The cold clink of the leather strap’s buckle made the smile on Lizhu’s face look rather ridiculous.

After two breaths, blood rushed straight to Lizhu’s forehead.

“A scholar may be killed but may not be humiliated!! I, I’ll fight you—”

Lizhu mustered all her strength and kicked straight at his lower body.

But the man opposite was about to half-squat down, so this kick landed almost square on his face.

He lifted a brow and immediately leaned back slightly to avoid it, while at the same time accurately seizing Lizhu’s ankle. Those hands were firm and scorching hot, covering Lizhu’s slender ankle with almost no effort.

What an unbearable humiliation!

Lizhu glared with furious hatred, wishing she could tear out his flesh and drink his blood!

If he truly dared to offend her, she couldn’t die so easily — that would be far too easy for him!

As long as she still had a breath today and could escape alive, she would kill him, burn his mountain, slaughter his camp, make him pay for today’s deed with —

The man, showing only half his face, suddenly smiled without warning.

Lizhu was stunned in an instant.

So strange, was she too frightened?

Why at a moment like this did she think of Pei Yinzhi?

Thinking of him, the fears and grievances that had been suppressed by a momentary rage welled up at once.

Yinzhi, Yinzhi.

If he were here, would she suffer such humiliation?

Tears filled Lizhu’s eyes.

Facing such an absolute difference in strength, this time she truly had no way out, truly had to admit defeat.

The man’s lips moved as if saying something; Lizhu vaguely saw what looked like some cold hard object embedded at one side of his tongue.

But there was no time to pay attention to what that object was. A confused expression appeared on Lizhu’s face.

What was he saying?

A ringing in her ears drowned out the outside sounds; she realized she couldn’t hear what he was saying at all.

Before she could figure it out, a tug came at her ankle, and a wave of panic and terror surged up.

A large hand grabbed the side of her thigh.

Lizhu shut her eyes and flailed wildly, scratching and shouting:

“How dare you touch me! If you so much as touch me, your whole clan is done for!”

Her other leg was pinned down as well, gripped like an iron clamp; the flesh around the web of the hand was pressed deep, the force so great nothing could budge.

“Despicable thieves! May heaven strike you with thunder! You who bully a weak woman will die a terrible death!”

Hearing this, the corner of his mouth tilted; he actually smiled, a little insolently.

Lizhu, out of tricks, cried loudly: “Mother! Save me!”

The man, who had kept his head lowered, raised his eyes to scan her.

The next moment, his neck ached.

“Ss—”

“Mountain Lord! Are you alright!?” The man in the gray robe standing beside him spoke up.

“I’m fine.”

The man pressed the back of his hand against his neck, then lowered it to look—thin streaks of blood lined his palm.

It was from the shard of stone Lizhu had hidden in her hand.

The gray-robed man frowned slightly at the disheveled, crying young girl and said,

“What an ungrateful little lass. The Mountain Lord already told you, if that wound on your leg isn’t bound soon, you’ll lose your life. It’s one thing not to be grateful, but how could you still attack—and so viciously at that!”

At this moment, even though Lizhu’s ears were ringing and she could barely hear, she realized something seemed different from what she had imagined.

She wiped her tears and looked down.

The leather belt the man had just removed was tightly tied around the root of her right thigh.

Below the belt, blood from the sword wound she had received when fighting the masked men was gushing like a spring, dyeing her entire skirt dark red.

…No wonder she was dizzy and her ears were ringing. How could she not faint after losing so much blood?

After all the life-and-death pursuits along the way, Lizhu could hardly believe that a bandit—a complete stranger—would actually save her.

Lizhu threw away the sharp shard of stone in her hand, guilt showing in her eyes.

“Sorry, I couldn’t hear clearly because of the ringing in my ears. I thought…”

The man, who had been quietly watching her, saw the anger and wariness in her eyes slowly melt away.

She tilted up her small face, smudged with reed flowers and mud, tears still hanging from the corners of her eyes—bright, glistening, like a little dog fished out of the mire, full of gratitude.

Her guard was far too low.

Before the girl could finish her string of muddled words, he raised his hand to the back of her neck.

Lizhu froze, feeling her hairpin loosen, and her hair—black as flowing clouds—spilled down her shoulders, softly piling against her chest.

His wrist hung low as he turned Lizhu’s golden hair ornament between his fingers.

The ornament caught the clear daylight, gleaming brilliantly, the light reflecting off her smooth, dense hair with a sheen like silk.

His dark eyes fixed on Lizhu’s face.

“Gold or copper?” he asked.

The ringing in her ears persisted; his voice came through a haze, and Lizhu could barely make out the words.

“…Pure gold,” she answered.

The man nodded slightly, then casually tossed the ornament to the gray-robed man behind him.

Lizhu: ?

That was her favorite golden hair ornament!

“Mountain Lord!”

The man turned his head to look, and someone came running over in a hurry, his face full of excitement:

“There’s a grain ship by the shore! It’s packed full of crates and chests. Little Qi opened a few—there’s gold, silver, and also dongchong xiacao [caterpillar fungus], lingzhi, lurong [deer antler velvet], and the like. This one ship alone is worth at least this much!”

As he spoke, the man spread out all ten fingers, gesturing animatedly.

“Is that so?” The man took a headband someone handed him and tied it around his waist as a belt. “Let’s go take a look.”

He brushed off the muddy footprints Lizhu had kicked onto him, took a couple of steps, then seemed to recall something and turned to the bewildered girl on the ground.

“Danzhu, call Old Yu over. Collect the consultation fee first, and have him take a look at these two. If there’s hope, treat them.”

“Got it.”

Danzhu ordered someone to fetch the man, then turned back, meeting the girl’s slightly dazed expression.

“No need to be afraid, little lady. Our Hongye Stronghold has the Five Prohibitions and Seven Don’ts. We’re not like those lowly bandits who commit wicked acts against women.”

She asked, “The consultation fee he mentioned…”

Danzhu crouched halfway down, baring her teeth in a grin: “Thank you kindly for your generous donation.”

…Who donated anything! This was outright robbery!

Lizhu’s willow brows arched in anger; she was just about to retort when her gaze swept over the woman’s arm, thick as her calf, and she suddenly realized.

This was the same “Third-in-Command” who had shot an arrow a hundred paces away and wielded the strength of an ox.

Whatever courage Lizhu had instantly vanished into smoke.

She glared, holding her breath.

“Then… will you let us go?”

“Of course.”

Danzhu took a wrinkled handkerchief from her breast pocket and handed it to her to wipe her face.

“Our stronghold doesn’t keep idle people. You, a delicate lady, and that half-grown boy—if you wanted to stay, we wouldn’t even agree. Unless… hehe.”

Lizhu: “……”

She really didn’t want to know what that “unless” was.

But hearing that they would be released, Lizhu couldn’t help but quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

Money and belongings were external things; being robbed wasn’t important—staying alive was what mattered most.

It was just a pity about the gifts she had prepared for Pei Yinzhi.

Once the danger to her life had passed, Lizhu looked at the mountain covered in red leaves and the clear blue water, and her thoughts began to stir again.

Though she would have to contact the local officials after leaving here and regain the protection of the imperial guards.

However—this was Yiling Commandery.

She wouldn’t have to take a detour to Wanyun Commandery to make a perfunctory visit to Tan Xun. With this unexpected incident, she could simply go with the flow and head straight to the Pei residence.

Whether she pretended to have fled here from disaster, or disguised it as a chance encounter—

This was a far more flawless way to meet him than the one she had originally planned.

Besides, saving a princess was a great merit in itself.

If Pei Yinzhi were to escort her to the authorities, Father would surely reward him generously. Gold and silver were secondary, bestowing an honorary title wouldn’t even be impossible.

Looking toward the direction of the bandits by the riverbank, a light suddenly shone through the dust and grime on Lizhu’s face.

Meanwhile, by the grain ship, the bandits were full of energy, hauling the crates and chests down one by one. The gray-robed scholar hurried out from the forest to the Mountain Lord’s side.

“How did the interrogation go?”

The gray-robed scholar shook his head gravely.

“All dead. Except for the one whose abdomen was cut open, the rest all took poison. They’re not men of the underworld. Judging by their manner, they should be death warriors sent to kill that delicate young lady.”

“Any distinctive items on them?”

“That’s the strangest part.”

The gray-robed scholar handed him a bloodstained arrow.

“The blades, arrowheads, robes, and headbands used by these people—all from our Hongye Stronghold. I’d wager they knew our name carries weight, that even the authorities dare not provoke us lightly, and now they’re trying to pin all the filth on our heads.”

The Mountain Lord took the arrow, studied it against the light for a moment, and asked, “Then, what do you think that delicate young lady’s background is?”

The gray-robed scholar casually opened a nearby chest for a look.

“Judging from this ship full of medicinal herbs and the direction it was sailing, I’d say she’s probably the wife or daughter of some great medicine merchant from Luoyang. Either there’s a fight over inheritance, or a vendetta among rivals—those filthy matters among the rich are far too common.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “That simple?”

“Then… what does the Mountain Lord think?”

He made no comment.

One by one, the crates on the riverbank were opened. As he looked through them, he found that aside from the herbs, there were also many bamboo scrolls.

That delicate young lady truly was fond of reading, she even brought two large chests of books with her on a journey.

He unfolded one at random; it was filled with nothing but zhi hu zhe ye, shengren yue, zi yue—phrases from the sages—densely packed across the bamboo slips. Just glancing at them was enough to give a headache.

He tossed the scroll aside and turned instead to admire the chest of pleasing, glittering gold beside it.

Behind him came the sound of limping footsteps.

“Um…”

The voice was soft as a mosquito’s hum, trembling at the tail.

The man turned his head, and when their eyes met, her already pale face seemed even more timid.

Yet she somehow gathered a shred of courage and spoke up boldly:

“Dan—Danzhu-jie asked me to ask you…”

“Your ears aren’t deaf anymore?” he said.

…What a rude man!

Lizhu quietly clenched her fists.

The old physician already said it—she only has a bit of tinnitus from losing too much blood, she won’t be deaf!

“Not deaf, although there’s still a buzzing, I can hear clearly.”

Lizhu mustered a friendly smile, organized her words, and spoke tactfully:

“Just now Sister Danzhu told me that Hongye Stronghold steals with a code of honor, taking wealth but not lusting after women—whether that is true or not I do not know?”

The Mountain Lord lifted his eyes, his gaze like a tongue of flame, skimming obscenely yet unmistakably over her wet clothes.

“Hard to say.”

Lizhu: !!!

“Speak plainly if you have something to say.”

That look of his sent chills through Lizhu; every hair on her head nearly stood on end.

She hastened her speech in a fluster:

“To be frank, my family does business in Luoyang, but fate is changeable and my father died early, so I brought silver and small valuables to seek refuge with relatives. Unexpectedly, we were pursued by a band of thieves and, fortunately, rescued by righteous men. Along the way our servants scattered, and I do not know the lay of the land here—”

“Therefore, could you send someone to point me the way?”

He snorted and laughed in anger.

Taking liberties and asking for more.

Did he look like someone easy to talk to?

The man turned his head and met a gray, splotched face.

Her black hair, damp with cold sweat, clung to her cheeks; that face looked pale and fragile from blood loss, like a gray-white peony on silk.

Disheveled, weak, yet with a strange toughness.

After a pause, he said: “I know the wealthy families of Yiling Commandery fairly well… which family are you looking for?”

Lizhu’s eyes flashed suddenly.

“Pei Yinzhi!”

She called the name crisply, not noticing the gray-robed scholar beside her suddenly widen his eyes and snap his gaze to his own Mountain Lord.

“Does this Mountain Lord know where the Pei family lives?”

Wind swept across the shallows, the reed flowers swaying.

Only now did he understand why even such a minor matter as giving directions prompted Danzhu to send someone to ask him.

The man, half-squatting by the chests, tossed the gold and silver back into the box.

This time, he properly examined the girl before him.

“Which Pei Yinzhi?” he smiled.

“The Pei of Yiling, the Pei of the Yong Xizuo¹Yong Xizuo Yinzhi: a classical-style expression, a literary or auspicious phrase that describes the continuation of a noble lineage. Literally means “May blessings and heirs be eternally bestowed.” Yinzhi line, he is handsome and clever, exceptionally talented, the best young gentleman under heaven. If you safely send me to him, I guarantee he will bestow upon you wealth and honor——”

Footnotes

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  Yong Xizuo Yinzhi: a classical-style expression, a literary or auspicious phrase that describes the continuation of a noble lineage. Literally means “May blessings and heirs be eternally bestowed.”