Chapter 5: Fierce Robbery

Living in the Capital City is quite hard.

Gu Changsheng deeply mourned his troubles. Why? Rent for the small courtyard required money, eating needed money, buying vegetables took money—money is a good thing indeed!

Xiao Cui was very good at managing the household, but even the most skilled housewife can't cook without rice. Gu Changsheng worriedly looked at the empty parcel, not even having anything left to pawn, then took his frustrations out on a crooked willow tree in the yard by practicing an all-out brawl.

Luckily, Xiao Cui's leg had mostly recovered, and Little Meat Bun was being raised even plumper. If one ignored the occasional person skulking around outside the courtyard, life was still quite satisfying.

In Gu Changsheng's words, they were already poor enough and certainly couldn't afford to hire someone to guard the house. Since the people from Li Mansion were concerned, they might as well not disappoint them. If people liked to loiter outside their door, then let them loiter to their heart's content.

"Madam, we don't have much rice and flour left. Should we buy some more?"

Gu Changsheng looked at Xiao Cui with mournful eyes, "How much silver do we still have?"

"One tael."

"Are you sure you didn't count wrong?"

"The maid has counted it several times, there certainly won't be one more coin."

Alright then, one tael it is. Gu Changsheng slapped the table, "Xiao Cui, pack up. We're moving first thing tomorrow morning!"

Gu Changsheng was a man of his word. They were up at the crack of dawn the following day, all ready to leave, with both Xiao Cui and Little Meat Bun in tow and a bundle on his back.

The person keeping watch outside was very diligent, dozing off against the wall.

Seeing no one around, Gu Changsheng swiftly covered the watcher with a sack and gave him a good thrashing, and in the process, robbed him clean.

Robbing someone's house truly was a quick path to wealth—high return with zero investment. The risk was rather high, but it didn't bother Gu Changsheng since he was skilled in kung fu. Look, even a mere watcher had more wealth than them.

Seven taels of silver!

Gu Changsheng's eyes sparkled as he stuffed the robbed silver into Xiao Cui's hands, waved his hand, and while holding the still half-asleep Little Meat Bun, headed toward the City Gate with Xiao Cui.

Leaving the city was easy, seeing as they were law-abiding citizens.

Gu Changsheng stood outside the city walls, looking at the towering city towers.

In this lifetime, he never wanted to return to the Capital City again. Farewell to Li Mansion's rubbish, farewell to the wealth and splendor of the Capital.

"Our destination is Liuzhou. Let's set out," Gu Changsheng called out, and the three of them began their journey back to their old home in Liuzhou.

As the saying goes, it's nice to be home, but difficult to travel even for a single day. With the one tael they had, plus the seven taels they acquired from robbing the watcher, they wouldn't have issues with food and drink.

Gu Changsheng looked over Xiao Cui from front to back and side to side, and indeed, after a month of living well, Xiao Cui had blossomed from a skinny girl into a radiant beauty—delicate melon-seeded face, sparkling big eyes, and wasn't that enough to attract a bunch of ruffians?

And then, Gu Changsheng's wealth increased further, hastening their journey back home.

That day, Gu Changsheng was leisurely lying in the coach, cracking seeds, while Little Meat Bun was wrestling with the Three Character Classic, and Xiao Cui was counting the silver—truly comfortable.

But some people were not cooperating.

"This mountain was opened by me; this tree was planted by me. If you want to pass this way, leave behind some money." A sudden loud shout startled the coach.

A seed got stuck in Gu Changsheng's throat, and he coughed violently.

"Madam... Lady Changsheng, we're being robbed..." The hired coachman, Old Man Lau, said, trembling as he lifted the curtain of the coach.

Having recovered from the shock, Gu Changsheng curled his lips—there was no need for someone to state the obvious; this was such a classic robbers' opening line, passed down through the ages! He glanced indifferently at his son, signaling it was his time to shine.

Little Meat Bun, Gu Ze, shared an unspoken understanding with his mother. Without a word, he exchanged a look with Xiao Cui before hopping down from the coach with his little legs.

His neck trembled as he ran to the front of the coach.

"One, two, three... Mom, there are five!" he called back to the coach, indicating a large number this time.

"Alright, son, ask them."

The five bandits were still dumbfounded by the lump on Little Meat Bun's neck when the little boy stepped forward two more paces.

"You, my mom asked me to ask if you've brought money?" The one standing at the front must be the bandit chief, right?

"We've brought it."

Nodding in a daze, the whiskered Strong Guy hadn't grasped the meaning when Little Meat Bun scurried back.

"Mom, they said they brought silver."

Gu Changsheng was very pleased and, after patting her clothes, jumped down from the coach.

This time they had really encountered bandits. The leader was a bandit with a beard, and behind him was another with a scar on his face—no need for makeup for a robbery; at first glance, they were clearly not benevolent folk.

"Seeing a young lady come down from the carriage, the bewilderment on the bearded bandit's face vanished in an instant. With a glance exchanged with his men, they sensed an opportunity. It seemed that this venture wouldn't be a loss—they would obtain not only silver but also a woman. Although she wasn't exceptionally beautiful, she was quite pleasing to the eye. Abducting her to become the Bandit Chief's Wife wouldn't be too bad."

"Are you going to rob us?"

Was that even a question?

"Cut the crap, leave the silver and carriage behind, and we'll spare your lives," the bearded bandit loudly declared, his jowls quivering.

"Oh. Xiao Cui, get off. They want the silver and the carriage," Gu Changsheng said as he cooperated by pretending to clean his ears.

Obeying, Xiao Cui took a small bundle and got down.

The eyes of the five bandits lit up instantly.

"Boss, we've got a beauty!"

"Boss, we've struck gold this time!"

The bearded bandit chuckled and shook the large knife in his hand, suddenly changing his terms: "Leave the silver, carriage, and beauty behind, and we'll spare your lives!"

Seeing this, Old Man Lau, the coachman, became so frightened that he hid under the carriage, trembling. This was not going to end well...

"This is a bit difficult. Without this girl, who will take care of us, mother and child?" Gu Changsheng shook his head with an air of 'let's discuss this further.'"

"I don't care about your problems. Men, attack!" commanded the bearded bandit as he pointed his large knife. To haggle during a robbery was simply courting death!

Xiao Cui, holding Little Meat Bun, retreated to the side of the carriage, looking worriedly at Gu Changsheng. With five bandits this time, not just two or three, would she be able to handle them?

Outnumbered one to five, the bandits had the advantage in numbers, but sadly, they lacked quality...

Grasping Hand... Shoulder Throw... Sweeping Leg...

Horizontal Chop... Diagonal Kick...

In just a moment, all five men were laid out on the ground, their weapons scattered, and they were curled up in pain, howling miserably.

"I'll teach you not to learn your lesson, picking up the bad habit of robbery..." With a punch to the left and a punch to the right, the bearded bandit's cheeks quickly disappeared, replaced by a pig's head.

"Hey, hey... Not the face, not the face, I haven't gotten married yet..." The bearded bandit could no longer care about the pain in his body as he hurriedly used his arms to shield his face.

"I didn't want to hit you, but you dared to covet Xiao Cui. Do you not see a 21-year-old flower like me, able to bear a son who can fight, standing right in front of you?" She pushed his hands aside, punched his left eye, then his right eye, and soon the pig's head sprouted a pair of panda eyes.

Xiao Cui and Little Meat Bun closed their eyes, unable to bear the sight, their minds still pondering the meaning of her words just now?

Having had her fill of fighting, Gu Changsheng stood up gracefully, dusted off her hands, and beckoned her son over with an air of confidence, "Pack it up!"

Little Meat Bun waddled over with his small arms swinging, babbling as he collected various items, and soon his hands were full.

Looking at the purse now in her hands, Gu Changsheng's anger dissipated as she squinted her Red Phoenix Eyes and smiled contentedly, "Yo, not a bad haul, these were all stolen, right?"

Lying on the ground, writhing in pain, Scarface cried, "That's six years of savings for my marriage..."

After relieving the bearded bandit, Little Meat Bun, holding a purse and glancing at the pitiful face in front of him, sighed, "My mother says, a true hero dares to face the bleak life..."

The bearded bandit: "..."

He actually had no desire to be a hero...

After tidying up, Gu Changsheng clapped her hands, and, together with Xiao Cui and Little Meat Bun, boarded the carriage again.

"Old Man Lau, it's time to depart. If you keep hiding under the carriage, who will drive it?"

Old Man Lau scrambled out from under the carriage with nimble movements, whipped the reins, and ignoring the groaning bandits strewn about, drove off into the distance.

"That was my lifetime savings for marriage..." The bearded bandit watched the disappearing carriage and cried out to the sky in agony...

Actually, they were the ones who had encountered robbers, right?

"Madam, there are a hundred and thirty-six taels of silver here!" exclaimed Xiao Cui in amazement.

Gu Changsheng nodded her head. Adding to the extra income from before, they now had a total of three hundred taels; the journey ahead would be more comfortable.

"Madam, is it really okay for us to rob like this?"

"If it's delivered to our doorstep, we shouldn't refuse. We're just helping out the government office."

"Madam, what you said to the bandit leader wasn't really what I thought you meant, was it?" It wasn't because they wanted to rob her instead of you that the bandit leader got beaten up so badly, right?

"Ah, Xiao Cui, it's definitely not what you're thinking. But when walking in the Itinerant World, it's a must to show your moves clearly. I just felt that fighting was wrong, so I found myself a good reason..."

"Mother, when I grow up, I also want to learn to rob, but I don't want a life of misery. What should I do?" Little Meat Bun furrowed his brow in conflict, asking with utmost seriousness.

Gu Changsheng: "..."