“What kingly aura are you talking about? I could hear you shouting from far away, okay.” Samuel Bennett really did hear it—first, because Brother Clark was yelling loudly and his voice was sharp, and second, because Samuel Bennett’s hearing was pretty good too. “It’s just that the guys on the other side were weak, so they chickened out.”

“Cut the crap,” said Henry Clark. “When I was risking my life here, standing up for justice and shouting, what were you doing?”

“Alright, alright, Brother Clark, you’re awesome.” Samuel Bennett wasn’t at a loss for words; he just noticed that the young lady was looking at the two of them more and more strangely, so he stopped the impromptu banter with Henry Clark.

At this point, of course, they couldn’t just leave the girl here alone and chase after the carriage, so they simply helped her over to a rock by the roadside to sit down and started asking about her situation.

After a few questions, they learned that the girl was indeed a village woman named Wright, already the mother of two children. Of course, in Da Ming, it was quite normal for girls to marry at fifteen or sixteen, and for women in their twenties to have children.

There was a village nearby called Nanyuan Village, and Wright was a resident there. The village was located in the mountains of Baijiling, right at the intersection of several provinces—a lawless area—so it was often harassed by bandits.

And “Zouma Stronghold” was the most notorious bandit den in this region.

The bandits from Zouma Stronghold would come to Nanyuan Village to cause trouble every few days, but these small-scale raids didn’t involve many people—usually just five or six. The things they stole were nothing more than some chickens, ducks, fish, and old wine. With only five or six people, they couldn’t carry off much by hand. The villagers didn’t dare offend the bandits, so they just endured it.

But among the bandits who came to the village today, two were especially lecherous—the same two that Henry Clark had just scared off… Earlier that day, these two thugs had eaten for free in the village and were about to return to their stronghold when they happened to see Wright at the village entrance. They were immediately tempted and wanted to drag Wright back to the stronghold.

Wright was quick-witted. Seeing the two men approaching with lecherous grins, she knew trouble was coming and turned to run. The women in these mountains were different from the sheltered ladies in the city: first, they didn’t bind their feet, and second, they often helped with farm work at home, so they could run pretty fast. Plus, Wright was very familiar with the mountain paths, so the two bandits couldn’t catch her right away.

Wright knew very well that if she fell into the hands of those two perverts, she’d be finished. She was already prepared to bash her head against a tree if it came to that. With that determination, she was afraid of nothing, stumbling and running all the way toward the main road. Exhausted, she finally made it to the roadside, where she happened to run into Henry Clark.

“Hero, thank you so much for saving me,” Wright said, her voice already choked with tears. “But after this, I’m afraid those bandits won’t let it go. Maybe tomorrow, or even as soon as tonight, they’ll gather their men and come to the village for revenge. When that happens, my whole family will be in danger… What am I going to do?” As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.

After hearing her story, both Henry Clark and Samuel Bennett were filled with righteous anger. But anger was one thing—they didn’t seem able to do much about it.

Not to mention they were on a journey, even if they could spare a day or half a day to deal with this, the two of them alone definitely couldn’t take on an entire stronghold of bandits head-on.

“Damn it, this is really a tough one,” Henry Clark cursed. “How about… we rush back to Hangzhou Prefecture and report it to the authorities? I can’t speak for other places, but the prefect of Hangzhou still has to give the The Clark Family some respect. Asking him to send some men to wipe out a bandit stronghold shouldn’t be a big problem.”

“I’m afraid there’s not enough time,” Samuel Bennett was more thoughtful. “We’ve already come this far, and we don’t have horses. By the time we get back, it’ll be dark, and the prefect will probably be asleep. Are you going to beat the drum and cry for justice in the middle of the night?” He paused. “Even if you really do report it at midnight, and the prefect doesn’t dare turn you away, by the time he dispatches troops, it’ll probably be tomorrow night or the day after. The bandits will have already taken their revenge and run off… Also, are you sure the prefect even has the authority to send men here? Isn’t this place so chaotic precisely because it’s at the border of several provinces and no one wants to take responsibility?”

Henry Clark thought about it and realized it was true. “So what do we do?” He scratched his head anxiously. “I just started out in the jianghu, and I run into something like this right at my own doorstep and can’t do anything about it? How am I supposed to make a name for myself in the future?”

Samuel Bennett thought for a moment. “How about… we escort Miss Wright back to her village first, see what the situation is like, and think of a plan on the way?”

“That’s all we can do,” Henry Clark sighed.

Wright thanked the two young heroes profusely. After resting for a while, still sobbing, she led them on the road.

The journey was uneventful. After about half an hour, they arrived at the entrance to Nanyuan Village.

Before they could even enter the village, a group of villagers—old and young men alike—came rushing out with pitchforks and sticks, surrounding them.