Severed ties and living in a dilapidated house? No worries, the poor thing has a space.

Fang Yu naturally leaned closer to him, and Xiao Jingqi's heart skipped a beat, almost not reacting in time.

Fang Yu poked his waist with her hidden finger and squeezed out a voice that only the two of them could hear through her teeth: "Big brother, give me some reaction."

"My lord, I'm so scared."

Xiao Jingqi swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing as he suppressed a strange restlessness.

He then looked at the bandits around him and said, "Brothers, my wife and I were just passing through this place and did not offend anyone. I wonder what you mean by this?"

"Hahaha…"

The bandits laughed together, and the leader said, "No matter who passes through our Black Wind Stronghold territory, they have to leave something behind."

The bandit sized them up, his gaze finally settling on Fang Yu. Looking at Xiao Jingqi, he said, "Looks like you come from a family with a bit of money. And your wife…"

The bandit glanced at Fang Yu again and said, "I think you're a better match for my brother."

Fang Yu shrank closer to Xiao Jingqi, her voice timid as she said, "My lord, I'm scared. I want to go home."

Xiao Jingqi cooperated by putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to his chest, gently comforting her, "Ayu, don't be afraid. I'm here, I'll protect you."

He looked like a frail young master, confronting the bandits and making demands: "Brothers, as long as you release us, I'll give you whatever money you want."

He pulled a handful of silver notes from his sleeve and handed them over: "This is all my possessions. I beg you gentlemen to be lenient."

These silver notes must be worth at least a thousand taels. Fang Yu felt a pang of heartache just looking at them; this play was really expensive.

The bandits took the money, clearly satisfied with Xiao Jingqi's pragmatic attitude.

Looking at his brocade robes and the fact that he could casually pull out so much silver, it was clear that his family was not short of money.

The bandit waved his hand, and several other men surrounded them, telling them to leave.

Fang Yu asked in a trembling voice, "My lord, where are they taking us?"

“Of course, we’ll go to a good place,” the bandit replied with a smile.

"Hurry up and get going, stop dawdling."

Xiao Jingqi was pushed by the bandits and stumbled forward due to inertia, but he did not let go of Fang Yu's hand.

Throughout the journey, the two of them observed their surroundings.

When they reached a fork in the road, the bandits took out a black cloth to blindfold them.

"I don't want to, it's so dark, I'm scared," Fang Yu protested softly.

"This is just the beginning. There will be times when you're scared. Young lady, you'd better be sensible, or my knife won't be so discreet."

The bandits deliberately used the knife in their hands to scare Fang Yu.

Xiao Jingqi took the black cloth from the bandit's hand: "Brother, let me do it."

He gently tied the black cloth strip around Fang Yu's neck and comforted her, saying, "With me here, you don't need to worry."

Although it was all an act, those words were strangely comforting to hear.

Xiao Jingqi was blindfolded and groped for Fang Yu's hand in the darkness: "Ayu, follow me, be careful."

Sure enough, Fang Yu, as if possessed, listened to him and followed his steps closely.

Unbeknownst to Fang Yu, at this moment, an uninvited guest arrived at the Fang family home.

Fang Xin didn't drink any calming tea tonight; she was worried about Fang Yu and couldn't sleep at all.

She covered Li with the blanket and then got up, walked into the courtyard, sat down, and looked up at the round moon overhead.

Footsteps seemed to come from outside the courtyard gate, which was making a slight rustling sound in the wind.

Why would anyone come near them so late at night? They're so poor, who would be so foolish as to steal from their house?

Three people, who hadn't even put on any clothes for the night, climbed over the low, dilapidated wall with their faces covered.

Fang Xin hid behind a pillar by the door, watching the three people acting suspiciously in the yard, and she was actually a little scared.

Until one of the clumsy thieves tripped over some unchopped firewood in the yard and cried out, "Ouch!"

That voice was all too familiar.

Fang Xin touched the carrying pole she had made herself that was leaning against the wall behind her, slowly walked out, stood at the door, and asked in a calm voice, "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Upon hearing the sound, the three thieves looked over and were all taken aback.

No one expected Fang Xin to stay up so late at night; judging from her posture, it seemed like she was keeping watch.

Now the three of them were even more certain that there was a treasure in their house, otherwise why would they be up so late at night?

Having been discovered, Fang Youcai panicked and hesitated to make any further moves.

Zhang pushed him from behind: "What are you standing there for? We're covering our faces, she won't recognize us."

"Really? Old lady," Fang Xin exclaimed with a smile.

...Zhang's heart skipped a beat, and the question she almost asked turned into swallowing her saliva.

"You've mistaken me for someone else! Hand over all your valuables!" Zhu shouted in a high-pitched voice.

This finally brought the two panicked people back to their senses.

With a firm resolve to deny everything, the three men continued their aggressive tactics: "Hand over all the valuables in your house."

Fang Xin understood: this was a case of someone failing to borrow money during the day, and then turning into robbers to steal it at night.

"Get out!" she yelled as she swung the stick in her hand at the three men.

Bai Rifang was terrified of being beaten, so he was the first to run away. Visibility was already poor at night, and there were three of them.

Fang Xin had been hitting for a long time, but she hadn't hit a single one, and she was sweating profusely and panting heavily.

Zhu grabbed Fang Youcai and Zhang and whispered in their ears, "We've been here for ages, where is that wretched girl Yu'er?"

Zhu's reminder was a wake-up call for Fang Youcai.

The three exchanged a glance, and Fang Xin, who was behind them, immediately sensed something was wrong. She gripped the carrying pole tightly and raised her voice, shouting, "Get out of here right now, or I'll call the authorities!"

The louder her voice, the more certain Fang Youcai and the others became that Fang Yu and Li Shi were not there.

Zhang and Zhu rushed forward and subdued Fang Xin, while Fang Youcai dashed into the house.

On the bare straw bed, only Li was fast asleep; Fang Yu was nowhere to be seen.

"Let me go!" Fang Xin struggled desperately, her wrists turning red, but she still couldn't break free from their control.

She remembered that her sister could easily kick them over with a single kick, so why did it have no effect on her?

Fang Youcai ran out excitedly and shouted, "Mother, come in quickly! Yu'er isn't here, and Li Shi is sleeping soundly, I don't know what's wrong with her."

"You dare!" Fang Xin warned angrily, her eyes widening as if she would fight them to the death if they dared to go in.

Upon hearing that Fang Yu was not there, Zhang was overjoyed, but she knew that Fang Xin was also a troublemaker and could not be taken lightly.

"Boom!"

Fang Youcai showed no mercy and knocked Fang Xin unconscious with a single blow.

"elder sister……"

Before Fang Xin collapsed, she was still worried about Fang Yu, and with her last glimmer of vision, she looked towards the door.

Zhang didn't forget to kick Fang Xin and also took a big bite.