Thinking of this, John Carter didn’t care about anything else. He pulled the reins, and the black steed reared up, charging straight at Robert Bennett's chest, scaring Robert Bennett into dodging to the side. John Carter raised his bronze club and roared as he charged at Little William, looking as if he was about to smash Little William into a pulp with one blow.

Even the servants, including Robert Bennett, were so frightened that they all hid to the side. At the critical moment, the true nature of these lackeys was revealed—each one as timid as a mouse, not a single one willing to shield their master from the club. Servants have their principles too: they’ll sell their labor, but not their lives!

Yet Little William was still smiling. At some point, a dagger had appeared in his hand, its sharp edge lightly pressed against the snow-white, tender neck of the girl in red. He smiled at John Carter and said, “Do you believe I’ll slit your sister’s throat with a single stroke?”

John Carter was so frightened that he yanked the reins hard. The black steed let out a long neigh, rearing up so high it nearly threw John Carter's burly body off its back. He was furious, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, but he was afraid to act rashly for fear of endangering his sister’s life. He threatened, “If you so much as harm a hair on my sister’s head, I’ll tear you to pieces!”

Little William sighed and said, “Threaten me? I’m not even afraid of death, you think I’d be scared of your threats?” With a flick of his dagger, he actually sliced off a lock of the girl’s long hair. A single hair? I’ll just cut off a whole lock.

“You—”

Little William looked coldly at John Carter and said, “You may not be very smart, but you’d better learn to behave. If your sister dies, it’ll be because you forced her to. I’m afraid your conscience will never be at peace for the rest of your life, right? Now back off a little!”

At this moment, more than twenty warriors had also caught up, surrounding Little William and his group.

Little William stood up, holding the dazed girl in red, the dagger pressed against her back, and said with a smile that hid a threat, “All of you, get off your horses! Otherwise, I’ll slice your sister open right in front of you!” Little William knew in his heart that he was only bluffing. If this big guy led his men to rush forward, he couldn’t really bring himself to kill anyone. But he was sure that John Carter wouldn’t dare take that risk. He never expected that, having always obeyed the law, he would end up taking a hostage. But in this situation, it was the only way to keep things under control.

Seeing that John Carter still had no intention of dismounting, Little William shouted sternly, “Get off your horse! Do you really want to see me perform a live dissection?”

John Carter didn’t know what a live dissection was, but Little William's shout startled him. He hurriedly waved his hand, signaling everyone to dismount. With his order, the warriors all got off their horses.

Little William had his men bring over three horses, handed the girl in red to Robert Bennett, and told him to keep holding her hostage with a knife to her neck. Then he mounted a chestnut horse himself.

John Carter said, “Let my sister go!”

Little William laughed, “Let her go? Heh, I’ll think about it when I get home.” He raised his whip and rode off toward the Minister’s residence. Four servants, riding the stolen fine horses and holding the girl in red hostage, followed closely behind Little William as they fled.

John Carter saw them escaping with his sister and hurriedly mounted his horse, leading his men in hot pursuit. The onlookers started making a commotion, and some even ran after them to watch the excitement. For a while, the crowd was in an uproar, and someone shouted, “Bride kidnapping… bride kidnapping… The Minister of Revenue’s son is abducting a girl…”

Hearing the crowd’s shouts, Little William couldn’t help but feel delighted. Bride kidnapping, haha, being a notorious young master who abducts girls isn’t so bad after all!

Cuiyun Lake wasn’t far from the Minister’s residence, and Little William and his group were familiar with the way. Although John Carter and his men kept chasing, they didn’t dare get too close, afraid that if they angered Little William, he really would kill his sister. All they could do was shout threats and plead from behind, trying every trick in the book, but Little William remained unmoved, watching as they carried his sister into the Minister’s residence.

John Carter led his men to the back gate, but it was already tightly shut, with several servants bolting it from inside. John Carter shouted, “Little William, listen to me! My father is the current Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Carriages. If you dare abduct my sister, as soon as he reports you to the Emperor, your whole family will be executed!” Of course, he hadn’t considered that, with his father’s rank, it wasn’t so easy to get an audience with the Emperor.

As soon as they returned to the Minister’s residence, the servants immediately regained their spirits. Little William had them tie up the still-dazed girl in red. He had already witnessed how fierce and tough she was—his backside was still stinging from the whipping she’d given him earlier.

Hearing John Carter cursing outside, Little William laughed, “Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Carriages? Isn’t that just a stable manager?” He asked Robert Bennett, “What rank is the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Carriages?”

Robert Bennett whispered, “Sixth rank!” Then, in a fawning tone, he added, “Master, you’re third rank!” His words were full of pride.

Little William did a quick calculation. His own father was third rank, while the other’s was only sixth—what a huge difference! A higher official rank crushes the lower one. With his father’s position, he could squash the other’s father like a bug.

Chapter 5 Bride Kidnapping (Part 2)