Chapter 52: A Hero's Mercy

"What about youLi Yuyu responded, "But how could a scholar who couldn't even pass the county examination come up with inventions like tofu and water wheels, know how to refine steel, and be familiar w...Li Yuyao collected her thoughts and looked far into the distance. She saw a group of people pushing two small carts, just entering the village, and starting to loot from the first house at the entrance.

The food in the jars, the ironware at home, and the dried vegetables in the courtyard... these bandits didn't seem to mind any of it.

All the villagers had fled, and now the large village of Gaoshan was deserted. The bandits roamed freely, like they were in an empty world. From house to house, they took whatever they wanted, their carts growing heavier with each stop, bringing them closer and closer to the Yang family's home.

There were exactly eight of them, but both Yang Lin and Li Yuyao wore strange expressions.

This is a bandit

If nobody told them these guys were bandits, they'd think they were refugees!

When Yang Lin was far away, he couldn't see clearly. But now that he was closer, he could clearly see that these bandits were dressed just like ordinary people.

Two bandits at the front carried knives, while the rest wielded a motley assortment of weapons: clubs, iron forks, spears... you name it.

There are also two specialized carts without weapons, so technically, there are only six people who can fight. To call them a rabble is an insult to the very term "rabble."

Soon, it's only a few dozen meters away!

The bandits were already within their range, but Yang Lin was very patient.

The distance isn't enough. If it's a first-round volley, if someone misses their shot, the bandits will run away, and it'll be impossible to wipe them all out!

The bandits were weaker than expected, which strengthened Yang Lin's resolve to win this battle spectacularly. He wanted to show the outsiders what would happen if they dared to invade them!

Suddenly, a bandit came running out of Uncle Wang's yard with glee, carrying a chicken in his arms.

"Look, boss, there's a chicken!"

All the bandits had bright eyes.

"Good, die in a fall, I'll make soup with you tonight!"

The bandit leader, carrying his sword, nodded in satisfaction.

At that very moment, within Wang Shu's courtyard...

A boy of seven or eight years old ran after him.

“This is my family’s chicken, give it back to me!”

The little boy may have been chasing too eagerly. When he got to the bandits, he tripped and fell. The bandits burst into laughter.

"Please, please give me back my chicken. It's the only one I have. My younger brother is frail and needs to eat eggs to make him stronger. Please, don't take it away from me..."

The little boy ran crying to catch it.

The bandit leader kicked the little boy to the ground with one kick.

"Damn it! Don't you know who I am I'm a bandit!"

The bandit leader cocked his head and glared at the young boy. “Since ancient times, it’s been our bandits who take things, have you ever heard of us taking something and giving it back”

"You little brat, I'm in a good mood today so I won't bother with you. If you keep acting up, believe me, I'll slice you in half!"

The bandit leader shook the rusty blade in his hand, scaring the young boy who scrambled backward two steps, rolling as he went. This caused the rest of the bandits to roar with laughter again.

However, the little boy, after taking two steps back, gathered his courage, climbed up from the ground, glanced at the bandit who was catching the chicken, and suddenly rushed towards the bandit, biting down on his hand.

"Ah!"

The bandit cried out in pain and instinctively loosened his grip.

The little boy snatched the chicken and turned to run.

However, he was already surrounded by bandits on all sides.

"Damn it! You dare to bite again If I don't kill you today, I swear to God, I'm not a goddamn bandit!"

Saying that, the bandit leader raised the knife in his hand. Yang Lin was startled.

This little boy is Tiezhu from Uncle Wang's family. Uncle Wang's whole family has already gone up the mountain to evacuate, but no one knows why Tiezhu didn't go. Anyway, now he's been caught by bandits and things are looking bad for him!

Yang Lin was worried that ordering the archers to fire now would risk injuring Tie Zhu. He immediately jumped down from the roof and shouted, “Stop!”

Behind the house, Zhong Tao and the others, who were hiding, stared in surprise at Yang Lin.

This is different from the previous plan!

Yang Lin raised a finger to them, motioning for silence. He immediately emerged from behind the house and walked towards the bandits.

The women who had been lying in wait on three sides of the courtyard were also taken aback, but Yang Lin didn't order them to fire arrows. They remained motionless.

The bandits were also startled by Yang Lin's sudden shout, they hurriedly looked around, and after a long search, finally saw Yang Lin.

"Damn it, who the hell are you Do you know who I am I'm a bandit! You dare to interfere with me, believe it or not, I'll kill you right now!"

The bandit leader raised his knife and pointed it at Yang Lin.

Yang Lin also raised his strung crossbow, aiming at the bandit leader, and said calmly: “Release the child, and I can leave you a whole corpse!”

The bandit leader was taken aback, then burst into laughter as if he had heard a good joke.

"Boy, since you're looking for death! Don't blame yourself for living too long, grandpa hasn't killed anyone in a while!"

Saying that, the bandit leader walked toward Yang Lin with a knife in his hand.

He also saw what Yang Lin was holding in his hand, but he didn't recognize it, so he didn't think much of it.

Both parties were less than ten meters apart. The leader of the bandits swaggered over, his arms swinging, looking menacingly fierce.

Just as everyone laying in ambush held their breath for Yang Lin...

Yang Lin, without warning, pulled the trigger!

"Whoosh!"

The arrow, loosed from the bow, instantly struck the bandit leader's chest.

The bandit leader seemed to not understand what was happening. His face turned extremely painful, then he swayed and collapsed to the ground, dead.

The moment he pulled the trigger, Yang Lin didn't even glance at his opponent. Ignoring his racing heart, he quickly reloaded his crossbow and shouted, "Come on! Aren't you going to kill me If you have the guts, come over here!"

He wanted to use himself to draw the bandits' fire. If they came after him, he would turn and run, leading them into the courtyard where the women in hiding could shoot arrows and kill them all at once!

This was also the only way he could think of to protect the iron pillar in a short period of time.

He shot arrows at them himself, these bandits can't possibly ignore him and go after Tie Zhu instead, right

When the leader of the bandits fell, as he nocked a second arrow into his crossbow, he was surprised to find that all the bandits seemed to have been scared witless.

Seeing Yang Lin raise his crossbow again and aim it at them, bandits immediately dropped their weapons and fell to their knees with a thud.

"Spare my life, spare my life!"

This plea for mercy seemed like a signal. Immediately following it came the sounds of metal clattering to the ground as the rest of the bandits dropped their weapons and lay flat on the floor.

"I I I... I didn't do anything."

"I haven't killed anyone, I'm from King Zhuang Manor, woe is me... I'm not a bandit!"

"Spare my life, spare my life!"

Looking at the bandits before him, all crying and kneeling for mercy, Yang Lin was momentarily dumbfounded.

Is this all you've got

Not even put up a fight

And how did he feel, at this moment, more like a bandit than them...eing reasonable!The villagers were in an uproar, confronting the government officials.But Zhao Deyi was overjoyed.He was afraid that Yang Lin could keep his cool, not fight back, and not retort. If he...