It was already dark by the time Zhao Lin saw the doctor off.

Returning to the room, he saw his older brother lying dazedly on the bed, with his father and mother looking after him.

"How’s my brother?"

Zhao Lin walked to the bedside and touched his brother’s forehead. It was burning hot against his hand; he definitely had a fever.

"Your brother has a strong constitution. He can pull through."

Mr. Zhao said in a heavy voice, then sighed. "How exactly did you get tangled up with those bandits?"

Mrs. Zhao added, "Lin’Er, explain everything. Your father and I will help you figure something out. If it comes to it, we can sell our land to pay them off and apologize."

"This can’t be settled with money..."

Zhao Lin gave a bitter smile and recounted the whole story: how he had gone hunting in the mountains at the beginning of the year, been ambushed by robbers, and ended up killing the bandits.

Mr. and Mrs. Zhao were dumbfounded. They never imagined their youngest son—so honest and dutiful he’d never even killed a chicken—could have done such a thing.

"Father, Mother, it’s all my fault. I caused this trouble, getting our whole family hunted by bandits," Zhao Lin said, ashamed.

Mr. Zhao was silent for a long moment before speaking. "What’s done is done. There’s no use regretting it now. Besides, you only did it to raise the money to get your brother out. Tell us, what’s your plan now?"

Zhao Lin glanced at his unconscious brother. "We’re safe here for now. The yamen is right across the street, so the bandits won’t dare make a big move. But given enough time, there’s no guarantee they won’t come knocking."

He took a deep breath. "I’ll find a way to get you all away from here as soon as possible."

"Us?"

Mr. Zhao froze. "You’re not going?"

Zhao Lin shook his head gently. "I can’t go! The bandits’ goal is to get revenge on the four of us. As long as I’m here in Qinghe County, their focus will always be on me."

"But if I run, the bandits will hunt for us everywhere. It’ll be hard for a family of four to avoid their spies. If they corner us on the road, we’ll be lambs to the slaughter."

"That’s why I have to stay!"

Mr. and Mrs. Zhao objected at the same time.

"No! If we go, we go together!"

"My son, how can you handle the bandits all by yourself?"

Zhao Lin’s expression was calm, but his tone was exceptionally firm. "I’ve already thought it through. This is the only way our family has a chance of survival."

To make his parents accept his decision, he laid it all out. "I study martial arts at the Liuhe Sect. The bandits can’t do anything to me. But if you fall into their hands, what am I supposed to do?"

His parents were left speechless.

Zhao Lin left the room and had the inn’s assistant bring up some food. Then he barricaded the door with a table, pulled over a chair, and sat by the entrance with an iron axe in hand.

’How am I going to get through this crisis?’

’And how did the bandits find us?’

All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind. Zhao Lin felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. He forced himself to stay awake late into the night, but finally, he couldn’t help but close his eyes...

The next morning, Zhao Lin’s eyes snapped open. He saw his parents leaning against the headboard, and his brother was already awake.

"Brother, are you feeling better?" Zhao Lin tiptoed over and reached out a hand. His brother’s fever had broken.

"Mmm. Thirsty," Zhao Shan said, his voice hoarse.

Zhao Lin quickly poured a bowl of water and helped his brother drink it.

After a while, the inn gradually grew lively. As the clamor of noise began, Mr. and Mrs. Zhao also woke up.

"Father, Mother, I’m going out for a bit. Wait for me in the room."

Zhao Lin handed them the food from last night. "Eat something if you’re hungry, but don’t leave the room."

Mr. and Mrs. Zhao knew Zhao Lin was going out on an errand and reminded him to be careful.

The inn was very close to the county yamen, just around the corner. Zhao Lin went to the yamen and stood by the stone lion next to the gate.

He had tried to put himself in their shoes. After he escaped into the county seat yesterday, the bandits would surely send men to block the surrounding roads to prevent him from getting away.

Only then would they send men into the city to find him.

In a county seat this large, finding one person wasn’t easy, so he and his family were safe for the time being.

He stood in front of the yamen for nearly an hour, but there was still no sign of Liang Song. He couldn’t help but worry.

’Why isn’t he here yet?’

He and Liang Song had agreed to meet here. If the other man didn’t show up, it likely meant something had happened.

Zhao Lin paced anxiously, worried about his parents’ safety at the inn, while also worrying that Liang Song and Zhou Pao would arrive and not be able to find him.

The situation was critical. Every extra person meant more strength; they could only overcome this crisis by sticking together.

He had also considered taking his family to the Liuhe Sect for refuge, but he quickly abandoned the idea.

He was only an apprentice, not an official disciple.

The bandits were cruel and cunning. No matter how powerful a martial artist was, they still had a family.

If he went straight to them, he would likely bring disaster upon everyone else.

After much hesitation, Zhao Lin decided to keep waiting.

Finally, when the sun was high in the sky, Liang Song’s figure appeared at the end of the street, jogging toward him.

Zhao Lin noticed his eyes were red and swollen. His heart sank as he asked, "Why are you alone? Where’s Zhou Pao?"

"My cousin is dead! Zhou Pao is dead too!"

Liang Song stared with bloodshot eyes and choked out, "The bandits... they carved out my cousin’s and Zhou Pao’s hearts and livers. They disemboweled them and hung them from a tree at the village entrance."

"What?"

Zhao Lin felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. Images of the two men’s faces and voices flashed through his mind. He clenched his fists involuntarily. "Those damn bandits!"

"I swear I won’t live under the same sky as those bandits!"

Liang Song said, grinding his teeth. Then, he asked Zhao Lin with some confusion, "I still can’t figure it out. How do you think the bandits found us so suddenly?"

"Let’s talk somewhere else."

Zhao Lin pulled Liang Song to a quiet street corner. He carefully scanned their surroundings, and seeing no suspicious figures nearby, he said, "I was up all night thinking, and I figured out what went wrong. Do you remember the arsenic and aconite we bought before the hunt?"

"The poison!"

Realization dawned on Liang Song instantly. He let out a cry of regret, stomping his foot and beating his chest.

Arsenic and aconite are sold in limited quantities at apothecaries. Back then, Zhou Pao had arranged for Zhu Dachun to buy them, and he had to go to several different towns to get enough.

The wounds on the bear and the dead bandits showed signs of poison, which the other bandits would have surely noticed. When they were searching the apothecaries for the bear gall, they must have also found records of someone buying large amounts of poison during the winter.

Hunters mostly kill animals for their meat, so very few use poison when hunting.

The bandits must have followed this lead to find Zhu Dachun first, which explains how everything unfolded.

At the time, Zhao Lin didn’t have much say in the group. He’d only vaguely overheard Zhou Pao making the arrangements. Thinking back now, he realized he had overlooked this crucial piece of information.

Liang Song was silent for a moment. "The bandits definitely won’t let us go. What are you going to do? Are you leaving or staying?"

"I’m staying. I’ll send my family away."

Zhao Lin briefly explained his reasoning and then asked, "What about you? Are you leaving?"

Liang Song’s face was a mask of fury. He slowly shook his head. "I’ve already run once. I don’t want to run again."

Zhao Lin nodded. "Alright. Then we’ll take them on."

He had made up his mind. ’If I can’t hide, then I’ll have to face them head-on. After all, I’m a transmigrator with a golden finger.’