Feudal Dregs - Chapter 66

 "The leader of those bandits is Lei Tian. He used to run with the Tianjin dock gangs before killing one of their leaders and fleeing with stolen money. To evade the authorities, he took his men into the mountains and declared himself king," explained one of the Li family's stewards. "Over the years, Lei Tian and his gang have robbed merchants, extorted money, and murdered countless innocents. The government has tried to suppress them, but Lei Tian is too cunning—even the authorities have suffered repeated defeats, only emboldening the bandits further."

Li Yuqing scoffed and said, "I suspect the local authorities aren't putting in much effort to suppress them. Who knows, they might even be taking bribes from those bandits."

The steward gave a bitter smile. "That's hard to say. What's puzzling is why the third young master caught the attention of those ruthless fiends.

That night, in the Li family's study.

The handwritten letter from Li Ming'an was delivered by the bandits to the Li family's branch store in Jining the very next day. Given that it concerned Li Ming'an, the shop manager didn't dare make any decisions on his own and swiftly sent word back to Beijing. The Li patriarch sat at the head of the room, with Li Mingzheng and Li Yuqing below him, the chamber brightly lit by lamps.

Li Mingzheng rubbed the ring on his thumb absently, remaining silent.

The patriarch asked, "They're demanding two hundred thousand silver dollars?"

The steward replied, "Yes. This gang of bandits has always been insatiable. Most merchants they capture end up losing a fortune before they can leave the mountains."

The patriarch slammed his palm on the table with a cold laugh. "They certainly have the audacity to ask."

The steward lowered his eyes, not daring to speak further.

The patriarch fixed a heavy gaze on the brush stand on the table. "Who's the county magistrate of Lanling? Are there any garrison troops nearby?"

Having long been involved with military circles and possessing an excellent memory, Li Yuqing thought for a moment before answering, "I'm not sure about the magistrate, but the garrison troops should be under Zheng Huaiyi's command."

He glanced thoughtfully at the patriarch and added, "Zheng Huaiyi was once Xue Mingquan's deputy. Asking him for help wouldn't be difficult, but—if it comes to a fight, the third brother and Fifth Concubine are still in their hands."

The patriarch said coolly, "The Li family's money isn't so easily taken."

"Make the arrangements to gather the funds," he instructed the steward. "Ensure the third young master's safety at all costs."

The steward hurriedly responded, "Yes, sir."

Suddenly, the patriarch turned his gaze to Li Mingzheng, who had remained silent all this while. "Eldest?"

Li Mingzheng looked up, his expression calm. "We certainly can't let them off easy."

"Otherwise, bandits and outlaws everywhere will start targeting the Li family."

Li Yuqing retorted, "Isn't that stating the obvious?"

Ignoring him, Li Mingzheng sat upright and composed as he said unhurriedly, "Have you heard of Zhao Peisheng?"

Li Yuqing's eyes settled on Li Mingzheng, his expression gradually turning serious. "Zhao Peisheng? From the Zhao family?"

"Yes. By seniority, the third brother would even call him uncle," Li Mingzheng said. "Given your position in the military, you should know him."

Li Yuqing thought to himself that he knew more than just the name. Zhao Peisheng was quite renowned—not for his Zhao family background, but for rising from humble origins through sheer military prowess. His feats were earned through blood and battle, and even in Beijing, his reputation for ferocity was well-known. Several warlords in the city had tried to recruit him, but Zhao Peisheng, proud and unyielding, always declined, citing loyalty to his former commander Xu Chengqing as his reason for refusing to come to Beijing.

Li Mingzheng said, "Rather than sending Zheng Huaiyi to suppress the bandits, we should ask Zhao Peisheng for help."

Li Yuqing frowned and said, "Wasn't Zhao Peisheng the one who ran away from home? He's practically severed ties with the Zhao family. Would he really intervene for a nephew—" He paused mid-sentence, suddenly remembering something, and glanced at Li Mingzheng. The two shared an unspoken understanding. If it were just Li Ming'an and Madam Zhao alone, they probably couldn't have persuaded Zhao Peisheng to act. But over the years, Xu Chengqing and Zhao Peisheng had entrenched themselves in Shandong. Now that Beijing had changed hands, they'd already set their sights on various warlords, especially those major ones near Beijing.

Though Li Mingzheng and Li Yuqing didn't spell it out completely, these few words were enough for Old Master Li to grasp most of Li Mingzheng's intentions. He was extremely pleased with his eldest son's calm composure and strategic planning. Then, with sharp intuition, he realized this letter had only arrived today, yet Li Mingzheng had already investigated the Shandong situation thoroughly—even uncovering Zhao Peisheng's involvement.

Li Mingzheng had known about Li Ming'an's encounter with bandits before he did.

Old Master Li gave Li Mingzheng a deep look. Unfazed, Li Mingzheng met his father's gaze steadily. After a long moment of silent confrontation, the old man said, "Eldest, you should be the one to handle this."

Li Mingzheng replied simply, "Agreed."

Li Ming'an had been held captive in the mountains for three days now.

They were locked in a dim, dilapidated hut with only a small wooden window to track the passage of days. To bandit leader Lei Tian and his men, Li Ming'an's group represented an exceptionally lucrative catch—this single haul could surpass years of robbing ordinary merchants. The potential gains made the risk worth taking.

On the fourth day, Lei Tian set his sights on Madam Zhao's two maids. As a concubine of the Li family, Madam Zhao herself was untouchable—they couldn't risk completely alienating the Li’s. But these two servant girls? They were fair game.

That night, the hut's door burst open. Several burly, rough-looking men strode in, making straight for the women's quarters. Li Ming'an jolted awake, shouting, "What do you think you're doing?!"

He lunged forward, only to be blocked by a muscle-bound bandit who sneered, "What's the hurry, Third Young Master? Our chief just wants these girls to keep him company for a while."

Even as he spoke, two bandits had already seized the maids by their arms, dragging them toward the door. The terrified girls turned deathly pale, struggling and screaming, "Young master, save us! No! We don't want to go!"

In a den of bandits, what could "keeping company" possibly mean? Li Ming'an wasn't naive enough to misunderstand. His eyes burned with fury as he swung a fist at the bandit blocking him. The hut erupted with shouts and cries of pain. No one expected Li Ming'an to attack so suddenly, and his assault enraged the bandits. Taking advantage of the brute's momentary distraction, Li Ming'an kicked him aside and charged at the men holding the maids.

One bandit, seeing this, angrily shoved his captive toward a comrade and turned to grapple with Li Ming'an.

Though Li Ming'an rarely engaged in physical altercations, he had trained in martial arts, and his movements were disciplined. Fueled by rage, he fought with a ferocity that bordered on madness. Since being captured and taken up the mountain, Li Ming'an had been far from calm. But for the sake of the Zhao family, the few surviving servants of the Li household, and all those who had died at the hands of these bandits, he had forced himself to remain composed and endure in silence.

The scenes from the day of his capture flashed through his mind—Li Ming'an had never in his life seen so much blood and corpses.

The bandits wielded long sabers, charging down on horseback with guns and blades in hand, scattering their victims like leaves in the wind. Wherever their hooves trampled, corpses bloomed in pools of blood. Some had been beheaded, others had their arms severed—the sheer brutality of it all was something Li Ming'an had avoided thinking about these past days.

His only thought was to survive.

Survive first, then figure out the rest.

He had endured being forced to write the ransom note, but when the bandits tried to take the two maids who served his mother, Li Ming'an couldn't stand by. The girls were barely eighteen or nineteen—how could he let them suffer at the hands of these damned outlaws?

Madam Zhao watched as her usually refined son grappled with the bandits, her face pale, her lips pressed tightly together to stifle a scream. When she saw a fist swinging toward Li Ming'an, she instinctively rushed forward to push the attacker away. But Madam Zhao was a frail woman with bound feet, and the bandit easily shoved her aside with a single motion.

Stumbling back, she collided with the wall. Li Ming'an caught the movement in his peripheral vision, his heart clenching, teeth grinding in fury. "Mother!"

The commotion caught Lei Tian's attention.

Outnumbered, Li Ming'an was quickly subdued, his arms twisted behind his back as he was forced to the ground. Lei Tian looked down at him with cold amusement, sizing up the pampered young master he saw before him.

He hadn't expected this rich boy to stand up for a couple of maids.

Lei Tian had sharply angled brows that gave him a ruthless appearance. He crouched down and said, "Third Young Master Li, they're just a couple of servant girls. Was it worth starting a fight over?"

One lens of Li Ming'an's glasses was cracked. He lifted his head with difficulty, glaring hatefully at the man responsible for all this.

Lei Tian studied him and said, "I've heard wealthy families keep bed-warming maids. Are these two yours?"

Li Ming'an swallowed the blood in his mouth and spat, "What if they are?"

Lei Tian chuckled, his tone leisurely. "Then I'd be even more curious to see what makes a rich man's woman so special to play with."

"You bastard!" Li Ming'an thrashed violently, nearly breaking free from the two bandits restraining him. One of them drove a knee into his back, slamming him flat against the ground.

Lei Tian observed the young man's disheveled state before suddenly waving a hand, signaling his men to release Li Ming'an. "Since Third Young Master wants to play the hero, I'll give you a chance."

He continued, "I have five brothers here. If you can defeat them, I'll let those two maids go."

With a casual gesture, Lei Tian selected five men. A subordinate had already brought a chair, placing it behind him. Lei Tian sat down, watching Li Ming'an with a smirk. "But if you lose, I'll gift them to my men."

Li Ming'an struggled to his feet, eyeing the five men who stepped forward. Each one bore the unmistakable aura of killers—none of them would be easy to deal with.

Night had fallen, the sky stretched high and dark with sparse stars scattered across it. The mountain wind carried a knife-like chill. Fires burned in the village, their torches twisting and flickering, casting eerie shadows that made the surroundings seem otherworldly, turning every face into a demonic visage.

Li Ming'an had no choice.

That night became the nightmare that haunted Li Ming'an for the rest of his life.

He couldn't remember the sharp pain of fists and kicks, nor the suffocating agony as if his organs were being crushed. All he remembered was the overwhelming humiliation and helplessness crashing over him like a tidal wave, relentless as a storm. Li Ming'an lay on the ground, vomiting blood, his vision blurred. Yet, amidst the haze, terrified screams pierced his ears. He lifted his head—though he shouldn't have been able to see clearly—he distinctly saw the bandits carrying away two maidservants, laughing raucously as they disappeared into the distance.

Blood filled Li Ming'an's mouth, his voice hoarse and broken. "No... no," he gasped.

He tried to push himself up, but his trembling arms gave way, and he collapsed again.

Lei Tian, having savored the moment, sneered like a demon. "Third Young Master Li, you've lost."

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