The Xu family members ignored the mud and water on the ground and simply lay down on the ground.
"Big brother, what if those bandits see us? What will we do then?" Xu Tianzhou's face turned pale with fright, and he clung tightly to Xu Tianlei's clothes.
Before Xu Tianlei could say anything, the group heard the neighing of horses and the angry curses of bandits.
They were so frightened that they didn't dare to speak or even breathe too fast.
"Damn it, it was that bastard who tied it with the rope! I'll kill him as soon as I find out!"
"Brother, the horses at the front are seriously injured and probably won't survive. The riders have also broken their arms and legs. What are we going to do?"
"Let those brothers bear with it here for now. Once we get to the ruined temple and finish this deal, we'll come back to pick them up. Then we can get a good rest for a while."
The bandit leader whispered these words, but because it was still raining heavily, the Xu family couldn't hear them clearly and only vaguely caught a few sentences.
Then came the clatter of horses' hooves, which gradually faded into the distance.
"Are we alright now?" Xu Tianzhou said with delight.
Xu Tiankuo immediately jumped up from the ground, disgustedly shaking the mud off his clothes while muttering something.
"Damn bandits! I'll kill them all when I get the chance, and vent my anger!"
Suddenly, a voice came from the side, "Who do you want to kill?"
Xu Tiankuo answered instinctively, "Bandits...bandits?!"
Not far from him were the wounded bandits who were giving themselves simple first aid when they saw Xu Tiankuo suddenly appear.
"You grandson, you still want to kill your grandpa? Grandpa will kill you first!"
As the bandit spoke, he drew his long knife and charged at Xu Tiankuo.
The rest of the Xu family members were still lying on the ground, too scared to even breathe, while Xu Tianlei was slowly crawling away, trying to sneak away.
Xu Tiankuo was so frightened by the bandits that he retreated repeatedly. He happened to see this scene out of the corner of his eye, and he roared in anger.
"Xu Tianlei, you cowardly coward, you actually want to abandon us and secretly run away!"
His words excited the bandit. "So there are other people here. My sword hasn't drunk any blood yet. I'll use your blood to sharpen it."
After saying that, the bandit swung his knife at Xu Tiankuo and cleanly severed his left hand.
"Father, Mother, save me!" Xu Tiankuo cried out for help, clutching his still-bleeding wound.
A flicker of pain crossed Xu's father's eyes, but he still grabbed Xu Tianzhou and Xu's mother and quickly ran towards the forest.
As for Xu Tianlei, he ran even faster; he had already started running while his father was still struggling internally.
The bandits stopped wielding their knives upon seeing this, and laughed mockingly, "This is your family? They really do scatter like birds and beasts when trouble strikes."
Seeing Xu Tiankuo's pale face, the bandit seemed to have taken pity on him and said, "Since you're so pitiful, I'll go and kill those cold-blooded relatives for you first, and then I'll kill you last."
After saying that, the bandit picked up his long knife and charged towards Xu's father and the others...
Blood has already been drawn here, but at the ruined temple, it's just beginning.
The men, carrying long knives and swords, followed nervously behind the constables. Some of their legs trembled uncontrollably, as if they might surrender at any moment.
Xu Jinhuan arrived at that moment, carrying a giant longsword. The sword was about the height of a person, made of solid material, and looked extremely heavy, which shocked everyone into opening their mouths wide.
“Miss Xu, although you are strong, this is not a martial arts arena. This is a real fight with bandits. On the battlefield, swords and spears have no eyes. One careless move and you could really lose your life.”
"You should hurry and go to the cellar with the women; it's safer there."
A middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties and somewhat frail was trying to persuade Xu Jinhuan.
Xu Jinhuan smiled and shook his head. "Thank you for your concern. I believe my martial arts skills are decent enough to protect myself."
Seeing that he couldn't persuade Xu Jinhuan, the middle-aged man stopped trying. He thought that life and death were predestined and wealth and honor were determined by fate. He didn't even know if he would live to see the sun rise tomorrow.
He only hoped that his wife and children would be safe and sound.
"Da da da"
The sound of horses' hooves approached rapidly; the bandits had arrived.
"Brother, what's going on? Have we been sold out?" one of the bandits asked in surprise after seeing the display of force in front of the dilapidated temple.
The bandit leader squinted and looked carefully. After confirming the identities of those people, he felt a little relieved.
"It's nothing, it's not a big deal. Apart from the constables, the people standing outside are all a bunch of weak scholars. They could take down a whole group of them with one slash. They're just there to intimidate people."
The henchman next to him immediately flattered the bandit leader, "Boss is mighty! As long as our boss is here, we don't have to be afraid even if the general comes!"
The bandit leader was overjoyed to hear this, and with a smile, he waved his long sword. "Brothers, charge! After we finish this job, we'll go to a brothel in Jiangnan and have some fun!"
"Listen to the big brother, charge!"
"You filthy official, take this!"
The bandits rushed over instantly, and Xie Datou, holding a long knife, was the first to meet the enemy.
For a time, the sound of clashing weapons filled the area in front of the dilapidated temple.
Every single officer stood at the forefront, fighting fiercely against the bandits.
They worked in pairs, one cutting off the horse's legs and the other cutting off the bandits, their teamwork was quite excellent.
Xu Jinhuan wielded her longsword with great force, taking down one person with each strike, sometimes even managing to take down an extra one, the spurting blood staining her outer robe red.
Even after being washed by rain, a faint pink hue remained.
"Brothers, if that girl is working so hard, what are we men lacking? Let's go for our families!"
The middle-aged man who initially tried to persuade Xu Jinhuan was also captivated by her heroic bearing. At this moment, he took his weapon and slashed at the bandits beside him with his knife, the white blade going in and the red blade coming out.
The bandit had an incredulous expression on his face as he died, clearly not expecting that these cowards would dare to resist.
The middle-aged man's victory gave hope to the others, who also brandished their weapons, stabbing and slashing, catching the bandits off guard.
It's said that even a master can be defeated by a novice, and there's some truth to that. For a time, their group was evenly matched with the bandits, and it was difficult to determine a winner.
The bandit leader grew increasingly furious as the fight went on. Who was it that said this job would be easy? Why were there so many variables?
"Big brother, if we keep fighting like this, we might lose!"
The bandit leader wiped the rain off his face and cursed angrily upon hearing this.
"Damn it, what is this mole up to? Can he be trusted? Looks like we'll have to tell him the secret order."
Then he loudly reassured his underlings, "Brothers, don't panic. Think about the gold and silver we can get. After this job, we'll have everything! Find the vital points and kill them with one blow."
As if in response to the bandit leader's words, one of the constables, who had been working in pairs, suddenly turned around and raised his knife towards Xie Datou...
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