#821 - waste
"Who goes there?!"
Spinning around abruptly, Chu An detected the anomaly the moment these masked men vaulted over the courtyard wall.
Unfortunately, the intruders were all formidable. Before he could even grip the hilt of his saber, two long blades were already pressed against his and Qin He's necks.
"Shut up!"
One of the masked men pressed the blade closer, snarling, "Dare to make another sound, and I'll separate your heads from your bodies!"
“. . . ”
Faced with this sudden turn of events, Qin He was paralyzed with fear, frozen in place.
Chu An, being a man and having experience working in the Prince's manor, quickly recovered from his shock. He took a deep breath and asked slowly:
"Brothers, I don't believe we have any grievances between us, do we?"
"Damn it! Stop talking nonsense!"
Inner force surging, the masked man showed no mercy, cursing as he landed a punch directly into Chu An's abdomen.
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, Chu An's eyes widened. Intense pain instantly spread throughout his body, making it impossible for him to stand upright. Veins bulged on his forehead.
Although Chu An was a Rank Six, and the black-clad assailant was also a Rank Six, in a normal fight, the latter would likely be no match.
However, with Qin He present, Chu An didn't want to provoke the bandits, so he could only endure the blow.
"Hoo..."
Taking several deep breaths, his back was already soaked in cold sweat.
Overwhelmed by the pain, Chu An couldn't speak for the moment, only hunching over and trembling.
When Qin He saw him in this state, she finally snapped out of her fear.
"D-don't hit him!!"
Ignoring the long blade pressed against her neck, Qin He suddenly spread her arms to shield Chu An, questioning the masked men with a trembling voice:
"W-what do you want?!"
"So damn noisy!"
The leader of the masked men cursed impatiently. Immediately, several others stepped forward and kicked Qin He to the ground.
"Thump!"
Her figure crashed heavily onto the ground, her long dress covered in mud.
Qin He hadn't cultivated, and even though the masked men hadn't used much force, she couldn't withstand the blow. She immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.
The blood trickled across her lips, dripping onto her dress, quickly spreading into a large, glaring red stain.
"Qin'er!!!"
Chu An's eyes turned bloodshot in an instant. The next second, he was ready to draw his saber, regardless of the consequences.
However, before his hand could even touch the hilt, a masked man sneered and slapped him across the face.
"Smack!"
A crisp sound echoed in the night sky, and Chu An staggered violently.
When he looked up again, the gleaming long blade was once more pressed against his chest.
"Tie them up inside."
With a cold snort, the leader of the masked men waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away mosquitoes, and after giving the order, he glanced at Chu An with disdain:
"Hmph, overestimate yourself."
“. . . ”
An incense stick's worth of time later.
The once-warm cottage was now as cold as an ice cave, even the few candle flames seemed sinister.
"Damn it! Is this all?!"
The leader of the masked men's eyes grew increasingly fierce. He tossed the loose silver and jewelry to his subordinates, then slowly walked over to Chu An.
"Where is the family's silver hidden?"
Looking down at him, the masked man said coldly, "I advise you to tell me, or don't blame me for being ruthless."
“. . . ”
Chu An stared at the masked man with a cold gaze, not speaking immediately.
He didn't believe these people were really here to rob them of their wealth.
The leader was at least a peak Rank Six, and although the others hadn't shown their strength, judging by their demeanor, they should also be Rank Six.
Rank Six wasn't strong, but it was still considered Middle Three Ranks. If they worked in the yamen, they would at least be a centurion.
People with such strength should be robbing wealthy merchants, so why would they target someone like him with no power or influence?
Chu An wasn't stupid, and he had already realized that these people were pretending to rob them. There must be another motive behind this.
His best course of action was to not expose their true intentions.
"This house isn't my permanent residence, so I didn't keep much money here."
Taking a deep breath, Chu An stared at the masked man and replied, word by word:
"If you want money, you can come with me to another place to get it."
"I promise I won't resist."
“. . . ”
The candlelight flickered, and the atmosphere was tense.
Looking at the still-calm Chu An, the masked man sneered, mocking him:
"Go with you to another place to get it?"
"Do you think I'm a fool?"
"Heh heh, less is less, I'll just consider myself unlucky this time..."
Turning to look at Qin He, who had already fainted, the masked man grinned lewdly, "But this little lady looks good. I think I'll take her as compensation."
"You dare!!"
His eyes widening suddenly, the calmness on Chu An's face vanished in an instant.
He struggled frantically, trying to break free from his restraints, the anger in his eyes seeming to want to burn the masked man to ashes.
However, the latter didn't care about his reaction, even licking his lips with increasing excitement.
"Don't waste your energy."
"If I have my fun, I might even spare your lives. For you, that's a good deal."
"Boy, you can't blame me for this, blame yourself for being too weak."
"If you were stronger, you wouldn't have to suffer like this, would you?"
"Hahahaha!"
“. . . ”
After laughing a few times, the masked man stopped looking at Chu An, hoisted Qin He over his shoulder, and walked towards the inner room.
When the other bandits saw this, they all revealed a hint of lewdness.
They glanced at Chu An, saying with sinister smiles:
"It's her good fortune that our boss has taken a liking to that woman."
"Who knows, after tonight, she might willingly follow our boss."
"Who told you to be such a useless e-!"
The insulting mockery abruptly stopped at a certain moment. Along with the sudden extinguishing of the few candle lamps in the room, the entire room plunged into a chilling darkness.
And in this darkness, a figure slowly stood up.
"Bang!"
The hemp rope snapped, and his eyes were bloodshot.
Chu An, his temperament completely changed, walked step by step to the masked men who were staring wide-eyed and unable to move, then slowly raised his hand.
"Bang! Bang bang bang!!"
Like blooming fireworks, the bodies of the masked men suddenly exploded, blood mist scattering, almost staining the entire room red.
Chu An, who had killed several people with a wave of his hand, was oblivious to all of this. He only slowly walked to the wooden door, then suddenly pushed it open.
