Now living his second life as a man, when faced with bandits blocking the road to rob and kill, Henry still resolutely chose to stand up for justice and take action when needed!

Moreover, his elder brother Brian had once mentioned that in Qin, failing to save someone in danger would be punished, but if you could catch thieves, there would be a reward!

The long-awaited opportunity was right in front of him—what was there to hesitate about?

He strode forward, drew the short sword from his waist, gripped it in a reverse hold like a combat dagger in his right hand, and let out his first long howl since arriving in this era!

“Bandits, Henry is here—don’t you dare act recklessly!”

……

PS: “If there are bandits injuring or killing people in an attack, and bystanders do not help, within a hundred paces in the wild, they are to be fined two sets of armor.” — “Legal Q&A”

Also, to answer the previous question: Isn’t adulthood in Qin determined by height? Yes, but “In the sixteenth year, ninth month... it was first ordered that men record their age.” From that year on, adulthood for Qin people began to be determined by age.

Chapter 0004: Acting Courageously Is Every Qin Person’s Duty

“Henry Henry, truly a reckless man, he’s brought me nothing but trouble…”

Edward held a short sword, cautiously guarding against the bandit in front of him, feeling deeply regretful. He had always been a shrewd person—how could he have acted on impulse and followed Henry to stand before these four bandits?

The person being chased earlier was probably a local merchant, who, even while fleeing for his life, didn’t forget his heavy bundle. Seeing someone block the bandits, he immediately showed joy, slipped behind them, said “thank you,” and disappeared in a flash, leaving only Edward and Henry to face four enemies with just the two of them.

The four bandits were clearly outlaws from Yunmeng Marsh. Three of them wore ragged clothes, had dark faces, and wielded crude weapons—either a short stick with a dagger head tied to it, or an axe, or a fish spear. Only the burly, bearded man in the center wore battered leather armor and held a gleaming iron sword!

This man was the leader of the bandits. Seeing Edward and Henry ruin their plans, he spread his arms, signaling his three companions to fan out, and said in a thick local accent, “If you want to live, get out of the way!”

Henry showed no fear. In his previous life, he had often participated in police operations during his internship at the station and had seen many similar situations. He smiled and said, “That’s what I should be saying to you.” At the same time, he pointed at Edward and said, “You take one, I’ll take three!”

With that, Henry suddenly charged forward, closing in on the bearded man, feinting a stabbing motion, forcing the bandit leader to retreat several steps…

Everything happened so quickly that by the time Edward reacted, Henry had already drawn the attention of three bandits, leaving the last one to come after him.

Although Edward boasted about his martial skills, in reality, he had only learned a few basic self-defense moves. Fortunately, the bandit he faced wasn’t very skilled either. The two of them, both amateurs, struggled against each other for a long time, and aside from being covered in dirt and panting heavily, neither was injured.

Still, Edward felt a chill in his heart, thinking that Henry couldn’t possibly handle three opponents at once. Once those three finished with Henry, they’d gang up on him.

What rotten luck! Edward was on the verge of tears, cursing inwardly: “I’m only nineteen and haven’t even married yet! If I die like this, how could I face my parents?”

Just as he was thinking about how to escape, he heard a muffled groan behind him. Edward was startled, thinking Henry had been hit. He took a quick glance during a break in the fight, only to see that the axe-wielding bandit who had viciously lunged at Henry was already on the ground, his ankle slashed by a sword, clutching his stomach in pain!

“Huh? Henry’s skills aren’t bad.”

Before Edward could voice his praise, the bandit in front of him lunged again, and the two wrestled together, only separating after quite a while. At that moment, he heard another scream behind him. He quickly turned to look and saw that the bandit with the short dagger had also been knocked down by Henry, clutching his bleeding thigh and wailing, the short sword deeply embedded, leaving only the hilt visible.

Now Edward was a bit shocked: “He took down two in a row—Henry is really impressive!”

Everything had happened so suddenly that Edward had no idea what was going on behind him, but what happened next would be etched in his memory for life.

At this point, Henry’s sword was stuck in the leg of the second fallen bandit, leaving him unarmed, yet he still had to face the fully armed, bearded giant. What could he do now?

The bearded man realized this too and burst out laughing arrogantly, “You little brat, no matter how skilled you are, without a weapon, you’re no match for me!”

With that, he roared, “Prepare to die!” and charged at Henry with his sword in one hand, clearly intending to run him through!

Edward’s heart leapt into his throat, but Henry remained calm. He stood his ground, legs apart, feet shifting slightly, fists raised before his chest, eyes locked on the bearded man’s movements, gauging his attack range.

When the man was almost upon him, Henry suddenly dodged aside, quickly grabbed the bandit’s left arm with his right hand, yanked hard, and smashed his left fist into the bandit’s elbow!

Clang! With a single, clean move, he knocked the bearded man’s short sword from his hand.

Not only Edward, but even the bearded man was stunned—this was barehanded disarming!

The bearded man, shocked, staggered back. Though he’d lost his weapon, he was still fierce and tried to punch back.

Henry had anticipated this. First, he blocked, grabbed the man’s arm, then raised his left leg and kicked hard into the bandit’s abdomen, landing a solid blow!