「Three days later, the escort caravan returned to Qinghe County.」

Zhao Lin was supposed to report back to the Liuhe Sect immediately, but perhaps because he had been away from home for so long and missed his family, he had been feeling a bit anxious these past few days.

He knew it was most likely his imagination, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. He said to Yuan Cheng, "Senior Yuan, I’d like to go home and check on things first. You..."

Yuan Cheng smiled with understanding. "This is your first long trip away from home. It’s normal to be homesick. I’ll explain things to Master. You go on ahead."

Zhao Lin thanked him and rushed home without stopping.

When he walked through the door and saw his parents and older brother sitting perfectly fine in the main hall, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

’Looks like I was just overthinking things.’

The matchmaker, Hu Damingbai, was a guest at their home, sipping the hot water his brother, Zhao Shan, had handed her.

"Is that Lin’Er?" Mrs. Zhao asked, overjoyed at hearing the familiar footsteps.

"Dad, Mom, I’m back!" Zhao Lin strode into the house.

"It’s good you’re back." His father pulled him down to sit beside him, and his mother came over, fussing over him with questions.

Zhao Shan wanted to speak with his younger brother but was pulled aside by Hu Damingbai.

"Let me tell you, old Zhang’s daughter from Shitian Village is famous for being pretty and capable. It’s just that her standards are too high, so she’s in her twenties and still not married."

"Now her family is getting anxious, so it’s your lucky day..."

Hu Damingbai sang the girl’s praises, spittle flying everywhere, leaving Zhao Shan blushing and at a loss for words.

Zhao Lin poured himself a glass of water and drank it slowly. ’I should take my brother to see what this girl looks like one of these days,’ he thought.

Just then, with a loud CRASH, the courtyard gate was kicked open.

Zhao Lin shot to his feet and rushed outside to see Liang Song run in, drenched in sweat.

"Finally found your place! Something... something’s happened!"

Zhao Lin’s heart skipped a beat. He went up to Liang Song, gave him a look, and said in a low voice, "Let’s talk outside."

"There’s no time!"

Liang Song shook Zhao Lin off. "My cousin was taken by the bandits!"

Zhao Lin felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head. "How is that possible?" he asked, stunned.

"I saw it with my own eyes!"

Liang Song said through gritted teeth, "My cousin said his back was hurting this morning—thought his old wound was acting up. I went to town to get him some medicine, and when I came back, I saw a dozen bandits tying him up and dragging him from his house."

’Damn it!’

Zhao Lin’s brow furrowed. He couldn’t figure out where things had gone wrong, but if the bandits could find Zhu Dachun, it meant they definitely had a lead.

"What about Chief Zhou Pao? Did the bandits go after him?"

Liang Song shook his head. "Chief Zhou Pao wasn’t home. He must have gone out for something. I was worried you’d be in trouble too, so I came to warn you first."

"Thank you!"

Zhao Lin clapped Liang Song hard on the shoulder, his mind racing.

He knew that since the bandits had captured Zhu Dachun, they would be able to find the rest of them, whether Zhu Dachun talked or not.

Liang Song was Zhu Dachun’s cousin and was close with Chief Zhou Pao. Besides, quite a few people in Baiqiao Village knew they had gone hunting in the mountains. The bandits only needed to do a little investigating to track them down.

Realizing this, Zhao Lin made a snap decision. "We can’t stay here. We have to run to the county seat. The bandits won’t dare to grab people there." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Lin’Er, what’s wrong?"

Their conversation in the courtyard had alarmed the family inside, who all came out to ask what was happening.

"Dad, Mom, Brother, something terrible has happened. We need to go to the county seat to take shelter."

Zhao Lin went forward and started pulling his parents toward the door.

"What’s the big rush?"

His father and Mrs. Zhao were confused but followed him out instinctively.

"Brother, just tell us what’s going on first," Zhao Shan said, reaching out to stop Zhao Lin.

The situation was urgent, so Zhao Lin didn’t hide it any longer. "I’ve offended some bandits," he said directly. "They might come to raid our home. We have to leave now, or it’ll be too late."

The whole family was stunned but obediently followed him out.

"Hey, don’t go! I’m not finished talking!" Hu Damingbai shouted, chasing after them and stamping her foot.

The five of them left the village. Liang Song suddenly stopped and said to Zhao Lin, "I’m going to go back and check one more time. If Chief Zhou Pao returns to the village, I’ll tell him not to go home."

Zhao Lin saw the determination in his eyes and knew he couldn’t be persuaded. He just warned him, "Smear some dirt on your face, change your clothes, and be extremely careful!"

"We’ll meet up at the yamen gate in the county seat."

Liang Song nodded, then turned and ran back toward Baiqiao Village via a small path.

Zhao Lin hurried his family along. Because time was short, he crouched down for his mother to climb onto his back, then wrapped one arm around his father’s waist, and ran with his brother toward the county seat.

After running for more than five li, the sound of hoofbeats came from behind. Zhao Lin looked back and saw a troop of more than twenty riders charging toward them.

"That’s him! Don’t let him get away!"

The bandit in the lead shouted.

Zhao Lin knew that if they fell into the bandits’ hands, his whole family would die. He told his mother to hold on tight to his neck, reached out his free hand to grab his brother’s sash, and broke into a full sprint.

"Take him alive! Let’s see how I’ll torture him."

The lead bandit yelled arrogantly.

Zhao Lin put on a burst of speed, his legs pumping furiously, kicking up a trail of dust behind him.

He now had the strength of an ox and the agility of a leopard. Even carrying three people, he ran like the wind, leaving the bandits far behind.

The bandits were shocked to find that Zhao Lin was actually running faster than their horses. The leader immediately changed his order: "Archers, nock! Shoot him down!"

The twang of bowstrings sounded as a volley of arrows flew toward them.

Ever since he started practicing martial arts, Zhao Lin’s senses had become sharp. Hearing the sound of arrows from behind, he instinctively dodged to the side. An arrow meant for his back struck his brother in the lower back instead.

Zhao Shan grunted in pain.

Zhao Lin didn’t have time to check the wound and just kept running for his life with his family.

After what felt like an eternity, the gatehouse of the county seat finally appeared in sight.

Zhao Lin looked back again. The pursuers were long gone. The strength suddenly drained from his body, and he nearly collapsed.

He could only feel his heart pounding like a drum, so exhausted he felt he could cough up blood.

He set his parents and brother down and saw that a large patch of his brother’s clothing was stained red with blood.

"Brother, are you okay?"

"I’m... holding on. A little dizzy," Zhao Shan said weakly.

Zhao Lin knew it was likely from blood loss. He quickly lifted his brother’s clothes to inspect the wound. Fortunately, the arrowhead wasn’t embedded too deeply, and the blood that flowed out was red, meaning the arrow wasn’t poisoned.

He snapped off the arrow shaft, tore a few strips of cloth from the hem of his own robe, and roughly bandaged the wound.

"Lin’Er, you help your brother. We can walk on our own," his father said with heartache in his voice as he helped Mrs. Zhao to her feet.

"Dad, Mom, you two rest for a moment. I’ll handle this."

Zhao Lin reassured his parents, then flagged down a horse-drawn cart on the main road that was heading into the city. He gave the driver a handful of copper coins and asked him to take his family into town.

The driver glanced at Zhao Shan and, without another word, spurred the horse toward the city, not stopping until they reached the yamen gate.

The yamen was the center of county administration, housing both the military and justice departments. It was the safest place in the entire county seat.

Zhao Lin found an inn near the yamen, settled his parents and brother in, and immediately went to fetch a doctor.

There was a clinic near the yamen. Zhao Lin found the doctor, explained the situation, and gave him one tael of silver as a house call fee.

The doctor followed Zhao Lin to the inn, examined Zhao Shan’s injury, and said, "His life isn’t in immediate danger. We just need to treat the wound and stop the bleeding."

"Have an attendant boil a kettle of water and also prepare a pot of heated white vinegar."

Hearing the doctor’s words, Zhao Lin felt a sense of relief.

Based on his limited medical knowledge, he knew that in ancient times, the injury itself wasn’t the most frightening part—it was the subsequent infection. Since the doctor knew to use hot water and white vinegar for disinfection, his skills probably weren’t too bad.

Zhao Lin brought the boiled water and heated white vinegar as instructed. The doctor took out scissors, a small knife, forceps, and a half-foot of white cloth from his medical kit, sterilizing each item in turn in the hot water and vinegar.

A moment later, a scream like a pig being slaughtered echoed from the guest room...