Chapter 23: Not Far Gone
“Healing Xiao Huan’s father’s injuries won you the goodwill of the villagers of Su Shui Village, increasing your reputation by 10.”
With a dose of golden medicine, Xiao Huan’s father’s injuries improved significantly. Unfortunately, it was useless—his father remained vacant-eyed. It was clear that as a man, he couldn’t even protect his own woman, and such a heavy blow was beyond his bearing, even leading him to consider death.
Sighing inwardly, Kai Xin looked around at the villagers and bowed to ask about the details of the Black Wind Gang’s raid on the village and when the gang members left.
Village chief Mao Gong promptly introduced Kai Xin’s identity.
When the villagers learned that Kai Xin was from the prestigious Murong family in Gusu City, they became extremely excited. Even Xiao Huan’s father, lying in bed, sat up, pressing his hand against his wound, his eyes once again filled with hope:
“Young master!”
“Please, go and save Xiuzhi now! I, Gan Da Niu, am willing to serve you wholeheartedly for life to repay you!”
“Big brother, please save my mother!”
Seeing Xiao Huan and her father kneel down suddenly, Village Chief Mao Gong also showed signs of kneeling. Kai Xin was startled and quickly helped the old man up, pulling Xiao Huan and her father to their feet as well.
At that moment, a villager interjected:
“Da Niu, don’t dawdle! Those villains from the Black Wind Gang aren’t far gone. Hurry and take the young master with you—they might still be able to save Xiuzhi.”
“Not far gone?”
Kai Xin’s eyes lit up, his spirits lifted.
The task assigned wasn’t too absurd after all. If he really had to storm into the Black Wind Gang to rescue people, in his current state, even ten lives wouldn’t be enough to make amends. But if it was just a small group of gang members, there was still a good chance!
“Let’s go!”
Without hesitation, he pulled Gan Da Niu out of the village, followed by two volunteer young men who rushed after them with hoes and sticks. They too couldn’t stand by while their fellow villagers were harmed and decided to join in the rescue.
Kai Xin’s confidence soared.
Along the way, the three of them described in detail the Black Wind Gang members, instantly cooling Kai Xin’s enthusiastic heart…
“Task: Rescue Xiuzhi!”
“Success conditions: Rescue Xiuzhi and prevent her from dying; protect villagers Gan Da Niu, Zhu Zi, and Tie Dan; kill ten bandits from the Black Wind Gang; and defeat the top expert and the third leader of the gang!”
“…”
Although it was just a small group of bandits, going in alone, Kai Xin doubted he’d even survive to keep a single bone intact.
Although the pillar and Tie Dan seemed quite brave, they were after all peasants and of little use. Gan Dan Niu was also injured, and once the two sides clashed, it would be difficult for them to escape easily. Unless all the villains from Hei Feng Zhai were killed, casualties would be inevitable.
It seems…
Being a hero really can’t be done just with enthusiasm.
Kai Xin began to think rapidly. He had originally come here to practice his Nine Palaces Bagua Sword on the lone bandits from Hei Feng Zhai in order to earn some silver to buy willow leaf daggers. Unexpectedly, he stumbled upon such a situation. Fortunately, he had some healing potions and two full sets of willow leaf daggers in his Qian Kun Bag; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had a chance against those villains led by experts.
Especially the third leader of Hei Feng Zhai, whose skills might even surpass those of the tomb-raider number three!
It seems that in this life, he would have to deal with these third-ranked guys.
“I can only act as the situation demands.”
After thinking for a long time, Kai Xin couldn’t come up with any good way for a newcomer to deal with an expert. He could only take it one step at a time and chase after Hei Feng Zhai’s group first.
…
“Hurry up!”
“What are you dawdling for? You little bitch! Wait till we get back to the stronghold—I’ll show you what I’ll do to your delicate skin… That big fool is really lucky to have such a beautiful woman.”
“Tch!”
On the winding mountain path, ten men in black were pushing a carriage loaded with several large boxes, while also shoving around several women with tied hands. Inside the carriage, a fairly attractive woman glared with hatred and spat fiercely at one of them.
“Interesting!”
The man in the brocade robe following behind smiled instead of getting angry. He casually wiped the spit from his face, his eyes gleaming with malice as he stared at the embroiderer, his wickedness growing stronger: “Heh heh, I heard your name is Embroiderer. I’ve been eyeing you for a long time. This time… without saying anything else, once we get back to the stronghold, you’ll be my wife. I’ll make sure your family lives in comfort.”
“Delusional!”
The embroiderer, with a fierce temperament, cursed in shame: “The authorities will surely come up the mountain and wipe you out! You bunch of shameless scumbags!”
As she spoke, she was pushed again by the man in the brocade robe, forcing her to move unwillingly…
“Is that Embroiderer?”
Behind some bushes not far away, four people were hiding—Kai Xin, who had chased after Hei Feng Zhai’s group, and Gan Dan Niu, who looked furious.
“Mm!”
Gan Dan Niu nodded firmly before growling through gritted teeth, “These blood-sucking bastards… Young hero Kai Xin, let’s go up and fight them now!”
“Do you still want to save your wife?”
Kai Xin glared at him fiercely. “If you want your wife to live, do as I say.”
Only then did Gan Daniu snap out of his daze and quickly nod, saying he was willing to do anything as long as the embroiderer could be rescued from those beasts. Zhu Zi and Tie Dan also expressed their willingness to follow orders.
Only then was Kai Xin relieved! The situation wasn’t too bad…
Besides holding a few women captive, Hei Feng Zhai also had a pile of valuables. They wouldn’t enter Hei Feng Zhai’s territory for a while, so he should have a chance to rescue them.
But first, he had to ensure the safety of these ordinary villagers and women.
With a thought, Kai Xin whispered a few instructions to the three men.
The three were initially stunned, but under Kai Xin’s determined gaze, they quickly disappeared into the dense forest.
Kai Xin then took out a set of willow leaf daggers from his Qian Kun bag, hid them at his waist, grasped his Gentleman Sword, and silently moved to cover the rear!
…
Sssh!
After plundering the valuables and women from Su He Village, the bandits of Hei Feng Zhai seemed especially excited. They kept pointing at the women ahead, satisfying their lustful desires, and bursting into lewd laughter. Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from nearby, piercing through one of the bandits’ necks in an instant. Only then did they realize there was an enemy nearby.
“Who!”
The man in the brocade robe with the ugly face was the third leader of Hei Feng Zhai. Seeing one of his brothers attacked right before his eyes, clutching his bleeding neck and collapsing, he roared angrily, grabbed a shiny axe, and rushed toward the direction from where the throwing weapon came from.
“Leave two brothers here to watch over these women. The rest, follow me!”
At the third leader’s command, the other bandits also drew their weapons in anger and leaped into the bushes high by the road…
“Over there!”
“Chase them!”
Just as they hid behind the bushes, they heard the sound of rapid footsteps fading into the distance. Without hesitation, they prepared to chase after them and attack, but the third leader frowned and stopped them with a wave of his hand: “Be careful! It might be a trick to lure us away!”
Kai Xin, hidden in the shadows, froze—so NPCs aren’t easy to deceive?
“Leader! We can’t let those four legs die for nothing!”
But the other bandits weren’t willing to give up.
Although the third leader was cautious, losing a brother wasn’t something he could easily accept. His eyes flashed with fury, and after hesitating several times, he finally ordered in a deep voice, “Go chase them!”
After saying that, he turned back to the convoy guarding the embroiderer and the others.