Flat-Rabbit didn't waste a breath.
The moment he charged out, he was already using that suicidal "trade-life-for-life" style of his.
The four bandits froze mid-stride.
"Damn—what's this idiot doing?! Who opens a fight by throwing their life at us?"
Nobody wanted to brawl to the death with some unknown rookie charging like a crazed rooster. Their blades stalled, aggression turned defensive, and their feet slid backward.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Flat-Rabbit's sword smashed into four sabers at once, sparks flying like a blacksmith having a bad day.
A heartbeat later, one of the bandits snapped out of it and whipped his saber back in a counter-cut.
Squelch.
The blade hit Flat-Rabbit's shoulder—
Except it didn't hack through. Only his cotton shirt tore open, revealing the shoulder armor underneath.
The bandit blinked.
"…This kid's got armor under his clothes?"
Flat-Rabbit, voice exploding like a waking thunder god, bellowed:
"Attack! Night raid! Someone get over here! Hey! Zheng Gouzi! Move your lazy ass!"
Lang Si's men panicked instantly.
"Kill him! Shut him up!"
The four bandits attacked again.
Flat-Rabbit swung his family's ancestral sword like a man fighting bees—wild, desperate, basically screaming steel.
Two sabers he blocked.
One saber smashed harmlessly against his armor.
The last one slid into his waist—
Rip—
Blood fountained out, staining the doorway.
He grunted through clenched teeth but didn't move an inch.
"Come on! Someone! Anyone! Wake up!"
The room beside him exploded open.
Zheng Gouzi burst out completely naked, clutching a saber, with several half-dressed Gaojia Militia soldiers tumbling after him like startled chickens.
Lang Si's men panicked even harder.
"Two of you go block those idiots!"
Two bandits peeled off toward Zheng Gouzi.
The remaining two focused fully on Flat-Rabbit.
Flat-Rabbit blocked left, blocked right, ate one blow with armor… and another with his own flesh.
More cuts opened on him like someone carving a festival radish, but he refused to leave the doorway.
Lang Si finally snapped.
Enough watching—he pulled his saber.
He darted forward, catching a perfect opening, and swung with a killing arc aimed straight at Flat-Rabbit's neck.
A brutally clean execution stroke.
Flat-Rabbit didn't even have time to flinch.
That was when a bowstring thrummed behind him—
Wng!
An arrow shot past his ear, cold enough to shave hairs off the side of his head.
Bai Yuan had fired.
Archery—the gentleman's sixth art—was one of the few things he wasn't terrible at.
If Lang Si finished his swing, he'd take an arrow right in the face.
He jerked back, abandoning the kill stroke.
The arrow grazed across his cheek, slicing open a bloody mark.
But while Lang Si was forced back, the two remaining bandits struck again—
Two fresh, meaty thuds—
More wounds on Flat-Rabbit, more blood, yet the stubborn fool still roared:
"You chicken-thieves, dog-bandits—you're not getting past this rabbit!"
His sword flailed left, right, up, down—chaotic but unyielding.
Lang Si growled and charged again.
Bai Yuan answered with three rapid shots.
Thwap! Thwap! Thwap!
Unlike Cheng Xu—who shoots well only with a tailwind—
Bai Yuan is the opposite:
Hopeless when relaxed, terrifying when pressured.
Tonight, the man's archery looked like he had just unlocked his hidden martial pathway. Every arrow flew razor-straight, threading past Flat-Rabbit's head on both sides.
One bandit hesitated—
Thunk!
Arrow in the shoulder. He staggered back, screaming.
Lang Si tried attacking again—
Only to eat another arrow aimed right at his face.
He ducked aside with a curse.
In that split second—
Flat-Rabbit roared:
"Sky! Rabbit! Break! Dominion! Sword!"
The last bandit blinked in alarm.
"Oh shit—he's using a finishing move—!"
He raised his saber to block the incoming fatal strike.
Except…
Flat-Rabbit's sword…
fell out of his hand.
"…?"
Before the bandit could process the insult to martial logic, Flat-Rabbit lunged forward, grabbed the man's wrist, twisted, turned, and executed a perfect Ghost-God Throw.
WHAM!!
The bandit hit the ground so hard his soul briefly considered leaving his body.
His last thought was:
"That… was not swordsmanship…"
Flat-Rabbit used the last ounce of strength he had left to fall directly on top of the unconscious bandit—blocking Bai Yuan's doorway with two collapsed human bodies piled together.
Through cracked lips, he muttered:
"Heh… my Sky Rabbit Break Dominion Sword… unbeatable…"
Then he passed out cold.
Now Bai Yuan and Lang Si had a clear view of each other.
Lang Si raised his saber.
Bai Yuan drew another arrow.
Both knew the reality:
Bai Yuan only had time for one shot.
If Lang Si dodged it, he would leap over Flat-Rabbit and cut Bai Yuan down inside the room.
But behind Lang Si, screams erupted.
He turned to see Zheng Gouzi and the Gaojia Militia overwhelming the two bandits.
Team-trained soldiers beating two disorganized men—
A short, brutal mismatch.
Lang Si clicked his tongue, then suddenly sprinted sideways.
He crossed the courtyard in a blur—
A single breath, one leap, hands gripping the top of the wall—
And he vanished over the far side.
Bai Yuan's eyes widened.
"Don't you run!"
He released the arrow—
It streaked like a meteor—
And buried itself into a tree trunk.
"Archery," he muttered sourly, "scratch it off my skill list."
The courtyard swarmed with action.
Some soldiers shielded Bai Yuan.
Others lifted Flat-Rabbit.
Still others knelt by the fallen household guards.
"Flat-Rabbit's alive!"
"The other four brothers are dead."
"Who the hell were these attackers?"
"They tried to assassinate Mister Bai!"
"This one's still breathing—tie him up!"
"Medicine! Quick! Bring medicine! Flat-Rabbit is bleeding out!"
Dozens of men rushed around like ants on fire.
Bai Yuan stood silent, face dark, eyes locked on the direction Lang Si escaped.
He did not speak for a long time.
Trivia Notes — Reader's Companion
1. "Chicken-thieves, dog-bandits"
A classic insult meaning petty rogues, swindlers, and low-grade scum. Often used in old storytelling to mock amateur criminals.
2. Ghost-God Throw
Based on traditional martial grappling methods where the attacker uses wrist control and hip leverage to slam an enemy. Very similar to certain throws in modern Chinese martial arts and Japanese jujutsu.
3. Armor under clothing
Common among militia and guards in some late medieval periods. Cheap lamellar or metal plates hidden beneath cotton were a practical defense against bandits.
4. Gentleman's Six Arts
Archery was one of the classical scholarly skills. In reality, few scholars were actually good at it—Bai Yuan fits this stereotype beautifully.
5. Courtyard size joke
"One dozen feet, seven inches and a half" makes fun of overly specific architectural descriptions found in old historical novels.