Chapter 281 Clash of the Two Armies

These past few days, Mu Xi's feet have been blistered from walking. Whenever it gets late afternoon and they need to hurry to find a place to rest, she can't keep up, so Doctor Luo has Bao Fan carry her on his back.

Bao Fan is undoubtedly strong, he eats a lot and is very powerful, but Mu Xi is not a child. Since he has legs and can move, it's really embarrassing.

Upon seeing this, Doctor Luo sighed deeply: "Alas, you don't need to be stubborn. Once we reach Huaicheng tonight and find an inn to rest, even if you insist on leaving, I won't allow it. We must first find a way to get the medicine and let you recuperate for a while until you are fully recovered before we set off. Otherwise, we might not find one of you, but the other might encounter an accident on the way."

Mu Xi tried to hold on, but she knew her own body was in such a state that no matter how anxious she was, there was nothing she could do, so she remained silent.

Just then, wisps of white smoke rose from the direction of the three-way intersection where Doctor Luo had been gazing. In no time, the white smoke turned into a large plume of black smoke, just like a burning fire.

"Something's not right. There seems to be a change ahead," Doctor Luo said in a deep voice.

Before he finished speaking, many migrants who were going in the same direction at the three-way intersection turned around and ran back.

Mu Xi was suddenly startled and quickly stood up, using the tree trunk for support.

Just as Doctor Luo was about to rush over and grab someone to ask what was happening ahead,

Suddenly, from the direction of the thick smoke, one could vaguely hear cries, curses, and the clashing of weapons, all mixed together in a chaotic cacophony.

"Could it be another bandit raid?" Cao Pan'er guessed.

Mu Xi's already pale face turned even more deathly pale.

"We can't outrun them, we need to find a place to hide." Doctor Luo also looked nervous and began to look towards the woods by the roadside.

Unfortunately, the forest was too sparse to hide in, and there was a stream or river not far below, making it impossible to cross.

Just as the four hesitated, the sound of horses' hooves rang out.

Many carriages and caravans poured in from the crossroads, rushing toward them.

Something big must have happened somewhere ahead.

Upon closer listening, Mu Xi could faintly hear the sounds of swords clashing and the thunderous hooves of horses. Although they were still far away, the scale of the sounds was so great that it seemed to be more like a group of tens of bandits than a group of hundreds of people.

Doctor Luo frowned deeply: "This is bad. We should turn back. If necessary, we should go back to the village where we stayed last night."

What could Mu Xi say at this point? She had to force herself to stay calm and continue acting.

The four were elderly, weak, sick, or disabled, two out of the four, and they pulled and tugged at each other, stumbling and staggering as they fled back with the fleeing crowd.

Mu Xi and the others ran hard, and had to be careful to avoid the carriages that kept fleeing in the same direction behind them.

Just as Mu Xi was about to stop and catch her breath because she was too tired to run anymore, a troop of horses suddenly came galloping past them from behind, moving like lightning.

Mu Xi stumbled and fell to the ground, and cries of surprise rose from all around. Others walking by were also knocked down and fell to the ground.

Fearing they would get separated again, Doctor Luo and the others immediately stopped and began to pull and drag each other along.

Mu Xi had just gotten up despite the pain in her leg when the cavalry that had just passed caught up with a fleeing carriage ahead, shouting and surrounding it. The men were not bandits, but cavalrymen dressed in soldiers' armor.

The leader brandished a knife and shouted, "Brothers, take everything you can, leave the car and all the valuables behind, as for the people... hehe..."

Mu Xi noticed that the style of the soldiers' armor looked familiar, but before she could remember anything, the sound of cavalry hordes came from behind her.

They swept past the first group of cavalry and galloped forward, seemingly chasing the next group of carriages and some seemingly wealthy pedestrians.

Suddenly, even more chaotic and frantic sounds of fleeing and crying came from behind, interspersed with the clashing of weapons and desperate curses.

Mu Xi felt a pang of despair. In this war-torn land of Yan Sheng, what difference was there between government soldiers and bandits? In fact, since they were now penniless, they were no longer the primary targets of those cavalrymen.

At times like this, resistance is futile; it's better to pretend to be an ordinary refugee.

But after the cavalry, the infantry arrived, and where did they run to?

Mu Xi finally realized that these soldiers didn't seem to be there to rob, but rather to be deserters who had been routed and were fleeing.

Many soldiers were in disarray, their fear and ferocity mixed together, like deserters who had been defeated on some battlefield, like stray dogs. But the sight of the poor and refugees weaker than themselves immediately ignited their violent tendencies.

Several deserters spotted Mu Xi and her group immediately and pounced on them viciously.

"Run..." Doctor Luo shouted, raising his hand at the same time.

They were supposed to be running, but they were being pursued from both sides. On one side of the road was a river, and on the other side was a steep downhill slope.

“Something’s strange…” After the two soldiers fell to the ground under Doctor Luo’s silver needles, the others noticed something amiss and rushed forward at the same time.

A leader with a scarred face scanned Mu Xi and Cao Pan'er and shouted, "These two clean-cut ones are women disguised as men, seize them!"

The fleeing soldiers swarmed forward and surrounded the four men in an instant.

Even with her silver needles, Doctor Luo was of little use against soldiers engaged in close combat. She and Bao Fan could only protect Mu Xi and Cao Pan'er behind them.

"We are just refugees on the road, please let us go, sir." As he spoke, Doctor Luo took out a few taels of silver from his pocket and handed it over.

"Pah, they're just passersby. These two fair-skinned guys must be master and servant; they can't possibly be without something on them." The defeated soldier leader spat and reached out to grab Mu Xi.

Bao Fan roared and punched the leader.

Caught off guard, the leader stumbled and bled from his nose. But being a soldier, he reacted quickly, slashing at Bao Fan with his sword.

Bao Fan couldn't dodge in time, and a bloody gash was immediately cut on his arm.

“Bao Fan…” Mu Xi exclaimed, anxious but powerless to help.

The crisis has reached its peak.

Doctor Luo unleashed a barrage of silver needles, felling two of the leading fleeing soldiers. But more fleeing soldiers surrounded them. Swords and blades have no eyes, and Bao Fan fought desperately, sustaining new wounds.

Cao Pan'er held tightly to Mu Xi, who was almost unable to stand. Just as they were about to be trapped, dust billowed up in the distance, and a large group of fleeing soldiers came running, shouting, "They're catching up! Run...run fast..."

The fleeing soldiers were thrown into chaos, abandoning all looting and scattering in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, the routed soldiers were gone, but a large cavalry force galloped up behind them.

In the blink of an eye, the leading officer's cold gaze swept over the chaotic scene, he made a gesture forward, and without hesitation swept past the civilians.

Behind him, several cavalrymen received the signal, drew their bows and nocked arrows, and with precise volleys, several fleeing soldiers in the distance fell to the ground.

The remaining cavalry charged forward, their blades flashing, and the routed soldiers were swiftly mowed down as if being chopped into vegetables. Their movements were decisive and efficient, displaying the ruthlessness and efficiency characteristic of a regular army.

The situation reversed instantly.

Mu Xi and her three companions, along with the pedestrians who had just been robbed, stared blankly, unsure of what to do next.

Just as everyone was still in shock, the officer who had been in the lead suddenly turned his horse around and turned back towards the four of them, abruptly reining in his horse.