Chapter 85 The Bandits Isolated from the World

Bai Yu, sitting on the carriage shaft, watched them calmly, as if observing a boring farce. Inside the carriage, the curtain was half-lifted, and Jiu Ya was watching the leader's bewildered expression with great interest, a mocking smile playing on her lips.

The leader felt his entire body screaming "It hurts!" Then a gust of wind blew by, ruffling his messy hair. A strand of hair got into his eye, and ouch, his eye hurt even more. He blinked, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably, mixing with his nosebleed, making him look extremely disheveled.

As a bandit leader, he believed himself to be flexible and adaptable. He grabbed the young lad who was helping him and made him kneel on the ground, burying his face in his hands and crying, "Young hero! I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness. We brothers have an eighty-year-old mother to support and a three-year-old child to raise. Please, young hero, have mercy! Spare my brothers!"

"Weren't you going to rob us?" Li Yue sneered, looking down at the bandit leader kneeling on the ground with disdain in his eyes.

The leader hurriedly begged for mercy, "No, no, it was my fault for being blind. My brothers didn't mean to target you, young hero. Please have mercy!" He kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead covered in dirt, looking extremely disheveled.

The leader knew he had met a tough opponent, and fearing that all his brothers would perish if he didn't beg for mercy, he knew Li Yue's martial prowess was obvious. Although the leader was terrified, he gritted his teeth and took the blame for the sake of his brothers' lives. "This was all my own doing, it has nothing to do with them. If you are not satisfied, young hero, you can make me pay with my life."

"No need!" Li Yue couldn't help but roll his eyes. Hadn't he shown enough mercy? If he really wanted these bandits dead, none of them would be alive now. He was very careful with his strength. These injuries looked serious, but they were all superficial wounds that would heal in a few days.

Jiu Ya, observing the bandit leader's actions from afar, found it somewhat amusing; these bandits seemed to have a sense of loyalty after all. She alighted from the carriage and walked to Li Yue's side, her skirt swaying gracefully with each step. Looking down at the kneeling bandit leader, she asked, "Do you live in the mountains?"

"Yes—" The leader was quite uneasy. What were they planning to do? Did they want to go up the mountain to take revenge on their families? How could they let them know? He quickly changed his words, "No, no!" His eyes flickered, clearly lying.

"Isn't that right?" Jiu Ya blinked. What, were you afraid of their retaliation? She smiled slightly and said coolly, "Don't lie to me, or else Li Yue will beat you up again? Don't worry, I'm just asking. You didn't succeed in robbing us, so we won't retaliate. We shouldn't harm your wives and children."

The leader was sweating profusely. Who would believe that? But Li Yue shook his fist, his eyes blazing with a clear threat, which forced the leader to yield. He reluctantly said, "We brothers usually live on the mountain, but there aren't many of us."

Jiu Ya raised an eyebrow, not quite believing it, and asked curiously, "Not many people? Have you become bandits, or have you always been here? How long have you been doing this kind of robbery? Are you locals?"

In ancient times, suppressing bandits was always a major undertaking, especially during chaotic periods when banditry was rampant. But if there were no other options, who would willingly become a bandit? For example, many were forced to join the Liangshan Marsh. The dozen or so bandits before her, apart from carrying knives, were dressed no differently from ordinary people. Jiu Ya carefully observed their faces; although they looked fierce, they lacked malevolence and didn't seem like villains who took pleasure in killing.

"Huh?" The leader was completely baffled by Jiu Ya's question. Why ask such detailed questions? Were they government officials? "We're not locals. Our ancestors migrated from elsewhere decades ago. We just couldn't make a living anymore, otherwise we wouldn't have chosen this path."

"Moved here? Did something extraordinary happen in your ancestral home?" Jiu Ya pressed. She was curious about the origins of these bandits.

In ancient times, without trains and cars, transportation was extremely underdeveloped. Unless something major happened, why would a family move away? It's important to understand that people in ancient times placed great importance on returning to their hometowns. The concept of "falling leaves return to their roots" was deeply ingrained; unless absolutely necessary, they wouldn't leave their homeland.

The head of the gang shook his head. "I don't know, probably!" His eyes were blank, clearly indicating he knew very little about his ancestors. "We're barely surviving, who cares about anything else?"

"Oh." Jiu Ya observed the leader's expression; he seemed to be telling the truth. She then asked, "You haven't killed anyone during your robberies, have you?" This question was crucial, determining the fate of these bandits. If they had blood on their hands, even if there were extenuating circumstances, they couldn't be let off easily.

Hearing Jiu Ya ask this, the leader felt even more horrified. He waved his hands repeatedly, his face, which was covered with huge dark circles under his eyes, turned red and then white. He was purely angry. He immediately glared and shouted, "We never do such a thing!"

They're honest robbers; they wouldn't even rob a poor person! How could they possibly take someone's life?

"Is that so?" Jiu Ya said casually, tapping lightly on a jade pendant hanging from her waist. She had bought it casually at a market in a small town a few days ago. The jade was of ordinary quality, but the carving was quite rustic.

"We're just robbing the rich to help the poor! We've never done anything immoral!" the leader vehemently protested. He knew there were always some people in the world who loved to stand up for the weak, and what if they were among them? It was best to clarify things quickly. As he spoke, he couldn't help but steal glances at the girl before him. Her clothes weren't fancy, but the fabric was fine, and she possessed an indescribable air of elegance, unlike those from ordinary families, much less the delicate young ladies he usually encountered.

Jiu Ya laughed without any politeness, "Do you think robbing the rich from travelers will help your poor?" Her clear laughter startled several birds flying in the nearby woods.

"Well—" The leader rubbed his hands together, his rough palms covered in calluses. He said sheepishly, "We haven't touched any of the poor people passing by at the foot of the mountain. At most, we've only asked some rich people for a little money while they're passing through." He pointed to the simple tea stall next to him, "Like this old man, we never bother him. Sometimes we even help him fetch water or chop firewood. He sells tea here, so he can also do us a favor by tipping us off or something."

These people were indeed bandits, but not the kind of vicious ones. They always targeted wealthy families, and they didn't ask for much; it was more like a form of protection money collection. They even had an unwritten rule: they wouldn't rob scholars, doctors, or orphans and widows.

There were no casualties, and only a small amount of money was lost, which was acceptable to many families passing through the area, so no one went to report it to the authorities.

After all, no one wants to actively deal with the government.

"Oh?" Jiu Ya saw that the bandit leader's gaze was clear and unwavering, and he didn't seem to be lying. Since no one had been killed, Jiu Ya didn't bother with it. This place wasn't far from the main city; if they were truly a bandit scourge, they would probably have been wiped out by government troops long ago. Her gaze swept over the bandits groaning as they got up. Most of them were emaciated and dressed in rags, their weapons a motley collection: rusty machetes, sharpened iron shovels, and even some carrying thick wooden sticks—they were truly pitiful.

The leader was practically swearing to the heavens that he was absolutely certain, “I’m not lying at all!” He puffed out his chest, trying to make his words more convincing, but accidentally touched the spot where Li Yue had hit him, and immediately winced and gasped for breath.

"Hehe." Jiu Ya rolled her eyes inwardly. Not a single word of the uncle's statement was a lie. Wasn't it a lie? Who has an eighty-year-old mother and an eight-year-old son? A mocking smile appeared on her lips.

Seeing Jiu Ya's strange expression, the leader was at a loss. What? Did he say something wrong? What did he say wrong? He subconsciously touched his face. Did he get mud on his face from the fall?

"Whether it's true or false has nothing to do with us." Jiu Ya waved her hand, then thought of another question. "Let me ask you, how far is it from here before we reach any houses?" She looked up at the winding dirt road ahead, with dense forests on both sides, sunlight filtering through the leaves and casting dappled patterns of light.

After walking all morning, it was well worth a rest. Actually, when Jiu Ya first asked the bandit leader if he lived on the mountain, she just wanted to rest nearby, since the carriages had already stopped. She even considered that if the bandits' stronghold was nearby and the environment was acceptable, paying a little money to rent a place to rest for a while and feed the horses would be a good option.

However, seeing that the bandit leader was very wary and evaded the question, Jiu Ya guessed he was afraid that she would find out where his family was hiding so he could take revenge on them. Jiu Ya even noticed that when she asked about their lodgings, a few of the younger bandits subconsciously glanced in a certain direction, then immediately lowered their heads nervously.

Jiu Ya understood this wariness; she would be scared too, so she didn't want to make things difficult for the bandit leader. She didn't want to frighten them half to death, making it difficult for them to rest properly. Also, what if these bandits lived on the mountaintop? Climbing a mountain on foot was exhausting, and she didn't want to waste her energy for a short rest.

The leader was taken aback, then obediently said, "Ten miles away, there's a small village called Xiaoyang. But be careful, there aren't many people there, but they're very xenophobic. A few dozen miles further on is Jiangzhou City." He paused, then added, "The people of Xiaoyang Village... well, they were ravaged by bandits in the past, so they're especially wary of strangers, especially people like you..." He glanced at Jiu Ya and the others' carriage and clothing, "...they don't look like ordinary people."

"I understand, thank you." Jiu Ya thanked her calmly. Now she could confirm that these bandits were not really evil people. They were only ten miles away. If they were really heinous bandits, they would have wiped out the entire Xiaoyang Village! Her gaze swept over the few bags of coarse grains and some dried wild vegetables piled in the corner of the teahouse. She understood even more. These people were living a frugal life and did not seem like reckless scoundrels.

After thanking them, Jiu Ya couldn't help but add a few more words, "The mountain where you live is quite rich in resources, why do you have to resort to robbery for a living? If you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. Today you met us, and we're easy to talk to. But if you had encountered someone with a bad temper, all of you would have lost your lives!" As she spoke, she pointed to the "weapons" on the ground, "Just these?"

She wasn't some incomparably kind-hearted saint who would be grateful and help others after they had wronged her. She just felt that these people weren't inherently evil, nor were they deliberately targeting her. Especially the leader; although he was a bit cowardly, there was no wickedness in his eyes.

It's not a chaotic time now, so why bother with this kind of business? Besides, they're probably not satisfied with just staying here, and anyone who passes by will suffer.

“In this peaceful and prosperous era, why bother becoming bandits in the mountains? You can live well whether you farm or do business.” Jiu Ya’s tone softened.