He had never allowed anyone to take someone from under his watch so brazenly; it was an egregious disgrace to him! What made it even worse was that he hadn’t even seen what the opponent looked like!
Hmph! Just a Shimen of petty thieves, and they dare to be so rampant! It seems the world truly has changed for the worse!
The man in black brushed off the dirt from his clothes fiercely, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.
Not far from the An Family Villa, the Twelve Blood Generals were staying in a large residence.
A loud noise as several tall figures in black were thrown harshly to the ground.
In less than a second, the lights in the previously quiet room flickered on, and people from An Zhifeng hurriedly got dressed and ran out alertly.
Seeing An Yiqing and Gu Yelin, they couldn’t help but be startled, then they lowered their eyes to the few groaning men in black on the ground, wondering what had happened.
It was just past five in the morning; what could have possibly happened?
"Go back to bed," An Yiqing waved her hand and said softly.
An Zhifeng and the others looked at each other, perplexed, but they obediently turned and left.
After all, with General Gu present, even without them, the young miss was still safe.
After the Twelve Blood Generals had left, Gu Yelin bent down to pick up the five brothers from the ground and dragged them to the chairs in the main hall.
An Yiqing stood still, gazing somberly at the bruised faces of the brothers and said softly, "Do you still have the Healing Medicine I gave you? Apply it yourself. Don’t tell me you’re waiting for me to do it for you?"
The brothers raised their heads and looked at An Yiqing with complex expressions, then lowered their heads and took out small porcelain bottles from their shirt pockets, poured out some medicine, and began to press it onto their injuries.
After a while, the pain in their bodies gradually eased, and their inhalations and exhalations became less agonizing.
"Why did you save us?" The eldest of the brothers frowned and asked, puzzled.
Upon hearing this, An Yiqing’s eyebrows rose, and she said with a mischievous smile, "Why, you’re naturally useful to me. Did you think I would keep you at home for display?"
The brothers felt a blockage in their hearts, the relief from their internal injuries momentarily increasing once again.
Watching the frustrated expressions on their faces, An Yiqing, who had been tormented by them throughout the night, finally felt a sense of satisfaction. She picked up her teacup, took a gentle sip of the fragrant tea, and softly asked, "What are your plans for the future?"
What were their plans? Other than to keep on running, what other choice did they have?
The brothers shared a bitter smile. It was true what they say, ’if you always walk by the river, you are bound to get wet.’ Although they had never stolen from the poor and weak, such thievery was bound to bring its own karma. Now they were in a fine mess. They hadn’t accomplished what they intended, and instead, they’d attracted a heap of trouble.
An Yiqing watched the expressions on their faces carefully, and asked them gently, "You’re all around thirty years old and you possess skills in ancient martial arts. There are so many other paths open to you, so why do you insist on thieving?"
From their words and behavior, An Yiqing could tell that these five brothers were not utterly wicked. Judging by their shabby clothes, if they had been stealing for wealth, they would have been rich and decked out in gold by now. Would they really have almost lost their lives over ten million yuan?
An Yiqing’s observational skills were indeed sharp. The five brothers indeed had their own untold hardships.
"Sigh! If we could live honestly, we would never have wished to stoop to thievery," the eldest brother lowered his head, letting out a sigh, his eyes filled with a trace of confusion, "The five of us brothers were orphaned at a young age and were taken in by an old man from our village. He was considered the village oddball, never interacting with anyone and not originally from our village. People thought he was mentally disturbed, so they kept their distance. After we lost our parents and had no relatives to depend on, we thought we’d starve to death on the streets, but unexpectedly, the old man suddenly appeared and took us in."