In the cold winter, snowflakes drifted down as a fierce horse galloped along the mountain road, swift as ink dissolving in water, the wind whipping the snow like blades. At such speed, falling off the horse would mean a trip to the underworld, but the rider showed no fear.
The rider lifted his head, snowflakes pattering against his young and handsome face. He squinted his eyes to shield them from the wind and snow, his black hair fluttering wildly in the wind, a strand curling around a gold hoop on his left ear, reflecting a dazzling light.
The bandits following behind were all on edge, but the rider focused solely on the black dot racing ahead. It was a pack of wild wolves.
“Boss! Slow down!” someone shouted from behind, but they couldn’t catch up with the man and his horse racing ahead.
“Damn it! Zang Liujiang is risking his life!” someone cursed breathlessly, urging their horse on.
“Dahei!” Zang Liujiang patted the black horse beneath him, and it sped up even more, quickly closing in on the wolf pack.
Then, Zang Liujiang stepped on the saddle, leaping into the air like an arrow, soaring over the wolf pack. The snow on the ground was kicked up, exploding into a cloud of snow mist in front of the wolves.
Zang Liujiang landed, touched the sword at his waist, and grinned fiercely at the wolves.
“Run!”
In this harsh winter, only a man as wild and fearless as Zang Liujiang would dare such a thing.
Zang Liujiang was the sixth adopted son of the old bandit Zang Yongqiang. He went up the mountain at eight, raised wild and fierce. It was a time of turmoil, the court unstable, and natural disasters struck. Zang Liujiang fled with his parents during that time.
When disaster struck, everyone fled. Zang Liujiang, just a few years old, was left in a village. The village wasn’t big, but they couldn’t watch a child starve. Zang Liujiang survived by begging for food and water, digging wild vegetables and tree roots on the mountain when he couldn’t find food, barely filling his stomach before sleeping in a broken temple.
Fate wasn’t done with Zang Liujiang. A grandmother who had lost her son took him in, giving him food and shelter, so he no longer wandered the village.
He had no name, so the grandmother called him Zhuzi, after her short-lived son. Zhuzi had died helping build a house, crushed by a pillar.
Zang Liujiang lived under the name Zhuzi, staying with the grandmother. After a few peaceful years, bandits raided the village. These bandits didn’t kill or kidnap women, only taking a bag of grain from each household, leaving a note promising to repay double next year.
Unfortunately, the grandmother didn’t live to see the bandits return the grain. Zang Liujiang had no money for a coffin and didn’t want to bury her carelessly. The mountain had many wild dogs, and without a proper burial, they’d dig up the grave.
He remembered the bandits, found a piece of paper under the bed mat, blackened and yellowed, with faint writing. He clutched it tightly, went up the mountain at night, and kowtowed three times to the bandit leader.
“I don’t want rice or money. I’ll give you my life. Just give my grandmother a coffin. I’ll work like a horse or ox, no regrets!”
The bandit leader, a burly man, laughed heartily at the skinny Zang Liujiang, leaping from his chair to lift him up.
“Good! A loyal and righteous boy. From today, you’re my son, Zang Yongqiang’s son!”
And so, Zang Liujiang got his name and five unrelated brothers. The bandit mountain had a blind old man who read palms, saying Zang Liujiang lacked water in his five elements, needing a watery name.
The bandits discussed for days, deciding on “Liu Shui” (Six Waters) since he lacked water. But after two days, Zang Yongqiang found it unheroic, insisting his son needed a grander name, changing it to “Liujiang” (Six Rivers).
Zang Liujiang liked it, better than his eldest brother’s name, Zang Dashu (Big Tree).
Years passed, and Zang Yongqiang, seeking a carefree life, left the mountain, passing the bandit leader position to the eldest brother. But he fell for a girl in the village, and her family refused to let her marry a bandit. So, he took money to open a shop, passing the leader position to the second brother.
The second brother, frail since childhood, couldn’t handle the rough bandits, passing the position to the third brother. The third brother, a sturdy man, had bad luck, stepping into a bear trap while hunting, crippling him. Knowing he couldn’t continue, he passed it to the fourth brother.
The fourth brother, superstitious, believed the leader position was cursed, refusing to take it. When he was about to pass it to the fifth brother, the fifth brother had already packed and fled to the capital for exams, leaving a note: “Don’t miss me!”
The ancestral bandit leader position couldn’t be abandoned. The brothers conspired, coaxing and pushing Zang Liujiang, trained in martial arts, into the leader position.
Later, Zang Liujiang helped the villagers, opened shops and rented fields, turning the bandit camp into a wealthy estate. The brothers had food, work, and didn’t need to commit crimes.
In winter, when wild beasts came down the mountain, Zang Liujiang would lead patrols like today. Truly a good bandit.
But today, Zang Liujiang did the first bad thing in his life—he accidentally saw someone changing clothes.
It wasn’t intentional. Recently, villagers reported wolves in the forest, causing fear despite no attacks. Zang Liujiang, neighborly, led patrols, already taking down several wolves.
He had to relieve himself, went into the forest, and turned to see a flash of white and an angry, handsome face. He fled into the woods, chased by curses: “Come back, and I’ll blind your dog eyes!”
When he emerged, the person was gone.
“Boss.” The cornered wolves scattered under the bandits’ attack, half dead, the rest fleeing into the dense forest. The bandits, pleased with their haul, brought the dead wolves to Zang Liujiang, finding him lost in thought, stroking Dahei.
“What’s wrong with the boss?”
“He went to relieve himself and came back like this.”
Zang Liujiang ignored them, recalling the person’s face and courage. A rough voice, bold too. Zang Liujiang thought.
A fair face, never seen on the mountain. Really good-looking, but would he see it again?
Heaven granted Zang Liujiang’s wish. The next day, on the mountain road, amidst a chaotic caravan, Zang Liujiang saw that clean, handsome person again.
He stared dumbfounded until the carriage curtain blocked his view.
“Bandits!”
Yu Huishui, retreating into the carriage, was frightened, and Xiao Tan behind him was even more scared, pale and tearful.
“How can there be bandits!” Fu Cong and Fu Ming, never seeing such a scene, had just come to chat in Yu Huishui’s carriage, and now bandits?
Yu Huishui remembered the bandit staring at him from the tall horse, his mind in turmoil. That man was the one who saw him changing in the forest. Could it be he held a grudge for being cursed and wouldn’t let them go?
As Yu Huishui pondered, a shout came from outside the carriage.
“Everyone in the carriage, get out!”
Oh no, these bandits seemed not just after money, but people too!
Yu Huishui knew he’d locked eyes with the bandit. He had to go out. He gestured to Fu Cong and Fu Ming, and before they could stop him, he bent down and got off the carriage.
Fu Cong and Fu Ming couldn’t stop him, so they followed him out. Fu Cong, careful, tightly closed the curtain, hiding Xiao Tan inside.
“That shout was impressive.” Lin Datou, who had shouted, got a glare from Zang Liujiang and quickly explained.
Zang Liujiang didn’t have time to scold him more before Yu Huishui emerged from the carriage.
His ears burning, Zang Liujiang dared not look at Yu Huishui, but he sensed the person glaring at him. Nervous, Zang Liujiang scratched his head, noticing two more men getting off the carriage.
“Why are there more?!”
Lin Datou, maintaining his bravado, pulled the reins, nose in the air, “No one else in the carriage?!”
“No more.” Yu Huishui, face cold, didn’t dare confront the bandits, perfunctorily cupped his hands, “These are my two brothers, no one else.”
The horse got a kick, and Lin Datou’s horse carried him aside, clearing a path for Zang Liujiang.
Growing up among rough men, Zang Liujiang had never dealt with such refined people. Lin Datou moved aside, and he didn’t dare speak first.
Yu Huishui, with delicate features, looked somewhat feminine, but his actions were bold, making it hard to tell if he was male or female.
But what did it matter? The more Zang Liujiang looked, the more he liked him, rubbing his hands, wanting a name first.
“You…”
“That day!” Yu Huishui, nervous, clenched his hands, speaking first, “I cursed you, I’ll take responsibility!”
“If you want to take someone, take me! Do as you please!”
Happiness came too quickly. Zang Liujiang, just wanting a name, suddenly had a commitment.
The bandits around gasped, whispering about the fair-faced person wanting to join them, perhaps seeking refuge?
Zang Liujiang, dumbfounded, looked at Yu Huishui, his mind racing.
Take responsibility? Who for whom?
Could this fair person be from a noble family, with rules about taking responsibility after a glance?
Zang Liujiang couldn’t grasp Yu Huishui’s meaning. Logically, he saw the person, so why was Yu Huishui talking about responsibility?
Could it be, this person was too shy, reversing the situation, subtly reminding him?
“What!” Yu Huishui, seeing Zang Liujiang not taking the bait, steeled himself, “Are you afraid?”
Mountain men couldn’t stand being called cowards. Determined to be a real man, Zang Liujiang turned to his bandit brothers.
“Why not, you take responsibility for me, I’ll take responsibility for you! Bring a horse! Take…”
He pointed at Yu Huishui, a bit embarrassed, coughing.
“Take him away for me!”
“Boss.” A bandit follower, uneasy, glanced at Yu Huishui, whispering, “Why take him, we’re not those kind of bandits…”
An old bandit, perceptive, pulled the follower aside, “What else!”
The old bandit winked, looking experienced, “He wants responsibility! Our boss is nineteen, it’s time… you hush!”
“Huh? What’s nineteen got to do with it, uncle, what do you mean… don’t push me.”
Fu Cong and Fu Ming panicked. Though their father had told them to prepare, they hadn’t expected bandits. Now, the servants, all brains, had fled or hid, none daring to speak.
Fu Cong, feeling the dagger at his waist, exchanged a look with Fu Ming, ready to fight to the death. Yu Huishui, quick, grabbed his arm, pulling them aside to whisper.
“Bandits take people for money. Let him take me, better than you. Once I’m free, I’ll find you in the capital.”
Hearing this, Fu Cong, as the eldest, couldn’t agree. He grabbed Yu Huishui’s wrist, eyes heavy, shaking his head.
“Leaving you, what kind of people are we, pushing you into the fire?”
Fu Ming, gritting his teeth, was also unwilling.
Yu Huishui’s smooth forehead was damp with sweat. He glanced anxiously at the bandits, secretly holding Fu Cong and Fu Ming’s hands, eyes earnest, “Big brother, second brother, trust me!”
Yu Huishui rarely called them so warmly. After a long silence, Fu Cong firmly patted Yu Huishui’s shoulder:
“We’ll report to the authorities once out of the mountains. You’re smart, don’t anger them. Don’t worry, big brother will bring you back!”
Fu Ming, still unwilling, was forcibly pulled into the carriage by Fu Cong.
The bandits cleared a path. Yu Huishui saw the chestnut horse brought to him, mounted the saddle. The horse was led by a thin child, looking a bit dazed.
Zang Liujiang saw Yu Huishui leaving empty-handed, thinking he should at least take some clothes.
He cleared his throat, rode to the carriage, trying to be polite, “Please, pack him some things, so he can change on the mountain…”
Zang Liujiang thought he was being gentlemanly, but to Fu Cong and Fu Ming, it sounded sarcastic.
Fu Cong, angrily lifting the curtain, ignored Zang Liujiang, took a bundle of books and clothes from the carriage.
He walked straight to Yu Huishui, slipping two silver notes into his hand, wetly passing them to Yu Huishui.
Zang Liujiang, unfazed by the cold shoulder, thought, who would be happy having someone taken? This was the brother-in-law, not to be offended. He’d find out the family later and apologize in person.
Yu Huishui didn’t refuse, silently accepting the notes, hiding them in his sleeve.
The child leading the horse turned towards the mountain. Zang Liujiang cupped his hands to Fu Cong, then mounted his horse, following Yu Huishui.