These bandits, whom even the Imperial Guards couldn't wipe out in my past life, are now relying on the government...
Regardless, Wei Shuwan knew she had to leave first. With that in mind, she looked at the setting sun to find her way. She walked along a path, initially holding up her skirt, but later, finding it cumbersome, she tore off the overly long skirt and found a wooden stick to use as a walking stick.
She didn't know how many hours she had walked in the mountains until the last ray of sunset faded and darkness enveloped her, at which point she completely panicked.
She looked around blankly; all around was pitch black, without even a sliver of daylight. Panic quickly spread through her, and she trembled from head to toe.
But she could only continue walking forward in the dark. As she walked, she seemed to see a glimmer of light. Suddenly, she felt a surge of strength and ran quickly toward that direction. As she got closer, she discovered that there was indeed a light there!
Now that the sun was out, Wei Shuwan couldn't tell which direction she was heading, but whether the light belonged to a hunter in the mountains or she had returned to Niutou Village, as long as there were houses, that was enough. With houses, there was direction, and even if she wandered back to Niutou Village, she would find a way to cross the village and return to the post road without being noticed.
With this hope in mind, Wei Shuwan finally reached the light, only to find that it was not a house at all, but just a sentry post.
A sentry post in the mountains?
A bad thought flashed through Wei Shuwan's mind, making her heart tremble immediately.
Could it be that she's really that unlucky... that she delivered herself right to his doorstep?
The thought had barely formed in Wei Shuwan's mind when she heard a bandit's whistle overhead, followed by the laughing voice of a young man:
"Hey, whose lost young lady has wandered into our village?"
Wei Shuwan looked up in despair, following the sound to the top of the sentry post. Just then, a dark shadow descended from above and landed in front of her in an instant, startling her so much that she took several steps back!
"Oh my god, what a beautiful young lady!" The man, who was as quick and agile as a monkey, moved closer to Wei Shuwan as he spoke.
"What...what do you want to do?" Wei Shuwan looked at him in fear, her legs trembling as if filled with cold lead, unable to escape.
Even if she could escape, she definitely couldn't outrun someone who could do this much in a short time.
The man seemed to enjoy the cat-and-mouse game, rubbing his hands together without rushing to capture her. Instead, he teased, "Don't worry, little beauty, I won't do anything to you. I'm a good person!"
"Today is the fifteenth, and all the brothers are drinking in the village, leaving me here alone to keep watch. I thought I was just unlucky, but who knew that good people can be bullied by others but not by Heaven? Look, hasn't Heaven sent me a Lin Daiyu?"
"Come here and sit with your brother for a while."
Hearing these greasy words, Wei Shuwan felt a chill run down her spine. However, she also gleaned a key point from their words: everyone else was drinking while he stood guard, and while others might take advantage of him, Heaven would not. This was enough to prove that this person was being bullied in the mountain stronghold. Such a person had a fatal weakness: cowardice.
Having grasped this weakness, Wei Shuwan forced herself to calm down and spoke with a very contemptuous tone: "Brother? I'm afraid you don't know who my real brother is, do you?"
Sure enough, as soon as she uttered those seemingly mysterious words, the bandit's expression changed. "You...you mean your brother is also a member of the stronghold?"
"Otherwise what? You really think I, your grandmother, got lost and ended up here in the middle of the night?!" Wei Shuwan's previous timidity vanished, and her attitude suddenly hardened.
As expected, the other party was still falling for her act, and their imposing manner instantly diminished: "Then who exactly is your brother?"
Wei Shuwan crossed her arms and exclaimed, "My brother is known in the village as King Yama Lu!"
Upon hearing this name, the bandit's face turned several shades paler. "You...you're the third leader's sister?" He had actually dared to flirt with the third leader's sister!
Wei Shuwan just smiled sinisterly and stopped talking, letting her rich imagination run wild.
Wei Shuwan had quite an impression of Lu Yanwang, because after Li Qingchen became regent in his previous life, he promoted Lu Yanwang to be the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau. However, officials frequently submitted memorials to impeach him, saying that although he came from Yaowang Valley, he had harmed countless people and had even become an outlaw and served as the third leader of the Eighteen Linked Fortresses of Yandang Mountain.
This man was the only one among the bandits of Yandang Mountain whose name Wei Shuwan had ever heard of, so at this moment, he could only use his name to protect himself.
When she said it just now, she was really taking a gamble. After all, Wei Shuwan only knew that this King Lu had been an outlaw before, but she didn't know exactly when. What if he hadn't left Medicine King Valley yet? Wouldn't she have just borrowed his name for nothing? So she was only relieved when she heard the little bandit say "Third Boss". It seems that King Lu already has a lot of prestige in the stronghold.
Seeing Wei Shuwan's imposing demeanor, which didn't seem like he was lying, the little bandit scratched his head: "But how come I've never heard that the Third Master has a younger sister? Isn't the Third Master an orphan who doesn't even know who his parents are?"
"Ha~ Who are you? My brother has to tell you everything about our family's finances? Is he afraid that we, the family members who stay in the city, won't be implicated?"
With a series of rhetorical questions, Wei Shuwan first silenced the bandit, then fabricated a few more words to make her identity more believable: "Alright, let me tell you the truth. I am actually my brother's junior sister when he was studying medicine in Medicine King Valley! But once a junior sister, always a sister. My brother has already recognized my parents from the streets as his godparents, so we are the closest people to him in this world!"
Once this explanation was made, the bandit dared not say anything more and hurriedly said respectfully, "The Third Master has gone down the mountain on business and is not in the stronghold now. However, since you are the Third Master's junior sister, I will take you back to the stronghold to settle down."
"You're saying my brother isn't in the village?" Wei Shuwan thought to herself with delight, then feigned annoyance, "He left without even sending me a message, making me come all this way for nothing! Since my brother isn't here, I'll come back another day!"
After saying that, Wei Shuwan turned to leave.
The young bandit frowned, not quite understanding what was happening. Just when Wei Shuwan thought she could escape this time, she suddenly heard two drunken voices behind her:
"Little Wu, who are you talking to?!"
"Yeah, it sounds like a girl's voice..."
...
Wei Shuwan's heart skipped a beat, but she dared not stop, wanting to take advantage of the two men's drunken stupor and make a quick getaway. However, one of them was quite stubborn; seeing her run, he strode after her, reached out and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back sharply.
"Oh, it really is a girl!"
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