Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Night Attack

Called by White Zhengliu, Nie Qing'e barely pulled herself back from her daze and said, "That’s how it should be."

After speaking, she composed herself and began to explain in detail.

"From my experience with Lu Lang, the number of people who come to plunder at night is usually around twenty or more. Their target is clear; once they arrive, they head straight for a few rooms in the main courtyard..."

As the night deepened, the sounds of people sleeping deeply in the rooms of the main courtyard could be heard.

White Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan, along with Nie and Lu, had already infiltrated the courtyard, waiting for the moment Nie Qing'e had mentioned.

In the backroom of the courtyard, Qian Gui paced back and forth, feeling as though he would develop blisters on his lips from all the nervous talking. Looking at the two young men from the Jun family next to him, they seemed unaffected, as if they...

"They're here."

Jun Yang suddenly turned toward the window.

Qian Gui's pupils shrank, and he stopped in his tracks!

At this moment, in the main courtyard.

The mountain bandits had indeed arrived. They didn’t climb the walls; instead, they confidently entered through the front yard, seemingly certain that there were no guards at Tan’s household tonight, and quickly made their way into the courtyard!

The group leading the charge had over ten men. They exchanged a glance, splitting into two teams, each heading toward the main house and the eastern wing.

In the different rooms, Tan Yuanwai's snoring sounded louder than before, irritating the bandits, who impatiently struck forward with a knife, landing squarely on the bedding where Tan Yuanwai lay!

White Zhengliu instinctively leaned forward. However, before he could move further, Mei Yinghan stopped him. He regained his senses and exhaled deeply, returning to the darkness.

—Senior Nie had mentioned that even though they had rescued people several times before, it had no effect.

White Zhengliu knew himself. Right now, the only "people" in the entire courtyard were probably him and his companions. Even if he saved Tan Yuanwai from the bandits, it would just delay time. The most important thing was to figure out the direction the bandits would go and see if there was a chance for the hand behind the Tan family to take revenge personally.

With that thought, White Zhengliu stopped moving. However, when the sound of a woman's terrified scream came from the eastern wing, his body instinctively tensed.

This is not a living person, not a living person...

Yet, the woman's scream still pierced into White Zhengliu's heart like a sharp blade.Until the woman’s voice finally stopped, White Zhengliu was still trembling slightly, tightly gripping the Twenty-Eight Generals.

He began to doubt his decision. Just then, a hand reached out from the side and landed on the back of White Zhengliu's hand.

A warm and reassuring sensation flowed from Mei Yinghan's palm, bringing White Zhengliu back to a state of calm.

At this moment, the few people who had been attacking had already come out of the main house and were heading toward the western wing.

However, before they could get close, a chaotic noise came from the western wing.

The few people hiding in the darkness understood immediately. The earlier scream from Meng Yuniang had already roused her uncles and cousins from the Meng family. They quickly assessed the situation and without hesitation, jumped out of the window on the other side.

White Zhengliu closed his eyes for a moment. To distract himself, he spoke softly, "I mentioned earlier that Meng's third and fourth uncles are martial artists. I never expected..." They were clearly skilled, but instead of using their martial arts, they were simply running for their lives. This went against the principles of a swordsman.

This was something he was supposed to mention.

But, they were under threat for their lives and thus fled in panic. Unlike him, who hears the screams of innocents dying but doesn't move a muscle.

White Zhengliu lost the courage to criticize them. He fell silent. Mei Yinghan glanced at him and said gently, "There are too many bandits outside, and they also have to protect the elder brother and nephew. No wonder they ran."

The words were subtle, but the meaning was clear. "They had a reason to run, and you have a reason not to move."

White Zhengliu shook his head and said nothing.

The sound of the bandits searching for valuables continued from all directions, with some even heading toward the backroom.

Watching the movements of the bandits, Mei Yinghan withdrew his hand from the back of White Zhengliu’s hand and placed his own on the hilt of his sword.

The attitude was clear. They wouldn't interfere with Tan’s family, but if the bandits came to trouble them or their people, the swordsman would inevitably take action.

White Zhengliu thought the same. However, their fears didn’t materialize, as the bandits heading to the backroom were stopped by a few of their companions.

In the darkness, a faint voice carried on the wind: "What are you doing in the back?"

"Since we're here, we have to take a look around."“What’s there to see? I already said earlier, all the valuables are in that old man’s hands in the main house. Otherwise, it’s just the woman’s jewelry in the eastern wing.”

“But…”

“What but? Wasting time here, might as well go back and rummage through that old man’s room!”

“We’ve already searched everywhere.”

“Really searched everywhere? Then let’s go!”

The bandits were impressively efficient. In just the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, they began retreating from the Tan household.

When they came, their hands were empty except for their weapons. As they left, their clothes were stuffed to the brim, and the sound of gold and jade clinking together echoed as they walked.

It seemed that Meng Yuniang’s bracelet was really of exceptional quality. The bandit who took it couldn’t bear to put it down. Even after leaving the house, he kept wiping the bracelet with his sleeve, muttering, “This color is really beautiful! But why can’t I wipe it clean?”

What can’t be wiped clean?

White Zhengliu and his companions exchanged glances, said nothing, and swiftly followed.

Once they confirmed the bandits' whereabouts and identities, they could retrieve the bracelet and see what the problem was—everything would be solved.

At this moment, the swordsman truly thought so. Unfortunately, his goal was not achieved.

After leaving the Tan household and following the bandits into the forest, White Zhengliu, confident in his lightness of foot, thought that even if he wasn’t as skilled as the legendary experts who could “tread snow and seek plum blossoms,” he at least wouldn’t fall behind a group of ordinary bandits.

Yet, he lost them.

It wasn’t just him. Even the senior disciple from Mount Tianshan, the nimble Emei disciple from the Nie family, and the Wudang disciple from the Lu family were all equally skilled in footwork. It was hard to say who was superior, but they were all beaten by this group of bandits.

White Zhengliu couldn’t believe the result. He dropped from the tree and carefully observed the tracks on the surrounding trees, discerning, “These are marks from a blade cutting through branches. They haven’t gone far; they’re still nearby!”

Mei Yinghan reached the same conclusion and succinctly said, “Chase?”

White Zhengliu replied, “Chase!”

Nie and Lu followed closely behind. Together with the swordsman and the swordswoman, they tracked deeper into the forest, following the various clues left behind.But there was nothing! Absolutely nothing!

After going in a circle, they found themselves back at the spot where they had last determined the direction to track.

Looking at the tree marks, which were identical to the ones in his memory, Bai Zhengliu took a deep breath and started to realize, “I originally thought that even if we didn’t find anything, it would be because ‘Tan Family’s’ place is limited. The bandits could go farther, while we’d be confined to this mountain forest.”

“But now, it seems the situation is even worse…”

He had thought that the core of this area was Tan’s residence, and that one of the four members of the Tan family was playing the role of the elder. After seeing them at dinner, Bai Zhengliu had an inkling about who that might be.

—It certainly couldn’t be the newborn Wen Ge’er, who couldn’t even crawl. The remaining three adults were Tan Junqiu, who was a silent type, and who had always been this way. After death, it seemed he wouldn’t cause any big disturbances. That left Tan Yuanwai and Meng Yuniang.

But now, before Bai Zhengliu could confirm his suspicions about them after daybreak, another strange situation had appeared.

Bai Zhengliu muttered to himself, “If this mountain forest is cooperating with the bandits, helping them conceal their movements, then who created this area? Or perhaps all the experiences from the Tan family residence are simply irrelevant?”

Thinking about these things, the swordsman felt a headache. He instinctively placed his hand on the Twenty-Eight Generals, but for some reason, whether because there was no danger at this moment or because there were no ghosts in front of him, the Twenty-Eight Generals remained silent and cold, offering no reaction.

Bai Zhengliu said, “We can’t give up. Let’s search again.”

And so, the search continued for the entire night.

As dawn approached, mist rose in the forest, and the four of them finally made a discovery.

But it wasn’t people—it was a scattered collection of weapons.

Just like the officers and soldiers who had come to break the case earlier, what awaited them was not the figures of the bandits, but the weapons they had discarded.

Nie Qing’e and Lu Qing sighed continuously. “Looks like this path is just as impassable.”

Is it impassable? Bai Zhengliu paused among the scattered weapons, a thought stirring in his mind, and said, “According to the two of you, tonight, that group of bandits still plans to go to the Tan family, right?”

Nie and Lu listened to him, slightly doubtful. “Exactly.”

Bai Zhengliu turned to look at them, his gaze intense. “When they went tonight, did they use these weapons, or was there something new?”

Nie Qing’e responded, “Hiss... what do you mean?”Bai Zhengliu said, “Since we can’t find them after letting them go, tonight, let’s try capturing all the bandits.”

He said it so casually. However, Nie Qing’e and Lu Qing, hearing this, felt a rush of heat in their hearts.

Bai Zhengliu continued, “If they didn’t use these, then it’s easy to say. But if they are using these…”

What could it mean?

Does it indicate that everything they’re going through isn’t a cycle? Or is it that the bandits have some kind of special connection to this space, allowing them to appear in the first half of the night and disappear in the second?

Before Bai Zhengliu could elaborate further, Nie Qing’e decisively said, “Let’s tamper with these knives, swords, and sticks.”

Author's Note:

This chapter marks the first hand-holding moment between Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan.