Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Facing the Enemy

Under the heavy darkness of the night, the mountain bandits arrived as expected.

But this time, before they could enter the residence of Tan Yuanwai and Meng Yuniang to loot, they ran into Bai Zhengliu and the others who were guarding the courtyard.

The leader of the bandits clearly froze. He wore a black cloth covering his face, leaving only his eyes visible. He glared at Bai Zhengliu with a fierce expression, though it lacked the intensity needed to truly intimidate, making his pressure seem lackluster. "Who are you, messing with my good plans!"

Bai Zhengliu casually replied, "Just a passerby."

The bandit sneered. "Since you’re just passing by, I'll give you a chance. Leave now, and I’ll spare your life!"

Bai Zhengliu looked at him seriously.

The bandit's patience slowly wore thin. "I’ll count to three! Three, two—"

Bai Zhengliu interrupted, "My grandfather’s been dead for many years."

The bandit froze, not knowing how to react.

"So," Bai Zhengliu continued, not giving him a chance to think, as he unsheathed his long blade, "If you want to be my grandfather, you might as well head to the underworld and see if you can get along with him!"

While speaking, his figure flashed swiftly and he was already in front of the bandit.

In the brief moment of the bandits being distracted, Bai Zhengliu’s long blade came down with a vicious strike!

Recalling what Nie Qing'e had said about the bandits’ strange martial arts, which made them stronger when facing tough opponents, Bai Zhengliu didn’t hesitate at all. He launched his deadliest move right away.

Instead of wasting time with these bandits, it was better to crush them from the start!

With that thought in mind, Bai Zhengliu put all his strength into this blow. At the same time, he silently recited in his heart, "Twenty-Eight Generals, you've helped me drive off Lady Liu before, now help me again!"

It was as if his thoughts were answered. When his blade collided with the weapon hastily raised by the bandit, Bai Zhengliu clearly saw the glowing light emanating from the blade of the Twenty-Eight Generals.

Even though the bandits were wearing masks that covered their entire faces, in that brief instant, Bai Zhengliu's vision seemed to pierce through the dark cloth, catching a glimpse of the bandit's face twisting in sudden horror.

Then, like cutting through tofu, the Twenty-Eight Generals blade effortlessly crushed the bandit’s weapon, continuing its path toward the bandit's face.

"Whoosh—"The long blade tasted blood!

"Bai Lang!"

"Bai Da Ge!"

"Bai Xiong!"

The crowd rushed forward together!

The young swordsman with rising fame, the eldest senior brother of Mount Tian, accompanied by two Emei disciples and one Wudang disciple, five martial heroes from the Jianghu, in the blink of an eye, clashed with the many mountain bandits. For a moment, the courtyard was filled with the sounds of weapons clashing.

The broken weapons from earlier helped delay the bandits' movements, but the bandits were truly fierce. Even with broken swords and knives, they still attacked the Jianghu heroes relentlessly!

Faced with the bandits' assault, the Jianghu heroes were equally fearless, meeting them head-on!

The group had a clear goal, every move directed at the bandits' masks.

Originally, they had prepared for the worst—if a few bandits managed to escape, allowing Tan Yuanwai's family to be attacked again, their ultimate goal would still be to "figure out the identities of the bandits." However, to their surprise, as they shifted targets, the bandits became hesitant…

Once again, Bai Zhengliu’s fingers brushed past his mask, and he began to feel something strange.

He saw that the bandit in front of him had already been struck by the "Twenty-Eight Generals," his body continuously bleeding, his movements weakening. Bai Zhengliu shouted, "Everyone! Don’t worry about the others, come help me capture this one!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Zhengliu heard gasps and exclamations from nearby… the people inside the main house had heard the noise outside long ago, and now they were all hiding by the windows, both anxious and fearful.

They wanted the Jianghu heroes to capture and kill all the bandits, but were also afraid of being caught in the process. Their emotions were complex and conflicted.

The group even heard the arguing from the couple in the eastern side room. Tan Qiulang, who had been sickly all day and seemed ready to faint, suddenly burst with surprising strength, shouting at his wife, "Quickly take the child and leave! Don’t worry about me, just go!"

Meng Yuniang's voice was softer than her husband's. It could barely be heard through the wind, drifting into the ears of the Jianghu heroes.

"How can Father leave those people behind... Qiulang, don’t panic! The bandits always just rob, they don’t kill. At worst, we’ll give them all our money, and then you and I, along with Father and the child, will be safe."

Tan Qiulang, in his desperation, coughed, "Yuniang! You’re too naive, how can you believe that? Hurry and go, cough, cough..."He coughed so violently that it seemed as if his heart would tear apart. Meng Yuniang exclaimed, "Qiulang, are you coughing up blood?"

Tan Junqiu replied, "Go... ah, Father! Quickly take Yuniang and take her away!"

Tan Yuanwai, who had been anxiously watching his son and daughter-in-law, finally couldn't stay calm any longer. Taking advantage of the intense fighting outside, he climbed out of the back window and made his way to the younger generation's room through the same window.

Seeing his son coughing up blood and his grandson crying his heart out, Tan Yuanwai staggered, almost losing his balance—this scene caught the attention of Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan outside.

He was barely standing. In that moment, it seemed as though he had aged ten years, and he begged his daughter-in-law, "Yuniang, you must leave." Then he added, "I don't know what's going on at the in-laws' place. I gathered my courage and took a glance at the western wing, they seem to have already fled."

Indeed, the Jianghu heroes could testify that the Meng family had fled swiftly.

While they were still trying to remove the bandits' masks, Tan Junqiu was coughing violently, and Tan Yuanwai, pulling at his clothing, was struggling to move towards his son and daughter-in-law. The Meng family had already swiftly climbed out the window and scaled the courtyard wall, disappearing somewhere far off.

The speed and efficiency of their movements left Bai Zhengliu, a Jianghu person who had trained in light skills since childhood, utterly amazed. He couldn't help but think that if he had been as quick as they were when he was younger, he might have earned more roasted chickens from his master as rewards.

Faced with the pleas of her husband and father-in-law, Meng Yuniang was on the verge of collapsing, shaking her head, "No..."

However, Bai Zhengliu did not continue watching the scene.

More bandits entered from outside, joining the fight.

The martial skills of both sides were already uneven, and now the bandits vastly outnumbered them. If the Jianghu heroes hadn’t been focusing on capturing the bandits and unmasking them, drawing more bandits in to assist, the Tan family would likely have been slaughtered by now.

But the lack of pressure on the Tan family meant that all the pressure fell on the Jianghu heroes. Before long, everyone had suffered both major and minor injuries, with Nie Qing’e and Lu Qing being the most severely wounded…

This couldn't go on any longer.

The courtyard was too small. Staying there meant they were directly under the bandits' weapons. It was better to capture a bandit and retreat into the forest. Even if the bandits managed to track them down, at least they would gain some time.

Realizing this, Bai Zhengliu’s heart sank, and he raised his hand to grab the bandit whose face was covered in blood.

The bandit naturally tried to dodge, but Bai Zhengliu had already predicted his move and, as more bandits rushed to his aid, unleashed the "Twenty-Eight Generals." He shouted loudly, "Help me!"

As his voice echoed, under the astonished gazes of Jun Yang, Nie Qing’e, and Lu Qing, the "Twenty-Eight Generals" flew out of Bai Zhengliu’s hand. Though no one was holding the blade, it seemed as if someone had gripped it and began to slash at the bandits!

The blade emitted a shimmering light, like fluttering fireflies, landing on the Jianghu heroes.Mei Yinghan and Jun Yang were now closer to each other. As they encountered the shimmering light, their tired bodies suddenly became revitalized. It felt as if all their exhaustion had been lifted in that instant, and their minds became clearer than ever.

Mei Yinghan was alright, as he had already known about the extraordinary nature of the "Twenty-Eight Generals." But Jun Yang was greatly astonished. In his dazed state, he remembered what Bai Zhengliu had said to Qian Gui earlier that afternoon. The only thought left in his mind was:

"So, Bai Ge really cares deeply for Qian Ge... Speaking of which, Bai Ge’s knife has such a function; I wonder what other amazing uses Qian Ge's hairpin has."

Now that he understood this, even though he still had concerns about leaving his younger brother alone guarding the back room, Jun Yang was able to calmly leave with Bai Zhengliu, who had finally caught a bandit by the collar and was rushing outside the Tan family estate.

Under the night sky—

The young man wielding the knife wore dark clothes and swiftly moved, his toes lightly tapping against the trees in the mountain forest!

In his hand, the bandit with blood all over his face was still struggling, while behind him, the heavy sound of chaotic footsteps approached.

Bai Zhengliu glanced at the person beside him, thinking to himself: “Mei Ge was right. I really am thinking of someone from the ‘Tan family’ right now. This feels different from when I was talking about Old Master Chang or Hu the butcher earlier.”

It was no longer that oppressive feeling, like carrying a huge bundle of straw. The bandit was still a nuisance, but ultimately—

"Whoosh——!"

A hidden arrow shot from behind Bai Zhengliu. Had it not been for his quick reflexes, he would not have been able to dodge in time. That arrow, glowing faintly green, would have struck his shoulder!

Bai Zhengliu’s sense of danger surged. At that very moment, he couldn’t afford to think about anything else. He threw the bandit he was holding into the air with great force! Then, as the bandit's body began to fall, Bai Zhengliu grabbed the mask off his head.

The bandit continued to fall.

But the mask remained suspended in midair, in Bai Zhengliu's hand.

The next second, the man "thudded" to the ground.

The scene that appeared before Bai Zhengliu’s eyes made his pupils contract.

At the same time, the other Jianghu heroes rushed to the scene!

But none of them were concerned with the bandit lying on the ground. Each of them had a hidden weapon—identical to the short sword that had attacked Bai Zhengliu—attached to their backs or sides. Lu Qing gritted his teeth and said, "They are hidden, and we are in the open. There's nothing we can do to these damn dogs!"

Jun Yang looked around, hoping to pick up a stone from the ground and throw it at the distance. But in a moment of danger, the more he searched for something, the less he seemed able to find anything.