It was midnight.
Because there was nothing to do for entertainment, the townspeople had gone to bed early, and the lights in every household were extinguished as they prepared for their dreams that night.
But Chen Xia was still up, carrying a large lantern and strolling casually through the streets.
Bandits and thieves liked to act under the cover of night, and the town had no defenses at night, so someone needed to stand watch.
Chen Xia simply went for a stroll with his lantern, figuring that if he discovered any bandits he could stop their criminal acts ahead of time.
He wandered for a while, somewhat bored, and climbed up on the wall around someone's yard, took out the melon seeds he kept on him, and began cracking and eating them listlessly.
He had barely eaten two seeds when Chen Xia's eyes suddenly focused.
He saw lights flickering in the distance, moving swiftly toward Tail Creek Town.
Chen Xia jumped down from the yard wall, lantern in hand, and hurried off in the direction of the lights.
At the town entrance...
The blacksmith who was there to receive the bandits hurried out obsequiously smiling.
"Boss, over here!"
The burly man leading the group glanced at him and asked in a fierce tone, "Which family should we hit first?"
Bandits plundering a town would naturally go house by house, tying up and controlling the occupants first before slowly tormenting and robbing them of their money and valuables.
The blacksmith smiled ingratiatingly and pointed inside, quickly saying, "Let's go to the one at the front of town first, there's just a young auntie there. Her father was the captain of the patrol squad, but he was conscripted. They should have a lot of silver left."
"Heh heh." The burly man bared his teeth in a brutal smile. "This young auntie, she must be the one you've been dreaming of, right?"
"Exactly, exactly! Boss is wise!" The blacksmith quickly fawned over him in agreement.
The burly man rested his hand on the long blade at his waist, and laughed. "I'm rather curious what this young miss looks like, to have you so lovesick. If she's a real beauty, I wouldn't mind having first taste, right brothers?"
The blacksmith's body shuddered, his pupils contracting, but he did not respond.
"What's wrong?" The burly man's eyes narrowed, emitting a trace of chill. "Don't want me to have a taste too, you want to keep her all to yourself?"
"I wouldn't dare, Boss can have whatever he wants!" The blacksmith quickly nodded his head.
"That's better." The burly man nodded, and led his group of bandits forward stealthily toward Xu Zhen's house.
Tap tap.
At an unhurried pace, they knocked on the door.
The bandits didn't choose to climb over the wall, not because they didn't want to, but because someone had lined the top of the wall with many sharp spikes.
This was naturally Chen Xia's handiwork, to protect Xu Zhen from being coveted by villains.
The bandits also didn't dare to simply kick down the door, afraid of startling their prey. So they had the blacksmith go knock on the door.
From within the house came the sound of light, brisk footsteps, then silence.
Tap tap.
The blacksmith knocked twice more on the door.
"Who is it?" Xu Zhen's crisp voice finally rang out from within.
The blacksmith's mouth curled into a lewd smile, forcefully suppressing the restless feeling in his heart. Keeping his voice as calm as possible, he replied,
"Little Xu, it's me, the blacksmith from town. Constable Chen asked me to check on you, he said some bandits may have come into town. Hurry and open the door!"
Xu Zhen's beautiful brows furrowed. Her body wrapped in a thin nightgown, she did not go to open the door.
What Chen Xia had told her was that no matter who knocked on her door at night, do not open it. If she heard sounds of the door being broken down, she should immediately yell for help, then escape through the tunnel behind her house.
That tunnel led directly to Chen Xia's home.
And Chen Xia would never knock on her door, he would come straight through the tunnel.
So Xu Zhen instantly became wary and did not respond, preparing to first escape through the tunnel.
"Little Xu, Little Xu, what are you doing? Hurry and open the door for me!" The blacksmith called anxiously.
But there was no movement from within the house.
The impatient bandits directly slashed through the door bolt and kicked the door open, striding inside.
Xu Zhen had just retreated into the house, the sound of the closing door audible.
"Hmph, trying to hide?!" The burly man scornfully laughed, raising his heavy blade toward Xu Zhen's room.
"Come on out Little Xu, we won't harm you." The blacksmith's gaze was rapacious, still trying to coax her out, afraid the ruthless bandits would injure Xu Zhen and ruin her beauty.
Xu Zhen frantically pushed aside the table blocking the tunnel entrance, preparing to open the lock on it, but couldn't find the key.
The bandits were closing in step by step, their muffled footsteps like knives, pushing against Xu Zhen's heart one point at a time, nearly smothering her breath away.
The more flustered one was, the more chaotic they became. Xu Zhen's mind was in turmoil, she could almost hear the frantic beating of her own heart.
The bandits drew nearer, and along with them came the sound of blades scraping the ground, like hungry wolves about to tear into lambs.
Everything was suppressed to an extreme.
Xu Zhen's breathing grew rapid, her mind seeming on the verge of collapse.
She was like someone drowning, desperately seeking a lifeline.
"What are you all doing?!"
A loud voice rang out.
The tense strings of Xu Zhen's heart instantly relaxed. She knew her lifeline had arrived, but then worried again, and hurried to the window to look outside.
The bandits halted their steps, all turning to look toward the voice.
It was a patrolman holding up a lantern.
"Hahaha!" The burly leader laughed and asked the blacksmith beside him, pointing at Chen Xia,
"Is this your town's only patrolman?"
The blacksmith quickly nodded. "That's him, Chen Xia. He's closest to Xu Zhen, and must be here to spoil our plans!"
There was a trace of jealous resentment in the blacksmith's words.
The burly man shook his head, feigning regret. "Then after today, your Tail Creek Town will have no more patrolman. Hahaha."
Chen Xia also recognized these were bandits, but didn't expect the blacksmith to be a traitor. And from his attitude, this blacksmith had indecent designs on Xu Zhen as well.
Chen Xia set down the lantern at his side, also removing the blade at his waist.
"Hahaha, what are you doing? Don't tell me you plan to surrender, we wouldn't accept anyway." The burly man sneered, pointing to his own crotch, and added,
"Why don't you crawl through my pants first, kowtow a few times, and call me grandpa. Then I might consider sparing your life."
"Hahaha."
The bandits all laughed mockingly.
Xu Zhen watched from the window, anxiety twisting her heart. She pressed her palms together, continuously chanting:
"Immortals and Bodhisattvas, please protect Brother Chen, don't let anything happen to him. I beg you."
Chen Xia rolled up his sleeves, standing straight, and pointed at the bandit leader.
His eyes shone with a strange light in the darkness, like a beast preparing to pounce and devour. Raising his hand, he calmly said,
"You, come die."
"Hm?" The burly man was first stunned, then drew the heavy blade from his waist, baring a cruel grin as he mocked,
"You beast, have you gone mad? Can't even tell your own weight. Daring to talk tough with me? I'll chop you in two with a couple slashes and toss you into the pigpen!"
Chen Xia said no more, only turning his back to the night as he walked toward the burly man.
The burly man bared his teeth brutally. Since this fool was courting death, he would cut him cleanly in half.
"Die!"
He roared, raising the heavy blade overhead, the chilling light glinting ominously.
This was an army greatblade for slaying cavalry, able to sever the legs of warhorses in a single blow, bones cut clean through.
Only a fierce warrior like him could wield such a greatblade!
For a petty patrolman, nothing more than a single chop to cut him in two.
The blade edge howled through the air, flashing with a bloodthirsty chill.
The burly man's robust build and sinister greatblade, from any angle it looked as if Chen Xia had no chance.
The surrounding bandits were already grinning, looking forward to seeing the patrolman's corpse split open.
Xu Zhen closed her eyes, unable to watch the scene, only able to pray desperately in her heart.
Buddhas protect him, immortals protect him, Brother Chen will definitely be alright! He must!
After about two seconds of silence, there was no sound.
Xu Zhen opened her eyes in puzzlement.
Chen Xia's expression was calm. With one hand he had grabbed the greatblade mid-swing, casually twisting it and snapping the blade off, letting it drop to the ground.
He smiled disdainfully at the burly man and asked,
"That's it?"