But now, regret turned his guts green, thinking perhaps with Black Spider’s protection, this humiliating moment might never have happened.
However, Li Wenli didn’t give him much time to dwell in his frustrations, bending her brows and smiling slyly as she said, "Rest assured, we’re not Black Spider."
Before the bandit leader could breathe a sigh of relief, Li Wenli continued, "We are here on behalf of the village chief of Xinding Village."
"?" The bandit wore a look of utter confusion.
"Ah, don’t you remember? It’s the village that you graced with a visit just seven days ago. We have been entrusted by the village chief’s family to take your head as comfort for their souls in heaven."
Li Wenli seemed to take great pleasure in toying with these people, delighting in their fall from hope to hell.
It took a while for the bandit leader to realize what was going on—these weren’t representatives of the government, they had answered the bounty list!
His hands trembling, he clasped them in a plea, "I beg you two village chivalrous warriors to show mercy! Whatever silver the County Yamen is offering you, I’m willing to pay double, no, tenfold that amount!"
"?" Li Wenli and Bai Junjun were taken aback, wondering what he meant.
"I know the government has put up many notices, but the more they’re posted, the lesser the bounty becomes. If you capture me, you’d get at most ten taels of silver, but if you release me, I’ll give you one hundred taels!"
The bandit leader threw out the temptation with a solemn vow.
Bai Junjun and Li Wenli suddenly understood, "So there’s an opportunity to make a quick fortune !"
Li Wenli was relieved that he hadn’t simply burned these people earlier.
Bai Junjun also became excited at once; wasn’t it true that besides food, these neighbors could also make them a fortune??
The two wasted no more words and promptly slit the bandit leader’s throat.
"..." The bandit leader stared wide-eyed in disbelief, "You... you..."
"In this world, only the dead are the easiest to deal with, sorry about that."
By this time, the bandit’s subordinates had already scattered and fled. Bai Junjun fired her short crossbow, and those men fell to the ground as if on cue.
Not until no one moved did the two proceed to search for other items, eventually finding several barrels of sugar on the shelves—candied sugar and cane sugar lumps included.
Bai Junjun happily collected these items into her space.
The vast space was almost completely filled.
Just as they were about to leave, they heard a gasp from behind them.
Turning around, they saw a slender and pretty girl.
However, the girl was barely clothed in a bandit’s garb.
Seeing the bandit leader lying on the ground, she clenched her fists tightly, and tears uncontrollably streamed down her face, her visage one of poignant distress.
Li Wenli took one glance at her before continuing to search for grains, clearly uninterested in this fragile damsel.
It was Bai Junjun who cocked her head and observed her for a while, confirming the girl posed no threat, before going about her own business.
At that moment, the young girl cautiously inquired, "Are you... are you government officials?"
"No," Bai Junjun replied succinctly.
Upon hearing Bai Junjun’s voice, the girl seemed to grasp a lifeline, having been unsure whether Bai Junjun was a girl, but now she was completely certain.
Her eyes filled with tears, she looked at Bai Junjun and said, "Then you must be village chivalrous warriors who answered the bounty list, right?"
This was the second time Bai Junjun had heard this title.
It took her a while to figure out that village chivalrous warriors were probably similar to bounty hunters, the sort of people who earn their keep by taking on the yamen’s list to capture criminals.