Chapter 755: What I Saw and Heard [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
What does it mean that "it's better to be pregnant"?
Five simple words ignited Shen Tang's anger.
The woman was terrified, her expression blank and stunned. She lost her balance during the dragging. Unable to break free and escape, she could only rely on instinct, changing from supporting her lower abdomen with one hand to supporting her pregnant belly with both hands, her body curled up like a hedgehog.
Unfortunately, she didn't have thorns on her back.
Her defensive actions only pleased the people who were trying to capture her.
"Ha ha ha ha--"
"What are you afraid of, young lady? We brothers will take good care of you for your man. Remember to serve him well. You don't want your man to be beaten, do you?" The man who was dragging the woman by the hair squatted down. The woman was so frightened that her lips turned white and she couldn't say a word. The woman's husband was kicked away, but he crawled back on his hands and feet, tears and snot streaming down his face, begging the soldiers to have mercy.
Upon seeing this, the leader waved his hand.
He chuckled and said, "Drag them both away."
Upon hearing this, the group revealed smiles that could only be understood but not explained.
This wasn't the first time he'd committed violence in front of a woman's male relatives. By threatening her with male relatives, the woman often gave up struggling, saving her trouble, and she could even enjoy listening to the man's painful roars, pleas for mercy, and curses.
The nearby refugees were angry but dared not speak out.
Some who were angry and wanted to stand up were pulled back by their fellow refugees, who were afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. Refugees with female relatives in their group hunched over, either shielding their women with their bodies or pulling them along quickly, fearing they would be next to suffer…
Similar situations have become commonplace these past two days.
The older refugees looked numb and continued on their way.
"Save the children—please, please save the children—"
Just as several soldiers, one holding her hand and the other dragging her by the leg, were carrying the woman away like they were seizing a pig, she began to frantically kick her arms and legs, turning her head to plead for help from the other refugees. Her eyes were filled with tears of despair, yet tinged with hope.
However, the refugees in her line of sight had their backs turned.
No one turned to look at her.
As the voices of the woman and man faded into the distance, it was as if nothing had happened. The refugees just wanted to escape as fast as they could, praying they would never encounter these despicable bandits again! But if their ears could no longer hear pleas for mercy and screams of agony, could their hearts?
A dozen or so soldiers led the couple to a secluded spot.
As soon as she let go, the husband tried to protect the woman.
Before the outstretched hand could even touch it, it was kicked away.
"If you want to live, don't court death. It's not like we're not going to give you back a woman. We just borrowed her for a bit, and we'll return her when we're done," the leading soldier sneered, reaching to loosen his belt. The other soldiers either laughed or reached out to restrain the woman's hands and feet, uttering vulgar words to her. The man was forced to kneel, his hands bound behind his back, his neck pressed against his cheek by a hand. Every time he struggled, small stones would rip his cheek, drawing blood. He could no longer hear the woman's voice.
At this moment, the hatred in his heart had reached its peak.
He desperately wanted to die with these people, but the reality was that they outnumbered him, and any struggle he made was futile! Suddenly, the pressure on his neck eased. Blood-red rain appeared in his vision, the raindrops still warm as they splashed onto his face. The man was stunned, his rage completely overwhelmed, until a head was kicked towards him.
The eyes on its head were wide open.
He also has a very familiar face.
Isn't that the face of the bandit leader?
As the man straightened up, what came into view was a scene of corpses lying haphazardly, heads rolling all over the ground, and steaming blood pooling in the puddles. A dozen or so bandits, all dismembered. He paused, then remembered the woman. Despite the overwhelming emotions and struggle that left him weak, he ignored the stones on the ground and crawled to the woman's side.
The woman, who had survived the ordeal, took a while to come to her senses.
She hugged the man.
The man asked, "What... just happened?"
The woman, her face deathly pale, said, "I...I don't know."
Her hands and feet were pinned to the ground, and the bandit leader tried to tear her clothes. She was filled with despair, resigned to her fate. Suddenly, the man's head detached from his neck, propelled by the jet of blood, flying towards her face. But before it could hit her, it flew in the opposite direction, splattering blood all over her face. Even the headless corpse that should have fallen on her bounced to the side, rolling dozens of times before coming to a stop.
Blood covered her eyelids, forcing the woman to close her eyes.
A strange warmth welled up in her tense lower abdomen, as if a warm current had seeped into her belly. When she wiped the blood from her eyelids with her freed hand and opened her eyes again, she saw heads flying into the sky in bizarre postures before landing with thuds.
Then, a light rain of blood began to fall.
The man, panting heavily, couldn't make sense of it all. He didn't know if Heaven had heard his prayers and caused the beasts to die, or if some righteous person had secretly helped him... Either way, his wife was saved. The man knelt on the ground and bowed several times in all directions, and the woman followed suit. Knowing he couldn't stay any longer, the man quickly helped his wife away.
Not long after the two left, the corpses and heads on the ground exploded with several loud thuds, spraying blood everywhere. When the blood mist cleared, not only was it impossible to identify them by their clothing, but not even a single intact piece of flesh or bone could be found…
"The water has been brought back."
Shen Tang returned carrying a string of bamboo tubes.
Seeing that his lord's expression was still acceptable, Jiang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief.
Where are they?
Shen Tang stopped drinking water abruptly and snorted, "He got a one-way ticket to the underworld! Such a beast deserves to die!"
She was in charge of the killings, while Wei Shou, operating in the shadows, was responsible for destroying the evidence.
The sudden disappearance of a group of men was a serious matter that needed to be investigated. Shen Tang, not wanting to bring disaster upon these refugees, instructed Wei Shou to dispose of the bodies properly. Drinking water calmed her anger slightly, and her brow relaxed a bit.
Ning Yan, standing to one side, clenched her fists tightly.
She inexplicably thought of herself.
If she hadn't had this opportunity, and had been fleeing war, she might have suffered the same fate. Even if she was lucky enough to escape the calamity, would her daughter be so fortunate? Ning Yan pursed her lips, suppressing the surging emotions within her.
She said, "It's just that these people can't be killed all of them..."
Shen Tang said, "Of course I know I can't kill them all..."
"We can't kill them all, but anyone who crosses our lines will not live!"
The three continued walking with the refugee caravan, because the refugees had no means of transportation—even those from wealthy families who could afford donkey carts or oxcarts had long been robbed, at most leaving them with a wheelbarrow—the caravan moved slowly, resembling a long, wriggling worm when viewed from above. Less than fifteen minutes later, they encountered another group that came to rob them, this time targeting Shen Tang.
Shen Tang: "...???"
Jiang Sheng: "..."
Was this a death warrant personally issued by Yama, the King of Hell?
Is this the kind of suicide attempt that's so precise?
Because Ning Yan was dressed as a hunchbacked middle-aged woman, and Shen Tang's figure did not have any obvious curves, plus her face was smeared with dirt, and only her eyes were attractive, this group did not covet her beauty.
They've come to demand money.
Why did you spot those three at first glance?
Because the three men had smooth skin on the backs of their hands, few calluses, and clean, even teeth, they must have come from wealthy families. They immediately brandished their weapons to intimidate and threaten: "If you don't want to die, hand over all your money."
A knife was held to Jiang Sheng's neck: "Quickly!"
Knowing it was inappropriate to kill in broad daylight, as it would easily expose his identity, Jiang Sheng reluctantly reached into his pocket and pulled out a few pieces of silver to try and get rid of them. However, the group was not satisfied; the silver was too little, and there were only three of them—not enough!
Jiang Sheng pleaded with them as if they were refugees.
It wasn't that Jiang Sheng was unwilling to pay more to avoid trouble; it was simply because he really only had this much money left. He had come to fight with the army, and he ate and slept in the military camp. What would he do with money? There was nowhere to spend it! But the other party wouldn't let it go.
One of their gazes fell on Shen Tang.
Of the three, Shen Tang was the shortest.
Judging from the guesses that the three were a couple with a son, one of the clever ones put a knife to Shen Tang's neck.
Threat: "Do you even want your son's life?"
Shen Tang was silent for a moment, while Ning Yan and Jiang Sheng's faces twitched slightly. Jiang Sheng took a deep breath and pleaded, "Soldiers, we really have no money! Please, please, do us a favor! I'll remember this for the rest of my life!"
Once we're in a secluded spot, we'll kill them all!
The other soldiers had all looted money, but they hadn't expected to encounter such a pauper. The soldiers were not about to give up; they immediately wanted to cut off Shen Tang's arm to teach Jiang Sheng a lesson. However, before they could strike, a wicked thought arose in their minds.
"Why should I need you to remember anything? Here's what we'll do: kneel down and kowtow a few times! Kneel ten times, and call me 'Grandpa' a few times, and we'll let your family go, how about that?"
Jiang Sheng and Ning Yan's faces darkened several shades at the same time. Just as they were about to use their words of magic to fool him, the soldier with the knife said to Shen Tang, "Yes, you kneel down. Kneel loudly, or I won't be happy and neither will you."
Shen Tang looked at them calmly: "You want me to kneel?"
The soldier's face was gloomy, and his smile was full of malice: "Hmph, yes, you! I was originally going to make your parents kneel, but don't you scholars talk about 'filial piety'? We won't make things difficult for you, so you, as the son, will kneel on behalf of your parents."
They've done plenty of things that make fun of refugees.
Kneeling, kowtowing, and calling them "Grandpa" is nothing compared to what some people make. They'll even make you kneel and walk around a few times, bark like a dog, and lick your feet.
No one would disagree, including this time.
"What are your thoughts—"
The soldier was about to break into a smug smile. He was planning to wait until the soldier actually knelt down before crawling between his legs. But... wait, why does my neck feel a little cold? Why did my gaze suddenly rise? And then suddenly fall again?
The last thing he saw was a foot kicking towards him.
Shen Tang withdrew her foot, but Jiang Sheng's sword was still dripping blood.
As the headless corpse fell, nearby soldiers noticed the commotion, and those closest drew their weapons and attacked.
Jiang Sheng and Ning Yan each left a bloody mark with their swords.
Strangely, none of the refugees noticed this scene; those who fled continued to run, and those who begged for mercy continued to beg for mercy, while only soldiers continued to gather in this direction. Jiang Sheng and his two scholars were fine dealing with the ordinary soldiers, but there were a few low-level martial artists among them.
They exploded on the spot before they could even get a few steps closer to Shen Tang.
Shen Tang lowered her eyes and coldly looked at the corpse on the ground.
Jiang Sheng flicked the blood off the sword and sheathed it.
He said coldly, "You're courting death!"
If it were just a matter of making them kneel, Jiang Sheng could use his incantation to fool them and then kill them later. But this thing chose its lord. Even if it was just an illusion of the lord, it couldn't kneel before anyone, nor could it suffer the slightest humiliation!
A subject who humiliates his lord shall die!
If it really happens, he can only draw his sword and commit suicide to atone for his sins.
A short while later, Wei Shou's martial arts soldiers came out and moved all the corpses away. Jiang Sheng then dispelled the illusion, leaving only a large pool of blood on the spot. The nearby refugees were startled, but dared not cause any trouble, so they quickened their pace and left, while secretly keeping an eye on the three of them.
Shen Tang said, "Let's find out which one it is."
If you have the chance, go to that company first!
"I remember that this blood was also disposed of."
These two sentences were spoken to Wei Shou in secret.
Wei Shou grinned and resigned himself to his fate, going to capture prisoners and interrogate them.
Jiang Sheng said, "This place is not suitable for us to stay for long."
"Hurry up and move forward, cross the river as soon as possible and get back to Chaoli Pass, lest things get complicated." Shen Tang nodded: "Okay."
In just half a day, they encountered five groups of people.
As dusk settled, Chen Tang sat on a rock, rubbing her aching thigh muscles. After a day of traveling, she had worn out a pair of straw sandals. If it weren't for her martial arts and literary aura protecting her, she didn't know how many blisters she would have developed on her feet. Jiang Sheng returned with firewood.
"How is the situation?"
Ning Yan went to inquire about the news.
She sighed and shook her head: "It's a mess, a complete mess."
Throughout the day, the number of refugees on the road not only did not decrease but increased, with new refugees joining every moment. These refugees came from nearby counties, some even from the same village, and seven or eight people had disappeared in just one day. It was truly shocking.
"Sigh... Zheng Qiao has a good eye for people." Shen Tang looked at the campfire, the orange-red light dancing in her pupils. For a moment, she couldn't tell if the light was from the campfire or the anger in her heart. She gritted her teeth and said, "He died a quick death, but how many people will have to pay for it... How innocent are these common people?"
Ning Yan: "That's how people are, that's human nature."
Where there are conflicts of interest, there will inevitably be war.
That is precisely why our lord is so precious.
Thinking of what she had seen and heard these past few days, Ning Yan was about to say something to comfort Shen Tang when she heard footsteps approaching and immediately shut her mouth. A figure landed, followed by a male voice: "It's chilly at night... could I borrow a light?"
Ning Yan looked up at the person; he was a disheveled middle-aged scholar.
The baggage he was carrying was empty.
I wonder how many times he's been ransacked these past few days.
Seeing his pitiful, cowering appearance, Shen Tang nodded in agreement.
The middle-aged scholar hurriedly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, thank you."
He found a spot to sit by the campfire, warming his icy hands over the fire for a while until they became warm. The middle-aged scholar sighed contentedly. Jiang Sheng added firewood to the fire, secretly observing the scholar.
He asked, "Are you cold?"
The scholar said, "My clothes were stolen."
Jiang Sheng asked him, "Then why are you carrying a fan?"
_(:з」∠)_
Where did my author's notes go? I've written two thousand words and am getting ready for bed. The recent plot has been a bit negative, hmm, time to turn my attention back to Longwu, hehe.
P.S.: By the way, there are still 200 spots left in the monthly ticket event in the book review section. The 7th is the last day for double points, so remember to participate!
(End of this chapter)
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