We Must Arm Ourselves

The man in black who was fighting with the Lin brothers, Lin Shan and Lin Yue, suddenly heard a scream behind him and instinctively glanced to the side.

That one glance sent a chill down his spine—the man in gray was kicked by the horse's hooves and sent flying more than ten meters, crashing heavily onto the loess slope. His chest caved in, and a mouthful of blood mixed with foam gushed from the corner of his mouth. He twitched twice on the ground and then fell still; it was clear he was not going to survive.

The man in black was instantly thrown into disarray, and the movement of his knife slowed down by a fraction.

In a battle between masters, the slightest difference can mean life or death. Lin Shan is the most composed and ruthless at seizing openings. Taking advantage of this moment, he twisted his wrist, and his spear, like a poisonous dragon piercing the heart, went straight for his opponent's abdomen.

The man in black broke out in a cold sweat and retreated with all his might, his curved knife slamming down diagonally, striking the gun barrel with a clang, barely managing to deflect the fatal shot.

He had barely landed when a gust of wind came from the side. Lin Yue reacted swiftly, flicking the tip of his spear and thrusting it diagonally at Lin Yue's vulnerable ribs.

Under the pincer attack from the front, the man in black advanced instead of retreating. He stomped his right foot on the ground, using the force to propel himself into the air. In mid-air, he twisted his wrist, and his curved blade slammed heavily against Lin Yue's gun. Using the recoil, he darted backward, his toes barely touching the ground as he leaped several meters away, crashing right into the crowd of refugees who were closing in on him.

"Court death!"

He gave a low shout, and with a sweep of his blade to the left and right, two fleeing people who were at the forefront immediately clutched their throats and fell to the ground, their blood splattering everywhere.

The surrounding refugees were startled by the ferocity, but the man in black didn't stop. He moved with lightning speed, like a wisp of black smoke, and in a few leaps, he darted into the mountains behind, instantly widening the distance between them.

"Where do you think you're going, you scoundrel!"

Lin Yue, hot-tempered, saw this and immediately dismounted to give chase. The surrounding refugees, their eyes red with rage, brandished hoes and clubs and charged forward in a flurry.

"Stop chasing."

Shen Jingchuan's voice came from the horse, steady and powerful. He stared coldly at the departing figure of the man in black, his brows slightly furrowed.

This person is incredibly light-footed and agile. Even if I urge Big Black to chase after him, there are no paths on the hillside, only forests, so I can't catch up at all.

At this moment, two refugees carried the body of the man in black over quickly and gently placed it on the yellow earth beside the man in gray.

Shen Jingchuan dismounted and squatted down, first lifting the half-gray veil covering the gray-clad man's face to reveal a pale, young face.

Lin Shan approached, carrying his spear. His expression changed slightly after just one glance, and he whispered:

"Young Master Shen, I recognize this person. This is Pan Zimo, the third young master of the Pan Household."

Shen Jingchuan frowned slightly, did not respond, and reached out to lift the mask of the man in black next to him.

Lin Yue took half a step forward and thought for a moment:

"I recognize him too. He's Instructor Zhang from the Pan Residence, in charge of training the martial arts instructors who guard the manor. I passed through the Pan Household Manor a couple of years ago and met him briefly; we even exchanged a few words."

It's the Pan Household again.

Shen Jingchuan's eyes darkened with coldness. The assassination attempt Chang'an City was carried out by the Pan Household. He had originally planned to thoroughly investigate the matter and find out the details of the perpetrators once things were settled.

Unexpectedly, these people persisted relentlessly, with even the third young master of the family personally getting involved, clearly indicating a fight to the death.

Without saying much, he bent down and first took a blue satin brocade pouch from Pan Zimo's arms; then he searched the Instructor Zhang's body and found a coarse cloth bag, which he also took. He didn't open either bag on the spot, intending to examine them more closely after returning to the city.

After doing this, he stood up, pointed to the corpses and swords on the ground, and said to Hu Tieniu, who had followed him, "Fire and bury the corpses in a secluded mountain hollow, clean it up, and bury the weapons separately as well."

Hu Tieniu quickly bowed and agreed:

"Don't worry, young master, I'll arrange for someone to take care of it right away. I guarantee it will be done cleanly and efficiently, leaving no loose ends."

At that moment, sobs could be heard from the audience behind me.

Three refugees lay dead on the ground, one of them slashed in the waist by a sword, his death gruesome; seven or eight other wounded lay nearby, clutching their wounds and groaning.

The family members threw themselves on the corpse, weeping uncontrollably, while the others clutched broken wooden sticks and machetes, their faces filled with fear and grief.

Shen Jingchuan dismounted and stood before the corpse, his brows furrowed. These refugees were spirited and willing to fight, but their strength was too weak.

Without proper weapons, without protective armor, and without even the most basic fighting techniques, if they really encounter a tough opponent, having more people will only result in more deaths.

In this world of famine and banditry, simply providing food and business is far from enough. Without weapons, one cannot stand tall and will be bullied wherever one goes.

Hu Tieniu limped over, clutching his arm. Looking at his brothers on the ground, his eyes were red-rimmed, and his lips moved, but he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

"That won't do."

Shen Jingchuan spoke first, his tone calm:

"You must arm yourselves, equip yourselves with weapons and armor, and learn some self-defense skills. In chaotic times, without weapons, you can't survive."

Hu Tieniu nodded hurriedly, then looked troubled:

"What you say is true, young master, but... firstly, it's difficult to buy weapons and armor for a hundred or so people in large quantities; secondly, the cost would be enormous, and we simply cannot afford it."

"Don't worry about these things, I'll figure something out."

Shen Jingchuan waved his hand, took out a stack of silver notes worth about two thousand taels from his pocket, and handed them over:

"Take care of the immediate matters first. For the fallen brothers, choose a good burial site and give them a proper burial; ensure the compensation is paid in full according to the number of people. For the injured, quickly find a doctor to treat them, lest they be left with disabilities."

Hu Tieniu held the silver note, glanced at it, and saw it contained two thousand taels; his fingers trembled.

"Young master, this... this two thousand taels is far too much! There's no need for such a sum for compensation and medical treatment!"

"These people died for me, so they must be given a proper burial. Each of them should receive two hundred taels of silver as compensation, and the wounded should receive even more, at least fifty taels. The rest should be used to buy grain and distributed to the brothers who came for me."

"The inn isn't built yet, and you have no income. You can't starve every day. Let's stabilize things first, and I'll come back in a while."

Hu Tieniu clutched the silver notes tightly, his chest heaving.

"Young master, shall I bring my brothers to see you off? I'm afraid there might be an ambush ahead."

Shen Jingchuan had already mounted his horse and gently tugged the reins:

"No need. Our three horses are fast; ordinary people can't catch up with them. You stay here and watch over everyone, bury the dead, take care of the wounded, and make sure there's no more trouble."

The three riders, kicking up dust, sped straight towards Yuxi Prefecture.

Yuxi Prefecture, Pan Household Family Study.

Dusk crept over the carved window frames, and candles were just lit inside. Pan Hongxuan sat in a round-backed chair, his fingertips twirling a string of glossy sandalwood beads. Without even lifting his eyelids, he watched his son, Pan Wenbai, pacing back and forth in the room, and said indifferently, "You're making my eyes blurry from all this swaying. Sit down and calm down for a while."

Pan Wenbai, the current patriarch of the Pan Household, usually commands absolute authority outside the home, but now he looked anxious and didn't stop walking for a moment. "Father, Zimo left the manor with his men after noon, saying he was going to take care of that... matter, and he hasn't returned yet. How can I sit still?"

He had barely finished speaking when the steward's hurried footsteps came from outside the door, and he reported through the door:

"Master, sir, Instructor Zhao is back!"

Pan Wenbai suddenly stopped in his tracks and immediately raised his voice:

"Let him in quickly!"