Ye Jingyu dismounted, carrying Su Yunmo down with him.
The bandit lair was situated on a hilltop, with a large open space outside its entrance. All guards and bandits had retreated inside.
The lair was surrounded by walls, with a fortress-like defensive wall facing the mountain path.
A tall tower made of wood had been erected. The bandit leader, Black Tiger, stood atop it, twirling a snake in his hand.
Beside him, a young bandit held a large iron megaphone and shouted.
"We have over sixty villagers captured from the village below. If you don't want them to die, those below must retreat immediately!"
Su Yunmo remembered that Ye Jingcheng had encountered similar bandits using hostages as shields during his previous bandit suppression mission.
Her eyes flickered, and she instinctively looked at Ye Jingyu.
Ye Jingyu glanced up at the sky. "It's getting late, time for lunch."
Su Yunmo: "??"
The bandits: "??"
Qianxue approached. "Master, the pots are all set up. Shall we start cooking?"
Ye Jingyu nodded. Ying Xiao then brought over a lounge chair upholstered with velvet.
It was large enough for Ye Jingyu to lie on and hold Su Yunmo in his arms.
Qianxue led a group of people to add water to the pots, put in ingredients, and add firewood to cook.
They looked less like they were on a bandit suppression mission and more like they were on a leisurely camping trip.
Su Yunmo didn't know what he was planning and felt a bit uncertain. "What are you up to now?"
Ye Jingyu didn't reply, merely waving for someone to bring him a book. "It will take some time before we can eat. You can take a short nap before then."
He had heard that children who didn't nap wouldn't grow tall, and she, given her current stature, needed more rest.
The bandits on the tower shouted, "Don't pretend! Leave quickly, or we'll start killing!"
None of the imperial guards spoke, all busy with their own tasks.
The bandits were puzzled and all peered out.
Black Tiger roared at his subordinates, "No one is allowed to slack off! They're doing this to make us lower our guard!"
The bandits suddenly understood and returned to their posts.
Qianxue and his men, meanwhile, hadn't even glanced at them.
"How about this chapter?" Ye Jingyu's clear, pleasant voice came from above.
Su Yunmo looked up and saw him open a book to a story. "What?"
"A bedtime story. Doesn't your General's wife usually tell you one?" Ye Jingyu asked curiously.
Su Yunmo's eyelids twitched. She recalled how, when she first arrived at the General's mansion, Lüluo had tried to tell her bedtime stories every night, but she had driven her away.
"I'm not a three-year-old child. I don't need anyone to coax me to sleep."
Ye Jingyu pursed his lips and looked at her, then turned a page. "Before the Han Dynasty, there was a geomancer among the common people. This geomancer was tall and strong..."
Su Yunmo: "..."
She felt underestimated.
Ye Jingyu's voice was very languid.
Su Yunmo lay on the soft chair, resting her head on his arm, listening to him tell the story, and watching the imperial guards shuttle back and forth.
No one spoke loudly, only the occasional clinking of pots and pans.
Birds chirped in the branches, some long, some short, and grasshoppers chirped in the autumn grass.
The sun was at its peak, casting a lazy warmth on people, like a thin silk quilt.
Su Yunmo gradually felt a sense of peaceful comfort and slowly closed her eyes.
After an unknown period, a voice suddenly jolted her awake.
"Don't think you can easily break through my Black Wind Stronghold just because you're royalty! I, Black Tiger, am not to be trifled with!"
Su Yunmo's eyes snapped open in shock.
She had actually fallen asleep!
And outdoors!
If it were before, she would never have been so careless. Sleeping so soundly, was she inviting others to find an opportunity to kill her!
"It's time to eat," Ye Jingyu's gentle, lazy voice came again.
The dappled afternoon sunlight filtered through the leaves onto his handsome face, as if casting a faint golden glory upon him.
Su Yunmo pursed her lips and glanced at him.
Was she able to sleep so peacefully because he was by her side?
Qianxue set up a simple table and served the food.
The others had already started eating.
Ye Jingyu himself did not eat. He found the exquisite dishes in his mansion difficult to swallow, let alone food casually cooked outdoors.
Su Yunmo was different; she was content with just having something to eat.
Ye Jingyu picked up food and fed her, very leisurely. At this moment, it seemed everyone had forgotten about the bandits.
Black Tiger could no longer sit still. He pushed aside the soldier relaying messages and grabbed the megaphone himself. "You brat who hasn't even grown all his hair wants to take over my stronghold? No way!"
He gritted his teeth, his patience worn thin. "I'll give you ten counts. If you don't retreat from this mountain, I'll kill ten people first!"
"One, two..."
"Ten." Ye Jingyu counted this number.
He finally looked up, having the time to converse with Black Tiger. "This King has never seen bandits kill people, but I'd like to see it."
Su Yunmo frowned.
"Fine, you said it! Guards!" Black Tiger, enraged, ordered his men to grab ten women.
His subordinates left the tower and went to the bandit lair's backyard.
However, a long time passed, and they did not return.
Su Yunmo's eyes darkened, and she scanned her surroundings.
Indeed, everyone had been focused on the imperial guards cooking, and no one noticed Ying Xiao's absence.
"Big Brother! Bad news! The hostages have help! They've dug a tunnel from outside the stronghold and escaped!" a small bandit rushed in to report.
Black Tiger's eyes widened in disbelief. "What! That's impossible!"
How did they know the location of the hostages, and how could they have dug a secret tunnel to the outside so quickly!
"Since you're not going to kill them, it's my turn." Ye Jingyu's voice was like a death knell.
Black Tiger looked down at Ye Jingyu's eyes and felt his heart pound.
A demon, this young man was a demon!
"Kill!"
The well-fed imperial guards charged forward, forcefully breaking down the main gate.
Qianxue, moving like lightning, kicked a soldier shooting arrows from the tower down.
The sounds of fighting erupted, and the bandits screamed as they fled in all directions.
In less than half an hour, Black Wind Stronghold was breached, and Black Tiger was brought before Ye Jingyu.
As he got closer to Ye Jingyu, he suddenly raised his hand.
A venomous snake emerged from his sleeve and lunged at Ye Jingyu.
Qianxue drew his sword abruptly. The sword flashed like lightning, cutting the snake in half.
Half of the snake's body writhed on the ground like a beached fish before finally stopping.
Ye Jingyu stood with one hand behind his back, an aura of kingship emanating from him. "Escort the villagers down the mountain, detain all members of Black Wind Stronghold and bring them to the capital. Black Tiger..."
He paused, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
Su Yunmo, now very familiar with his methods, raised an eyebrow and suggested, "How about we pluck all his hair first?"
Ye Jingyu glanced down at the child beside him and smiled. "As you wish."