The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 1: Starting with the Robbery of Xue Baochai

It is October, the weather is clear and cool.

The sky is high and blue, white clouds are floating leisurely across the sky, and the mountains are becoming more and more majestic and tall.

The mountains and forests are all colored with red and yellow maple leaves, which are like fire, interweaving among the green pine and cypress forests, like a colorful autumn dress.

The mountain stream is crystal clear, with a few fallen leaves occasionally drifting with the current, telling of the changing of seasons.

On the distant path, dozens of people are slowly walking into the painting.

Leading the group was a handsome young man, about sixteen or seventeen years old, with his hair tied up without a crown, dressed in fine clothes, with a sword at his waist, riding a tall horse, and walking slowly alongside the carriage.

The three carriages were large and sturdy, and just looking at the wood they were made of you could tell that they were not for ordinary families.

Under the scorching sun, the painted exterior of the carriage shines brightly, covered with colorful autumn leaves, indicating that it has been a long journey.

The first carriage had a Xiang curtain hanging on it, and pleasant sounds of laughter could be faintly heard from inside. The two carriages behind seemed to be loaded with boxes and suitcases. Just looking at the wheel tracks, one could tell that the cargo on the carriages was quite heavy.

A group of servants in blue clothes and small hats sat scattered on the shafts of the carriage, leaning lazily against the carriage, waving long whips weakly in their hands, guiding the carriage along the winding mountain road.

Just after they climbed over a hill, they heard whistles from the woods on both sides, followed by shouts and screams. Dozens of bandits rushed out from the front and back, and everyone was thrown into chaos.

"Why are there bandits here?"

"Quick, grab your weapons..."

The group was in a mess, but the handsome young man at the head was very excited. He drew out his sword and shouted:

"Mother, sister, just wait and see as I kill the thief!"

After saying this, he rode forward, ready to fight, but he frightened the women in the carriage so much that they almost fainted.

"No……"

"Come back quickly!"

This young man looked brave, but in fact he was a weakling. He had just ridden his horse for less than ten steps, before he could catch the thief, he was hit on the head by a bullet. He screamed and fell off his horse.

The thieves rushed forward and tied up the fat sheep that was delivered to their door, while shouting loudly:

"Put down your weapons and surrender without killing!"

"We treat prisoners well in Yushan!"

The servants who were guarding the carriage with knives in their hands looked at each other for a moment, and no longer cared about the hostess in the carriage. They simply threw away their swords, lay on the ground with their buttocks raised high, and surrendered.

When everything was settled, the bandit leader got off his horse, put the slingshot back into the bag, staggered to the front of the carriage, reached out to lift the curtain, and looked inside. He saw several women sitting inside.

In the middle was a beautiful woman, who looked to be in her thirties, well-maintained, with a voluptuous figure and a well-proportioned figure. She was wearing gold and silver jewelry and covered in silk.

On both sides of her sat several ladies, and judging by their clothes, they should be a young lady and many maids and old women.

The young lady looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, in the prime of her life, with a full and plump figure. Even without makeup, she looked very pretty. It was a pity that her face now showed extreme fear and her face was pale.

Beside the young lady, there were a group of maids surrounding her, among whom there was a stunning beauty, whose appearance alone was not inferior to that of the young lady.

"Oh, what a pretty girl!"

"Don't worry, ladies. We, the heroes of Yushan, act on behalf of heaven. We usually only rob people for money, not women. We also try not to kill if we can."

"As long as you hand over the valuables you carry, we will take them and leave. We will definitely not delay your itinerary."

The bandit was tall and strong, with a rough appearance, a teardrop mole under his right eye, a full beard, and frivolous words. The unspoken meaning in his words frightened those who heard them.

The few people in the carriage were just girls who had never seen such a scene before. They were so scared that they were trembling like quails. They had no rationality at all. After hearing this, they did not dare to delay and immediately took out all the banknotes, gold and silver they had on them, held them in both hands and handed them over.

The bandit leader took the property and took a quick look at it. He immediately raised his eyebrows and smiled happily.

This sheep is quite fat!
He still felt unsatisfied, so he waved his hand and a heroic female bandit rode over on horseback, took out a cloth bag from her body, opened it and placed it in front of the men.

"Come on, put in all the gold and silver jewelry, jewels, jade and other things!"

The women had no choice but to take off all the ornaments such as the silver hairpins on their heads and the bracelets on their wrists and put them into the bag.

The bandit leader had sharp eyes and would not let go of any valuables. Seeing that the lady had an ornament on her neck, he pointed his finger and shouted:

"That thing on your neck, is it gold? Hurry up, don't dawdle, don't expect a hero to jump out and save you!" Seeing the thief getting angry, the beautiful woman in the middle suddenly panicked and hurriedly explained:
"Your Majesty, please calm down. This necklace on my daughter's body is a magical tool given to her by a senior monk. It is used to treat diseases. Please have mercy on me and don't take it away."

The bandit leader's face darkened and he became angry. "What kind of magic weapon is this? I just want to ask you, is it made of gold? Is it worth money?"

The beautiful woman shuddered and immediately became timid. She turned to persuade her daughter:

"Baochai, forget it, just give it to him!"

"When we get to the capital, we will find a great monk to get you another one."

The young lady had no choice but to turn around, unbutton her outer robe, take off the collar, take a last reluctant look at it, and hand it over.

The bandit leader took it and took a closer look. He saw that the treasure was a solid gold necklace with a necklace made of gems and gold beads at the bottom. The jewels were crystal clear and the gold was brilliant. It was very beautiful. In the middle of the necklace hung a gold lock.

When he lifted the lock and looked at it, he saw four seal characters on one side of the golden lock, and eight characters on both sides, which read "Never leave, never abandon, and continue young forever."

This word...why do I feel like I've heard it somewhere before?
Just as he was holding the lock and considering, the pretty boy who had been knocked off his horse by his slingshot woke up and found himself tied up. The bandit leader was extorting his family, and he immediately flew into a rage and started shouting loudly.

"Bold thief!"

"You really don't know how to live or die!"

"How dare you tie up your uncle Xue!"

"Do you know who the master is?"

"I am Xue Pan, the patriarch of the Xue family in Jinling!"

"The governor of nine provinces, Wang Ziteng, is my uncle!"

"If you know what's best for you, just let me go. Otherwise, when my uncle's army arrives, I will kill everyone in the mountain!"

Nine Provinces Commander Wang Ziteng...Xue Pan...Baochai...Jinsuo...

Putting these clues together, the bandit leader's eyes lit up immediately, and he turned around and asked:

"Did you kill a man named Feng Yuan in Yingtian Prefecture?"

Xue Pan still didn't know whether he was dead or alive, and he struggled and shouted:
"You dare to snatch my woman? You must be tired of living!"

"Grandpa beat him to death, so what?"

"Who dares to control me?"

The bandit leader's eyes lit up after hearing this. He turned around and looked at the beautiful woman dressed as a maid in the car, and asked eagerly:
"So you are Xiangling?"

Xiangling didn't know the pros and cons, so she had to nod.

Seeing that the bandit leader's expression was becoming more and more weird, and her brother was still shouting and cursing, Xue Baochai was frightened and hurriedly leaned her head out of the carriage and waved her arms at her brother.

"Shut up!"

"Brother, don't talk nonsense!"

Xue Pan always listened to his sister. Although he didn't understand why, he still kept quiet. But it was too late. The bandit leader laughed and shouted:

"This Xue Pan raped a woman and took her life lightly. He deserves to be killed!"

"Brothers, we in the village never like to kill people, but for this kind of people, there is no need to be polite to him!"

"Come on, invite these nobles back to the mountain to be our guests!"

The bandits responded loudly, picked up the tied servants, stuffed them into the car, and hurried towards the stronghold.

"No... My Lord... My brother is just talking nonsense..."

Xue Baochai wanted to cry but had no tears. However, she could not resist at all. She could only watch her whole family fall into the hands of the thieves and the vehicle gradually disappeared into the dark and dense forest.

Because force is not allowed, a lot of content in the original version has been deleted and modified. If you want to see Mr. Zhan take Baochai immediately, just give up this idea.

From now on, Master Zhan is a kind gentleman who wants to win over people as well as their hearts.



(End of this chapter)