Chapter 84: Saved
Editor: Atlas Studios
Qi Haoran’s face darkened.
Whether they lived or not, they had to kill the pursuing Jin soldiers. Otherwise, more civilians would suffer.
On the way, Qi Haoran asked Fan Zijin curiously, “We’ve never stopped our horses. How did you know that there were traces there?”
“Have you forgotten the two scouts I asked you for? They reported it.” Fan Zijin increased the speed of his horse as he said, “Since Wu Shu was leading a battalion, they must be followed by a small group of scattered soldiers. Why don’t we split our men into a few teams to go out and save the civilians? That will be faster.”
Qi Haoran agreed after thinking about it. He divided the people into three teams, with two scouts in each team. “If you encounter a strong enemy, escape if you can. If you can’t escape, send a signal for help.”
Everyone agreed.
Only then did Qi Haoran ride his horse towards Jialing Lake.
It took a person half a day to walk 40 miles on foot, but it only took them a few minutes on horseback. They encountered the sorry-looking Nearhill Village villagers after turning into the path.
At this moment, Mu Shi was extremely sorrowful. The probability of his survival for his daughter who had gone to stop the cavalrymen was almost zero. At this moment, when he heard the sound of a large number of horse hooves, he felt that there was no way out. If not for his wife and children, he really wanted to rush up and fight to his heart’s content.
The cavalrymen arrived in an instant. The sharp-eyed Liu Ting shouted in surprise, “It’s the West Camp! It’s the soldiers of the West Camp, our fellow Han Chinese!”
When Qi Haoran reined in his horse, the first person he saw was Mu Shi since he was standing at the front. He said in surprise, “Uncle Mu, why is it you?” He scanned the crowd but did not see Mu Yangling, so he frowned slightly and asked, “Where’s Miss Mu?”
For the first time in his life, Mu Shi bent his knees and knelt on the ground. “Please save my daughter, Young Master Qi. She… she brought men to stop the Jin soldiers who were chasing after us.”
Fan Zijin raised his eyebrows and looked at Mu Shi in surprise. That nine-year-old girl went to stop the Jin soldiers?
However, Qi Haoran did not feel that anything was wrong. He only asked anxiously, “Where are they?”
Mu Shi knew his daughter well. She would definitely lead the enemies into the forest, so he said, “They should be in the forest behind.”
Fan Zijin frowned. Before Qi Haoran could speak, he said, “Wu Shu’s Jin soldiers are all cavalrymen. Why would they enter the forest? Besides, we’re not familiar with the forest. If we enter, we might be ambushed at any time.” Moreover, he was still suspicious of the Mu father and daughter. His eyes swept across the faces of the villagers of Nearhill Village, but it did not seem like a trap.
Qi Haoran only frowned and thought for a moment before waving his hand. “Let’s go take a look. If the Jin soldiers really enter the mountain, we have to find them. Otherwise, they’re a potential disaster.”
Raising her head, Shu Wanniang saw that Fan Zijin was frowning, and immediately knew that he was afraid of being ambushed in the mountains. She grabbed her husband’s hand and said gently, “Bring them into the mountains. With you leading the way, they can find Ah Ling faster.” Shu Wanniang looked at him pleadingly. “She’s our daughter. We can’t let her take the risk alone. We’re already safe now, right?”
At the side, Liu Ting immediately said, “Don’t worry, Rocky. Go ahead and enter the mountain. We’ll take care of your wife here.”
Madam Liu-Zhao also said, “Don’t worry, Uncle. I’ll make sure she stays safe. Don’t worry.”
Madam Ma-Liu said, “Even though I’m old, I’m still of some use. Go quickly.”
Mu Shi patted his wife’s hand and looked at Little Bowen. “Bowen, you’re a boy. You have to protect your mother and younger siblings, understand?”
Fan Zijin followed his gaze. Not only did he see the little Mu Bowen, but he also saw the two babies in their swaddling clothes. Knowing that more than half of the people in Nearhill Village were related to Mu Shi, he finally let go of the worry in his heart.
Qi Haoran left ten of his men behind to protect the villagers and brought the rest away.
When they arrived at the place where Mu Yangling and the others had gone to stop the Jin soldiers, everyone discovered the obvious traces without Mu Shi pointing it out.
Mu Shi said, “The trees inside are dense, making it unsuitable for riding. Little General, we can only enter on foot.”
Following the traces, Qi Haoran and the others quickly saw the corpses of the Jin soldiers and the horses left in the forest. However, Mu Shi also saw plenty of young men from Nearhill Village. They were all in their twenties and were of the same generation as him. When they met in the village yesterday, they even greeted each other. But now, they were lying in a pool of blood.
At the thought that his daughter could be suffering a fate worse than death, Mu Shi was so anxious that his eyes turned red. He quickened his pace.
Along the way, Qi Haoran’s deputy general and the soldiers behind him were very surprised. According to Mu Shi, there were only 40-odd villagers. How could they kill so many Jin soldiers?
It was not that the Han people looked down on their kind, but the Han people were indeed inferior to the Hu people in battle. Firstly, their height and strength were inferior. Secondly, the Hu people had started killing since they were young while the Han people were mostly honest farmers.
Be it innate or acquired, they were inferior in terms of fighting.
Even the trained Han soldiers could only take on the Jin soldiers if it was five against one, let alone these untrained farmers.
Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin naturally thought of this too.
Fan Zijin could not tell why, but Qi Haoran gradually understood after seeing the third trace. The villagers had exploited the advantages of the forest to kill the Jin soldiers one by one. It could be seen that there was someone in Nearhill Village who was good at jungle warfare.
Qi Haoran’s eyes lit up. In the past, they had always arranged their troops and formations in open spaces during battle. However, the Hus’ horses were excellent and they were highly-skilled in martial arts. If the Great Zhou Empire wanted to defeat them, they would have to pay a huge price. However, what if they could lure them to fight in the forest?
Just as this thought flashed through Qi Haoran’s mind, he heard the sound of swords and sabers coming from ahead. The few of them looked at each other and rushed forward. They saw Mu Yangling fighting one against four, dealing fatal attack after fatal attack on the Jin soldiers. She was injured as well.
Mu Shi and Qi Haoran rushed forward without thinking…
When Ah Su and Wu Lin saw the appearance of the Han soldiers, they immediately howled. “You Han people are treacherous. You actually used tricks to lure us into the mountains.”
Mu Yangling was like a demon, and her eyes were filled with hostility as she swung her saber over and cut off Ah Su’s arm. As the saber pressed tightly against his neck, she looked at him and articulated each word clearly, “You killed my compatriots and kidnapped my sisters. Do we have to lie down obediently and let you kill us? Whose logic is this?” With that, she slashed with the saber. Ah Su’s eyes widened, and blood spewed out of his neck. Just like that, he died with regrets.
The others had also been dealt with by Qi Haoran. Mu Shi was about to kill Wu Lin when Fan Zijin saw the glint in his eyes. Thinking of how his cousin had been expelled from the West Camp for no reason, he stopped him. “Wait, detain him. I have something to ask him.”
Qi Haoran was dissatisfied. “They’re Jin soldiers. They deserve to be killed. If you have anything to ask, just ask me.”
Fan Zijin glanced at him. “Do you know how many bowls of rice the Jin soldiers eat a day and how many times they go to the toilet? You make it sound like you know everything in the world.”
Qi Haoran touched his nose and could only wave his hand. “Tie him up. Be careful not to let him commit suicide.”
Only then was Fan Zijin satisfied. However, when he saw Qi Haoran turn around and approach Mu Yangling obsequiously, he felt uncomfortable again. Why did this kid keep pestering her? She was just a village woman who knew some moves.
However, Qi Haoran was praising Mu Yangling. “You’re really impressive to be fighting one against four. Just now, I saw that every move of yours hit the enemy’s vital points precisely. Can you teach me?”
However, Mu Shi was more concerned about Liu Xuan and the others. Seeing that his daughter was alone, he hurriedly asked, “Ah Ling, where’s your uncle and the others?”
Exhausted, Mu Yangling sat on the ground and said, “We’re separated, but there aren’t many of them left alive. They’re injured. Father, quickly bring people to find them.”