Chapter 123 -

Chapter 123: Chapter

The heavy wooden wheels of the carriages slipped on the freezing dirt, coming to a sudden, grinding halt in front of The Wild Willow Inn. The howling wind whipped snow across the dark mountain pass, making it impossible to see more than a few feet ahead.

Inside the leading carriage, Second Uncle Bai Chengbang pounded his fist against the wooden wall. "Hey! Driver, why have we stopped?!"

"Second Master!" the driver yelled back over the roaring blizzard. "The storm is too thick! The horses can’t move, and the cliff edge is right beside us! We have to take shelter at this inn before a carriage flips over!"

Before anyone could even step down, the heavy double doors of the inn slammed open with a loud bang.

A dozen tall, rough-looking men carrying sharp sabers and wooden clubs rushed out into the snow, completely surrounding the line of carriages. Their faces were covered with dark cloth, their eyes glinting with pure greed.

"Get out! Everyone get out of the carriages right now!" the bandit leader barked, his voice cutting through the whistling wind. "Line up in the snow and don’t try anything stupid, or I’ll run my blade through your throats!"

Instantly, screams of panic broke out from the carriages.

"Aaahh! Bandits! Help!" Madame Chen shrieked, scrambling out of her carriage door with her face pale as a ghost.

An Yulan stumbled out right after her, her wine-colored silk hanfu practically glowing against the dull white snow. Her sisters-in-law, Bai Wenxiu and Bai Shishi, wobbled down the carriage steps, sobbing hysterically as their gold hairpins rattled against their heads.

Second Uncle Bai Chengbang and Madame Liu scrambled down into the snow, pulling their daughter Bai Xiuying and son Bai Ruizhe behind them.

Third Uncle Bai Chenghao and Madame Zhang hurriedly dragged their spoiled son, Bai Jun, down into the freezing cold. Madame Zhao and her twins, Bai Kang and Bai Shu, stepped down quietly, huddling together near the back.

Further down the line, Madame Bai, Master Bai, Bai Rulan, and Bai Meiling stepped out in their plain, modest robes.

Near the end of the line, Liu Feng stepped down first. He quickly reached into the carriage, carefully lifted Zhengyu down, and placed him gently into his wheelchair, wrapping his dark blue cloak tightly around his shoulders. Yimei stepped down right after them in her plain brown and white hanfu, holding her single silver hairpin in place against the wind, while Qinqin stayed close to her side, wrapped in a coarse blanket.

All seven branches stood lined up in the freezing snow, shivering violently under the bandits’ glares.

The bandit leader slowly walked down the line, his sharp eyes scanning every single person. He walked right past Madame Bai, Master Bai, and their daughters, completely ignoring them because they looked like poor villagers. He didn’t even glance twice at Yimei, Zhengyu, or Liu Feng, seeing only a crippled man, a plainly dressed girl, and a servant in a worn tunic.

"Tsk! A bunch of broke beggars over there," the bandit leader muttered in disgust.

Then, his eyes landed straight on Madame Chen, An Yulan, and Madame Liu.

His eyes lit up with wild greed. "Well, well, well! Look at what we have here!"

"Don’t shoot! We have no money! We are poor commoners!" Madame Liu screamed, trying to hide her hands behind her back.

"You call yourselves poor?!" the bandit leader laughed wicked, stepping right up to Madame Chen and grabbing her arm. "You’re dripping in gold! Search them all!"

Four rough bandits jumped forward like hungry wolves, ignoring the women’s ear-splitting screams.

"No! My jade bracelet! Don’t take it!" Madame Chen cried out as a bandit ripped the thick jade bangles right off her wrists. He reached into her inner robe, pulling out a heavy pouch that spilled silver ingots into the snow.

"Thought you could hide your treasure in your clothes, old woman?!" the bandit chuckled, shoving her to the ground.

"Give it back! That’s my gold!" An Yulan shrieked as another bandit grabbed her gold necklace, yanking the pearl pins straight out of her hair and leaving her dark locks a messy, tangled disaster.

The bandits then turned on Madame Liu and Second Uncle Chengbang. They snatched Madame Liu’s hidden travel bag, turned it upside down, and shook it. Three pouches of gold coins and rolls of smuggled silk fell into the snow.

"Liars!" the scar-faced bandit growled, shoving Second Uncle flat onto the frozen ground. "Saying you have no money while hiding pouches of gold!"

"My gold! My silk!" Madame Liu wailed, clutching her chest as if she were dying, while her daughter Bai Xiuying cried as her silver rings were yanked off her fingers.

Meanwhile, a bandit walked over to where Yimei and Zhengyu were standing. He shoved his torch close to Yimei’s face and then looked down at Zhengyu’s wheelchair.

"Hand over your valuables!" the bandit barked, waving his dagger around.

Yimei didn’t even blink. She held up the small cloth bundle in her hands and untied it slowly, showing him the contents. "This is all we have. Two plain cotton robes, three old books, and my wooden needle box. Take them if you want."

Zhengyu didn’t even bother looking at the bandit, resting his hands calmly on his lap.

The bandit looked at the wooden needle box, then at Zhengyu’s paralyzed legs, and finally at Yimei’s simple brown dress.

"Tsk! A crippled guy, a broke girl, and a useless maid," the bandit spat into the snow, shaking his head. "Poorer than the dirt on my boots! Waste of my time!"

He turned around and ran back to his crew, who were already carrying armfuls of chests, silver, and gold stolen from Madame Chen, An Yulan, and Madame Liu.

"We got everything! Fall back into the woods!" the bandit leader roared, laughing loudly as his men disappeared into the roaring snowstorm with all the smuggled riches of the greedy family branches.

As the bandits ran off, the mountain pass was left in chaos. Madame Chen and Madame Liu sat in the snow, slapping the frozen ground and wailing at the top of their lungs, while An Yulan sobbed over her ruined hair and stolen gold.

Qinqin leaned close to Yimei, her eyes wide with shock. "M-Madame... they didn’t touch us at all!"

Yimei smoothed down her plain brown sleeve, a clever, amused smile playing on her lips. "I told you, Qinqin. Dressing like a rich person when you don’t have the power to protect your money is just asking people to rob you."

Beside her in his wheelchair, Zhengyu let out a low, smooth laugh. His dark eyes glinted with quiet amusement as he looked at his crying relatives.