“As expected, it’s you. All of you, attack! Kill him and avenge my brothers!”
Zhang Guang’s eyes were bloodshot as he waved his arm and roared.
The two men beside him lunged forward at once.
Li Chen’s gaze turned icy. With a sudden flick of his right hand, the self-made short blade shot out like a streak of light. With a dull thud, it struck the man on the right square in the left side of his chest, nearly burying itself to the hilt and piercing straight through his heart.
The man on the left had just pounced, but the instant his eyes met Li Chen’s, a sudden chill surged through his body. For a brief moment, he found himself unable to move.
Li Chen was astonishingly fast. He had already darted forward. His knee slammed viciously into the man’s groin, and the point of his right elbow smashed into the man’s right temple.
There was a faint cracking sound. The man’s skull shattered. The brutal force of the blow shook his eyeballs out of their sockets, leaving them hanging grotesquely outside.
Neither of the two men even managed to cry out before collapsing to the ground, dead.
With a swift flick of his foot, Li Chen kicked up the dagger that had fallen from one of them, caught it in his hand, and charged at Zhang Guang.
Zhang Guang had never imagined that Li Chen possessed such terrifying skill, killing his two brothers in an instant.
Seeing Li Chen pounce like a ferocious tiger, Zhang Guang panicked and stumbled backward. He tripped and fell flat on his back.
Li Chen was already upon him. He lifted his foot and stomped down hard on Zhang Guang’s chest.
The force of that foot was overwhelming. Pressed beneath it, Zhang Guang could not move at all.
“Brother, brother, it’s a misunderstanding, all of it is a misunderstanding! We can talk this out. Don’t kill me. I’ll pay for my life!”
Zhang Guang wailed in terror.
“Too late.”
Li Chen stared at him coldly and raised the dagger.
“Li Chen, if you dare kill me, the Black Wind Stronghold will avenge me! When that time comes, you’ll wish you were dead!”
Zhang Guang struggled desperately and shouted hoarsely.
“Die.”
Li Chen’s eyes were merciless. The dagger in his hand did not pause for even a heartbeat. It drove straight into Zhang Guang’s heart, killing him with a single strike.
Afterward, Li Chen took everything of value from the three men and dragged their bodies into the house, covering them with a straw mat.
When he finished, he frowned at a portrait he held in his hand.
He had found it on Zhang Guang.
It depicted a young woman in her prime, remarkably beautiful, yet he did not recognize her.
Could it be that Zhang Guang, the slick-tongued scout from the Black Wind Stronghold, had come into the city to scout for a kidnapping target and was not deliberately following him?
Li Chen pondered silently.
He glanced at the three bodies inside the house beneath the straw mat and narrowed his eyes. Black Wind Stronghold… it seemed he would have to prepare in advance.
Whether he killed him or not, the Black Wind Stronghold would eventually be alerted and come seeking revenge. Since that was inevitable, there was no point hesitating.
Moreover, by killing him early, before the Black Wind Stronghold realized what had happened, he could use the time difference to make preparations.
The dead bandits were men without official registration. Even if the authorities discovered them, without anyone reporting the case and with no way to verify their identities, they would simply be treated as vagrants who had died violently and buried hastily.
So he was not worried about the authorities tracing the matter back to him.
From the three bandits, he had also found 700 coins, a modest gain.
There were also several daggers polished to a bright sheen, which Li Chen kept as well.
Not long after, Li Chen returned to the tea stall. He now carried two bags, one large and one small.
In the large cloth sack were finely crafted arrowheads and bowstrings he had purchased from a passing arrow-maker’s shop, along with a damaged infantry bow.
After sitting down, Li Chen handed the smaller oil-paper bag to Yu Qingwan.
“My lord, what is this?” Yu Qingwan quickly took it and asked curiously.
“Open it and see.”
Li Chen smiled.
Yu Qingwan opened the oil-paper bag and let out a soft cry of surprise.
Inside was a pink jacket and a pair of lake-blue trousers. Though made of coarse linen, the design was new and very pretty.
“My lord, this must be very expensive, right?” Yu Qingwan asked, both delighted and timid.
“Not expensive. Just 300 coins.”
Li Chen shook his head and placed the remaining 200 coins back into the small bamboo basket. If he had not found 700 coins on Zhang Guang and the others, he would not have had enough to buy everything earlier.
“300 coins?” Yu Qingwan covered her mouth.
Her lord had spent 300 coins to buy her clothes?
300 coins were enough to support a family of three for an entire month.
“When we have more money in the future, I’ll buy silk.”
Li Chen said calmly.
Those simple words made Yu Qingwan’s eyes redden.
“Let’s go home.”
Li Chen stood up, tossed a few copper coins onto the table, and pushed the wheelbarrow once more.
The young wife quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and followed obediently, clutching the clothes tightly to her chest like a little girl hugging her most treasured doll.
On the way back, Li Chen occasionally noticed her secretly opening the oil-paper bag to peek at the clothes, the corners of her lips lifting in a shy, happy smile.
As they passed the areas where refugees gathered on their way back to Pingyang County City, Yu Qingwan grew tense again. She tugged at Li Chen’s sleeve, lowered her head, and did not dare look around, fear gripping her heart.
Fortunately, the patrolling soldiers were still nearby and had just distributed porridge to the refugees, so nothing happened.
After turning the corner ahead and walking more than 500 meters further, Yu Qingwan finally let out a long breath and relaxed.
When they reached home, Li Chen unloaded everything and put the wheelbarrow away. Sitting down on a stool, he felt genuinely tired.
“My lord, sit. I’ll pour you some water.”
Yu Qingwan set down the small bamboo basket and was about to hurry off.
“No rush. Change into the clothes and let me see.”
Li Chen waved his hand.
“Ah? My lord, I still have chores to do. Those are new clothes…” Yu Qingwan said softly.
“Change now.”
Li Chen handed her the clothes and spoke with firm authority.
The young wife quickly took them and ran into the inner room.
After a while, she stepped out shyly, her eyes tinged with nervousness. “My lord, I’ve changed.”
Li Chen looked up.
Under the warm midday sun, the radiant young girl before him seemed like a flower in full bloom, her petal-like face glowing with brilliant light.
So beautiful.
“My lord…” Yu Qingwan lowered her head bashfully under his gaze and called softly, though a trace of secret delight flickered in her eyes.
Li Chen snapped back to his senses and nodded. “Beautiful.”
At his praise, Yu Qingwan blushed and lowered her head, her heart feeling as sweet as if it had been filled with honey.
“My lord, please rest well. I’ll go dig some wild scallions and garlic for seasoning and come back to cook.”
Seeing that Li Chen’s clothes were soaked through with sweat, she hurried to fetch a nearly falling-apart palm-leaf fan and began fanning him.
“Go on. Don’t go too far. Be careful. I’ll head up the mountain later to chop some firewood.”
Li Chen nodded.
“I won’t go far. Just to the small hillside where everyone digs wild vegetables. There are many women from the village there as well.”
Yu Qingwan responded, slinging the large bamboo basket over her arm before heading out.
As she reached the courtyard gate, Li Chen happened to notice that she paused to straighten her new clothes carefully before stepping out with light, cheerful steps.