Chapter Thirty-Four: The Rationale of Bandit Leader Hu

"Do you also think I’m frightening?" A bitter smile appeared on Lu Liao-liao’s face.

Tang Xiaoqi lifted her head and gently stroked Lu Liao-liao’s pale cheeks, shaking her head firmly. "No, I’m not afraid of you. I’m afraid of ghosts."

"This pool is very deep, very deep. On the surface, it’s calm, but beneath, the currents are fierce. The bodies of those people have long since been swept away, so there’s nothing to fear." Lu Liao-liao gently patted Tang Xiaoqi’s little head, comforting her.

Lying in her lover’s embrace, Tang Xiaoqi’s heart finally settled. Somewhat curious, she asked, "That poison pill you gave those two—was it really so terrifying?"

When it came to manipulating the human heart, who in the world could rival a strategist taught in the ancient arts of diplomacy and intrigue? Lu Liao-liao smiled faintly and shook his head. "It’s not the poison that’s terrifying, but the human heart."

"But I’m not afraid of you. Don’t laugh at me when I say this, but from the very first moment I saw you, I don’t know why, I just felt inexplicably safe." Tang Xiaoqi’s cheeks flushed, her shyness evident.

A ripple of emotion stirred in Lu Liao-liao’s heart, and he pressed his face close to Tang Xiaoqi’s delicate cheek. "Doesn’t that just show you’re my destined little wife?"

Though shy, Tang Xiaoqi’s heart felt as sweet as if she were drunk. Instead of shying away from Lu Liao-liao’s warm breath, her lips, as if guided by fate, met his in a gentle, tender kiss.

Her lips were soft and moist, exuding a sweet fragrance. Lu Liao-liao greedily and passionately drank her in; her breath grew rapid beside his ear, her long lashes trembling gently. Lu Liao-liao felt his own heart quiver uncontrollably.

One hand, almost of its own accord, slipped inside Tang Xiaoqi’s robe, tenderly caressing her, full of cherished affection, until her tense body gradually relaxed, revealing a pure and flawless radiance.

The world’s narrowest bed, for two people swept up in passion, seemed spacious and ample. The little bed rocked gently like a boat on water, and even the tranquil moonlight began to sway.

At dawn, before the small dressing table in the cabin, Tang Xiaoqi slowly combed her hair smooth and neat, then coiled it into a stately chignon. There was no longer any Miss Tang or Miss Soso in this world—only Lady Lu, the young mistress of the Lu family.

Night had deepened, pale moonlight streaming through the window into the cabin, silent and chilling. The cold river wind wailed and sobbed at intervals, as if ready to swallow everything whole. Tang Xiaoqi huddled on the narrow bed, her eyes wide open, heart anxiously waiting for Luoluo to return.

With a creak, the cabin door opened, and a figure approached Tang Xiaoqi’s bedside. She shrank back like a startled kitten, but upon seeing that pale face, she quickly threw herself into his arms, shivering.

"The little monk is not himself. After all, killing four living people with his own hands—he probably can’t come to terms with it so quickly, so Luoluo is comforting him. The two of them have been looking at me strangely; Luoluo hardly dares to speak to me. So I came here instead. Besides, after such an ordeal, we can’t be at ease leaving you two girls alone in the cabin. It just wouldn’t be safe."

Lu Liao-liao’s voice was low, betraying his own unrest.

"Liao-liao, I’m so scared!" Tang Xiaoqi buried her head deep in his embrace.

Lu Liao-liao lay lazily on the bed, saying nothing, only feeling that Tang Xiaoqi was now more beautiful than ever, with a charm he couldn’t name. He felt as if he’d grown up overnight, matured, and gained a weighty sense of responsibility.

After washing, paying no heed to the faint soreness between her legs, Tang Xiaoqi helped Lu Liao-liao dress and get up. When she saw the conspicuous stains of blood on the bedding, she frowned, vexed, and pinched Lu Liao-liao hard at the waist, almost bursting into tears.

"It’s all your fault, you scoundrel! After our wedding night, how am I supposed to face anyone now?"

"It’s nothing, it’s nothing. When the time comes, just punch me in the nose and smear a little nosebleed on it—it’ll be fine."

All the pent-up tension from the past days had vanished overnight, leaving Lu Liao-liao clear-minded and refreshed, not caring for such trivial matters in the least.

Strutting out of the cabin in high spirits, he breathed in the fresh air as a thousand rays of dawn danced on the rippling water. The soft river breeze caressed him, and Lu Liao-liao couldn’t help but let out a long, exuberant shout—completely oblivious to the way the others, already up on deck, looked at him, the words "beast" written plainly in their eyes.

Drifting gently down to Baidi City, they replenished their crew, and the passenger boat continued downstream, swiftly covering miles. The celebrated scenery of the Three Gorges, so often lauded by poets, was lost on Lu Liao-liao; to him, the sights within the cabin far surpassed the beauty outside.

When the boat reached Jiangcheng, Luo Dianyang and his party bade him farewell with repeated thanks. After stocking up on supplies and taking no new passengers, the boat continued downriver toward Yangzhou.

"Killing and arson earn you a golden belt, while building bridges and roads leaves you nowhere to be buried. Old Hu, you’ve been a water bandit for years and took two thousand taels from Zhou Liuzi. And you expect me to believe this is all you’ve got? Do you really think I, Master Lu, am so soft-hearted I’ll let you off?"

In a cabin with the door tightly shut, Lu Liao-liao sat at the table, glaring in fury at Old Hu.

Since shaving his beard in Jiangcheng, Old Hu’s face looked surprisingly young, no more than a little over twenty. Now, seeing Lu Liao-liao’s anger, his legs gave way again and he knelt down on the cabin floor with a thud.

"Please, Master Lu, calm your anger! It’s not that I don’t want to pay you, it’s just that this really is all I have."

Glancing at the scattered silver, brass coins, and a few dull beads and jade pendants on the floor, Lu Liao-liao sneered. "And what about the two thousand taels Zhou Liuzi gave you?"

"I kept two hundred for myself; the rest I divided among my men," Old Hu spread his hands, looking pitiably at Lu Liao-liao.

"Ha! You, so generous? Giving the lion’s share to your men and keeping only two hundred for yourself?" Lu Liao-liao’s anger turned to laughter.

"If I didn’t, would they follow me? I may talk a big game, but I’m actually a coward—faint at the sight of blood. I can’t even kill a chicken, let alone a man. If I didn’t give the others a bigger share, who would be willing to take orders from me?" Old Hu looked at him with a face of innocent sincerity.

"If blood makes you faint and you’re scared of killing chickens, why aren’t you a monk instead of a water bandit?" Lu Liao-liao jabbed a finger at his face, spitting as he spoke.

"I can shave my head right now if you like." Old Hu didn’t even wipe away the spit, acting obedient as if it were only natural. After all, the legendary monk drank wine, ate meat, and slept with nuns, so being a monk didn’t seem so terrible.

Lu Liao-liao was nearly beside himself with rage. "Old Hu, do you really think you can fool me?"

Old Hu cast a pained look at his pile of belongings. "Master Lu, all this adds up to nearly five hundred taels, which isn’t little. I’ve paid for all the expenses on this trip, and the wages for the extra crew—all out of my own pocket. Surely you don’t think a petty bandit like me could have thousands of taels stashed away?"

"Still pretending to be poor? This passenger boat of yours is almost brand new—it couldn’t have cost less than two or three thousand taels."

"This boat was left to me by my father. I remember once, after a drunken binge, the old man told me: ‘Er Gouzi, when you take over from me, don’t waste your time robbing merchants and travelers. Keep your eyes on retired officials. Score once, and you’ll eat and drink your fill for a lifetime. In this world, it’s not bandits or businessmen who are rich—it’s the officials.’"

"After the old man drowned in the river one night, I gathered a few mates and came to Nanping County, hoping to catch an official. But luck was against us, and the very first time we tried, we ran into you, Master Lu."

Old Hu looked burly and fierce, but who would have thought he was not only timid but also a chatterbox? Still, his words made a strange kind of sense.

Seeing there was nothing more to squeeze from Old Hu, Lu Liao-liao felt a twinge of regret. He should have thickened his skin and accepted that thank-you gift from Lord Luo. Listless, he asked, "So your late father robbed plenty of officials, then?"

"Speaking of officials, they make my blood boil. My old man used to be a fisherman on the Jialing River. Life was hard, but it was honest work.

"One day, an official and his attendant insisted on using his boat for a fishing and drinking trip. Once they were tipsy, the official spotted a pretty girl washing clothes on the riverbank and dragged her onto the boat, ruining her.

"My father was young and hot-blooded. When he heard the girl’s desperate cries, he knocked the attendant into the river with an oar and then, without thinking, smashed the official over the head. In a few blows, the man was dead.

"Searching his body, my father found a pouch of bright gold leaves—worth nearly a thousand taels. He stripped the official bare and pushed him into the river, then fled into the night with the girl. Later, I was born.

"Once we started living well, my father’s old friends came to join us, and together they started doing shady business. Eventually, they robbed a retired official—opened his trunk, and the glitter nearly blinded everyone.

"More than ten thousand taels! My father and his brothers split the loot, bought a passenger boat, and went straight. They started running passengers up and down the Yangtze.

"After my mother died, my father took to drink. Maybe it was karma, but he finally drowned in the river as well."

Old Hu sighed, as if he could have gone on forever.

"You’re wasted not being a storyteller," Lu Liao-liao snapped. "I only asked a casual question, and you’re off chattering endlessly."

"I just wanted to show Master Lu I’m actually a good person," Old Hu said, his eyes darting, looking wronged.

"If you’re so good, why do you kill and rob? Why take another man’s wife?" Lu Liao-liao scolded, rapping Old Hu on the head.

"I never meant to do any of that! It’s just that Zhou Liuzi chartered my boat, and we argued over the fare. We weren’t a match for him, and he forced us to go along. We didn’t even succeed, and then you, Master Lu, came and cleaned us out." Old Hu dodged and pleaded at the same time.

"So Zhou Liuzi forced you, did he?" Lu Liao-liao sneered.

"Well, my old man was a water bandit—what else am I supposed to do but follow in his footsteps?" Old Hu argued, full of conviction.

"Get out! Go fetch Zhou Liuzi in here for me."