Chapter 12: The Beauty Bestows a Sword

  A strange bird cry suddenly rang out, and in an instant, people and horses on the official road were thrown into chaos.

  Tripwire? The brown-robed knights reacted too late. They were also shocked, how could a tripwire appear on the official road? Unfortunately, they had no time to be puzzled. Another bird call sounded, and bamboo-made crossbow arrows came whizzing from both sides of the forest. Most of the brown-robed knights fell off their horses, becoming a mess, swinging swords to block or dodging were all empty words.

  Bamboo and wooden arrows have limited lethality, can only shoot injuries that are difficult to cause death. To make up for this shortcoming, Pu Jun applied some plant toxins to the arrowheads, and also wanted to apply snake venom, but was stopped by Yin Xu, just to rob wealth as much as possible without harming human life. Although it does not lead to human death, the numbness is unbearable, causing people to lose their combat effectiveness is still no problem.

  What's worse, the war horse was shot and in pain, jumping around wildly, and the brown-robed knight who fell off the horse was doomed. The heavy hooves came down, and instantly the chest bone shattered, and it was unknown how many people were trampled to death. This was purely a coincidence, no one had expected it, but for the current situation, it was an unexpected gain.

  The sudden change of events shocked both sides, but one side was thrilled, while the other was astonished or terrified.

  The speeding carriage suddenly stopped, and the woman on it made a decisive decision, ordering the ten family generals to turn around and counterattack. Although the number of people was still much smaller, someone secretly assisted, and the morale was greatly boosted, barely making up for the disparity in strength. After another round of crossbow arrows were shot out, many of the brown-clad knights who had charged forward earlier were killed or injured. As soon as the arrows stopped, the family generals who had turned around seized the opportunity, rode forward on horseback, and swung their swords to kill. The leader of the brown-clad men watched with his eyes wide open as his vanguard was completely annihilated, and he couldn't help but become extremely enraged.

  Yin Xu shouted loudly, and nearly a hundred people rushed out of the dense forest. The brown-robed knights were greatly shocked, but when they took a closer look, they couldn't help but burst out laughing. Although the newcomers made a big show, they were just mountain bandits armed with wooden sticks and bamboo poles.

  Soon after the fight began, they found themselves underestimating their opponents and were crying out in distress. The bandits, three or four of them together, used bamboo poles to obstruct vision from above and struck the horses' legs with wooden clubs from below. As the warhorses broke their legs, the brown-robed knights fell off, and by the time they hit the ground, they were already being beaten mercilessly on the back of their heads and spines.

  Cut off the cavalryman's head and cut off the horse's legs!

  Yin Xu smiled faintly, and another sword appeared on the horse's leg. In his heart, he thought: You think you're impressive? Riding a horse is nothing special? Think about how powerful Jin Wu's iron floating tower was back then, but in the Battle of Yan City, it was still defeated by the Yue family army's move, leaving them in a state of disarray.

  After the crowd discovered the wonderful place, they followed suit one after another. The brown-robed knights were in a state of misery, with heavy casualties. The leader saw that the situation was not in their favor, and flames rose three feet high, but he had no choice but to order a retreat while glancing at the distant horse carriage. Success was within reach, yet failure stared them in the face. The brown-robed leader felt both anger and sighs. Returning to Xianyang without being able to report back, what would be waiting for him? Thinking of this, a faint sense of worry floated up in his heart.

  A group of "bandits" fought against government soldiers for the first time, and it was a cavalry battle, achieving a complete victory. Everyone was thrilled. Especially when several people worked together to hit the horse's legs and use clubs on its back, they were highly praised, and Yin Xu was particularly admired.

  After Yun Xiuqing checked, only a few people were injured and not seriously. This result made him very pleased. Without needing to be told, Pu Jun and Gao Yi had already led people to clean up the battlefield. At this time, a servant walked forward on foot, bowed respectfully, and said: "Thank you for saving us, my master invites you to come forward and tell your story, and thank you in person!"

  Yin Xu knew that his daughter was on the carriage, and it would be inconvenient to get off and meet. He smiled and said, "You're too polite!" Then he followed his family to the next carriage in front.

  The moment the car door opened, Yin Xu felt a fragrance hit his nose. When he looked closely, there were two women sitting in the car. One was around thirty years old, elegant and noble, with a decent appearance. Next to her was a young girl with a light gauze covering her face, who was at the prime of her youth. She wore a purple autumn outfit with embroidered orchid-like patterns, looking mysterious and noble. The long skirt that reached the ground just covered a pair of slender jade feet. Although the light gauze covered her face, from the black silk hanging on both sides, and those deep, lake-like eyes that were extremely moving, as well as her gentle smile, it could be seen that this girl was certainly beautiful like a flower.

  "Madam, miss!" Yin Xu slightly nodded his head, which served as a greeting.

  "Thank you, young master, for saving us. My mother and I are eternally grateful." The woman nodded in gratitude, displaying the elegance of a noble lady.

  Yin Xu was taken aback and smiled awkwardly, unsure of how to respond. He had originally planned to rob the way, but unexpectedly ended up rescuing someone instead.

  The young girl smiled and said: "Sir, you don't have to be polite. No matter what your intentions are, the fact is that you saved us."

  The young girl exhaled like an orchid, her words and demeanor were elegant and refined. Having just experienced a disaster, she didn't show any signs of panic at all. Just this composure and bravery was not ordinary, Yin Xu was certain that the identity of this mother-daughter pair was not common.

  "Miss, forgive me!" said Yin Xu with a gentle smile.

  The girl said: "I'm so sorry, sir, you look like a scholar, why are you in a place like this?"

  "Where? Miss Zan was wronged. In the next village, a rustic husband, having offended local officials, killed someone in self-defense and had to flee into the mountains."

  "Oh? So that's how it is! Young master is indeed extraordinary, but have you considered your future prospects? If I may be so bold as to ask, my humble household would like to offer a substantial sum to retain your services."

  Yin Xuxin secretly smiled to himself, so the little girl was trying to win him over. Never mind her family background or what she did for a living? The key point was that he had already made other plans. He couldn't help but laugh and say: "Miss Meng overestimates me, thank you for your kind intentions. However, I'm afraid this young man is a wanted fugitive of the government office, and it's likely to bring trouble to your esteemed household. Moreover, there are these hundreds of brothers who are willing to follow me, how can I abandon them?"

  The young girl nodded slightly and said, "If so, I was too presumptuous. To thank you for your kindness in trying to save me, I will give this to you." As she spoke, she took out a sword from the brocade box beside her seat. The woman beside her suddenly showed a look of surprise, but was stopped by a glance from the purple-clothed girl.

  Is the beauty hiding a sword in her vehicle?

  Yin Xu was curious, and the girl had already handed over the long sword. The jade-like hand, white skin, and slender fingers like scallions, the warm fragrance of the woman's body rushed forward. Yin Xu's heart was stirred, and he hesitated for a moment before taking the long sword in a daze.

  "This sword is presented to you, young master, I hope you will accept it with a smile!"

  The sword was drawn out of its scabbard, and two seal characters appeared before his eyes. Yin Xu widened his eyes but didn't recognize them. The girl saw his expression and couldn't help but furrow her brow, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.

  The sword blade emerged from its scabbard, like a pool of autumn water, with a chilling aura, the blade was extremely sharp, and the green light flashed. With just one glance, Yin Xu was certain that this was a precious sword, a peerless treasure sword.

  "This sword is too precious, please take it back, Miss. I am unworthy to receive it." Yin Xu sheathed the sword and handed it over with both hands.

  The maiden shook her head and said: "A precious sword given to a hero, left in the hands of us women, would be wasted. It's more suitable for you, sir, to wear this sword."

  Seeing the girl's sincerity, Yin Xu nodded and said: "In that case, I will take my leave, thank you miss!"

  The maiden continued: "The hundred brave warriors outside have also worked hard; Fan Qing, give the remaining hundred pieces of gold to these brave warriors."

  "Yes!" A family member by the car responded and went forward to receive the order.

  "A hundred gold?" Yin Xu's throat moved slightly, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He was truly a rich man!

  Qin Shi Huang unified the country, with standardized vehicles and writing. The currency was also unified. The Qin system used copper coins as lower currency, specifically half-liang coins, with uniform weight and text. Gold was used as upper currency, with jin as the unit, one jin being equal to twenty liang, although there is also a theory that it was twenty-four liang. Fifty jin of gold was equivalent to one thousand liang of gold, which in any era would be a huge sum of money.

  The purple-robed girl was indeed generous with her money, but what's more important is the girl's tone, as if a hundred gold coins were nothing to her. Especially that last sentence, so how much gold did they originally take? To what extent is this family wealthy? This is the most astonishing part.

  "Thank you, miss!" Yin Xu smiled in his heart, since someone was kind enough to send him off, it's better not to be polite.

  The girl smiled and said: "We still have a long way to go, let's hurry up and not disturb you."

  "Madam, Miss, have a good trip!"

  The horse carriage started again, with more than 20 families guarding both sides, carefully and hastily leaving. After walking for a while, the woman let out a gentle sigh and said: "Zhao Gao is really not dead, we have already avoided the main road and detoured through the remote Pengli Lake, but unexpectedly we were still discovered..."

  The maiden lifted her veil, revealing bright eyes and white teeth, a flower-like face and a moon-like complexion. She said: "We've been very careful, withdrawing from Guanzhong in batches, but we were still discovered by the old thief. From Xianyang to Jiangdong, he pursued us all the way, although we tried our best to conceal our tracks... Alas! Today, it's really thanks to those bandits..."

  "I also don't know how your father and them are doing now. Could they have returned safely?" The woman's face was full of worry.

  The young girl comforted her: "Mother, don't worry, nothing will happen to Father. Zhao Gao is chasing us so urgently, it's clear that Father has already escaped safely. He must have arrived in Dingtao by now and will come to meet us after a few days."

  The woman knew that her daughter was clever and had a reason for what she said, so her mood gradually calmed down. She said: "Yilan! Today you are too generous with your gift, one hundred gold is a small matter, but the Duan Shui sword is General Meng's sword, let alone there is also that legend, how can it be easily given to someone?"

  The girl said: "Mother, I don't want the world's precious sword to be buried here. As for that legend... it's probably just a legend."

  The woman said: "Will the precious sword be buried in the hands of that young man?"

  The girl nodded: "Don't underestimate this person. At a young age, he can already gain the respect and trust of hundreds of rough and violent bandits. This is no easy feat. Just now, mother also saw it, the move of hitting the horse's leg from top to bottom, can be said to be out of the ordinary and unexpected, it can be seen that this person has a good mind."

  "What is even more rare is that this person is polite and courteous, honest and humble, and remains unmoved by beautiful women or wealth. When I try to persuade him, he fears being a burden to us and does not want to abandon his own brothers, showing that he has feelings and righteousness. Such a person will surely achieve great things in the future."

  The woman hesitated and said: "This is indeed the case, but we don't even know his name, and just now I forgot to ask."

  "Even if he's asked, he might not say anything." The girl smiled lightly and ordered loudly: "Fan Qing, after you go back, investigate that young master thoroughly."

  "Yes!"

  The horse carriage sped away, and the girl on it gazed out of the window at the scenery that kept retreating into the distance, lost in thought...