Bandits have always plagued the Luan River, a problem stretching back to the previous dynasty.

After the Xin Republic’s Government was established, it launched a major two-year bandit suppression campaign. Yet, even now, news of bandit attacks in the surrounding villages and towns still cropped up from time to time.

’If they’re mountain bandits, this could be trouble...’

As Fu Juemin was thinking, he saw a group of mountain bandits gathered around a two-wheeled flatcart. On it lay a burlap sack, bulging and squirming as if someone were struggling inside.

’A kidnapping?!’

Fu Juemin’s eyes turned sharp, and he instinctively raised his revolver.

A few breaths later, however, he slowly lowered it again.

He counted them. There were nine bandits in the woods. His revolver only held six bullets. Even if every shot found its mark, that would still leave three of them.

Besides, he had no idea if they had other accomplices waiting in the wings.

’Right now, the best thing to do is wait for Qian Fei and Ma Dakui to arrive, and then report this to the County Government...’

With this decided, Fu Juemin pushed himself up and turned to leave.

He had barely taken a step when the faint sound of voices reached his ears.

"Boss, are we gonna do her now?"

"Duh! What, you want to wait until dark for your wedding night?"

"Heh heh..."

Fu Juemin froze, his right hand lifting the gun slightly.

After a moment’s thought, he lowered it again and continued on his way.

RRRRIP—

The sharp sound of tearing fabric echoed from behind him, mingled with a woman’s whimper of utter despair.

"Sigh..."

Fu Juemin came to a complete halt, letting out a soft sigh.

When he turned back around, his expression was completely frigid.

He leveled his right arm, aimed the silver muzzle of the revolver at a man with rotten teeth and the ugliest smile standing by the distant cart, and pulled the trigger.

BANG! 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The shot rang out, sending a large flock of birds scattering into the sky with a frantic flapping of wings.

The bandits in the woods all jumped in fright, instinctively ducking and dropping to the ground.

Fu Juemin, however, furrowed his brow.

He had missed.

At a distance of some twenty meters, the accuracy of his Spear Technique was, in the end, just a little lacking.

"Over there!"

Just then, a sharp-eyed bandit among the cowering group spotted Fu Juemin, pointed, and yelled. The other bandits immediately whipped their heads around to stare at him.

Fu Juemin pretended to run, and several of the bandits immediately charged after him.

"Get that kid!"

Fu Juemin feigned retreat for a few steps, then abruptly spun around.

BANG! BANG! BANG!—

Three shots rang out in quick succession, and three bandits dropped to the ground.

One lay motionless in the grass, dark red blood pooling beneath him, clearly dead.

As for the other two, one clutched his leg and the other his arm. They rolled on the ground in agony, crimson blood gushing from between their fingers.

The remaining bandits froze on the spot, staring in his direction with terror on their faces.

With his gun still raised, Fu Juemin slowly stepped out from behind the bushes.

"Let the person go."

Fu Juemin said calmly, pointing his gun at the men.

He glanced at the captive on the cart, noticing that only the outer burlap sack had been torn.

"Young man, who is the person in that sack to you?"

A bald man, who appeared to be the bandits’ leader, slowly got up from the ground.

The man had a mouthful of rotten teeth, but his frame was tall and brawny, with ropes of muscle on his arms.

"I don’t care who she is."

Fu Juemin said flatly, "And I’m telling you to let her go."

The bald man narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on the revolver in Fu Juemin’s hand. "If I remember correctly, you should only have two bullets left in that gun of yours."

Fu Juemin smiled. "Then why don’t you guess whether one of these last two bullets can find its way into your head?"

The bald man’s expression immediately soured.

"Let her go."

Fu Juemin repeated himself in a cold tone. As he spoke, he pulled back the hammer, making the revolver’s cylinder turn with a faint click.

A flicker of fear flashed in the bald man’s eyes. He waved a hand, and one of his men immediately went for the burlap sack on the cart.

"I’ll give her to you."

The bald man watched Fu Juemin and said slowly, "I’ll admit defeat for today, my friend...."

Fu Juemin paid no mind to the bald man’s words, keeping his eyes locked on him and his subordinate’s movements.

Just as the bald man’s subordinate lifted the person out of the cart and was seemingly about to let them go, he suddenly shoved the sack violently toward Fu Juemin!

Fu Juemin instinctively moved forward to catch the person. At that same moment, two figures pounced toward him from the left and right like agile apes.

With no time to think, Fu Juemin instinctively fired twice.

BANG!

BANG!

One of the men dodged nimbly, rolling into a patch of weeds. The other was hit in the abdomen but retreated to the side without a sound, immediately tearing his shirt to bandage his own wound.

"There we go."

The bald man clapped his hands, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "Now then," he sneered, "you don’t have a single bullet left."

At this, all the other bandits got to their feet, their eyes gleaming with malice as they stared at Fu Juemin. One was already reaching for a long saber hidden in the grass beneath the cart.

’As expected of bandits who live and die by the blade. Their street smarts are far beyond what a rookie like me can match...’

Fu Juemin sighed to himself. After a moment’s thought, he simply tossed his revolver aside.

As several bandits holding long sabers fanned out and slowly closed in on him, Fu Juemin suddenly spoke.

"Wait!"

"You have something else to say?"

The bald leader looked at Fu Juemin with great interest.

"You bandits... you’re just in it for the money, right?"

He swept his gaze over the men before him, then slowly and deliberately began to unbutton his suit jacket.

"My name is Fu Juemin. My father is Fu Guosheng..."

The bald man’s eyes flickered.

"My father is the richest man on the Luan River. My family owns eight gold shops and two banks...."

Hearing this, the expressions of the bandits surrounding Fu Juemin changed, and their steps faltered.

"If you capture me, you can get at least this much from my father."

Fu Juemin took off his suit jacket, tossing it aside, and then held up one finger.

A dumb-looking bandit holding a large saber couldn’t help but ask, "How much is ’this much’?"

Fu Juemin grinned. "One million silver coins!"

"How much?!"

"One million?!!"

The bandits’ eyes went wide, and they instinctively turned to look at their bald leader.

"Kid. Are you trying to fool me?"

The bald man asked coldly, his eyes narrowed to slits.

Fu Juemin shook his head with a smile. "Around the Luan River, I doubt anyone would dare impersonate me, Fu Juemin.

If you don’t believe me, you can send someone to ask around..."

As he spoke, he loosened his tie, casually pulling a gold-chained pocket watch from his vest and tossing it in front of the bandits as if it were garbage.

"Care to inspect it?"

The bandit who had asked the question snatched the gold watch off the ground and bit down on it.

"It’s real! Boss!"

Instantly, the eyes of every bandit burned with greed.

"Let me see."

The bald man beckoned, and the gold watch was quickly passed to him.

He examined it carefully for a moment, weighed it in his hand, and a clear flicker of temptation crossed his face.

"But what about my brothers you killed and injured? How do we settle that account?" the bald man said slowly.

"Isn’t it better that one is dead? That’s one less person to split the money with.

As for the ones who are injured but still alive..."

Fu Juemin said nonchalantly, "I’ll add another million. Two million silver coins in total."

HISS—

A collective gasp filled the clearing. All the bandits stared at Fu Juemin, their eyes glazed over. Even the injured men on the ground seemed to have forgotten their pain.

After a few breaths, a bandit with a saber couldn’t help but yell, "Kid, I’m warning you, don’t you dare bluff! If there’s no two million silver coins, I’ll chop you to pieces!"

"You, come here."

Fu Juemin beckoned to the bandit who had just spoken.

"What for?"

The saber-wielding bandit was suspicious and wary, but intimidated by the status and aura Fu Juemin projected, he still slowly and obediently approached.

While undoing the cuffs of his shirt, Fu Juemin asked, "You don’t believe me?"

"You’ve got nothing but words. Why the hell should I believe you?" the bandit sneered.

Fu Juemin didn’t get angry. He just smiled and gestured for the bandit to come closer.

"Come closer, and I’ll tell you."

The bandit took a few more steps forward impatiently. "What the hell are you trying to say?"

When he was almost right in front of Fu Juemin, he saw the young man lean in close to his ear and whisper, in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"You were right. I am... bluffing."

"You!"

The bandit snapped his head up, about to say something, only to see the smiling Fu Juemin suddenly strike without warning.

FWOOSH—

The loose cuff of Fu Juemin’s silk shirt was instantly stretched taut by the tensing muscles of his arm. The wind from his fist tore through the air with a short, sharp whistle.

CRACK-CRUNCH—

Along with a sickening series of bone-cracking sounds, Fu Juemin’s right arm seemed to sink up to the elbow into the bandit’s chest. The man was sent flying backward without a sound, thrown high into the air like a ragged sack before crashing heavily to the earth.

The clearing fell deathly silent.

All the bandits stood frozen in place, too stunned to utter a single word.

Fu Juemin slowly retracted his fist.

Now, his fair, handsome face and his clean white shirt were spattered with flecks of crimson blood.

His hands hung loosely at his sides, but his eyes were unnervingly calm.

His entire being seemed to be basking in some strange, indescribable emotion.

He took a slow breath, looked around at the remaining men, and said deliberately, "You all should really thank me...

Now, I’ve helped you get rid of one more person to split the money with."