Chapter 19: Disaster from Heaven
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Chapter 19: Disaster from Heaven
Inside the bumping carriage, the travelers were already drowsy. The mountain road wound its way forward, and the official road had become a mountain path.
The two carriages had been traveling for a full two days. As long as they crossed this mountain range, they could return to the official road and then travel smoothly all the way to the capital of the Pu Kingdom.
Qiyuan Mountain—that was the name of the place the carriages were passing through.
To travel from Linshan Town on the border of the Pu Kingdom to the capital, Qiyuan Mountain was a necessary passage. On the other side of this mountain range lay a huge canyon that served as a natural barrier separating the Pu and Qi kingdoms.
Qiyuan Mountain was a branch of the Wanheng Mountain Range. Whenever merchant families passed through Qiyuan Mountain, they would be filled with trepidation. In recent years, mountain bandits were said to frequently appear here, and countless wealthy families traveling this route had disappeared without a trace.
When the Cheng family had passed through Qiyuan Mountain to reach Linshan Town six years ago, this place had been nothing more than ordinary barren hills and wilderness. But today, six years later, countless pairs of eyes filled with violence appeared in the depths of the secluded mountains.
Neigh!
The horses let out pitiful cries after being reined in hard. The carriage lurched violently back and forth, and the tremendous inertia threw the people inside upward. Xu Yan, who had been sleeping soundly, only felt his head hurt, while across from him, Cheng Linwan was knocked so hard she let out a scream.
They had been sitting opposite each other and collided directly.
The sudden stop of the carriage indicated a crisis. Cheng Yu helped his wife up while asking in a low voice: “What’s happening?”
“Sir, mountain bandits are blocking the road.”
The coachman had barely finished speaking when the sound of arrows cutting through the air arrived.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
There were no cries of alarm from outside the carriage. The Cheng family didn’t have many servants, but they were all very steady. These people had followed Cheng Yu for many years—they were loyal servants from the former Left Prime Minister’s residence.
Xu Yan’s ears twitched. He heard the sound of arrow feathers vibrating at their tails.
Those arrows hadn’t killed anyone but were all stuck in the ground in front of the carriages.
“Wanheng Mountain, Qiyuan Ridge!”
“Yuanshan Stronghold, by the Great King’s command!”
“People may pass, wealth may not!”
The shouts from outside the window weren’t some nursery rhyme but the bandits’ coded language. Clearly, there were quite a few bandits blocking the road, and they were aggressive.
The old man’s brow furrowed tightly. Cheng Yu’s mind raced like lightning and fire as he considered countermeasures. In just a moment, his expression became increasingly grim.
Because from behind the two carriages came the sound of chaotic footsteps—the Cheng family had been completely surrounded by mountain bandits.
Sighing, Cheng Yu clenched his hands tightly, then stepped down from the carriage.
Around the carriages, no fewer than three to five hundred people had gathered, each holding steel blades with unfriendly expressions. Leading the group at the front was a man eight feet tall, his face covered with more than a dozen knife scars, looking twisted and fierce like a demon from hell.
The Cheng family had only six or seven servants. Including Cheng Yu, his wife, and Cheng Linwan, there were barely ten people total. Facing hundreds of mountain bandits, they were no different from lambs awaiting slaughter.
Looking at the bandits in front and behind, Cheng Yu pointed to the second carriage and said: “All the valuables are here. Take them. The first carriage only has my family members—let us pass.”
As soon as the old man spoke, the coachman and several servants from the second carriage immediately jumped down and formed a protective circle around the first carriage.
Wealth meant nothing. To Cheng Yu, ten thousand gold pieces were just passing clouds. Moreover, once he returned to the capital, would the Left Prime Minister lack money? Keeping his family safe was what mattered most.
“Now that’s refreshing.”
The lead bandit grinned wickedly. With a wave of his hand, more than ten mountain bandits immediately rushed toward the second carriage. His narrow eyes squinted slightly, and his snake-like gaze fixed on the girl inside the carriage door.
“Since we’ve met such a refreshing person today, I, Flying Centipede, will give you something refreshing too.”
The cold steel blade suddenly rose, pointing toward Cheng Linwan in the carriage. The mountain bandit nicknamed Flying Centipede said coldly: “Leave her behind, and you can go.”
Flames of anger burned in the old man’s eyes. Cheng Yu trembled with rage, while inside the carriage, the old woman held her granddaughter tightly, her aged face pale as death.
The Cheng family wasn’t afraid of being robbed of wealth, but if the other party wanted to take people, that was truly a disaster from heaven.
“Never!”
The voice seemed to roar from between clenched teeth, carrying six years of suppressed emotion. The old man’s gaze began to calm, his straight back like an ancient pine.
The prime minister, over sixty years old, no longer feared life and death. He could bear the reputation of a treacherous minister for the future of countless common people. He could endure people pointing fingers behind his back. He could even go to his death, but he absolutely could not abandon his family, especially the granddaughter he had watched grow up.
Clang!
Steel blades were drawn. The Cheng family servants all took out their weapons and assumed fighting stances, each with a resolute expression. Someone roared: “My master is the current Left Prime Minister! How dare you scoundrels act so recklessly!”
These servants were the Cheng family’s retainers and also loyal servants of the Left Prime Minister’s residence. They had long since sold their lives to the Left Prime Minister’s family and showed no fear in the face of danger.
“Left Prime Minister?”
The scar-faced bandit leader laughed, hefting the steel blade in his hand as he shouted: “These days, no title compares to the blade in your hand! With a blade in hand, even if you were the emperor himself, what would you amount to! We’re bandits, and since you’re officials, you can all go die! We brothers are definitely going to taste an official’s daughter today!”
His smile suddenly turned cold. Flying Centipede Liao Jiuming roared angrily: “Anyone who draws a blade—kill them all!”
Kill!!!
Dozens of fierce bandits led by a tower-like strong man charged forward with wild shouts. There were only about ten people on the other side, with six or seven having weapons. There was no need for all the mountain bandits to attack together—fifty or sixty men could easily handle the opponents.
The Cheng family servants didn’t cry out or retreat. Facing the bandits surging toward them like a tide, they didn’t even shout. Each one simply drew their blade in silence, dodged, and struck again, with everyone deliberately protecting a corner of the carriage behind them.
Cheng Yu had been pushed back into the carriage by his servants. The old man’s expression was very poor, while the old lady and Cheng Linwan were even paler. The fifteen-year-old girl’s small body trembled continuously.
She had never experienced such a calamity—one that concerned both her honor and her life.
On one side of the carriage, Xu Yan listened to the sounds of battle outside but remained silent, his delicate brow constantly furrowed.
Soon, the dull sounds of steel blades entering flesh began to appear. Wounded bandits cursed and shouted, and dark red blood splattered across the carriage windows. Before long, the commotion outside gradually quieted, and Xu Yan stood up accordingly.
Under the puzzled and uncomprehending gazes of the Cheng family, the young Taoist pushed open the carriage door and jumped out.
Outside the carriage—a ground covered in bright red!
Six of the seven Cheng family servants had been hacked to death, with only one left covering his wounds as he lay in a pool of blood, his face fierce as he struggled to get up and fight again.
These Cheng family servants all had some martial skills, but the enemy’s numbers were too great. They had managed to kill more than ten mountain bandits but were ultimately overwhelmed by the sea of people and blades.
The young Taoist emerging from the carriage caused those blood-crazed mountain bandits to raise their steel blades and charge over again. Before they could get close, Xu Yan jumped up and down, shouting loudly: “I’m just a passerby! I don’t know these people! Please show mercy, benefactors!”
A passerby?
The charging mountain bandits suddenly stopped in their tracks, looking at each other, then burst into laughter.
“Riding in the same carriage but claiming to be a passerby—are you trying to fool ghosts!”
“Well sold! Hahaha, kid, you’ve got a future!”
“This bastard is too afraid of death—did he piss his pants? Haha!”
Faced with the surrounding mockery, Xu Yan scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, his eyes panicked as he said: “I, I’m a wandering Taoist priest, just, just hitching a ride.”
As he spoke, Xu Yan seemed to remember something and pointed to the Taoist robe on his body, saying very seriously: “Really, I really am a Taoist priest!”
“There are no Taoist temples on Qiyuan Mountain,” Flying Centipede glanced at the young Taoist and said: “There’s only Yuanshan Stronghold here.”
“Taoist temples and strongholds are all the same—as long as I can fill my belly,” Xu Yan chuckled foolishly twice.
“Want to live? Not difficult!” Flying Centipede grinned wickedly, raised his hand and threw out a steel blade, pointing to the Cheng family servant who wasn’t quite dead yet and was still struggling in the pool of blood, saying: “Kill him, and you’ll be one of our Yuanshan Stronghold people.”
