Chapter 14

Between the mountains, the layers of peaks were lush and green, with vast fields of greenery.

The mist flowed like satin around the mountainside, and the sound of leaves rustling in the wind echoed across the wild hills.

Along the winding mountain path, a group of Blackwater Bandits rode slowly on horseback, with guards holding knives and keeping watch over the prisoner carts that contained captured members of the South Beggars’ Sect.

The creaking sound of the wheels stirred Yun Miao awake with a breeze from the evening air.

She rubbed her eyes, still feeling a bit disoriented. After being captured and bound to a horse, she had passed out, and now, upon waking, she found herself in the midst of the mountains, being transported in a prisoner cart towards the mountainside.

Surrounded by the bars of the cart, the wooden floor was piled with hay, and Yun Miao sat on the pile of straw, locked inside with other South Beggars’ Sect members.

Her thoughts were racing.

From her mental review, the plan to rescue Luo Li by disguising as a South Beggars’ Sect officer could have succeeded.

But when she revealed the surname of the South Beggars’ Sect leader, the gang leader, Ruan Wuji, suddenly turned hostile.

Yun Miao clearly remembered that in the original story, the South Beggars’ Sect leader was named “Duan Tiande.”

He was a purple-robed swordsman skilled in archery, fond of visiting brothels, and had once been beaten by the male lead, Prince Xie Kang, for harassing the female lead, Jiang Kui.

However, Ruan Wuji had claimed that the South Beggars’ Sect leader was not named Duan.

Why was that the case? Yun Miao was confused.

Was it a mistake in the original plot, or was there another reason?

Moreover, the Blackwater Bandit group didn’t even exist in the original story.

This so-called rival gang of the South Beggars’ Sect hadn’t even been mentioned in the original text. According to the original storyline, the South Beggars’ Sect was in constant conflict with the Northern Beggars’ Sect, and the two beggar sects-controlled parts of Chang’an City, perpetually at odds with each other.

So, what was this Blackwater Bandit group all about?

Lost in these thoughts, Yun Miao slowly opened her eyes to look outside.

She froze for a moment.

The mountains were covered with peach and plum trees, their branches swaying gently in the evening breeze.

It was midsummer, and wildflowers bloomed across the woods, with plums hanging on the tree tops and unripe green apricots still small.

The breeze carried the sweet scent of fruit, mixed with a cool, damp moisture that became mist, swirling through the mountains.

…Yun Miao recognized this place.

On the day she first entered the novel, she had fallen from a peach tree and landed on a stranger’s body, and that tree had grown in the vicinity.

Later, when they traveled from the cave towards Chang’an, they passed through this forest again.

It turned out this area was part of the Blackwater Bandit’s territory.

But what was Xie Zhiyuan doing on the Blackwater Bandits’ turf?

Lost in thought, Yun Miao turned her head to call out to Xie Zhiyuan, but paused.

In the swaying cart, the young man in a scarlet outfit was asleep, eyes closed, leaning against her side.

The young man, slumped with his head lowered, had a sharp nose, and his long, thick eyelashes were cast down, creating a delicate silhouette.

The light of the setting sun poured across his face, making his skin seem translucent, like fine porcelain. His body swayed with the motion of the cart, as if he had lost all consciousness.

Yun Miao felt a bit worried about him.

“Xie Zhiyuan?” she whispered, nudging him.

With such a light push and the jolt of the cart, the young man leaned toward her, resting his head on her shoulder.

A shallow breath brushed past her cheek, carrying a slight chill and the scent of grass and wood, fresh with dew and snow.

Yun Miao couldn’t wake him. Panicked, she reached out to check his body, her hand finding warmth and blood on his clothes.

“Xie Zhiyuan?” she exclaimed in fear.

She remembered the heavy arrow wound he had suffered when he collapsed onto her earlier. The injury had clearly not healed, and the battle today had reopened the wound.

The blood soaked through his deep red clothes, but the color of the clothing made it hard to notice.

When the Blackwater Bandits charged through the alley, he had thrown his knife and said he couldn’t fight back. Yun Miao had thought he was lying, but now she was starting to believe his words were true.

Could he have passed out because of his severe injury?

She reached to undo his robe, intending to check his wound, but suddenly, she felt his cold hand grasp her wrist.

“I’m fine,” Xie Zhiyuan whispered, pushing her hand away.

“You’re awake?” Yun Miao looked at his pale face.

“I wasn’t asleep,” he replied, still with his eyes closed. “I was just resting my eyes.”

Yun Miao turned her head to observe him. He hadn’t moved, still leaning on her shoulder. His bangs hung low, slightly covering his eyes, and his expression was unreadable.

Maybe he really hadn’t been asleep. The appearance of unconsciousness could have just been a ruse to fool the bandits guarding them.

“Someone’s been watching us.”

Xie Zhiyuan whispered near her ear, remaining still. “Give me your right hand, slowly, don’t let them notice.”

Yun Miao cautiously glanced around, then slowly moved one hand towards his, “Here.”

At that moment, the red silk on his left wrist silently slid off, revealing a slender blade, about a foot long.

Without making a sound, he gently held her fingers, placed the blade against her wrist, and began to wind the red silk around it.

The cool blade pressed against her skin, making Yun Miao shiver slightly, but she held herself still, allowing him to finish.

“I’m giving you the blade.” He whispered, “Hide it well, don’t let anyone find it. You don’t know martial arts, so they won’t check.”

Yun Miao nodded nervously.

The young man beside her remained still. She glanced at him for a long time. His lowered lashes closed quietly, and his breathing became lighter and steadier, like a soft feather brushing her ear.

This time, he was truly asleep.

Yun Miao quietly reached out, gently supporting his forehead, worried that he might fall from the swaying cart.

He slept soundly by her side, and she calmly counted his soft breaths.

Across the mountains, flowers were in full bloom.

---

The Blackwater Bandits’ group reached a halt on the mountainside.

Several bandits came forward, placing burlap sacks over the prisoners’ heads and tying them together with ropes, forming a chain.

This meant that the bandits’ stronghold was near. They couldn’t let anyone know the way up the mountain.

The bandits had been terrorizing the area for a long time, even affecting the security of Chang’an. Despite several large-scale searches by the authorities, they had never been able to locate the Blackwater Bandits’ stronghold, always returning empty-handed.

The government’s attempts to wipe out the bandits always ended in failure, precisely because of the strict internal rules of the Blackwater Bandits.

Only the most desperate criminals could join this gang, and they placed a heavy emphasis on secrecy, willing to sacrifice hundreds of innocents to protect the location of their base.

No one who has ever been captured and brought into the mountain stronghold has walked out alive.

Under the harsh orders of the mountain bandits, Yun Miao, with a sack over her head, stumbled forward, tightly holding onto the hand of the youth beside her.

Since the moment the boy fell asleep, he hadn’t woken up again, even when they were pulled out of the crowd to have sacks put over their heads. He had no reaction, almost as if sleepwalking.

Yun Miao suspected that he might have fallen into an extreme state of exhaustion from blood loss.

She had no choice but to hold his hand tightly, pulling him along to ensure he didn’t get lost.

After all, she had seen several people who wandered around or tried to escape being killed with a single strike.

Fortunately, this guy behaved well while asleep.

He kept his eyes closed in a daze, letting her guide him along. Occasionally, when he tripped, she tugged him gently, and he would follow her.

The captive group wound through the intricate mountain paths and finally stopped in an open area in front of the stronghold’s main hall.

The leader of the bandits ordered his subordinates to remove the sacks from the prisoners’ heads, then unsheathed his large blade with a “clang.”

“Anyone I don’t like, kill them first, especially the sacrificial wine.”

The bandit leader coldly commanded, “The rest will be sent to the back mountains to be tortured before being put to hard labor.”

The sacks were roughly ripped off, and Yun Miao raised her head.

The bandit leader standing at the top of the stairs had a vicious face, a long scar running from his forehead to the corner of his mouth, making him look frightening and terrible.

Her heart raced as she tightened her grip on the boy’s hand and tried to hide behind him to avoid the leader’s gaze.

But that gaze had already fallen on her.

“A woman?”

The bandit leader licked his lips, “Bring her over!”

A bandit grabbed Yun Miao’s sleeve, pulling her out of the line, while another used the hilt of his knife to knock her on the back, pressing the back of the blade against her shoulders, forcing her to lift her head so the leader could examine her closely.

Yun Miao’s hand, still holding onto Xie Zhiyuan’s, was forced to let go.

At that moment, as her fingers pulled away, the boy, still in his sleepwalking state, seemed to sense something. His lowered fingertips twitched slightly.

The bandit leader slowly descended the stairs, using the back of his blade to lift Yun Miao’s chin inch by inch.

Her loose hair cascaded like a waterfall, revealing a face as fair as sheep’s fat jade, with a fierce and unyielding look in her eyes.

“Such a pretty young girl.” The bandit leader chuckled evilly.

The girl, pressed under the blade, bit her lip and struggled with all her might.

Then, in the next moment, the situation suddenly changed!

The evening breeze swept in silently, and a flash of deep red clothing brushed past Yun Miao’s side. She was suddenly pulled into a cool, familiar embrace.

A voice whispered softly in her ear:

“You can call for me when you need me.”

In the next moment, the wind howled, and a blade slashed down!

The young man in the scarlet robe reversed his grip on the blade, rushing forward against the wind. One arm held the girl in his embrace, while the other pressed the blade against the bandit leader’s throat. He tilted his head, and the wind swirled around him, lifting his flowing clothes.

“Don’t touch her.”

He tilted his head and smiled, “Or I’ll kill you.”

At the same time, the surrounding bandits reacted, drawing their swords!

Countless weapons surrounded the young man and the bandit leader in the center, flashing with cold and sharp light from all directions.

The young man merely placed a hand over the girl’s eyes.

The bandit leader, whose throat was pressed by the blade, instead let out a rough laugh.

“Who kills who isn’t certain, is it?”

He raised two fingers, pressing down on the knife at his neck, looking at the young man and laughing hoarsely, “Why don’t you look back?”

In the wind, on the distant stairs, a tall, grim figure stood. He was holding a large horned bow, an ice-cold, sharp arrow aimed directly at the young man surrounded in the crowd.

“You can make your move, Young Master, but my subordinate will certainly shoot your heart with one arrow.”

The bandit leader laughed coldly, “Both you and your girl will die here.”

“Do you dare to gamble?”

He laughed heartily, “Let’s see who is faster, your blade or my subordinate’s arrow?”

Xie Zhiyuan tilted his head to look at him, his hand holding the knife unwavering.

“That’s not your subordinate.”

The bandit leader froze for a moment, then heard the young man calmly say, “You’re his subordinate.”

“Leader of Black Water Stronghold,”

At this moment, Xie Zhiyuan raised his head, “Long time no see?”

The bandit leader, standing high on the stairs, looked down at him for a moment before slowly speaking: “I don’t remember where I’ve seen you.”

“We met during the chaotic battle on Front Street,” Xie Zhiyuan said, “You might not remember me, but I clearly remember you.”

“Who are you?” The bandit leader asked coldly, “Anyone who has seen my face doesn’t walk out of this mountain alive.”

“Who I am isn’t important.”

The young man smiled, “What’s important is… I know where the South Qi’s base is.”

The surroundings fell silent at the same time, and the hand of the bandit leader holding the bow twitched slightly.

In the ongoing rivalry between Black Water Stronghold and the South Qi Gang, finding the enemy’s base has always been of paramount importance.

During the recent street fight, the people of Black Water Stronghold had been misled by the South Qi gang, lured to the wrong location, which caused them significant losses.

And now, this young man claimed to know where the South Qi’s base was.

If they could find it, Black Water Stronghold could strike directly at their stronghold, avenging their losses.

“How do I know I can trust you?” The bandit leader asked slowly.

“No one is allowed to touch her.”

Xie Zhiyuan patted the girl’s head, then raised his head to look at the bandit leader, “I’ll go with you.”

After a brief silence, the bandit leader slowly nodded.

With a clink, Xie Zhiyuan threw his knife and let go of the girl. Two strong men came from behind, tying his hands tightly before dragging him toward the stronghold.

On the other side, two women came from the inner hall, saluting Yun Miao before leading her in the opposite direction.

As they brushed past each other, Yun Miao saw the boy’s mouth silently curve upwards, and he subtly mouthed something to her.

His lips read: “Don’t be afraid.”