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Chapter 286: The Embroidered Bandit
Chapter 286: The Embroidered Bandit
The Embroidered Bandit?
A glint flashed in Su Shaoying's eyes. He had been planning to observe this case at Mount Jiuhua in a few days, but he never expected to encounter the main culprit so soon.
He suddenly lightened his footsteps and, with a swift movement, sped through the trees. He quickly arrived at the place where the screams had come from.
Su Shaoying silently poked his head out and saw a figure holding a box, riding away on horseback, and three escort agents on the official road outside the forest, clutching their eyes and wailing in pain.
Such quick movements!
From the time the screams started to when Su Shaoying appeared, only a minute had passed. Jin Jiuling had not lingered at the scene at all. He had blinded them and immediately fled with the goods.
"As expected of the number one expert of the Liushanmen in the past three hundred years. He's truly extraordinary."
Jin Jiuling's martial arts skills were undoubtedly formidable. Just from the fact that he could blind so many experts without exposing his own skills and using only an embroidery needle in a few moves, one could say that he was one of the top experts in the world.
Hmm... that might be a bit of an exaggeration?
Su Shaoying watched as the figure in the bright red robe disappeared into the distance and shook his head. "I'd estimate he's on par with the top-tier guardians, comparable to Gongsun Daniang?"
Although they had not fought, Su Shaoying was certain that Jin Jiuling was no match for Duguyihe. After all, Lu Xiaofeng feared Duguyihe but was not afraid of Jin Jiuling, and indeed, Jin Jiuling could not defeat Lu Xiaofeng.
As for himself...
Why bother fighting when others have already taken action?
Su Shaoying: ()
Su Shaoying leaped lightly and flew to the official road. He picked up a handkerchief that had fallen to the ground. On the red satin, a black peony was embroidered.
"Who's there?" One of the men, with bloody tears streaming down his face, heard Su Shaoying's movement. He gripped a curved sword, turned over, and shouted sternly.
"Su Shaoying of Emei," Su Shaoying replied.
The man trembled at the sound of his name, "Are you the Su Shaoying Su Erxia of the Three Heroes and Four Beauties of Emei?"
"Indeed, it is I. May I ask who you are, sir? Has there been a robbery?" Su Shaoying asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"Just now, there was a man in a purple-red shirt. Did you see him?" The man asked, his voice trembling.
Su Shaoying told the truth, "I only saw his back."
"Brother..." The other two men, despite being martial artists, could not hold back their cries of pain. They cautiously called out.
"I am Pei Yun of the Western Xiang Escort Agency," the man with the curved sword introduced himself, his voice choking with emotion. His heart, however, had already sunk into despair because he would never see again.
"So it's Head Escort Pei," Su Shaoying nodded. He had heard this name before; the man was a prominent figure in the martial arts world of the Three Xiangs. Unfortunately, the gap between his skills and Jin Jiuling's was just too vast. "What happened just now?"
...
Some days ago, Pei Yun, the head of the Western Xiang Escort Agency, and his two brothers had taken on a job to escort a batch of red goods from the Three Xiangs to Yunnan. However, as they were leaving the Xiangs and entering Shu, they encountered an unexpected situation.
"The man was wearing a purple-red cotton robe and had a goatee," Pei Yun recounted, still shaken by the encounter. "He was sitting in the middle of the road, embroidering."
"We asked him to let us pass, but he said he would only let us through after he finished embroidering..." The other man's voice trembled, and he couldn't help but reach up to touch his eyes. "After embroidering three blind men!"
"His weapon was just an embroidery needle," Pei Yun said in a low voice. "His martial arts are too high. I didn't even see his move, and my eyes... they were blinded!"
At this moment, Su Shaoying had already stopped a passing oxcart and helped the three blinded escorts onto it. The two horses were tied to the back, and they set off eastward.
"Purple-red cotton robe and a goatee. Isn't it obvious?" Su Shaoying replied.
Pei Yun was speechless. He hadn't even considered that, "As expected of the Emei Sword Hero, your mind is sharp and perceptive. I admire you, Brother Su!"
At this point, Pei Yun fell silent, but one of his brothers, his voice filled with resentment, spoke up, "We must find out which famous figure in the martial arts world is so short on silver that he has to resort to disguising himself and robbing passersby!"
"With you crippled, the Western Xiang Escort Agency is finished. We can't afford to compensate for this botched escort mission, so forget about investigating anything! It's time to retire and head back to our hometown." The third brother, his heart filled with despair, added bitterly.
Pei Yun and the other brother sank back into silence.
The Pei brothers, known as the Three Heroes of Western Xiang, had dominated the martial world for two decades and established the renowned Western Xiang Escort Agency. Now, in one fell swoop, they had been defeated and their future in the martial world was uncertain.
Su Shaoying offered no words of comfort. Having lived in the world of 'The Sentimental Swordsman and the Cold-Blooded Sword,' he understood the harsh reality of the martial world. Those who ventured into this world had no innocence; whenever they met their end, they reaped what they had sown.
Moreover, the Pei brothers had chosen this path themselves.
Su Shaoying helped send the three brothers back to the Western Xiang Escort Agency. However, since the culprit remained unknown, the agency couldn't afford to compensate for the loss. Out of curiosity, Su Shaoying accompanied the cargo owner and Pei Yun to the local government office.
He also handed over the piece of satin he had found.
"Didn't the Second Hero of Su also fail to see the Embroidered Bandit's true face?" asked the head constable in charge.
"You know me?" Su Shaoying asked, lifting his head.
Pei Yun had only mentioned Su Shaoying's name earlier, without providing any details about his identity.
"I am Peng Zhan, currently serving at Liufangmen. The Three Heroes and Four Beauties of Emei are renowned throughout the land, and I have long admired your reputation," the head constable said respectfully, bowing his hands in greeting.
Su Shaoying understood.
While local constables might have limited interaction with the martial world and lack extensive knowledge, those serving at Liufangmen frequently dealt with martial artists and had to be well-informed about the latest developments in the martial world.
"I didn't see his face either. I arrived too late," Su Shaoying said, fixing his gaze on Peng Zhan. A slight smile played on his lips as he continued, "I only caught a glimpse of his back. He was indeed wearing a purple-red cotton robe and rode away on a horse belonging to the Western Xiang Escort Agency."
Peng Zhan added, "We found the horse and the box, but the contents of the box were already gone."
The Western Xiang Escort Agency had been escorting a batch of contraband goods, not a large quantity, just a one-foot-square box, but its value was significant—a whopping two hundred thousand taels of silver.
Su Shaoying asked, "When you mentioned the Embroidered Bandit, you seemed certain that this wasn't his first offense. Has he struck before?"
Peng Zhan nodded, his voice grave as he replied, "This man appeared about a month ago and committed over a dozen crimes in the southeast region. I never expected him to show up here in the southwest."
"Over a dozen crimes in a month?" Su Shaoying inquired.
"He appears almost every three days, blinding a few people with his embroidery and stealing their valuables," Peng Zhan explained, his tone heavy with concern. But then, his expression turned proud as he added, "This criminal is overly arrogant. I've heard that the Chief Constable has invited Elder Jin to take on the case and bring the culprit to justice!"
(End of Chapter)
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