The weather today was truly dismal, with fine snow falling incessantly and a thin layer of fragmented ice floating along the edges of the river.
Fan Changyu had just swept a bandit clinging to the boat’s gunwale off with her bamboo pole when the young man behind her suddenly let out a yell. As Fan Changyu turned her head, she saw a bandit grabbing one of his feet, forcefully trying to drag him into the water.
More bandits were clambering onto the stern, about to climb aboard. Fan Changyu, unable to deal with multiple threats at once, gritted her teeth. She kicked off the bandit at the stern and swung her bamboo pole backward, thrusting it at the bandit holding the young man’s ankle. Before he could even take a breath, she had jabbed him into the water. The icy river water flooded his mouth and nose, nearly drowning him.
The young man quickly scrambled to his feet. Half of his foot had been pulled into the water, and now his pant leg and socks were soaked through. The bone-chilling cold made his lips turn pale, but he still remembered to thank Fan Changyu: “Thank you, Miss…”
His expression suddenly changed as he shouted, “Look out!”
Fan Changyu instinctively swung her bamboo pole behind her. A scarred man leaped up from beneath the water, wielding a large sword that he swung viciously at her. The bamboo pole in Fan Changyu’s hands was instantly cleaved in two.
Seeing the blade about to reach her face with no time to dodge, Fan Changyu could only lean back as far as possible to avoid vital areas, while thrusting the sharp end of the broken bamboo pole forward.
It was a desperate attempt to take someone down with her, and indeed, the makeshift spear did pierce the scarred man. However, the sword that was supposed to cleave into her left shoulder never came down.
A sharp whistling sound pierced the air as an arrow flew past with tremendous force, so close that Fan Changyu felt the air current stinging her cheek as it grazed her hair.
“Clang!”
A teeth-jarring metallic sound rang out as the arrow struck the scarred man’s sword head-on. Sparks flew as the arrowhead shattered upon impact, while the steel blade in the scarred man’s hand cracked like fragile ice, breaking into pieces.
Several more arrows followed in quick succession, striking the bandits clinging to the boat’s gunwale.
Everyone present was startled by this sudden turn of events.
The scarred man reacted swiftly, immediately drawing a short blade to cut off the bamboo shard embedded in his body. He then plunged into the water, no longer willing to remain on the boat as a sitting target.
Fan Changyu looked in the direction from which the arrows had come, seeing a squad of mounted archers galloping towards them. The soldiers on horseback all wore thick armor, making it impossible to discern which of them had fired the arrow that had shattered the scarred man’s sword.
She assumed that Jizhou Prefecture had learned of the tragedy in Qingping County and had sent troops to eliminate the bandits. A great sense of relief washed over her.
Most of the bandits were nothing more than a ragtag bunch who could barely wield their swords and knives. Faced with skilled mounted archers, they could only flee in panic.
Arrows rained down on the water’s surface like a swarm of locusts. The bandits were tightly packed together, and soon cries of agony filled the air as the river was tinged with blood.
Seeing that they couldn’t reach the shore and that the river water was bone-chillingly cold, a group of bandits adept at swimming began pushing Fan Changyu’s boat toward the middle of the river from underwater.
When Fan Changyu realized that the wooden boat was drifting farther and farther from the ferry dock, she knew the situation had become dire.
Once they were out of arrow range, with only her left on the boat, it would be even more challenging to deal with this group of desperate bandits.
Moreover, the current in the middle of the river was swift. Without even needing to row, the boat was rapidly being carried downstream.
The soldiers on the shore had noticed this as well. They ceased firing arrows, and some who were strong swimmers removed their heavy armor and dove into the river.
The bandits who had pushed the boat away from the dock now surfaced, attempting to seize the vessel once more. Fan Changyu, disregarding the young man’s safety, grabbed him by the collar and said, “Forgive me!”
She then hurled him towards the approaching soldiers in the water.
The young man was shocked, only managing to call out “Miss” before he was thrown in a wide arc and landed in the water.
Not a swimmer, he floundered for a moment before surfacing, frantically splashing in the ice-cold river and shouting for help.
The soldiers swimming towards them had to expend some effort to avoid his flailing arms before grabbing him by the nape of his neck and dragging him toward the shore.
Xie Zheng watched this scene from the riverbank, his lips pressed tightly together. He nocked another arrow to his great bow. His guard was about to mention that the boat had drifted too far, well beyond the range of any bow, when suddenly a flurry of white-feathered arrows burst from Xie Zheng’s bowstring. In the distance, near the boat, bodies began to float to the surface of the river.
The mounted soldiers on the shore, initially stunned, erupted into cheers.
Xie Zheng’s face, however, remained cold.
The boat had reached the middle of the river and was being carried downstream by the current. Arrows could no longer reach the bandits hiding beneath it.
The young man who had been rescued, his face pale blue from the cold and his clothes soaked through, lay on the ground coughing up water. Once he caught his breath, the first thing he did was implore the surrounding soldiers: “Quickly, save the young lady on the boat!”
Xie Zheng gave him a cold glance before yanking his reins and galloping off along the riverside road.
His guards, realizing he intended to pursue the boat by land, quickly mounted their horses and followed.
Fan Changyu stood on the boat wielding the broken half of her bamboo pole. After thrusting the last bandit trying to climb aboard back into the water, the river surface momentarily grew calm. It seemed as though all the bandits hiding beneath the boat had perished.
She didn’t dare lower her guard and observed the river surface for a while. Only after confirming that there were just ripples from the current did she go to the bow to pick up an oar, intending to row towards the shore.
She had barely taken two strokes when suddenly a large splash erupted from beneath the water. A bandit surfaced, and Fan Changyu, startled, instinctively swung the oar to strike him.
However, this bandit was already dead. The scarred man used this distraction to leap up along the side of the boat, slashing at Fan Changyu’s throat with a dagger. She dodged to the side, but her arm was still caught by the blade, leaving a long gash.
The pain made Fan Changyu grunt, but she swung the oar back around, striking the scarred man in the spot where he had previously been stabbed by the bamboo pole.
Although the scarred man had successfully boarded the boat, the blow to his wounded abdomen made him stagger back a step and collapse onto the deck. The veins on his temples bulged from the pain.
Fan Changyu drew her boning knife and lunged at him. The scarred man’s pupils constricted as he rolled away clumsily, retreating to the stern. He then tried to negotiate: “Heroine, neither of us wants to die in this river and become fish food. Rather than fighting for mutual destruction, why don’t we call a truce for now? Whatever grudges or debts we have, we can settle them another day. What do you say?”
Fan Changyu seemed to consider it carefully before finally putting away her knife and saying, “Alright.”
The scarred man appeared to relax slightly but remained at the stern, not daring to let his guard down even a bit.
As they passed through a stretch of rapids, the river calmed, and the boat’s speed decreased. They could now see the squad of mounted soldiers pursuing them along the shore.
Xie Zheng rode at the forefront, far ahead of the others. From the elevated road, he assessed the distance between the shore and the boat in the middle of the river. He lashed his warhorse twice, spurring it to outpace his guards, leaving them far behind. After riding past the boat’s position by some distance, he dismounted and quickly began removing his armor as he strode towards the riverbank. Bare-chested, he plunged into the river.
The boat was moving downstream with the current, so he had to run ahead a considerable distance before diving in. This would allow him to intercept the boat as he swam across to the middle of the river.
On the boat, the scarred man had only noticed the pursuing cavalry and looked increasingly anxious. Fan Changyu, appearing considerate, suggested, “Why don’t I give you the oar, and you can row yourself?”
The scarred man hesitantly nodded.
Fan Changyu picked up the oar from the bow and tossed it towards him. Simultaneously, she hurled her boning knife and thrust forward with the remaining two-foot length of the bamboo pole.
Faced with this triple threat, the scarred man had no way to dodge completely. He could only try to avoid the boning knife aimed at his throat and reach out to intercept the bamboo spear. The car struck him full in the face, nearly breaking his nose bridge and causing it to bleed.
What he hadn’t anticipated was that the bamboo pole in Fan Changyu’s hand was also a feint.
Fan Changyu had picked up the pole with her dislocated left arm, enduring excruciating pain. She had tried to reset the bone herself earlier, but being neither a physician nor experienced with such severe injuries, she couldn’t be sure of the correct positioning.
After pushing the bone upwards, her left arm could move, but every motion sent searing pain through it, leaving her unable to exert much force.
As the scarred man intercepted the bamboo pole, Fan Changyu’s right hand grabbed his hair and forced his head underwater. At that moment, her eyes were filled with ruthless determination.
The scarred man thrashed wildly, but the hand pressing on the back of his head was surprisingly strong, preventing him from surfacing.
Icy river water flooded his mouth and nose, nearly entering his lungs.
The scarred man’s struggles weakened, and only then did Fan Changyu pull him up by the hair. He coughed and spluttered, no longer menacing as he begged, “Heroine, please spare my life. I’ll be your slave from now on…”
Fan Changyu recalled the mourning hall draped in white cloth and her parents’ bodies in their coffins. Her eyes turned cold as she pushed him underwater again. After a moment, she pulled him up and asked with hatred, “Did you ambush and kill a retired escort who was carrying a treasure map?”
The scarred man thought she was after money and quickly confessed, “That treasure map was fake. The real one is in the hands of Prince Changxin. But I’ve run Qingfeng Stronghold for many years and have more than just that one base. All my money is hidden elsewhere. Heroine, if you spare my life, I’ll give you all my treasures…”
Fan Changyu said coldly, “How can someone as evil as you deserve to live? How many people died in Qingping County last night? Let me ask you again, did you kill that escort?”
The scarred man, having spent years in the jianghu, recognized the vengeful tone in Fan Changyu’s voice. He quickly said, “I didn’t kill him. It was Third Brother who did it.”
With her enemy right before her eyes, Fan Changyu’s blood seemed to boil. The hand gripping the scarred man’s hair tightened until her knuckles turned white. “The third-in-command of your stronghold killed him?”
The scarred man hastily replied, “Yes, yes, yes.”
Fan Changyu shouted, “You’re all cut from the same cloth! I’ll kill you first, then I’ll go after your third-in-command to avenge my parents!”
The scarred man cried out, “You’re Ma Taiyuan’s daughter? Ma Taiyuan was a eunuch, how could he possibly have offspring?”
Fan Changyu was taken aback. “Who is Ma Taiyuan?”
The scarred man explained, “The chief escort of the Four Seas Escort Agency. He was the one responsible for transporting the treasure map back then. If you ask around, you should know his name.”
He paused briefly before adding, “Could it be that you’ve mistaken your target for revenge?”
The authorities had clearly stated that her father was the one who had escorted the treasure map, so how had it become this Ma Taiyuan?
Fan Changyu’s mind was filled with questions. She demanded, “The couple surnamed Fan who died at Huchawill in Qingping County last November, weren’t they killed by your Qingfeng Stronghold?”
The scarred man repeatedly protested his innocence: “The only job our brothers did in Qingping County was last night. We hadn’t killed anyone in Qingping County before that.”
Fan Changyu suspected he was lying to save his life and dunked him back into the river. “Tell the truth!”
The scarred man thrashed about, nearly losing his life. When he was pulled up again, his face was bluish-purple, his eyes unable to open from the cold river water. He cried out, “I’m telling the absolute truth! Last November, our stronghold conflicted with the Black Dragon Stronghold. We didn’t go out to rob anyone. If you don’t believe me, you can ask around in the jianghu!”
Now Fan Changyu was truly bewildered. If this was true, then the group of black-clad men who had attacked her family several times were not bandits?
Fan Changyu had now truly fought with these bandits, and thinking back to the skills of those black-clad men from that day, although she was reluctant to admit it, those men had indeed been far more skilled than ordinary bandits.
So what was the real cause of her parents’ deaths?
The cold and the emotional rollercoaster were taking their toll on Fan Changyu, causing her head to throb painfully.
Her grip on the scarred man loosened slightly, and he seized the opportunity to reach back with both hands, grabbing Fan Changyu’s arms and pulling her into the river.
Fan Changyu’s dislocated left arm hurt excruciatingly at the slightest touch, and this moment of carelessness allowed the scarred man to flip her into the water. Caught off guard, she swallowed a mouthful of water.
The scarred man, despite having been humiliated by Fan Changyu for so long, didn’t immediately try to take her life. Instead, with a vicious expression, he pressed her head underwater, bringing her up just as she was about to lose consciousness, only to repeat the process.
“You bitch! Where’s that strength you had when you were pushing me underwater earlier? Why aren’t you struggling now?”
His face was filled with vengeful delight.
Fan Changyu had truly run out of strength. The extreme lack of oxygen made her try to breathe even underwater, releasing a large stream of bubbles from her mouth and nose. Cold water rushed into her chest, causing intense pain.
Her eyes stung, and she knew she was probably going to die here.
But what about Changningg?
Changningg…
In the second before losing consciousness, Fan Changyu thought she heard something like bones shifting out of place with a “crack,” and then the hand gripping her hair suddenly let go. A soft warmth pressed against her lips, which, for someone about to die in the icy river, felt like the last comfort this world had to offer.
She finally closed her eyes and sank into darkness.
After giving Fan Changyu a breath of air, Xie Zheng quickly embraced her and surfaced. The scarred man’s corpse was floating nearby, his head twisted halfway around, neck bent at an unnatural angle. His eyes, which he hadn’t been able to close even in death, were filled with terror.
The guards who had arrived saw that Xie Zheng had personally gone into the water to rescue someone and quickly waded over to help.
Xie Zheng had already swum with Fan Changyu to the shallows and was walking towards the shore, carrying her without a word. His face was darker than anyone had ever seen, with blue veins bulging on his arms as water dripped down. The murderous aura surrounding him was suffocating.
A guard stepped forward with clothes, intending to call out to him, but instinctively held his tongue. Remembering that Xie Zheng usually didn’t allow women near him, the guard said, “My Lord, let me carry this young lady.”
Xie Zheng ignored the guard’s outstretched hands, simply pulling his cloak to wrap around the soaking-wet Fan Changyu before continuing to carry her forward.
The guard and his companions stood frozen on the spot, still in shock, when they heard his icy voice command, “Bring that bandit chief’s corpse back. Flog it.”
Even these seasoned soldiers, accustomed to slicing through enemies like cutting melons on the battlefield, felt a chill race down their spines upon hearing this order.