Chapter 35: Bandits

It was another unusual day in Lu Town. Rumor had it that a bandit was to be executed, his crime being nothing more than looking at a beautiful woman on the main street. The bandit was nearly thirty years old, and the people of Lu Town—especially those with daughters—were extremely wary of him. It was not for any other reason than the fact that he was simply too powerful. And once a man is powerful, how could he not be evil? Consequently, the people of Lu Town employed unprecedented measures to guard against this peerless bandit. They forbade their daughters from going out onto the street, or if they did, they were forced to wrap their faces in rags to avoid the bandit’s gaze. Any girl who failed to cover her face would, upon returning home, be killed by her parents and tossed into the great river to serve as food for the fish and shrimp.

That day, the peerless bandit was wandering through Lu Town. He saw the local thug, Black Bandit, but upon seeing him, the thug dared not engage in a fight and merely hid away in the distance. Later, fearing ridicule from the townsfolk, the thug returned and blocked the bandit’s path, insisting that the bandit crawl between his legs.

The bandit, of course, would never do such a thing. Instead, he lifted the thug with one hand and tossed him so far that he lay on the ground for a long time, unable to get up.

"Get lost!" the bandit roared. The thug had no choice but to roll away and clear a path.

Unable to vent his anger, the thug followed the bandit and, catching him off guard, smashed a chair over his back. When the bandit turned around, the thug had already vanished. The bandit didn't dwell on it and sat down in a small tavern to drink. Just then, he saw a woman walking down the street. Her face was uncovered, and her beauty was truly breathtaking.

She was perhaps the first woman the bandit had ever seen in his life. He thought to himself that this was what a woman looked like, and from that moment on, his heart was captured. Every time she walked down the street, the bandit would steal a few glances. This woman was none other than Xiaohua. Old Man Hua was not afraid of the bandit looking at his daughter; what he feared were scholars like Shaoqiu, who might look at her, write about her, and mock her in their texts. Thus, he was extremely guarded against the likes of Shaoqiu, but toward the bandit, he felt no such worry, even welcoming it in his heart. Otherwise, he would never have allowed Xiaohua to walk the streets of Lu Town without a veil.

However, the people of Lu Town did not share this sentiment, viewing it as a blatant disregard for decency. They grew to resent the bandit, plotting in every way to frame him. Yet, against such a monstrously powerful man, what were their petty schemes?

The townspeople had no other recourse than to spit in the bandit’s face whenever he strolled down the street. It was said that the bandit possessed a remarkably magnanimous heart and never took such trivialities to heart. Consequently, every time he returned from the street, his face was covered in spit, and over time, he became accustomed to it.

Even worse, to demonstrate their bravery, particularly those young men courting women, would quietly trail the bandit when they knew he was in town and curse him in front of their lovers.

"Screw you!" the young man would curse.

The bandit would remain tolerant and indifferent, for he had once encountered someone who had cursed him in exactly the same way. When the bandit had intended to strike back, the man had claimed that such insults were actually beneficial, as they made people perceive him as broad-minded and magnanimous. Thus, the bandit ceased to concern himself with such matters.

As a result, the youths of Lu Town could curse the bandit to their heart’s content in front of their women, and he would simply let them rant.

However, by this day, the people of Lu Town had finally reached their limit, feeling that the bandit was truly terrifying. Who could be more frightening than a bandit who knew humility? And since their own women often spoke well of him in private, the townspeople felt that killing him a hundred times would not be enough to satisfy their hatred.

And so, on this day, they took advantage of the bandit while he was drunk, captured him, and prepared to behead him.

Black Bandit came to town that day just for the spectacle, wanting to see how the bandit would bleed his last drop of blood.

Yet, even as he was paraded through the streets, the bandit could not stop looking at the young girl—Xiaohua. Old Man Hua did not care at all; in fact, he even waved at the bandit.

No one knew why, but just as the bandit was about to be executed, the sky turned pitch black, the world fell into chaos, and the small river suddenly flooded, washing everything away clean.

In this upheaval, the bandit escaped and went into exile in a desolate village. He rarely dared to show his face during the day, emerging only at night.

He stayed in the mountains. With no food, he hunted wild boars and dragged them back to the cave where he took shelter. He lived in that cave, salted the boar meat, hung it on a wooden rack outside, and smoked it over a fire to make preserved meat.

At night, he would build a simple stove in the open space outside, light a fire, and cook. His meals were simple—rice, some radishes and cabbage, and, of course, the game he caught. After eating, he would place a pot on the stones over the fire and stew meat soup.

Once full, he would linger in the cave, gazing at the moon. Finding the moonlight beautiful, he would practice his martial arts under its glow.

He could also read. Lighting a dilapidated lamp in the cave, he would study by its dim, flickering light. Here, in the mountains of the desolate village, there was no one, no laughter of young girls—only desolation and darkness. But the bandit feared none of this; with a blade in his hand, even ghosts were of no concern.

The bandit hunted in the mountains by day. Though his harvests were not plentiful, he never went hungry, and he could enjoy the scenery. Yet, at night, being alone in the mountains could be somewhat frightening.

One day, after returning from a day of hunting, the bandit found a woman standing outside his cave. She simply stood there, smiling at him constantly. Without a word, she began washing his bowls and cooking his meals, and at night, she even slept beside him.

The bandit, not being a man of loose morals, was unsure of her origins. He dared not grow too close, but it was inconvenient to drive her away, so he let her stay by his side.

He did not know how to speak to her, nor did he take advantage of her, but whenever he ate, she shared in his meal.

Finally, one day, a man came up the mountain. Upon seeing the bandit, he drew his sword without a word and slashed at him. The bandit did not try to explain, as it was hard to make sense of the situation, but the woman struck the man with her own blade.

After being wounded, the man never returned to the mountain. From then on, only the bandit and the woman remained. However, the bandit never slept with her, keeping their sleeping arrangements separate. What the bandit loved most was to listen to someone singing at night, and that singer was none other than Xiaohua. Why she chose to come to the mountains to sing at night, no one knew.

Later, the woman stopped coming up the mountain. It was said she had grown jealous, realizing that the woman the bandit truly loved was not her. On a pitch-black night, she slipped away and never returned.

The bandit remained in the mountains, living in his dilapidated cave. Gorgeous young matrons would often come and go, and the bandit no longer refused them.

Yet, even as he caroused with these flirtatious women at night, his heart was not with them, but with Xiaohua.