The plan failed, and the group had no choice but to fight to the death. Fortunately, the bandit leader was poisoned by Jiang Huaiyu's powder and temporarily lost his fighting ability. The two brothers fought against three bandits, and although the situation was critical, they were still able to hold on.
Without further hesitation, Deng Shen and Ying Xiang stood on either side of Jiang Huaiyu and hurried toward the door.
The bandit leader, clutching his cheek, rushed out of the room, roaring through gritted teeth, "Stop them! At all costs!"
Seeing this, the bandits in the courtyard also became enraged and soon knocked down the Zhao brothers. The three of them then chased after Jiang Huaiyu relentlessly.
Seeing the situation was dire, Deng Shen, ignoring his injuries, lunged forward, trying to buy more time for Jiang Huaiyu. However, before he could even make contact with the bandits, he was kicked away with tremendous force, leaving half of his body numb and unable to stand up despite several attempts.
"Madam, run!" he shouted hoarsely as he lay on the ground.
However, Jiang Huaiyu was pregnant and moved slowly, and was caught up by the bandits after only a few steps.
Yingxiang spread her arms wide, standing like a solid barrier in front of Jiang Huaiyu, and shouted urgently, "Don't come any closer! The officials will be here soon. You've already received your money, why are you making trouble for yourselves?"
The three thieves surrounded the two women, then turned their gaze to their leader, asking in confusion, "Leader, what should we do?"
The bandit leader's face was covered in poison powder, his eyes, nostrils and mouth were contorted in pain, and he could hardly speak.
One of them suggested, "All this charade we've been up to these past few days has been to lure that guy out. We've killed both the elderly and children; now, with a pregnant woman added to the mix, it's practically foolproof. I refuse to believe that after killing this pregnant woman, that guy can still hide!"
Yingxiang's body trembled like a leaf in the wind, but she still stood firmly in front of Jiang Huaiyu, pleading, "My wife is pregnant and poses no threat to you. I beg you heroes to show mercy and let us go!"
A thief grinned maliciously and retorted, "Ha, you're such a hypocrite! Didn't you just say you were rejected by the mistress and eloped with the young master? How come you're suddenly talking about a lady? But no matter what you say, our target... happens to be a pregnant woman!"
These words carried an eerie and unsettling quality.
If these江湖人士 (jianghu figures) were only after treasure, they could have simply taken the silver and left, just like before. Why would they have to be so cruel to a pregnant woman?
Yingxiang had no time to delve into the hidden meaning behind those words. Seeing their complete lack of pity, she hurriedly knelt down and begged for mercy: "Heroes, if you feel the silver is insufficient, we can discuss it further. My family..."
Just as she was about to reveal the true location of her family's treasure, Jiang Huaiyu preemptively said, "My family also owns a shop, which is quite valuable."
Having cultivated her business for many years, she had thousands of taels of silver on hand, so naturally she wouldn't have only what they had found. Those gold and silver jewelry were merely a deception arranged by Jiang Huaiyu beforehand; the real valuables and banknotes had already been cleverly hidden by her in the rafters.
Jiang Huaiyu knew that Yingxiang had exhausted all her tricks, which was why she was considering using silver to save her own life.
In her newfound life, material possessions like money held little weight for her. After all, as long as her wisdom remained, she could start anew from scratch, even if she had nothing.
The reason she spoke up to stop her was not to hinder Yingxiang, but because she felt it was not a rational choice.
The group of thieves before us is incredibly vicious. If we reveal the location of the hidden silver to them now, who can guarantee they won't kill us if they realize they've been deceived? If they are truly after the money, then the most urgent task is to stall for time; perhaps that's the only way to find a glimmer of hope.
"What is your shop?" the thief asked.
Jiang Huaiyu replied, "It's a cosmetics shop. The cosmetics shop is the most profitable, and there are still several hundred taels of silver in the shop's accounts. If you can let us go, I am willing to give you all my wealth."
"Several hundred taels is indeed not a small amount."
The three men hesitated for a moment, but the leader of the thieves quickly regained his composure. His voice hoarse, he said menacingly, "This family is cunning and treacherous; be careful not to fall for their tricks again. We've already wasted too much time tonight, and it might alert the authorities. If we encounter each other, things will become more complicated. Let's hurry!"
His words were filled with chilling murderous intent. "Third brother is right. We've been causing trouble in the city these past few days, but we haven't laid a hand on the pregnant woman yet. Today, we'll use this pregnant woman as our target and let me vent my anger!"
What exactly was that powder? After inhaling it, a burning pain spread from the tip of his nose all the way to his chest, and even his head began to spin, making him unsteady on his feet. He had never suffered such a loss at the hands of a woman in his entire life, and a feeling of resentment towards Jiang Huaiyu welled up within him.
"Let's do it!"
At the command, the thieves did not hesitate any longer. They pushed Yingxiang aside, raised their swords, and were about to slash at Jiang Huaiyu.
Under the deep night sky, a silvery-white light flashed across the blade, seemingly destined to end Jiang Huaiyu.
However, a crisp clang of metal broke the tense atmosphere. A scabbard flew in like a streak of light, accurately knocking the blade from the villain's hand and embedding it diagonally into the soil.
"Your behavior is utterly shameless!"
A middle-aged man's angry rebuke rang out. Jiang Huaiyu and Yingxiang exchanged a glance, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes, as if they could discern a sense of familiarity in the voice.
Immediately afterward, a figure leaped down from the rooftop. Jiang Huaiyu stared intently, and when he recognized the distinctive beard, the floodgates of memory opened instantly, and the person's identity became clear at a glance.
Yingxiang recognized him too, and exclaimed in surprise, "It's that warrior!"
The appearance of the bearded man attracted the attention of all the bandits like a magnet. Although the bandit leader's eyesight had not been restored, the joy in his eyes was overflowing. "Gong Tao, you have finally shown yourself!"
Upon hearing this name, the bandits instantly forgot about Jiang Huaiyu and the others, and surrounded the bearded man like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey.
The bearded man sneered, his eyes sharp. "You bunch of scum, robbing and killing, committing all sorts of evil deeds, and now you're trying to harm a defenseless pregnant woman. Have you lost your conscience?"
The bandit leader let out a mocking laugh, "Gong Tao, the reason we did all this is because of your existence, isn't it? If you had appeared sooner, how could those innocent people have suffered such misfortune? In the end, they should be your victims."
"Nonsense! I, Gong Tao, am upright and honest. When have I ever harmed an innocent person!"
The bearded man refuted him righteously and sternly.
"Oh? Really?"
The bandit leader let out a hoarse and eerie laugh, "Hero Gong Tao, if you are truly so righteous, then why is it that the shocking massacre that recently occurred in Wusu City is rumored to be your doing?"
(End of this chapter)
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