Chapter 78 A Fierce Battle

Wang Zongxiu asked in a deep voice, "Have you all eaten your fill?"

According to the rules of their bodyguards, if Wang Zongxiu asks this question, it means they are either preparing to run away or about to fight someone.

Before, even if she wasn't full, she would say she was full, but this time she was truly full. The horse was full too, and Zhu Mingyue fed Er Ya's personal mount a few handfuls of hay. The horse ate with relish and snorted.

Wu Feng wiped the grease from his mouth, muttered a curse under his breath, and quickly turned his horse. The others followed suit, turning their horses as well. They didn't even need Wang Zongxiu's order; they were already familiar with how to handle this situation.

Er Ya suddenly swooped down into the sky. Zhu Mingyue immediately understood and said to Wang Zongxiu as she ran, "The other side must have taken the initiative to chase after us because they saw that we turned back and didn't fall into their trap."

"I know, I heard you." If he still didn't understand the situation at a time like this, he might as well give up on trading altogether. He scooped Zhu Mingyue up and placed her on the horse's back, then slapped the horse's rump hard. The horse, in pain, spurred its horse forward and galloped away with Zhu Mingyue on its back.

Zhu Mingyue was caught off guard by this sudden turn of events. She clung tightly to the horse's neck and turned back to him, shouting in panic, "I can't ride a horse!"

"Hold on tight!" Wang Zongxiu ignored him, already drawing his broadsword to face the robbers.

Zhu Mingyue was so shaken that she almost vomited; her stomach was churning with water.

The sound of the wind in her ears was gradually replaced by a low, hoarse neighing. Zhu Mingyue's heart pounded like a drum. She closed her eyes and didn't know how long she had been tossed and turned. Suddenly, the horse beneath her straightened up and let out a terrified neigh.

Zhu Mingyue instinctively gripped the horse's body tightly with both legs, struggled to open her eyes which were covered in dust, but reacted quickly by bending down in the next moment.

An arrow grazed his back and struck the mountain wall, its shaft trembling.

"Boss, we're surrounded!"

The bandits behind were catching up at an extremely fast pace, and more than a dozen bandits were blocking the way at the intersection ahead. Archers were also hidden in the forests on both sides. It was clear that these bandits had made sure the operation was foolproof.

It's true that this group came for their goods, but judging from the current situation, they have no intention of sparing their lives.

Indeed, the imperial court had previously cleared out the bandits in this area, but now another wave has appeared without the merchants' knowledge. There is only one possibility: this group of bandits is even more ruthless and decisive than before. As long as no one is left alive, no one will know that there are still bandits in this area.

Merchants who believe it's safe will lower their guard, and the authorities will simply trap them like turtles in a jar.

I wonder who this bandit leader is; he's got a very clever plan.

Wang Zongxiu cleaved the arrows aimed at the horses in two with a single stroke and shouted sharply, "Grab your weapons!"

At his command, everyone pulled out machetes from under the cargo on the wagons, the blades gleaming coldly in the dim light.

Er Ya's short, sharp cry came from behind, growing closer and closer until it landed right on Zhu Mingyue's head.

Zhu Mingyue crouched down behind the carriage, using the stacks of goods as cover, and gripped the dagger she had brought from home for self-defense tightly in her hand.

He looked up at Er Ya, who was hovering low in the sky, being swayed and thrown about by the random arrows. Her face was pale. "Er Ya, fly higher! Watch out for the arrows!"

Er Ya seemed not to hear, her large falcon eyes wide open, and suddenly she plunged into the forest again, followed by a shrill scream.

As it emerged from the forest and soared into the sky, its feathers were slightly disheveled, and blood still dripped from its sharp claws. This time, it flew extremely high, and countless arrows, attempting to shoot it down, couldn't even touch a single feather.

Zhu Mingyue dodged several arrows falling from the sky, her eyes filled with envy as she looked at Er Ya.

This process was repeated, and Er Ya, single-handedly drawing the fire of most of the archers lying in ambush in the forest, finally allowed Wang Zongxiu and his men to focus on fighting the enemy.

The two groups clashed fiercely, shouting angrily. Zhu Mingyue could hear the piercing sound of blades colliding, as well as the dull thud of blades cutting into bone.

This was the first time Zhu Mingyue had ever witnessed living, breathing people fighting desperately right in front of him, a scene even more desperate and terrifying than anything seen on television.

Through the bottom of the carriage, Wang Zongxiu, his eyes bloodshot, slit the throat of a bandit with a bear-like build. Blood gushed out instantly, and the man collapsed to the ground, making a hoarse sound. His fleshy face was wide open, staring angrily at Zhu Mingyue. At first, he was still twitching, but then his eyes gradually dimmed, and he completely stopped breathing.

Zhu Mingyue let out a helpless sob. He felt no sympathy for the bandit's death. People who resorted to such acts of arson, murder, and robbery for a living had long lost their humanity and deserved to die. But watching a vibrant life slip away in such a bloody way before his eyes, an overwhelming sense of fear suddenly enveloped his heart.

This is perhaps the reverence for the instinct to die.

But he soon lost interest in his useless thoughts. He saw the dark-faced bodyguard, who had always chatted with him and taken good care of him along the way, being slashed in the back and falling to the ground with a thud.

In the chaos, no one had time to care about the life or death of the wounded who had fallen to the ground. The black-faced bodyguard who had fallen to the ground was named Guan Jing. He was trampled on by the bandits and immediately vomited several mouthfuls of blood.

Zhu Mingyue anxiously waved to him: "Guan Jing, crawl over here quickly!"

Hearing his shouts, Guan Jing tried to push himself up with his wrists and crawl towards Zhu Mingyue, but he couldn't manage it several times. Finally, exhausted, he fell back to the ground and gently shook his head at him.

Zhu Mingyue almost burst into tears. Guan Jing was only a few years older than him. In his previous life, at that age, he was just a college student who hadn't yet entered society. He heard that Guan Jing's family was poor and that he had become a bodyguard at the age of sixteen. He had seen many of his colleagues die while protecting their goods, and over time, he himself had become indifferent to life and death.

But Zhu Mingyue saw a faint will to live in his eyes. If one could choose not to die, who would want to die?

Zhu Mingyue made a decision. He bent down and crawled under each of the carriages. When no one noticed him, he stumbled and rushed towards Guan Jing, stepping over the corpses of the bandits.

Guan Jing's breath was weak: "You should leave now, I'm going to die, don't try to save me."

"Stop talking nonsense," Zhu Mingyue gritted her teeth and tried to help him up, but found that her legs were so weak that they couldn't support the weight of an adult man at all.

"Just bear with it a little longer, I'll drag you over and you'll be safe." After saying that, Zhu Mingyue turned him over and dragged him towards the carriage.

Before he had gone halfway, a sharp iron knife came slashing at him from the corner of his eye. Zhu Mingyue dodged it. The attacker was a short, stocky man with a greedy glint in his eyes.

Seeing that he couldn't kill him, the man launched another series of slashes. Zhu Mingyue was relentlessly pursued, and beads of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead. Watching the blade tip nearly slice his throat time and again, Zhu Mingyue felt his vision blur.

It's over, it's really over, is he really going to be finished here?

Zhu Mingyue stumbled backward from the corpse behind him and fell to the ground. A large knife was about to come down on him. He was in disarray and didn't know where to grope. His fingers touched a sharp, hard object, and his mind finally regained a little clarity.

In any case, it would be too humiliating to just watch myself get hacked to death.

Zhu Mingyue gritted her teeth, grabbed a handful of mud and sand from the ground, and threw it hard at the man's face.

The man reacted quickly, covering his face with his other hand.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhu Mingyue crawled to his legs and plunged the dagger into his thigh before the man could change direction.

"Ah!" the man cried out in pain, grabbing Zhu Mingyue by the collar and yelling, "You bitch, I'll kill you!"

Zhu Mingyue struggled to pull out the dagger, intending to repeat her previous trick and stab the other person in the abdomen.

What does killing matter? The fear of killing vanished the instant the knife pierced his flesh. If he doesn't want others' lives, others will want his.

Without the slightest hesitation, he gripped the dagger and attacked again.

This time it wasn't so easy. The other party had become wary after this incident and no longer underestimated him.

Fortunately, the man was short and thin, and because of his leg injury, he was no stronger than Zhu Mingyue.

The two men, one stabbing with a dagger and the other wielding a machete, were locked in a stalemate.

"You bitch, I'm going to kill you!" the man cursed furiously.

Zhu Mingyue disdainfully dodged the spittle that splattered during the other person's insults, her tone contemptuous: "You coward, you only come here to show off because you can't beat others. You think you can kill me?"

The man was clearly hit where it hurt, and he increased the pressure in his hand.

Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, Guan Jing wiped the blood from his face, stood up with great difficulty, and almost staggered over, dragging his broadsword. When he reached the man's back, he slashed with all his might.

The man had noticed the movement behind him, but Zhu Mingyue held him firmly in place, preventing him from turning around. Blood flowed down his head, dripping onto the ground.

Zhu Mingyue felt the other person's body gradually weaken, and then he collapsed to the ground and stopped breathing instantly.

Guan Jing was also exhausted. He had used all his strength in that one strike. He breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Zhu Mingyue escape danger, but then blood gushed from his mouth and he fell straight backward.

"Guan Jing!" Zhu Mingyue quickly helped him up, her fingers trembling as she reached towards his nostrils.

Fortunately, there is still breath; as long as there is breath, there is a chance to live.

"I'm so sleepy, I really want to sleep," Guan Jing murmured to himself, his pupils slightly unfocused.

Zhu Mingyue's alarm bells rang, and she quickly slapped his face: "Guan Jing, wake up! Don't fall asleep. If you fall asleep, you'll never wake up again." She had heard that when a person loses too much blood and becomes drowsy, it means that the body is about to enter a state of shock. At this time, sleep will accelerate the decline and death, so it is necessary to try to stay awake.

He kept talking to Guan Jing while dragging him to the back of the carriage. By the end, he didn't even know what he was babbling about anymore.

Whether it was his incessant chatter that had an effect or Guan Jing's strong will to survive that arose, Guan Jing finally slowly opened his eyes, which were no longer as unfocused as before.

Zhu Mingyue took a dagger from the goods and cut off a piece of cotton cloth to bandage Guan Jing's wound tightly.

"Don't sleep, believe me, it will be over soon, you will survive."

Zhu Mingyue reassured him with a firm tone, but she wasn't so sure in her heart.

Er Ya suddenly appeared from some direction and flew to his side, landing somewhat disheveled as she combed her messy feathers.

Zhu Mingyue noticed the crimson stains on its claws and the bloodstains on its feathers. She stroked its head twice and continued to observe the battle.

Wang Zongxiu usually seemed somewhat scholarly, but he turned out to be quite fierce when it came to fighting.

Although Wu Feng has the highest combat strength, he is forced to divert his attention to his companions who are at a disadvantage in the fight.

In short, the two sides fought fiercely, but the caravan members were all skilled fighters who had traveled all over the country. They had seen this kind of life-or-death struggle before, so they remained calm and did not lose their composure despite being surrounded on all sides.

They even killed seven or eight of the enemy's bandits without anyone dying so far.

However, those who had been lying in ambush in the mountains and firing arrows were rendered unable to move by Er Ya and had no choice but to come out and join the melee. As a result, the disparity in numbers between the two sides became enormous, and if this dragged on, they would eventually exhaust their strength and meet a tragic end, being killed by the bandits.

He had to think of a way. He tried to calm himself down, looked down at Guan Jing, and asked in a deep voice, "Besides cotton cloth and grain, what else do you have in your goods?"

Guan Jing tilted his head slightly and answered him with difficulty, "And, there are spices and medicinal herbs." After a few words, he was exhausted again, and after a long time, he softly uttered, "Oil."

Zhu Mingyue's eyes lit up. "Fire oil," as the name suggests, is highly flammable oil. He urged softly, "Quickly tell me which carriage it is; perhaps we can be saved."

Guan Jing perked up and pointed to the carriage in the middle towards the back. Zhu Mingyue placed Er Ya next to Guan Jing's head: "Don't fall asleep, keep an eye on Er Ya for me."

Guan Jing: ? ? ?

Asking a wounded soldier who is unable to move and has difficulty even speaking to help him look after birds of prey.

Fortunately, Er Ya was very well-behaved; she even pecked Guan Jing awake with the tip of her beak just as he was about to close his eyes again.

Zhu Mingyue stumbled and ran toward the carriage Guan Jing had pointed to. Inside was indeed a tightly sealed wooden barrel. Zhu Mingyue pried open the barrel, revealing a thick, dark liquid inside, which faintly emitted a smell that Zhu Mingyue found somewhat familiar.

Petroleum? Zhu Mingyue suddenly gained a new understanding of the substance in front of her called "Fire Oil".

There's hope! There's really hope now!

He unloaded a wooden barrel from the carriage and, while everyone was locked in a fierce fight and unable to escape, poured oil across the middle of the road, thus separating the fighting men from the horses and cargo.

Seemingly not satisfied, Zhu Mingyue poured another bucket of water on top of the original amount before she was finally pleased.

After doing all this, Zhu Mingyue helped Guan Jing onto the carriage, settled him in properly, and encouraged him, "Just hang in there a little longer, you'll be leaving soon."

Guan Jing let him tie himself to the carriage with hemp rope. He was no longer able to speak and could only nod weakly.

Zhu Mingyue took a deep breath, resolutely got up and rushed to the place where the flammable oil had been poured, shouting with all her might, "Run this way quickly!"

Both sides were momentarily stunned, but within a second Wang Zongxiu reacted quickly, shouting, "Run!" He then swept aside the bandits fighting him to the death and ran wildly towards Zhu Mingyue.

The others seemed to awaken the DNA deep within their bodies in an instant, and none of them wanted to linger in battle. They skillfully sprinted away, and even being slashed in the back by the opponent's knife could not stop their pace.

They're experts at running away!

So, did the boss finally decide to abandon the goods and lead them to escape and survive?

The bandits who were suddenly left behind seemed completely unaware of what was happening. By the time the bandits realized what was going on and went to chase after them, the two groups had already separated by a small distance.

The leader of the bandits showed no panic. In his view, these people were just prolonging their own deaths by dragging things out with them.

Now, the thought of abandoning the goods and running away must be out of their minds.

He ordered everyone to wipe out the caravan, and a look of determination appeared on everyone's face.

Coincidentally, Zhu Mingyue was also determined to win.

He quickly instructed everyone, "Quickly turn the carriage around."

Wang Zongxiu didn't know what his intentions were, but seeing Zhu Mingyue's calm and composed demeanor, he still chose to believe him without hesitation.

What else could he do? From the moment he listened to Zhu Mingyue and ran away with his brothers, he had no choice but to trust Zhu Mingyue.

Everyone went to pull the carriage, but Zhu Mingyue remained standing in place until the bandits approached, at which point she stepped back.

Zhu Mingyue frowned and warned, "Don't come any closer."

The leading robbers not only ignored his words, but also glared at him with their slick eyes, uttering extremely vulgar and obscene words.

The pale yellow flame of the tinderbox flickered in her hand, swaying in the wind. Zhu Mingyue slightly tugged at the corners of her mouth and slowly said, "Goodbye."

The seemingly invisible black river on the ground suddenly burst into flames with a muffled roar.

The scorching heatwave seemed to distort the air, and the two sides of the flames appeared to be split into two worlds in the instant the flames burned.

The bandits at the front didn't even have time to react before flames rapidly engulfed their bodies.

The narrow mountain path was filled with horrific screams, frantic rolling, and the sound of fire being slapped.

Zhu Mingyue's face was flushed red from the flames, and her jaw started chattering again.

It seems he did something illegal.

"Hurry up, be careful not to get caught in the flames." The caravan had already changed direction and started moving forward. Wang Zongxiu saw Zhu Mingyue standing alone in front of the wall of fire, looking dazed, so he half-helped and half-pulled him to catch up with the caravan.

An hour later, the caravan finally emerged from the seemingly dark mountain path.

Looking around at the suddenly open view, dotted with farmland and villages, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and then laughed heartily. It felt so good to have survived such a disaster!

Apart from Zhu Mingyue.

Zhu Mingyue seemed to be still immersed in her own thoughts and unable to extricate herself.

Er Ya rubbed her hand against his palm, but it didn't elicit any reaction from him.

Wang Zongxiu realized that something was wrong with his condition and shook his shoulders forcefully: "Zhu Mingyue, don't overthink things."

After a short while, Zhu Mingyue came to her senses, looking somewhat dazed: "Where are we? How long until we reach the county? Guan Jing's injuries can't be delayed any longer."

He pointed to the carriage where Guan Jing was lying, staring blankly, "Where's Guan Jing?" Then he tensed up, "Oh no, you didn't lose him, did you!"

Wang Zongxiu: "Are we animals?"

The bodyguard leading the horses turned around with a smile: "Guan Jing has already been sent to the county by fast horse! We've distributed the goods, so we're a bit slow."

Other bodyguards joined in, chattering amongst themselves.

"But we're almost there. If we walk faster, we might reach the county town before it gets completely dark!"

"By the way, Young Master Zhu, your move just now was absolutely brilliant! How come we didn't think of that!"