The sudden appearance of mountain bandits made Madam Liu cry out in fright, yet she still instinctively shielded Gu Qingyan behind her.

Gu Qingyan grabbed her wrist, equally tense. There were seven bandits charging toward them.

But after a closer look, his fear eased a little.

All seven of the bandits were burly men, dressed in coarse clothing with their faces covered. Except for the leader holding a knife, the others were armed only with wooden clubs.

Gu Qingyan thought, I’ve got a weapon. I can fight.

“Mother, stay in the carriage and don’t come out.”

Madam Liu pulled him back just as he was about to get off: “Don’t go, Yan’er! Just give them our things. Safety comes first.”

She patted her chest, hinting that she had hidden the money safely.

While the mother and son were struggling, Pei Xuan had already jumped off the cart and was staring coldly at the bandits.

His presence alone made them hesitate. They couldn’t tell where he came from or what his background was.

But when they looked inside the carriage and saw an old woman and a young boy—clearly no threat—they quickly regained their nerve and started shouting: “Leave everything behind and we’ll spare your lives! Resist and we’ll show no mercy. Kill the man, keep the woman for some fun!”

Pei Xuan barked coldly, “Get lost.”

“You’re asking for death!” The leader, humiliated, roared and charged forward with his blade raised.

As he moved, the rest of the bandits raised their clubs and followed with loud cries.

Madam Liu was scared out of her wits.

Gu Qingyan finally managed to get down from the cart. Looking up, he saw Pei Xuan disarm the leader bare-handed and send him flying with a kick.

So cool!

Gu Qingyan swallowed hard. Turns out Pei Xuan was holding back that day… and I even managed to punch him. If that kick had landed on me, I’d be dead!

The other bandits froze, stunned by the display. They circled around but didn’t dare approach.

Gu Qingyan puffed out his chest, putting on airs: “See that? My big brother’s a martial arts master. One against ten is nothing for him. If you know what’s good for you, scram! Otherwise, this is what’ll happen to you.”

Pei Xuan gave him a brief, helpless glance but still moved to stand protectively in front of him.

“Get them all! Grab the woman and the kid first!”

Gu Qingyan’s eyes widened. What? They’re treating me like the easy target?!

All seven bandits moved at once. Five went to engage Pei Xuan, while two charged at Gu Qingyan.

Just as Gu Qingyan was about to act, Pei Xuan no longer held back—he flung a long knife that pierced one of the men directly.

The other was so terrified he tripped over himself, too scared to lay a hand on Gu Qingyan.

As blood splattered, Gu Qingyan’s face turned pale.

At that moment, a scream came from inside the carriage.

A hidden bandit, seeing the tide turning, had tried to ambush Madam Liu from behind.

He grabbed her and started dragging her out, shouting, “Stop, or I’ll kill her!”

Pei Xuan moved to act—but someone beat him to it.

Raise the arm. Aim. Fire. In a flash, Gu Qingyan shot a sleeve dart that hit the bandit in the right shoulder.

Madam Liu quickly broke free and ran. As the man tried to chase her, he was struck again—this time in the thigh—and collapsed.

Pei Xuan’s eyes shifted slightly as he swiftly took care of the remaining bandits.

Madam Liu, still shaken, cried out, “There really were bandits! Let’s go, quickly! Let’s get out of here!”

Gu Qingyan felt nauseated at the sight of all the blood, but forced himself to stay calm. “What about these guys?”

“Tie them up and leave them here. We’ll report it at the next town. The local officials will take care of it,” Pei Xuan replied.

Gu Qingyan nodded stiffly, eyes fixed forward, afraid to look at the bloody scene again.

Pei Xuan noticed and took the initiative to bind the bandits and drive the cart away.

Not long after the three of them left, a group of people appeared in the forest.

The leader glanced over the bodies scattered on the ground and gave a signal with his hand.

Back on the ox cart, Madam Liu finally started to recover. She looked toward Pei Xuan, hesitant to speak.

She knew she had misjudged him. Cold as he looked, he had stepped in to help without hesitation. She was ashamed of how she had treated him before, but couldn’t quite bring herself to apologize to that expressionless face.

Gu Qingyan had no such reservations. His mouth wouldn’t stop: “Can you believe there were bandits on an official road? Doesn’t the local government do anything? Those bandits didn’t even look that strong—what were they thinking, picking such a risky job?”

“Lingchuan County is poor,” Pei Xuan said simply.

Gu Qingyan didn’t fully understand. So poverty turns people into bandits?

Skipping over that, he continued, “Big Brother Pei, you were amazing! That leader had a knife, and I was worried you’d get hurt—but you disarmed him instantly!”

“Where did you learn that? Can I learn it too? How many years would it take for me to be as skilled as you?”

Gu Qingyan was truly envious. Sure, he’d taken down one bandit, but it had been with a sleeve dart.

Pei Xuan had fought bare-handed. One man against many.

That’s what a real man is!

Pei Xuan let him talk as much as he wanted, never responding, just quietly driving the cart.

Once they were safely far from the ambush site, he finally turned and said:

“Don’t be afraid. They won’t hurt you.”

Gu Qingyan was mid-rant when the words hit him. He froze, turned away, and rubbed his nose.

“I wasn’t scared.”

He stubbornly added, “Not even a little.”

It was just that the sight of blood had made him queasy.

Pei Xuan didn’t argue. He simply nodded and said no more.

For the rest of the journey, Gu Qingyan stayed silent.

He realized how truly formidable Pei Xuan was. A man like that could travel alone and never fear danger.

He’d thought that having a cart and money, giving Pei Xuan a ride was a fair exchange—mutual benefit.

But now it was clear: he was the one tagging along, freeloading both Pei Xuan’s route and protection. If he were Pei Xuan, he wouldn’t like having such a “life-saving benefactor” either.

The realization left Gu Qingyan feeling dejected.

Pei Xuan noticed his sudden quietness and slouched posture and frowned slightly.

Later, when they stopped to rest, Gu Qingyan still kept his head down and quietly ate his food.

Madam Liu, now more appreciative, warmly handed Pei Xuan several large buns. “We really owe you today. I was ignorant before, didn’t trust you. Please don’t hold it against me.”

“I won’t,” Pei Xuan replied.

He glanced at the kid, who was still eating with his head down.

Pei Xuan cleared his throat lightly. When he saw Gu Qingyan look up, he said reassuringly, “You’ve already done very well.”

Gu Qingyan blinked. “Really?”

“Really.” Pei Xuan nodded.

The sleeve dart was indeed a deadly weapon, but to use it so skillfully and remain so calm in a crisis — it had truly changed Pei Xuan’s impression of him.

Gu Qingyan immediately perked up and pressed on eagerly, “Pei-ge, were you also grossed out the first time you saw blood?”

This time, Pei Xuan was silent for a noticeably long moment.

Gu Qingyan answered his own question, “You must have been. Never mind, don’t think about it. Just remember, they were the bad guys and we’re the good guys. Killing in self-defense isn’t a crime — it’s only right and just.”

“Pei-ge, have you ever killed someone? What does it feel like?”

Pei Xuan gave him a long, deep look, realizing that his earlier worries had been completely unnecessary.

Madam Liu overheard the conversation and quickly interjected, “Peh peh peh! Stop talking about such scary things — you’ll frighten someone to death! Let’s just keep moving and get to Lingchuan County as soon as possible. That’s what’s important.”

After the incident, the three didn’t dare waste time and continued on their journey.

The closer they got to Lingchuan County, the more Gu Qingyan frowned.

Just from the name, it was clear Lingchuan was a mountainous area, different from Qingzhou Prefecture — but he hadn’t expected the mountain roads to be this difficult.

And this was the official road — a proper path! Even then, they had to get off the cart and walk uphill; otherwise, the ox couldn’t pull the cart.

As they crossed the mountains, the stone path gradually disappeared and turned into muddy yellow dirt roads. Thankfully, it hadn’t rained recently — otherwise, the mud would have been ankle-deep and the cart would’ve easily gotten stuck.

No wonder people always said Lingchuan was hard to travel.

“How much farther?” Gu Qingyan couldn’t help but ask.

It was still early spring, but he was drenched in sweat from walking. When the wind blew, it felt freezing cold.

Gu Qingyan wanted to take off his outer coat, but Madam Liu quickly stopped him. “Young Master Yan, the wind is strong. Don’t take off your coat — if you catch a chill, it’ll be serious.”

She even buttoned up all the clasps on his collar.

Gu Qingyan had no choice but to endure it.

He was only able to travel steadily thanks to the ginseng tonic pills. Gu Qingyan didn’t dare act willful.

This body was too fragile — back at the Li household, he’d gotten sick every other day. Now that he’d left them, he couldn’t count on having a good doctor or good medicine. He had to take care of himself and not fall ill just for a moment of comfort.

Looking at Pei Xuan — not a single drop of sweat on his forehead, completely unfazed by the cold — his physical endurance was something to envy.

Sniffling from the chill biting at his nose, Gu Qingyan thought to himself: once he reached Lingchuan County, he’d register at a local pharmacy and collect as many health supplements as he could to strengthen his body.

By then, he’d be punching bandits and kicking tigers, ready to spar with Pei Xuan.

“Once we cross this mountain, we’ll be there,” Pei Xuan said, seeing him staring his way.

Gu Qingyan looked up. The winding uphill path was enough to crush one’s spirit.

Finally reaching the summit, a gust of wind nearly blew him back down. Luckily, Pei Xuan caught him in time.

“Careful,” Pei Xuan warned.

Gu Qingyan patted his chest and eagerly looked downhill. “Is that Lingchuan County?”

Madam Liu stood beside him and looked down — her expression changed at once.

They had already mentally prepared for Lingchuan to be a poor, remote county. It couldn’t compare to Qingzhou Prefecture — that was a given.

But seeing it with her own eyes made Madam Liu’s heart sink.

The entire county was tiny. From the mountaintop, all she could see were squat, low buildings. Multi-story buildings were rare, everything looked dull and gray — a world apart from Qingzhou.

Young Master Yan had grown up pampered and privileged. How could he possibly get used to a place like this? Madam Liu was filled with worry.

During their journey, Pei Xuan had also guessed that Gu Qingyan came from wealth. His fair and delicate fingers clearly hadn’t done a day of hard labor.

He didn’t know why the two of them had come to Lingchuan, but he was sure they would both be disappointed once they arrived.

Pei Xuan glanced at Gu Qingyan, worry flickering in his eyes.

But to his surprise, Gu Qingyan’s eyes were sparkling, staring eagerly at the county below.

“So that’s Lingchuan County! Let’s go, let’s go — I can’t wait!”

Pei Xuan and Madam Liu were both stunned.

This tiny, gray, low-built Lingchuan County — what was there to be excited about?

But Gu Qingyan was already marching forward with high spirits, even urging them to hurry up.

Only heaven knew how ecstatic he was when he climbed the mountain and saw the dazzling cluster of check-in points glittering below.

He almost wanted to leap off the mountain right then and stomp on every single one of them.

Tiny little Lingchuan? Piece of cake!