哈哈漫画

Chapter 72

None of them had experienced this before, their expressions panicked, not knowing what to do. Li Xia took a sip of water to suppress her nausea and instructed, "Barricade the door and blow out the lamps." The maids obediently followed her orders. No one spoke in the room, huddling together nervously.

After a while, there was no movement outside the boat, and some maids murmured that perhaps nothing was amiss.

Meanwhile, outside the room, Escort Chief Wang, who had been woken up by Li Hui's men, was puzzled as to how Li Hui knew about the situation. However, he promptly arranged his men to guard the ship's body, preventing the river bandits from approaching.

After a while, with no sounds, some thought the master was overthinking it. Especially the escorting martial artists on night watch, they had not heard any noises. But soon, the sound of ripples in the water emerged, proving that Li Hui was right – there were indeed river bandits.

Escort Chief Wang felt relieved, grateful that he had not underestimated Li Hui because of his youth and chosen to believe him.

Shouts and the clashing of weapons echoed from outside the room. The maids who had relaxed tensed up again, with some cowardly ones crying in fright.

"Shut up," Li Xin scolded in a low voice. What's there to cry about now? She looked towards the door, wanting to go out, deeply worried for Li Hui's safety.

"Miss, you can't go out now. Don't cause more trouble for the young master. Protecting yourself is what's most important," Liu Mian stretched out her hand to stop Li Xin, who was about to head for the door.

Li Xin clenched her fists tightly. At this moment, time seemed to drag on endlessly. Everyone was worried – worried about whether those outside were injured, worried that the river bandits might break in.

Soon, someone came and started pounding on the door loudly. From the sound, it was clear it wasn't their own people. It was the river bandits. A maid couldn't help but scream, and Li Xia frowned.

Screaming at this moment would only alert them that there were people inside, wouldn't it? As expected, hearing the woman's scream from outside made the bandits more excited as they rammed the door, calling out to their comrades, "Come over here quickly, there are women! Hurry up!"

Auntie Mei came over to Li Xia's side, pulling Li Xia behind her to shield her daughter.

But Li Xia didn't obey and hide behind Auntie Mei. Instead, she pulled out two hairpins from Auntie Mei's hair. Without any usable weapons at the moment, Li Xia had to use the hairpins as weapons. Gripping them tightly, she took a deep breath to gather her strength. Her eyes fixed on the door, while beside her, Qiu Ling also grabbed a pair of scissors and clenched them in her hand.

After multiple impacts, the door's latch was broken, and the maids screamed in fright as they huddled in the room's corners. The river bandits, emboldened by the screams, grinned wickedly as they strode in.

It was at this moment that Li Xia suddenly darted out, using the wind energy she had accumulated to shoot the two hairpins, piercing the necks of the first two bandits who entered. The two fell to the ground before they could even react.

Qiu Ling followed closely behind Li Xia, leaping up and plunging the scissors forcefully into the eye of a bandit right behind the first two. The bandit cried out and stumbled back, knocking over the bandit behind him.

The last bandit to enter saw that two were already dead and two were injured as soon as they entered. His fierce eyes turned to Li Xia as he gripped his knife and slashed at her. Li Xia was about to meet his attack when the boat suddenly lurched.

The nausea returned, causing her gathered energy to dissipate abruptly. The knife slashed towards her, but Li Xia didn't bother dodging. She allowed it to cut into her shoulder, using the force to flip over and lock the bandit's head between her legs, twisting his neck with all her might until it snapped. Exhausted and in pain, Li Xia gasped for air.

The bandit who had been crushed under his comrade pushed the body off himself and slashed his knife at Li Xia. Qiu Ling picked up a fallen knife and blocked his attack.

This series of actions unfolded so rapidly that the others didn't have time to react. By the time they did, Auntie Mei saw that Li Xia was injured. She hurried over, forcefully pushing the bandit away and embracing Li Xia, intending to drag her to safety. The bandit whose eye had been stabbed with scissors pulled them out and tossed them aside, his remaining eye glaring viciously at Li Xia. "You bitch, I'll kill you!" he roared, raising his knife towards Auntie Mei.

Auntie Mei had her back turned to the bandit, her entire focus on Li Xia, pressing down on her shoulder to stop the bleeding. Li Xia opened her eyes to see the incoming knife and, mustering her last strength, flipped over to shield Auntie Mei from the blow.

It was then that Li Xin also reacted, grabbing a nearby long bench and swinging it at the bandit. Liu Mian, Qiu Shui, and Qiu Kui also grabbed whatever they could and threw or swung it at him. With one eye injured and the knife stuck in Li Xia's body, the bandit fought sloppily, surrounded by the maids who swarmed him, screaming and scratching.

Li Hui, having dealt with the bandits at the front, rushed over with his men to find this scene unfolding. His companions swiftly apprehended the remaining bandit.

Seeing Li Hui, Li Xin rushed over, "Brother, Xia is injured! Quick, find a doctor!"

It was only then that Li Hui noticed Li Xia's back with a knife lodged in it, Auntie Mei holding her and not daring to move her.

The bodies were dragged away by the escorts, and Li Xia was carried to a bed. With no doctor on the ship, Escort Li had to remove the knife himself. Fortunately, they had the special hemostatic medicine provided by Li Hui to stop the bleeding.

Li Hui also learned the details from Li Xin's sobbing account, his expression complex as he gazed at the unconscious Li Xia. He hadn't expected her to actually fight back. Without bothering about anything else, the ship captain immediately set sail for Hui'an County.

The tranquility of the early morning in Hui'an County was shattered by the arrival of a bloodstained ship. County Magistrate Gong Zicheng received word from his subordinates that a traveling scholar, the son of the governor of Liuzhou, had been ambushed by river bandits in the waters near Hui'an County and had narrowly escaped death. Gong Zicheng rushed to the docks without even eating breakfast, accompanied by his constables.

When Li Xia awoke, the first thing she saw was Auntie Mei's swollen, reddened eyes. Upon seeing her wake up, Auntie Mei's tears started flowing again uncontrollably.

"Auntie, I'm fine. Don't cry anymore," Li Xia said, but the more she said it, the more heartbroken Auntie Mei became.

"You silly girl, why did you have to take that knife for me? I'm already so old, if I die, I die. Look at you, you've injured your shoulder and back, and you'll be left with scars. What will you do then?"

Li Xia shifted her gaze to Li Hui and Li Xin nearby. The two pretended not to notice, as Li Xia had been too bold this time.

Fortunately, the doctor arrived, and Auntie Mei finally stopped crying. The doctor examined Li Xia's pulse, marveling at her extraordinary recovery ability. He prescribed some medicine and instructed her to rest well for her injuries to heal properly.

With injuries on her back and shoulder, Li Xia could only lie on her stomach uncomfortably, occasionally wanting to turn over. Auntie Mei watched Li Xia and stopped her from moving, silently shedding tears as she looked at her.

Li Xia was moved by her tears, her irritation gone. "What happened after I passed out? How are the others? And where is this place?"

Auntie Mei quickly helped Li Xia lie properly. "Don't move around. Let me explain slowly."

Li Xia settled down, and Auntie Mei wiped her tears and recounted the events.

Before this incident, Hui'an County had received several similar robbery cases. However, since the perpetrators killed cleanly without leaving any clues each time, there were no leads. This time, they captured a live one and interrogated him through the night. After learning the location of their den, they immediately requested assistance from the local garrison troops to raid the den. They also discovered how these people managed to kill without leaving any traces.