The Yellow-Haired Villain in Soaring Phoenix’s Novels Also Desires Happiness

Chapter 52、Just Out of the Tiger’s Den, Back into the Wolf’s Lair

The sunset reflected on the river’s surface, like golden leaves scattered, shimmering in the light.

The early autumn breeze gently caressed the trees, rustling softly, bringing the first hint of chill after the summer.

This chill felt somewhat bleak.

“Hmph, little girl, if you know what’s good for you, hand over the valuable stuff!”

On the riverbank path, several rugged men in animal skin skirts surrounded a frail girl, their expressions fierce, like wolves hunting a fawn.

Leading them was a man with a huge scar across his face. He looked at the cute girl in front of him, and a wicked smile involuntarily crept onto his lips:

“If you behave, we might not do anything to you, but if you don’t… heh heh, don’t blame us for being rude.”

“I’m an adventurer.”

The surrounded girl gripped her wand tightly, her eyes showing not a hint of submission.

“If you want to steal my things, have you thought about the consequences?”

“Haha, of course, I can tell you’re an adventurer.”

The scarred man laughed heartily, seemingly not taking the girl’s identity as an adventurer seriously at all.

“But you’re a magician, right? And from the lack of any fighting spirit I can sense from you, you’re just a pure magician.”

“…”

Seeing the girl’s silence, the scarred man’s amusement grew even more arrogant:

“If you had companions, even just someone who could hold us off for a moment, we would run as far as we could, but you’re all alone.

A lone magician, no matter where you are, is a tempting target.”

The scarred man’s gaze swept over the wand in the girl’s hand, revealing an unmistakable greed: “Just this wand alone must be worth a lot of money.”

“…Damn it.”

The girl instinctively hid the wand behind her back, stepping back a few paces, and tried to put on a fierce expression as she spoke:

“You’re robbing in broad daylight, and you’re not afraid of encountering a passing righteous person who might step in to uphold justice?”

“Righteous person? Hahahaha—”

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The scar-faced man exchanged a glance with his subordinate, and they immediately burst into laughter.

“Is she really this naive? This little girl.”

“Wha… what? Did I say something wrong?”

“Hmph, you’re naturally dead wrong.”

The scar-faced man shook the gleaming big knife resting on his shoulder and laughed wildly:

“Beauty, haven’t you figured it out yet? We are professional mountain bandits!

Professional! Do you know what it means to be professional?”

“Make plans in advance!” shouted Bandit A.

“Clarify the work route!” Bandit B said.

“Precisely identify the target!” Bandit C laughed heartily.

“Ensure everything is foolproof!” Bandit D put his hands on his hips.

“Exactly, exactly, what it means to be professional, this is what it means to be professional!”

The scar-faced man waved his hand and laughed:

“We’ve already scouted this area in advance; absolutely no one will pass by. The so-called righteous person you mentioned will naturally not appear.”

“…”

The girl’s cheeks twitched.

It’s just a robbery, why does it feel like a high-IQ crime?

“What if, what if someone you didn’t notice shows up?” the girl still said, somewhat unconvinced.

“What if? Hahaha, if you’re talking about what ifs, then the only place we haven’t scouted in advance is probably this river.”

The scar-faced man raised his eyebrows and exaggerated his expression:

“Are you implying that the righteous person you mentioned will emerge from the river? Hahahaha, don’t make me laugh, are righteous people actually mermaids living at the bottom of the river…”

Splash!

The scar-faced man’s words were suddenly interrupted by the sound of crashing waves.

Under the shimmering light of the setting sun, a golden-haired man suddenly broke through the surface of the river, rising up from the water.

His refreshing short golden hair was pushed back, revealing a strikingly handsome face, and clear water droplets dripped from his perfectly sculpted chest, sparkling with a glimmering light.

“Be… mermaid!”

Bandit A shouted in shock.

“Mermaid my ass!”

The scar-faced man slapped the mountain bandit on the head: “Look closely, that’s a man!”

“Oh oh.”

“I finally… escaped!”

On the river, the golden-haired man suddenly tilted his head back and spread his arms wide, as if to embrace the sky:

“I’m finally free!”

His voice was so exuberant, like a soul long imprisoned finally seeing the light of day. From a distance, even the scar-faced group could feel the joy radiating from the golden-haired man.

“What the hell?”

The golden-haired man suddenly cast his gaze towards the crowd on the shore. That piercing look made even the scar-faced man, who prided himself on remaining unflappable in the face of danger, feel a bit uneasy.

He swam over.

As the water grew shallower and more of him emerged, the people on the shore finally realized…

He was completely naked!

“L… Leader.”

The second bandit’s voice trembled slightly:

“We’re not encountering a pervert, are we?”

“Very likely.”

The scar-faced man’s expression turned serious.

If they were indeed facing a pervert today, and one as handsome as this, then his plans would need to change a bit.

He turned to look at the girl.

She was covering her flushed face, shaking her head vigorously.

Good, it seemed he wasn’t dealing with a so-called righteous person.

“Hello.”

“Hello.”

“You’re good too.”

The golden-haired man stepped onto the shore, completely unconcerned about his nakedness, enthusiastically shaking hands and chatting with everyone.

“The weather is really nice today.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Brother, your outfit is really cool.”

“Do you know where this is?”

“This is…”

Watching the overly familiar golden-haired man, the third bandit couldn’t help but swallow hard:

“Wilds on the west side of Belrand.”

“West side, it’s already slipped far enough; An should be unable to catch up now.”

“After all, just to be safe, I drifted in the river for a whole day and night.”

The blonde man, Mu En, murmured softly to himself.

Earlier, after briefly blinding An with a light spell, Mu En jumped directly into the river, using the current to escape.

Uncertain about how absurd An’s sensing abilities might be, Mu En hid in the river for an entire day and night, using the water to erase all traces and scents of himself.

Fortunately, after reaching the second tier, under the protection of his fighting spirit, his body did not lose heat in the slightly chilly early autumn; merely floating with the current did not require much physical strength.

Once he was certain that An could not catch up, Mu En found a spot where the water flowed gently and prepared to come ashore.

And it was here.

However, he did not expect to run into someone as soon as he got out.

Moreover, it seemed like they were robbing someone?

After a brief moment of thought, Mu En realized that the enthusiastic handshake he was about to give was actually with a group of mountain bandits.

What terrible luck.

—Better slip away first.

He had no weapons, and facing four with just his two hands was not a wise choice.

“Haha, thank you all for your guidance, I’ll be on my way now.”

Mu En smiled in thanks, then turned around and skillfully made his escape.

“Wait.”

Who would have thought that just after taking two steps, the voice of the scar-faced man came from behind.

“Uh? Is there something you need, big brother?”

Mu En turned back, forcing a smile.

“Hmph, kid, you’ve figured out what we are, and you think you can just walk away?” the scar-faced man sneered.

Not good.

Mu En’s mouth twitched, awkwardly laughing, “Don’t worry, I won’t say I saw anything.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Then what do you mean…”

“What I mean is, we are mountain bandits, and when mountain bandits run into someone…”

The scar-faced man stared intently at Mu En, speaking slowly and deliberately: “Then naturally, we have to rob you.”

“Rob?”

Mu En’s expression turned strange.

He looked down at his naked self, then at the scarred man: “Are you serious?”

“Heh heh, who said I was after money?”

The scarred man extended his tongue, licking the edge of his sharp knife, his gaze burning as he fixed it on Mu En and said:

“I’m here to rob you of your beauty!”