Chapter 25: The Robbers Have Come, Seeking Experts to Save Our Lives

Wang Shun did not understand the relationship between the two, but he felt the tense atmosphere and couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Just as he was about to speak, a sudden gust of wind passed by. When he regained his senses, Su Wan had already been seized by the man.

“Ji Sang, let me go.” The man’s right hand squeezed Su Wan’s neck, trembling slightly. Yet his face wore a forced harsh expression.

“Ji Sang, I don’t know how you managed to escape, but this has nothing to do with me, right?”

Ji Sang was momentarily stunned, then smiled. “Of all people to capture, you choose the most formidable one. Hah, nothing to do with you? Let me guess—who do you want Wang Shun to find?”

Ji Sang paused for a moment, then spoke solemnly, “The person you want is General Cheng, right?” The man who had escaped with him.

Caught off guard by Ji Sang’s accurate guess, the man’s face changed repeatedly. However, he was not afraid—he still had a hostage. This person came with him and was likely very important to him.

Even if not, Ji Sang wouldn’t let it go easily.

“I’ll say it again, let me go and I won’t hurt her.” He said this while tightening his grip on her neck.

Ji Sang glanced at him coldly, “From the moment you chose to betray your master, I never planned to spare you. And now you want to betray General Cheng too? The only path waiting for you is death.”

The atmosphere grew more intense. Timid Wang Shun had already retreated to the window, trembling uncontrollably.

Ji Sang stood up and advanced step by step toward the man, who was shaking with fear.

“Ji Sang, even if I die, I’ll take her with me. Aren’t you afraid you’ll regret it for the rest of your life?” The man was terrified, unable to understand why Ji Sang didn’t care about the girl’s life.

Ji Sang impatiently scratched his ear, wearing a half-smile as he looked at the man. His words were directed at Su Wan, “Disciple, it’s time to show the peerless divine skill your master taught you.”

“What?” Where on earth would Ji Sang have such a peerless divine skill…?

The man’s thoughts suddenly stopped because his neck felt like it was being tightened by an invisible rope, becoming tighter and tighter.

Moments later, his body gradually went limp.

This scene shocked Ji Sang again. That night, he saw a real vine, but this time, he saw nothing—and Yuan Zheng was dead.

Su Wan withdrew her hand and tilted her head to smile at Wang Shun, “Now, let’s talk.”

Wang Shun shuddered and hurriedly crawled over to sit properly, not daring to look at the man again. “M-mister shopkeeper, please, please speak. I-I must say first, I only just met him. He just told me to find someone, a man named Cheng Jingyu.”

After leaving the Yue Teahouse, it was almost noon. Su Fu had prepared the meal.

After dinner, Su Wan continued practicing her skills while Ji Sang dozed off in the backyard.

Time quickly passed until it was Su Shanyu and Zhu Wa’s day off. As soon as they were picked up, the two boys excitedly grabbed Ji Sang and exclaimed, “Master, master, we did it! Every chance we had these days, we practiced basic moves and punching. Now we can smash a door plank with a single punch—and it doesn’t even hurt!”

Ji Sang was somewhat shocked, catching a glimpse of a faint smile curling at the corner of Su Wan’s lips.

Suddenly, a thought sprang to his mind.

He guessed the reason why every member of the Su family was a martial prodigy wasn’t due to bloodline, but because of Su Wan’s efforts.

How exactly had she made every Su family member so physically strong?

All at once, he remembered the black candies Su Wan had repeatedly urged the two boys to eat. She had also given some to the elderly couple in the Su family.

Could the secret be in those candies?

Ji Sang swallowed nervously, “Let’s go—” The carriage set off from town.

The two kids on the carriage were thrilled, chattering nonstop about how strong they had become. They even said they wanted to become great generals in the future.

“We will defend our homeland, we will join the army.”

Su Wan giggled, “Sure, defending the homeland and becoming great generals. Brother and Brother We must work hard, okay?”

“Yes, we will,” the two boys said firmly.

Their hearts were filled with boundless excitement.

The celebration arranged twenty tables, with lanterns and decorations filling the courtyard.

Tables overflowed with sumptuous dishes, fragrant wine filled the air, villagers laughed and chatted happily, and children ran and played in the crowd, creating a lively and joyful scene.

Su Fu and Xia Xian busily greeted guests, their faces glowing with happiness. Su Mingshan sat with village elders, enjoying wine and lively conversation. Some noticed the wine seemed diluted today but thought nothing of it.

Su Shanyu and Zhu Wa excitedly moved through the crowd, showing off their newfound strength to friends, drawing repeated amazement.

“Watch this punch! I can shake this entire table!” Su Shanyu said, throwing a punch. Though it didn’t actually hit the table, his confident spirit earned loud cheers from those nearby.

Zhu Wa was not to be outdone; he picked up a wooden stick and snapped it in two with ease. “With this strength, I’ll definitely make a big impact on the battlefield someday!”

Zhu Li, seeing her son’s excellence, shed tears of happiness.

“Come, come! Today we celebrate — no one leaves sober!”

As dusk fell, villagers ate and drank their fill.

Everyone agreed that the Su family had truly thrown a grand banquet with sumptuous food—things they hadn’t tasted in a long time.

They were even allowed to take home any leftover food.

The villagers were quite touched.

However, before they could leave the courtyard, someone came running back in a panic, shouting, “Not good, not good! Bandits are coming, bandits are coming!”

“What? Quickly, get inside! Everyone, hide inside the houses!” Grandma Su and Xia Xian hurriedly called out, ushering the villagers and children indoors in a flurry.

The men searched for any handy weapons and blocked the courtyard entrance. Leading them were Ji San and Su Mingshan.

Although Su Shanyu and Zhu Wa had some skills, they were still young and naturally scared. They forced themselves to stand firmly beside Su Mingshan. Ji San’s eyes sharpened as he swiftly drew his sword from his waist.

The other men were terrified — none had martial arts training, only brute strength, which was no match for the bandits. From the chaotic footsteps outside, it was clear there were many intruders.

They even had torches, lighting up the Su family courtyard as bright as day.

Su Fu suddenly went pale, as if recalling something terrible.

“Fu’er, what’s wrong?” Grandma Su noticed and grew deeply worried.

Before she could say more, Su Wan suddenly cried out in alarm, “Mother, those bandits—could they be sent by Father? He’s already allied with the Ping Le County Lord and doesn’t want them to know about us. So he’s sending people to silence us all, even to kill anyone in Qinghe Village who knows the truth.”

At her words, everyone turned to look at Su Fu, who suddenly swayed and collapsed to the ground.

It was clear Su Wan had voiced her mother’s deepest fear.

“Mother, don’t be afraid. Master will protect us—and the entire Qinghe Village,” Su Wan said firmly.

This lifetime, she vowed to expose all the evil deeds of the Ning family and make them answer for their treason.

“Village head, what should we do? Should we report this to the officials?”

“It’s too late. We can’t escape.”

All the villagers believed Su Wan’s words and were frightened beyond measure.

They pinned all their hopes on Ji San—he was a great master who had single-handedly swept through Mount Wei. He was their only salvation.

“Master, please save our lives!” The villagers knelt before Ji San, pleading desperately.