Chapter 279 Leaving the City

After Mu Ji's death, his two sons, the eldest Mu Jun and the second Mu Yun, immediately went their own way. Mu Hengduo's Western Border troops, in particular, were caught in a pincer attack by the Xuan You Army and the Han Hai Army. The two men fled with their remaining forces, but were eventually wiped out.

At this point, all the forces turned their attention back to Moyang City. Without a leader, Moyang City once again became the target of everyone's attacks.

After assessing the situation, Shen Lun decided to take advantage of the opportunity to leave the city with his family and seek temporary refuge before making further plans.

Mu Xi had little luggage, and only Cao Pan'er was by his side. The two of them remained silent and followed the arrangements, boarding the carriage.

Several months later, they finally left Shen Lun's hidden mansion. Before getting into the carriage, the two glanced around intentionally or unintentionally, but did not see any figures resembling Doctor Luo or Bao Fan.

We can't find Doctor Luo, and we don't know if he can catch up.

Mu Xi was worried, but under the watchful eyes of the guards, she had no choice but to board a carriage following Shen Pingting. Thus, the convoy, consisting of five carriages and dozens of elite guards, discreetly set off towards the south gate of Moyang City.

The carriage started moving, and Mu Xi and Cao Pan'er looked out through the carriage curtains.

The streets leading out of the city, once bustling with traffic and lined with shops, are now riddled with deep pits, piles of rubble and debris, and traces of the ravages of fire are everywhere. In many places, embers still rise and wisps of smoke rise.

The air was filled with a pungent, burnt smell, a strong stench of blood, and the cloying, sweet odor of decaying corpses, making it suffocating and nauseating.

The convoy traveled without incident and encountered no soldiers. It was likely that Moyang City was already an empty city with no garrison.

But the closer they got to the city gate, the more people fled the city, forcing the convoy to slow down.

It seems everyone had already anticipated that Moyang City was about to descend into chaos, and no one could avoid the disaster.

Shen Lun's convoy slowly emerged from the city gates, following the flow of people, and headed straight for the official road.

The scene outside the city was even more appalling compared to the scene inside.

In the distance, only charred ruins remained of the village, with wisps of gray smoke swirling like vengeful spirits. Nearby, corpses and bloodstains appeared intermittently in the forests and along the roads.

The refugees, with their families in tow, their faces gaunt and their eyes numb, staggered toward the unknown future. When they saw a convoy like Shen Lun's, they hurriedly moved aside in the muddy roadside, like frightened birds.

As the convoy sped away from the refugees, Mu Xi and Cao Pan'er had no idea where they would be taken.

The caravan sped along from dawn till afternoon, making two brief stops along the way for the horses to rest and for the people to relieve themselves.

As the sun was past noon, Mu Xi looked back at the rear of the caravan and had no choice but to get back into the carriage.

Shen Lun's goal was probably to reach a private residence or estate outside Moyang City before nightfall.

The carriage traveled a little further when suddenly, an unusual commotion arose at the front of the caravan, with horses neighing.

"Whoa... What's going on?" someone shouted.

Then someone shouted, "Stop, stop right now... the horse... the horse..."

The carriage carrying Mu Xi and Cao Pan'er also began to shake violently.

It seemed that the horses pulling the carriage were acting strangely at almost the same time. First, their steps became unsteady and they staggered, then they let out painful neighs, which were not stopped no matter how much the coachman tightened the reins.

Before long, the caravan came to a complete standstill, and everyone got off the carriages and moved aside to the side of the official road.

Shen Lun and the others waited surrounded by guards, while Zhang Mao led his men to inspect the carriages and horses.

A moment later, Zhang Mao suddenly shouted a warning: "Be careful, be careful... Lord Marquis, it seems someone has poisoned our horses."

"Drugned?" Mu Xi's heart skipped a beat, and she exchanged a glance with Cao Pan'er.

"Clang..." The surrounding guards immediately went on high alert, drawing their swords and protecting Shen Lun, Shen Pingting, Mu Xi, and the others behind them.

Just as the guards were vigilantly searching for their target, a few very faint whooshing sounds rang out from the woods beside the official road. Several Shen Lun guards, who were nervously watching the interior and had their backs to the woods, groaned and collapsed to the ground, but it was impossible to tell what had ambushed them.

Almost simultaneously, several masked figures, as agile as cheetahs, pounced out of the woods, heading straight for Mu Xi and Cao Pan'er.

Before Mu Xi could react, she heard a familiar voice whisper, "Don't be afraid, we're on the same side, follow me."

Hearing Doctor Luo's voice, but not finding him, the masked figure arrived in the next second, picked up Mu Xi and Cao Pan'er and ran away.

"Stop them..." Shen Lun belatedly shouted the order.

The remaining guards who hadn't fallen reacted and tried to pursue and surround the enemy.

Mu Xi was carried headfirst onto the masked figure. After a moment of dizziness, she forced herself to look up and look back.

Several masked figures, covering the rear, fought and retreated, their swords flashing, parrying and counterattacking with precision and ruthlessness, as they retreated towards the woods.

Shen Lun didn't bring many guards this time. Some of them had to stay behind to protect Shen Lun and Shen Pingting, while others had already been knocked unconscious. The remaining dozen or so men who came after them were aggressive, but soon, thick smoke billowed out halfway through their journey, completely isolating them.

Mu Xi ran wildly on someone's shoulder, not knowing how long she ran, until she could no longer hear the guards' shouts and the surrounding environment gradually quieted down.

Just as she was being tossed around so much that she was dizzy and on the verge of vomiting and suffocating, she was suddenly thrown to the ground.

Mu Xi felt dizzy and her vision blurred, making it difficult to see the people who had saved her. However, she heard Cao Pan'er's voice beside her almost saying, "Miss...Miss, are you alright?"

Since the two could only dress as women at Shen Lun's residence, they agreed that if any unexpected situation arose today, they would temporarily refer to themselves as the second young lady of the Shen family and her servant.

Hearing Cao Pan'er's voice, Mu Xi calmed down a little and managed to look up.

Several masked men stood before them. One of them suddenly pulled off his mask, knelt down, and grabbed her, but stared with wide, round eyes and remained silent.

“Bao Fan…” Mu Xi felt a warmth in her heart, and her nose tingled slightly.

Just then, Doctor Luo appeared from the side, pushing aside the bushes and arriving breathlessly: "Good...good...I finally got you out."

Upon seeing Doctor Luo, Mu Xi finally calmed down and could breathe heavily to regain her composure.

Doctor Luo came up and briefly checked Mu Xi's pulse, saying, "Don't worry, you're safe for now. Shen Lun's legs have been broken, and we caught him off guard. He won't be able to catch up for a while, and he'll probably give up."

"Hmm..." Mu Xi was so excited that she could see a masked stranger above her head. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she nodded emphatically.

After taking Mu Xi's pulse, the divine physician Luo felt that Mu Xi was not seriously injured. He then stood up, turned around and clasped his hands in thanks to the masked men: "Thank you, righteous men. This is the other half of the reward. We should not stay here any longer. Let us take our leave here."