Song Zhenping already knew the bandits were coming. He stood in front of Song Liyun and said, "I...I am the older brother!"
Song Liyun smiled slightly: "Brother, you stay in the courtyard to protect Xiao An. He needs you more than I do."
Song Zhenping has difficulty walking, and if his life were truly in danger, he wouldn't even have the ability to protect himself.
But his love for his younger sister and brother was genuine, and I couldn't refuse him.
Song Zhenping was aware of his own shortcomings. He gritted his teeth and stood aside, only whispering, "Yun'er, be careful."
At this time, Broken Gold Town had already fallen into chaos.
Shortly after the woman ran out, the people inside the house found her skirt, shoes, and socks, as well as traces of her climbing the tree.
Kim Sam-jung gritted his teeth and said, "This woman is going to cause trouble. Tang Xiang, we need to act quickly."
Tang Xiang's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He hadn't even left the house yet, how could the news have leaked? "Where did your woman run off to?"
Jin Sanzhong was taken aback, then shook his head and said, "She never goes out, I don't know where she might run off to. Never mind her, I'll go find Lai Zi right now. You guys go to the Song family first."
Tang Xiang was also somewhat flustered at this moment. He had just spoken confidently and inspiringly, but to actually cause trouble under the nose of a garrison was undoubtedly like provoking a tiger. It would be a lie to say that he was not afraid.
But there was no turning back now. Tang Xiang pointed at the three people he had brought with him and said, "The three of you come with me to the Ji residence."
He then said to the rest of the group, “You and Brother Sanchong go find people. Remember, if something happens, set it on fire and give those people in Laoshanlin a helping hand.”
Having said that, he took the lead, grabbed a knife, and led the men out.
He originally came from Suijin Town and knew all the houses here very well, especially the Ji family, who were once wealthy.
Tang Xiang and his three companions headed straight for the Ji residence along the main road. Their pace was naturally faster than that of the "triple bride," and they arrived at the edge of the woods in less than a quarter of an hour.
But as soon as they stepped onto the road leading to the Ji residence, they were blocked by a tangled mess of branches and firewood.
The stack of firewood was so tall and large that it not only completely blocked the road to the Ji residence, but also spread into the thicket of trees, leaving no gaps to stand on either side of the road.
To get to the Ji residence, they had to go around into the woods.
It is now the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. There are no stars or moon, and only the light of the snow can reflect the faint glow of the tinderbox.
"Into the woods!"
Tang Xiang shook the tinderbox in his hand again, seeing that these firewoods were indeed impossible to climb over, and he had no choice but to risk going into the forest.
He remembered that the area outside the Ji residence used to be flat land for parking, but now it had grown into a forest.
These miscellaneous trees are neither too tall nor too short, and their outstretched canopies completely block one's view, making it very troublesome to walk through them.
Tang Xiang was no longer worried about being discovered, since Han Ming was the most capable person in the Song family. He didn't take Jin Sanzhong's talk of any monsters to heart.
Kim Sam-joong was injured last time because he was caught off guard.
With four men carrying knives and being on guard, even if a tiger came, they could skin it alive.
Without any hesitation, the four men took out their knives and hacked and slashed, carving out a path.
The forest wasn't large, and after a short while, Tang Xiang entered a clearing that had been cleared by someone. From there, he could already see the courtyard wall of the Ji residence, which was only two zhang away.
At this moment, the Ji residence was silent and still, like a sleeping baby in Tang Xiang's eyes.
"Quick, let's rush over and get onto the wall!"
Tang Xiang drew his sword and ran, urging everyone to hurry forward.
The three men followed closely behind him, about to rush into the open space.
Just then, a dark figure sprang up from the ground, and the last person in the group only managed a gasp of "Ah..." before being tackled to the ground and rolling into the darkness of the bushes.
Upon hearing the sound, Tang Xiang, who was in front, turned around abruptly. Seeing that one person was missing, he was immediately shocked: "Zhang Shan!"
It was completely quiet behind the tree; the only sound was their own heavy breathing.
The other two hurriedly gripped the hilts of their knives, while Tang Xiang shook the tinderbox several times and threw it behind the tree.
By the light of the fire, he saw a person lying behind the tree.
"Zhang Shan, what are you doing? Get up right now!"
Tang Xiang angrily said that the people he brought this time were all his closest allies and would never cause trouble without reason.
Zhang Shan moved slightly, as if he had fallen and couldn't get up.
Tang Xiang had no doubts and stepped forward to pull him up, saying, "Get up quickly, the Song family will wake you up."
Just as he reached out, "Zhang Shan" on the ground suddenly sat up, and a short stick pressed down on his arm.
A bright light flashed, and Tang Xiang let out a short cry before collapsing to the ground, feeling as if thousands of ants were crawling all over his body, unable to muster any strength at all.
Two bandits fell in an instant, and the other two were also shocked. They had been with Tang Xiang for several years, so they naturally wouldn't abandon him. They brandished their knives and rushed over.
With a swift, chilling flash, the blade cleaved the branches in two, sending snowflakes flying everywhere.
Song Liyun hadn't expected these two to be so fierce, rushing to the rescue without even thinking.
She was still lying on the ground pretending to be dead when she was enveloped by the wind of the blade before she could finish off Tang Xiang a second time.
Just then, with a mournful howl, a dark shadow pounced like lightning, shielding Song Liyun beneath its body, its claws scratching and biting in one swift motion.
Song Liyun lay on the ground, feeling warm liquid splashing onto her face.
She was immediately shocked. Black Gold, it was Black Gold protecting her.
On the other side, Han Ming, who had been hiding nearby, also rushed over with a knife, dashing behind a tree and catching the two men's blades with two clangs.
With a single blow, all three retreated.
However, they only took half a step back, and the three of them started fighting again.
From the moment Hei Jin tackled "Zhang Shan" to the moment Han Ming fought with someone, it all happened in the blink of an eye.
Seeing Han Ming fight two opponents alone, Tang Xiang and Zhang Shan, who had only been electrocuted, were also regaining their mobility.
Song Liyun had no time to check on Hei Jin's injuries; she drew her knife and went to Tang Xiang.
With a swift movement, the knife fell, and with a muffled groan, Tang Xiang's legs thrashed wildly before he stopped breathing.
The next Zhang Shan followed the same pattern, and in the blink of an eye, both of them lost their lives.
Seeing Song Liyun's actions, the remaining two bandits knew that Tang Xiang was likely in grave danger.
They truly lived up to their reputation as ruthless criminals, far superior to the thugs led by Min Gande.
Seeing the situation was not good, they did not retreat but advanced instead, risking their lives, which immediately forced Han Ming to lose his footing, and blood instantly appeared on his arms and legs.
After finishing her task, Song Liyun immediately took out a piece of rebar about the thickness of a thumb and threw it at a bandit who had just been forced back by Han Ming and was outside the battle zone.
In the darkness, the bandit saw only a "tree branch" flying towards him. He raised his hand and parried it with his knife, but instead, a heavy force struck him.
The "tree branch" he had imagined did not break; although it was chipped open by his knife, it also caused the blade to deflect.
Before the bandits could react, the "tree branches" in Song Liyun's hand flew out in a flurry.
She was only four or five meters away from the bandit. The steel bar, more than a meter long, flew like a short spear, making a continuous "whoosh" sound as it cut through the air.
Song Liyun didn't need to worry about missing the target or damaging the steel bars; she just needed to keep throwing them out.
After she threw out dozens of steel bars in one go, she stopped, panting, only to find that the man had been impaled on the ground by the steel bars and was beyond dead.
---Aside---
Many thanks to Sister Bing's Shadow and Wang Li for the donations!
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