Chapter 97: Becoming an Outlaw (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Upon hearing the word "bandits," Lin Feng visibly flinched. Biting her lower lip, a deep sorrow clouded her brows. She hesitated, "But...bandits are numerous and powerful, and the number of martial artists is unknown. Why risk your life, my lord? Why not descend the mountain tonight and discuss it again tomorrow?"
The young man before me is far too young.
Judging from her appearance, she's no more than two years older than me.
The other one was older, but upon closer inspection, he still looked quite young, likely a wealthy young man who had not yet reached adulthood.
Lin Feng had been hiding in the box, where the view through the dark hole was limited, so she couldn't see much. However, she knew that all the guards were injured, and the two young men had the advantage of being caught off guard.
The two men, placed alongside those fierce-looking bandits, were like two rabbits among a pack of drooling, menacing dogs—the disparity was so stark that one could hardly help but worry for them.
Shen Tang didn't directly deny it, but only asked, "Why?"
Lin Feng lowered his head and said, "I... I was asleep in the box earlier and didn't know how many bandits came the first time. But the Lin family guards had to pay the price of each of them being injured to break through the encirclement, which shows that the bandits were quite strong. They went back to regroup and will definitely bring more men when they come back, perhaps even all of them."
She was born with a childlike and adorable appearance, but spoke with a maturity beyond her years, her words clear and logical, and quite substantial.
Shen Tang smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words."
Lin Feng blinked in confusion: "Borrowing...my auspicious words?"
"Yes, I hope they really come out in full force, which will save me the trouble of climbing mountains and digging up their hideout."
Lin Feng was increasingly astonished as he listened, and even forgot to shut his mouth.
“Yes, my lord…”
"In the face of absolute power, strength has nothing to do with numbers."
Hearing this, Lin Feng was no longer worried, but his gaze subconsciously fell on Shen Tang's waist, as if he was looking for something, but he couldn't find it after scanning it several times. Shen Tang chuckled and picked up the monogram, saying, "You're looking for this? It's not easy to find at night."
Shen Tang's Wenxin Hua monogram was exquisite and small, transparent and clear, while Zhai Le's Wudan Huyu was a black tiger-head jade disc. Today, he was also wearing a black outfit, and the light at night was dim, so even with 5.0 uncorrected visual acuity, it would be difficult to find them.
Lin Feng immediately felt half relieved.
"Go to bed early, you'll be busy in an hour or two."
What are you busy with?
Naturally, they were busy taking stock of the spoils from the bandit's den.
Truly achieve the goal of leaving home empty-handed and returning home rich.
Lin Feng obediently replied, "Yes."
The carriage curtain was lowered, and the thugs buried the body and found a place to go back to sleep. Only Shen Tang and his companion were still working the night shift.
To gain the upper hand, neither of them stayed under the tree, but instead climbed up to hide in the canopy, using their height advantage to observe the enemy's situation and, if necessary, strike first. However, Zhai Le also had a question: "What if they don't come in the middle of the night?"
Shen Tang squatted on a tree branch, holding a flatbread in her left hand and a bottle of Dukang wine in her right, enjoying her late-night snack with relish and sharing it with her friends.
"Not coming? If you're not coming, we'll storm up there tomorrow morning!"
How can I forgive her for leaving me to feed mosquitoes all night?
Why don't the mosquitoes bite you?
Shen Tang swatted two more mosquitoes, but when she turned around, she saw that Zhai Le was completely undisturbed, squatting there motionless.
Zhai Le said, "Why isn't it ringing?"
He was a magnet for mosquitoes, getting bitten all over every summer. Finally, his older brother told him that if he mastered martial arts to the point of projecting his inner energy, the mosquitoes wouldn't be able to touch him. Hard work pays off. Before he even mastered archery, he learned to project his inner energy, spending two years refining it into a thin layer that adhered to his skin, effectively protecting him from mosquitoes.
From then on, he was warm in winter and cool in summer, impervious to heat and cold, and even mosquitoes couldn't suck his blood when they bit him. His brother really wouldn't lie to him.
Shen Tang: "..."
Damn it!
I'm shivering and freezing!
Another one exclusive to martial arts daring.
How despicable! Is this discrimination against intellectuals?
When will the literary scholars finally stand up?
Shen Tang remained expressionless, but Zhai Le, standing two trees away, felt a chill run down his spine and rubbed his arms to suppress the goosebumps. He'd been feeding mosquitoes for... no, waited an hour, which was almost the hour of Chou (1-3 AM).
Under the tree, the snoring of the thugs rose and fell.
Up in the tree, Shen Tang's patience ran out. Her face was cold, her Mother's Sword was polished to a gleaming shine, and her eyes held an impending murderous intent.
Just then, a slight rustling sound arose, which at first glance sounded like the sound of the night wind blowing through the grass and trees, but upon closer listening, one could hear some strange breathing sounds.
Zhai Le's eyes sharpened, and he gave Shen Tang a gesture pointing northwest—this band of bandits was slowly approaching from this direction.
After concentrating for a moment, he made another gesture, "hundred".
This means there are at least a hundred people. Some have heavy footsteps, probably ordinary people, while others have lighter footsteps, clearly martial arts practitioners, perhaps even martial artists who have cultivated their martial spirit. Even a low-ranking nobleman is not someone an ordinary person could withstand.
They are still some distance away from here.
Shen Tang said in a low voice, "We're not sure if the bandits have bows and arrows. We can't let them get too close. We should take the initiative and attack."
Although she didn't care about the lives of the thugs under the tree, since she had taken them in, they should die with some value, rather than being chopped into mincemeat while they were asleep.
Zhai Le laughed and said, "There shouldn't be any bows and arrows."
Shen Tang: "Why are you so sure?"
Zhai Ledao said, "Because all the campfires in our camp went out."
Shen Tang understood immediately and nodded to indicate that she comprehended.
With the campfire extinguished and visibility dim, the enemy couldn't even find them. To inflict heavy casualties with a surprise attack using arrows, several hundred archers would need to fire two or three volleys to wipe out half the enemy in one go. Otherwise, with only ten or so arrows, even hitting someone would be a matter of luck.
Can a bandit's den produce hundreds of archers?
Obviously not.
There were only a little over a hundred people there in total.
Arrows are consumables, and a bow is not cheap to make. With that money, you might as well get a couple more large machetes.
"Just in case, we must strike first!" Zhai Le conjured a longbow with his left hand, gripped the bowstring with four fingers of his right hand, and slowly drew back the bowstring, judging the enemy's approximate location by ear. "Should we leave any survivors?"
Shen Tang said, "It depends on their own luck."
Is this what you mean by telling him to think it over?
Zhai Le understood.
The bandits never expected that the lurking Black Star was already sharpening his knives, eyeing their vulnerable necks.
A series of dark figures were stealthily approaching.
If Shen Tang were here, he would recognize several familiar faces among them—the officers escorting the Gong clan to Xiaocheng, led by the very same official leader!
"Are you sure this is the place?"
"Boss, confirmed."
A short while later, the messenger returned with the message: "Boss, they all sound asleep, and sleeping very soundly, snoring."
Upon hearing this, the leader frowned.
Sleeping so carelessly, were there no guards assigned?
(End of this chapter)
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