To be honest, the guards had mixed feelings about the group of seven children traveling with them. As long as the journey went smoothly, they were fine; at most, they just had to keep up with the pace of the donkey cart and walk a little slower.
After all, the old master doesn't have anything important to do on this trip, so there's no need to rush. It's rare that these seven children and adults can make the old master feel better, so let them come along!
However, in the current situation, the combination of one large and seven small units is starting to feel a bit cumbersome.
Even though it was already so dangerous, the old man still ordered them to protect the one adult and seven children.
But then again, we can't entirely blame them; it was the elder who invited them to come along.
Hearing the screams from here, they were actually quite nervous. If something really happened to the elder and the seven children, the old master would not let them off easily. None of them were afraid of being scolded or punished, but they were afraid that the old master would feel guilty because of it. He was already worried and depressed because of the affairs of the court.
On the way, everyone was still complaining that this young lady should stay at home, practicing needlework and playing the zither, instead of wandering around outside with a group of children.
She even went so far as to carry a sword, thinking that having that item would make her safe when she's out and about? Where does she get her courage and confidence? What a joke!
Even if you've read too many picture books and want to emulate the heroines in them, you should at least have a few skilled servants secretly following and protecting you, right?
However, the guard who rushed over upon hearing the screams listened to her response and followed the painful groans and moans and saw one figure lying face down on the ground, motionless, and another curled up and rolling on the ground.
Although visibility was limited by the darkness and it was impossible to see the exact condition of the two people, it was certain that the two on the ground were still alive, but had lost their ability to fight.
She—a seemingly effortless young woman—handled it all by herself?
Or were those two on the ground the two most useless people in this group tonight? Her luck is just too good!
No, even if she's useless, two men, judging from their size and voices, are definitely two adults, not weak men. She probably can't handle them, right?
Could it be that I and my companions were simply blind?
Just as the guard was debating whether to dismount and check on the two men or return to his master and come back later for answers, he heard the sound of hooves approaching from behind. He turned around and saw that his companion had let his guard down.
"How's it going over there? Is anyone injured?" the man on horseback asked from afar.
Her voice was very tense, which Hong Xiaoduo could tell, but she didn't try to discern whether the tension stemmed from worry about whether she and the children were injured, or from fear of being scolded by their elders.
There's no point in dwelling on this. First of all, they're complete strangers, and besides, their primary responsibility is simply to protect their own elders.
"They're fine," the first person to arrive gave a brief reply.
Huh? They're alright, so that means the one who's in trouble is someone else? The attackers? He understood what he heard later, but at the same time, he had questions, the same doubts as his companions who had arrived earlier.
That young woman, who looked like a fake heroine, solved the problem herself?
"Young lady, my master says we should continue our journey." He suddenly remembered the purpose of his visit and quickly said to Hong Xiaoduo.
"Okay, I understand," Hong Xiaoduo replied, and told Tian Shu to go back into the carriage.
Tian Shu didn't see her deal with the two thugs, but she heard their screams one after the other. She was fine and obediently went into the carriage immediately.
Hong Xiaoduo sat on the carriage shaft and gently tapped the donkey's hind leg with the whip. The donkey understood and lifted its hooves, trotting forward.
This donkey is a great buy! Although I don't feel it's particularly intelligent, it's really good that it's so well-behaved in this situation. She decided to tell Tian Shu tomorrow that she should buy better fodder for it from now on.
The guards who came later rode their horses and followed the donkey cart. The guard who arrived first had already confirmed that his master was alright, so he was in no hurry to go over. He watched the donkey cart pass by, and saw that the person sitting on the shaft of the cart was neatly dressed and had a calm expression.
There wasn't a single sound of a child crying inside the carriage.
This really surprised him.
His curiosity grew even stronger, so he spurred his horse to the nearest man in black, dismounted, carefully drew his sword, and went to investigate.
From this perspective, there were no obvious injuries on the man's back. When he was kicked, his limbs only moved slightly.
Could the wound be on the front? Thinking this, I turned the person over, but still couldn't find the wound.
After thinking for a moment, he took out a tinderbox and bent down to examine it closely.
"What did that witch do to me? What did she do to me?" The man in black tried to move but couldn't. He stared at the guards who were examining him, and roared in despair.
When I realized something was wrong and turned around to leave quickly, I was hit on the back. It hurt a lot. I can't describe the pain. It was a pain that spread from the inside of my back to my limbs.
He felt that the blow was very similar to the feeling he had experienced when he failed a mission and was punished by his boss with a whip. He didn't feel that he was seriously injured, but strangely, he couldn't move, as if his limbs were not under his control.
The guard did not respond immediately. He frowned and used his hands to examine the man in black's limbs thoroughly. The man's limbs and bones were all intact.
"Yes, what exactly did she do to you? I'd like to know too." The guard seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps responding to the man in black's question.
"A-Dian, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and find someone to live." His companion urged from not far away.
A-Dian tied the man up and threw him onto his horse, then went to check on another man in black.
Upon closer inspection, this person is the complete opposite of the man in black from before. This person's injuries are so severe that they cannot be described as merely obvious; they are downright gruesome.
A diagonal wound ran from his left eye to the right corner of his mouth on his cheek. His left eyeball was shriveled, his nostril was sunken, and his right lip was split open. His right arm hung limply, swinging back and forth as the man writhed in agony.
There was blood on his right knee, which A-Dian found strange. The wound didn't look like it was caused by a sword. He looked at it more closely with a tinderbox and was stunned. The wound was a hole that went right through!
Hearing his companion urging him again from not far away, he snapped out of his daze, picked up the guy, and threw him onto the horse's back as well.
Those who are alive need to be thoroughly interrogated.
"Hey A-Dian, what are you doing? Why are you dawdling like that?" The guard who had stayed behind to clean up the mess asked, puzzled, when A-Dian returned.
A-Dian opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Let's talk about it when we get to the inn..."
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