Chapter 558: Escape
Editor: Atlas Studios
After all, Mo Yong and his men were two days ahead of Qi Haoran’s men, so their reinforcements arrived faster than Zhan Yu and Bai Li. By the time Mu Yangling and the others had discovered the people rushing over, they had already arrived at the entrance of the village.
As he was not sure if those people were friends or foes, Guard One asked someone to turn on the signal flare. However, when he did not see a response from the other party for a long time, his heart sank. He knew that the other party was an enemy.
Guard One went back to look for Mu Yangling with a dark expression.
As she had just withstood Mo Yong’s attack, Mu Yangling had yet to recover her strength and her limbs were a little limp. After hearing Guard One’s report, Mu Yangling immediately stood up and instructed, “Get someone to bring some dry food and retreat up the mountain in disguise.” Mu Yangling paused before continuing, “Let’s go into the forest and make this a jungle warfare.”
Guard One said bitterly, “But Fourth Madam, including me, there are only nine of us left…”
Moreover, all of them were injured. They were up against many people.
Mu Yangling took a deep breath and said, “Lure them as far away as possible. No matter how slowly the reinforcements take to come, they should be here by tomorrow morning. We just need to stay hidden until tomorrow morning.”
Guard One responded and went to take out the disguise that he had placed in the room that was made of cloth and cotton. It imitated Li Jinghua, Little Treasure, and Little Bear’s figures. As long as the enemy did not see them up close, they would not discover the disguise. In addition, the sky was already starting to darken. After entering the forest, it would be even harder to discover their identities.
Mu Yangling tied Li Jinghua’s mannequin to her back while the other two guards each carried the mannequin of a child. Everyone opened the east door of the courtyard and quietly left to go up the mountain.
Meanwhile, Mo Yong, who had also lost many of his men, was focused on the reinforcements that had just arrived, so he did not notice that the people in the courtyard had quietly left.
After they attacked the courtyard, they realized that something was wrong. The entire courtyard was silent and there was no light at all. Thinking that they were playing tricks again, Mo Yong asked someone to carefully enter the inner courtyard. Someone accidentally touched some mechanism and something was heard ripping through the air. The few of them subconsciously dodged and realized that it was an arrow. Mo Yong’s heart tightened and he shouted, “Be careful of the bows and arrows. Fourth Madam’s archery skills are incredible.”
The people who followed Mo Yong for the past two nights became even more careful with lingering fear.
Bai Qing, who had come to provide support, did not think much of it. Dissatisfied with Mo Yong’s cautiousness, he ordered his subordinates to rush straight into the inner courtyard. The sound of something tearing through the air kept ringing out, but most people managed to avoid it. Only two people were accidentally injured, and Bai Qing’s men had long rushed into the inner courtyard.
Bai Qing sneered and said, “Lord Mo, is this the reason why you failed to take down this place for a long time? There are only 20 guards, but you’re actually so afraid that you’re praising a woman.”
Mo Yong’s expression was ugly as he said in a low voice, “I’ve been hiding in the West Camp for many years and have long heard of Fourth Madam’s reputation. This time, I’ve even seen how powerful her archery is. Lord Bai, it’s better to be careful.”
Bai Qing snorted coldly in disdain. The person searching the inner courtyard quickly reported, “Sir, there’s no one in the courtyard.”
Bai Qing narrowed his eyes and looked at Mo Yong. However, Mo Yong raised his head to look up the mountain and shouted, “Not good. They must’ve gone up the mountain. Fourth Madam is best at forest battles. We can’t let them enter the forest.”
Bai Qing said faintly, “Lord Mo, she’s not your Fourth Madam. Don’t forget who your master is. A forest battle? Hmph, didn’t you say that they only have nine guards left? With a group of burdens, I want to see how they fight me in the forest.”
Mo Yong’s expression was ugly. “There’s still the Fourth… Mu Yangling. Don’t underestimate her. Qi Haoran learned the forest battle tactics from her. When I was in the West Camp, I occasionally heard from my older brother that the reason why Qi Haoran’s army is so tightly guarded and no one can sneak into his camp was because of Mu Yangling…”
Not at all believing his words, Bai Qing only looked at Mo Yong coldly and assumed that he was joking.
Mo Yong’s breath was stuck in his chest. However, Bai Qing held a higher rank than him. This disdainful attitude was in stark contrast to the respect he received in the Qi family’s army. However, mistakes had already been made. Since Minister Qin had something on him, if he continued to stay in the Qi family’s army, it wouldn’t be long before he was discovered and killed.
After taking a deep breath, he decided that it was fine to underestimate the enemy. He just had to protect his and his brothers’ lives. When Bai Qing saw how powerful Mu Yangling was, even if he lost, he would have something to say when he returned to see Minister Qin and the Second Prince.
Soon, someone discovered the east gate and found faint traces there. Bai Qing snorted and waved for his men to give chase.
As soon as the group of people started giving chase, some rocks and logs rolled down the mountain. Many people were injured because they were caught off guard.
Furious, Bai Qing shouted at Mo Yong, “Didn’t they say that there were only nine of them? Why are there so many of them?”
With so many rocks and rolling logs rolling down at the same time, there must be at least 40 to 50 people on the mountain. He did not believe that there were only nine of them.
Mo Yong’s face sank. He looked at the village hidden in the darkness at the foot of the mountain. For the first time, he clearly knew that he had made a mistake.
Mu Yangling, who had run far away, suddenly stopped in her tracks. She turned around and frowned. “Who’s helping us from behind?”
Expression darkening slightly, Guard One lowered his head and said, “Fourth Madam, it’s the villagers at the foot of the mountain.”
Mu Yangling looked at him in shock. Then, she kicked him to the ground and roared in a low voice, “Who allowed you to drag them in?”
She had told the villagers to close their doors in advance and not go out or escape, so that she could eliminate Mo Yong and the others’ suspicions and save the villagers’ lives.
Guard One turned around and knelt on the ground. “Fourth Madam, it was their village chief who took the initiative to help. He said that he wanted to repay you for your help during the winter. He knew that you specially exchanged your grains for worthless stuff out of the goodness of your heart. That was why the village managed to avoid the fate of starving to death and exile, so…”
Mu Yangling took a deep breath and asked in a low voice, “Where are their wives, children, and parents?”
“They’ve all gone into the mountains to hide.”
Mu Yangling took two steps in frustration and said, “Send two people to clean up their traces. It’ll be easier to bring people along.” Then, she said, “The rest of you, split into two teams. Four people will follow me, and three people will bring Eldest Madam and the two children to the neighboring county. Remember, your mission is to escape. Take the three people on your backs and run away as far as possible.”
Mu Yangling took down the puppet representing Li Jinghua and handed it to a guard. “Treat this like a real person.” Only then could they not be suspicious.
Everyone agreed in a low voice and quickly divided into three teams. One team quickly and carefully went to find the villagers who were hiding and helped them clean up the traces.
The other team carried the three puppets and left according to the designated route.
Mu Yangling drew her saber and turned to look behind her. “Grab your bows and arrows. We’ll lure them over.”