Chapter 78: Once they’re captured, you can deal with them however you like

Jiang Wan glanced over and saw a group of fierce-looking men standing before them.

The sides of the valley were filled with people—men with ferocious expressions. What surprised Jiang Wan was that the leader of these bandits had a face as refined as jade and wore a mask.

Even though his real face was obscured, the aura he exuded was that of a nobleman. It was hard to imagine that someone like him could be a ruthless bandit.

He gently raised an eyebrow, his cold gaze sweeping past Song Jiuyuan, and spoke with a clear, cool voice.

“Brothers, get to work.”

“Stop!”

Ren Bang tried to reason with them. “We are government officers escorting exiled prisoners.

We are under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. If you offend the authorities, things won’t end well for you.”

“Pah!”

A burly man standing behind the refined-looking man spat crudely. “Don’t try to scare me.

I wasn’t raised to be afraid. You’re not the first group of officers I’ve seen. You think I’d be scared?”

“How many times have I told you, Second Brother? Don’t be so crude when you speak.”

The refined man furrowed his brows slightly, exuding elegance. It seemed he was the real master of Heifeng Fortress—the chieftain himself.

The second-in-command of Heifeng Fortress snorted arrogantly, “That depends on whether some people know their place!”

Seeing that these two were working in tandem and clearly didn’t plan to let them go, Ren Bang’s face turned grim, and he gripped his broadsword tightly.

Tension filled the air. Song Jiuli helped support Madam Song and crouched behind the cart. Suddenly, she heard Chen Wenhao’s small voice.

“Mother, Wenhao is scared.”

“Wenhao, be good. Let’s not cause trouble.”

Madam Chen hugged Chen Wenhao tightly, hiding behind the cart as well, while Chen Ce stood in front, shielding the others.

“Don’t be afraid, everyone.”

Jiang Wan removed the bow and arrows from her back and said to Song Jiuyuan, “Song Jiuyuan, you and Song Jiuchi take the rear.”

Jiang Wan would handle the front. Although the two of them didn’t stand back to back, Song Jiuyuan inexplicably trusted her.

“All right.”

As the refined-looking man lowered his hand, the bandits charged at them.

The officers led by Ren Bang gripped their broadswords tightly. Suddenly, an arrow shot past them and struck a lackey behind the chieftain.

“Ah!”

With a scream, the man fell. Jiang Wan had always had excellent aim. This move to “kill the chicken to scare the monkeys” immediately drew the attention of the refined man and his second-in-command.

“Damn it! That woman actually dared to touch my men!”

The second-in-command clenched his broadsword, furious, but the refined man beside him gently tapped his shoulder with his folding fan.

“Second Brother, don’t be rash. Acting out would only play into her hands.”

The man narrowed his eyes slightly. He suspected this was the War Princess the prince had once mentioned.

An interesting woman—but unfortunately, she was in the prince’s way!

“Big Brother, we can’t let a woman overpower us!”

Seeing another arrow fly and another of their men fall, the second-in-command’s eyes turned red with rage.

“Don’t worry. Once they’re captured, you can deal with them however you like.”

A cold gleam flashed in the refined man’s eyes. Watching such an interesting person be broken down piece by piece—that was interesting too.

Whoosh…

Another sharp arrow flew. Jiang Wan took down two people with one shot. Everyone was shocked, even Ren Bang’s jaw dropped.

Song Jiuyuan wasn’t far behind. Even though his hand was injured, he was once a War King. Each arrow he released claimed a life.

“Big Brother, take it easy. I can hold my own too.”

Song Jiuchi’s archery skills didn’t match Song Jiuyuan’s, but he was stubborn and gave it his all to catch up, giving off the impression that he might just surpass him.

“Big Brother, they’re coming!”

Song Jiuli whispered a warning. They were at the back of the group, so the bandits weren’t far behind.

Even with Song Jiuyuan and Song Jiuchi fighting together and taking down several enemies, dozens of bandits weren’t easy to defeat.

As the bandits charged with raised blades, Jiang Wan’s eyes turned cold. “Stop playing around—end this quickly!”

Before anyone could understand her meaning, Chen Ce and Song Jiuchi each threw a small object in different directions.

Jiang Wan and Song Jiuyuan simultaneously drew their bows and fired. As the objects flew above the bandits, both were hit.

Puff…

“Dodge!!”

The refined man instinctively used light footwork to escape. Even so, the medicine pouches they shot scattered in the air, and the powder inside rushed into everyone’s noses.

“B-Big Brother…”

The second-in-command collapsed weakly. Aside from the refined man, who reacted quickly and inhaled the least, the rest were all unconscious on the ground.

Not far away, Jiang Wan raised her bow, aiming at the last man standing—her arrow targeting the refined man made him grit his teeth in rage.

“War Princess, I’ll remember you!”

His light footwork was his pride, but even so, Jiang Wan’s arrow still struck his arm.

He trembled in pain but managed to grit his teeth and flee using his qinggong.

Jiang Wan sighed slightly in disappointment and snorted. “What a pity.”

If it weren’t in front of everyone, she would’ve used her abilities and never let him escape.

But with so many eyes watching, Jiang Wan didn’t want to expose her trump card.

“You’ve done very well. No need to sigh.”

Song Jiuyuan lowered his bow. Perhaps because of his injury, his hand was trembling slightly.

He had used too much force, reopening the wound—but just now, he had regained a sense of pride and accomplishment.

“I’ll change your dressing.”

Jiang Wan expressionlessly put down her bow, unwrapped the gauze on his arm, revealing raw flesh soaked in blood.

“Big Brother, you’re bleeding again.”

Song Jiuli covered her mouth in distress, hating herself for being useless. If she’d trained with her second brother, she might’ve been able to help now.

“It’s nothing.”

Song Jiuyuan rarely showed vulnerability. Even if he was in pain, he wouldn’t make a sound.

“Let it hurt you to death.”

Jiang Wan grumbled as she cleaned the blood and sprinkled medicinal powder. At that moment, Ren Bang walked over from the front.

“Madam Song, thank you all for your efforts just now.”

Not only the officers—now even the exiled people looked at Jiang Wan with a mixture of gratitude and fear.

They were thankful she saved them, but also afraid she might turn her weapons on them next.

“No need to thank me. I was just saving myself too.”

Jiang Wan raised her eyes and smiled at Ren Bang. “Brother Ren, things were so tense just now, I’m feeling a bit of urgency—may I step away for a moment?”

She was still thinking about the Sixth Prince’s armory. Before they realized anything, she couldn’t afford to waste time.

“Go ahead. Leave this to me.”

Ren Bang chuckled helplessly. Who would’ve thought that the cold, general-like Jiang Wan from moments ago had this amusing side?

“All right. Mother, help my husband rewrap his hand.”

Jiang Wan handed the white gauze to Madam Song and turned to leave at once.

Handling the battlefield and tying up the captives wasn’t Ren Bang’s first time. She had nothing to worry about.

As soon as Jiang Wan disappeared from sight, she eagerly called out in her mind:

“Little Sprite, give me the map of the fortress and the armory!”