"Ah?"
Feeling the powerful masculine aura emanating from Liu Hao, Zhan Yun's beautiful eyes trembled. Her heart seemed to melt as she murmured softly,
"Master possesses a body worth a thousand pieces of gold… how could a mere servant like me be worthy…"
She had already heard from Steward Cao that Liu Hao carried a noble bloodline, and that knowledge filled her with a faint sense of inferiority.
"Yun'er herself is a treasure beyond price. From the very first moment I saw you, I had already fallen in love with you. If Yun'er is unwilling, I will never force you."
Liu Hao spoke solemnly, as though making an oath.
His gaze was perfectly clear—there was not the slightest trace of lust within it, only admiration.
Their eyes met.
Everything flowed naturally.
Zhan Yun already held deep affection for Liu Hao. Otherwise, why would she personally bring chicken soup to his room late at night?
Her delicate body trembled slightly. Her cheeks flushed bright red, the color spreading all the way to her ears. Gathering every ounce of courage she had, she finally whispered,
"I… I am willing…"
The night turned passionate.
On the snow-white bed sheets, a small red blossom appeared. Zhan Yun quietly kept the sheets afterward.
When the storm of passion finally ended, Zhan Yun nestled in Liu Hao's arms like a gentle kitten, sleeping soundly.
Liu Hao himself had held back. After all, Zhan Yun was experiencing this for the first time and could not endure too much.
System Notification:
You have conquered a Charismatic Beauty.
Current progress: 1 / 10
The system's cold voice echoed in Liu Hao's mind.
Holding Zhan Yun in his arms, Liu Hao smiled in satisfaction and soon drifted into sleep.
Night slowly deepened.
Even the stars seemed to hide behind thick clouds.
The moonlight was faint, and the world sank into darkness.
After a long day of settling refugees, everyone in Liu Manor had already fallen asleep.
But not far from the manor, within a dense forest, a group of men were quietly discussing their plan.
"Brothers, look at that Liu Manor. Quite impressive. I heard their ancestors were important people."
"Who cares who they were? If we rob this place, it'll be enough for us to drink and gamble in Hongnong County for months."
"Months? I've already gathered information. This family fed hundreds of refugees today and even gave them porridge. They must have money to burn. If we pull this off, we'll strike it rich!"
"Hahaha! Who would be stupid enough to take in refugees?"
"Heh. Enough talk. They should all be asleep by now. Move in. Kill all the men and keep the women!"
The whispers ended.
The men grinned viciously and drew their weapons, creeping toward Liu Manor under the cover of darkness.
A night of killing beneath black skies and cold winds.
The atmosphere felt strangely tense.
Even while sleeping with a beauty in his arms, Liu Hao maintained a final thread of alertness.
Around midnight, he suddenly heard the faint sound of someone landing inside the courtyard wall.
His eyes snapped open instantly.
With a swift movement, he flipped out of bed, dressed quickly, grabbed his sword, and rushed outside.
"Master! Someone is attacking at night!"
Dian Wei was already standing guard outside, gripping his iron halberd. His eyes burned with fiery rage.
At that moment, more than a dozen shadows darted through the courtyard.
Liu Hao shouted coldly,
"Bandits attacking at night! Guards, defend!"
For a moment he suspected that thieves might have been hiding among the refugees he had accepted earlier.
But he quickly dismissed the thought.
The refugees had been carefully verified earlier that day. They were all honest villagers from Old Zhan's village.
Now that their presence was exposed, the bandits stopped hiding.
Weapons raised, they rushed wildly in all directions. Several of them charged straight toward Liu Hao.
"Kill!"
The courtyard instantly erupted with shouts.
"Kill them!"
A fierce imperial aura suddenly appeared on Liu Hao's face. He raised his sword high and slashed downward.
"Kill!"
Dian Wei beat his chest with both fists and roared like a raging tiger. Standing before Liu Hao like an immovable mountain, he swung his halberd.
One strike.
Two heads flew into the air.
The bandits at the front were instantly beheaded.
The manor guards had never experienced real combat before and were originally panicking. But hearing the battle cries, their courage surged and morale rose sharply.
At that moment, a furious shout suddenly rang through the courtyard.
"How dare you bandits harm my lord!"
The voice exploded like spring thunder.
Liu Hao's eyes lit up.
It was Zhan Zhao.
Zhan Zhao rushed into the group of bandits with sword in hand.
The blade flashed through the air, gleaming like lightning.
Intercepting several bandits at once, his overwhelming combat strength crushed them completely. Wherever his sword flashed, bandits fell one after another.
More than ten men were killed in moments.
Soon another sharp cry cut through the night.
Another figure joined the battlefield.
It was Liu Hao's ultimate enforcer—Cao Zhengchun.
His movements were ghostlike.
The flexible sword in his hand moved like lightning, cutting through the bandits and leaving them screaming in terror.
With Dian Wei guarding Liu Hao and both Zhan Zhao and Cao Zhengchun entering the fight, the attacking bandits never even reached Liu Hao before being slaughtered.
"Ghosts! These men are demons!"
"Run! Run!"
After fighting for a while, the bandits saw more and more of their companions fall. Meanwhile Liu Hao and his men only fought harder.
Fear consumed them.
They completely lost the will to fight.
Dozens of them had attacked, yet these few warriors were cutting through them effortlessly.
Now they only wanted to escape.
Liu Hao's eyes flashed with imperial golden light.
"Dian Wei. Zhan Zhao. Don't let a single one escape. Kill them all!"
His sword flashed.
One bandit's throat was sliced open instantly.
Liu Hao calmly wiped the blood from his blade on the corpse as another enemy collapsed at his feet.