As Liu Hong's voice faded, four or five men brandishing sabers burst into the cabin, led by Liu Hong himself.
"What do you think you're doing?" Fang Xuanling demanded sternly at the sight.
"What am I doing? Naturally, I'm here to repay your kindness in saving my life! Don't you worry, after you're gone, I'll take very good care of this lovely young lady for you, hehehe!" Stripping away all pretense, Liu Hong stared at Yin Wenjiao with undisguised greed.
Pinned by Liu Hong's beast-like gaze, Yin Wenjiao felt thoroughly unsettled and timidly hid behind Fang Xuanling.
"It's all my fault for not listening to Brother Li. Brother Li, take Wenjiao and leave first—I'll hold them off." Fang Xuanling could not help feeling a pang of regret. If he had only listened to Li Ling and taken the land route, or if he hadn't rescued Liu Hong after Li Ling kicked him into the water, how could things have ever come to this? It was laughable that he had even helped bandage the scoundrel's wounds.
Catching Fang Xuanling's gaze, Li Ling gave a wry smile. He harbored no blame in his heart; this was all simply a tribulation, inescapable.
"Don't worry. They're just a handful of river bandits."
"You arrogant little punk! Don't worry, I won't let you die easily. I'm going to break all four of your limbs and torture you slowly to death, to avenge my severed hand!"
Hearing Liu Hong's cruel declaration, Fang Xuanling urged: "Brother Li, leave us be and run on ahead by yourself. We've only dragged you down."
"Hehehe! None of you are walking away from here today. Not even the Buddha himself could save you—I, Liu Hong, said so!" With that, Liu Hong lunged forward, followed closely by his band of thugs.
At that, Fang Xuanling shouted angrily, "Liu Hong, do you even know who we are? We are imperial officials of the court! Kill us, and you'll face the full manhunt of the empire."
Hearing this, Li Ling was rendered utterly speechless. This wasn't Liu Hong's first rodeo; once he murdered you out on the water and sank your corpse, not a single soul would ever be the wiser.
Sure enough, Liu Hong sneered, "Imperial officials? So what? You ain't the first ones I've rubbed out. Cut the chatter! Hand over the little lady behind you, and I might just leave you an intact corpse."
"In your dreams! A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated!" Clutching Yin Wenjiao's hand tightly, Fang Xuanling said, "Wenjiao, your husband has failed you. Today, it seems the two of us must face the netherworld together."
Tears streaming down her face, Yin Wenjiao replied, "Wenjiao isn't afraid. It's all my fault—if only we had listened to Elder Brother Li, we wouldn't have come to this."
A fresh wave of guilt shadowed Fang Xuanling's eyes. "Brother Li, it is Xuanling who has implicated you. If there is an afterlife, Xuanling will surely repay this debt."
*Splash! Splash!*
Pulling Yin Wenjiao along, Fang Xuanling hurried to the other side of the cabin and plunged straight into the water.
This turn of events left Li Ling dazed and entirely at a loss for words. *(They're river bandits, for goodness' sake! Do the two of you really think jumping in will save you?)*
"Hmph! Get down there and fish that little lady out. As for the other one, finish him off right in the water!" Liu Hong ordered two of his subordinates.
As the two henchmen prepared to dive in, Li Ling chuckled faintly. "Hold on! Why don't you all just go down together?"
Moving at a leisurely pace, Li Ling stepped toward Liu Hong and his men.
*Bang, bang, bang!*
With a series of swift kicks, Li Ling sent Liu Hong's thugs flying one by one. The cabin splintered apart as they crashed heavily into the water.
At this, Liu Hong turned pale with shock, beads of cold sweat rolling down his forehead. "You—you—just who on earth are you?"
"Go ask King Yama himself!"
Without giving him another chance, Li Ling delivered a kick that sent Liu Hong soaring across the surface of the water. Liu Hong skipped over the waves for dozens of meters, churning up a flurry of white spray in his wake.
Having fallen into the river, Fang Xuanling gripped Yin Wenjiao and swam with all his might in a single direction. When he heard the first splash behind them, a wave of grief struck his heart. "Brother Li, if Xuanling manages to survive this, I will surely avenge you!"
Right after that, however, a rapid succession of splashes echoed behind them. Startled, Fang Xuanling swam even harder, assuming the river bandits were coming after them both.
After swimming a bit further, a familiar voice drifted into his ears. "Xuanling, my apologies for interrupting your swim, but it's chilly at night—mind you don't catch a cold."
Startled, Fang Xuanling looked back in disbelief. The small boat, now completely stripped of its cabin, was gliding smoothly toward them.
"Brother Li?" Fang Xuanling asked tentatively.
Li Ling chuckled softly. "Why don't you and your wife get back on board first? What made you feel like going for a midnight swim for no reason?"
Once Fang Xuanling and Yin Wenjiao climbed back onto the vessel and took in the wrecked cabin and the completely vanished bandits, they were utterly dumbfounded.
"Brother Li actually knows martial arts?"
"I know a thing or two," Li Ling replied nonchalantly.
Without prying further, Fang Xuanling changed the subject. "Thank you for saving us today, Brother Li. If only I had listened to your advice earlier, none of this would have happened." With that, he let out a heavy sigh.
Li Ling didn't answer, his gaze locked firmly on the sky above.
Hovering overhead, two shadowy figures were equally astonished by how things had turned out.
"Golden-Headed Guardian, this isn't quite what the Bodhisattva described. What should we do now?"
The guardian known as Golden-Headed pondered for a moment. "Since it's your shift and mine today, we can't afford any slip-ups. Go check on Liu Hong; if he's still breathing, save him. I'll disguise myself as a remnant of the river bandits and finish off that top imperial scholar and the young man."
"Golden-Headed, is that really a good idea? Shouldn't we report back to the Bodhisattva first before making a decision?"
"There's no need. As long as we follow our prior instructions, everything will be fine."
On the boat, Li Ling finally withdrew his gaze from the sky and said to Fang Xuanling, "Xuanling, we shall part ways here. If we are destined to meet again, remember that Chang'an is where you belong to build your legacy."
Without waiting for a reply, Li Ling tapped his toes lightly against the water's surface and vanished into the darkness.
Staring at the spot where Li Ling had disappeared, Fang Xuanling stood in a trance for a long while. "Husband, could Elder Brother Li still be angry with us?"
Hearing Yin Wenjiao's words, Fang Xuanling sighed. "Wife, do not worry. Brother Li is not that kind of person; he must have left because of pressing matters. Whatever kindness he has shown us today, Xuanling will surely repay once I achieve success."
Just at that moment, a ferocious-looking river bandit suddenly leaped onto the deck. "Aha! You're the ones who killed my boss, and I'm here to avenge him!"
Seemingly anxious not to harm Yin Wenjiao, the bandit shoved her aside first before slashing his heavy saber directly toward Fang Xuanling's head.
"Husband!" Yin Wenjiao cried out, tears streaming down her face as she watched helplessly.
Yet, just three inches from Fang Xuanling's forehead, the heavy saber stopped dead in its tracks. The bandit was suddenly struck by an invisible, overwhelming force. A mouthful of blood spewed from his lips, and his vital energy withered away instantly.
"The fortune of the Human Race?"
Standing on the distant shore, Li Ling gave a light chuckle at the sight, then turned and vanished swiftly into the night without a backward glance.
As for Liu Hong, he was dead as a doornail; even if someone from the Western Paradise managed to fish his soul out of the Underworld, that physical body was beyond saving.
After the wounded bandit retreated in panic, Yin Wenjiao rushed forward to embrace Fang Xuanling, sobbing, "Husband, that nearly frightened your concubine to death! What just happened to that man? Why did he suddenly get hurt and run away?"
Pondering the situation, Fang Xuanling offered a wry smile. "I'm afraid I won't ever be able to repay Brother Li's kindness in this lifetime."
The subordinate sent to check on Liu Hong returned shortly, looking horrified at the sight of his battered companion. "Golden-Headed, what happened? Who did this to you?"
"Second Brother, that kid is protected by the fortune of the Human Race; I couldn't kill him."
"What? That shouldn't be possible! Even if he's the top imperial scholar, that little scrap of fortune shouldn't be enough to do this to you, Golden-Headed."
"Cough, cough... Something unexpected happened here. Let's head back first and report to the Bodhisattva."