He was a young man of about fifteen or sixteen.

Striking brows that swept toward his temples, a pair of cold and unfathomable eyes, a straight and prominent nose, thin lips — all together composing a face of extraordinary beauty.

He wore a robe of deep black brocade, as though he had melted into the darkness of the night. And yet the aura that surrounded him was far too vivid and arresting. Even in the dim, faint light of the night, he commanded the eye.

It was a nobility present from birth, and beyond that, the bearing that comes only from long years of commanding from a position of power. At a single glance, one instinctively felt a sense of reverence. One might not even dare to meet that pair of deep and inscrutable eyes.

So young — he could not be a high-ranking court official. And yet he traveled with so many highly skilled attendants. Clearly, this young man was no ordinary figure…

Ling Jingshu quietly speculated on the young man’s identity and origin.

His vessel sat a little higher, and the young man standing on its deck had something of a commanding, elevated look about him. His sharp, cool gaze fell upon the girl being held hostage by the bandits below.

The girl had obviously been seized in haste, with no time to dress her hair or change her clothes. She wore only a plain, slightly faded everyday dress.

Her dark hair hung in a slight disarray behind her, her fair face somewhat pale, which only made her eyes seem all the brighter and her lips all the more vividly red.

Like a peony in the fullness of its beauty, radiating a dazzling brilliance in the depths of the night — impossible to look away from.

The bandit leader had his long blade aimed at the girl’s back; what was strange was that the girl herself held a dagger in her hand, its keen blade pressed against her own slender neck.

The girl who was being held hostage was, against all expectation, remarkably composed.

The guards appeared to look straight ahead, but the corners of their eyes were all, in fact, on that girl.

Not that one could blame them.

A girl of such breathtaking, otherworldly beauty — even he could not help but glance a second time.

“You are the one who wanted to see me?” The black-robed young man glanced at the Second-in-Command, one dark brow lifting slightly. His voice was unhurried, his contempt entirely undisguised.

The moment the black-robed young man appeared, the Second-in-Command knew things had taken a turn for the worse.

One look at this young man’s bearing was enough to know that his origins were no ordinary ones. To put it plainly — he himself, a man who had fought in countless battles, found that a single exchange of gazes with the young man had turned his knees to water, filling him with a hopeless sense that this was not an opponent he could resist.

The Second-in-Command suppressed the panic in his heart and bluffed with bluster. “We only wanted money, and just now we harmed no one. And yet you cut us down without mercy. How utterly ruthless and conscienceless. Now, all of you pull back twenty li of waterway, at once. I will take my men and leave immediately.”

Ruthless and conscienceless?

Rather than growing angry, the black-robed young man laughed — only the laughter never reached his eyes. “How amusing. In all my years, I have never heard anyone speak of me in such terms.”

The head of the guards at the black-robed young man’s side was filled with fury. He forcefully drew the long blade from his waist, and was just about to give the order to kill the bandits where they stood — but the black-robed young man stopped him with a word.

“Wang Tong, hold a moment. These bandits are rather entertaining. I have a few more questions for them.”

Rather entertaining?

Ling Jingshu and the Second-in-Command both shot furious looks in that direction at virtually the same moment.

For the Second-in-Command, it was the dignity of a bandit ground mercilessly into the dirt. For Ling Jingshu, it meant the hope of rescue had grown a little more remote.

This black-robed young man of unknown identity and origin — though he had arrived in time to lend aid, he was no benevolent, soft-hearted good person. He placed no real weight at all on the lives of everyone aboard this official ship.

She had to find a way to save herself. Otherwise, come this same day next year, Ling Xiao would be burning incense and paper offerings at her grave…

The black-robed young man seemed not to notice the fury at the bottom of Ling Jingshu’s eyes. He turned to address the Second-in-Command. “You say at every turn that you only want money and would not take any lives. If that is so, why are you and your men standing there empty-handed, and yet you have taken a frail young girl hostage?”

The Second-in-Command suddenly had the disorienting sensation of kneeling before a magistrate in a courtroom, and answered reflexively. “We hadn’t gotten around to taking the silver yet. When we found out reinforcements were coming, we took this young miss as a hostage — we only want to trade her for our lives.”

The moment the words left his mouth he felt a deep, burning irritation at himself. What had come over him — what was there to fear from some pampered young master who threw his family’s influence around? The boy barely had a full beard on his chin yet.

The Second-in-Command’s expression darkened, and he sneered savagely. “Now do exactly as I say. Everyone fall back onto the ships and withdraw twenty li of waterway. Let us go, or I will kill her right now!”

As he spoke, he pressed the blade in his hand slightly forward — and it pierced through the thin fabric of her garment.

The ice-cold blade tip pressed flat against her skin. One more push, and it would pierce through her back.

Ling Jingshu’s fair face went paler still, but her heart was gradually growing calm. Instinctively, she tightened her grip on the dagger in her hand.

These bandits were in a state of agitated dread, and all their attention was fixed on the ship directly in front of them. What they failed to notice were the faint, subtle movements below the surface of the water.

Several guards skilled in swimming had already slipped quietly into the river and were soundlessly closing in on the official ship — waiting for the moment to strike.

The black-robed young man was drawing the bandits’ attention.

The black-robed young man curled the corner of his lips, and said with unhurried ease, “I am a complete stranger to her, and whether she lives or dies is of no concern to me whatsoever. If you want to act, go ahead and kill her right now. I will simply order my guards to loose a volley of arrows and shoot every one of you to death — consider it avenging her. She may rest in peace in the afterlife.”

The Second-in-Command was speechless.

Ling Jingshu was speechless.

A faint gleam stirred in the black-robed young man’s eyes, his expression hovering between a smile and not quite a smile. “Why have you stopped?”

The blood surged to the Second-in-Command’s head; his temples throbbed violently. Goaded by the black-robed young man’s deliberate provocations one after another, he came very close to throwing all caution aside and killing Ling Jingshu on the spot.

Yet a last thread of reason remained in his mind, and with great effort he suppressed that violent urge.

Right now, Ling Jingshu was his only bargaining chip and his only hope of escaping with his life. If he killed Ling Jingshu, all that awaited him was being shot to death by a volley of arrows or hacked to pieces by blades.

At that very moment, something changed with sudden violence.

The guards who had been concealed beneath the water leaped onto the deck without warning, blades in hand, lunging forward at speed.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh! The guards who had been standing motionless on the deck all this while also released their arrows at that same instant.

The bandits were caught completely off guard. Nearly every one was struck, anguished cries rising one after another. Those not hit in a vital spot were finished off with a blade by the guards who had burst up from the water.

Arrows flew in a volley like rain. One grazed Ling Jingshu’s cheek as it passed; another pierced through her skirt hem and skimmed past her leg.

Ling Jingshu stood perfectly still. Yet cold sweat drenched her back, and her palms were soaked through.

Both the Second-in-Command’s arms and legs were struck by arrows. He let out a cry of agony as his long blade rang against the deck and fell from his grip.

But he still stood directly behind Ling Jingshu — one step forward, and he could seize her again. One last thread of a chance at survival…

Before the Second-in-Command could take that step, Ling Jingshu spun around with lightning speed. A cold and lethal light flashed in her eyes. She raised the dagger in her hand.

No—!

The Second-in-Command’s pupils contracted sharply. He tried to dodge, but it was already too late.

A searing agony tore through his chest. Blood flew in a bright arc.

The Second-in-Command crumpled, eyes wide open, unable to close them in death.