Chapter 48: Extracting the Marrow from the Bones

Outside the door, two horses nervously pawed the ground with restless hooves.

Wu Huai glanced once and sucked in a sharp breath. “Quick, fetch the firewood!”

At a time like this, hiding was useless; only by lighting a fire could they buy themselves some time.

Zheng Guangyuan and the others turned pale with fright, trembling as they gathered the unburned firewood on the ground, surrounding Master Zhou.

“Damn it! How did we run into these bastards! Protect me! There’ll be rewards for all of you once we get back!”

Master Bai grabbed a nearby servant and placed him in front of himself, shouting repeatedly to make sure they guarded him well.

Wang Xuezhou held a torch and slowly retreated to join Master Zhou and the others. Zhou and Wu Huai shielded them, their faces grim as they stared outwards.

Wang Xuezhou frowned, puzzled. Those wolves should have charged in by now. At the very least, the horses outside ought to have made some noise or movement. Yet aside from the horses’ uneasy stomping, there was nothing else.

“Be smart and hand over your valuables quickly,” a voice called out sharply.

Almost as soon as it sounded, footsteps approached outside, and soon a group of armed men burst through the door.

There were about a dozen of them, wearing tattered strips of cloth as clothing. Each was lean and tough-looking, wielding various weapons—kitchen knives, ropes, large cleavers.

Their leader had a leopard-like face with thick sideburns and a fierce glare in his eyes. Holding a cleaver, he looked dangerous and not to be trifled with.

As soon as he entered and saw Master Zhou and the others, his face lit up with joy, a wicked grin revealing yellowed teeth. “Luck’s on our side today! Never expected to find some fat sheep here. Be smart and hand over all your valuables now, or when we’re done with you, don’t blame anyone if you’re missing limbs!”

His greedy gaze fixed mainly on Master Bai.

Master Bai’s heart skipped a beat at the look in the man’s eyes.

“Who are you to be so brazen? Aren’t you afraid the city’s Thousand Machines Battalion will come and throw you all into jail?” Master Bai scolded, frowning fiercely.

The man with the sideburns bared his yellow teeth again. “No need to worry about that. Outside, tens of my brothers are guarding the place, and our trained dogs are watching your horses. Even if you sprout wings, you won’t escape today!”

“But if you’re willing to honestly hand over your valuables and sign this IOU, maybe we’ll spare your life.”

He produced a piece of paper with a flick of his wrist.

The IOU was scrawled hastily: “Today, Bai Damin owes Lu Gang one hundred thousand taels of silver, to be repaid within three days. Failure to repay will result in voluntary forfeiture of family property as compensation.”

Master Bai’s body trembled when he read it. “Who sent you?”

They not only knew his name but had almost figured out his assets, and now wanted him to pay a heavy debt—this was nothing short of extortion.

Master Bai’s reaction delighted the men behind Lu Gang, who laughed heartily. “Who dares to boss us around but Lu? They must want to die!”

Seeing they paid no heed, Wu Huai whispered to Zhou Mingli, “Young master, these people came prepared. Today, it will be hard to escape.”

Zhou Mingli glanced at the children behind him and nodded.

Wang Xuezhou quietly shifted his body, inching toward his luggage.

Inside was the fried noodles Mrs. Zhang had prepared for him before departure.

This food was made by frying flour into a yellowish cake with sesame and seasonings; eaten by rinsing with water, it was convenient and suited as travel provisions.

Qi Xian and Zheng Guangyuan subtly shielded him from behind as he pulled the noodles out and held them in his hand.

Meanwhile, Master Bai refused to yield. At Lu Gang’s command, both sides sprang into action.

Though dressed in rags, these men fought fiercely. Soon, two guards were grabbed, their necks slashed with a single blow. Blood sprayed like a burst faucet, staining the ground.

Zhou Mingli’s heart sank. “Wu Huai, this won’t end peacefully today. These people are ruthless mountain bandits. If Master Bai’s men all fall, the rest of us won’t be far from death.”

Wu Huai whispered, “Await your orders, young master.”

“I’ll sign! I’ll sign!” Master Bai trembled at the sight of the guards’ grisly deaths and shouted out.

Lu Gang nodded in satisfaction and waved his men to halt.

Master Bai shakily wrote his name on the IOU and was forced by Lu Gang to press his fingerprint.

With the IOU in hand, Lu Gang laughed heartily and beckoned to his men, “Kill them first, then search their bodies!”

“I already signed! I’ll return the money to you! Killing me won’t get you a penny!” Master Bai cried desperately.

“Hahaha, you’re so naive. Do you think I’ll let you go back to find reinforcements? No, I’ll kill you outright! As long as this IOU exists, your life or death means nothing. If I come to collect, with your fingerprint on this, I won’t fear a thing—even if it ends up in the magistrate’s hands! Do you think we followed you all this way for free?”

“I’m going back to meet the magistrate. If I don’t, he’ll investigate, and then none of you will escape!”

Master Bai glared hatefully at Lu Gang, wishing he could tear the man limb from limb.

Lu Gang smiled as he pocketed the loot. “The magistrate’s got enough problems now; who has time to deal with you? Do you know why we dare rob you here?”

“Because you’re rich.”

He waved to his men behind him. “Kill them all. Not a single one left alive! After this, we’ll get proper identities and retire from the game.”

“Kill!”

His men, flushed with excitement, charged at Master Bai and the others.

“Wu Huai!”

Hearing Zhou Mingli’s shout, Wu Huai drew his dagger and lunged toward Lu Gang.

Lu Gang’s pupils constricted on seeing the move.

He had never taken these scholars seriously, planning to kill them casually, but now something had gone wrong. His face darkened as he raised his blade to meet the attack.

Zhou Mingli shouted and swiftly turned, hooking a longsword from the floor where he was hiding and holding it horizontally before him. “None of you come out!”

“What do we do?!” Zhao Xing’s face turned pale, sweat streaming down his forehead.

Qi Xian’s body nearly wavered. He closed his eyes, haunted by the image of blood spraying moments ago.

Zheng Guangyuan and Xia Qianli helplessly watched their master and little Wu, their faces filled with panic.

Wang Xuezhou forced himself to calm down. In all his two lives, he had never faced a crime scene so directly.

Taking a deep breath, he said, “Grab some of the fried noodles each. Later, we’ll toss them in their faces to disrupt their vision. Use whatever weapons you find—don’t be the first to attack! Stay alert, dodge when you can, and follow Master closely to finish the job.”

Hearing Wang Xuezhou’s words, the others immediately complied.