The next morning, they continued their journey.
Xie Jiang's escorts were all beaming, the joyous atmosphere as if celebrating the New Year.
Guang Bai could only feel a pang of sourness in his heart.
It was no wonder it felt like New Year, having received so much money.
Da Chui, that human-shaped meat grinder, had earned over three thousand taels of silver!
Even Tian Kangtai, who received the least, got eight hundred taels!
This was only because there weren't enough bandits to go around; otherwise, each of them could have earned over ten thousand taels overnight.
It was outrageously generous!
Guang Bai looked at Young Master Xie with eyes that sparkled with gold.
"Look at your Guang Bai, what is that look in his eyes, it's so scary..."
Xie Jiang, on horseback, patted her chest with a look of feigned terror, leaning directly into Xu Hengyan.
Xu Hengyan steadied her.
Riding a horse and moving so fast, yet still daring to fool around!
Was she not afraid of falling off!
"It's really scary, I didn't sleep well last night. As soon as I closed my eyes, I had nightmares, my head hurt like I was dying, and he scared me!"
Xie Jiang felt incredibly wronged, as if she were the most pitiful person in the world.
Xu Hengyan shot Guang Bai a warning glance.
While she was indeed incredibly generous, one shouldn't stare with such a burning gaze.
Guang Bai wished he were deaf.
Listen to what Young Master Xie was saying!
She hadn't slept well all night, and as soon as she closed her eyes, she had nightmares?!
The bandits of Huanglan Mountain were killed so thoroughly they didn't even get a chance to have nightmares!
And she could be scared by him?!
The problem was, his own世子 (shìzi - heir apparent/young lord) actually believed such nonsense!
Last night, he had reported in detail to the 世子 about following Young Master Xie in battling the Huanglan Mountain bandits, emphasizing how Xie Jiang killed without batting an eye.
He just wanted to remind the 世子 not to be fooled by Young Master Xie.
How cunning was Young Master Xie, always pretending to be fragile in front of the 世子, and not even trying to hide it from him, it was simply too blatant.
The 世子 of course understood his unspoken implications.
But he was actually reprimanded by the 世子, who told him not to speculate about Young Master Xie anymore.
Was that a wild guess!
It was something he had witnessed with his own eyes!
If he didn't know that Young Master Xie was clearly a man, he would suspect that his 世子 had been bewitched!
He had been loyal to the 世子 for so many years!
The 世子 would rather believe Xie Jiang, whom he had only recently met!
Than believe his words!
Guang Bai felt a sense of betrayal.
Xu Hengyan wasn't disbelieving of Guang Bai's words.
But he also didn't think Xie Jiang was lying to him.
What reason would Xie Jiang have to lie to him?
Perhaps she was inherently powerful, far beyond their imagination.
But what did that prove? Did her strength mean she had no compassion?
Having witnessed the atrocities committed by the bandits with her own eyes, seeing living people die tragically before her, how could her heart not be stirred?
What was wrong with her expressing her distress to him?
Not everyone's emotions were reserved.
Her willingness to be vulnerable in front of him could be considered a form of trust.
Although he didn't understand why she trusted him, he could feel it.
"How dare he scare you? He was stunned by your Young Master Xie's lavish spending and couldn't snap out of it."
Last night, seeing her escorts relentlessly pursuing the fleeing bandits, unwilling to leave a single one alive, their fierce demeanor suggesting an irreconcilable hatred for the bandits, Xu Hengyan had felt somewhat puzzled.
It wasn't until later that he saw each of them carrying a bag full of ears, lining up to register with Tian Kangtai, and then Tian Kangtai issued them chits to collect their silver...
He had to admit, it was a brilliant method to boost morale.
But not everyone could afford to spend so much money.
"The money earned hard is meant to be spent. A hundred taels of silver per bandit head is well worth it. Killing one more bandit can save several lives..."
As she spoke, she became somewhat lost in thought.
Perhaps the unpleasant memories from last night had resurfaced involuntarily.
After all, she was still young and not naturally hard-hearted; how could she remain indifferent?
"Since you didn't sleep well last night, why didn't you go to the carriage to catch up on sleep? Isn't your head still hurting?"
"I don't want to sleep. As soon as I sleep, it's... forget it, the more I sleep, the worse I feel. It's better to ride a horse and feel the wind."
Xu Hengyan understood that she was afraid of having nightmares if she slept.
After a long silence, Xu Hengyan said with firm resolve, "The bandits of Huanglan Mountain must be eliminated, otherwise, the people of Baiyou will never be able to sleep soundly."
"You're right, we can't let them continue to cause harm." Xie Jiang turned to look at him, her eyes holding the same determination as his.
"Perhaps, in the end, I will need Young Master Xie's help." Xu Hengyan smiled faintly.
Xie Jiang said generously, "I won't shirk my duty."
Look at how much she cared about the world, how full of passion she was!
Xie Jiang was almost moved to tears by her own greatness.
Xu Hengyan's gaze towards her grew even gentler.
He knew that when faced with such matters, she would never hesitate.
Despite her usual boisterous and mischievous nature, when it came to real issues, she was never ambiguous; justice and righteousness were always in her heart.
At noon, the group stopped by the river to rest.
The guards were clearly divided in their tasks: some gathered firewood and set up pots, some washed vegetables and cooked, while others went to the river to catch fish.
Seeing the guards catching fish in the river, Xu Hengyan recalled something he had noted down the previous night.
"Do you have any of those little things you mentioned for frying fish left?"
Xie Jiang, resting her head on his lap and drowsy, opened her eyes and looked at him hazily when he asked.
"Last night, you said to have Tian Kangtai give me two to play with..." Xu Hengyan reminded her.
Xie Jiang finally remembered, let out an "oh," and called out to Tian Kangtai.
Tian Kangtai trotted over, "Young Master."
Xie Jiang pointed at Xu Hengyan and closed her eyes, too lazy to speak.
Guang Bai, upon hearing this, excitedly ran over and gestured to Tian Kangtai, "The things you threw on the ground last night that knocked over so many bandits..."
Tian Kangtai understood, said, "Please wait a moment, Young Lord Xu," and ran off.
After a while, he returned with a bamboo tube, opened the seal, and handed it to Xu Hengyan, saying, "Young Lord Xu, are you referring to this? We all call it a 'Thunderclap Egg'."
"Thunderclap Egg?"
What kind of name was that?
Guang Bai, having witnessed the power of these things, was afraid they might accidentally detonate and injure Xu Hengyan, so he quickly stepped forward to take it.
Tian Kangtai was indifferent and gave it to Guang Bai.
"We just call it that because its explosion sounds so loud, like thunder, and they are about the size of quail eggs, so we call them Thunderclap Eggs."
Xu Hengyan, however, wasn't so timid as to not dare touch them. If they detonated so easily, how would they dare carry them around? He took the bamboo tube from Guang Bai and examined it carefully.
Inside the bamboo tube were half a dozen Thunderclap Eggs.
Indeed, as Tian Kangtai had said, they were all about the size of quail eggs.
Beyond that, there was nothing special to be seen.
"How do you use this thing?"
"Just smash it hard on the ground."
Xu Hengyan nodded. The bamboo tube had been specially treated, likely to prevent shock.
"You said it was for frying fish, can it be thrown into the water as well?"