Chapter 16 Rescue

Cries and screams echoed from inside the inn. A burly man roared, "Shut up, all of you! Hand over your money and we'll let you go. If you keep making a fuss, I'll chop you all up!" Hearing this, the crowd quickly removed their jewelry and headdresses and threw them at him, making them appear to be a band of bandits. The bandits, seeing this, hurriedly found a sack and stuffed it all in.

On the other side, the bandits pressed hard on the man in the brocade robe. The man, no match for the bandits, was also captured, along with the woman. "Let them go! We are from the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion. Can you bear the consequences of offending the Marquis's mansion?" The man in the brocade robe struggled to no avail. "Release our young master and young lady, and we'll give you whatever silver you want." The man who looked like the bandit leader spoke up: "I want both money and women. I've never tried the women of the Marquis's mansion before." He gestured for his men to grab two women.

"Brother, save me, save me!" the woman cried in terror. The men who looked like guards tried to rush over, but there were too many bandits, and they couldn't get through.

Seeing that they had looted enough money, the bandit leader signaled his men to leave. He and another bandit each grabbed a woman, tied her to a horse, and then leaped off. By the time the man in the brocade robe and his guards rushed to the backyard and rode out, the bandits had vanished without a trace.

Li Xi originally didn't want to get involved, but when she saw the bandits capture the woman, she couldn't bear to see her being violated. Before the man in the brocade robe reached the backyard, she hurriedly told the three of them to go back to the inn and wait, then spurred her horse and caught up with them.

Li Xi chased for over thirty miles when the bandits stopped to rest in the woods ahead. The woman's cries continued. The man in the brocade robe hadn't caught up yet, and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to defeat the bandits; otherwise, he wouldn't have been captured. While the bandits celebrated their victory with laughter and cheers...

She ran to the bushes behind them. It was pitch black, and no one noticed Li Xi for a moment. Li Xi took out the makeshift mask she had made earlier and put it on; it was for protection against the wind and dust. She gathered a pile of dry leaves, sprinkled the medicinal powder Meng Zhelan had given her on them, and lit the leaves with a tinderbox. Li Xi held her breath, and the smoke, fanned by her, drifted towards the bandits.

Half an hour later, the bandits who had been talking loudly fell silent; they had all collapsed, including the woman. (Li Xi)

Reassured, Li Xi walked out and lifted the woman off the horse. Although her face was blurred with tears, they couldn't hide her delicate features. Li Xi took off his cloak and draped it over the woman. It was early winter, and the temperature dropped sharply at night.

She got up and kicked the bandit lying on the ground, but he didn't move. It seemed that Lan'er's medicine was really strong. She took out some rope from her horse and finally found a few bundles. She tied the bandits up one by one like pigs, so they couldn't jump anymore.

After working for a while, they still hadn't seen the man in the brocade robe chasing after them. At their speed, it would be a miracle if they could even save anyone. Li Xi took the rope and walked towards the last person.

Unexpectedly, the man suddenly stood up and charged at Li Xi. His movements were swift and fierce, leaving no time for anyone to react. Li Xi drew her sword from behind and thrust it at the bandit, but the man dodged it. Li Xi's attack missed, and she charged at him with renewed force. The man's attacks were equally matched, and after four or five rounds, neither had gained the upper hand. Li Xi pulled out some medicinal powder from her robes and sprinkled it at the man, but he dodged it again.

The man then fled, and Li Xi didn't chase after him, hoping he would leave quickly. She was just surprised that he didn't have the air of a bandit, even though his features were so ordinary he'd be easily lost in a crowd. He wasn't afraid of retaliation either; he was wearing a mask, making him unrecognizable to most people.

About fifteen minutes later, the man in the brocade robe arrived with his guards. Li Xi just happened to put aside a small sack of gold and silver jewelry that the bandits had robbed.

"Who are you..." Before the man could finish speaking, Li Xi interrupted him, "Brother, you guys are too slow. If you don't come soon, it will be dawn." Li Xi was speechless. It was just like in an American movie, where the protagonist takes out all the bad guys before the police finally show up.

The man in the brocade robe had already noticed the cloak draped over his sister's shoulders. He said apologetically, "Thank you so much for saving my life, young master. I'm sorry, we took the wrong path. If it weren't for your help, my sister might have..." Tears seemed to well up in the man's eyes, likely from anxiety.

"I also used a sleeping potion to knock them out, otherwise I probably wouldn't have been able to fight so many people on my own. By the way, did you report it to the authorities?" Li Xi asked.

"I've already sent someone to report to the authorities; they should be here soon." The man in the brocade robe cupped his hands and said, "My name is Shen Xu, courtesy name Shizhi. May I ask your honorable name, sir?" Li Xi replied, "My name is Li Xi." Shen Xu said gratefully, "Young Master Li, may I ask where you live? I will definitely come to your door to express my gratitude tomorrow."

Li Xi thought that since she didn't have any powerful connections in Kyoto, it wouldn't hurt to make more friends. "My sister and I are going to Kyoto to do business. We don't have a place to stay yet. We'll find a place to live once we get to Kyoto."

Shen Xu: "Young Master Li, if you don't mind, my family owns a few houses. I'll take you to see them later."

As they were talking, the soldiers arrived. Li Xi told them that one person had escaped and pointed them in the right direction. She then returned to the post station with Shen Xu and the others.

As dawn broke, Sun Tiantian saw Li Xi at the door and rushed over to check if she was hurt. "Tiantian, I'm fine. Where are Lan'er and the others?" "Miss Lan'er and Miss Ling'er are in the guest hall. We told them to go to sleep, but they won't go. They said they'll only feel at ease when you come back," Li Xi felt a warmth in her heart. Ignoring Shen Xu and the others following behind her, she strode inside.

Seeing Li Xi come in, Meng Zhelan and Ling'er quickly stepped forward and pulled her to look her over from all sides. "Luckily you weren't hurt. It's good that you're back." Ling'er pulled Li Xi to sit down, opened the pot lid, scooped out a bowl of meat porridge, and brought it to Li Xi. The cook was still shaken and couldn't get up, so she went to cook some lean meat porridge and put it on the stove to simmer over low heat.

"Let's eat together. Once we're full, we'll head to the capital," they said, lest something unexpected happen. They sat down and began to eat. At this moment, Shen Xu stepped forward and said, "Young Master Li, why don't we go to the capital together? After I return home and explain things to my father, I'll take you to see a house." "Alright, we'll wait for you outside," Li Xi said while eating.

After packing their luggage, Li Xi and the others sat in the carriage chatting. She told them what had happened. "Miss Xi'er, could you please teach me some martial arts? If I knew martial arts, you wouldn't have to risk going alone." "It's alright, isn't there Lan'er's medicinal powder? Its power is really strong, I don't even need to lift a finger," Li Xi didn't tell them about the escaped bandit. This person's identity was not simple, and telling them would only make them worry unnecessarily. Besides, it was late at night, and he couldn't see what she looked like, so he couldn't find her to seek revenge.

Not long after, Shen Xu and his group arrived. "Young Master Li, my younger sister said she wanted to thank you in person," a woman stepped out from the side. She was slender and graceful, with beautiful features, bright eyes, and white teeth. Her smile was like a gentle breeze. "Greetings, Young Master Li. I am Shen Ruonan. I will never forget your life-saving grace. If there is anything I can do to help you, please don't hesitate to ask," Shen Ruonan said, bowing to Li Xi.

Li Xi offered a helping hand, "Miss Chen, you're too kind. Those bandits deserve to be killed by everyone..." After a few casual words, the group finally set off, and Li Xi lay down in the carriage to catch up on sleep. The wind outside was biting cold, and it got colder the further north they went; the capital was much colder than Yunnan and Sichuan.

After more than half an hour, the group finally arrived at the city gate. With the young master of the Marquis of Wu'an leading the way, the gate guards let them through immediately. It's good to be in power; you have privileges.

Shen Xu took Li Xi and the others directly to his family's restaurant and personally arranged four superior rooms for them. Since the owner had spoken, the manager and waiters were extremely enthusiastic towards them, rushing forward to take their luggage, lead the carriage, and even feed their horses until they were plump and healthy.

The four men were somewhat flustered, having never encountered such an enthusiastic innkeeper and waiter before. "Young Master Li, please rest here for the next few days. Just tell the innkeeper what you need." "Yes, yes, yes," they replied repeatedly. After confirming that everything was settled, Shen Xu took his sister home. The appearance of these bandits was no simple matter…