Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Xie Licheng pushed Gu Zhangyuan's head back down, then picked up a large cleaver from a dead bandit and whirled around to pin the fleeing overseer to the ground with it.

The overseer could now see that Xie Licheng was not someone to mess with. He'd been wondering earlier why the Eldest Young Master was still breathing, but now that he'd seen Xie Licheng's strength firsthand, it all clicked.

It wasn't that the Eldest Young Master was hard to kill, nor that he was lucky to be alive—it was that he had a real god of death by his side.

As long as this god of death was present, even if every last bandit died here, they still might not be able to kill the Eldest Young Master.

If the Eldest Young Master survived, then he'd failed his mission, and the Gu family's headship would stay with the main branch. The Eldest Young Master wouldn't spare him once he got back—he'd be dead meat.

He didn't want to die, so he'd planned to slip away while Xie Licheng wasn't watching.

He wanted to bolt with his two sons—no way was he copping to anything.

But to his surprise, even though Xie Licheng wasn't looking his way, he'd been tracking his every move.

The moment he tried to run, Xie Licheng slammed the blade through his leg, pinning him to the ground.

The overseer was terrified out of his mind. He'd seen bandits and pirates before, but never anyone this scary.

That huge blade, and he'd driven it through his flesh dead-on to pin him.

What if—what if the blade had been off by even a hair? He'd have died right there, wouldn't he?

The overseer couldn't help screaming in agony as he tried to yank the blade out.

But it hurt too much—any tiny move and the flesh on his leg would rip.

Xie Licheng glanced back at the overseer, made sure he couldn't get away for now, then smirked at the others.

Xie Licheng said, "Now it's your turn."

...

While chaos broke out across the estate, a young farmer slipped out in the confusion.

He didn't run off alone—his whole family lived there, and they depended on the estate to survive.

He bolted out of the estate and stumbled into town to sound the alarm.

Something this serious—bandits attacking—had to be reported to the authorities. Only the imperial government could drive those bandits off.

There were a lot of bandits, all holed up in the mountains around the estate.

If the authorities didn't step in, none of the nearby villages or towns would be safe.

The young farmer was just a peasant—folks like him were the most scared of these cold-blooded bandits who killed without a second thought.

The young farmer didn't make it back to the estate until dawn, bringing over twenty conscripted soldiers with him.

But when they got there, they found no living bandits left.

Most of the bandits had been killed by Xie Licheng; the rest had cut and run when they saw the tide turning.

At that moment, Xie Licheng was resting in a room—and so was Gu Zhangyuan.

Xuan Cui and Yuan Qiao, plus two injured house guards, were keeping watch outside their door.

Yuan Qiao's injuries were light—just a few scrapes.

Compared to him, Xuan Cui had it much worse.

Yesterday, she'd been beaten up by that Mole-faced Man while covering for the young master.

Luckily, it only looked bad—her injuries weren't actually serious.

Yuan Qiao sat by the door and asked Xuan Cui, "Is that horse slave really that tough? He chased off the bandits all by himself?"

He'd passed out early yesterday, so he wasn't clear on much of what happened after.

He'd woken up just before dawn and found the bandits dead, wounded, or gone.

Xuan Cui said, "It wasn't just him—our people and the estate's farmers helped out some too. But the biggest credit still goes to him. He protected the young master admirably this time, so the young master will definitely reward him well."

There were quite a few farmers on the estate. At first, they'd been scared, but later, to protect their families or themselves, they'd grabbed weapons too.

But they were weak in a fight—it took four or five of them to take down one bandit.

You couldn't blame them for being weak. They were just farmers who knew how to work the land—usually timid and scared, never daring to kill anyone.

Only when pushed to the brink did they fight back.

The main job of dealing with the bandits fell to Xie Licheng and the Gu family's men, and the most fearsome of them all was still Xie Licheng.

The reason the others were said to have helped was because, after the bandits had been driven off, they handled the cleanup.

The others handled the cleanup—tending the wounded, clearing the estate, and guarding the captured overseer.

They'd agreed to keep one alive, but Xie Licheng had been so wiped out by then that he lost control on the last one and accidentally killed him too.

Gu Zhangyuan wasn't upset about that—as long as the overseer was still alive.

The overseer was a witness, and so were Gu Zhangyuan and the others.

He figured that if his father found out about this, he'd believe him.

Xie Licheng slept straight through till evening. By then, Gu Zhangyuan had been up for a while, leading a group to handle the estate's affairs.

Over twenty conscripted soldiers had shown up in the morning, and by afternoon, the prefect of Lingzhou had arrived too.

With so many bandits dead in the mountains, they wouldn't dare come out while the authorities were around, so Gu Zhangyuan wasn't in a rush to leave.

Honestly, the authorities bore some blame for last night—when two young men went missing from the estate, they'd reported it, but the officials just came for a look and then dropped it.

Now that bandits had shown up in the mountains, the biggest blame fell on the authorities themselves.

But Gu Zhangyuan couldn't openly blame the authorities—he had to wine and dine them with fine tea and good liquor.

Only by treating them well would the authorities take his side and later help him get justice.

There was no way around it—the Dazhou court was rotten to the core, and this prefect of Lingzhou was no upright official either.

Even though Gu Zhangyuan was the victim in yesterday's mess, getting this prefect to help him get justice would take a lot of effort and money.

When Xie Licheng woke up, the first thing he did was check his stamina.

After a full day of rest, his stamina was back up to 93.

He has a total of 100 stamina points. Yesterday, in order to kill and level up, his stamina dropped to 6.

That was a pretty dangerous number, but fortunately, the farmers from the estate pitched in at the end of the day, so Xie Licheng didn't end up passing out from exhaustion in a totally embarrassing way.

Of course, Xie Licheng wouldn't actually let his stamina hit zero.

He can't trust many people in this other world, so he wouldn't recklessly leave himself vulnerable.

Even if he did pass out, he'd make sure it happened in his personal world.

Honestly, even without the farmers' help, he could've gotten away clean given the situation, because by then, there weren't many bandits left.

At that point, it wasn't the bandits chasing Xie Licheng to kill him—it was him chasing them down for XP.

All that hard work paid off big time.

He's now level 89, and with the 10 attribute points he'd saved up, he's got 20 to spend.

Xie Licheng got out of bed and opened his panel to allocate the points.

Of the 20 attribute points, he used 10, dumping them all into defense.

The body he inherited already had high defense, and after adding more defense once before, plus these 10 points, his defense is now 69.

The higher his defense, the less damage he'll take in the future.

This defense doesn't just block physical damage—it also resists poison, bacteria, viruses, and even genetic diseases.

If his defense goes above 100, calling him a man of iron wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Xie Licheng figured his strength was already pretty high, so it was a good time to bump up his defense too.

After getting up, Xie Licheng changed into a plain low-servant outfit and pushed open the door to head out.

Xuan Cui, waiting outside the door, saw him and quickly said, "Master, you're finally awake."

Hearing this new title, Xie Licheng glanced at her. It didn't sound as good as "horse slave"—there was something weird about it he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Xie Licheng: "Where's your master?"

Xuan Cui: "The master's got the farmers packing up, getting ready to leave the estate with them."

Now that bandits have shown up at the estate and the authorities don't seem to be sending troops anytime soon, they can't stay here anymore. It hurts to leave all that stuff behind, but people's lives matter more than things.

Xuan Cui: "Want me to take you to the master?"

Xie Licheng: "No need. I'm going to find the weapons I tossed out earlier."

Those weapons are his—he can't just treat them like they're disposable.

With troubled times ahead, he'd only feel safe if he stocked up on more weapons.

Xuan Cui: "I know where they are. The authorities took them all, saying they'd use them as evidence."

Xie Licheng frowned at that. Trouble. The ancient authorities weren't easy to deal with.

The officials took his stuff, and getting it back wouldn't be easy.

Seeing he was annoyed, Xuan Cui couldn't help but smile and say, "Don't be upset. If you want weapons later, you can ask the master. He's so good to you and dotes on you so much—he'd definitely shell out big money to have them made for you."

What the hell?

Gu Zhangyuan dotes on him? It's the other way around—he dotes on Gu Zhangyuan!

Last night, in such a dangerous situation, he kept Gu Zhangyuan by his side the whole time, exhausting himself so Gu Zhangyuan wouldn't have to walk.

Saying Gu Zhangyuan dotes on him—how does this little maid have the nerve to say that?

Afterward, escorted by the authorities, they made it back to Lingzhou City overnight.

By then, the people of Lingzhou City had already heard about the bandit trouble outside, and panic was spreading everywhere—inside and outside the walls.

The Gu family's steward had been waiting at the city gate with his people since early morning, looking really worried about Gu Zhangyuan.

Gu Zhangyuan stayed in the carriage, just lifting the curtain to glance outside.

Not seeing his second uncle, a hint of understanding and a touch of sorrow crept into his eyes.

As if knowing who he was looking for, the steward quickly stepped forward and said quietly, "Second Master took Young Master Yue out of the house early this morning. At the time, this old servant thought Second Master seemed a bit off, so I sent someone to check on the estate. But before that person could even get there, word came that a bunch of bandits were hiding at the estate. When I heard that, it nearly scared me out of my wits—I immediately reported it to the authorities. Fortunately, the young master is blessed and came to no harm; otherwise, I wouldn't know how to face the master."

As he spoke, the steward's eyes got a bit red, and his voice started trembling.

In the past, Gu Zhangyuan would've been deeply moved, feeling the steward really cared about him.

But after what happened yesterday, he now finds it hard to trust the older generation in his family.

His second uncle had also been really, really good to him since he was a kid.

Whenever he looked at him, his eyes were always especially gentle.

When the young masters of the second branch messed up, his second uncle would let him discipline them however he wanted.

Back then, he felt his second uncle was the one who treated him best, besides his father.

His mother was good to him too, but... she had to take care of his little brother.

Ever since his mother had his little brother, all her energy went into taking care of him, and over time, they grew a bit distant.

Given what had just happened, and since the steward wasn't blood-related, seeing him so concerned now made Gu Zhangyuan unsure whether to trust him.

Steward: "It's this old servant's fault for being foolish. In the past, I always followed the eldest young master wherever he went, but this time, how could I have listened to Second Master and let you go alone to such a remote place?"

After hearing the steward's words, Gu Zhangyuan was quiet for a long moment before asking, "Did you send anyone to chase after them?"

The steward quickly replied, "I noticed something was off in the morning and sent people to search, but unfortunately, I found out too late—by the time they went looking, they'd already fled far away."

Hearing this, Gu Zhangyuan suddenly felt tired. He let the curtain fall and told the driver to keep going.

The driver outside was none other than Xie Licheng.

Gu Zhangyuan hadn't wanted him to work so hard, given how exhausted Xie Licheng was from protecting him last night.

But Xie Licheng figured he was just a driver—what else would a driver do but drive the carriage?

Besides... yesterday Xie Licheng had been too conspicuous, and Gu Zhangyuan wanted to protect him a bit, so he let him keep driving the carriage.

Why does he need to protect Xie Licheng?

Because Xie Licheng's identity is special—he's a descendant of a former dynasty's military officer, making his background a bit sensitive.

If the officials of Dazhou learned that a leftover of the fallen dynasty had not only left the slave camp but was also a highly skilled warrior who could slaughter enemies on all sides,

would they draft him into the army to make a name for himself, or would they find a way to secretly kill him?

Gu Zhangyuan suspected it was the latter.

The Dazhou emperor wasn't that magnanimous, and the Dazhou court was already rotten. They wouldn't allow a leftover of the fallen dynasty to become a hero or a general in Dazhou.

So when the conscripted soldier and the prefect inquired about what had happened at the manor, Gu Zhangyuan gave the credit to the Gu family's guards and house guards.

When those guards and house guards learned of this, they were, of course, more than happy to take credit for it.

This was a huge honor, and there might be plenty of rewards coming their way later.

As for whether Xie Licheng would feel hard done by?

He figured someone as smart as Xie Licheng would get his good intentions.

Besides, whatever rewards the court could give, he, Gu Zhangyuan, could also bestow upon him—even way more than the court could give. He didn't think he was shortchanging the guy.

The group returned to the Gu residence, where the second branch of the Gu family was nearly empty—just two out-of-favor concubines and a bunch of servants.

Since it wasn't their fault, Gu Zhangyuan naturally wouldn't take it out on them.

He was tired and planned to take a bath and get some good rest as soon as he got back.

But while he was bathing, he suddenly got a bit scared, as if a bandit might be lurking in the room.

Thinking about all the terrifying stuff he went through yesterday, he couldn't help blurting out to Xuan Cui, "Go, have someone summon Xie Licheng."

Xuan Cui went, "Ah?" and said, "This... at this time of night?"

Gu Zhangyuan also felt it was a bit inappropriate, but he just felt creeped out.

Even with Xuan Cui right there with him, that creepy feeling still scared him.

Xie Licheng was also bathing, and was called away halfway through to "attend to his lord"—no, wait, he was called over to keep Gu Zhangyuan company and distract him.

He walked in with his long hair dripping wet, his brows tightly furrowed, looking quite fierce and unapproachable.

As he entered, Xuan Cui immediately slipped out.

No sooner had Xuan Cui stepped out than Yuan Qiao grabbed her.

Yuan Qiao said, a bit nervously and excitedly, "Is the young master now so close with that horse slave?"

Xuan Cui: "It's probably not what you're thinking."

Yuan Qiao: "Then... what is it?"

"It's just—I can't quite explain it. The young master was probably scared out of his wits. And he thought I wasn't capable enough to protect him, so he called for that horse slave... no, we should call him 'langjun' from now on. The young master said he has a proper name and isn't just some ordinary criminal slave."