Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Scarlet Heroine

Li Pingyang had just been pulled into the courtyard when, through a crack in the gate, he saw a civilian being seized by two men dressed as bandits, brandishing large blades. Without a word, they swung their weapons and slit the civilian's throat. Li Pingyang’s eyes widened in shock as he watched the bandits commit the atrocity right before him.

Sensing his composure returning, the man behind him let go. Li Pingyang turned around to discover that the person who had pulled him into the courtyard was none other than Li Hu! Li Hu made a gesture for silence, signaling him to follow and remain quiet. Li Pingyang followed Li Hu as they climbed the courtyard wall and crouched on the roof, peering down with extreme caution.

Cangzhou City was now a scene of carnage; bodies lay scattered in the narrow alleys, and the ground was soaked in blood. Vegetables, fabrics, and baskets were strewn about everywhere. A horde of bandits had descended from nowhere, occupying most of the city while he was still asleep. Some shops were set ablaze, and bandits swaggered out clutching stolen grain, while the merchants inside had either been executed or severely wounded. The cleverer ones hid beneath counters, pressing their hands over their mouths, trembling in terror, not daring to breathe or even check if the intruders had left.

On the main street, a young woman with a lovely face happened upon the bandits mid-rampage. Terrified, she dropped the basket she was carrying. A buck-toothed bandit with a protruding belly turned to look at her. The woman backed away, turned, and fled. The buck-toothed bandit rested his blade on his shoulder, signaled his men to continue, and, wiping the drool from his mouth with a smirk, hurried off in pursuit.

"Go back quickly and tell everyone to hide. I entrust them to your protection. We will meet at the Pingyang Restaurant later," Li Pingyang said. Concerned for the woman’s safety, he ignored Li Hu's protests and followed after her, moving nimbly across the rooftops. Li Hu acknowledged the order and leapt down to depart.

The woman fled the street and ducked into an alley, but the buck-toothed bandit followed. Finding the alley a dead end, he stroked his chin with a wicked grin, certain she had not escaped but was merely hiding. "Little beauty, don't be afraid! I just want to take you back to be my wife. Hahaha..." The bandit laughed, revealing his buck teeth, and casually tossed aside a large bamboo basket he had searched. The woman was not inside, so he moved on to check other spots, seemingly patient and unconcerned that she might escape.

"If you are willing, I promise that none of my brothers will dare touch a single hair on your head. If I find out they have, I’ll split them in two!" As he spoke, he dropped his blade to the ground with a deliberate thud, hoping to startle her into making a sound. It seemed he had underestimated her resolve. He searched another corner, but she was nowhere to be found. The bandit scratched his face, his eyes darting around as he changed tactics to provoke her. "If you refuse, then I, Lei Wanchou, cannot be held responsible for what my brothers might do to you!" As he spoke, he violently ripped the lid off a water vat. In truth, the woman was hiding in a woodpile behind him, but he had failed to look closely and overlooked her.

"Is what you said true?" Having witnessed the wanton slaughter, she hoped that at least this man would keep his word and protect her. To survive, she decided to feign submission for safety.

"Of course! My word, Lei Wanchou's word, is as steady as... what was it..." He paused, searching his memory before adding, "Once a word is spoken, not even a team of four horses can catch it."

Hidden in the shadows on the roof, Li Pingyang watched, thinking how naive the woman was to believe such a person. She was far too gullible.

As the buck-toothed bandit turned toward the sound of her voice, he saw her emerge, looking tense and fearful. Up close, he realized just how beautiful she truly was.

*Smack!*

A brick struck him squarely on the forehead. Li Pingyang was startled; he hadn't expected the woman to have hidden a brick in her sleeve. She was braver than he thought. The brick shattered, but the bandit did not fall. He stood tall, blood streaming down his forehead, across his face, and to his lips. He licked the blood, and the woman, terrified, stumbled backward, falling to the ground and scrambling away on her hands. Seeing her defiance, the bandit threw his blade, pinning it into the ground beside her right hand, freezing her in place. He stripped off his outer garment, threw it aside, and grabbed the woman’s hair, dragging her across the ground.

Li Pingyang was about to leap down to save her when a figure flashed past. A heavy blade descended, severing the bandit's left arm.

The bandit grabbed his sword with his other hand to parry the next strike. The attacker, using sheer brute force, forced his blade down. Because the bandit was left with only one arm—and not his dominant one at that—the spine of his sword was driven deep into his own shoulder. He shrieked in pain and looked up. Upon seeing his attacker, his face turned ashen; he knew he was finished.

The attacker was exceptionally skilled. By the time Li Pingyang saw her clearly, the bandit had already lost an arm and was kneeling in the dirt, begging for mercy. The woman scrambled up, gave her savior a grateful look, and realized she too was a woman. After a quick word of thanks, she fled toward her home.

The bandit clutched his severed limb, blood gushing as he gritted his teeth in agony. He had not expected that his first attempt to "have some fun" would result in being caught by a commander of the Second Hall of the Thunder Sect.

Li Pingyang looked down. Standing before the bandit, with her blade pressed against his throat, was a heroine in a red robe. She looked cold and stern, and was strikingly beautiful. She appeared to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, her hair tied back and secured with a green hairpin. Her skin was fair, and her eyes, though like water, held a faint, icy detachment that kept others at a distance. In her slender hand, she gripped a heavy broadsword that seemed ill-suited to her, featuring two holes in the spine with copper rings.

"Commander... Commander Lu, spare me! Please, calm your anger!" Kneeling on the ground, the bandit trembled with fear. The woman didn't even want to look at him, questioning who had ordered him to slaughter the innocent and abduct women. The bandit stammered, unable to answer.

The bandit's nature was etched into his bones; it was hard to change. Stealing grain and goods was one thing, but killing and abducting women were against her principles. Since he had broken the rules, he would be punished.

"There's another one hiding here." As Li Pingyang observed the scene, a man's voice came from behind him. Before he could react, the man kicked him down. As he landed, the man jumped down after him.