Chapter 44

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Chapter 44 Trouble Arrives

Before long, five figures appeared at the scene of the earlier battle. Seeing the blood-stained ground, their fists trembled in anger.

One of them, a man dressed in a scholar’s purple robe, angrily spoke to his companions, “Whoever dared to slaughter our dispatched team must pay. We have to avenge our fallen brothers.” After hearing his words, the other four nodded and began following the tracks left by the carriage, seemingly getting closer to Mu Xiaofeng’s group.

Meanwhile, Mu Xiaofeng and his companions had been traveling for some time. Thanks to Qiao Zi, most of Mu Xiaofeng’s wounds had healed. Mu Xiaofeng then called out to the members of the Six Great Families outside the carriage, “Can we get out and walk for a bit? Sitting inside the carriage for so long is suffocating. Don’t worry, we won’t try to escape.”

It was clear that Mu Xiaofeng was eager to stretch his legs, as sitting inside for so long made him feel like a prisoner. The emissary from the Blood Spirit Clan glanced at his companions after hearing Mu Xiaofeng’s request. Most remained indifferent, but Mo Huaichou slightly shook his head.

With a sigh, the Blood Spirit Clan emissary closed his eyes and said, “I trust you won’t run. Fine, you may all step out, but keep up the pace and don’t delay the journey.”

Hearing that the Six Great Families had granted him permission, Mu Xiaofeng stood up to exit the carriage. Just then, Qiao Zi grabbed his hand, saying, “I’ve just spent a lot of energy. I need to rest here in the carriage. Be careful when you’re out there.”

Qiao Zi looked visibly fatigued, genuinely in need of rest. Upon hearing this, Qin Baoyi offered to stay behind with her, so the two women remained in the carriage while the others went outside to get some fresh air.

Once outside, the group became much more lively, playing and bantering with one another, seemingly forgetting that they were heading to face interrogation by the Six Great Families.

Before long, they spotted several small huts in the distance. The Wu Clan emissary shouted, “There’s a village ahead. I’ll go scout the area. If everything looks good, we can rest there.”

With that, the Wu Clan emissary quickly dashed ahead, disappearing from sight. Zhang Wenyu then hurried after him, shouting, “I’ll go with him!”

Seeing Zhang Wenyu run off, Tiaobella frowned slightly, concerned that Zhang Wenyu might take this opportunity to escape. Mu Xiaofeng noticed her expression and reassured her with a smile, “Don’t worry, Zhang Wenyu won’t run. After all, we’re still here.”

Hearing Mu Xiaofeng’s confidence in Zhang Wenyu, Tiaobella relaxed a little and continued moving forward.

Eventually, the group arrived at the small village, where the Wu Clan emissary and Zhang Wenyu were waiting, chatting amicably. It seemed that the members of the Six Great Families weren’t entirely heartless; they could still befriend others. Through their conversation, Zhang Wenyu learned that the Wu Clan emissary’s name was Wu Xiaoxing, and he was the uncle of the deceased Wu Xiaotian.

After arriving in the village, the group took a break, bought some food and water, and wandered around for a bit—although they were never out of the Six Great Families’ sight.

As they approached an old woman’s house, Yun Jie admired the straw hats she was making and wanted to buy one. The elderly woman, curious about this group of young people, asked where they were from.

Yun Jie replied, “Grandmother, we came from Huguan City and are now on our way to the capital.” Upon hearing this, the old woman gently stroked Yun Jie’s face and said, “Children, you must be careful. There’s a fearsome bandit gang in these parts. They’ve been around for years, the most dangerous group in the entire Wangzhe Mountain Range, led by five particularly formidable bandit chiefs.”

“Five bandit chiefs?” Mu Xiaofeng felt a sense of unease. After all, the burly bandit leader earlier had been defeated effortlessly by the members of the Six Great Families. If that was considered formidable, the bandits of Hutou Ridge would be nothing to worry about.

But perhaps the bandit leader killed earlier was merely one of their underlings. If so, their journey ahead would be fraught with danger. And Mu Xiaofeng’s concerns were spot on. At that very moment, the five bandit chiefs were racing towards the village, and it wouldn’t be long before they caught up to Mu Xiaofeng and his group.

After a brief rest in the village, Mu Xiaofeng and the others set off again. As dusk approached, the sky began to dim. The setting sun lingered, reluctant to dip below the horizon.

Just then, Zhang Wenyu noticed the sky behind them was also tinged with red. He nudged Mu Xiaofeng and pointed to the horizon. “Mu Xiaofeng, isn’t there supposed to be only one sun?”

Mu Xiaofeng found this remark odd and looked in the direction Zhang Wenyu was pointing. Indeed, the sky behind them glowed red, as if another sun were setting.

Sensing something was wrong, Mu Xiaofeng said, “This isn’t good! That’s the direction of the village we just left. The villagers might be in danger.” Alarmed, Mu Xiaofeng shouted for the group to stop and pointed toward the sky behind them.

The group halted, and Wu Xiaoxing was sent back to investigate. He returned shortly, his face grim. “The village we left may have been attacked by bandits. They set it on fire. We need to get out of here immediately.”

Mu Xiaofeng’s heart sank. The red glow in the distance wasn’t a sunset after all, but flames illuminating the sky. Unable to contain himself, Mu Xiaofeng hefted his heavy sword and began running back, intent on rescuing the villagers.

But Wu Xiaoxing swiftly blocked his path, signaling him to stop. Mo Huaichou also stepped forward, questioning Mu Xiaofeng, “Are you trying to escape? It’s too late to save them. We need to leave here as soon as possible and head toward the capital. This area is far too dangerous.”

Mu Xiaofeng, both furious and frustrated, let out a roar and swung his sword, cutting down a tree as thick as a wine barrel. Tears streamed down his face as he turned and continued forward.

Back in the village, the five bandit chiefs had reduced the place to rubble. As they interrogated the villagers about the carriage’s passengers, they were told the group was made up of six young adults in their twenties leading a group of teenagers.

This answer was unacceptable to the bandit chiefs. After all, they had lost dozens of men—how could they have been defeated by a mere handful of youngsters? And it wasn’t just defeat; it was a massacre.

The bandit chiefs began to reassess Mu Xiaofeng’s group’s true strength. If the villagers were to be believed, the upcoming battle wouldn’t be easy.

Among the five, a small, frail-looking man stepped forward. Though he was no bigger than a child, his face bore the weathered look of someone far older, complete with wrinkles and a mustache. The most striking feature was the scar running across his face.

Dressed like an archer, this shadowy figure suggested, “We might face tough opponents ahead, but we know this terrain better than anyone. We can keep harassing them, wear them down, and then wipe them out in one decisive strike.” His suggestion was sound. After all, they had spent years living in the Wangzhe Mountain Range and knew every inch of it, giving them the advantage of terrain.

The others agreed with his plan. The scholarly leader stepped forward, patted the small man’s shoulder, and assured him, “Don’t worry, brother. We’ll avenge your brother’s death.”

It seemed this small man was the elder brother of the burly bandit leader killed earlier. No wonder they were so determined to catch up to Mu Xiaofeng and exact revenge. Despite the stark difference in their physiques, the brothers shared the same mustache.

With their plan settled, the five bandit chiefs pressed on. After traveling late into the night, they finally spotted traces of Mu Xiaofeng’s group ahead.

Mu Xiaofeng’s group had been moving slowly due to Qiao Zi and Qin Baoyi, who weren’t very physically fit. Being caught up to by the bandit chiefs was inevitable, though none of them had anticipated their enemies would pursue them without rest.

Having spotted their quarry, the five bandit chiefs quickly dispersed and hid within the trees. But their movements didn’t go unnoticed by Wu Xiaoxing, who was trailing at the back of the group. Realizing danger was near, he immediately sounded the alarm, “Everyone, be on guard! We’ve got company!”

As soon as Wu Xiaoxing’s warning rang out, arrows whizzed out from the forest, aimed at the group. The Chen Clan emissary leapt forward, twirling his silver spear to deflect the arrows. At the same time, water surged from the ground, rushing toward the group. Tiaobella quickly concentrated her energy and redirected the torrent to the roadside, preventing it from hitting them.

Though no one was injured, the sudden attack spooked the horses, which bolted. However, Qiao Zi and Qin Baoyi were still inside the carriage, and if the horses weren’t stopped, they would be in grave danger.