Everyone was startled and turned to look, then their expressions all changed.
"Ah, the barbarians are coming! Run! Run!"
"Mommy, boohoo, I'm scared!"
"Father, Father!"
The once cheerful group suddenly descended into chaos. Women grabbed their children, and men carried the elderly on their backs, completely forgetting about their luggage in their haste.
Li Laosi lifted the luggage off the big blue mule's back and carried the old lady onto it. Jia'an and Jiaxi had gone too far to be found.
He then pulled Madam Cui and the two children onto the mule's back, and with a heavy pat, Daqing took off running away.
Old Mrs. Li was deathly pale. While struggling to support Madam Cui, she pulled open the basket behind her back and hugged her granddaughter.
In this way, whether it's arrows or swords, they will all hit her first.
Tao Hongying took off running ahead, grabbed Jiaxi and Jia'an, and continued running wildly through gritted teeth.
"Jiaxi, Jia'an, run! Run to the dock! Don't look back!"
Zhao Yuru helped the village chief support his frail wife, while Sister Qiong grabbed a small child in each hand and ran after the big blue mule. Li Lao Er, Li Lao San, Wen Hai, and a few others pulled along Uncle Zhao and the others.
Jiaren actually tried to grab the package containing the books, but Mr. Cui slapped him on the head, yelling, "Are you out of your mind? Run!"
Li Laosi grabbed Dr. Zhang, who was sitting on the sled, and threw him onto Jiayi's back. "Run!"
After saying that, he picked up his machete and ran against the flow of people to the back.
Clearly, he was worried and couldn't leave Liu, the镖头 (bodyguard), alone to fight the barbarians.
"Waaah, fourth brother, fourth brother!"
When the Li family saw this, they tried to stop them but couldn't, and they could only cry loudly as they ran forward even faster.
Jiayin was sleeping soundly on her grandmother's back when she was suddenly pulled into her grandmother's arms and made to run around wildly. Hearing the cries and screams around her, she even thought she was having a nightmare.
"Grandma, Grandma!" She tried to get up to see what had happened, but the old lady wouldn't let her peek out.
"Run! Run! Get to the docks! Help! Waaah! Get to the docks! Hurry to the docks!"
The short distance of five or six miles, though so close to escape, felt as far as the dozens of mountains they had crossed.
The child lost his shoes, the old man stumbled and fell, and the woman's cries were deafening.
But none of this could stop the mounted barbarians. Like prey, they spurred their tall horses onward, brandishing their long swords and howling as they charged. Some even drew their bows and fired arrows!
Thirty barbarians and thirty horses, like wild beasts bursting forth from the prehistoric era, charged in with billowing dust, a truly terrifying sight.
Liu the镖头 and Li Laosi raised their long knives high, gritted their teeth, and charged forward.
Two against thirty, a matchup where defeat was inevitable, yet the two forged ahead with unwavering courage.
Because behind them are their wives, children, elderly parents, and fellow villagers with whom they depend for survival!
Everyone can be afraid, but they are the only ones who can't!
"You barbarian beasts, come on! I'll fight you to the death! Killing one is enough, killing two is a bonus!"
"Kill! Kill! If you want to get past me, step over my dead body!"
The barbarians were startled by the two men's suicidal charge, but then they grinned menacingly.
They charged forward even faster, raising their sabers high and bringing them down hard.
Unexpectedly, Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou lunged forward, swinging their long knives horizontally.
The two leading warhorses, unable to dodge the charge, had their forelegs chopped off and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
The warhorses behind couldn't dodge in time and crashed into them one after another, falling into a heap.
Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou, however, leaped up and began reaping heads one by one with their slashes.
Everything happened as fast as lightning. In the blink of an eye, five or six barbarians were dead and seven or eight horses were lost.
This completely enraged the barbarians, who roared and surrounded them.
Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou were going all out, back to back, swinging their knives with all their might.
The villagers who had been running frantically ahead turned around and saw this, their eyes red with anxiety.
"Wife, you run, I have to go back and help!"
"Father, Mother, you run first, I need to go back!"
"No, I have to go save the fourth brother!"
"Captain Liu, we're here!"
One by one, villagers abandoned their elderly and children, grabbed their machetes, and rushed back home.
Jiayi handed Doctor Zhang over to Jiahuan and caught up with Liu Yang, who was a few steps ahead. "Wait for me, let's go kill the barbarians together!"
The woman cried even harder, but dared not stop. "Waaah, help! Help! Please help us!"
Jiayin was held tightly against her grandmother's chest. Listening to her grandmother's rapid heartbeat, she finally guessed that the barbarians were coming to hunt her down. She struggled to get up, "Grandma!"
The old lady was breathing heavily, like a bellows, "Fu Niu... don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Grandma's here!"
Jiayin was about to speak when two arrows shot over, one piercing Daqing's buttocks and the other piercing the old lady's shoulder.
The old woman screamed in agony, and Daqing went berserk, suddenly accelerating and throwing everyone off his back.
The old lady held Jiayin tightly in her arms, flew high into the air, and then crashed heavily down the official road.
Mrs. Cui tried her best to hold onto the two little babies, but luckily they fell into the roadside bushes.
Li Lao Er and Li Lao San ran forward, jumped off the official road, and helped up their mother and niece.
Old Mrs. Li's shoulder was bleeding profusely, and her face turned pale from the pain.
Jiayin remained completely silent. Li Lao Er subconsciously touched the back of his niece's head and found his hand covered in blood.
"Fu Niu!" Old Mrs. Li cried out in agony, clutching her granddaughter tightly. "Fu Niu, wake up! Help! My Fu Niu! Help!"
The villagers, amidst the chaos, heard this and turned to look, all of them shocked by the tragic state of the grandfather and grandson.
The village chief and Uncle Zhao stopped in their tracks, exchanged glances, and their eyes were filled with deep-seated hatred.
"Let's give it our all! We old guys have lived long enough to get this far!"
"Fight back! Fight back!"
"If I kill a few more barbarians, I can brag to my brothers even in the afterlife."
The village chief pushed his old wife directly to Zhao Yuru, picked up his machete, and led Uncle Zhao and the others back.
Li Lao Er wanted to follow, but Li Lao San pulled him back.
"Second brother, you stay here. If we die, take care of Mother and raise the children for us!"
After saying that, he climbed onto the official road and ran towards the circle where the fighting was taking place.
Li Lao Er stamped his feet in anxiety, but with his niece in one arm and his mother in the other, he could only hold his niece and support his mother as they continued running.
Tears fell to the ground, and for the first time in his life, he hated himself for not learning martial arts!
At the dock three miles away, many lights were lit as darkness fell.
Soldiers were stationed on both sides of the dock. Hearing cries from afar, a captain stepped forward and reported, "General, it seems that some refugees have been entangled by barbarians!"
The general looked to be in his twenties, with red lips and white teeth. He even had powder on his face. Perhaps he found the armor too heavy, so he wasn't wearing a helmet, and his armor was worn crookedly.
Hearing this, he glanced into the distance and replied indifferently.
"It's so far away, you can't see anything clearly. Besides, almost everyone has gone to Jiangnan, so there wouldn't be anyone left at this time."
The captain, growing anxious, whispered, "General, shouldn't we send someone to check? What if they really are refugees fleeing famine? We're so close; it won't take much effort..."
The general grew impatient, glaring at him and yelling, "Are you ordering me around? Are you the general, or am I? I say no troops, and I mean no troops! Are you going to disobey me?"
The captain quickly lowered his head, "I wouldn't dare, of course I'll obey the general's orders."
The general snorted coldly and said nothing more.
The captain suppressed his anger and slowly retreated.
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