Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Li Xin had heard these things from Escort Li, and her expression tensed up. "How's my big brother doing?"

"Your brother told us to stay inside and not go out." This group of women had no capable fighters, so it was normal for them to hide and not cause trouble.

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!"

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.