Though Li Zhi seemed steady, he was ultimately still a child. He treated that dried meat as if it were treasure, only taking out a single piece to savor slowly when they stopped for a rest.
Perhaps they had received word in advance, or perhaps they were simply unwilling to part with the money for the main road, but there were quite a few people on the small path.
Gan Fanren even spotted a few familiar faces.
“Xiucai Gan!”
“Xiucai Gan!”
A thin, small man with dark skin and a height of barely five feet waved toward Gan Fanren. He seemed delighted to see him.
“Xiucai Gan, I didn’t expect to run into you here. I remember you left several days ago. How is it that you haven’t reached Tongmen Guan yet?”
Gan Fanren glanced at Gan Tian in his arms.
It was all because of this little thing’s antics. She had conjured up so many vegetables that he had been forced to stop and deal with them; otherwise, they would have passed through Tongmen Guan long ago.
“It’s Xiao Liuzi. We were delayed by some matters on the road.”
Gan Fanren was, after all, an outsider, and there was always a sense of distance between him and the people of Wangjiacun. He engaged in brief conversation and then fell silent.
Xiao Liuzi, however, was very happy. His family followed beside Gan Fanren, striking up a conversation from time to time.
Suddenly, the neighing of horses echoed from ahead. A group of mountain bandits on horseback swarmed in, surrounding the crowd.
“This mountain was opened by me, these trees were planted by me! If you want to pass this way, leave your…”
“Leave your what again…?”
The leading bandit choked on his words and looked at the lackey beside him.
The lackey, who was dressed like a scholar, leaned in fawningly.
“Answering the Second-in-Command: it’s ‘If you want to pass this way, leave your toll money.'”
“Right! If you want to pass this way, leave your toll money!”
The Second-in-Command’s blade sliced through the air in front of the crowd. “If you want to live, hand over all your silver obediently.”
The faces of the crowd darkened as they clutched their bundles tightly.
“Help! Bandits!”
“Don’t be afraid, everyone! Stand together! We have so many people, why should we fear a few bandits?”
The Second-in-Command noticed their movements, and his expression turned grim.
“I see you lot have a death wish!”
He swung his blade casually, lopping off the arm of the man who was shouting the loudest.
The arm flew high into the air, tracing a parabola before hitting the ground as blood sprayed everywhere.
Seeing this scene, many stopped talking, terrified of provoking the bandits further.
“That’s more like it. It would have been better if you’d been this way from the start.”
The Second-in-Command used his blade to casually draw a circle on the ground.
“There is honor among thieves. I am not an unreasonable man. As long as you honestly place your valuables here, I will certainly spare your lives.”
Encountering bandits on a small path was no surprise; Gan Fanren had anticipated this long ago. He took out the broken silver he had prepared in advance and placed it inside the circle.
Though the silver was in fragments, it added up to over five taels, which was a respectable amount. As Gan Fanren placed the silver down, he clearly saw the bandit’s furrowed brow relax considerably.
After setting the silver down, Gan Fanren stepped aside and looked toward Xiao Liuzi’s family.
Xiao Liuzi was shaking uncontrollably, looking absolutely terrified. His hands trembled for a long time before he finally managed to pull fifty copper coins from his sleeve.
After dropping the money, Xiao Liuzi hurried back toward the Gan Family.
Gan Fanren frowned and offered a kind warning. “That’s too little. You’ll be easily targeted like that.”
Xiao Liuzi shook for a long while before whispering through trembling lips, “They aren’t searching us anyway. There’s no point in giving so much.”
Gan Fanren glanced at the property in the circle.
Everyone knew that taking the small paths was unsafe, so people generally traveled in groups. There were at least fifty or sixty people present, comprising seven or eight families, yet the money on the ground amounted to less than seven taels of silver.
And over five taels of that had come from him. This wouldn’t do.
How could so many bandits coming out to rob be satisfied with a mere few taels?
Gan Fanren tried to persuade them kindly: “Everyone, calm down and listen to me. These heroes of the greenwood only seek wealth and have no intention of harming anyone. As long as we cooperate, there won’t be any danger.”
“Money is an external thing; once it’s gone, you can earn more. But once a life is gone, it’s gone forever.”
“At a time like this, don’t try to be clever. Just hand over the money obediently.”
While mountain bandits would steal, they usually didn’t push things too far. They were bandits of the mountain, and they relied on the mountain to survive. They couldn’t leave this place, and they depended entirely on robbing passing travelers to make a living.
If they went too far and scared people away from the path, they would end up starving. Therefore, under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t be overly cruel. If they encountered wealthy people, they would take more; if they encountered commoners, they would take less. Sometimes, the “toll” was even less than what one would pay on the official roads.
For the seven members of the Gan Family, five taels of silver was just right—not too much, not too little.
But the others had given far too little. It was unlikely to satisfy the bandits; if anything, it might provoke them.
Gan Fanren’s good intentions were not met with gratitude. Instead, they sparked resentment.
“What the hell side are you on, you scholar?”
“Why are you speaking for the bandits?”
“You couldn’t possibly be in league with the bandits, could you?”
Many people looked at Gan Fanren with suspicious glares.
“I’d say it’s hard to tell. A normal person would be scared witless seeing bandits, but this scholar doesn’t look afraid at all. Maybe he’s the one who brought these bandits here!”
Those people didn’t know Gan Fanren, so it was natural for them to have misunderstandings. But Xiao Liuzi, who actually knew him, also misunderstood.
He clutched his bundle tightly and distanced himself from Gan Fanren.
“I was wondering why you said I gave too little! It turns out you’re in league with the bandits!”
“No matter what, you are still a Xiucai. How could you do such a thing?”
“I even treated you like a brother. I never thought you were this kind of person.”
Before Gan Fanren could even speak, his number one follower, Li Zhi, lost his temper.
“Stop your slander! If you dare utter another word of nonsense, I’ll smash your back teeth in!”
Everyone had witnessed Li Zhi’s strength, and none dared to provoke him. They all shut their mouths, but their contemptuous gazes continued to fall upon the Gan Family.
The Second-in-Command looked at the pitiful amount of wealth in the circle and frowned with dissatisfaction.
“Just this much? It’s not even enough for me to go to Chunfenglou for a drink and a girl!”
“I think some of you aren’t being honest.”
The Second-in-Command bared his teeth. “Brothers, search them!”
The bandits had been itching for action, only waiting for the Second-in-Command’s order. Hearing his words, they charged toward the crowd with cruel and lewd smiles.
“You can’t touch this! This contains my son’s medicine!” a woman screamed, clutching her bundle.
The bandit impatiently kicked her to the ground and found ten taels of silver inside the bundle.
“Bitch! Daring to play tricks with me!” He punctuated his words with several more savage kicks.
The woman’s face contorted in pain as she wept and begged for mercy.
The bandit spat in her face. “What a bunch of worthless wretches. You won’t be honest until you’re beaten.”
Screams rose one after another as many people were assaulted. Despite their desperate attempts to protect their property, it was eventually snatched away by the bandits.
A bunch of fools!