novelraw Chapter 50: Family Savior
Chapter 50: Family Savior
The autumn sun was blazing hot, just like Li Wei's mood—extremely anxious.
The three bandits retreated all the way to the river valley and immediately started moving stones and building stone walls, actually wanting to engage him in a positional battle. They didn't seem particularly bright either.
When Li Wei circled around with his bow and arrows, they immediately took off running, never giving him a chance to get within forty meters.
Clearly, they had figured out by now that only when he got within this distance could Li Wei achieve perfect accuracy.
Watching the three bandits retreat back across the river valley, Li Wei finally found an opportunity to fill his water skin by the small stream. He needed to prepare for guerrilla warfare in the mountain forests.
But in just this short time, when he looked up again, the three bandits had disappeared from sight.
Had they gone into the woods?
Li Wei's heart sank with dread, because if these bandits just cut down some trees to make the simplest wooden shields, the current stalemate would be broken.
At this moment, he hurriedly turned and ran back. While the bandits might be cutting trees, he needed to rescue Penny. Besides, Penny was carrying an iron spear, and Mixi even had a chainmail armor on her.
But just as he reached the pit trap, the three bandits suddenly emerged from the woods again, howling and cursing, attempting to charge forward. Their stance suggested that if Li Wei dared to rescue anyone, they would seize the opportunity to rush over.This back-and-forth tug-of-war continued—apparently the other side was just waiting for nightfall.
"Sister, are you okay?" Li Wei asked solemnly from beside the pit trap.
"Not great. My head is dizzy, I feel nauseous, and my ankle hurts terribly. I can't climb out on my own. George, be careful yourself."
"However, I've assembled the crossbow. Don't worry about me. When necessary, I can shoot and kill a bandit. Or, you could use this opportunity to set up an ambush."
Penny's voice was weak but firm.
Li Wei glanced into the pit. Good heavens, it was a full four to five meters deep. Fortunately, there were no wooden spikes.
Penny was leaning against one corner of the pit, blocking the front with the simple ladder. She had also dragged Mixi's corpse over, using it as cover—serving as a human shield while also concealing the crossbow she held in her hands.
This was probably the absolute limit of what she could manage.
A surge of relief washed over Li Wei. Even if Penny could just injure one bandit, dealing with the remaining ones would become much easier.
However, everything had to be resolved before nightfall. Otherwise, the darkness would become a nightmare for both of them.
With this thought, Li Wei glanced back at the three sinister-looking bandits, then picked up his bow and arrows and headed straight for the stone cliff. This time, he intended to enter the cave and lure them over.
Because this stone cliff had only one entrance, unless these bandits scaled the mountain and climbed down, they would have to pass by the pit trap—which was exactly why they had set the trap here initially.
If they just took one extra look at the pit trap, that would be enough.
Of course, if the three bandits chose to be cautious and not come over, that would be fine too.
Li Wei planned to ransack their hideout.
Entering the cave, it wasn't as dark anymore. The afternoon sunlight slanted in, allowing him to see the interior fairly clearly.
This wasn't a naturally formed cave but had been excavated. He could see several upright logs supporting planks of wood to prevent collapses.
The cave wasn't very deep either. Seven or eight crude, simple wooden beds were scattered messily about. The ground was littered with various kinds of trash, and the pungent smell of feces mixed with body odor, all fermented by the scorching afternoon sun—creating quite a surreal atmosphere.
There was no treasure chest, nor any particularly noticeable items, except for a few bags placed on a wooden shelf in one corner. They seemed to contain some kind of supplies—perhaps wheat?
A flicker of excitement rose in Li Wei's heart, but he didn't rush to investigate. Instead, he turned and sat down in the shadows near the cave entrance, waiting for the bandits to take the bait.
But honestly, he couldn't understand why these three bandits were being so persistent.
Why didn't they go cut some trees to make wooden shields, or simply wait patiently until nightfall to launch a full assault?
Had Li Wei's previous performance scared them so badly that they worried he might rescue the two companions in the pit trap? Were they afraid that if everyone was this fierce, they wouldn't be able to handle it?
After all, they couldn't be sure whether Penny and Mixi in the pit trap were dead or alive, or how severe their injuries were.
Thus, time gradually passed, approaching dusk. The setting sun in the west was intensely bright—looking westward required considerable effort to distinguish anything clearly.
At this moment, Li Wei's heart skipped a beat. They might not even need to wait for full darkness—those three bandits might try to sneak over right now taking advantage of this lighting.
And just then, a scream came from below the stone cliff—Penny's crossbow had scored a hit.
The three bandits indeed couldn't restrain themselves and tried to finish off the people in the pit first, only to run headlong into solid resistance.
Li Wei leaped up and rushed to the edge of the stone cliff, but all he saw were two figures fleeing in panic. In the blink of an eye, they had already escaped over thirty meters away—probably thoroughly frightened.
Instantly, Li Wei quickly drew his bow, but the bright sunset made it difficult to keep his eyes open. He could only squint and take a shot into the air. The moment the cone-headed arrow flew out, he knew he had missed. He had never actually practiced this kind of high-angle shooting from an elevated position—it involved something of an arcing trajectory. Plus, with the direct sunlight from the setting sun, his entire field of vision was flooded with brightness. There was simply no way around it.
He couldn't even see where the arrow landed.
Immediately, Li Wei quickly climbed down the stone cliff, but the two bandits had already dashed sixty or seventy meters away—too far to catch up.
Fortunately, these bandits seemed to have truly lost their nerve and genuinely fled. Even the injured bandit was gone. The moment their figures disappeared into the woods across the river valley, lines of information finally arrived, belatedly.
[You shot and killed a powerful, brutal bandit leader. You gained 160 hunting experience points.]
[You shot and killed three cunning bandits. You gained 150 hunting experience points. Your total hunting experience is now 600 points.]
[You saved Family Head Penny at a critical moment. You saved the family. You prevented the family from suffering significant losses. You gained 50 Family Contribution points.]
This is already the third time you have saved a family member in a critical situation. You will receive the title—Family Savior. When equipped, this title automatically grants a 20-point increase to your Family Contribution cap. Any family member attempting to initiate impeachment, launch a Plot Kill against you, or vote for a Plot Kill must first bear the cost of consuming 20 points of their own Family Contribution.
[Your current Family Contribution is 155 points. After equipping the title, your Family Contribution will reach 175 points.]
[You looted the bandits' corpses. You obtained one gold coin, three silver coins, and twelve copper coins. You obtained two sets of leather armor. You gained 9 looting experience points.]
[Because your fiancée Mixi unfortunately died, you inherited all of her personal property.]
[Because you obtained one gold coin, your clearance task has progressed. You have accumulated one standard currency. Current progress: 1/5.]
[Note: The price of one unit of standard world resources is one standard gold coin. The two are interchangeable.]