Chapter 4

"Didn't look like it, but you two really are deeply devoted to each other." A Buji aimed his crossbow at Li Wu and said with a sneer, "Too bad my favorite thing is tearing apart doomed couples."

One bolt shot out with crushing force, but Li Wu didn't move an inch. He simply lifted a wooden staff to block it.

At an odd angle, the bolt actually slipped past the staff and flew toward the horse bandit behind him.

The bandit didn't even have time to cry out before the bolt struck him in the chest. He fell from his horse, shock still frozen in his eyes.

Li Wu remained as still as a pine tree, hands clasped behind his back, his aura suddenly surging. The pressure of a martial artist rolled out from him and crushed the bandits so hard they could hardly breathe.

What kind of man was this?

A Buji was alarmed. Just standing there, Li Wu gave off the terror of a battlefield soaked in blood and corpses. He gripped his crossbow tightly, fighting down the urge to turn and run, and managed to spit out, "Monster!"

Shaking, he fired bolt after bolt, but Li Wu charged straight at him. In his hands, the wooden staff seemed to become an indestructible sword, knocking every bolt aside. In just a few leaps he was in front of A Buji, kicked him out of the saddle, and pressed the staff against his throat.

"You... you..." A Buji's whole body trembled. It was only a wooden staff, not even sharpened, but he had no doubt Li Wu could kill him with it.

"Tell them to throw down their blades and get off their horses," Li Wu said calmly from behind him.

"Hurry! Do as he says!" Terrified for his life, A Buji quickly shouted the order at the other bandits.

Seeing their leader captured, the bandits panicked too and all dismounted to surrender.

Li Wu quickly tied them all up, took one of the seized knives, and rode after the direction Zhu Yu had gone.

Meanwhile, Zhu Yu looked back and saw the bandit waving his blade. "Little beauty, run faster or I'm going to catch you~" he called lazily, clearly treating her like entertainment.

Zhu Yu gritted her teeth. "Hey! Why aren't you helping your boss and coming after me?"

"Well, that's the order our boss gave, and I've got to follow it," the bandit said with a grin.

A camel, after all, wasn't as fast as a horse. Before long, the bandit had drawn even with her.

Seeing the glint of the blade, Zhu Yu went pale. "My companion is very strong. If he comes after you, you won't like what happens!"

The bandit's underling only laughed dismissively. "Stronger than a crossbow?"

The bandits have crossbows?!

Zhu Yu couldn't help growing anxious. Was Li Wu really up to it? Don't let him get killed.

"Enough talking. Come here."

A wounded camel naturally wasn't going to stop on its own, so the bandit reached out toward Zhu Yu, planning to yank her up onto his horse.

"I-I'm warning you, don't touch me!" Zhu Yu dodged away.

"Don't test my patience!" The bandit grew annoyed. If he couldn't grab her hand, he'd grab her foot instead.

Grab her foot? Just imagining being yanked off the camel and slammed face-first into the sand made her stomach sink.

"Hurry up!"

Seeing the bandit was about to touch her foot, Zhu Yu steeled herself, covered her face, and threw herself the other way with a shout. "Li Wu!" Why aren't you here yet!

As if heaven had heard her, the pounding of hooves really did come from the distance. Li Wu saw the figure tumble off the camel, his pupils constricting. He immediately put his lightness skill to work and leapt more than a hundred meters in a single bound.

Zhu Yu and the bandit were on a sand slope. The moment she fell, she began rolling down it.

"Aaaaaah! Aaaaaah... ah?"

Her body finally came to a stop. Zhu Yu cut off her scream, peeking through her fingers to look at the person who had arrived, and met Li Wu's calm eyes.

"Li Wu?"

"Mm."

Li Wu blocked her from rolling any farther. Because of the force of her fall, Zhu Yu ended up pressed into his arms as if she were in them, the two of them holding each other tightly.

Li Wu wrapped an arm around Zhu Yu's shoulders and asked, "Are you hurt?"

"I-I don't know..." Zhu Yu's mind was still blank from the scare, so she only answered dazedly.

"Then wait here a moment."

Li Wu set Zhu Yu down and lifted the knife, walking toward the bandit who was trying to flee. In just a few moves he brought the man down and bound him up.

"Can you stand?" Li Wu asked, holding out a hand.

Zhu Yu tried to get up, but her legs wouldn't listen and just shook weakly. "P-probably not..."

"Ah!" she cried.

Li Wu simply scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the horse.

Caught off guard, Zhu Yu threw her arms tightly around Li Wu's neck.

Leaning against his chest, she could feel the breadth of his shoulders, the firmness of his pectorals...

It made her understand just how reliable that embrace was.

Especially after he had just cleaned up a group of vicious horse bandits without even changing expression. He was too strong!

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

W-what's going on?!

Clinging to the man's neck, Zhu Yu's face turned as red as a boiled shrimp. Why is my heart beating this fast?!

Zhu Yu screamed inwardly. Li Wu, Li Wu, he's so handsome!!!!!!

Li Wu placed her sideways on the horse's back. Compared with the force that had knocked a bandit senseless with one punch, his touch now was almost featherlight.

Blushing, Zhu Yu watched as the man tied the captive behind him, then swung up onto the horse as well and carried her all the way back.

Zhu Yu quietly slid her arms around Li Wu's waist and, when he glanced back, put on a frightened expression.

Uuugh, his waist is strong and so well-shaped. I think I even touched his abs!

Zhu Yu couldn't help cheering in her heart. This man's body is way too good!

The two of them arrived in town. Most of the people on the road were merchants, and when they saw them bringing a string of tied-up horse bandits toward the authorities, they stopped to watch.

The yamen wasn't large, but it was maintained with surprising care. The clerks who came and went all wore neat, well-made robes.

A chief clerk came forward and cupped his hands. "What formidable skill, hero. To catch so many bandits!"

"Where is the magistrate?" Li Wu had no intention of exchanging polite pleasantries and went straight to the point.

"The magistrate is in the back office reviewing documents. He'll be here shortly. Please wait a moment, hero." The clerk smiled and had someone bring chairs and hot tea.

"These bandits were robbing people openly outside the city, and your yamen didn't bother to deal with them?" Zhu Yu asked, holding her teacup.

"To be honest, miss, these bandits have been causing trouble outside the city for a long time. We've sent men after them several times, but unfortunately they were more skilled than we were, and our people were driven back every time."

The clerk stroked his beard, looking troubled, then smiled again. "Thankfully we had a hero like you, with such exceptional martial skill!"

"Huff... huff..."

A fat figure hurried over, his clothes a mess, as if he'd thrown them on while rushing here.

He sat in the main seat, slapped the gavel, and bellowed, "Who is it that wants this county magistrate?!"

Li Wu didn't even bow. He only turned and said, "It's this commoner."

Xu Laicai was just about to scold him for his rudeness when he was intimidated by the man's presence. He muttered, "Th-then... this official permits you to speak while seated."

The clerk seemed used to this and even had a trace of mockery in his eyes. He stepped forward and said, "Magistrate, this hero captured the horse bandits outside the city and came to report to the yamen."

"Ah?!" The magistrate didn't look pleased at all, only more surprised and afraid.

"Sir, shouldn't this hero be rewarded? They rode in from the main street with the bandits in tow; everyone saw it. If we don't reward them, it'll be hard to win the people's trust."

Zhu Yu frowned. It sounded like the clerk wasn't talking about them having captured the criminals, but about them having been seen by the common people.

The magistrate was about to refuse, but then he saw the clerk's cold expression and seemed to realize he had been warned. He stammered, "Then... then do as you say."

So the clerk clapped his hands, and immediately two constables stepped forward and took away the line of bound bandits.

He also had someone bring out fifty taels of silver and said with a smile, "This is the reward for your heroic capture of the bandits."

"I wonder whether the hero would be interested in serving as a dianshi in the yamen?" the clerk asked.

Though a dianshi was not an important post, it was second only to the magistrate in the yamen, on the same level as the chief clerk, and was in charge of prison affairs.

Just offering the post of dianshi outright made Zhu Yu suck in a breath.

"Thank you for your kindness, chief clerk, but we have matters to attend to and will be leaving in a few days." Li Wu cupped his hands and declined.

"Ah... what a pity. Then I can only wish the hero and miss a smooth journey." The clerk wore a regretful expression, but there was a smile in his eyes.

Zhu Yu took the silver and left with Li Wu.

As they walked through the street, Zhu Yu kept thinking about what had happened at the yamen, and the more she thought about it, the more strange it seemed, until her mind felt like a monk trying to puzzle out a scripture and getting nowhere.

"What's wrong?" Li Wu asked when he saw she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking and nearly bumped into pedestrians several times.

Zhu Yu looked up at Li Wu. "I just keep feeling like both the magistrate and the clerk were weird."

"How so?" Li Wu's tone was flat.

Zhu Yu perked up and began counting on her fingers. "Look, first of all, that clerk was clearly wearing silk! Isn't that way too extravagant?"

She didn't know exact prices, but she knew silk wasn't something a little out-of-the-way town magistrate could easily afford to wear.

"And that magistrate didn't look right either. Fat-faced and broad-jowled, with none of the dignity you'd expect. He looked more like some wealthy old lecher obsessed with women."

She added, "Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I keep feeling like the magistrate is kind of afraid of that clerk. He said to take the money and took it, and he kept speaking while watching the clerk's face."

"And that clerk, the moment he opened his mouth, gave us fifty taels of silver." Zhu Yu frowned. "This yamen... is way too rich, isn't it?"

"Li Wu, what do you think?" Zhu Yu asked eagerly.

"Let's find an inn and get settled first," Li Wu said, dodging the question.

Zhu Yu was unhappy. She grabbed Li Wu's sleeve. "Why won't you answer me? Do you think what I'm saying is boring?"

"No. Let go first."

"I won't. You definitely know something, and if you don't tell me, I won't let go!" Seeing that he was still brushing her off, Zhu Yu got angry, clung to his arm, and stood there blocking him from moving on.

"I don't know."

"You definitely do! Do you think I'm too stupid and not worth explaining it to?!"

"..."

Seeing that he was completely impervious and refused to engage, Zhu Yu changed tactics and switched to relentless pestering.

"Li Wu, Li Wu, just tell me, okay? Hmm?" Zhu Yu deployed a young lady's ultimate weapon: the full-court press of pleading sweetness.

"Li Wu, why aren't you saying anything? Are you deaf?"

"Li~ Wu~ Li~ Wu~ Li~ Wu~"

That ghost-like wailing really pushed Li Wu to the brink. Seeing the passersby all laughing as they watched them, Li Wu pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Let go first. I'll tell you once we get to the inn."

"Alright!"

With a promise in hand, the young lady immediately let go, then skipped off to stroll through the market with the silver they'd just received.