Chapter 99 - Zhu Bandits

That was when a female voice suddenly appeared behind them.

"Damn right we came here to take it back. I thank you for revealing the entrance to us."

Yu Yingyi turned around to see three people in a fighting stance, only one of them had a weapon which was a short sword. Yu Yingyi had seen the weapon multiple times before, mostly because Song Liya sometimes used it to practice.

"Who are you?!" Qing Shan asked as she quickly moved to the front with her sword raised.

"I'm pretty sure you already know who we are, after all, we're the ones who came looking for the scroll," the person with the female voice said.

Yu Yingyi was surprised the Zhu empire sent bandits, but at the same time, she wasn't.

In the novel, it was stated that the Zhu empire often sent females for assassination and stealth missions because they had more slender bodies so they were able to weave through places better. They were also more swift.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the princess who married into the royal family. I hope you know that you're only a commoner, you'll never be part of royalty."

Yu Yingyi wasn't bothered by what she said, after all, she's heard this countless times before and she was starting to get bored of them. Yu Yingyi wished they were a bit more creative with the insults rather than saying something she knows and heard countless times before.

"Don't speak about the princess like that!" Qing Shan shouted in anger as she pointed her sword at the three. "You better watch your mouth before anything happens to you."

The male in the back laughed. "What are you going to do? It's a one against three, what can you even do?"

"Qing Shan..." Yu Yingyi muttered.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine even if it's one against five or a hundred."

Although Yu Yingyi didn't doubt Qing Shan's skills or strength, there was a problem that put her at a disadvantage. One, they had more people who can fight. Second, they had more space to move while their space was limited.

Moreover, Yu Yingyi didn't want to settle the situation with violence. Violence would only make everything worse, especially if it's right under the restaurant, unexpected things are going to happen.

"How about we put our weapons away and talk it over?" Yu Yingyi asked with her hands in the air.

Qing Shan glanced at Yu Yingyi as if she was crazy. There was no way they were going to simply put their weapons down and talk it out. It was simply impossible.

"Good idea, let's talk about it," the female said. "You all leave and give us the scroll, how about it?"

Yu Yingyi was disappointed, she had her hopes up for nothing. Though she didn't give up, she really didn't want to settle things with violence. It would make them look bad.

"Sorry, but I don't think we can do that. How about we negotiate a deal where both parties gain something? It's better than someone getting hurt," Yu Yingyi suggested.

Disbelief and disgust could be seen in the female's eyes. "Are you sure you're the wife of the vicious princess? How come you're so soft?"

Once the female finished her sentence, Qing Shan suddenly charged forward with her sword raised, ready to slash someone. When Qing Shan brought her sword down on the female, two short blades appeared and stopped her attack. The masked one who was at the far right helped the female block the attack.

Qing Shan quickly jumped back to where she was before to recover. With just a single strike, Qing Shan could tell that the bandits in front of her were experienced and had done this before. They weren't pushovers.

"It seems two of them have weapons and they're experienced, princess, be careful," Qing Shan said.

"I should be the one telling you that. Also, I don't think we should fight, we're the ones who are at the disadvantage. It wouldn't be wise of us to continue any further," Yu Yingyi said.

Qing Shan looked around and said, "You're right, the space we have is more limited than theirs. There's not enough space to wield my sword to its full potential."

With that said, Qing Shan sheathed her sword and stared calmly at the three who were on alert. Yu Yingyi looked around the area to see if there were any escape routes, to no surprise, there weren't any.

"Psst, Yingyi, will we be safe here?" Mei Xiang asked.

"Probably, if anything happens, Qing Shan will protect us. There's no need to worry," Yu Yingyi reassured. "You have Nian Zhen by your side, she can protect you."

Yu Yingyi knew of Nian Zhen's strength, she thought about Nian Zhen helping Qing Shan but that was a bad idea. Although Nian Zhen was strong, fighting was completely different.

"Oh? Why did you put your sword down? Did you already give up?" the female asked.

Qing Shan laughed, "Of course not, I thought it would be shameful if I wield my weapon in an area that isn't meant for fighting. This is a restaurant, after all, I still have my pride as a warrior."

Although those words were meaningless to others, they weren't to the bandits. Qing Shan basically said that the bandits didn't have any shame or pride for trying to fight in a restaurant.

Anger could be seen in all of the bandit's expressions. "Do you think we have no shame?! Fine!"

Instantly, the bandits sheathed their weapons. Yu Yingyi wasn't surprised by their actions, even bandits have their own pride. They wouldn't fight in a place unfitting of them.

"It seems we've decided to not use violence, why don't we talk it out? There's no reason not to anyway, our empires aren't even against each other," Yu Yingyi stated.

Although the bandits were reluctant to talk it over, they had no choice considering the situation. Originally, they wanted to threaten them, steal the scroll, then leave. They knew of the consequences yet they didn't care.

"Now then, let's negotiate."