Chapter 24

Chapter 24

As Xie Licheng said this, he produced a short blade from who knows where.

He raised the blade, aimed at the man in the courtyard, and in the next instant, sank it into the man's neck.

The guy didn't even seem to register what had happened. He instinctively touched his neck, then, with a look of terror, clutched it as he slowly crumpled to the ground, helpless.

Xie Licheng was a good distance from the guy, and the bad lighting at night made it even harder.

A short blade was way harder to aim than a bow and arrow. Hitting the guy's neck with that kind of precision, and nailing the carotid artery in one shot, took serious skill.

But from aiming to killing in one strike, Xie Licheng had taken just a few seconds.

He killed with such practiced ease, like he'd been doing it for over a decade.

Of course, Xie Licheng hadn't actually been killing for over a decade.

It was just that, having lived through the apocalypse in his past life, he'd killed a ton of zombies and been forced to kill plenty of people too.

Plus, in his game world, he had to hunt a lot of prey to level up, so he'd gotten pretty good at fighting and killing.

Watching the guy hit the ground, blood instantly pooling around him, Gu Zhangyuan clapped both hands over his mouth in fright. Then, remembering this guy had come to kill him, he turned his face away and refused to watch his gruesome end.

A man who wanted to kill him—he wouldn't spare him a single ounce of sympathy.

The Mole-faced Man raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting an ordinary horse groom to be that skilled. He said, sounding a bit surprised, "Brother, are you in the same line of work? That was some impressive skill. Why not join us and live the good life? Why bust your ass for some pretty boy?"

Xie Licheng didn't want to waste his breath on men like these. Guys who could watch their own comrade die without a flicker of emotion were the scariest and the most likely to betray you.

Since he didn't want to talk to them, he just spouted nonsense.

"I like being a pretty boy's slave. I like kneeling at his feet."

Everyone there had expressions of utter disbelief.

Gu Zhangyuan's face burned with shame. He couldn't believe that even at a time like this, this horse slave was still trying to mess with him.

Yuan Qiao and Xuan Cui were thrilled. Even though they thought the young groom was shameless, they remembered how skilled he was. They didn't care what he was thinking, as long as he was willing to protect their master.

The group across from them was disgusted by Xie Licheng's twisted words, but remembering how formidable he'd just been, they swallowed their disgust and tried to recruit him.

A younger bandit yelled, "Brother, if you like pretty boys, just join us. We'll let you pick any beauty we catch."

The other bandits chimed in, clearly impressed by Xie Licheng's earlier move.

"Right, why settle for one beauty when you can have them all? If you really like him, we'll grab him and let you have your fun first. Once you're done, we'll kill him."

"Yeah, let's take him alive. We can all have our fun, then kill him when we're done with him."

...

Hearing their filthy talk, Gu Zhangyuan was genuinely scared.

Afraid Xie Licheng might actually be tempted, he quickly reached out and grabbed Xie Licheng's hand again.

His hand wasn't small for a boy like him.

But because Xie Licheng's hands were so big, when he held his hand, his own looked small and delicate.

Gu Zhangyuan: "You can't side with them. You can't do this to me."

Xie Licheng turned to look at him, then gave the soft little hand in his palm a squeeze.

Gu Zhangyuan's face was already flushed and warm, but with Xie Licheng grabbing and squeezing his hand, his whole face got even hotter and redder.

He awkwardly pulled his hand back, suddenly not daring to meet Xie Licheng's eyes.

Xie Licheng: "Did you forget what I told you before?"

He'd stressed many times that he would never betray him, that he would keep him safe.

Xie Licheng: "Alright, the courtyard should be safe now. Take them and hide out back."

By then, Yuan Qiao had found two weapons—a small knife and a wooden stick.

He handed the stick to Xuan Cui and said to Xie Licheng, "We... we can help too, you know."

Xie Licheng didn't even glance at him, saying with total disdain to both him and Xuan Cui, "Don't cause trouble. Stay by your master's side and don't let anyone get near him."

Yuan Qiao nodded quickly and shielded Gu Zhangyuan as they backed further into the courtyard.

With Gu Zhangyuan no longer at his side, Xie Licheng finally had his hands free.

Using his clothes as cover, he pulled two daggers from his portable world.

These daggers were even shorter than the one from before.

Seeing this, the bandits got Xie Licheng's intent.

The Mole-faced Man raised his big blade: "Since you won't see reason, don't blame us for being ruthless. Listen up, everyone—not a single soul in this manor is to be left alive!"

The bandits immediately started shouting.

"Leave no one alive!"

"Kill!"

Their ferocity was terrifying, so much so that the few house guards from the Gu family who'd rushed over suddenly didn't dare come forward to protect Gu Zhangyuan.

But even though they didn't dare come to Gu Zhangyuan's defense, the bandits had no intention of sparing them either.

Two of the guards, being cowards, turned tail and ran at the sight of the situation.

Seeing this, the bandits immediately sent three of their guys to chase them down.

Besides those three, over a dozen others went to kill the rest of the manor's people.

Originally, they'd planned to work with the steward to poison everyone, making the killing easier and quieter.

But now the poison hadn't been administered in time, and Xie Licheng had ruined their plan, making it more troublesome to kill everyone.

The manor had quite a few hired hands, and Gu Zhangyuan had brought along a dozen or so house guards.

With over fifty men on their side, their overall advantage wasn't exactly overwhelming.

Xie Licheng watched the bandits charging at him, glancing over with a smile at the mole-faced man hiding in the distance.

The mole-faced man noticed Xie Licheng looking at him and worried Xie Licheng might kill him too, just like he'd done to that other guy.

Taking advantage of Xie Licheng being busy with the guys in front of him, he quickly grabbed a bow and arrow, figuring he'd take him out from a distance.

He took his time aiming, but soon realized Xie Licheng was not just quick on his feet—he kept using his own men as shields.

He watched Xie Licheng coolly slit two guys' throats, and just like that, two more brothers dropped.

He started getting antsy, and in his rush, he let an arrow fly.

And in his panic, the arrow ended up hitting one of his own guys.

The mole-faced man was pissed and humiliated. He turned to the scrawny guy behind him and said, "Third Brother, go handle him yourself!"

The guy they called Third Brother looked about thirty, maybe a bit older.

He was rail-thin, with sunken eyes and a cold, sharp stare.

He nodded at the mole-faced man's order, then drew two blades and headed over.

The mole-faced man figured that since Xie Licheng cared so much about that young master, he'd climb over the side wall and grab him.

Once he had the guy in his hands, he'd force Xie Licheng to surrender.

And remembering how humiliated he'd just been, he planned to gouge the guy's eyes out himself.

While he was still struggling to get over the wall, one of the bandits suddenly screamed in terror.

"Third Chief!!"

What happened?

What happened to Third Brother?

The mole-faced man turned mid-climb and saw that Third Brother—who'd been in one piece just a second ago—had already had an arm chopped off by that horse slave.

The mole-faced man was in shock and scrambled to get back down.

But when he spotted Gu Zhangyuan in the courtyard, he gritted his teeth and jumped in anyway.

Xuan Cui was the first to see him. She hurriedly called out to Gu Zhangyuan and Yuan Qiao, "Someone's coming in! Someone's coming in!"

Gu Zhangyuan looked over right away, and when he saw it was the bandits' leader, he yanked the hairpin out of his hair and clutched it tight.

Yuan Qiao gripped his little knife and bluffed, "Don't you dare come closer, or I'll show you no mercy!"

The mole-faced man let out a big laugh. Thinking about how many brothers he'd lost today, and how that groom had taken Third Brother's arm, he was burning with rage.

Today, they'd all pay in blood, and he'd start with these two little servant girls.

As he closed in, Xuan Cui swung her wooden staff at him without hesitation.

But to her shock, he sliced right through her staff with his knife like it was nothing.

Seeing that, Yuan Qiao didn't have time to think—he just charged in with his knife.

If he didn't move now, that blade was going to hit Xuan Cui.

He'd grown up with Xuan Cui. They weren't blood siblings, but they were as close as family.

So in that desperate moment, he didn't overthink it—he just wanted to protect her.

The mole-faced man didn't even give him a second look—just kicked him and sent him flying.

The mole-faced man was a bandit, used to robbing and hurting people for a living.

Even the Gu family's house guards couldn't hold a candle to a guy like him.

Yuan Qiao and Xuan Cui were just ordinary servants—a guy and a girl from humble backgrounds.

They lived pretty cushy lives, almost like lesser masters, and had never known real hardship.

They'd never been through anything like this. Yuan Qiao got kicked so hard he blacked out.

Gu Zhangyuan was worried about Yuan Qiao, but he wasn't about to let himself get caught either.

He wasn't stupid. The guy was going through all this trouble to grab him, probably to use him as leverage against the horse slave and the rest.

The Gu family's guards had some real skill, and with that badass horse slave around, the bandits were gonna have a tough time winning.

So to keep from getting caught, Gu Zhangyuan grabbed Xuan Cui and made a break for the room.

But what he didn't expect was that there were other ways into the courtyard.

Because as he was dragging Xuan Cui along, he suddenly spotted another guy coming in from the other side.

The guy was dressed just like the other bandits, and he was carrying a bloody big knife.

The second he laid eyes on Gu Zhangyuan and Xuan Cui, his eyes lit up and he came at them with his blade raised.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Gu Zhangyuan gripped his hairpin, not knowing what to do.

Then, out of nowhere, a plump female martial guard came charging out from a corner.

She threw herself at the bandit with the blade and tackled him to the ground.

Using her weight to keep him down, she yelled at Gu Zhangyuan, "Young master, run! Run!"

Gu Zhangyuan saw the mole-faced man heading for the female guard, so he let go of Xuan Cui and scooped up the knife Yuan Qiao had dropped.

The moment she saw him move, Xuan Cui knew exactly what he was planning.

Even though she was scared out of her wits, she yanked out a hairpin and charged at the mole-faced man, stabbing him in the back.

Her hit wasn't enough to kill him, but she went in anyway, just to get his attention.

The mole-faced man spun around, grabbed her, and slapped her hard across the face.

The mole-faced man snarled, "You little bitch, you dare come at me? Once I'm done here, I'll make you wish you were dead."

Then he grabbed Xuan Cui and kicked her square in the gut.

Since he thought Xuan Cui was pretty—good for selling or keeping around for fun—he didn't kill her on the spot.

He figured he'd knock her out and drag her off once all this was done.

But it was exactly that greed that gave Gu Zhangyuan his chance.

Gu Zhangyuan rushed over quickly and drove the knife into his neck from behind.

He wasn't good at killing, and the small knife was too short to deliver a fatal blow.

The Mole-faced Man immediately released Xuan Cui and turned around with a vicious look to grab him.

Gu Zhangyuan was very, very close to him, and even though he reacted quickly, he still got caught when he tried to run.

The Mole-faced Man grabbed Gu Zhangyuan's hair and raised his hand to slap him across the face, just as he'd done to Xuan Cui.

As he raised his hand, he cursed loudly, "You bitch, you bitch, I'll fucking kill you!"

Gu Zhangyuan watched the big hand about to swing down at him, still struggling and trying to fight back.

He wouldn't accept his fate. He wouldn't accept it.

He could kill him. He absolutely could!

Just as he was using all his strength to counterattack, he suddenly heard the familiar voice of the Horse Slave.

"Don't move!"

Gu Zhangyuan froze on the spot and instinctively shut his eyes.

Then he heard a scream, and warm liquid splashed all over him.

Gu Zhangyuan was scared—really, really scared.

He figured it was blood and instinctively wanted to open his eyes.

Then he heard the Horse Slave say to him again, "Don't open your eyes."

He stayed obedient and kept his eyes closed.

A moment later, he heard footsteps draw near, and then he was scooped up off the ground into the other man's arms.

Xie Licheng took off his outer robe and wiped the blood off of him.

"Sorry, there was someone outside who was a bit of a handful. I scared you."

To be honest, Xie Licheng was quite surprised when he faced that person.

His current strength wasn't all that high, but he had plenty of combat experience.

It was the first time an ordinary person had ever given him trouble.

Luckily, nothing major went wrong in the end—it just put Gu Zhangyuan through a rough time.

Gu Zhangyuan slowly opened his eyes at that. His eyes were beautiful—even with tears in them, they were still stunning.

Gu Zhangyuan asked, "Is it... safe out there now?"

Xie Licheng glanced at the corpse on the ground. "Safe or not, it doesn't matter anymore."

Because he'd already killed their leader, and that so-called Third Chief had his head chopped off too. The rest were just a bunch of ragtag nobodies.