Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Sheltered Behind a Woman

They traveled another two hours or so, and the playboys were already getting restless. They were about to ride up front and say they would split off and go ahead, but before anyone moved, the carriage that had been steady suddenly jolted hard several times.

Right after that, four or five dozen masked figures rushed out without warning, some leaping down from trees and some bursting from the dense forest. Every one of them looked tall and strong. Only the upper half of their faces showed, and their expressions were vicious. The long sabers in their hands flashed cold.

Ye Rong went blank and forgot to react. Ye Rong blurted, “Damn… what is this?”

Shang Xing Yu narrowed his eyes. A moment later, Shang Xing Yu also put on a confused look and said, “It seems… we ran into robbers?”

Ye Rong’s eyes widened. Ye Rong shouted, “They dare rob us? They don’t want to live!”

Ye Rong did not wait for Shang Xing Yu to answer. Ye Rong rode forward arrogantly and yelled, “Hey, you filthy thieves, do you know who’s sitting in that carriage, and who Young Master is? You-”

Ye Rong did not even finish before more than twenty men charged straight at Sheng Zhi Wan’s carriage.

In an instant, the Duke household’s bodyguards fought them head-on. Their moves were deadly and their style was ruthless. Ye Rong saw one bodyguard, the one responsible for driving, get his leg slashed. Blood gushed out at once.

The thick stink of blood drifted into the carriage.

Sheng Zhi Wan reached out and lifted the curtain to look. Sheng Zhi Wan asked, “What happened?”

Zhang Da did not care about his injured leg. Zhang Da shouted, “Heir’s Wife, get back inside!”

The man fighting Zhang Da had a scar that ran from his brow bone down under his eye. When the man heard Zhang Da’s shout, the man’s expression turned even more brutal, and the man raised his saber to chop down.

Zhang Da threw himself into a roll and barely dodged.

But the others did not have Zhang Da’s reflexes or agility, especially Ye Rong’s group. They were young masters, and they did not lack riding and martial training, but the people they usually fought were guards or servants. No one ever dared go all-out with them.

Because of that, they had no clear idea how strong they really were. Now that they faced real bandits, they did not even have the courage to trade blows. Luckily, their bodyguards shielded them.

Still, those bodyguards had also gotten used to bullying people in the capital city. They had long forgotten to truly sharpen their skills. Against a gang that fought with no regard for life, several of them were cut down in moments.

Maybe Ye Rong’s earlier shouting had drawn extra hate. The moment Ye Rong’s bodyguard fell, two bandits raised their sabers and rushed Ye Rong.

The blade light was harsh, closing in inch by inch. Ye Rong lifted his arm on instinct and squeezed his eyes shut.

Sheng Zhi Wan shouted, “Stop!”

Sheng Zhi Wan held a dagger to Sheng Zhi Wan’s own throat.

In Sheng Zhi Wan’s previous life, Zhang Da and the others died because of Sheng Zhi Wan. In this life, Sheng Zhi Wan would never let anyone walk that same road again.

Sheng Zhi Wan said, “Your target is me, isn’t it? They’re just passersby. If you let them go, and let these servants go too, I’ll go with you. Otherwise, even if I die, I won’t fall into your hands!”

The bandits’ blades froze midair. They stared at Sheng Zhi Wan, startled and unsure.

Zhang Da’s eyes went wide. Zhang Da had been a servant all his life and had never imagined his life would one day need his master’s protection.

And this master was the Heir’s Wife Zhang Da had only met a few times.

Zhang Da felt his blood surge hot in his chest, and at the same time, Zhang Da felt bitter rage.

The ones even more stunned were Ye Rong and the others.

As the capital city’s top playboy young masters, they were used to being feared. People saw them and avoided them. Even those who did not avoid them rarely had a good face for them. Aside from their families protecting them from dying when they caused major trouble, they usually still got beaten.

But now, they had been protected by a woman.

Ye Rong’s eyes widened, and something twisted in Ye Rong’s chest. [How could this be?]

Before Ye Rong could speak, Shang Xing Yu kicked Ye Rong hard. Shang Xing Yu cupped his fists toward the front and said, “Elder Brothers, please show mercy and let us go. We will absolutely never speak of what happened here.”

A harsh voice that sounded like the leader snapped, “Why should we believe you?”

Shang Xing Yu smiled like he did not care about anything. Shang Xing Yu said, “Isn’t that obvious? You all know who you’re kidnapping, right? We want to live, so we can’t tell anyone we saw her being taken. Otherwise we’d just be waiting to get our heads cut off.”

The leader hesitated. It did sound reasonable.

Shang Xing Yu kept going. Shang Xing Yu said, “You probably don’t know our identities. I’m Shang Xing Yu of the Fengguo Great General’s household. This is Ye Rong, the only son of the Minister of Revenue. This is Pei Yu An, the legitimate son of the Huai Hua Grand General.”

Shang Xing Yu added, “If you lay a hand on us, the trouble you invite won’t be small. Why insist on killing everyone?”

Zhang Da glared and cursed, “Coward!!”

Ye Rong and Pei Yu An stared too. They had not expected Shang Xing Yu to say that. But this was not the Shang Er they knew. Shang Er would not be this shameless. There had to be a follow-up plan.

The bandits clearly did not expect these backgrounds either. The air seemed to lock up.

The leader looked from Shang Xing Yu to Sheng Zhi Wan, who still held the dagger to her throat, and then snorted with a nasty laugh. “Damn! She really is a great beauty. Even like this, the great beauty still wants to threaten herself to spare these grandsons?!”