CH 59

Chapter 59: Robbing the robbers

Compared to the unlucky bandits who had lost all their saliva on drooling and were full of complaints, Gu Yu Qi and her entourage were much happier by the foot of the mountain near the forest.

When Dai Mei finished cooking the vegetables, everyone gathered around in twos and threes. Dai Mei cut up the roasted hares with a knife then gave it to everyone. She also took out dry food. The guards ate the fragrant hare meat with the dry food, and also ate the sauteéd vegetables Dai Mei cooked. There was no need to mention how happy they were.

However, they still drank the water in their hands as though it was wine. They were still on guard, but the Young Miss had passed her intentions onto them so they just pretended to be drunk so that the bandits would be lured down the mountain.

As they enjoyed eating hare, the bandits on the mountain became more and more uncomfortable. Everyone felt like they had pins all over their body and kept twisting and turning. They really could not help but want to rush down and grab all the food from the guards’ mouths.

Although all of them had become outlaws, it was because they were so poor that they lacked the means to live on. It was close to Jiangbei Camp here, so how could they dare to brazenly rush out of the mountain to rob? They could only nest in this hollow in the mountains where even the birds did not poop. It was very remote here and most caravans travelled on the main road with very few groups passing here, so they often starved for three to five days. Surviving on wild fruits and game in the mountains, how could they resist the temptation of these delicious foods?

Gu Yu Qi had also expected this, which was why she asked Dai Mei to do everything she could and make the food as fragrant as possible.

For people who had starved for a long time, was a full meal not what they prayed for?

What did these bandits rob for, if not for a meal? How many people were born vicious and wicked? Born to be a bandit? Who did not want to live a stable life of peace and tranquillity? Food, wealth, Gu Yu Qi even showed off her beauty. These were the pursuits of men in the world. Even if they could not have all of them, one of the three must be suitable, right? So what Gu Yu Qi showed them was a temptation that no man in the world could resist, especially for such bandits.

The people up the mountain could not bear it, but those at the foot of the mountain were full. According to Gu Yu Qi’s instructions, they all went into the woods one after another and unexpectedly began their midday nap.

The bandits on the mountain felt that they had arrived at the no longer bearable stage.

“Boss, let’s do it!” A bandit finally could not help it and half-stretched his body, but was pressed down by the boss.

“Wait, let Xiao Liu Zi go and have a look,” the Boss said in a deep voice.

“Okay!” The bandit lowered his body and nodded. The boss’ tone relaxed. A few of the bandits looked at each other, they had been holding back for a long time! It was just a few little girls, they really did not know what their boss was so afraid of. As he said, that delicate little girl just now was so beautiful, they should all kidnap her back to the stockade. If the boss did not want her, he did!

A bandit sent a message to Xiao Liu Zi. Xiao Liu Zi climbed out of the hidden grass. He was a lean boy and was very agile in his movements. He was very familiar with this area. Using the cover of rocks and trees, he quietly approached the woods.

Zhao Wu’s ears and eyes were sharp. Although Xiao Liu Zi moved very quickly, he still could not hide from him.

He leaned with a knife against a tree, faking drowsiness, but he was listening to Xiao Liu Zi’s movements. Although this kid did not know martial arts, he was already more clever than the average person.

Xiao Liu Zi circled around Gu Yu Qi and her group on the edge of the woods. He made sure they were all asleep, then quietly retreated back to where he was hiding and whistled.

Gu Yu Qi sat on the grass, quietly holding a sword in her hand. In order to not act rashly and alert the enemy, she and Liang Huai Yu had both put their spears aside and instead hid a sword under their clothes. Chun Xing and Xia He still quietly climbed a tree, each with a longbow on their back.

They quietly drew the strings of their longbows with jade arrows. They had bought these weapons before in the weapon shops of towns they had passed, but had not expected them to come handy here.

They were all from the military camp. Since being rescued by General Liang, they had followed him in the military camp to learn martial arts and horseback archery. Hence, their archery skills were nothing to sneeze at.

Zhao Wu and a few guards sat on the ground against trees in groups of twos and threes. However, looking closely, although they were scattered, they were scattered only physically, their mentality was not scattered. As long as someone came near, they would become formations of threes and small fighting groups would be formed right away. They were protecting Yan Zhi, Run Ying, and a few others in the carriage.

Having received Xiao Liu Zi’s report confirming again and again that Gu Yu Qi and the others had really started resting “defencelessly”, the bandits on the mountain could not hold back any longer and they looked at their boss. The boss gritted his teeth, “Go!”

The bandits jumped up happily. They released the ropes and slid down the mountainside.

They rushed happily into the woods, thinking that the fat sheep Gu Yu Qi and the others were waiting to be slaughtered, for them to cut them and get them without the least bit of difficulty. Just then, they suddenly found that the scene in front of them had changed. The people who were resting together before they approached opened their eyes and jumped up. Gu Yu Qi turned around and neatly kicked down a bandit who approached her. Before the bandit had returned to his senses, a bright and icy sword was already on his neck.

“It’s a trap! Retreat!” The boss saw that the situation was not good and shouted. After he called out to his brothers, he turned around wanting to run, but a feathered arrow flew past his ears from who knew where and embedded into the tree in front of him.

He immediately turned around to run in the other direction. A second arrow followed, grazing past his ear and nailing precisely onto the tree not far in front of him.

He turned in yet another direction, but a third arrow came without fail, grazing past his ears… The boss came to his senses then. The archer of these arrows was an expert and was obviously playing with him!

Run? Hehe, where are you running? He did not even know where the arrows were coming from. This person had not hurt him, but they were also warning him not to try and escape. He could turn him into a sieve in minutes!

The boss could only stop his footsteps and look back, “Hero, please let us brothers live,” he said after taking a deep breath and cupping his fists towards Gu Yu Qi. When he looked over, his heart half froze! In only a blink of an eye, the dozen or so men under his command had all been captured alive… One by one, all their elation had been swept away and they had become dejected, just like defeated roosters. Even Xiao Liu Zi who had wanted to escape when he saw the situation had fallen to the ground crying, his leg shot with an arrow by Xia He.

Gu Yu Qi smiled and walked out slowly, “You want us to let you go just because you said so? Then our efforts would be in vain!”

The bandits present collectively despised the beautiful and astonishing girl. Nothing was easier than finding faults. Were they tired? They had eaten and drunk and picked flowers and rested! Obviously they were the ones who were tired, alright? They had been baked by the sun on the mountainside, watching people eat, drink, and rest, then also foolishly diving headfirst into the trap set by others.

Gu Yu Qi smiled lightly and walked up to the boss. She raised her head slightly and glanced at the man up and down. Then she said with a smile, “You dared to come and rob us with your skills?” Although she had expected these men to not be very skilled, it was only after the fight that she realised they could be described as completely unimpressive. They could barely withstand a few moves before they were thrown down. This reduced Gu Yu Qi’s original joy of winning by a few fold and she was even a little dissatisfied.

It was as though she had exerted great effort but only smacked a cotton ball.

The man’s face reddened when Gu Yu Qi said this and he looked away angrily, “You just used a little trick to win! If you have skills, let us fight with a real knife and spear!

“Alright!” When Gu Yu Qi heard this, she became interested. It had been too easy to catch these bandits and she felt dissatisfied. Now that the boss of these bandits actually proposed to fight one-on-one, Gu Yu Qi agreed immediately.

“What weapon will you use?” Gu Yu Qi asked.

“I’ll just use this!” The man said, “But you have to promise me one thing!”

“You’re still talking to me about conditions?” Gu Yu Qi lifted her finger and touched her cheek, “Okay, let’s hear your conditions.”

“If I win, you’ll let my brothers go. I’ll bear the responsibility of being killed or tortured,” the man straightened his chest and said.

“Boss…” The bandits caught by Gu Yu Qi and the others turned their attention to this man and shouted all at once, “if you can run, then go alone, don’t worry about us.”

“是啊，老大，我们反正光棍一个，老大你走就是了！”

“Yes, Boss, we’re bachelors anyway, Boss, just leave!”

“Boss, if something happens to me, just burn some paper at the Qingming Festival on the 15th or something!” “Boss, if I die, just take care of my mother for me!”

Gu Yu Qi looked at the man with a smile, but she had other thoughts in her heart.

“Then what if I win?” Gu Yu Qi asked with a smile.

“If you win… If you win, you can slaughter all us brothers!” The man stomped his foot and said.

“Haha, you say it as though you brothers will not be slaughtered by me now!” Gu Yu Qi could not help but laugh. A bandit was a bandit, such powerful logic!

The man’s face reddened even more from Gu Yu Qi’s laughing! Not only was he, as a dignified man, in the hands of a little girl, but she laughed at him over and over again. He had no face anymore.

“You succeeded with schemes and tricks!” The man choked and shouted, “It was not fair and just.”

“Then were you all fair and just when robbing caravans in the past?” Gu Yu Qi laughed. “Alright, stop talking nonsense. I’ll also respect you as a man who’s willing to trade his life for his brothers’ lives. I’ll just agree to your terms! But you have to remember, as long as I win, you’re all at my disposal. How about it?”

“Little girl, you can fight. Our boss’ words are our words. As long as you win, us brothers are at your disposal!” A bandit shouted and the others followed suit.

“You’re all righteous,” Gu Yu Qi’s bright eyes shifted slightly and she smiled.

“Stop talking nonsense! See the real thing!” The man shook the sword in his hand and said in a deep voice.

“Ah Nan, be careful,” Liang Huai Yu told Gu Yu Qi. She could see that the man was not worthy of being Gu Yu Qi’s opponent. Yet, a mother was always worried about her daughter so she could not help but say this.

“Don’t worry, Mother.” Gu Yu Qi patted the back of Liang Huai Yu’s hand and smiled, “If I’m in trouble, Chun Xing and the others are here.”

Chun Xing and Xia He were still hiding in the canopy of the trees without revealing their tracks. They occupied the highest point and were absolutely the best offensive weapons. Just like modern snipers, the two of them were already proficient in archery and as long as something happened to Gu Yu Qi, they would immediately send arrows to subdue the man.

Their positions had been arranged by Gu Yu Qi. It was also Gu Yu Qi who told them not to show up until it was completely over. Their targets were the leader of the bandits and any others who wanted to escape.

Liang Huai Yu nodded and Gu Yu Qi walked up to the man, “Let’s start.”

The afternoon breeze gently swept up the girl’s robe and the ends of her hair. Her bright eyebrows were full of confidence and pride, like the most dazzling star in the sky.

“Watch out!” The man gritted his teeth and raised his sword, then he slashed at Gu Yu Qi. His moves were not flamboyant but he was very strong. It could be seen that he had a lot of brute force. Gu Yu Qi flashed and flipped over to land delicately behind the man. She cheekily patted his shoulder, “Where are you slashing? I’m over here!”

The man’s face turned even redder, “Again!” He roared angrily and flicking his wrist, he slashed his knife behind him. Gu Yu Qi neatly avoided him again.

The man was angered by Gu Yu Qi and he slashed like a madman. This time, Gu Yu Qi no longer underestimated the enemy. This man’s swordsmanship was very ordinary but he had great strength, plus he was anxious now. The speed was so fast that it was dazzling and every slash of the knife was fierce. Even if she was just struck once, it was likely that it would not just be a matter of skin and flesh, but even her bones would be cut off.

As expected, the boss of others still had some skills. Gu Yu Qi fought against him for a while then felt that if she continued to dodge, she might suffer. She saw an opening and stabbed the man in the arm. Immediately, blood flowed. She did not dare to touch the man’s machete with her sword. His strength was too great and she was afraid it would not give her much advantage, instead wasting a good sword in vain so it was not worth it. Her sword stabbed extremely skilfully right onto an acupuncture point on his arm. Not only did his blood flow, it even made his arm go numb. He could not help but let go of the machete and with a few spins in the air, it pierced the trunk of a big tree with a thunk. The entire blade sunk in! It could be seen just how strong the man was!

Gu Yu Qi was also secretly surprised. This man could not be underestimated. However, although she was surprised, she still had a smile on her face, “How was that?” She smiled and said to the man.

“I admit defeat!” The man covered his wound in disbelief. He looked at Gu Yu Qi, then at the machete that had been thrown out of his hand. He was the best in Jiangxia with a reputation of having unusual strength. He had only become an outlaw in order to survive. Unexpectedly, he could not even win over a little girl! What face did he have to stand here?!

“I only ask you to keep your promise and let my brothers live! I’ll give you my life!” After saying that, the man closed his eyes and rushed at Gu Yu Qi’s sword.