Chapter 44: Chief's Wife

Chapter 44: The Bandit Chief's Wife

"Whoosh!" A stone flew through the air, accurately bringing down a sparrow.

Zhao Changhe strode forward to inspect it, his expression filled with immense joy.

Yue Hongling's arrival had made up for all the shortcomings of his bandit origin; she was truly worth more than ten thousand actual captive wives.

In theory, once internal energy was well-cultivated and one's senses grew sharper, the so-called listening to sounds to discern positions and this kind of long-range enemy elimination could be figured out through one's own experimentation, but whether someone taught you or not made a completely different world of difference.

Hidden weapons were not just about strength and accuracy; hand techniques and skills were equally crucial, and there were even specific hidden weapon martial arts—what Yue Hongling taught was her own ultimate skill, the Falling Feather Flying Plume. When that stone was thrown, the wind howled, reaching its target the moment it left his hand, making Zhao Changhe feel it was just like firing a musket...

Yue Hongling leaned against a tree with her arms crossed, sizing up the wound on the sparrow on the ground, and said in great surprise, "I didn't expect that your true greatest talent would actually be this, being this accurate with almost no practice."

Zhao Changhe smiled and said, "I've played with bows and arrows before. When it comes to accuracy, once you master one thing, you master them all."

In Great Xia, bows, crossbows, and armor were all contraband; travelers could carry swords and sabers but not bows and crossbows. However, this clearly had nothing to do with the mountain bandits. There was a large pile of various self-made bows and arrows in the fortress. Hearing this, Yue Hongling didn't think much of it and nodded, saying, "If it weren't inconvenient for traveling the martial world, carrying a bow on your person would actually be much more powerful than throwing hidden weapons."

In reality, Zhao Changhe hadn't played with bows in the fortress; he had only been learning martial arts for a short time and had too many things to practice, so he hadn't found the time to touch them yet. His archery skills were practiced in the modern world, where he was a member of an archery club... Although his level back then was rather garbage, he still had a foundation nonetheless, saving him the process of learning from scratch. Now, with the enhancement of internal energy, sharp vision for distant sight, and steady hands, his accuracy naturally felt as if it had instantly reached max level, hitting wherever he pointed.

Hearing Yue Hongling say this, Zhao Changhe stroked his chin and imagined it in his mind: in the future, with a saber on the left side of his waist, a wine gourd on the right, a longbow slung across his body, a travel pack on his back, and the top of a quiver peeking out from above the pack... walking out like a living weapon rack, he wouldn't even be able to step out the door.

It really wasn't feasible. What a pity; in an era like this, bows and arrows were absolutely useful...

But they should be useful at specific times... Zhao Changhe happily ran toward the storehouse: "What is the best bow in our fortress like?"

"The best one is a three-dan bow. Master Sun played with it in the past and left it behind because he found it too troublesome to carry. Nowadays, none of the brothers in the fortress who like to play with bows can pull it, so it's always been left here, and maintaining it is quite a hassle... Chief, do you think it would be better to take it out and sell it?"

"Old Sun, you are my real father!" Zhao Changhe was overjoyed: "Why sell it? I want this bow!"

Yue Hongling followed behind, watching Zhao Changhe dash into the storehouse like a gust of wind, and then dash off to the martial arts field like a gust of wind, grabbing an arrow from the side of the field and shooting it straight at the target.

With a "thud" sound, it resembled the beating of a drum. The target was actually pierced with a massive hole by this single arrow, swaying unsteadily at the edge of the field.

The bandits who were practicing martial arts on the field were completely dumbfounded. Was this their chief's true strength?

"Shooting this feels so good! I almost shot myself out along with it! Oh, holy crap... hiss..."

Yue Hongling crossed her arms, watching this idiot rub his shoulder and squat on the ground with an expressionless face: "I think I have a cramp..."

"How could you not?" Yue Hongling's tone was chilly. "You just overexerted yourself last night, and after resting for a night, you've barely recovered a bit of strength. Do you really think you're that full of vigor? To actually pour all your strength into one arrow, shooting it felt so good, didn't it? Is it good now?"

Zhao Changhe's face contorted, and he stayed huddled there without moving: "Someone come over and help me massage it..."

A group of bandits looked at each other, and then looked at Yue Hongling.

Who would dare go up and help you massage it? Stealing the sister-in-law's job, wouldn't they be slapped to death by her?

Zhao Changhe said angrily, "What are you guys looking at her one by one for? What does it have to do with her... ouch..."

Everyone backed away.

What intense jealousy, he even scolds us just for a glance...

Yue Hongling found it amusing. She walked over, grabbed Zhao Changhe by the back collar, and lifted him up: "Come back with me, stop making a fool of yourself."

A group of people watched with wide eyes as a fierce tiger was carried back like a cat, feeling as if they were in a dream... This sister-in-law possesses such immense strength! Only someone like this can be the bandit chief's wife, right?

"Sister-in-law is mighty!" After a moment, a roaring clamor erupted: "It's about time someone kept our chief in check!"

"Hey, do you want to die? If the chief hears this, he'll skin you alive."

"What's there to fear? I'm praising sister-in-law, would the chief dare say anything? Do you even know what 'bandit chief's wife' means? It means the chief is pressed down so hard he doesn't dare make a sound!"

"You really understand the concept of a bandit chief's wife."

The bustling voices faintly drifted into the chief's room. Yue Hongling expressionlessly tossed Zhao Changhe onto the bed and expressionlessly reached out to massage his shoulder.

Zhao Changhe lay flat there, and indeed did not dare make a sound, secretly glancing at Yue Hongling's expression, but could discern nothing.

"What are you looking at? Could I possibly hack them to pieces? Wouldn't that just make things more obvious?" Yue Hongling said blankly, "Anyway, I'm already numb to it. Let them say whatever they want. They don't know this is the real Yue Hongling either, as long as Cui Yuanyong doesn't go out and talk nonsense."

Zhao Changhe buried his head and thought about it, concluding it made sense. If he were in Yue Hongling's shoes, his only choice would also be to play dead and pray that Brother Cui, the only one who truly knew her identity, wouldn't go around blabbing.

Yue Hongling said with a stern face, "Tell me, what exactly were you getting so excited about, mindlessly shooting around for no good reason?"

"Because this is the ultimate weapon for fighting above one's level. As long as it's operated well, it can make many people swallow their regrets. I thought of some methods and got excited for a moment..."

"You must have a very clear target, and it's someone you currently cannot deal with," Yue Hongling said. "Do you need me to step in and handle it for you?"

Zhao Changhe turned his head to look at her; Yue Hongling remained expressionless.

Zhao Changhe suddenly smiled. "No need. Zhao Changhe doesn't live off a woman."

Yue Hongling's eyebrows shot up. "You..."

Zhao Changhe interrupted, "Sister Yue."

"Huh?" Yue Hongling blanked out for a moment, forgetting what she had even wanted to scold him about. Why had he suddenly called her that again? She was a bit unaccustomed to it...

"In fact, your so-called coming to me to recover from your injuries this time is half true, but the other half, the more important reason, is because you observed me for a long time and felt a bit of self-reproach in your heart. You felt that this youth's nature is fundamentally good, and if you had been willing to agree to my request to become your disciple back then, I wouldn't have ended up in my current position as a mountain bandit. So, using the excuse of healing, you actually came here just to teach me."

As Yue Hongling listened, she gradually lost herself in thought, and only after a long while did she say, "Perhaps."

"Perhaps you didn't explicitly think of it this way in your heart, but instinctively felt you should do it—the so-called mending of your Dao heart to clear your thoughts," Zhao Changhe said softly. "The moment of your departure won't be when your injuries are healed... regardless of whether you're healed or not, you will definitely leave once you've finished teaching me the things you want to teach."

Yue Hongling thought about it absentmindedly for a moment, then smiled radiantly. "You understand what I'm thinking even better than I do."

"Since that's the case, your expectation must be that Zhao Changhe can use what you've taught to break through his shackles, like a hidden dragon emerging from the abyss. It shouldn't be relying on your strength to eliminate my enemies for me."

Yue Hongling nodded slightly and smiled. "Very good."

Zhao Changhe massaged his still slightly throbbing shoulder, sat up straight, and said solemnly, "Their misunderstanding has brought trouble upon you, and I am very sorry. I hope Sister won't mind us coarse men and can continue to teach me. The Yue Hongling in my heart is like a master and like a sister, with absolutely no other intentions."

So he saw her stern face, thought she intended to leave, and was trying to make her stay... going off on such a serious tangent for so long.

Yue Hongling suddenly found it a bit funny, but for some reason, the words that came out of her mouth became: "What do you mean 'like a master and like a sister'? I am two months younger than you."

Zhao Changhe, who had been talking eloquently the entire time, was the one dumbfounded this time, sitting there open-mouthed, not knowing how to respond for a long while.

"Rest well." Yue Hongling patted his shoulder, stood up, and left. "Sharpening the axe won't delay the woodcutting; never be impatient when practicing martial arts. As the saying goes, store up in winter and grow in spring. Now that the bitter winter has passed and the spring breeze is gently blowing, your cultivation will still make significant progress. The mere second level of the mysterious pass is just the beginning for you."

Zhao Changhe watched her leave blankly. He had originally thought he had figured out her psychology, but why did he suddenly fail to understand her again?

Women really are a hassle!

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law!" The voices of the lackeys came from outside. "Sub-rudder Master Fang sent someone to reprimand us, saying the chief didn't even go to extend New Year's greetings on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so tell the chief..."

"What is there to tell? Your chi—oh, our master was injured while practicing martial arts, which you all saw with your own eyes, yet he still has to go and extend New Year's greetings to him? What a joke, a mere sub-rudder master thinks he's some kind of official? For heroes of the martial world to engage in bureaucratic nonsense is truly disgusting."

"Sister-in-law is domineering! We'll go back and reply right away!"

Inside the room, Zhao Changhe was stunned for a long while, then broke into a helpless laugh.