you afraid the authorities will arrest you and put you in jail?"

“The government? Which government would arrest us? We killed few people, and we’ll share some of the stolen silver with them. They’re not stupid.”

Song Chunxue raised an eyebrow. "You mean, you're in cahoots with Liang Xiao?"

“Who is Liang Xiao? We’re not just robbing here.” He pointed his long sword at Song Chunxue and said, “Throw the bundle over here, don’t force me to bleed.”

"I understand. You have high-ranking officials in Longxi County protecting you, but I don't want to give you my baggage." Song Chunxue gripped her longsword tightly. "Then how about we have a contest?"

"Ha, quite the boast! Unhitch the horse!"

The person in front of him gave a cold order, and a group of people surrounded him.

"Who dares!" Song Chunxue looked at him coldly. "We know people from the Jin Yamen. If you steal our silver today, you'll be in big trouble."

"Boss..." A man leaned close to the burly man with thick eyebrows and whispered something in his ear.

They certainly wouldn't dare to rob just any carriage, otherwise no one would dare to go out.

Song Chunxue felt that she was very lucky, as she ran into him twice when she went out.

Without the Taoist priest present, she felt extremely guilty.

But she had brought a lot of money with her today and didn't want to give it to them.

"In that case, let's have a match. If I lose, I'll let you pass." With that, the burly man at the head turned around and shouted, "All of you, step back!"

Song Chunxue gripped her longsword tightly, wishing she had practiced more swordsmanship recently.

“Wait, I was with a merchant caravan before, and Old Zhang was our leader…”

"Hahaha, what a coincidence! I can't be lenient with that old man's subordinates either; he still owes me money!"

"Bang!"

The next moment, Song Chunxue raised her hand to block his attack, her arm going numb from the shock.

She suddenly mustered her strength and blocked the opponent's five-hit combo. All that work she had done hadn't been for nothing; she felt her arms were full of power.

"Clang clang clang!"

She stopped resisting and instead charged forward, cutting several nicks into his longsword.

"Boss, this person is skilled in martial arts, kill her!"

With a fierce determination, Song Chunxue noticed the man's injured right arm and forced him to retreat. She then used a killing move taught by the Taoist priest to kick him to the ground, her long sword pointing directly at his throat.

"Kill me?" Song Chunxue sneered. "If you don't have the ability, don't go out and rob people. If you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. Now get lost!"

To be honest, Song Chunxue didn't expect that she could defeat him in such a short time.

She didn't understand why these people didn't wear masks when they robbed, and why they didn't kill anyone instead of taking money. Weren't they afraid of letting a tiger return to the mountains and causing future trouble?

These people didn't seem like veterans; they looked more like newbies who had just joined the bandits.

"I humbly admit defeat and beg...madam heroine, please spare my life."

Song Chunxue's lips twitched, and she took a step back. "You're new to being a bandit, aren't you still getting used to it?"

"Why don't you just farm properly? Even though it's dry, it won't be a complete crop failure. This path is difficult, and you might die a violent death any day. I advise you to quit this business as soon as possible."

The carriage had disappeared, and the other henchmen had fled into the bushes and mountains.

"Further words are pointless, you may leave."

Song Chunxue sheathed her longsword, took out a few taels of silver from her bosom, and tossed them to him, saying, "Go home."

When the fourth brother saw Song Chunxue climb onto the carriage, he couldn't help but pick up his whip and lash the horse's back hard.

"Giddy up! Let's go, let's go!"

He was terrified; if these people hadn't been mentally unstable, he felt he would have died there today.

However, how could my mother be so skilled? Was the knife in the other person's hand made of clay? How could it cut such a big gash?

Song Chunxue was also anxious, fearing that they would bring more people to catch up. "Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

She clutched the sword tightly, saying, "How come I've never heard Lord Xie mention bandits on this road?"

"Lord Xie is an official appointed by the imperial court. He is escorted by soldiers when he goes out. Mother, are you confused?" The fourth son was still in shock, but he was also excited. He looked at Song Chunxue and asked, "Mother, what level are you at now? Were you able to kill them all just now?"

"It's just a matter of gritting your teeth and going for it. In this kind of situation, it's either you or me. If they all came at me at once, we'd probably all be dead by now."

As she spoke, Song Chunxue couldn't help but look at her hands. "It's hard to say what level I'm at, but I feel like I've acquired that legendary thing, internal energy."

Otherwise, how could her ordinary sword have cut someone else's knife like that?

Perhaps, if she puts in more effort and focuses on swordsmanship, she might even become a martial arts master.

If you want to travel, you must have special skills, otherwise you won't even know where you died.

She had oversimplified things.

Her internal energy certainly didn't grow on its own; it was most likely from meditation.

Could it be that the mental cultivation method her senior brother taught her was some kind of unique secret technique that allowed her to develop exceptional internal strength through meditation?

Then she must meditate every day!

"Fourth brother, you drive the carriage while I meditate. Don't call me unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Alright, Mother, don't worry, I'm your protector now."

They did not encounter any more robbers.

On the morning of the second day, they arrived in Jincheng.

"Mom, I want to eat beef noodles, it smells so good!" The fourth son had just arrived in the city and was already clamoring for food.

"You go eat, I can't eat," Song Chunxue asked him. "Do you know where to find Lao Er?"

"They said it's near the Xiguan Mosque, there's a restaurant that sells mutton there, and it's the third courtyard down the alley."

"Huh?" Song Chunxue was a little scared. "Isn't he afraid of being beheaded every time?"

“Mother, not all of them are bandits; there are good people and bad people too. But that area is their communal living area. Why is Second Brother living there?” Fourth Brother muttered. “I wonder where Lord Xie lives.”

"If you dare to go to him without permission, I'll break your legs!"