"You mean there are bandits over there? Please don't worry, I came from the south. When I saw injustice, I drew my sword and helped. I wiped out a few bandit dens. They think they can fight me? They are not good enough." Wu Caiwei lied with a straight face. She mainly felt that the other party might be very wary of those bandits, so they concealed it. If she made herself sound powerful, perhaps the other party would speak frankly.
"Is that true?" The old man stared at her, his eyes unblinking. Seeing Wu Caiwei nod, his eyes immediately reddened. For a moment, he didn't know whether to place his hopes on her, or if he feared she would impulsively go to the bandit's den and, if she couldn't win, lose her life, leaving him unable to rest in peace for the rest of his life.
"Of course it's true. When my master taught me martial arts, he taught me to uphold justice and do good deeds. Of course, he also feared that I, being young and impetuous, would confront things that I shouldn't. So, my greatest skill is my Qinggong. Thirty-six stratagems, the best is to flee," Wu Caiwei said with a carefree air, recounting the difficulties she experienced learning martial arts as a child and the thrilling adventures of wandering the jianghu, yet never encountering an opponent.
The old man was moved. If the young man before him was as capable as he claimed, perhaps he truly was a lucky star for the nearby villages.
"Actually, our village used to be quite prosperous. Five years ago, a group of bandits came from the mountain you mentioned, and our lives became unbearable. Wealthy families gradually moved away, leaving only the poor like us, who didn't know where else to go." The old man sighed, his heart heavy, full of nostalgia.
"Doesn't the government do anything?" She had heard long ago that the road to the capital was not peaceful and that the people lived difficult lives. For the first time, she felt their suffering. Of course, this was not a good omen for herself.
After so many lives, she knew that a court with a wise ruler and clear politics would not have so many bandits, especially near the road to the capital. This meant that in the near future, whether it was a succession struggle or a change of dynasty, there would be rivers of blood.
"Do something? How? If this group of bandits is eliminated, others will immediately rise up. Furthermore, with such heavy taxes, the number of bandits will only grow, and their power will increase. The county yamen or the garrison forces have long lost their will to fight. They only prey on the common people, eating, drinking, and having fun. How could they bear to confront anyone?" The old man sighed as he spoke. He was old and didn't care about dying, but what was important was that his son and grandsons were still young. He didn't know if his family could survive well.
Wu Caiwei had originally thought that the village where the original owner lived was dark enough, but she never expected to find that the people outside were truly living in hell.
"Don't worry, old man. I will leave here tomorrow and go meet them." Wu Caiwei made up her mind. She would help to the end. Tomorrow, she would not only go to the bandit's den and make sure those bandits would not dare to descend the mountain to harm the people again, but she would also go to the local county yamen and give the magistrate a stern warning.
"Those bandits are very fierce. You must be careful," the old man cautioned her worriedly.
"Alright, I will be careful. When I first entered, why were you all looking so glum? Do they often come here to borrow lodging?" Wu Caiwei pondered and could only think of this reason to explain their unusual behavior at the time.
"That's not it. Although I don't know how to describe the feeling you give me, it's very comfortable, and you look very noble at first glance. We know you are no ordinary person, but they are rough and uncouth, vastly different from you. To be honest, we can no longer make ends meet. Today's meal is our last bit of food. As soon as we saw you come to borrow lodging, in this desolate place, we couldn't refuse. But we don't know where tomorrow's breakfast will come from. These white steamed buns were left by a previous guest. We were reluctant to eat them, otherwise, how could our family have seen such good things." Tears welled up in his eyes as he spoke.
Wu Caiwei took out ten taels of silver from her pocket and placed it before him. With this silver, they could temporarily overcome their difficulties.
"Absolutely not, absolutely not! No reward without merit." The old man quickly returned the silver to her, while his son and daughter-in-law watched eagerly, their opinions clearly contrary to his. They were all somewhat disappointed when he returned the silver to Wu Caiwei.
This young master clearly had no shortage of food and drink. He saw they were pitiful and offered them silver. By returning the silver, did he want to watch them starve to death? In places the old man couldn't see, their eyes held a subtle condemnation.
Wu Caiwei directly gave the silver to the oldest woman. Seeing that the old man still wanted to refuse, she persuaded him, "Although I don't have much silver with me when I travel, I truly don't lack these ten taels. For you, however, this silver is a lifesaver. Your grandchildren are so adorable, can you bear to watch them go hungry?"
The old man burst into louder tears upon hearing this. He knew that the young master opposite was considerate of his pride and had spoken very tactfully. It wasn't just about going hungry; without money, they would have no way out.
He had met this young master by chance. The person was kind and wanted to help him. Could he accept it without feeling uneasy? He immediately knelt down, wanting to kowtow to her.
Wu Caiwei tried to help him up, but the old man refused. She turned her head and saw that everyone in the room was kneeling with sincerity. His eldest son said gratefully, "Esteemed benefactor, please let my father kneel. Our family has no way to repay your kindness, so we can only kowtow three times to express our gratitude. If there is ever anything we can help you with in this life, just give us a command, and we will go through fire and water without hesitation."
Wu Caiwei sighed and let them kowtow. She knew that only then would they feel better. How had the lives of the common people reached this point? This was just one household she had casually knocked on. She believed that all the households in the village were living difficult lives. Wu Caiwei felt uneasy without doing something for them.
The next morning, she left quickly under the grateful gaze of the family, heading in the direction of the bandit's den.
The undulating mountain range before her was indeed magnificent. Instead of hiding, she put on her best clothes from her bundle and rode her horse, swaggering down the road, humming a song as she went, exuding a leisurely and carefree air.
"Whose young master is this? Acting like an idiot. Doesn't he know there are bandits around here? This is a fat sheep, and he's just letting it pass by?" From the nearby woods, a burly man with a brutish face looked at the great chieftain beside him, some agitation in his voice.