"Ah—no, let me go, you beasts!"
"Snap—".
"It's your good fortune that I've taken a liking to you. Follow me and I guarantee you'll live a life of luxury."
"Hahaha, Wang Erlaizi, hurry up, it'll be my turn to be finished."
"What's the rush? Let the king and the others go back first and let us clean up the mess. Just get these carts of grain back to the village before dark."
"That's right, take it one at a time, don't rush."
"Hahaha."
Lu Qiqi ran behind Song Yanqing, and when she heard the sound, she quickly stopped. The two hid behind a tree to see what was going on.
From where Lu Qiqi was, she could see a woman being held down on a cart, surrounded by six men. Several long knives were placed beside her, and a man with a knife stood not far away, seemingly on lookout duty.
Song Yanqing glanced at Lu Qiqi and whispered, "Hide well and don't come out."
Before Lu Qiqi could reply, Song Yanqing had already sped away like lightning.
Song Yanqing's leg injury had long since healed, and he easily disarmed the lookout bandit in a few moves, then swiftly and decisively killed him.
The bandits heard screams, looked up and saw their comrade killed.
Wang Erlaizi was the first to react. He shouted, "Brothers, he killed Erzhuzi. Let's kill him to avenge Erzhuzi!"
Several bandits raised their knives, ready to slash at Song Yanqing.
For a moment, the woods were filled with the glint of swords and the shadows of daggers.
Instantly, the bandit let out a painful scream, blood splattered, and the bandit's body fell to the ground.
When Lu Qiqi came out, she took in the fierce look in Song Yanqing's eyes and guessed that Song Yanqing was probably more than just a bodyguard.
After dealing with the bandits, Lu Qiqi went to see the woman on the cart.
The woman was terrified, crying and screaming. Lu Qiqi gave her a piece of bread and told her, "Run quickly."
The woman ran away without taking the pancake.
When Lu Qiqi saw the several carts of grain and remembered what the bandits had said, she said to Song Yanqing, "These carts of grain were all stolen by them. We have to go back quickly."
"good."
When Lu Qiqi and Song Yanqing arrived at their lodging, the once tranquil place where people cooked and lit fires was now in a mess. Three or four carts were overturned on the ground, and bundles and grains were scattered all over the place. Some villagers even had bloodstains on their faces.
Lu Qiqi called out Lu Dahai and Lu Yao's names several times, but no one answered.
Lu Qiqi was startled, and a sense of unease welled up in her heart. She grabbed the shoulder of the uncle who was closest to her and was picking up beans with his head down, and asked, "Have you seen my third uncle, Lu Dahai?"
The uncle looked up at her, then lowered his head again, mechanically picking up beans, as if he hadn't heard what Lu Qiqi said, like a mentally challenged child.
Lu Qiqi had no choice but to give up and go to ask other villagers for information.
When a villager saw Song Yanqing, it was like seeing a savior. He grabbed him and was about to kneel down, pleading, "Brother, you can kill wild boars, you're very capable. Please, have mercy and help me save my son."
Song Yanqing quickly helped the old man up, saying, "This junior cannot accept such kindness. Please get up."
Lu Qiqi also came to help him up, and took the opportunity to ask, "Grandpa, have you seen my third uncle, Lu Dahai?"
Li Shouchai's eyes were cloudy and filled with tears. "Girl, we were robbed by bandits. More than a dozen people in the village died. Your third uncle and the others were captured. The village chief was also injured and it looks like he can't be saved."
Lu Qiqi immediately said, "Where is the village chief? Please take me there and tell me what happened."
After Li Shoucai explained the whole story, Lu Qiqi realized that less than a quarter of an hour after she and Song Yanqing went hunting, nearly a hundred bandits arrived.
The village chief arranged for a small team to escort the women and children out, while the main force was responsible for stopping the bandits. These bandits were desperate criminals who killed people as easily as slaughtering a chicken or duck.
The villagers of Lijia Village had been farmers for generations, and they had never seen such a scene before. Panic ensued, and everything fell into chaos. Before long, they were all captured by the bandits.
The reason why Li Shoucai and the remaining few people were not captured was that after they broke through the encirclement, they were surrounded again. In the end, it was only because several strong men blocked their way that they had time to hide.
Lu Qiqi followed Li Shoucai to the village chief, where the old man was lying on a cart, his white eyebrows furrowed and his face pale.
Lu Qiqi took the village chief's pulse, which was erratic. The village chief was nearly seventy years old, and the sudden shock had caused him to faint.
Normally, a strong dose of medicine would be enough to wake her up, but now resources are scarce and time is of the essence. She doesn't have that much time; Lu Dahai and the others are waiting for her to rescue them.
After thinking it over, Lu Qiqi realized that she had no choice but to bleed.
She secretly took a silver hairpin from her spatial storage and a small porcelain bottle of wine, just enough for one sip.
Lu Qiqi disinfected the silver hairpin by soaking it in wine, then said to Song Yanqing, "Help me hold him down."
Song Yanqing saw what Lu Qiqi wanted to do and asked, "Do you want me to hold his hand?"
Lu Qiqi shook her head, "No need."
After saying that, he forcefully stabbed the acupoint on the village chief's hand, and fresh blood gushed out.
The pain caused the village chief to cough.
Song Yanqing pressed down on the village chief's upper body with both hands to prevent him from moving, while Lu Qiqi also gripped the village chief's hands tightly and used a silver hairpin to force out more blood.
Slowly, sweat began to bead on the village chief's forehead, and his face turned from pale to red. When Lu Qiqi saw that the blood had been drained enough, she stopped and tore off a piece of cloth to bandage the village chief's wound.
Seeing Lu Qiqi's demeanor, Li Shoucai didn't dare utter a sound, afraid of disturbing her and causing trouble. Only after Lu Qiqi finished dealing with it did he ask, "Girl, how is the village chief? Is he all better now?"
Lu Qiqi nodded, "If she doesn't have a fever tonight, she should wake up by tomorrow."
The village chief was, after all, an elderly man, and he must have been seriously injured in this ordeal. Thinking of this, Lu Qiqi fed the village chief a sip of spiritual spring water, hoping that he would be safe and sound.
Hearing that the village chief was alright, Li Shoucai felt relieved, but then he remembered that his son had been kidnapped by bandits and became anxious again. "Girl, you're capable too, hurry up and think of a way to save him!"
Lu Qiqi put away the silver hairpin and looked directly at Li Shoucai, "I will definitely go to save them. My third uncle's family and my younger sister are all in the hands of bandits. Uncle, I will definitely bring them back!"
After saying that, Lu Qiqi stood up, called the remaining six men who looked to be in their fifties, and together they walked in the direction the bandits had left.
Song Yanqing knew that this person absolutely had to be saved, but for Lu Qiqi, a young girl, to go there would be suicide. He grabbed Lu Qiqi and said, "Wait, I'll go. You find a safe place and wait for us to come back."
Lu Qiqi said seriously, "I'm not just being reckless. I know martial arts and I have poison in my hands. You can trust me."
Song Yanqing was somewhat angry, "Those bandits are ruthless, I might not be able to protect you, even so, are you still going?!"
This was the first time Lu Qiqi had seen Song Yanqing speak with anger, and she didn't react for a moment. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she said, "Go! I have a plan!"
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