Chapter Ten: What a Sharpshooter

At dawn, as the sun slowly rose, the chirping of birds grew clearer, and the first rays of sunlight shone upon Liu Susu and Xiao Fei, their clothes in disarray. The brief night had passed just like that.

“Oh…” Liu Susu moaned softly, struggling to open her eyes. She shook her still heavy head, and as her consciousness sharpened, her vision cleared as well.

When her gaze fell upon a nearly naked young man beside her, she jolted in shock.

Looking down at herself, she couldn’t help but let out a piercing scream. Without thinking, she slapped the sleeping youth hard across the face.

Poor Xiao Fei, lost in sweet dreams, was mercilessly jolted awake.

“Ow, who hit me?” he cried, sitting up in a panic, only to see his sister-in-law, Liu Susu, clutching her body and running ahead like a madwoman.

Heaven help me, what’s going on? Xiao Fei’s mind was still muddled.

He glanced at an empty wine bottle nearby, then at their disheveled clothes—a familiar idiom surfaced in his mind: “Drunken debauchery!” No, could it be?

Without time to think further, he hastily grabbed his pants and shirt to cover himself and dashed after Liu Susu. “Sister-in-law, let me explain!”

Liu Susu, wild with panic, quickly reached the mouth of the cave. But in her current state, where could she possibly go?

She spotted a small creek ahead and, convinced she had been defiled—never mind that she hadn’t yet seen clearly who the young man was—she believed herself now a woman of lost virtue, with no reason to live.

Without hesitation, she threw herself toward the stream, resolved to end her life.

Just then, Xiao Fei leapt forward and grabbed her. “Sister-in-law, don’t do anything foolish!”

She turned sharply and, only then, realized the youth who had robbed her of her innocence was none other than Xiao Fei. If it had been someone else, it might not have been so dire, but this was her own brother-in-law.

“Get away from me, you beast!” she screamed.

Summoning strength from who-knows-where, Liu Susu wrenched herself free and plunged into the creek.

Without hesitation, Xiao Fei jumped in after her. “Sister-in-law, please calm down! It’s not what you think!”

But Liu Susu, bent on death, paid no heed to his words, plunging into the water and gulping down mouthfuls of the stream.

She refused to let him get near her, and though Xiao Fei had strength to spare, it was useless now.

The two of them struggled in the water for quite some time, until Liu Susu sank to the bottom, unable to fight any longer.

“Sister-in-law… Sister-in-law… Don’t!” Xiao Fei shouted hysterically as he dragged her back to the shore and carried her into the cave.

He hurriedly tried to revive her, and at last Liu Susu coughed up large amounts of creek water—along with much of the wine she’d drunk the night before.

“Sister-in-law, please calm down. Listen to me—it’s not what you think.” Xiao Fei fetched dry grass to lay beneath her and covered her almost entirely.

Liu Susu no longer had the strength to resist. She stared blankly at the ground.

Xiao Fei recounted in detail how the fire broke out the previous night, how they’d escaped together, and how much wine they’d drunk.

“Sister-in-law, that’s what happened. Please believe me: we were both completely drunk. Even if anything had been possible, nothing could have happened.”

“You!” Liu Susu glared at him fiercely, her cheeks burning crimson.

Seeing this, Xiao Fei finally breathed a sigh of relief. She was blushing; that meant she was calming down and beginning to believe him.

He spoke many words of comfort, exhausting himself in the effort.

Listening to Xiao Fei’s explanations, and as her own memory gradually returned, Liu Susu began to believe him. She regretted her rashness. Besides, as a maiden who had never known a man, she could tell she was still untouched.

In fact, she thought, not only should she not blame her uncle, she should thank him.

Her face flushed and paled in turn, her heart full of complicated emotions.

“Then… how did we come to be here? And where did all that food and wine come from?” she asked softly.

“Ah, well,” Xiao Fei hesitated, but, practiced at lying, he quickly said, “After I carried you out, we happened upon a caravan. Pitying our plight, they brought us here and left us some roast duck, rice wine, steamed buns—oh, and ten taels of silver notes.”

As he spoke, he produced the ten taels of silver.

In those days, especially during the Republic era, caravans were a means of livelihood and the early form of modern logistics, with people transporting goods for others along the Tea Horse Road. Yutian County lay right along this ancient trade route, so Xiao Fei’s story of being saved by a caravan was plausible.

Hearing this, Liu Susu could not help but believe him.

Seeing the silver notes, she was delighted. “So much silver! Uncle, we must repay such kindness. The Xiao family is not one to leave debts unpaid.”

“You’re absolutely right, Sister-in-law. So… have you forgiven me?” Xiao Fei grinned.

“It was my fault. I was too hasty and wrongly blamed you. I should thank you for saving my life.” She blushed as she spoke.

“We’re family, there’s no need for such formality. But since you admit I saved your life, then your life belongs to me, Xiao Fei. From now on, without my say-so, you must never think of dying lightly!” He feared that Liu Susu, always so concerned with her virtue, might try something rash again.

“Very well… I’ll obey. But now we’re homeless—what should we do next?” she worried.

“Don’t worry, Sister-in-law. I’ve thought it through. The Xiao family belongs to us, and I’ll take back everything that’s ours. Besides, they tried to burn us alive—I’ll make them pay!” Xiao Fei’s eyes blazed.

His expression was fierce, but to Liu Susu, it brought a sense of security—at last, a man to stand up for her.

But then she thought of their current situation. How could they possibly contend with the third concubine and cousin Xiao Yong? She grew anxious for Xiao Fei. “Uncle, don’t be reckless. We’re no match for them. Besides, we don’t even know for certain who set the fire—don’t do anything rash.”

“Don’t worry, Sister-in-law. I’m not the same Xiao Fei I once was. With me here, any difficulty can be overcome,” he said resolutely.

“I believe you, Uncle. But…” she still hesitated.

“No more buts. Trust me. Here, have some roast duck and steamed buns. Once we’ve eaten our fill, we’ll go back to the Xiao family. I’ll see them disgraced!”

He handed her the food, and they ate in silence, neither daring to touch the wine.

After a long while, Liu Susu spoke awkwardly, “Uncle, I’m willing to follow you back to the family to seek justice, but… right now, in our state…”

Xiao Fei understood her meaning. Their clothes were in tatters, and who knew how far they were from the Xiao estate. He couldn’t very well carry her all the way.

Yes, this was truly a problem.

Just then, footsteps rustled outside the cave, and faint voices could be heard.

“Boss, is your wound alright?” someone asked.

“It’s nothing. Hurry, fall back to Green Dragon Mountain. We can’t let our brothers die at the hands of those damned soldiers,” the man addressed as “Boss” replied, his voice strained.

From the sound alone, it was clear he was badly wounded.

Xiao Fei pricked up his ears and listened.

A child’s voice piped up, “Big brother, it’s my fault—I dragged you into this. I must avenge our dead brothers. Er Kui, take the boss and retreat.”

“Nonsense! How long are you going to keep acting up? Come with us now!” the eldest brother scolded.

“Yes, Fourth Chief, listen to the boss,” Er Kui echoed.

“No, I must avenge them. You go!” the fourth chief insisted, moving forward and firing his gun as he went.

“Get back here!” the boss gritted his teeth, clutching his bleeding wound and following.

Watching from afar, Xiao Fei grasped the situation.

In the chaotic days of the Republic, banditry was rampant, and many, forced by circumstance or oppression, took to the hills. While many bandits were indeed criminals, some were heroes who fought injustice.

From what he could tell, these didn’t seem the evil kind. At that moment, he made up his mind: he would save them.

Just now, Ling’er had told him that, having saved Liu Susu again, he’d earned 200 energy points—enough to exchange for twenty bullets. To Xiao Fei, this was a godsend.

“Sister-in-law, wait here. Don’t move or make a sound. I’ll be back soon,” he said.

“Uncle, where are you going?” she asked.

“Oh, I’m off to borrow some clothes from the villagers. You wouldn’t want to be exposed again, would you?” he teased.

Her cheeks flamed as she pulled the dry grass more tightly around herself. “Go, then. Come back soon, and be careful.”

“Alright.”

With that, Xiao Fei slipped out, crept beneath a crooked-neck tree, and surveyed the scene.

He saw that there were about a dozen soldiers in Republican uniforms, and only the boss, the fourth chief, Er Kui, and two unnamed men remained among the bandits. The boss had taken a bullet to the leg—not fatal, but serious.

Ha! The chance to play the hero has come! Xiao Fei smirked, had Ling’er bring out two Brownings, loaded the magazines, and squeezed the triggers. Though only his third time shooting, his accuracy seemed innate. Except for that first failed headshot, he truly felt like a “Twin-Gun Li Xiangyang.”

With a few sharp cracks of gunfire, several soldiers fell dead.

Both sides were stunned.

The soldiers: Oh no—a master marksman! Be careful, or retreat if you must!

The bandits: Damn, whose shooting is that good? When we get back, I’ll buy him a round!

Xiao Fei, for his part, blew on the smoking barrels and thought smugly, So this is how a sharpshooter is born.