Chapter 242: Chapter 145: Black Spider-Man Means Hot Girl (2)

This was Gu Gaoxu going easy on them, felling them all with his bare hands.

Even the four Personal Guards Gu Ziye had brought along exchanged glances, saying nothing.

Lu Yuan hopped off the carriage and strode over to Gu Gaoxu. "What’s going on?" he asked.

Gu Gaoxu turned to Lu Yuan, who had just caught up. "It’s nothing," he said. "Just a few petty thieves blocking the road. They mistook me for you, so I gave them a good thrashing."

Lu Yuan crouched in front of one of the bandits and grabbed his chin. "Who sent you?" he asked. "How did you know I would be passing through here today?"

The bandit’s face flushed crimson. Lu Yuan’s grip was powerful, his strength now far surpassing that of an ordinary strongman.

The bandit struggled to speak, stammering, "We... we don’t know any Lord Lu. We heard from the bandits on the mountain that a rich, pale-faced Scholar named Lord Lu would be passing this way in the next few days, so we came to wait."

These bandits were just farmers from the nearby villages. They had been forced into banditry only after the Court confiscated all their grain.

The Divine Ling Empire hadn’t imposed heavy taxes since its founding, instead advocating for policies that allowed the people to recover and prosper.

However, some local officials would always take desperate measures, extorting the common folk in the name of collecting taxes for the Court. If the Court ever found out, it was a crime punishable by beheading.

They had heard this from a more established gang of bandits nearby, which was why they were waiting on the road for Lu Yuan’s party.

Lu Yuan released his grip. ’This is strange,’ he thought. ’There’s no way a local bandit gang could have known about my return from the Imperial Capital.’

Lu Yuan looked at Gu Gaoxu. "Where are we?"

"I’ve traveled this official road before, back when I used to roam all over," Gu Gaoxu replied. "This is my tenth uncle’s fiefdom."

As soon as Lu Yuan heard this, it all clicked into place.

’No wonder someone’s targeting me again,’ he thought. ’Or more accurately, someone’s been watching me this whole time.’

This time, however, Lu Yuan had found out about them before they could make their move.

Previously, on his way from Taiping City to Yandu, he had passed through King Lu’s fiefdom.

Now, on his return from the Imperial City to Taiping City, he had entered King Lu’s fiefdom again, just by a different road.

’Whoever’s watching me has some skills,’ Lu Yuan mused.

If Lu Yuan wasn’t mistaken, it had to be the work of King Lu’s Sixth Son, Gu Zhaolian, or Gu Zhaolian’s wife. They were likely trying to get revenge for her dead younger brother or for his own.

Including this time, this was the third attempt on him.

’Enough is enough.’ Since they insisted on coming a third time, Lu Yuan decided he would make them hurt. He would beat them into submission! ’They’ll learn not to mess with me, Lu Yuan,’ he resolved. ’They can’t afford the consequences of provoking me!’

Gu Gaoxu let the farmers go, tossing them a few pieces of broken silver as compensation for their injuries. It was enough to keep them fed and warm until the autumn harvest.

Lu Yuan looked at Gu Gaoxu and smiled. "The Court is always pushing the local governments to suppress bandits. I heard from these men that there’s a permanent bandit nest in the mountains nearby. What do you say we stop by and light them up?"

Gu Gaoxu pumped his fist excitedly. "Hell yeah! Let’s do it. How many troops should I borrow from the local garrison?"

Lu Yuan waved his hand dismissively. "For a small bandit nest? Just the two of us, plus ten Zhao Family Guards, will be more than enough."

Gu Gaoxu remembered the last time they’d suppressed bandits and grinned mischievously. "You didn’t bring the Mortars along, did you? You’ve got some nerve. You even managed to hide them in the Imperial Capital without getting caught."

Lu Yuan had indeed brought them, but they were disassembled. They just looked like a few iron frames. ’Better to be safe than sorry,’ he thought.

When the guards at the Imperial Capital City Gate searched the carriage, they had no idea what the parts were for, so of course they didn’t find anything.

In their discussion, the two men completely forgot about the young girl on horseback behind them.

Gu Ziye crossed her arms. "I’m going too! I’m going too!"

Gu Gaoxu glanced back at her. "This is business for us men. What’s a little girl like you tagging along for? It’s too dangerous this time. I’ll take you to do something fun after we’re done with this."

After saying this to Gu Ziye, Gu Gaoxu turned to Lu Yuan. "Did my eldest brother return to Yandu?"

Lu Yuan nodded but said nothing.

Gu Ziye huffed and fell silent. ’Now that I know about it, I have my ways,’ she thought.

"We won’t travel any further today. Let’s find an inn to stay the night," Lu Yuan said, clapping Gu Gaoxu on the shoulder. "Get your weapons from me before we head out." Then he returned to his carriage.

Although Su Liyan hadn’t left the carriage, she was aware of everything that had happened.

During the last bandit-suppression mission, Su Liyan had killed the giant bat the bandits were raising, lending her brother a helping hand.

Now, Lu Yuan could easily handle even a three-hundred-year-old giant bat.

Still, Su Liyan was worried about him and wanted to say something.

Lu Yuan spoke first. "I know you’re worried that I can’t handle these bandits. You have to trust me. This time, I want to wipe them out using my own methods and show the people behind them that I’m not to be trifled with."

Seeing how resolute he was, Su Liyan said no more.

Lu Yuan’s party arrived at an inn early.

After dinner, Gu Gaoxu came and knocked on Lu Yuan’s door.

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw the weapons laid out on the table in Lu Yuan’s room: five Mortars, several Firearms, and more.

Lu Yuan said, "We move at nightfall!"

After dark, Lu Yuan, Gu Gaoxu, and the ten Zhao Family Guards mounted their horses and rode out.

The area was a cluster of mountains of varying heights. The bandits’ lair was situated on the lowest peak in the center, surrounded by four taller ones.

The five peaks were all within sight of one another, and a few bandits stood guard on each of the surrounding peaks.

The choice of location was deliberate. With multiple peaks, low in the center and high all around, it was a formation said to gather wealth from all four corners of the earth.

Ironically, this very layout provided Lu Yuan and his men with the perfect tactical advantage to attack the lair.

By taking just one of the surrounding peaks, they could launch an attack on the central lair from above.

The bandits had likely never imagined that anyone would dare to attack them proactively.

Lu Yuan swiftly dealt with the sentries on one of the surrounding peaks.

Lu Yuan gazed at the lower peak in the distance. The bandits’ compound had been crudely built from the surrounding stone and timber.

Just as Lu Yuan was assigning tasks, he suddenly sensed someone approaching.

Lu Yuan made a hand signal for silence, and everyone, understanding instantly, concealed themselves.

A young girl’s voice drifted up from below. "Strange, how did I lose them? I must have fallen too far behind."

So Gu Ziye had followed them after all. She was young, but her courage was impressive. ’She must take after her father,’ Lu Yuan thought.

Gu Ziye was dressed in a tight-fitting black outfit. The clothes clung to her body, perfectly outlining her slender, girlish frame.

Of course, her Personal Guards were right behind her; the four of them never left her side.

Each of the four Personal Guards wore a sword at their hip. The Sword Scabbards were all inlaid with Sapphires, suggesting the blades themselves were of high quality.

Lu Yuan had never seen these four Personal Guards in action and had no idea of their true strength.

The fact that they didn’t stop the Thirteenth Princess in such a dangerous place suggested they were highly skilled in Martial Arts and confident in their ability to protect her.

Otherwise, if anything happened to the Thirteenth Princess, not even a dozen heads each would be enough to pay for their failure.

Gu Gaoxu leaped out. "Yue’Er! I told you not to follow us, but you just had to, didn’t you? And look at you, what in the world are you wearing?"

Gu Gaoxu pointed to his own attire. "This," he said, "is proper Night Travel Clothes. What you’re wearing is a bodysuit. Are you trying to show off your figure? Who are you showing it to in the pitch-dark?"

Gu Ziye retorted, "None of your business! Hmph! You wouldn’t bring me along, so what right do you have to comment on what I wear?"

Then she pouted and muttered, "Besides, nobody ever taught me this stuff... And my Personal Guards said it looked good."

Gu Gaoxu ignored her excuses and continued to tease, "Haha, Yue’Er, I have to admit, you do look pretty stylish in that bodysuit. Hey, Brother Lu, what do you say?"

Lu Yuan, busy with his task, glanced up. "Yeah," he said. "She looks like a black Spider-Man!"

"A black Spider-Man?" Gu Gaoxu and Gu Ziye repeated in unison.

"Uh, right," Lu Yuan improvised. "A ’black Spider-Man’ is a type of... ’hot girl.’ It’s a compliment. It means your clothes are fashionable and sexy, and that you’re confident and bold."

Gu Ziye beamed. "It’s always Yuan who knows the right thing to say. I love hearing it!"