Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Situ Yunqing
"What does it matter if it’s the Situ Family’s carriage?” the lead bandit laughed heartily. “Brothers, after we rob your carriage, we’ll just find another place to settle down. The sky is high and birds are free to fly; surely your Situ Family’s power doesn’t extend over the entire Eastern Continent.”
By this time, all the guards of the carriage had been killed, leaving only an old man at the ninth tier of the Spirit Vein Realm who was still struggling to hold on.
This group of bandits consisted mostly of martial artists at the Spirit Vein Realm, with the exception of their leader who seemed to have just advanced to the Condensing Vein Realm.
He wasn’t in a hurry to kill the old man; instead, like a cat playing with a mouse, he teased, “Let the people inside the carriage come out; I actually want to see which person from the Situ Family is inside.”
"Boss, someone’s coming,” at this moment a lesser bandit noticed Xu Zimei and his companions and hurriedly informed the bandit leader.
The bandit leader turned his head, holding a hooked saber in his hand, and walked arrogantly forward, addressing Xu Zimei and his group, “The kid over there, since I’m in a good mood today, you’d better scram.
...
Take one more step forward, and I’ll chop off your head.”
Why look down on us? Are we any less than them?”
The bandit leader was dumbfounded, “Is this guy sick? I let him go, but he insists on being robbed.”
With a grand wave of the bandit leader’s hand, swarms of bandits rushed forward, encircling Xu Zimei and his companions.
"Xiao Guizi, it’s your turn,” Xu Zimei said with a smile.
"Don’t worry,” Xiao Guizi replied confidently, pulling out an iron rod from behind.
Don’t be fooled by Xiao Guizi’s usual obsequious demeanor; he was a genuine Inner Sect Disciple of True Martial Holy Sect, a martial artist at the fifth tier of the Condensing Vein Realm.
Dealing with this group of bandits was well within his capability.
Swinging the iron rod in his hand, a single strike from Xiao Guizi burst open the bandits’ heads as easily as smashing watermelons.
"Brothers, tough nut to crack, let’s go together,” another bandit shouted.
Xiao Guizi didn’t flinch; he jumped off the Desert Flying Horse, his iron rod whistling through the air with impressive momentum, each strike carrying a tremendous force that seemed to weigh over a thousand pounds.
The pressurized air around him emitted sonic booms.
In just a few exchanges, all the bandits were already lying on the ground, wailing nonstop.
Seeing the tide turning, the bandit leader quickly mounted his horse in an attempt to flee.
Xiao Guizi’s gaze was sharp, and he hurled his iron rod.
The rod buzzed through the air, turning into a black streak of light that pierced through the back of the escaping bandit leader.
Its descent unimpeded, the iron rod impaled the bandit leader before slamming into a massive boulder up ahead.
The rod sank deeply into the rock before finally coming to a stop.
"You’ve got the Mad Demon Stick Technique down pat,” Xu Zimei commented.
"This Vein Skill of mine has just reached the Other Shore level, still short some of reaching Perfection,” Xiao Guizi replied.
Entering the Microscopic, Abstruse, Other Shore, Perfection.
These were the four levels of Vein Skills.
"Don’t take the literal meaning of the Mad Demon Stick Technique too seriously; ‘mad’ here doesn’t denote craziness, and ‘demon’ isn’t about those mass-murdering demons,” Xu Zimei casually advised, “The essence of the Mad Demon Stick Technique is the vigor of pursuing one’s effort, the spirit of pressing forward relentlessly.”
Observing Xiao Guizi lost in thought, Xu Zimei rode his horse forward.
Standing beside the carriage, the sole surviving elder hurriedly expressed his thanks to Xu Zimei.
"It’s not your place to thank me,” Xu Zimei said calmly, “Let the person inside the carriage come out.”
The elder hesitated for a moment before a voice that sounded like a hundred larks singing flowed out from the carriage.
"Uncle Fu, it’s all right. I should meet my savior,” the voice said.
The curtain of the carriage was drawn back, revealing two women stepping out gracefully.
The woman on the left was dressed like a maid.
The one on the right wore a light cyan dress adorned with lotus flowers embroidered at the cuffs and neckline.
Her pale and inviting collarbone, the long black hair that rested on her shoulders, tied with a pink ribbon.
She looked pure and fresh-out-of-this-world, with light makeup, expressive and intelligent large dark eyes, a delicate nose, and an oval face.
"This humble girl, Situ Yunqing, offers her thanks for the gentleman’s lifesaving grace,” the woman said softly, bowing slightly.
"Tsk, tsk, such a delicate little face,” Xu Zimei said, with a straw dangling from his mouth in a suggestive tone.
As he said this, he reached out with his right hand to touch her cheek, but Situ Yunqing turned her head away.
Xu Zimei’s right index finger hooked her chin, admiring her with his gaze, and Situ Yunqing’s complexion turned deathly pale with fright.
Still, she pursed her lips, locking eyes with Xu Zimei.
"Brother Xu, if you want, I can go over there and keep watch for you,” Xiao Guizi said from the side.
"Let go of our young lady,” the maid tried to push Xu Zimei away, only to be grabbed by Lin Ruhu by the collar and thrown to the side.
"I’ve never been one to force others against their will,” Xu Zimei said with a smile, withdrawing his hand, “If you want to thank me, you should at least show some sincerity, not just words.”
"I have nothing on me right now. If the gentleman doesn’t mind, he can accompany me to Zhouque City. Once we reach the Situ Family, I will surely repay you generously,” Situ Yunqing said sincerely, looking at Xu Zimei.
"You’re the young lady of the Situ Family? Who are you kidding,” Xiao Guizi questioned from the side: “Though not much to speak of, the Situ Family is still a great family of Zhouque City.
You travel without even a Condensing Vein Realm guard to protect you, otherwise, you wouldn’t have been robbed by bandits. You think we don’t know anything?”
"My mother was just an ordinary woman from a small town; her meeting with my father was purely accidental,” Situ Yunqing paused, then continued: “My mother is strong-willed, not wanting to live at someone’s mercy or endure disdain, so she raised me alone over the years.
We didn’t want to have anything to do with the Situ Family, but as my mother was seriously ill and worried about me before her passing, she sent me to find my father in the Situ Family for a place of refuge.”
Hearing Situ Yunqing’s words, Xu Zimei seemed to understand.
Probably, Situ Yunqing’s mother was just an ordinary woman and her father was the Family Head of the Situ Family—a huge disparity in their statuses.
Situ Yunqing’s mother, unwilling to live under the Situ Family’s roof, raised her daughter on her own outside.
That is to say, many in the Situ Family might not even know that their Family Head had an illegitimate daughter out there.
"The Situ Family, huh,” Xu Zimei suddenly remembered some things from a previous life.
The Situ Family was originally just a small clan in Zhouque City, with influence and fame limited to the surrounds of the city.
But later, it was heard that a woman emerged from the Situ Family who established the Situ Commerce Association, expanding its business across the entire Eastern Continent and leading the then insignificant Situ Family to rise to power completely.