Daya cried in her brother’s arms while Yun Ye looked up at the sky with a wrinkled nose. The bright full moon still hung in mid-air. Such weather wasn’t suitable for bandits to go out, was it?

Forcing a kind and upright young man to become a bandit—it seemed that marrying a wife had always been an arduous undertaking. Love could easily make people take desperate risks.

Dan Ying didn’t return all night. Daya was worried sick, so Yun Ye quickly dispatched men to Chang’an to inquire whether any great bandits had been captured. The news they brought back made Yun Ye’s scalp tingle. Last night, a lone bandit had appeared in Chang’an—truly visiting a thousand homes by day and robbing a hundred households by night. The Liang family’s white jade disc, the Chen family’s golden lion, the Sun family’s luminous pearl, the Longxi Ma family’s exquisite pagoda, the He family’s white jade Guanyin statue… all had vanished without a trace in a single night.

The bandit’s methods were simple and brutal. He captured each family’s head of household and forced them to reveal their most valuable possessions. When the Liang family patriarch tried to argue, his topknot was sliced off with a single sword strike—now he looked like a Huihe tribesman. When the Ma family patriarch threatened him, a foot-long blade was thrust into his thigh. Most pitiful was He Shao, the He family patriarch, who was stripped completely naked and tied to a pillar to feed mosquitoes all night. Old He wasn’t a strong-willed person. The instant the bandit arrived, he had offered up the white jade Guanyin he’d been clutching. Unfortunately, the thief considered him too filthy and accused him of desecrating the deity, so he was specially punished.

This was a major incident. The military police, constables, city patrol soldiers, even the Bai Qi Si were running around the city like startled donkeys chasing the culprit, swearing to capture the great bandit. They believed that within Chang’an’s tall city walls, the thief couldn’t escape. For a time, the city’s lowlifes suffered terrible misfortune—dragged to the authorities and given thirty lashes before any questions were asked. In no time, the flying bandit’s reputation spread rapidly.

Li Tai, who came to the Yun household for breakfast, admired the thief’s actions immensely, believing them even more miraculous than the legendary sword immortals. Li Ke, however, worried anxiously about the safety of the three premium cat’s eye stones he’d just acquired.

“The thief was just trying to raise bride price money to marry a wife. I think such a man deserves forgiveness and must be forgiven. Though Old He suffered a bit, who told him to sleep hugging the Guanyin statue? He deserved it.”

“Ye Zi, that’s wrong. Such a person, if he joined the military, would quickly rise to great success. What woman couldn’t he marry? Why become a thief? Unless he enjoys being a bandit, or this is an ancestral craft that can’t be abandoned—like Huang Shu, who still most wants to descend into tomb pits.”

Li Tai picked up a piece of salted egg yolk, tasted it, nodded, and unhesitatingly refuted Yun Ye’s viewpoint.

Li Ke said worriedly: “This kind of thing has only happened twice. Once in Luoyang, where a bandit of unmatched ferocity wielded a long blade from a swift horse to take heads. By the time the soldiers reacted, the thief had already fled a thousand miles away. The second time is now. According to the Chang’an Prefecture Governor, the thief is an old hand who didn’t even cover his face—extremely audacious.”

While the three chatted idly, Dan Ying, dressed in blue, walked in from outside. He stretched lazily and said: “Sleeping in trees is really uncomfortable. Haven’t done that in a long time. My back is sore when I get up.”

Li Tai and Li Ke burst into laughter. Li Ke pointed at Dan Ying and said: “Who told you to always like guarding outside the Yun family’s young lady’s room? You’re poor too. Why not learn from last night’s flying bandit? He made a fortune in one night, plundering quite a few treasures. Old He suffered the most—that white jade Guanyin is worth three thousand strings of cash.”

“That thing is so valuable? I almost smashed it because I found it disgusting!” Dan Ying looked relieved.

Yun Ye’s face immediately darkened. The salted egg in Li Tai’s hand fell to the ground without him noticing. Li Ke’s eyes widened. After a moment, Li Tai excitedly grabbed Dan Ying’s hand and said: “So the great bandit was you! When I was little, I dreamed of becoming a great bandit one day, roaming the mountains and forests. Today I’ve finally seen the real thing.”

Dan Ying shook off Li Tai’s hand and said: “I’m poor. To marry a wife, I had no choice but to borrow a little from others’ homes. Tonight I plan to borrow some more to gather enough. My brother-in-law is a snob who recognizes money but not people. There’s no other way.”

The Li brothers both looked at Yun Ye with contempt. Li Tai continued expressing his admiration. Li Ke rubbed his hands and said: “Brother Dan, those items are hard for you to dispose of anyway. Why not sell them to me? I’ll definitely pay a high price. I’ve been drooling over that exquisite pagoda for ages.”

“I remember you two were just denouncing such unrighteous acts. Why are you now conspiring together?” Yun Ye couldn’t stand the three men’s shameful behavior and interjected.

“What sets a superior man apart is his discerning eye for people. My father taught me this principle when I was very young. Small flaws can’t obscure great virtue. Brother Dan’s skills are supreme—he must feel lonely, just as I stand at the peak of learning and look around to see nothing but mediocre people, which is tiresome. Having finally encountered someone special, we mustn’t view him with vulgar eyes.”

Li Ke urged Dan Ying to go see the treasures. Li Tai drained his bowl of congee in one gulp and also wanted to go. The three of them pushed and shoved their way to Dan Ying’s small courtyard.

Daya quietly came up behind her brother, who was rubbing his temples, and showed him a large greenish luminous pearl. Her eyes were full of affection. “Little Ying said my eyesight is poor. If I hang this pearl in the room at night for illumination, it will be very beautiful. He said when he took it, five-colored light shone magnificently. Brother, will you help Little Ying return the items to their owners? I don’t want any pearl. I want Little Ying to stay well by my side. I always have nightmares at night, and Little Ying stays outside my door to keep me company. Sometimes he sings softly to me, sometimes he talks with me. This pearl can’t compare to him.”

“Little Ying is smarter than you think. Now he’s pulled in two accomplices who know exactly what’s going on to help him share the burden. He’s worried about trouble when he marries you. He’s grown up long ago. Actually, getting you the pearl was his real goal. The others were just cover. He went to such great lengths to get you the pearl—keep it well, or else he’ll be heartbroken. Little Ying will handle the other matters himself.”

“Going to Old He was leaving himself a way out. It was probably that bastard Old He who tipped him off. I don’t believe that being unfamiliar with Chang’an, he could know which families had treasures. This fellow’s courage grows bigger and bigger. Did he think he could use Little Ying? Being tied to a pillar to feed mosquitoes was probably Little Ying’s punishment for him.”

“But Brother, I don’t want anything to happen to Little Ying.” Daya’s eyes were red. She clearly hadn’t slept all night.

Pulling Daya to sit down, Yun Ye felt very uncomfortable. Dan Ying’s bones held nothing of a law-abiding person. Making him live an ordinary life would be worse than killing him with a single blade. Daya would have too many worries in the future. This child’s fate was bitter—she was destined to live in fear and anxiety all her life. However, this was the life she chose herself. No one could help her.

Marry a rooster, follow the rooster; marry a dog, follow the dog; marry a monkey, run all over the mountain. Knowing it’s a pit of fire, she insisted on jumping in with eyes wide open. Love never gives people the right direction.

Wrapping the pearl in a handkerchief and handing it to Daya, since she was preparing to be a bandit’s wife, she had to be ready to act as a lookout. Daya lowered her head to put away the pearl and slowly shuffled back to the rear courtyard, occasionally casting pleading glances at her brother.

“I won’t let Little Ying suffer losses. I’ll handle everything. Just live well.” Hearing her brother’s promise, Daya’s steps became much more forceful. In her mind, her brother was omnipotent.

Old He came to the Yun household wailing loudly. Just as he was about to complain, Yun Ye pressed him down and beat him severely. When he still wanted to ask why, he was pressed down for another beating. The clever fat fellow immediately said quietly: “You can’t blame me, brother. I was in the middle of business with my concubine when your brother-in-law stood in front of the bed curtain watching the show. It scared me limp on the spot. My concubine screamed once and fainted.”

“I was still on top of the woman when he asked me which family had the best luminous pearl. Of course it’s the Sun family in Zhuozheng Ward. Their luminous pearl is said to be three parts larger than even the one in the imperial palace. Last time his family held a banquet, they specially brought it out to show off. I’ve seen it, so I gave Little Ying a little guidance.”

“You bastard! Couldn’t you have advised him? We could have obtained it through other means. There was no need to carry a thief’s reputation.”

“Don’t you know your brother-in-law’s temperament? If he could be persuaded, would you need me? Apart from being unable to harm your sister, among the remaining people, if he wanted to kill, he could really do it. I used to hide when I saw him. Only now that this lad has gradually developed some human feeling do I dare associate with him. You civilized one person and even threw in your sister—isn’t that a bit of a loss?”

Yun Ye dejectedly released his grip. Dan Ying’s wild nature had been cultivated since childhood by Ding Yanping. To make him concentrate on martial arts, that damned Ding Yanping taught him nothing except killing and loyalty. Now he’d become a freak, a dangerous freak. If there was a chance to meet that old bastard, Yun Ye would definitely make him pay.

Yun Ye wasn’t worried about the robbery itself. He had a hundred methods to smooth over this matter. Dan Ying was also handling it himself—evident from the fact that he robbed many families, showing he had prepared early. The Li brothers would definitely keep their mouths tightly shut. As long as the victims weren’t the imperial family, they didn’t care. As for those city lowlifes who couldn’t even be counted as ants, their fates didn’t matter at all.

Three men whose desires had been fully satisfied walked in from the entrance. Li Tai now held a small knife wrapped in silk thread in his hand. This thing could be concealed between the fingers and would only emerge from between the knuckles when making a fist. It was one of Dan Ying’s little toys. Although Li Tai wasn’t very skilled with it yet, seeing the gleaming cold blade and his bared white teeth, some poor soul would surely fall victim to this thing. The blade was as thin as a cicada’s wing—after a cut, it would take quite a while before blood flowed. An absolute weapon for underhanded attacks.

Li Ke’s chest bulged, and he carried a bundle in his hand, looking very pleased. Dan Ying glanced expressionlessly at He Shao and went to the rear courtyard. Daya must be very worried now. Whenever he had such thoughts, his heart always felt comfortable and warm.