sinovels #122 - No one can be left behind
#122 - No one can be left behind
Lu Jing's words instantly dropped the originally peaceful atmosphere to freezing point.
The expressions on many people's faces froze there, including Huang Ya's.
He subconsciously asked again, "What do you want, young hero?"
"One arm and one leg from each person."
"Is young hero joking?" Sweat beads appeared on Huang Ya's forehead.
"No," Lu Jing shook his head.
"An arm and a leg, you might as well just take our lives! Without hands and feet, living is worse than dying! Boss Fang, what are you afraid of him for? Let's all grab our weapons and fight him!"
One of the river bandits couldn't hold back and shouted.
His words were supported by many of his companions.
"Fight my ass, everyone shut up!" Huang Ya was startled and quickly waved his hand to stop his restless subordinates.
He knew that the difference in strength between the two sides was too great, and now was not the time to be tough.
After yelling at the people below, he turned to Lu Jing with a smile.
"Young hero, this… this is a bit too much, right? We still need our hands and feet to fish. How about this, although we are poor, we can still find a way to scrape together some money. You let us go back…"
"I don't want money."
Hearing this, Huang Ya only felt a chill rising from the soles of his feet.
No need to ask any further, Lu Jing's cold gaze had already explained everything.
Huang Ya was completely desperate.
He seemed unable to bear it, and took a few steps back, but suddenly bent down and grabbed the steel knife that had fallen on the ground earlier.
He threw it at Lu Jing with all his might!
At the same time, he shouted, "Scatter!"
Hearing his order, the river bandits didn't bother to find the two small boats they had come on, but each chose a direction, wanting to plunge into the river.
This group of people obviously knew that it was impossible for them all to escape today, so they adopted this way of scattering and fleeing.
Everyone relied on their luck, and those who were caught could only blame themselves!
In any case, it was better than being wiped out in one fell swoop.
At this time, they could only hope that a few could escape.
That's what Huang Ya thought in his heart.
Of course, he knew that he would most likely be the primary target, so he was always trembling with fear while escaping. However, until he ran to the ship's side, he was miraculously not caught.
Looking at the river in front of him, Huang Ya was extremely excited.
Just one step, one more step, and he could escape.
But just as he was about to take this crucial step towards freedom, that figure he feared reappeared in front of him.
This feeling of falling from heaven to hell in an instant made Huang Ya's mood particularly bad!
However, he gritted his teeth and still mustered the courage to draw out the water-parting dagger tied to his calf and stab at Lu Jing!
Unfortunately, his desperate struggle only further highlighted his inner despair in the face of a powerful opponent.
Lu Jing reached out and gently stroked the top of his head, similar to the last time he patted his shoulder.
But the next moment, Huang Ya heard the sound of his skull cracking.
In the last moment of his life, he turned his head, wanting to see how many of his brothers had escaped, but he only saw a deck full of corpses.
After killing eight people in a row, Lu Jing didn't say anything more. Following the player's tradition, he looted the corpses, then threw a tael or two of silver to the boatman for cleaning fees, and then returned to his room without saying anything.
Until his figure disappeared, the people in the cabin, who had been frightened by the scene just now, finally came back to their senses.
The old lady snorted heavily, seemingly quite dissatisfied, and said with a sullen face, "I'm not feeling well." Then, supported by the two maids, she got up and returned to her room.
The three scholars looked at each other, their expressions a little embarrassed.
After a moment, one of them said, "Young hero Lu… hates evil like an enemy, but it is inevitably somewhat lacking in benevolence."
"That's right," another nodded in agreement. "The world is like this, those river bandits can't help themselves, and killing them is not important, but how will their wives, children, and old mothers survive?"
"What you say makes sense, alas, but I heard that young hero Lu acted so fiercely in his early years, perhaps because he read too few books of sages. If someone could explain the principle of empathy to him, he would probably give those river bandits a way out."
The third scholar had just finished speaking when he heard a burst of snickers.
The laughter was obviously mixed with a lot of sarcasm.
The scholar angrily raised his head, only to find that the person laughing at him was a young girl.
She was the youngest of the group of female relatives on the boat, about fourteen or fifteen years old, not yet fully grown, but it could already be seen that she was a beauty, with jade-like skin, red lips and white teeth, and a natural elegant and quiet temperament of a young lady from an official's family.
Unfortunately, this temperament was completely ruined by those eyes that liked to roll around.
Hearing her snicker, the noblewoman beside her immediately spoke to stop her, and then apologized to the three scholars on her behalf.
However, the girl didn't think much of it, and still scanned the group of scholars with a "you are all pigs" look.
One of them couldn't stand being stared at by her and said, "May I ask, miss, why did you laugh just now?"
"Because I saw something funny," the girl said with a smile, ignoring her mother's gaze.
"What funny thing?" Another scholar couldn't help but ask.
"Three idiots who were just rescued, not only don't know how to be grateful, but also presumptuously discuss the benefactor's morality behind their backs. No wonder in the stories of those storytellers in the teahouse, not a single scholar is a good person. Saving them is a waste."
She said these words in the unique casual tone of a young girl.
But every word was like a sharp knife, ruthlessly stabbing into the hearts of the scholars.
The faces of the three were burning, and they even felt ashamed.
"What a sharp-tongued girl!"
A scholar calmed down a little, probably because he couldn't get over it and continued.
"We shouldn't discuss young hero Lu's character behind his back, and young hero Lu's character is known to the people of Wujiang City, and cannot be slandered.
"But judging the matter on its merits, what we said just now is not wrong, right? Benevolence and tolerance are also being strongly advocated and promoted by the sages."
"The sages advocated benevolence and tolerance is good, but that is for people, not for poisonous snakes," the girl sneered.
"Do you really believe the words of those river bandits, thinking that this is the first time they have done this kind of business?"
The scholars' momentum had already weakened a bit when they heard this, but someone still retorted.
"How do you know they're lying?"
"Heh heh," the girl didn't answer, but stood up from her seat and walked straight to the deck outside, not changing her expression in the face of a ground of corpses.
She picked up the knife that Huang Ya had dropped on the ground from among them and dragged it to the three scholars.
"See for yourselves."