Bandits

Recently, rumors had been flying through the Liangcheng Thousand-Household Office. Everyone said Commander Zhang was black-hearted and ruthless, deliberately forcing only sons into Military Farming so he could seize the fields of orphaned and widowed military households. Even after being slapped in the face before everyone at the Drill Ground, he had not truly repented; he was merely putting on an act for fear of giving people something to talk about.

Liangcheng Thousand-Household Office, Commander Zhang's residence.

By the light of the candles, Commander Zhang's face was dark and gloomy. These past few days, all kinds of talk had been spreading outside.

He gritted his teeth. "Bastard! I spared him from Military Farming and rewarded him with silver. This matter should have been settled long ago, yet now rumors fill the sky, all saying I bullied the weak and seized their land."

The city was bustling, as it was market day. It was inconvenient for Lin Xuan to carry too much grain by himself, so he called Lin An over to help share the burden.

At present, millet was the most suitable grain to stockpile. Not only was it nutritious, but it also kept well, making it highly cost-effective.

Wheat and rice sold for forty-one copper coins per jin, while millet cost only thirty copper coins per jin.

Today, Lin Xuan directly bought one hundred jin. He carried seventy, while Lin An carried thirty.

Seventy jin was just right for him now. Though tiring, it was not an overly heavy burden.

As they headed home, Lin Xuan noticed something was off. Though Lin An looked strained carrying thirty jin, her face covered in sweat, she was unlike him—she did not need to stop and rest after walking a short distance.

"An-jie, don't you feel tired?" Lin Xuan set down his sack of grain and plopped onto the ground, watching Lin An, who was still carrying hers.

"Not tired. Do you want me to help carry some? Your sack looks far too heavy." Lin An took the opportunity to set her sack down as well.

"That won't be necessary. I'm just curious—why don't you get tired?" Lin Xuan wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve.

Lin An said, "I don't know either. I've always been like this since I was little. I don't get sick easily, and I don't tire easily either.

"When my family fled the famine before, I was the only one who survived. Perhaps it was because of this."

"Always been like this since she was little..." Lin Xuan pondered, then suddenly saw two small golden words emerge above Lin An's head.

[Endurance]

Lin Xuan was not surprised by the sight of those golden words, because he had long felt that Lin An possessed an extraordinary talent.

This talent would be of great use to him.

After all, whether practicing martial arts or shooting arrows, as long as he needed to move, a talent that rapidly restored stamina was essential.

At the moment, Lin Xuan did not have any extra Dao Rhyme to replicate talents.

[Martial Prodigy] was an urgent necessity, [Silent Step] was useful as well, [Sharp Eyes] worked wonders when searching for prey, and [Hunger Resistance] seemed to belong to the same series as [Endurance], so they should be able to combine into a higher-level talent.

But the Book of Fate could replicate a sacrificed talent again.

A moment later, he made his decision.

Sacrifice [Hunger Resistance]?

[Yes]

[Current Dao Rhyme: 1]

Replicate [Endurance]?

[Yes]

[Replication successful]

[Endurance]: Stamina recovery increased by thirty percent; stamina consumption reduced by twenty percent.

In only a moment, Lin Xuan felt the exhaustion in his body swept away, replaced by a seemingly inexhaustible surge of strength.

"Let's go." Lin Xuan rose to his feet and shouldered the sack of grain again.

For several days in a row, Lin Xuan and Lin An had been carrying grain back and forth between the county town and their home.

During those days, Lin Xuan had not neglected his martial training. He could now carry over a hundred jin of grain without Lin An's help, and did not even need to rest along the way.

But that did not mean Lin An no longer had to go out. She continued carrying thirty jin of grain alongside him.

On the afternoon of their fourth day buying grain, someone set his sights on them.

They were two men in their thirties. One looked honest and wore a simple-minded grin, while the other had dark skin, a sinister expression, and an unhappy look on his face.

The shorter man held a woodcutter's knife and shouted at Lin Xuan, "Kid, hand over the grain on your back, and we can spare your life."

Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes. They were currently on a small road between the county town and their home, with hardly anyone around.

The terrain here was open, making an ambush impossible. Otherwise, Lin Xuan would surely have been attacked by surprise.

The dark-faced man beside him stepped forward as well. His triangular eyes swept over Lin An's delicate face, and he grinned lecherously. "Not just the grain. Leave this little lady behind too. Let us brothers have some fun for a few days, then we'll let you go!"

Both men looked strong and burly, with woodcutter's knives tucked into their waistbands.

Lin An instinctively clenched Lin Xuan's sleeve, yet she did not retreat even half a step. She trusted the skills Lin Xuan had honed over these past dozen days.

Lin Xuan gently set the sack of grain from his back onto the ground. Their arms and unsteady footsteps entered his sight; both were ordinary men who had never practiced martial arts.

"Then take it, honored sirs. I'll give you everything." Lin Xuan took a step back, looking somewhat frightened.

Lin An stared at him in utter disbelief.

The shorter man smiled, thinking Lin Xuan weak and easy to bully. "At least you know what's good for you."

As he spoke, his eyes rolled twice over Lin An's body. He stepped forward, intending to first carry off the sack of grain Lin Xuan had set down.

But the moment he drew near, Lin Xuan swiftly drew his blade, its surface flashing with the light of the setting sun.

Blood sprayed forth, and the shorter man fell stiffly to the ground.

Lin Xuan did not pause, immediately swinging his blade at the dark-faced man.

The dark-faced man was shocked and furious. Raising the woodcutter's knife in his hand, he lunged at Lin Xuan, intending to chop him down.

Clang!

Their short weapons collided, sparks flying. Lin Xuan's tiger's mouth ached faintly from the impact, but it did not affect him much.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin An thrust out a leg and viciously kicked the dark-faced man in the knee.

The dark-faced man bared his teeth in pain and staggered two steps, nearly falling. Lin Xuan pressed forward, smashing the back of his blade hard against the man's hand.

With a crack, the sound of bone breaking rang out. Accompanied by a pained howl, the dark-faced man grimaced in agony.

Lin Xuan directly pinned him to the ground and twisted his arm behind his back. The dark-faced man instantly lost all ability to resist.

"Spare me! Young master, spare me!"

"Tell me, who sent you? Have you been watching us specifically?"

"I'll talk, I'll talk! The boss of our gang sent me. He told us to watch your family and find a chance to rob you of your money and grain."

"When did I ever provoke your bandit gang? Don't you know I come from a military household?"

"I don't know either. I was only following the boss's orders."

Could this be Commander Zhang's doing? Lin An guessed inwardly. After all, he was the only person they had recently clashed with.

"How many people does your bandit gang have? Where are you stationed? Tell the truth, and I won't kill you."

"N-nineteen. We're on Wolf Cave Mountain."

"How strong are they? Are there any Breath-Connecting Realm martial artists?"

"More than a dozen underlings are all ordinary Bone Binding. They're only a bit stronger than most people. The chief is in the Breath-Connecting Realm, while the second chief is at the peak of Bone Binding."

Lin An stepped forward and asked, "Is your boss colluding with the Garrison or the county yamen?"

"I don't know." The dark-faced man shook his head repeatedly.

Lin An continued, "If you die, will they continue coming after us for revenge?"

"I don't know. I really don't know."

Lin An frowned.

"Do you not know, or do you simply not want to talk?"

Hearing the chill in Lin An's voice, the dark-faced man said, "I really don't know."

Lin An gave a cold laugh. "You won't shed tears until you see the coffin."