Chapter 151 As expected of the man in charge of the Imperial Prison

Yulu Bay, which had already suffered severe damage, had not yet fully recovered when it was once again plunged into dire straits.

The bandits, riding on horseback, entered the village with impunity, killing anyone they saw and burning any houses they encountered, turning the peaceful village into chaos.

"It must have been those outsiders who brought in the bandits a few days ago! I told them long ago not to let anyone in, and now look what's happened, Yulu Bay is probably doomed!"

The village chief, over sixty years old, beat his chest in frustration, watching helplessly as the bandits rampaged through the village.

The bandit leader also saw the village chief, grinned maliciously, and shot arrows at him.

The village chief's cloudy eyes widened, his body stiffened, and he couldn't avoid the attack at all.

Just then, a long sword flew by and instantly cut the arrow in half. Lu Yuan pulled the stunned village chief aside, took back the sword, and held it horizontally in front of him, his eyes coldly fixed on the bandits in front of him.

The bandit leader was thin and had a sinister look in his eyes. He had half an ear missing, wore a short blue-black outfit, and had scarlet blood on the blade of his curved knife. He was clearly not a good guy.

"Tsk, I didn't expect there to be martial arts experts in this small fishing village," the bandit with half an ear said in a rough voice, as if it had been rubbed on sandpaper. "It's just a pity you ran into us today."

He aimed his bow and arrow at Lu Yuan and fired again.

Lu Yuan took the arrow that had broken in two, tossed it backhand, and a flash of cold light was seen. The arrow that was being shot from the opposite side was deflected by one half of the arrow, while the other half shot towards the bandit with only one ear.

Before the bandits could react, several strands of hair beside their ears were cut off and fell to the ground.

"You're asking for it! Brothers, get him!"

The bandit with half an ear was furious, and more bandits surrounded him.

On Lu Yuan's side, Gao Xi and his seven men stood with their swords drawn on the main road of the village, engaging in fierce combat with them.

In close combat, bows and arrows become ineffective, but the bandits all have weapons, and the clanging sounds of their weapons clashing are incessant.

Over a hundred bandits were blocked on the road by eight men and could not advance an inch.

Half-Ear, watching the fierce battle unfold before him, never expected that he, who had previously been able to move freely through other villages as if they were nothing, killing and burning at will, would now encounter a tough opponent in a small fishing village.

His men quickly lost more than a dozen of their men.

On the other hand, apart from a few knife wounds to Gao Xi's men, no one from Lu Yuan's side was injured or killed.

This left Half-Ear feeling deeply frustrated.

"Send some men around them, don't confront them head-on," he sneered, glancing sideways. "You just want to protect the villagers, right? Let's see how long you can protect them with so many people!"

The subordinates immediately obeyed the order and selected a dozen or so brothers to secretly take a shortcut and bypass the area.

Lu Yuan was in the midst of his killing spree.

Jiang Zhi's unconscious ramblings in her sleep, her concern and trust for Shen Ci'an, all fueled a fire in his heart.

Just when he was looking for a way to vent his frustrations, these bandits happened to walk right into his life.

He exuded a murderous aura, his embroidered spring knife was stained red, and sticky blood dripped from the tip of the knife onto the ground, making him look like a soul-reaping messenger from the underworld.

Gao Xi looked at his commander and felt a little scared.

So ruthless and decisive, taking lives without batting an eye—truly befitting a man in charge of the imperial prison.

However, just as they were about to drive the bandits back, they heard faint, intermittent sobs behind them.

Everyone turned around to look, and their hands immediately stopped moving.

A dozen or so bandits surrounded the villagers, their swords drawn. If the villagers moved even slightly slower, the bandits would slash at them without mercy.

"So, do you still dare to go against us?" Half-Ear felt much better when he saw the ugly expressions on Lu Yuan and the others' faces.

"Now tell me honestly, you're not from the village, are you? Who exactly are you?"

Lu Yuan's face was gloomy, and the killing intent emanating from him had not yet subsided. His eyes, hidden beneath his dark hair, were as cold as an icy pool, devoid of any warmth.

He glanced around the crowd but didn't see Jiang Zhi; she must still be hiding in the cellar.

Lu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

“They were invited by us to repair their houses,” the village chief said, stepping shakily from the crowd. “They are indeed not from this village, so please don’t make things difficult for them.”

Half-ear observed that Lu Yuan and the others were dressed in coarse cloth clothes with their sleeves and trouser legs rolled up, and they certainly looked like they were working.

But how could an ordinary worker possess such ruthless skills?

"Then make them lay down their weapons. If they dare to resist again, I'll have no choice but to kill all of you villagers!"

Half-Ear originally thought this would threaten Lu Yuan, but Lu Yuan merely curled his lips and sneered, "Kill these people if you want, what does it have to do with me?"

He didn't even spare a second glance.

"Ha," Half-Ear was seeing someone more ruthless than him for the first time, and couldn't help but feel a bit curious. "I like your personality. Are you interested in joining us?"

Things changed too quickly.

The villagers who were surrounded were dumbfounded.

The person who just saved them from dire straits is now going to collude with bandits?

Everyone's faces immediately showed indignation.

Only Uncle Wang and Aunt Li's family held Wang Miao in their arms and comforted him by rubbing his head, saying, "Don't be afraid, your parents are here. We will definitely protect you."

Even so, they were still uneasy.

I heard that everyone in the neighboring village was killed by these bandits, not even the infants still in swaddling clothes were spared.

Upon encountering a woman of attractive appearance, they would directly abduct her and take her back to their mountain stronghold, subjecting her to a fate worse than death.

No one knows what the future holds for Yulu Bay.

However, how could Lu Yuan possibly agree to the bandits' proposal?

He wiped the blood off his Embroidered Spring Blade with the back of his arm, the blade pointing straight at Half-Ear. "Want me to join? Let's see if you dare to fight me one-on-one. If you win, I'll willingly risk my life for you, how about that?"

Half-Ear's heart skipped a beat, and his face turned somewhat embarrassed.

Although he was ruthless and arrogant, he was not impulsive.

This man looks like he's a master of martial arts; I'd be a fool to fight him one-on-one.

With so many brothers watching behind him, if he retreated and dared not fight, where would he put his face?

Just then, a loud shout came from afar, "Boss, look who we found!"

All eyes turned to them.

But then they saw several bandits escorting out a sickly-looking man, followed by two women.

When Lu Yuan saw Jiang Zhi's face clearly, his pupils contracted sharply.

They eventually found Song Erya's cellar.

When Half-Ear saw Shen Ci'an, the joy on his face was impossible to hide.

"Lord Shen is incredibly lucky to be alive! He really did survive, but it was quite a search for him!"

Shen Ci'an barely managed to steady himself by leaning against the tree, then lifted his eyelids to glance at Half-Ear, a mocking look appearing on his face. "It seems you haven't found that thing yet, so it's really useless."

"You!" Half-Ear, his sore spot touched, immediately turned hostile, gritting his teeth and saying fiercely, "So what if you're stubborn? A dignified imperial envoy has fallen into my hands. I'd like to see who will come to your rescue?"