“**Thief, trying to bully me again, I won’t call you that.” Hong’er was certainly not going to be fooled, yet she was overcome with curiosity for that crisp food, practically drooling.

“Fine, fine, fine! If you won’t call me big brother, call me husband for once. You won’t be losing out on that deal, right?” Ye Xiu truly felt he had nothing better to do; teasing this girl a bit wouldn’t hurt.

“Husband?” Hong’er clearly didn’t understand what the word meant. “Never heard of that word. What does it even mean?”

“Hahahaha, good wife.” Ye Xiu smiled smugly. “Come here, husband will treat you to these chips. This is good stuff; you don't have anything this fine where you’re from.”

“Hmph!” Hong’er sensed something was amiss and immediately lunged forward, sword point pressed against Ye Xiu’s throat. “What does ‘husband’ mean? Be straight with me, or I won’t hesitate to strike.”

“It just means friend, like a friend! Calling you wife also means friend!” Ye Xiu chuckled foolishly. “See?”

“Friend?” Hong’er nodded and smiled too.

“Yes, just a regular friend. The most ordinary kind, oh.”

“Oh, I see now.” Hong’er nodded, feeling quite pleased with herself for learning something new. “Husband, hand that thing over for me to eat.”

“As you command, wife.” Ye Xiu scurried over, presenting the bag of chips with both hands, feeling absolutely delighted inside. He hadn't expected to acquire a wife so easily.

Hong’er delicately took a chip and bit into it. CRUNCH. It was truly delicious.

After the small meal, Ye Xiu clapped his hands, stood up once more, and resumed their journey. Hong’er discarded the pretty pouch, her mouth still savoring the taste as she looked at Ye Xiu. “Husband, next time you go home, remember to bring me a bit more of this mùtou (wood/chip). When we find older sister, we’ll let her try some too.”

“Got it, wife! We better hurry along, or we’ll starve to death.” Ye Xiu smiled internally; sometimes he found Hong’er adorably simple-minded. She felt triumphant even though she’d been tricked. All ancient people were so naive.

Hong’er mounted her horse, not forgetting to reach down and pull Ye Xiu up onto the horse behind her. Together, they galloped toward the distant end of the mountain path. Suddenly, from a valley not far ahead, they heard the sound of horses and soldiers. They quickly dismounted and crawled onto the slope to observe the scene below.

It turned out that nestled in the hollow was a small village, just a scattering of thatched huts. But at this moment, the settlement seemed to be surrounded by dozens of government soldiers.

A thin man wearing a cap commanded, “Search! Don’t miss a single thing edible or drinkable. And while you’re at it, see if there are any women we can have some fun with. We’ve been out so long, and we haven't relieved ourselves in ages.”

“Yes, hahahaha!” The ragged little soldiers, hearing this, rushed into the huts, causing chaos and frantic scattering.

In a short while, they emerged, each carrying a small bag of rice, and dragging out several elderly people and one young girl.

“You pack of scoundrels, what are you doing!” Seeing this, Hong’er naturally could not stand by. She had heard that the world outside the valley was full of trouble, but she never expected government soldiers to be robbing the common people of their grain. She was already preparing to leap out and display her sharp sword techniques.

“Hold on, don’t be so impulsive, you’ll get yourself killed!” Ye Xiu had long known the girl was rash. He instantly grabbed her small hand. That simple act stopped Hong’er completely; it was the first time a man had held her hand like that, and she froze, unable to move otherwise.

“You group of bandits! Daring to steal military rations, causing me to have nothing to eat—you deserve execution!” The lead soldier weighed the sack of rice on the ground. “Do you know? Stealing military grain is punishable by death. And hiding women too? You really don't want to live.”

“Your excellency, we didn’t! This is what we harvested from our field. The three of us in our family rely on this little bit of grain to get by…” The elder looked pitiful, yet utterly helpless.

“What! You didn’t!” The soldier became enraged, kicking the old woman who spoke aside. “So you’re saying I wrongly accused you? You should all be conscripted!”

“No, please, have mercy on us!” An old man in front immediately knelt down, trying to clutch the thin man’s leg, but he was smoothly stepped upon and pushed to the ground.

“Still trying to explain? I saw you stealing military grain!” The soldier insisted, clearly intent on bullying them.

“Yes, it was them who stole it,” the surrounding little soldiers grinned, pointing at the old man one by one. “And they hid a woman, maybe they stole her too.”

At this moment, Ye Xiu’s fists were tightly clenched. He desperately wanted to rush down and teach these villains a lesson, but confronting dozens of them alone seemed difficult.

“I’m taking this grain,” the thin man signaled to his subordinates, then walked up to the woman and said with a grin, “If you don’t report us, that’s fine, but this young girl…”

“Hahahaha.” Mentioning the young girl, the other soldiers’ faces filled with lewd smiles as they looked over. Indeed, behind the elder, there was a young girl, though her clothes were tattered, making her look quite pathetic.

“Officer, my granddaughter is still young, you can’t…”

“We can!” The thin man slapped the elder across the face before the old man could finish speaking, then ordered his underlings, “Take the female away, don’t worry about the rest.”

“Yes, yes! Yes!” Those soldiers, hearing the command, became like crazed wild dogs, rushing toward the girl, grabbing her, and preparing to leave.

“Give me your lives!” At this moment, Hong’er suddenly broke free from Ye Xiu’s grasp and leaped directly down from the slope, drawing her sword and pointing it at the dozens of soldiers.

Damn it! Ye Xiu cursed inwardly. This Hong’er truly had a strong sense of justice, leaping into action against dozens without assessing the situation first. It looked like she was bound to lose.

Hong’er raised her sword high, roaring fiercely, “Today, I, this lady, shall feast on blood! You little minions are just what I need to vent my rage!”

“Ouch, where did this little chick come from!” The thin man stroked his chin and laughed. “She’s quite pretty, isn’t she? Why don’t you come back with me and serve me well.”

“Rogue! You’re asking to die!” Hong’er detested the frivolous ones the most, and the men before her were simply beasts deserving death. She immediately assumed a proper stance and brought forth her expert sword technique once more.

Ye Xiu watched quietly from the slope, keeping out of sight. These mere soldiers possessed little skill, and Hong’er, having trained since childhood, possessed more than enough strength to deal with these lowlifes.

With that one sword thrust, the thin man had no time to dodge and was slammed to the ground, unable to make any move.

“Heroine, spare my life!” The thin man begged pitifully, showing no trace of a soldier’s composure. “Heroine, spare me! We all do this just to survive. Here, take the grain if you want it!”