Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 24 Encounter with Bandits Again
The thought of leaving the auspicious item at the post station made Li Xian wide awake. He was about to wake Liu Jianjun when he found Liu Jianjun sitting beside him, looking energetic, his eyes shining like black gems.

"Liu Jianjun..."

"Let's go, get out!" Liu Jianjun grabbed Li Xian without saying a word, and before leaving the house, he even grabbed Li Xian's purse.

Li Xian followed Liu Jianjun out of the post station, but the next second, his expression changed drastically.

Amidst the panicked crowd, Li Xian spotted dozens of bandits dressed in night clothes and with their faces covered in black cloth. They wielded short knives and moved through the firelight, hacking and slashing at the constables who had come with him.

This is not a fire!
This is someone taking advantage of the chaos!

Li Xian subconsciously turned his head and grabbed Liu Jianjun's hand, only to find that Liu Jianjun's face had turned extremely ugly: "They actually dared to kill people!"

Li Xian was taken aback: "What?"

But then, Liu Jianjun grabbed his hand and said seriously, "Stay here! Don't run around! And don't worry about Xiangrui, they won't dare kill you!"

Just as Li Xian was about to say something, Liu Jianjun said urgently, "But they dare to kill me! So, don't worry about me, I'll come find you later!"

With that, Liu Jianjun abandoned Li Xian and rushed into the darkness. Soon after, he disappeared from sight.

Just then, a shout of battle rang out, and Li Xian saw a man in black rushing towards him. But when the man in black reached him, he paused for a moment, and then continued rushing forward.

Liu Jianjun was right after all; they wouldn't dare kill him!

But then Li Xian remembered Liu Jianjun's words, his expression changed, and he ran towards the west side of the post station.

There, auspicious omens are kept!

Li Xian rushed to the west side of the post station, only to find it in complete chaos. A dozen men in black had already slaughtered the guards and yamen runners, and the place where the auspicious items were kept...

Li Xian's eyes were bloodshot.

The winter melon, which was the size of a wooden basin, had been chopped to pieces by the men in black!

Furthermore, because the winter melon had been stored for too long, the flesh inside had become somewhat soft and mushy, and even the juice had a slightly foul odor, spilling all over the ground. Anyone would know that this winter melon could no longer be pieced back together!
Even transporting all that winter melon juice to Chang'an was impossible!
It's still five days' journey to Chang'an. Without the protection of the melon rind, the juice will rot in a day and become infested with insects in two days!

And this winter melon is his hope of returning to Chang'an!

Li Xian didn't even dare to think about what reason he would have to meet the Sage if the auspicious omens disappeared.

At that moment, he thought about many things.

He thought of his wife and children waiting for him in Bazhou, of Li Mingshi who had submitted a memorial on his behalf, of Liu Jianjun who had spent countless efforts to find this winter melon, and even of his father, the Emperor, waiting for him in Chang'an...

Li Xian's gaze finally settled on the men in black, and began to redden.

He didn't want to think about who had arranged these people, nor did he want to think about why. Right now, he only had one thought in his mind: kill them!
Even if I die, I'll drag them down with me!

Li Xian did it.

With red eyes, he rushed forward, picked up the sword of a dead courier from the ground, and slashed at a man in black.

The men in black had noticed Li Xian long ago, but they did not attack him. They only prepared to leave after confirming that the winter melon was completely rotten.

Seeing Li Xian rushing over, the leader of the men in black frowned and gave a signal. Two men in black rushed forward, one of whom kicked Li Xian in the abdomen. In pain, Li Xian fell to the ground, and the short knife in his hand fell to the ground.

The other man in black kicked the dagger away.

After doing all this, the two men in black returned to their group.

They planned to leave, not even bothering with Li Xian anymore. Li Xian lay on the ground, a deep sense of shame and anger rising within him.

Li Xian could clearly sense that these men in black were far superior to the gang of thugs from before. They were well-trained, highly skilled, and would not make the same mistakes as those thugs. They could even easily defeat him, who was wielding a short knife, with their bare hands.

I'm no match for them!

but,
They dare not kill themselves.

This is his biggest trump card.

Li Xian gritted his teeth, ignoring the excruciating pain in his abdomen, and pushed himself to his feet. He walked to the side, picked up the short knife, and chased after the man in black once more, roaring, "Die!"

The group of men in black paused again. The leader frowned and shouted, "Go!"

This time, the two men in black rushed up again. One of them used the same trick as before, kicking Li Xian in the abdomen. But this time Li Xian was prepared. Although he was still kicked, he did not drop his short knife. Instead, he slashed at the man in black's face.

This time, however, the man in black beside him delivered a chop to Li Xian's wrist, knocking Li Xian's dagger away once again.

Then, the man in black rushed up behind Li Xian, and Li Xian felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck, and the world began to spin.

……

When Li Xian woke up again, it was already dawn. In front of him was Liu Jianjun's dark yet handsome face.

Seeing that Li Xian had regained consciousness, Liu Jianjun helped him up, muttering, "Didn't I tell you already? Don't worry about Xiangrui, just pretend you didn't see it."

Only then did Li Xian realize that he was lying under a large tree outside the post station. The entire post station had been burned to ruins, and there were still many unburnt pieces of wood and beams making "pop" sounds and exploding into sparks.

Li Xian stared blankly at the ruins before him, his mind instantly recalling the rotten winter melon.

Ignoring the excruciating pain in her abdomen, she hurriedly grabbed Liu Jianjun's hand and asked, "Where's Xiangrui?"

"I don't know, you were probably burned to a crisp long ago. You were already lying here when I got here. Those people were careful; they were afraid you'd be burned to death..."

Before Liu Jianjun could finish speaking, Li Xian said dejectedly, "With the auspicious omen gone, what difference is there between me and being burned to death..."

“The difference is huge. Your burning to death is a case that has shocked the world, and the Emperor will definitely investigate it thoroughly. But if it was just the post station that was burned, then this matter can be completely downplayed.”

Li Xian felt utterly hopeless: "But what can we do? The auspicious omen is gone. What will we do? Let's not even talk about whether we'll ever see Father Emperor again. Even if we do see him, what will I say? That the auspicious omen was burned? That it was hacked to pieces by villains?"

“Auspicious omens that are burned or cleaved by knives are not auspicious omens; they are just winter melons…”

As they were talking, Li Xian suddenly felt his arm being bumped.

Turning his head, Liu Jianjun looked at himself: "Hey, guess why I ran away yesterday?"

Li Xian gave a wry smile: "Are you worried that I'll blame you? It's alright, you're right, those bandits wouldn't dare kill me, but they dare to kill you..."

Before Li Xian could finish speaking, Liu Jianjun interrupted him: "Yesterday I found a tree, about three or five zhang tall, and climbed up it. Those bandits didn't notice me, so they didn't notice this either."

As he spoke, Liu Jianjun opened the pouch he always carried with him.

"Now that we have this and the horse, why can't we go to Chang'an?"

……

(End of this chapter)