Hearing the voice, everyone's gazes turned in unison towards the direction it came from. There stood a pale - faced young girl, imposingly positioned at the side door. Her phoenix - shaped eyes glinted with a cold light.
The man previously called "the second in command" quickly regained his senses and immediately brandished his broadsword, directing his subordinates, "Who are you? Quickly capture this person for me!"
Almost everyone's attention was diverted by Lu Yin. As a result, no one noticed that the knife held against Mrs. Lu's neck was slowly being removed.
The next moment, Lu Hu's voice rang out, "All of you, stop!"
The familiar blade, the familiar position. However, this time it was the bandits who were being threatened.
Because that steel knife was now pressed against Fang Qinhu's carotid artery. With just a slight exertion of force from Lu Hu, this man would bleed to death on the spot.
"Boss!"
"Damn it! You dog! Quickly release our boss!"
"Kid, let me tell you, if you dare to touch a single hair on the boss, I'll make sure you're buried with him!"
"Oh, really?"
Lu Hu slightly applied pressure with his right hand holding the knife. The crimson liquid then slowly trickled down along the blade, resembling the fiery patterns on the knife.
"Kid, stop right now!"
The furious shouts echoed continuously in the main hall. The second in command and his subordinates wanted to rush forward but dared not. They could only fidget in place, completely at a loss.
Meanwhile, Lu Yinxi, supported by Liusu, had slowly walked to Mrs. Lu's side.
"Mother, are you okay? Were you frightened?"
"Don't worry, mother is fine."
Mrs. Lu instinctively patted the young girl's hand to comfort her. But as soon as she touched it, she noticed that the girl was trembling.
It was also at this moment that Mrs. Su noticed that there was not a trace of color on her daughter's face.
"Xi, Xi'er..."
Seemingly influenced by Lu Yinxi, Mrs. Lu's voice also took on a tremor.
"I'm fine, mother."
Realizing that her mother might have noticed something amiss, the young girl instinctively tried to force a smile to reassure Mrs. Lu. But suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed at her heart, making her almost unable to stand steadily.
"Xi'er!"
"I'm okay, mother."
Relying on Liusu's support, Lu Yinxi managed to hold herself up. Her gaze shifted to Lu Hu, and then, as if making some kind of determination, she slowly said, "Mother, may I meet that man named Fang Qinhu?"
Just now at the side door, she had casually glanced at that man. Although she only saw a pair of eyes, the memories about him came rushing back in an overwhelming wave.
The original owner knew this man. More precisely, Fang Qinhu had saved the original owner.
Three years ago, this was the bravest day in the thirteen - year - old Lu Yinxi's life.
Because it was the first time she had shown her fangs of resistance to those who bullied her.
She had scratched the neck of Aunt Liu's daughter, Xiaohong.
Although after that, out of fear of being beaten, she had sneaked out of the village and run into the mountains, only to be caught by a hunting trap on her foot.
But she didn't regret it at all. It was just that the hunting trap really hurt!
As the sky gradually darkened, the young girl endured her tears, filled with a sense of dread.
This was when Fang Qinhu appeared. He helped her break free from the hunting trap and then escorted her home.
After returning to the village, the original owner couldn't escape a beating from Aunt Liu. But the name Fang Qinhu was engraved in her memory.
Now, he appeared in front of the young girl again. However, the Lu Yinxi from that time would never return.
"Xi'er..."
"Mother!"
Retracting her gaze, the young girl pursed her lips and met Mrs. Lu's eyes. She must meet this Fang Qinhu!
Although she didn't approve, seeing the pleading in her daughter's eyes, Mrs. Lu finally chose to compromise.
"Alright, mother will grant your wish."
Getting the answer she wanted, Lu Yinxi immediately shuffled to a spot three steps away from Fang Qinhu and then motioned for Liusu to remove his mask.
It was really him!
"Is the young girl choosing a husband? Why do you want to remove my mask?"
Only after noticing his mask being removed did Fang Qinhu notice Lu Yinxi standing beside him.
The young girl ignored his flirtatious words and shifted her attention to Lu Hu. Then, under his gaze, she slowly shook her head.
If possible, don't take his life.
This was what she meant.
Lu Hu seemed to understand and hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
However, just then, the sound of orderly footsteps suddenly came from outside, followed by a male voice.
"General Mingwei's order: Surround the main hall tightly. Not a single bandit must be let go!"
Zhu Chengjie!
Shang Luoshu, hidden in the shadows, couldn't help but frown.
Did Zhu Chengjie come to Anguo Temple just for these bandits?
When he realized that Lu Yinxi was going to the main hall of the Buddha, he also set off. Then, relying on his faster pace, he sneaked onto the beam of the main hall first. That was how he heard the name Zhu Chengjie from the mouth of "the second in command".
As the man was deep in thought, the bandits below became restless.
Their boss was captured, and there were officers and soldiers surrounding them outside. If things continued like this, they would only be heading towards a dead end. In that case, they might as well fight to the death and try to break out of the encirclement.
Gripping their knife handles tightly, it seemed that everyone had realized this. The air gradually fell silent, and the tense atmosphere spread.
Even Shang Luoshu on the beam couldn't help but hold his breath.
The battle was about to break out!
"Don't act rashly! Can't you see my life is in their hands?"
The sudden roar broke the almost stagnant air. Everyone's gazes fell on the owner of the voice.
Fang Qinhu.
No one had expected that it would be the bandit leader who stopped these bandits from taking action.
A thoughtful look flashed across Shang Luoshu's eyes. This Fang Qinhu was not simple. Thinking like this, his peripheral vision accidentally caught sight of the young girl.
If Fang Qinhu was not simple, then Shang Luoshu's current evaluation of Lu Yinxi was only "mysterious".
The sudden order from the young girl and that extremely "obedient" knife. This made him can't help but recall the day of Prime Minister Lu's birthday. After she said a few words, Lu Wenhan inexplicably changed his attitude.
Shang Luoshu had read many legendary storybooks in his childhood. This ability of Lu Yinxi seemed to be what was described in the storybooks as "speech spirit"?!
If this was really the case, then everything would make sense.
But why was her face so pale?
The man couldn't figure it out. Just as he was about to take a closer look, Zhu Chengjie didn't give him a chance.
The soldiers who had surrounded the main hall airtight neatly dispersed to make way. The general in armor paced forward and arrogantly walked to the door.
"Fang Qinhu, in the battle of Zongyang back then, you fled without fighting and even became a bandit. Now that I'm here, why don't you surrender immediately!"
A deserter?
Lu Yinxi's gaze fell on Fang Qinhu again. Could the savior of the original owner be a deserter?
Before she could think further, a voice directly interrupted her train of thought.
"Bullshit!"