CHAPTER 232: CHAPTER 229: LOOTING

The steward of the Tian Family Trading Team didn’t speak. The servants nearby immediately pulled out long sticks from the mule carts and guarded around them.

The cart driver urged the mules to move forward, and the whole caravan suddenly began to move.

They had traveled together for years, developing instinctive cooperation, knowing what to do at this moment. If there was an ambush set here beforehand, they naturally needed to leave quickly.

The caravan’s reaction was timely. The steward hoped that he was being overcautious and that there were no bandits ambushing in the woods around. However, as the caravan sped up, footsteps sounded from the woods on both sides.

The people hiding in the woods acted decisively, first blocking the caravan’s path, then more people rushed out from the woods.

"Leave the carts, don’t hurt anyone." The bandits shouted loudly.

The mules uneasily stomped their hooves.

The servants of the Tian Family fought with the bandits, and Chen Yongsheng led people trying to drive the mule carts out of the bandits’ encirclement.

Although this place wasn’t far from Xingzhou, seeking help from the government office would still take some time. The bandits calculated this, which is why they chose to act here.

"Don’t let them escape."

More bandits attempted to leap onto the mule carts.

Chen Yongsheng had long dismounted, using his sole remaining arm to block the bandits. He wielded a stick with fierce momentum, knocking several bandits to the ground.

The civilians couldn’t use sharp weapons. Even for a caravan, they mostly had daggers at best, not long knives or sharp swords. Everyone commonly used long sticks; when teaching children in Chen Family Village self-defense, Chen Yongsheng focused on bare hands and sticks, and the bandits couldn’t do anything to him for the moment.

But Chen Yongsheng had only one arm. With more bandits coming, they managed to tie him up firmly.

Unable to capture the caravan quickly, some bandits got desperate seeing their easy target slip away. If they returned empty-handed, they would face big troubles; hence, even if they didn’t intend to kill, now they had to use their lives as threats.

Start by killing women and those with disabilities.

Thinking this way, the bandit deputy pulled out a soft sword from his waist, signalling his men to disregard these people’s lives. Killing one or many, they planned to hide in the mountains after finishing the job.

The bandits raised their sharp weapons.

The deputy seized the moment, lunging toward Chen Yongsheng.

Caught by two bandits and unable to break free, Chen Yongsheng had to handle the sudden sneak attack, naturally unaware of the deputy fixedly watching him.

When Chen Yongsheng felt the soft sword quickly approaching, it was already late. His stick was tightly held by a bandit, unable to break loose, and the deputy’s soft sword, with chilling intent, aimed for his chest.

The instant before the soft sword pierced his body, the deputy slightly raised his lips.

However, just as a smile appeared, a sound of something cutting through the air was heard, the deputy yet unclear on what had happened when "bang" blood splattered, forming a blood flower on the deputy’s neck.

Blood sprayed onto Chen Yongsheng and the bandits nearby.

The deputy widened his eyes, his throat uttering a "gurgling" sound, and fell backward.

The sudden reversal stunned the bandits. Chen Yongsheng seized the opportunity to break free.

"Deputy!"

The bandits tried to cover the deputy’s wound, to no avail. The deputy convulsed a few times before dying completely.

"Kill them to avenge the deputy!"

A bandit shouted this, reaching for the Tian Family’s servant beside him, but another arrow swiftly struck, embedding in his shoulder.

Two continuous crossbow arrows shot out, hurting one after another, yet the bandits couldn’t figure out who was shooting.

"It’s the woman."

A bandit saw Xie Liangchen holding the small crossbow.

Just as the bandit finished speaking, he felt a chill. The young girl seemed to glance at him. She didn’t move the small crossbow, just raised her arm.

A sleeve arrow flew towards the bandit, who cried out miserably, clutching his eyes.

"Sister, watch out."

Another bandit lunged at Xie Liangchen, who fired a bolt with the small crossbow, then drew out a long whip from her waist, lashing it sharply across the bandit’s face.

These people, ruling the mountains, hand stained with unknown lives, feared being hunted by the court, had to lay low. Having suffered such losses, their fierce nature emerged completely, although lashed, they still grabbed at Xie Liangchen regardless.

"Swish," another arrow zipped by, and the bandit felt a pain in his chest, a small sleeve arrow nailed into his heart.

"Miss Chen." Chen Yongsheng urgently called out, hurriedly rushing beside Xie Liangchen.

Though the sky was darkening, Xie Liangchen’s small crossbow was still accurate, preventing nearby bandits from approaching. Chen Yongsheng’s stick showed no sign of weakness.

The bandits, having initially planned to capture the disabled and the woman, suddenly discovered they misjudged. The two were not so easy to take down.

"Too tough a target," shouted the third leader. "Quick... throw the fire."

In the darkness, the fire lit up, and soon jars exploded on the mule carts, igniting them with a "woof" sound.

In the blink of an eye, four mule carts were ablaze simultaneously.

The Tian Family’s servants panicked. Some pulled the carts to evade; others tried to extinguish the fires, the bandits seizing the chaos, threw more jars.

"They’re trying to destroy our goods."

The thread tassels made of wool caught fire quickly, especially since they used rocket fuel.

Xie Liangchen saw a servant in haste trying to pat out the flames with his hand. She reached out, pulling the servant back: "Don’t touch the flame with your hands; no one should touch it."

Xie Liangchen had seen the Fierce Fire Oil Cabinet before; once touched by rocket fuel, it would catch fire.

The mule carts burned, amid the Tian Family’s servants busy handling the crisis, the bandits took the chance to steal a few carts left at the end of the caravan.

After a burst of chaos, the bandits began retreating, leaving Xie Liangchen and the Tian Family Trading Team amidst the wreckage.

Staring at the burning pile, the Tian Family’s servants stood dazed nearby, with expressions resembling lifelessness contrasting with the bright flames.

"Check to see if anyone is hurt."

The girl’s clear voice rang out, snapping everyone back to counting heads.

After a fight with the bandits, the Tian Family’s servants sustained minor injuries. The bandits left behind three corpses, taking their injured with them.

Of the three dead bandits, two were shot by Xie Liangchen’s small crossbow, and one died in front of a Tian Family servant.

Even now, the servant remained shocked, recalling only the bandit injuring his arm, about to kill him, when suddenly, an unknown weapon flew into the bandit’s brow, bringing him down silently.

The Tian Family steward walked over, as the servant was about to mention this, the steward pulled him aside: "When asked by the government office later, say the dart was carried by the bandits, and one bandit aimed for you but accidentally wounded his mate."

The servant nodded.

Once the steward advised the servant, he quickly walked over to Xie Liangchen and said: "The four carts they seized were loaded with thread tassels as planned, no error there; the burning ones were filled with straw and debris."

Finishing, the steward looked toward the darkness, where General Song’s people secretly protecting them killed one bandit at a critical moment, otherwise refrained from acting, likely not arousing suspicion among the bandits.

Xie Liangchen nodded. In this way, whether it’s the bandits or Third Master Du, or Princess Jiahui, they’ll believe they’ve succeeded.

...

Daming Prefecture, Du Family Courtyard.

Third Master Du listened to the household general’s report: "The deed is done; half the goods are destroyed."

Miss Lin couldn’t help but laugh aloud; this time, Chen Family Village and Xie Liangchen are surely weeping.