Chapter 0117: We Should Be Like Peng E’niang! Fearing Neither Bandits Nor Death!
“Oh dear! What’s happening!”
Seeing the sharp arrow, the middle-aged man was so frightened he collapsed to the ground, shouting toward his servant, “Help! Help! They’re going to kill us!”
The servant quickly drew the long sword from his waist, trembling as he stood in front of the middle-aged man. “M-master, where did that arrow come from?! Could we have been targeted by mountain bandits?”
“What? Mountain bandits? There are actually bandits here?” The middle-aged man hid behind his servant, panickedly looking around. Suddenly, several masked burly men draped in animal skins slid down from the surrounding mountains, laughing and approaching them.
“Look at these two cowards!” A particularly robust bandit deliberately swung his sword fiercely at the middle-aged man, scaring him to his knees immediately. The man kept bowing with clasped hands, “Bandit lord, bandit lord, please don’t kill me! Take whatever you want, just spare my life!”
“Heh, you know what’s good for you!” The bandit leader pressed him to the ground, searched him, and pulled out five Gold Cakes. Delighted, he exclaimed, “Well now, a fat catch! You, what’s your name? Didn’t you say you used to work as a craftsman?”
“Yes, yes, this humble one is called Hu Lai, I did indeed work as a craftsman before…”
“Perfect, this makes you valuable.” The bandit leader’s eyes gleamed sharply as he waved his hand. “Someone! Tie him up and take him to the mountain!”
Then he looked at the servant, “This one, just kill him and throw him by the roadside!”
“Spare me!” The servant quickly shook his head, desperately pleading, “Bandit lord, don’t kill me! I’m willing to join you on the mountain as a bandit! Just don’t kill me, and don’t kill our master and mistress!”
“Second Leader, perhaps we shouldn’t kill this one?” Another bandit approached, whispering to the bandit leader. “That Xie fellow has killed many of our brothers before, and we’re short on men. Besides, the First Leader values him. If we want to kill that Xie, we need our own people!”
Hu Lai and Wuji exchanged a subtle glance: Someone named Xie?
The Second Leader stroked his chin, “You make a good point.”
Seeing that the servant seemed loyal, tall in stature, and likely knew some martial arts since he carried a sword—though somewhat cowardly—the Second Leader wasn’t picky. He waved his hand and ordered, “Tie both these men up. You, go check the woman in the carriage. If she’s decent-looking, bring her back too to warm the beds for our brothers in the stronghold!”
“Yes!” The designated bandit acknowledged the order and quickly climbed onto the carriage to lift the curtain. The next moment, he stood frozen in place.
Inside the carriage sat a young woman wrapped in a white dress and red fur coat. Even through her veil, one could glimpse her peerlessly beautiful features beneath. The corners of her phoenix eyes were lightly touched with vermilion, radiating boundless charm and allure. When her gaze turned toward the sound, it seemed capable of captivating one’s very soul.
Yet her exquisite face was somewhat pale, carrying a touch of Daiyu-like world-weariness. Probably in poor health, her light coughs were as soft and delicate as a kitten’s sneezes, enough to tickle one’s heart, liver, and lungs.
The bandit stood dumbfounded for quite a while before stammering to the Second Leader, “S-second Leader! A c-celestial maiden has descended to earth!”
“What do you mean ‘appetizing’? Her looks are appetizing?” Er Dangjia didn’t catch it clearly. He strode over with his blade, kicked aside the bandit blocking his way, and peered through the carriage curtain—then froze instantly.
So… so beautiful!
A celestial maiden descended to the mortal realm!
“Is this your wife?” Rubbing his eyes hard, Er Dangjia glanced at Hu Lai’s age and appearance, then back at the woman in the carriage, utterly incredulous.
It would make more sense if this woman were the servant’s wife!
Seemingly noticing Er Dangjia’s implication, Hu Lai straightened his chest indignantly and declared firmly, “Second Leader! Don’t be fooled by her beauty—she’s a money-pit invalid! If I hadn’t married into her family as a live-in son-in-law to perform the ‘joyous ceremony’ to ward off her illness, expanded her father’s business, and fed her ginseng daily, she might not have survived this long!”
“And she’s terribly hard to please! You mustn’t take her up the mountain!” Hu Lai kindly reminded him. “She only uses the finest goods for food, clothing, and everything else. If things don’t go her way, she’ll threaten suicide! If not for my kindness, she’d have starved on the streets long ago!”
“Hey! You—marrying into her family, seizing their assets, and then wanting to let her starve on the streets!” a bandit couldn’t help but protest. “What kind of man are you?”
“What do you know!” Hu Lai spat. “If you really take her up the mountain, you’ll see! Don’t blame me later for not warning you!”
The bandits exchanged glances, then burst into roaring laughter.
“Brother, are you just afraid we’ll take your wife as our fortress queen, so you’re making this up?”
“A woman—what storm can she stir? We’re bandits!”
“Take her back, take her back! I’d like to see what she can do to me in bed, hehe!”
Er Dangjia pulled out a piece of cloth and moved toward the “woman” in the carriage. “Wife, I’ll cherish you from now on. Be good, let’s gag your mouth first.”
“No, it’s filthy.”
The beautiful woman slightly furrowed her brows—even frowning, she was stunningly gorgeous, making one wish to cradle and pamper her.
“Her” crimson lips parted beneath the veil, alluring yet uttering cold, disdainful words, like a soft sword appearing gentle but razor-sharp. “What grade of rags do you have, worthy of touching my lips?”
Er Dangjia was taken aback. “What?”
The beautiful woman lifted her head proudly, coughed a few times, and commanded arrogantly, “My husband knows where the finest cloth is among the goods. Have him fetch it. Only the softest, most expensive fabric in the world is fit to gag my lips.”
Er Dangjia: …
Er Dangjia suddenly snorted with laughter. “Little lady, have you not grasped your situation? We’re bandits! Ruthless killers!”
The beautiful woman seemed to scorn his roughness. She elegantly brushed aside the stray hairs by her ear with her slender jade-like fingers and sneered, “So what if you’re bandits? Even if the Emperor of Heaven himself came, he’d have to do as I say!”
Hu Lai wriggled over like a standing maggot and urged, “Second Leader, she’s right. You’d better follow her orders, or she might bash her head against the carriage! I almost failed to stop her several times before!”
“Really?” Er Dangjia was deeply skeptical.
“Hmph! In life be a heroine, in death a heroic spirit. To this day we recall Peng E, who became immortal in the mountain cave!” Having said this, the beautiful woman rose with an air of martyrdom, prepared to dash her head against the carriage wall!
This so startled Er Dangjia that he hastily reached out to stop her, preventing the carriage from being stained with her blood. He turned to Hu Lai in confusion and asked, “What Peng E? Who is Peng E?”
Hu Lai didn’t know either, so he fabricated a story: “She was a chaste heroine from Jiangzhou. When bandits killed her parents, Peng E took up a blade to confront them. But how could a frail woman defeat seasoned bandits? Pursued into the mountains, she resolved to preserve her virtue by dashing herself against the cliffs. Unexpectedly, the mountain split open before her!”
Growing more animated with his tale, Hu Lai continued, “Peng E slipped into the crevice, and the bandits followed. Suddenly, the mountain sealed shut, crushing every last bandit into pulp! Later, travelers claimed to see Peng E in those mountains – now a mountain deity protecting all women dwelling there!”
“Exactly!” The beautiful woman coughed weakly, her pallid face shining with pride. “We should all emulate Lady Peng E! Fearing neither bandits nor death!”
Er Dangjia: …
The bandits: …