The consequence of taking the mountain path was that they would have to spend another night in the mountains, dramatically increasing the danger.
Fearing wolves might appear, Old Gu Six lit two bonfires.
They didn't see any wolves, but a group of rough-looking men came down from the mountain, each carrying large swords.
"Oh, there's a pretty little lady here," said one of them.
The young man who spoke had a long scar on his face, stretching from the corner of his eye to his mouth. He was muscular, looking twice the size of Old Gu Six.
The men with him started whistling and jeering.
"Pretty boy, hand over your silver and valuables. If you don't, we'll take this little lady instead. She'd fetch a good price if we sold her to Spring Red Tower."
The scar writhed like a grotesque centipede as the young man spoke.
Old Gu Six calmly stood up and hid Chang'an behind him. He didn't say a word, his emotionless eyes fixed on the scarred youth.
It must be said that Old Gu Six could be quite intimidating when he was serious.
At least the Scarred Youth dropped his cocky attitude when Old Gu Six looked at him, and the jeering men fell silent.
They looked wary, trying to appear fierce.
The Scarred Youth faced Old Gu Six's imposing presence. The man's sharp, deep eyes were cold and emotionless, showing neither joy nor sorrow, neither anger nor pleasure. Suddenly, the youth felt like he was looking up at a deity.
In that moment, the Scarred Youth felt like an ant, a speck of dust. The pressure made it hard to breathe, and strangely, he seemed to see cruelty and mercy alternating in the man's eyes.
Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and his knees buckled, forcing him to kneel.
Chang'an, gripping Old Gu Six's left thumb behind his back, tilted her head to look.
??
She hadn't seen Old Gu Six attack physically. Why did the man kneel?
Chang'an wasn't the only one confused; the Scarred Youth's subordinates were also perplexed.
Boss, shouldn't you at least say something? How could you surrender without even fighting?
A subordinate went to help him up. The Scarred Youth rose with his help, wiped his face, feeling embarrassed. He wanted to save face.
This is just an ordinary person, right? He must have been seeing things earlier.
But before he could utter any threats, Old Gu Six anticipated his move. He drew the soft sword from his waist, and with a flash of cold light, the Scarred Youth's hair ornament fell to the ground.
The Scarred Youth became a bristling youth. More flashes of cold light 'swished' by, and his upper garment turned into a midriff-baring three-quarter sleeve, while his lower garment became a tattered skirt.
A loud scream, "Ah!!" startled the crows resting in the trees, causing them to fall to the ground.
The crows struggled to fly away, cawing and cursing as they headed deeper into the mountains.
The Scarred Youth felt he had never been so severely humiliated in his life. He raised his sword and swung at Old Gu Six.
However, they were not on the same level; there was no comparison. Old Gu Six didn't even move his feet, just slightly tilted his body to avoid the incoming blade.
His sword, however, pierced the Scarred Youth's shoulder blade. The youth's face turned as pale as a ghost; the other man had nearly taken his life with a single move.
Second Uncle had said he would encounter a bloody disaster today and shouldn't go out. How accurate that prediction was. If he survived this, he would definitely enshrine Second Uncle.
Seeing their leader wounded, the subordinates raised their swords and charged forward with battle cries.
Old Gu Six swung his sword, releasing a blade of energy that knocked down five or six of them.
Seeing this, the youth immediately shouted, "Stop!"
He threw his own large sword to the ground and bowed to Old Gu Six, apologizing.
"This lowly one failed to recognize Mount Tai. We have disturbed you, sir. Please spare my brothers. I, Da Qingzi of the Green Mountain Stronghold, will forever remember your kindness. If there's anything you need in the future, I will serve you without hesitation, willing to labor as your dog or horse."
Their group of twelve or thirteen couldn't defeat this seemingly pretty boy.
Tsk! How embarrassing!
Old Gu Six tilted his head, mirroring Chang'an's head tilt. He clicked his tongue lightly and said lazily, "Forget about kindness. Just hand over all the silver and money you have on you."
The bandits: ???
Someone was stealing their job.
Da Qingzi was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized – they, the robbers, were being robbed by someone else?
But there was nothing they could do about it. Who told them to be less skilled?
He took the lead, carefully placing all the silver from his person on the ground. Seeing their leader comply, the subordinates followed suit, putting their money together with the youth's silver.
These people were quite honest, even handing over their copper coins.
After robbing them, Old Gu Six asked quietly, "How many innocent women have you sold to Spring Red Tower?"
Da Qingzi waved his hands repeatedly, fearing that any delay would cost him his life. "None, none at all. We just talk big, but we've never done anything so unconscionable. I only rob for money, I don't take lives or women."
"Fine, now get lost," Old Gu Six said coldly, sheathing his soft sword.
To Da Qingzi, it sounded like heavenly music. He kept saying, "Yes, yes, yes," while holding up his tattered pants. He picked up his large sword and led his brothers in a mad dash up the mountain, not daring to look back.
Once the men had disappeared into the night, Old Gu Six revealed his true colors, immediately crouching down to gather the money on the ground.
"Come, daughter, let's count how much we've earned today?"
Chang'an took out a small cloth pouch she had sewn herself, used for storing snacks for Old Gu Six. She was in charge of holding the pouch, while Old Gu Six counted.
Don't ask why she wasn't counting. The answer is that she doesn't know how. She can only count copper coins and knows that one silver ingot is worth ten taels, but she can't tell the value of these silver pieces.
Old Gu Six counted with a grin, "One, two, three... We have six one-tael pieces, one two-tael piece, five two-qian pieces, two one-qian pieces, and twenty copper coins."
"In total, we have nine taels and two qian of silver, plus twenty copper coins. Tsk, these bandits aren't much, are they? Twelve or thirteen of them couldn't even scrape together ten taels of silver?"
Chang'an closed the pouch and tossed it to Old Gu Six, saying calmly, "It's better than nothing."
Old Gu Six agreed with a toothy grin. He put the small pouch in his chest pocket; this was his private money. The bulk of their funds was with his daughter, while he saved the small change.
Back at the stronghold, Da Qingzi, having lost both money and face, not to mention being injured, was thoroughly mocked by his Second Uncle.
"Oh, Da Qingzi is back! My, what a unique look you've got there!"
Da Qingzi, his face dark with anger, ignored his uncle's taunts and rushed to his room to change clothes.
Da Qingzi's Second Uncle followed, shaking his head and waving his duster.
"Tsk tsk, that person's martial arts are really something. Look how neatly they sliced your clothes! Should Second Uncle pay for a new set for you?"
The door suddenly opened, and Second Uncle, who had been leaning against it, almost fell over.
Da Qingzi asked him angrily, "Second Uncle, you were there too? Why didn't you help me?"
His uncle tapped him on the head with the duster and calmly asked, "Why should I have helped you?"
"I'm your nephew. Shouldn't you have stepped in when you saw someone hurting me?"
He sounded quite aggrieved.
"You deserved it. Can't you just be a decent person? Why do you have to be a bandit like your father and elder uncle? You'll end up like your father, meeting your end at the hands of a tough opponent."
"I don't know what else I could do besides being a bandit. Besides, there are so many people in Green Mountain Stronghold. If I don't rob, I can't feed them all."
Did they think he wanted to be a bandit? It's not like he had a choice. Apart from being a bandit, he didn't know how to do anything else. It's the only trade he'd learned since childhood.
