After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Chapter 173 Counterattack

midnight.

Several figures moved through the second-floor corridor, crouching low to the door of an already occupied room. Listening for any sounds from inside, they gently poked a hole in the paper window on the door, then raised a small bamboo tube, bit one end into their mouth, and inserted the other end into the hole in the paper window. With a forceful blow, the intoxicating fragrance inside the bamboo tube slowly filled the entire room.

The young man on the bed seemed to hear the commotion outside. His brows furrowed slightly, and then he opened his eyes to see a tall figure standing at the edge of the bed.

His heart skipped a beat, and his sleepy eyes snapped open. His lips moved slightly, but he saw a tall figure approaching him. In the dim light, Gu Lin saw the other person put his index finger to his lips.

As the other person approached, Gu Lin narrowed his eyes and, by the bright moonlight shining through the wooden window, was able to clearly see the young man's face.

The handsome young man was completely exposed to the young man. Gu Lin frowned, and before he could react, Zheng Hao lowered his eyes and gestured to him, hearing the faint noise coming from outside. Gu Lin followed the other's gaze to his own hand, and then, on a whim, he stretched out his arm and opened his palm. Zheng Hao raised his hand and lightly stroked his palm.

Long, slender fingers landed on the young man's hand, each stroke bringing warmth and a ticklish sensation. Gu Lin lowered his head slightly, looking at the character "bandit" written on the other's palm. Before he could think further, the footsteps outside grew closer, and Gu Lin heard the sound of the paper doors and windows being pierced.

Immediately afterwards, Zheng Hao took out a handkerchief that he had prepared beforehand from his sleeve, covered Gu Lin's nose with one hand, and covered his own face with the other.

Feeling the damp handkerchief on his face, Gu Lin's gaze flickered slightly but he didn't move.

In the quiet, dark room, the young man and the young man lay down, their dark black eyes and light brown eyes staring at each other. Suddenly, a low voice came from outside. Gu Lin's eyes flickered, and he came back to his senses.

Are you sure none of them are unconscious?

"Nonsense, this is a sleeping potion concocted by the village's old doctor. It can knock out even tigers, let alone people!"

The first man to speak said, "Then let's go in and take a look."

"Don't let your lust get the better of you and ruin the Third Master's plans. The Third Master has given a death order: none of these people will be spared!"

The first man to speak chuckled: "I just thought that young man inside was quite handsome! I've never seen such a good-looking guy before. He's got both a handsome face and a great figure. Even the concubines of other officials can't compare to him! I'll just have some fun with him, and I promise I'll send him on his way after I'm done!"

In the still of the night, every sound was exceptionally clear. These words fell into the ears of the two people inside the room without missing a single one. Faced with their plan to rape and then kill him, Gu Lin felt no shame. On the contrary, he was more worried about his life. He could tell from their words that it was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a carefully planned scheme.

The young man next to the young man had his eyes half-closed, a fierce glint in them. Gu Lin raised his hand and gently patted Zheng Hao, his eyes indicating: What should we do?

Zheng Hao's hand twitched slightly, and his fingers landed on Gu Lin's palm again. After seeing what the other party had written, Gu Lin pondered the possibilities and then nodded.

Immediately afterward, the door creaked open, and two figures stealthily entered the room. They went around the screen and came to a spot not far from the bed. They saw a huddled, motionless blanket. The man in the lead said, "If it's not moving, it must be unconscious. I'll go check on it."

Another man turned his back and impatiently urged, "Hurry up and finish, don't delay our business!"

As the leading man walked towards the bed, he grinned lewdly: "Now that things are getting interesting, I have no choice!"

As he spoke, he walked to the edge of the bed, looked at the young man who was almost curled up in the blankets, his face full of lewdness, and then raised his hand to lift the blankets.

He was stunned. He saw that the person lying in the bedding was not the young man he had imagined, but a long pillow.

"You're just driven by lust; you'll eventually succumb to it."

Looking at the empty bed, the man swallowed hard, immediately realizing they had been tricked. He was about to turn around and call for his accomplices when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck and passed out.

Noticing that there had been no sound coming from behind for a long time, the man became suspicious and became wary. He gripped his knife tightly, turned around, and slashed forward, only to see a tall figure flash by extremely fast.

The man caught a glimpse of his accomplice lying lifeless on the ground out of the corner of his eye, then looked at the towering figure in front of him, a ruthless glint in his eyes.

He raised his hand to continue slashing forward, but the tall figure remained motionless, as if intimidated by his ferocity. Before the man could even feel a flicker of joy in his eyes, the tall figure dodged to the side, and the blade pierced his body with a "thud." The man's eyes widened suddenly, and he slowly looked down at the blade embedded in his body. Then, his body fell backward. Zheng Hao pulled out the blade, and the friction between flesh and blade produced a chilling dull thud. He bent down slightly and caught the blade as it was about to fall to the ground with the man.

Just as he was about to get up, Zheng Hao suddenly felt a gust of wind behind him. He remained expressionless, turned around, and raised his sword to meet the attack. With a clang, the sword and blade clashed, producing a metallic sound. The attacker did not hesitate and continued to slash. Compared to the man who had attacked Zheng Hao earlier, his attacks were ruthless, all aimed at the young man's vital points.

The two men, one tall and one short, were positioned in a way that made it difficult for Zheng Hao to retaliate. He leaned back slightly, but the man opposite him was an experienced fighter who exploited his weaknesses, making it difficult for Zheng Hao to escape in a short time.

Suddenly, Zheng Hao's eyes changed slightly. He raised his knife, ignoring his disadvantageous position, and attacked the man as if he didn't care about his life. The man thought that he knew he had no way out and was struggling to survive. After a cold laugh, he gripped the hilt of his knife and slashed at him. But he heard a "bang" and felt a sharp pain on his head. The man's face showed unwillingness. He gripped the hilt of his knife and wanted to continue attacking, but in the end, he could only close his eyes and faint.

The solid flesh slammed into the ground with a dull thud.

His gaze swept over the thugs' bodies, then he looked up at the young man standing not far away who had knocked the man unconscious with a vase. Zheng Hao stepped closer and said softly, "Uncle Gu is alright now."

Hearing the familiar male voice beside him, Gu Lin's eyes flickered. He slowly relaxed his body and lowered his hands. His eyes lowered and he saw the bloodstains on the surface of the vase. His expression changed. Zheng Hao reached out and took the vase.

He thanked him earnestly, saying, "Thank you so much, Uncle Gu, for saving me."

The sincerity in his tone made Gu Lin's tense body relax slightly.

Yes, these bandits struck first, trying to kill them; they were merely fighting back to save themselves.

The young man gradually came to his senses.

Then, he looked up at Zheng Hao, his voice tinged with urgency: "There's such a commotion here, the bandits outside..."

Before the young man could finish speaking, the sounds of fighting came from outside. Gu Lin's eyelashes trembled slightly, whether from a physiological reaction or from shock, it was hard to tell.

Zheng Hao remained calm, took the young man's cold hand, and led him behind the screen. Then he reached down the cloak hanging on the wooden frame and turned to put it on the young man.

Zheng Hao moved his palm slightly upward, then gripped Gu Lin's wrist tightly, tilted his head slightly, and lowered his eyes, saying, "Follow me, Uncle Gu, don't be afraid."

Faced with the crisis, Gu Lin did not resist.

Zheng Hao handed the knife in his hand to the young man beside him. Then, he walked towards the dead body and picked up a cold knife from the side.

Zheng Hao held a knife in one hand and the young man's wrist in the other, protecting him as they walked out of the house. Strangely, the young man, with his delicate and beautiful appearance, held a cold knife dripping with blood, his face was gloomy and his eyes were filled with ferocity. The young man, who looked like a ferocious beast, was carrying an impeccably clean iron knife.

The two were completely reversed. The young man held a cold, blood-stained knife that seemed out of place in his hand, as if someone had deliberately placed it there to intimidate the other bandits and keep them away.

The stench of blood filled the air. Gu Lin looked around and saw blood spreading across the floor of the second-floor corridor.

Footsteps came from the stairwell. Zheng Hao's expression remained unchanged, but he protected Gu Lin even more tightly. Gu Lin's expression tightened slightly, he gripped the hilt of his knife, and stared at the stairwell. Several figures quickly walked over and stepped out of the shadows. Niu Qiang said to Zheng Hao, "Sir, all the bandits have been captured!"

Upon seeing that the person who came was Niu Qiang, Gu Lin relaxed. Zheng Hao's expression remained unchanged throughout. He said, "Take the bandits into the woodshed for strict interrogation, and then send someone to wake up the others."

"Yes!"

Niu Qiang's gaze swept quickly over the hands of the young man and the younger man clasped together, then he turned and went downstairs.

Zheng Hao turned his head and lowered his eyes slightly, saying, "Uncle Gu's room is dirty, how about we go to my place first?"

Smelling the lingering stench of blood and thinking of the bandits who had just died in the house, Gu Lin nodded silently.

Following Zheng Hao to his room, Da Zhuo was not there. The young man was only wearing a cloak and his undergarments. It was a chilly night, so Zheng Hao led him to sit down on his bed.

Then, he turned around, poured a glass of water, and returned to Gu Lin's side. Gu Lin took the glass, and a warm sensation spread from the glass to his palm. He lowered his head slightly and took a few sips. A wave of heat rose from his stomach, and Gu Lin felt his body slowly warming up.

After feeling that his hands and feet were no longer so cold, Gu Lin stopped drinking water. He looked up at the young man who had been standing beside him and asked, "When did you realize that Liu San Niang and the others were acting strangely?"

From Zheng Hao's seemingly precognitive appearance in his room in the middle of the night, to the other party's words before dinner reminding him to eat pastries if he couldn't eat the inn's food, and in the few breaths while drinking water, Gu Lin sorted out his thoughts and realized that the other party might have already noticed that something was wrong with this inn.

Without hiding anything, Zheng Hao explained, "When Liu San Niang fell, she changed her body posture to reduce the force of her impact with the ground. This is something only martial artists can learn."

Upon hearing this, Gu Lin pondered for a moment, then asked, "Why aren't you telling us? Is it because there are many bandits hiding in the inn besides Liu San Niang and the waiter?"

Not to be surprised that Uncle Gu could guess this, Zheng Hao nodded slightly: "In order to avoid alerting the enemy, I secretly instructed Niu Qiang and Da Zhuo to be more vigilant against Liu San Niang and the waiter. Since I couldn't be alone with Uncle Gu, I had to remind him from outside the door."

At this point, seeing the young man sitting on the bed looking completely conscious, Zheng Hao knew that the other man understood his hint and had not eaten the food provided by the inn.

A knock came at the door, and Da Zhuo's voice came in: "My lord, Guard Niu has interrogated the bandits and found out their background."

Zheng Hao did not respond. He looked down at the young man sitting on the bed, knowing that the other was going to interrogate Liu San Niang and the others. It was a matter of great importance. If he went with him, the other would definitely be distracted and would not be able to properly interrogate Liu San Niang and the others.

Gu Lin waved his hand and said, "Go on, go on. I've been up all night, I'm going to get some sleep first."

Zheng Hao instructed, "I've asked Da Zhuo and a few guards to stand watch outside. Uncle Gu, you can sleep here without worry. I'll be back soon."

With the corpses and blood still possibly in his own house, Gu Lin certainly couldn't go back. He waved to Zheng Hao, signaling him to leave, then turned his back, took off his cloak, covered himself with the blankets, and lay down on the bed.

Seeing this, Zheng Hao turned and left the room.

After closing the door, Zheng Hao turned to Da Zhuo, who was standing beside him, and instructed him, "Take good care of your husband."

Although his master hadn't said anything, Da Zhuo knew that if anything happened to his husband under his command, he himself would be skinned alive and have his bones ripped off if he went to see his master with his head.

As dawn approached and the sky began to lighten, Gu Lin, half-asleep, felt a cool breeze enter his bed. The young man, who was never a sound sleeper outside, shivered slightly but did not wake up.

A moment later, a warm sensation spread over him. Gu Lin turned over, his previously furrowed brows slowly relaxing, and his body, which never felt hot no matter how he slept, gradually moved towards the source of heat.

The other body in the bedding was slightly stiff. At first, Zheng Hao didn't dare to move. But when he felt the young man's head nestled against his chest, breathing heavily, Zheng Hao half-bent his arm and wrapped it around the other man as he fell asleep.

With a hazy consciousness, Gu Lin felt his body lighten and sway, and then fell into a deep sleep. It was almost noon when Gu Lin slowly woke up from his sleep.

Seeing the swaying roof of the car, a look of confusion crossed the young man's sleepy face.

After a moment, he seemed to recall what had happened last night. Then, he turned to look to the side and met the young man's dark eyes.

Zheng Hao noticed the young man as soon as he woke up.

He asked the young man lying on the bed, "Uncle Gu, would you like to wash up?"

Nodding slightly, Gu Lin sat up.

Zheng Hao opened the car door and got out. A moment later, he carried in a copper basin of water.

Zheng Hao turned to the young man and said, "Uncle Gu has tooth powder and toothbrushes in the drawer next to him."

Gu Lin did as instructed, pulling out a drawer and taking out tooth powder and a toothbrush. In Gu Lin's bathroom, Zheng Hao turned away.

As Gu Lin washed up, he recalled the events of the previous night. Liu San Niang and her group were bandits who had tried to kill them, but Zheng Hao saw through their scheme and killed them in return. The surviving bandits were then imprisoned by Zheng Hao, who interrogated them. Afterward, he fell asleep in his room…

Gu Lin spat the mouthwash into the spittoon, picked up a damp, hot towel to wipe his face, and then...

Gu Lin paused in wiping his face, his expression slightly stiffening. How did he get from the inn to the carriage?