After the beginning of spring, Zhu Daoba’s days were not easy either. The imperial court had been chasing them relentlessly these days. With nowhere to go, they plundered all the way, and after hearing that Wei Er had run to the village, they simply came over to take revenge for this betrayal. The gold and silver that Wei Er had taken away were not only from Xia Banzi, but also from others in the stronghold!

Zhu Daoba rode forward on his horse, “Wei Er is from your village, right? Today it’s your bad luck. That Wei Er was originally the second-in-command of our stronghold. He killed his brothers, took the money, and escaped back. Today it’s your bad luck, we are here to take this revenge!”

Only then did everyone finally understand why this group of bandits had come straight toward their village! It turned out this disaster had been brought about by that fellow Wei Er!

But since Wei Er had escaped here, he definitely would not have told them which village he was from. How could these people know?

Hearing what this gang of villains said, it seemed today would not be easy to get through. The one in the lead clearly had a lot of blood on his hands.

Someone with sharp eyes saw the thin and small man standing in front, “You are Xia Hehua’s younger brother, Xia Banzi!”

Xia Banzi let out a strange ‘heh-heh’ laugh, still holding a chopping blade in his hand, “It’s me. Who would have thought, today, I, Xia Banzi, would come back to kill again?. Today I will slaughter your village to take revenge!”

He Dazhu snorted coldly, “When has our village ever wronged you? Back when there was chaos in the town, the village took you in, and it turned out we brought in a disaster, you asshole! Ye-ger, where did you go!”

“Blame Wei Er, it was he who harmed me like this, he wanted to kill me to silence me. Watch me today as I let my boss kill all of you, hahaha!”

Relying on Zhu Daoba being here, Xia Banzi was extremely arrogant, boasting about slaughtering the village. He knew Zhu Daoba had already gone blood-crazy. Anyway, whether in front or behind, it was death. Better to drag a few down with him.

“And that Ye-ger you mentioned, he’s long dead, in that ditch below the stronghold. Let me tell you, Wei Er also played with him, hahaha.”

The villagers gnashed their teeth in hatred, “You are worse than an animal!”

Zhu Daoba was too lazy to waste words: “You all go die together with Wei Er!”

Zhu Daoba had been rampant for so long and had never encountered a match. His more than two hundred jin body was like a small mountain. Although the were many villagers, he did not put them in his eyes at all. It was nothing more than killing a while longer.

He spurred his horse, waving his blade as he charged forward, “If Lao Tzu cannot live, none of you should even think of living either. All of you go be buried with Lao Tzu!”

The villagers also rushed forward. This gang of villains would not let them go. If they retreated, it would not only be themselves, but also their wives and children at home.

The two sides clashed in bloody fighting. The villagers, several people dealing with one, were fully enough. The leader Zhu Daoba, wielding his chopping blade, injured several people. Wei Qingshan seized the moment and hacked down at the horse’s leg, cutting it off. Zhu Daoba tumbled down from the horse.

Wei Qingshan held the blade in both hands and pounced, slashing straight at his face. Zhu Daoba raised the big blade in his hand to block. The shock numbed his mouth. Zhu Daoba’s heart trembled. Since becoming a bandit, this was the first time he had met a true opponent!

Wei Qingshan’s chopping blade slid, and the big blade in Zhu Daoba’s hand nearly flew out. Zhu Daoba lifted his foot to kick at Wei Qingshan. Wei Qingshan flipped down and dodged. Only then did Zhu Daoba get the chance to climb back up from the ground, “Good, your skill is not bad!”

The two raised blades and hacked toward each other. Wei Qingshan’s face was cold, his gaze firmly locked on the man opposite. He could not lose. Xiao Yu was still waiting for him. He had to protect his little husband.

In the midst of their fierce fight, Wei Qingshan’s shoulder took a blade cut, blood dyeing half his body red. Zhu Daoba’s chest was slashed once, injured even more seriously than Wei Qingshan, propping himself on his blade, panting heavily.

The surrounding shouts of killing seemed unrelated to Wei Qingshan. He pounced straight toward Zhu Daoba, directly flicked away the blade in his hand, and with a neat horizontal slash, directly opened the bandit chief’s throat. Blood instantly spurted out, splashing a great deal onto Wei Qingshan’s face.

Wei Qingshan furrowed his brows. Later, he would have to wash clean, lest he scare his little husband.

The other bandits were also mostly taken care of. A few with decent skills were still desperately resisting. Someone shouted, “The boss is dead!”

The still-fighting bandits saw Zhu Daoba’s corpse and instantly panicked, rushing to flee toward the back mountain. Xia Banzi was frightened and quickly ran. He had originally thought he could slaughter the village to take revenge, but unexpectedly, Zhu Daoba, someone he thought to be formidable, had actually fallen here!

There were also quite a few injured among the villagers. Someone in front blocked their way. Just as Xia Banzi was about to escape, Wei Qingshan raised his hand and flung the chopping blade out. It struck directly into Xia Banzi’s back. Xia Banzi immediately pitched forward onto the ground.

The few remaining bandits alive were captured. The villagers were all farmers, when had they ever had blood on their hands? Some hands trembled, some had blood on them, some shook uncontrollably now that the fighting was over.

“Take these men to the ancestral hall in the village to hold them. Today, send them to the authorities together with Wei Er. Erzhu, you take some men to escort them. I and Dazhu will clean up these corpses, lest we scare the villagers. Wang Da, Wang Er, you two help support the villagers to quickly go get bandaged.”

Wei Qingshan arranged everything properly. Everyone hurried to do their own tasks. Wei Qingshan tore off his sleeve and simply bandaged his wound, then took some men to the back mountain to dig pits.

The people hiding in the village had just not dared to come out when they heard voices. Then someone shouted, “Everyone, come out, the bandits have all been taken care of!”

Only then did some carefully poke their heads out. Seeing that it was indeed villagers, they hurried to spread the news everywhere.

Lin Yu and the others also brought the children out. They gave the children to Shi Niang to watch, and Lin Yu hurried out, not knowing how Wei Qingshan was doing.

Lin Yu opened the courtyard gate and immediately saw a line of people, each of them with blood on their bodies, some even being supported as they walked, looking seriously injured. Lin Yu’s heart tightened. He saw Wang Er and hurriedly stopped him to ask, “Brother Wang Er, where is Qingshan? Why is Qingshan not with them? How is he?”

Wang Er wiped the sweat from his face, “Qingshan is over there in the back mountain. Sister-in-law, don’t go there for now, it’s all bloody, really frightening.”

“Where is Shi Tou!” He Dongdong also hurriedly asked.

“He’s fine too. No one in the village didn’t lost their lives, but quite a few were injured.”

Hearing that no one in the village had died, Lin Yu and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they were fine, it was good.

Zhao Yueniang also followed them out. As soon as she stepped outside, she saw a crowd of people with blood all over them, and she was so frightened that she cried out,  “Ah!” Lin Yu quickly pushed her back into the courtyard, “Yueniang, it’s still messy outside now. You wait here, I’ll go check on your Qingshan-ge.”

“Brother, I’ll go with you.”

“I’ll go too!” He Dongdong was also afraid that Shi Tou might be injured, and called toward the courtyard, “Mother, I’m going to check on Shi Tou!”

After saying this, He Dongdong pulled Lin Yu and ran toward the back mountain. Zhao Yueniang also followed along. They left the village and walked along the small path for a while before seeing people. He Dongdong called out, “Shi Tou!”

Wei Qingshan also looked over and saw that his little husband had come too. He quickly turned his back and used his sleeve to wipe his face. His little husband was timid, he better not scare him. He hurried over to stop Lin Yu from approaching, as this place was not yet cleaned up.

“Why did you come over here?”

“I came to check on you. Are you injured?”

“No, I’m fine.” Wei Qingshan smiled at his little husband. His face had blood on it, so when he smiled, it did not look good at all, instead appearing somewhat fierce and evil, with the smell of blood still clinging to him.

Lin Yu saw that Wei Qingshan’s arm had been cut open, exposing the white inner garment, and that his shoulder was bound with cloth, which was soaked through, half of his body covered in blood. Lin Yu’s eyes turned red. “Your shoulder is injured.”

“It’s just a little wound. Once this side is cleaned up, I’ll go back. You go home first, this place isn’t clean.”

Lin Yu was somewhat frightened. Not frightened by the bandits, but because when he opened the door, he had seen people passing by, all with blood and wounds. He feared that Wei Qingshan was also injured. He wanted to embrace the man in front of him, but was dodged by Wei Qingshan.

Lin Yu’s face showed grievance. He tilted his head back, about to cry, looking at Wei Qingshan. Seeing his little husband like this made Wei Qingshan’s heart ache unbearably. He spoke in a low voice to his little husband, “My body is dirty, we’ll talk about it once we get home.”

Lin Yu nodded. Wei Qingshan’s face and hands were covered in blood. He did not know if it was his own or someone else’s. Not to mention Lin Yu, even Wei Qingshan himself found it filthy.

“It’s nearly noon, go back and cook. I’m already hungry.”

“Mm, I’ll go cook right away.”

Lin Yu quickly took Zhao Yueniang back home. He Dongdong, seeing that Shi Tou was not in any serious trouble, was also relieved and followed home.

After coaxing his little husband to leave, Wei Qingshan got busy again. They had captured five alive, plus the corpses on the ground, this wave of villains totaled fifteen men. This time, the evidence was ironclad, and Wei Er could no longer deny it.

The village head also came over. He had never seen such a scene, and was so frightened that his face turned pale. Two men supported him, “Village head, it’s fine now, they are all dead.”

He Dazhu recounted to the village head what had just happened—why this gang of villains had come straight for their village, as well as the matter with Xia Banzi and Wei Er.

The village head slapped his thigh in anger, “Sinful, sinful! That Wei Er and his family nearly caused the deaths of our whole village. Wei Er and his family cannot be allowed to stay in the village!”

The corpses were first carried to the mountain gully, only waiting to be sent together with the five captured villains and Wei Er to the authorities. Once the authorities issued instructions, they would then handle these corpses.

Once Lin Yu got back, he first killed an old hen at home and stewed it in an earthen pot. Ever since they had come down from the mountain, his family rarely ate meat. The villagers all had it hard now. How could his family let the smell of meat waft out? That would only invite resentment. But today Wei Qingshan was injured, so Lin Yu wanted to stew a chicken to nourish him.

Wei Qingshan finished tidying up and came back. In the village, there were still two groups patrolling to prevent any stragglers from escaping.

As soon as Wei Qingshan came back, Lin Yu quickly prepared bath water for him, “I’ll help you wash, don’t let it touch the wound.”

“Alright.”

Wei Qingshan did not refuse. His little husband rarely helped him bathe, how could he have any reason to refuse?

Lin Yu carefully helped Wei Qingshan take off his upper garment. The wound on his shoulder was rather deep, still bleeding even now. Lin Yu’s face turned pale with fright. He had thought Wei Qingshan was only lightly injured, but it was actually this serious, the flesh had already turned out. Lin Yu’s heart ached unbearably. He hurriedly poured on some hemostatic medicine, then tore some clean cloth and wrapped it.

Seeing his little husband’s eyes red, Wei Qingshan quickly comforted him, “It’s nothing, I’ll just rest for a few days, and it will be fine.”

“How can a few days’ rest be enough? This wound is so deep.”

Lin Yu sniffled, helped Wei Qingshan wash, and the water turned red. He then went out to fetch another bucket of water, came back to wash Wei Qingshan again, and even cleaned his hair thoroughly.

Once Wei Qingshan put on clean clothes, he felt much more comfortable, “That set of clothes, just throw it, don’t keep it, it’s filthy.”

“Mm, I’ll go burn it right now.”

Lin Yu went to the kitchen and took out a wooden stick, then burned those filthy clothes.

Wei Qingshan held a sweat towel to wipe his hair, and Lin Yu took it over, “Sit on the stool, I’ll wring your hair dry for you.”

Wei Qingshan obediently sat down, letting his little husband wring his hair dry.

“It’s all fine now, right?” Lin Yu asked.

“In the afternoon, I still have to go to town. We captured five bandits alive and need to send them to town.”

“You’re so badly injured, just rest at home.”

“It’s fine, this time many people are going.”

In the courtyard, Lin Yu was wringing Wei Qingshan’s hair, while Zhao Yueniang was in the kitchen house tending the fire to cook, from time to time adding firewood into the stove. The chicken soup in the earthen pot was already giving off a fragrant aroma.

At mealtime, Lin Yu scooped a full bowl for Wei Qingshan, “Eat more to nourish yourself.”

Wei Qingshan felt warmth in his heart. How could he ever bear to part with his little husband?

After the meal, Wei Qingshan went to the ancestral hall. This afternoon, they needed to escort these bandits to the authorities as early as possible, lest delaying too long bring calamity upon the village.

Several people in the village were more seriously injured, but fortunately, no one had lost limbs. The village head had someone invite a doctor from the neighboring village. The consultation fee would come out of the silver they had confiscated. None of the villagers objected—those who were injured had also gotten hurt to protect the village. Who in the village didn’t have family, old or young?

When Wei Qingshan went, Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang also followed. Since the bandits had just been eliminated, Wei Qingshan was not at ease leaving the two alone at home while he went to town, so he told them to go find He Dongdong or go to He Daniang’s house for a while.

When the three of them arrived, the dilapidated ancestral hall was already surrounded by nearly the whole village. Anyone who was home and idle had gathered. This winter, their village had not been free of harassment by bandits, and everyone hated these villains to the bone.

“Ptui, who would have thought Wei Er actually took advantage of the chaos to become a bandit!”

“If not for him, how would our village have drawn disaster? That leader was fierce and evil, boasting about slaughtering the whole village.”

“He really deserves to be cut into pieces by a thousand blades!”

In the morning, when they had gone to fight with this gang of bandits, every household that had able-bodied men had gone. Now the whole village knew what had happened. Wei Qingshan had not told Lin Yu during the meal, so Lin Yu was hearing it in a haze. How had this gang of bandits ended up connected to Wei Er?

In the broken ancestral hall, Wei Laotai and Xia Hehua were tied up, both of them trembling with fear. Wei Er and the other five captured bandits had their mouths stuffed and were bound tightly with ropes, thrown on the ground, waiting to be sent to town.

At this moment, Wei Er no longer had his morning arrogance. When he saw the people who had been captured, his face turned pale. How had that gang of bandits from Aozi Mountain been captured!

Amid the villagers’ noisy chatter, Wei Er also pieced together most of it. So Xia Banzi had not died, and had brought people over! His heart filled with regret—he should have watched to make sure Xia Banzi died back then! Otherwise, right now, he would be enjoying good food and drink in town with silver in hand!

Wang Fulang shouted from the crowd, “Village head, this old woman and Xia Hehua can’t be allowed to stay in our village anymore, isn’t that just courting death for us!”

“That’s right, that’s right, village head, they can’t stay in the village any longer!”

Xia Hehua kowtowed repeatedly, “It wasn’t my fault, it wasn’t my fault, it was Wei Er who became a bandit, I really didn’t know anything!”

“Ptui! Isn’t Xia Banzi your brother? Isn’t Wei Er your man? When you wore that golden hairpin on your head, didn’t you think about how it was stained with human lives?”

“That’s right! Village head, drive them all out!”

“Drive them out!”

Amid the chorus of voices, Lin Yu also pieced together most of it. It turned out that Wei Er had gotten gold and silver, and seeing the court suppressing bandits, he had fled back. He had tried to kill Xia Banzi and failed, and instead Xia Banzi had brought the bandits over, nearly bringing ruin to their village.

Lin Yu listened, so angry that his whole face flushed red, “How can there be such vicious people!”