"Big Brother, Number Five just went over to check. There's not a sound, he must be sleeping like a log! When are we making our move?"
Three heads poked out as they observed the two large courtyards not far away. The leader brushed away the snow in front of him, a flash of vigilance on his face. "Are you sure it's safe here?"
The man who had spoken just moments before quickly replied, "Don't you worry, Big Brother. One of the boys checked it out yesterday—there's only an old woman living here. The place next door has plenty of people, but they're all old, weak, sick, or disabled. We're not robbing them anyway, so they won't stick their noses into our business!"
"Exactly, Big Brother! Even if they hear the commotion and come to help, that family is full of old folks and crones—how could they possibly fight all our brothers?" Another head edged in from the leader's right side, bearing a lewd grin. He wiped away imaginary drool from the corner of his mouth, his face full of covetous desire. "Number Five said there's a drop-dead gorgeous young lady next door, an absolute beauty! Big Brother, shouldn't we stop by and..."
Before the man could finish, the leader shot him a fierce, piercing glare. "Number Three, what time is it, and you're still thinking about women? That murderous bastard Zhang Zhiyi chased us around like stray dogs, and now that we've finally found a place to catch our breath and grab a hot meal, you're doing well just to survive! You want to blow this wide open and bring Zhang Zhiyi down on us again?"
The very name Zhang Zhiyi acted like a demon in their hearts, instantly extinguishing any wicked urges that had just flared up among them.
"Big Brother is right. We need to keep a low profile right now. No making a big racket, or if we really draw that god of plague here, not one of us will make it out alive! Let alone talk about women!"
"Second Brother speaks the truth!" Number Three, who had just been lusting after Nanggong Xiyun's beauty, dropped the thought, a trace of regret showing on his face.
Seeing that dawn was approaching, the leader waved his hand to the men behind him, signaling for action.
At the command, ten heads suddenly popped up from the white snow. They were all remnants who had slipped through the net of Zhang Zhiyi's bandit suppression campaign. Having spent the entire night freezing and starving in the snow, they could no longer contain themselves. The moment they saw the signal, they bolted forward instantly.
Their messy footsteps crunched softly in the snow, exceptionally loud in the quiet countryside.
Hearing the noise, Nan Qi was standing on the rooftop in an instant. Watching the group of ten armed men rapidly approaching their side, a glint of cold light flashed through his pretty peach-blossom eyes. Just as he was about to leap down to deal with the intruders, he realized they weren't heading for their courtyard after all.
Watching the group scale the wall of the adjacent courtyard and fumble their way toward the inner compound, hesitation flickered across his face. In the end, he jumped back down into the courtyard.
"Master, a few bandits got into the courtyard next door. Should we go help?"
Baili Moqing was sitting by the window reading a book at that moment. His indifferent expression softened slightly in the flickering light, half of his handsome face draped in shadow, adding an air of mystery to him.
Seeing that he remained silent, Nan Qi continued, "The people next door were brought by Zhang Zhiyi's sister. If we help her, wouldn't that count as doing Zhang Zhiyi a favor?"
Silence still reigned on this side, but next door, Shu He had already heard the commotion.
The messy footsteps were gratingly harsh in the empty courtyard. She put down the medicine pot in her hand, blew out the lamp, and quietly melted into the darkness.
"Big Brother, this courtyard is plenty big! It'll be more than enough for our brothers to lie low for a while!"
"Right, keep the noise down in a bit! Don't alarm the people next door! We can't afford to expose who we are, or none of us survives!"
"Go find that old woman and tie her up! If she dares make a peep, kill her on the spot!"
Hearing the matter-of-fact yet vicious orders from outside the door, frost gathered on Shu He's face.
The pack of bandits split up to search, entering the side rooms on both sides. Three of them were just heading toward the master bedroom when they noticed a slender woman walking right up to them.
"Are you looking for me?" Her calm inquiry rang out, sounding almost like she was asking a neighbor, "Have you eaten yet?"
The three men froze. Clearly, they hadn't expected this woman to be so calm and composed upon running into a group of armed thugs!
"She's not an old crone!" Number Three, the lecherous one, took a good look at Shu He's face, a hint of surprise crossing his features. "Well, what do you know, a pretty little thing! Even if she's not as good as the one next door, she's better than nothing! Lads, go easy on her for now—take her alive!"
At the sound, the rest of the gang swarmed out from the side rooms. Looking at the thin, frail woman, they all dropped their guard and eyed her with malicious intent.
"Little beauty, don't you worry. As long as you serve our Third Brother well, your little life is guaranteed!"
"Little beauty, you got any food? Hurry up and whip something up to fill these gentlemen's bellies!"
Voices called out one after another, dripping with mockery. The lecherous man known as Third Brother waved his long saber and snapped, "Shoo, shoo, shoo—go find whatever you want to eat yourselves! Third Brother's gonna have some fun first! I've been holding back for days!"
"Hahaha! So Third Brother just couldn't hold it anymore!"
"Third Brother, this little beauty doesn't even have an ounce of meat on her bones. How can you even bring yourself to touch her?"
"Third Brother, shouldn't you check with Big Brother first? What if Big Brother's holding back too?"
"Hahaha..."
...
The crude and vile remarks echoed through the courtyard, eventually drawing the leader over from the front yard. He had been about to curse these young punks for having no sense of proportion—did they want to wake the whole neighborhood with all that yelling? But before he knew it, he and Second Brother had just stepped into the back courtyard when they saw a woman whip out a dagger and violently plunge it into Third Brother's neck!
"Watch out—"
Before he could finish, the dagger went in and out. Blood sprayed, staining the pillar in front of the courtyard red.
The rest of the bandits were stunned by the sight. The woman who had looked so delicate and fragile just moments ago, smiling all the while, now had a face covered in frost. Her fierce, ruthless gaze was like a volley of icy-cold arrows, mercilessly piercing their hearts.
Only then did they realize something was terribly wrong.
Right—if she were truly a frail woman, how could she possibly have remained so calm and composed upon seeing a group of armed thugs break into her home?
This, this was clearly a ruthless expert!!
Before they could fully process it, that lean figure had already closed in on the other men. Hands raised and blades falling, every single strike accurately pierced straight into their necks.
Furious and enraged, the leader shouted to the rest, "What are you standing around for? All together now!"
Snapping out of their daze, the men immediately brandished their long sabers and charged at the woman.
Bandits who had managed to escape Zhang Zhiyi's clutches all possessed genuine skills. They had immense strength, disciplined movements, and it was obvious they were veterans of the killing fields!
Shu He sidestepped a blade, the biting wind of the steel grazing past her eyes with a trace of icy chill.
With a strike from her left hand, she hit the bandit's pressure point with pinpoint accuracy. The man felt his entire arm go numb, losing all control of his weapon as it instantly slipped from his grip.
The very next second, a dagger flashed right before his eyes, slicing across his throat.
A trace of icy coldness coursed through his nerves, followed immediately by the sensation of suffocation. Warm liquid gushed from his neck, soaking his clothes. Until his body collapsed uncontrollably to the ground, his eyes remained filled with sheer disbelief.
He had lived as an outlaw for half his life, killing countless people, and had even survived Zhang Zhiyi's purges! And now, he was going to die at the hands of a woman?!
He refused to accept this!
"Number Five!"
Seeing Number Five killed by the woman, the leader's eyes turned bloodshot as he viciously kicked out at her.
To his surprise, however, the woman seemed to have eyes in the back of her head, easily dodging his attack.
He swung his heavy saber to hack at her again, only to watch her execute a nimble turn and duck behind Gouwa, taking advantage of the boy's distraction to drive a dagger straight into his stomach!
A chill gripped the leader's heart. This woman's killing methods were clean and ruthless—she was clearly more professional than actual bandits! What kind of target had Number Three dragged them into?!
Were they sent here just to throw their lives away?!
Taking advantage of the other bandits swarming to attack Shu He, the leader propped himself up with his heavy saber, using the rebound of the shaft to boost his speed as he lunged a kick toward Shu He. Yet right before he closed in, she dodged away again! And another bandit charging at her took the full force of his kick instead.
*Crash!*
The sound of a wooden door being smashed open. The bandit kicked flying by his own boss sprawled on the ground, dazed with pain for a moment. But right then, through the dim, pre-dawn light, he caught sight of a small child still lying on the bed.