Chapter 57: Fearsome Reputation [Thank You to Our Patrons]

Xu Zaijing leaned back hard, and soon the three of them were pressed against the side of a roadside gatehouse.

This reduced the chance of being attacked from behind.

Several men drew closer to Xu Zaijing, blades hidden at their wrists now held in hand.

“Weapons! Weapons!”

A sharp-eyed passerby shouted.

The crowd’s loud cries caused others to scramble away, clearing a small patch of empty space beside Xu Zaijing.

Suddenly,

a burly woman yelled,

“Let go of my girl!”

She lunged to grab the maid beside Xu Pingmei.

Two burly men advanced swiftly toward Xu Zaijing.

“Brat, I’ll kill you.”

As they spoke, the two surrounded him and attacked.

The woman kept tugging at Xu Pingmei, but was stabbed multiple times by the hairpin in Pingmei’s hand.

They had done this kind of thing for years.

A boy Xu Zaijing’s age, seeing the knives and hearing the curses, might have wet himself or frozen in terror.

They wouldn’t use the silent, ruthless tactics meant for masters.

Yelling was useless against masters.

One of them, shouting threats, swung his blade toward Xu Zaijing.

But Xu Zaijing had trained daily for years—he already carried a tiger within.

He possessed martial skill, yet could not fully unleash it.

He had not yet reached the state of gently smelling roses; he only thought of wind howling through forests.

Though he wanted to strike with full force, his master’s daily reminders cooled him for an instant.

In that brief pause, Xu Zaijing kicked out.

One thug’s shin bent at an impossible angle; his own hand, gripping the blade, was driven backward into his shoulder.

Xu Zaijing’s strength was beyond his resistance—his eyes filled with confusion.

His companion was kicked in the kidneys, flung sideways through the air.

Both men lost mobility instantly.

The woman’s knee, hidden beneath her skirt, was shattered by Xu Zaijing’s kick, twisting her body as she collapsed with a pig-like scream.

Those nearby didn’t even see how Xu Zaijing moved.

The disparity in size was immense, yet the outcome was astonishing.

Four seconds, less.

The man flung through the air spat blood, tears welling in his eyes from pain.

“My waist is broken! My hand’s stuck! Retreat! Damn bastards!”

The man whose blade had pierced his own shoulder was pinned to the ground by Xu Zaijing’s foot, immobile.

“Help me!! Ah!”

His shin had twisted when he fell, losing balance; when he hit the ground, the blade had driven deeper.

Now pinned by Xu Zaijing’s foot on his shoulder, he couldn’t move.

The five nearby men fell into chaotic command—two rushed to help the wounded, while three charged Xu Zaijing head-on.

One woman went to support the crippled woman with the broken leg.

Xu Zaijing shifted his foot slightly and kicked the fallen man beside him like a ball.

He slammed into the three charging men, knocking them down.

Then Xu Zaijing turned instantly toward a boy nearby, roughly his own age.

“Huh?!”

Years of training had forged his spirit and aura; with a low roar,

the boy was frozen in shock—his knife dropped to the ground from the sheer terror of Xu Zaijing’s gaze.

Xu Zaijing was about to step forward when the boy collapsed in fright, scrambling desperately into the crowd.

Xu Zaijing had more brutal, direct techniques—throat strikes, groin kicks.

But in that instant, he felt the presence of his sister behind him, and the looming wedding date of his elder brother—he held back the bloodiest kills.

He mostly injured them—yes, left them paralyzed, missing limbs.

Xu Zaijing never left his sister’s side to pursue.

The gang knew they couldn’t win; dragging their three crippled men, they shoved through the crowd and vanished into a dim alley.

In the distance, City Patrol soldiers were already blowing bamboo whistles, rushing to restore order.

But they moved against the tide, taking one step forward, three steps back.

All this had happened in under a minute; when Qingyun arrived, the gang was already dragging their wounded away.

“Pah! Worthy of flaying, filth.”

Pingmei clutched the hairpin in her bun and spat curses.

A wealthy resident of Bianjing called out: “Young lady, unshaken in danger—what courage!”

Hearing this, the crowd began praising in unison.

“What bravery, miss!”

“No wonder she’s a noble daughter of Bianjing!”

“I wonder which family she’s from—if she’s not betrothed, I’ll send a matchmaker to my son.”

“Young master, impressive skill!”

“Young master, tremendous strength!”

At that moment, Xu Minghua and Sun Shi finally pushed through the crowd to reach the scene.

Xu Minghua quickly bowed to the surrounding residents and onlookers.

“Thank you all for your righteous aid! Thank you!”

“Your Excellency has raised fine children—truly admirable!”

“Isn’t this Marquis Xu of Quyuanjie?”

“Marquis Xu!”

Sun Shi gripped Xu Anmei tightly with one hand, her face pale as she asked her daughter and son if they were hurt—within a few sentences, tears filled her eyes.

Xu Minghua ordered the household retainers to distribute silver and gold as thanks.

Finally, the City Patrol soldiers arrived; concerned residents pointed out the fleeing gang’s trail, and the troops gave chase.

After this incident, the Xu family lost all desire to continue strolling.

They returned to the Xu Mansion.

Yet that night, the event became the talk of Bianjing households.

Many claimed they had been right beside the Xu family, crushed against the roadside by the crowd, witnessing the whole thing.

With the encouragement of those with ulterior motives,

the attack was spun as thieves lusting after the beauty of Marquis Xu’s eldest daughter.

They claimed Xu Pingmei was a seductress with eyes that lured men, and the attackers had been bewitched by her beauty.

Some righteous passersby loudly denounced such nonsense.

For Bianjing residents had seen with their own eyes how Xu’s eldest daughter stood firm, drew her hairpin to defend herself, and cursed the thieves—she was truly a virtuous woman.

Others had received gifts from the Marquis—this was a bragging point worth boasting about! (How impressive!)

Passersby challenged the man who called Xu’s daughter a seductress: “Where did this happen?”

The man stammered.

Then he covered his face and fled.

City Patrol soldiers questioned their night-shift comrades, asking what they had seen and heard; when they heard Xu Zaijing, a boy of such tender years, had disabled nearly five adults in two breaths, they found it unbelievable.

It became a sensational rumor, twisted with each telling.

For a long time afterward, Xu Zaijing’s fearsome reputation spread among Bianjing’s military ranks, though most disbelieved it.

A boy of twelve or thirteen disabling five adults? You’re pulling our legs! As the tale spread, no one remembered the “two breaths” part.

Perhaps they thought the lie too outrageous.

Two days after the Lantern Festival,

at the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion, Madam Chang was speaking with Bai Shi about the festival.

“Hmph, some heartless family must’ve wanted to ruin Ping’s reputation! Thank heaven Jing-ge protected his sister.”

“Truly terrifying—did they catch the thieves?”

Madam Chang whispered: “I heard the authorities pressed hard—several constables were beaten with sticks. The culprits were found quickly—in a passenger boat in the city. They say they all…”

Bai Shi’s eyes darted as she drew a sharp breath: “Eliminated?”

Since Bai Wanshu had come to Bianjing and, upon Madam Chang’s advice, recounted a few of his early violent tales to Bai Shi,

Lady Bai was no longer the timid little rabbit she once was.

“I heard there was even a child, over ten years old.”

"This Bianjing appears full of prosperity, but no one knows how many wolves, tigers, and beasts lurk in the shadows, sharpening their teeth and licking their claws."

The matter reached the ears of the Emperor and Empress of Great Zhou, and palace ladies turned it into gossip; by the third day after the incident,

The Lantern Festival continued, and news of Xu family’s eldest daughter spread further across Bianjing.

The Empress issued an imperial edict to reward and commend Xu family’s eldest daughter.

The eunuch delivering the edict deliberately passed through the busiest, most prosperous stretch of the Imperial Street, while the accompanying imperial guards shouted loudly,

"Empress’s edict: Commending Xu family’s eldest daughter—for facing bandits without fear, brave, resolute, virtuous, and chaste. All bystanders, make way."

"Empress’s edict: Commending Xu family’s eldest daughter—for facing bandits without fear, brave, resolute, virtuous, and chaste. All bystanders, make way."

Hearing these words, the crowd parted, whispering among themselves.

Public opinion in Bianjing began to turn in favor of the Xu family.

Residents near Quyuanjie spread word that the Duke of Qi had sent condolences and comfort, and the Lady of the Duke of Ying had sent tokens of approval.

The negative impact of the incident gradually faded.

At a tea gathering of noblewomen in Bianjing,

Xu Zaijing’s fierce protection of his sister—having beaten an adult to incapacity at age fifteen—earned him a reputation for brutality; some also said Xu Pingmei’s act of using her hairpin in self-defense was too aggressive.

The eldest daughter-in-law of the Duke of Ling spoke ill:

"Such martial prowess—anyone marrying into the Xu family should think twice. A woman ought to be gentle and mild!"

"With a violent brother like that, if he so much as harms a hair on your head, won’t he come storming into your home?"

The daughter-in-law of the eldest branch of the Marquis of Zhennan chuckled behind her hand: "Indeed, such a fierce woman—whose household could bear it? The husband’s authority would crumble~"

(The current character relationship chart is posted in the book comments section—visible on Qq Reading, please visit Qidian to view. Readers may check it; if you wish to know about other characters, please leave a comment.)

Huh ha!

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(End of Chapter)