Samuel Cooper had no way of knowing who these people were, so he simply assumed they were enemies. Like a young beast cornered with nowhere to run, he let out a low growl from his throat and bared his not-so-sharp claws.

A long whip lashed out silently from the darkness, and Samuel Cooper was thrown to the ground once again. The bandits burst into excited laughter. One of them bent down, grabbed the boy, and slung him roughly across a horse’s back, searching him without ceremony. He found the small pouch of silver hidden in the boy’s chest, held it up high, and shouted:

“Hey, this kid’s in the same business as us—he beat us to it!”

Samuel Cooper now understood who these people were, and his anger surged. “Let me go!” he shouted, struggling to snatch back the pouch.

The bandits only laughed louder, not taking the boy seriously at all. One of them stuffed the silver into his own clothes, then gave the boy a heavy slap on the back before pulling out a small oilcloth bundle.

Samuel Cooper’s back felt as if it had snapped, the pain cutting to the bone. But what terrified him even more was the loss of the secret martial arts manual—his family’s most precious heirloom, more important than his own life.

The bandit gave a whistle, tore off the oilcloth, and then froze. Inside was a thin book. He flipped through a few pages, but couldn’t recognize a single character.

“What the hell is this?” the bandit said angrily.

“Give it back!” Samuel Cooper struggled with all his might.

The bandit punched him in the face, nearly knocking him out. He tossed the book aside, pulled out a rope, and tied Samuel Cooper up tightly. Then he jumped off the horse to join the others in searching the ruins for valuables.

Samuel Cooper’s hands and feet were bound, so he could only squirm like a worm, struggling desperately. At last, he managed to fall off the horse onto the ground, then used all his strength to crawl toward the book.

He was almost at the manual when a strong wind swept along the ground. The torch the bandits had thrown aside nearby flickered like a snake’s tongue, its flame stretching and shrinking, and suddenly touched the fluttering pages of the book, which instantly caught fire.

That blaze seemed to set Samuel Cooper’s heart alight as well. His greatest regret now was not having diligently practiced his family’s martial arts—he couldn’t even defeat an ordinary bandit.

He rolled onto the book to smother the flames, then quickly rolled away to avoid the torch, biting down on the book as he dragged it farther off. In the end, he managed to save the family manual, but only part of it—the first few pages were almost completely burned away.

He gazed at the book in anguish, then noticed the writing on it and froze: he recognized every character, but together they were clearly an account ledger, not a single line related to martial arts!

The “secret manual” he had worked so hard to find and save turned out not to be the “Hehe Jin” quick mastery technique. Samuel Cooper felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him. In his simple plan for revenge, this manual played an extremely important role. Without it, relying on his meager martial skills alone, he would need to train for at least thirty years before he could hope to take revenge.

The “Hehe Jin” quick mastery technique was said to have severe side effects. For generations, the heads of the Gu family had carefully hidden the manual, never allowing descendants to read it lightly. It was said that one ancestor had practiced the technique, and his internal strength had advanced rapidly, his power doubling, and together with the family’s mastery of both blade and spear, he became famous for a time. But after only three years, he died suddenly and mysteriously, in a most gruesome manner.

Samuel Cooper only wanted revenge, so he didn’t care what would happen three years later. Now, however, even that hope of perishing together with his enemies was gone.

The bandits were well-practiced at looting the ruins. In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, they returned to the courtyard with their spoils, whistling as they prepared to leave.

The bandit who had captured Samuel Cooper also returned, placing two bundles on his horse. His haul was less than the others’, so he was in a foul mood. He walked over to the boy and gave him a vicious kick.

Samuel Cooper curled up in pain. The bandit grabbed the rope binding him, intending to sling him back onto the horse.

At that instant, Samuel Cooper suddenly realized something. The oilcloth that had wrapped the book was lying right in front of him, revealing a corner of white silk. Before he was lifted up, he bit down on the edge of the silk, and by the time he was lying across the horse, he had already hidden the silk in his mouth.

The bandits all mounted up and rode away from the manor, heading down the mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, near a small village, another bandit was guarding a dozen or so captives and more than thirty cattle and sheep. The captives’ arms were tightly bound and linked together with rope. Samuel Cooper was thrown to the ground, tied up again, and attached to the end of the line of prisoners.

Six bandits drove the captives and livestock eastward. Samuel Cooper struggled to keep up, unable to spit out the silk in his mouth.

Dawn was approaching when the bandits stopped at a T-junction. Samuel Cooper felt that his home couldn’t be far from here, but he had rarely left the manor and didn’t recognize this road.

A dirt road running north to south passed through a narrow mountain pass, winding for several miles before joining the main east-west road. At the intersection, more than a hundred people had already gathered.

Most of them wore shabby felt coats that looked as if they had never been washed, greasy and shining in the morning sun. Everyone was armed, their eyes fierce, like a pack of wild beasts forced together.

There were clear factions among the various groups of bandits. They had split into several gangs, each watching the others warily out of the corners of their eyes, hands always close to their weapons, ready to fight at any moment.