The man in blue: "..."
Shen Lixue looked around. There were nearly a hundred people in the open space, many of them dressed in various colors, but the only one wearing white was the petty, vengeful person standing next to her...
The man in blue and the woman in red looked at the handsome, dark face of the man in white and silently mourned for the bandit leader. What a pitiful fellow!
Shen Lixue's forehead was covered in cold sweat. The stingy guy was indeed incomparably handsome, but he was also refined, cold, and domineering, like a god. He didn't have the slightest bit of a woman's features. And what kind of eyes did that bandit leader have...?
The bandit leader's lecherous gaze locked onto the man in white: "Little beauty, don't think that just because you're dressed as a man, I can't tell you're a woman in disguise, hahaha..."
016 Who exactly is he?
The man in white remained silent, his obsidian-like eyes as deep and unfathomable as a pool, making it impossible to discern his thoughts. His refined and ruthless aura instantly froze the surrounding air, and boundless coldness rapidly spread in all directions!
The man in blue and the woman in red subtly retreated. The man in white was about to erupt in anger; they didn't want to be caught in the crossfire and wanted to stay as far away as possible. The bandit leader, oblivious to his impending doom, stared intently at the man in white with his lecherous, beady eyes, chattering incessantly like an annoying crow:
"My little beauty, I've slept with the top courtesans in all the brothels of the capital. My skills in bed are top-notch. If you come with me, I guarantee you'll be in ecstasy every night, forgetting all else..."
"Bang!" The man in white suddenly struck out with his palm, and the laughing bandit leader was instantly sent flying backward. His fat body crashed into a small hill in the distance, burying it several centimeters deep. All the tendons and veins in his body were broken, and his bones were shattered. He remained embedded in the hill in the laughing posture, becoming a permanent picture that could not be pried out no matter how hard you tried!
The leader was slammed into a hillside and died instantly. The bandits were stunned and didn't recover for a long time.
Looking at the man's gloomy face, Shen Lixue's lips curled into a beautiful smile. The bandit was a boorish man and a lecher; his words were extremely vulgar and obscene. Someone as refined and noble as him couldn't stand such obscene talk, and it was truly remarkable that he had held back until now to make his move...
"Ah!" A sharp pain suddenly shot through her wrist, and Shen Lixue cried out in pain, glaring fiercely at the man in white: "What are you doing?" The man's fingers, which were tightly gripping her wrist, were pressing hard on the spot where her hand was bruised and purple. Her left hand was numb and almost lost all feeling.
"I accidentally squeezed too hard!" the man in white said casually, a hint of a smile flashing in his deep eyes.
Shen Lixue gritted her teeth inwardly. It wasn't an accident; it was clearly intentional. She'd only secretly gloated a little, and he was already going to treat her like this? What a petty jerk! "Hey, you..."
"Do you want me to switch your grip on your right wrist so you can use this dagger to ambush me again?" The man opened his long, slender hand, revealing an exquisite dagger in his palm, with rubies shimmering on its hilt.
Looking at her empty right hand, Shen Lixue gritted her teeth again. When did he take her dagger? However, for a moment just now, she really did intend to do so, but when she thought that there were three of them, she changed her plan.
“I won’t use the same method twice!” Shen Lixue retorted, grabbing the man’s fingers and forcefully prying them open. “If you keep squeezing like that, my hand will really be crippled. I only forced you to drink the medicine. Even if you’re angry, you don’t have to cripple my hand…”
The man gripped Shen Lixue's wrist tightly, refusing to budge no matter how she tried to pry it. The woman in red stared in astonishment, her beautiful eyes blinking rapidly. The cold-faced man not only held the girl's hand but was also holding it firmly. She must be seeing things, she must be seeing things, she must be seeing things...
"Don't blink, you didn't see wrong." The man in blue was full of mockery in his eyes: The cold-faced god has always been indifferent to women, but this woman is different. However, the woman's appearance is so familiar. Have I seen her somewhere before?
"What do you want in return for letting go?" Shen Lixue suppressed her anger and tried her best to make her voice sound normal. The man's hand seemed to be attached to Shen Lixue's wrist, and no matter how she tried to pry it, it wouldn't budge. She had no choice but to give in!
"As long as you let go of my wrist, our score will be wiped clean!" the man in white replied calmly, his dark eyes unfathomable.
Shen Lixue's eyes darted around. This matter was neither easy nor difficult. Her strength was far inferior to the man's, so she couldn't fight him head-on. She could only outsmart him: "Young master, with a formidable enemy at hand, let's put aside our personal grudges for now and think about how to deal with these bandits. You killed their leader, so they won't let this go!"
Nearly a hundred bandits were going to have trouble dealing with just four of them if a fight broke out...
"Bandits who gather to kill and disturb the peace, according to the Qingyan Law, shall be executed immediately!" As soon as the man in white finished speaking, ten men in black appeared out of thin air, holding long swords and rushing into the bandit group.
There were no sounds of fierce clashing weapons, no deafening shouts of battle. The ten men in black moved as if they were in an empty field, wielding their swords at will. Wherever their swords flashed, a bandit would fall. A faint smell of blood permeated the air, sending chills down one's spine.
Shen Lixue looked at the man in white, his dark eyes unfathomable. She originally wanted to provoke the bandits into fighting with them and escape from him in the chaos. Who would have thought that with just a few words from him, not only would nearly a hundred bandits disappear, but her plan would also be ruined. He was both clever and despicable!
The man in black is extremely skilled in martial arts, and the man in white who is their master is definitely not an ordinary person. Who exactly is he?
"Don't kill them all, leave someone alive..." she whispered a reminder, and Shen Lixue quickly moved forward. She had only taken one step when the man in white pulled her back: "What are you doing?"
"Capture one alive and question the mastermind behind it all!" Actually, Shen Lixue wanted to take advantage of the man's momentary lapse in attention to get rid of him, but she didn't expect him to be so perceptive and see through her plan.
"Thump!" A bandit was kicked in front of Shen Lixue, his face bruised and swollen, unrecognizable.
Meeting Shen Lixue's questioning gaze, the woman in red coughed a few times: "This is the second-in-command of the bandits!"
"Who hired someone to kill me?" Shen Lixue knew that the mastermind was the Lei family, but without any evidence, no one would believe her if she said so. She needed enough evidence.
"I don't know either... It was a man in a black cloak... I couldn't see his face... He gave us two thousand taels of silver... to buy your life..." The bandit answered tremblingly, his body shaking like a leaf.
Shen Lixue lowered her eyes and pondered. The fact that the person who hired the assassin went to the mountain stronghold in disguise shows how cautious they are. Indeed, there are no simple characters among the people around the Lei family!
The bright sunshine felt warm and comfortable on her body. It was getting late. Shen Lixue's eyes turned cold. She quickly snatched the dagger from the man's hand and stabbed it hard into his wrist.
The dagger stopped a centimeter from the man's wrist, unable to penetrate any further. Shen Lixue's right wrist, which was holding the dagger, was tightly gripped by the man, his obsidian-like eyes surging with dark emotions: "You want to cut off my hand?"
"Let go, and I won't cut it off!" When all her tricks failed, Shen Lixue had no choice but to resort to force. She didn't intend to hurt the man; she just wanted to scare him. Even if the man didn't stop her, she wouldn't cut off his hand.
"I have very important things to do and don't have time to waste with you!" Shen Lixue was new to the capital and unfamiliar with people and things. Lei Shi was constantly scheming against her, so she had to be careful. The white-robed man in front of her had a mysterious identity, and she dared not easily reveal to him that she was the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family. If he had any connection with Lei Shi, she would be doomed!
The man looked at Shen Lixue's fair wrist: "Why don't I cut off your hand?" Shen Lixue could leave if either the man's or her hand were cut off.
"You're the one holding me, not me holding you, so why are you cutting off my hand?" Shen Lixue replied irritably. The fault wasn't hers, so of course she wouldn't hurt herself!
"That's a real pity. I don't want to let go, nor do I want to be crippled!" The man in white looked at Shen Lixue, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"That's not up to you!" Shen Lixue smiled strangely, her right hand suddenly twisting, skillfully breaking free from the man's grip. The sharp dagger tore through the man's sleeve, staining his clothes with drops of blood.
Shen Lixue was stunned. She was only thinking about breaking free from the man, but she didn't expect to use too much force...
The man stared at the wound without saying a word, his obsidian-like eyes unfathomable. The surrounding silence was suffocating, and an eerie atmosphere wafted among the crowd, as if brewing a massive storm.
The woman in red looked at Shen Lixue with pity. Alas, she had hurt the Cold-Faced God; she was going to be in big trouble!
Amidst the terrified gazes of the crowd, the man looked at Shen Lixue and uttered a few unbelievable words: "You may leave!"
Aha! The woman in red stared in astonishment, her almond-shaped eyes wide: The cold-faced god didn't punish that woman, and even let her go? You must have misheard, you must have misheard!
Shen Lixue was also stunned. Back then, she had forced him to take the medicine, and he had been petty and relentlessly pursued her. Now, she had hurt him, yet he didn't hold a grudge.
"...Shen Lixue...Shen Lixue..." From afar, a fast horse galloped by, raising a trail of billowing smoke.