Chapter 18

“Ah—fuck!”

A startled cry burst from Xiao Yuanzhi’s mouth.

And the reason was the culprit standing before her, who had dumped an entire basin of water over her head.

The icy water soaked her through and forcibly woke her up.

Was this bastard an idiot?

Did he not know how to treat a delicate beauty with even the slightest tenderness?

Seeing that Xiao Yuanzhi was awake, the bandit called toward the leader seated above them.

“Boss, the girl’s awake!”

His tone was filled with the eagerness of someone claiming credit, completely unaware that Xiao Yuanzhi was glaring daggers at him.

Xiao Yuanzhi tried to move, only to discover that her hands had been tied.

The slightest movement also made her realize someone behind her was slumped against her back like a corpse.

She turned her head.

It was Wei Zisu.

Suddenly, one of the bandits pointed at Xiao Yuanzhi.

“Boss, this is the damned girl who threw dust into Third Brother’s face and blinded the rest of us too!”

The moment he finished speaking, every person in the hall turned to stare at Xiao Yuanzhi.

Xiao Yuanzhi became somewhat uneasy.

After all, they greatly outnumbered her.

Behind her back, she frantically pinched Wei Zisu while whispering, “Eldest Senior Sister, wake up. Hurry and wake up!”

“Wei Zisu, wake up already! Otherwise, both our lives are finished!”

Another bandit brought over a full basin of water and walked toward Wei Zisu.

Just as he prepared to throw it over her, Wei Zisu opened her eyes.

Her elegant brows drew together slightly, and her gaze carried such immense intimidation that the bandit shuddered the moment their eyes met.

The invisible pressure froze him in place, leaving him afraid to make another move.

Wei Zisu whispered to Xiao Yuanzhi, “Stop pinching me.”

Xiao Yuanzhi was completely preoccupied with the vicious faces of the bandits around them.

How could she possibly hear what Wei Zisu was saying?

She did not even know Wei Zisu had awakened.

More accurately, Wei Zisu had been pinched awake.

Wei Zisu finally lost her temper.

Xiao Yuanzhi had pinched her over and over again, using incredible force each time—and always in the exact same place.

Who could endure that?

For the first time, Wei Zisu lost control of her emotions and spoke through clenched teeth.

“Xiao Yuanzhi, I told you to stop pinching me!”

The bandit leader examined the two bound women on the ground.

Perhaps he felt he could not see them clearly enough, because he walked closer.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he stopped in front of Xiao Yuanzhi and asked, “Were you the one who hurt my brothers?”

How could Xiao Yuanzhi possibly admit it?

Wouldn’t that be asking for death?

She shook her head like a rattle drum.

“Big Brother, you’ve misunderstood. It was all a misunderstanding. The wind and sand were simply too strong at the time, and the dust accidentally blew into your younger brother’s eyes.”

She continued, “Besides, look at me. With a body like mine, who could I possibly hurt?”

Third Brother was about to speak when another man interrupted him.

“Boss, this girl has a glib tongue and is especially skilled at spouting nonsense. She tricked all of us. Third Brother was deceived most badly of all—she almost made him cry.”

Third Brother did not become angry at being interrupted.

Instead, he nodded repeatedly.

“Y-Yes… she… she’s… a… a liar.”

Hearing this, clear displeasure appeared in the bandit leader’s eyes.

“Third Brother is honest and kind, yet you dared hurt his feelings and deceive him.”

He ordered, “Men, drag her away and bury her alive.”

???

Xiao Yuanzhi’s head filled with question marks.

They were going to bury her just like that?

As several men approached, she hurriedly shouted, “If you want to kill me, then kill me! What kind of death is being buried alive? What, are you looking down on me?”

“If you have the courage, give me a quick death! There’s no need to torture someone like this.”

Her tone was extraordinarily arrogant.

Unfortunately, instead of admiring her courage, the bandit leader replied, “Very well. Since you’re a woman, I’ll grant your request and give you a quick death.”

He turned toward one of his men.

“Go to the storeroom and find a sharper saber.”

“Yes!”

???

This was Xiao Yuanzhi’s first time meeting a bandit who granted every request.

But this was not how the plot was supposed to develop!

She hurriedly called out, “Wait!”

A person had to know when to back down.

A smile immediately appeared on her face.

“I was only joking just now. There’s no need to take it so seriously. Why resort to fighting and killing? It harms the harmony between us.”

“Besides, I truly didn’t do it on purpose. Why don’t you spare my humble life, Big Brother? You can keep me here to clean the stronghold or cook for everyone. I promise I can make different dishes for the brothers every day!”

Xiao Yuanzhi lowered her head slightly and forced a few words through clenched teeth.

“Eldest Senior Sister, whether we can escape depends on you.”

It was not that Wei Zisu did not want to do anything.

Ever since Xiao Yuanzhi pinched her awake, she had tried several times to move.

Every attempt ended the same way.

Her entire body was weak and aching, and she could not summon even the slightest strength.

After whispering to Wei Zisu, Xiao Yuanzhi immediately put on an extremely remorseful expression.

“If Big Brother insists that I must die, then I won’t hide the truth from you.”

“Ever since I woke up, I have deeply realized my mistake. I regret it greatly. Although your younger brother is a bandit, I could tell that his nature is pure and kind.”

“Yet I toyed with him. That was truly wrong of me.”

“If I could do it again, I would never treat him so disrespectfully.”

Xiao Yuanzhi raised her head and looked toward Third Brother.

“What happened earlier was not my true intention, but I still offended you because of it. I hope Big Brother can forgive me.”

She paused, then added with a wounded expression, “If any of you have elder sisters, younger sisters, or daughters, then surely you can understand that when a young woman travels outside and encounters strangers, it is unavoidable for her to feel afraid.”

Although Third Brother was a bandit, he rarely participated in robberies.

Their stronghold also had rules.

They only robbed corrupt officials, heartless profiteers, and people guilty of all kinds of evil.

If they robbed the wrong person, then once the truth was verified, they would return everything.

The only reason they had robbed Xiao Yuanzhi and Wei Zisu was because the two women did not look like ordinary commoners.

They had assumed they were daughters of wealthy families.

Third Brother was somewhat moved by Xiao Yuanzhi’s words, especially the final sentence.

“B-Big Brother, I… I’m… fine. She… she probably… didn’t… mean it.”

The bandit leader said, “Since Third Brother is willing to put aside the matter and even speak for you, I will not kill you.”

He asked, “Which family’s daughter are you?”

Xiao Yuanzhi replied, “I’m an orphan.”

“And her?”

“She is my senior sister. We came down the mountain together today to distribute alms.”

Judging from Third Brother’s attitude, these men did not seem like heartless villains who killed without blinking.

That was why Xiao Yuanzhi told the truth.

She deliberately added the part about distributing alms in hopes of winning their goodwill.

One of the bandits who had been present earlier noticed something was wrong.

“Didn’t you say she forced you? You also said she framed you. How did the two of you suddenly become loving senior and junior sisters?”

Had Xiao Yuanzhi not played along earlier, they would have believed she was a liar.

Everything she had just said would immediately be disproven, and she would still end up buried alive.

Xiao Yuanzhi replied, “Brother, please don’t speak nonsense. Who is loving with her?”

“I only answered on her behalf because we share the bond of fellow disciples. We normally do not get along at all. In fact, we even have a grudge against each other.”

Xiao Yuanzhi did not believe she was lying.

Everything she said was true.

She and Wei Zisu genuinely did not get along.

Perhaps she had only exaggerated the facts by the tiniest amount.

This piqued the bandit leader’s curiosity.

“A grudge?”

Xiao Yuanzhi answered firmly, “Yes. We have a grudge.”

“What kind of grudge?”

The bandit leader’s desire for gossip left Xiao Yuanzhi struggling to invent something.

She could only brush him off.

“That… Even if I told you, Big Brother might not understand. Better not to say it. Better not to say it.”

The bandit leader did not force her.

“Since you are unwilling to speak, she must have done many excessive things.”

“My men have already told me everything that happened at the foot of the mountain. As a senior sister from the same sect, she treated her junior sister in such a manner. She clearly cannot be a kind person.”

“Rather than release a tiger back into the mountains and allow her to harm you in the future, I might as well perform a good deed today and eliminate her for you.”

He turned toward his men.

“Drag her outside and deal with her.”

Xiao Yuanzhi was startled and hurriedly shouted, “Wait! Kill me instead! Don’t touch her!”

Aside from the bandits, the person most shocked by this was Wei Zisu.

She had assumed Xiao Yuanzhi would be delighted if anything happened to her.

Even if Xiao Yuanzhi did not hate her, surely she would never risk her own life to protect her.

What was the meaning of trading one life for another?

But considering everything Xiao Yuanzhi had done over the past several days, there had to be some trick involved.

Wei Zisu had truly wronged Xiao Yuanzhi this time.

Xiao Yuanzhi had no scheme at all.

She merely wanted to leave this place alive.

She did not know martial arts and had no idea how to use her internal energy.

If Wei Zisu died, what would Xiao Yuanzhi do?

She did not even know whether she could escape the stronghold.

Who knew whether these bandits would keep their word?

Wei Zisu might have had a black heart, but they were still disciples of the same sect.

Surely she would take their shared bond into consideration at least a little.

Xiao Yuanzhi continued, “But Big Brother, could you avoid using a saber? I’m afraid of pain. Perhaps you should bury me alive after all.”

An idea suddenly emerged in the bandit leader’s heart.

Even though it was merely a possibility and had not been confirmed, the thought alone made him unusually excited.

“You two have a grudge, yet you are still willing to die in her place. Why?”

“Big Brother, have you ever heard of ‘hatred born from love’?”

Time was extremely limited.

Xiao Yuanzhi thought about it repeatedly and could only come up with this explanation for now.

Whatever.

Emotional matters were what she found easiest to fabricate.

She could simply improvise.

“H-Hatred… born from love?”

The bandits all looked shocked and incredulous.

Wei Zisu’s reaction was even stronger.

Without blushing or showing the slightest hesitation, Xiao Yuanzhi continued, “Yes. You never expected it, did you?”

“We are both women, yet I fell in love with another woman.”

“And you certainly never imagined that because I love her, I hate her even more.”

Wei Zisu’s mind went completely blank.

She could hardly believe what Xiao Yuanzhi was saying.

It was entirely different from everything Wei Zisu had always assumed.

She had never considered that the person Xiao Yuanzhi loved was not Eldest Senior Brother—

but her.

“Do you know what it feels like to see her every day, yet be unable to reveal even the slightest trace of your feelings?”

A bitter smile appeared on Xiao Yuanzhi’s lips.

“Every day is torment. I want to confess my feelings to her, yet I don’t dare.”

“I’m afraid—not that she will hate me, but that I will never be able to see her again.”

“And even more than that, I’m afraid she will reject me.”

“Later, although I clearly knew the truth was not what she believed, and although I knew she was beginning to hate me, I allowed her to continue misunderstanding.”

“I even felt a little secretly delighted.”

“Because only when she hated me—only when she despised me—could I receive even the smallest amount of her attention.”