Chapter 183 Cause and Effect
The sudden commotion outside completely shattered the brief peace.
"Giddy up...giddy up...giddy up..." "...Clatter clatter clatter...clatter clatter..." The shouts rose, the hooves thundered! Shouts grew louder as the dense hooves shattered the night sky. Suddenly, countless torches lit up outside the village, rushing towards them like long snakes.
In an instant, terrified cries, indignant curses, and violent shouts rose up: "Help!" "No!" "Go to hell!" "That's my family's life-saving food!" "Get out of the way!"... "Bang bang bang... thud... crack..." "Get up, you bastards!" "There's more over here..."
"Search! There's more here!"
The three people inside were filled with shock and uncertainty, with Erlang and his mother turning deathly pale. Erlang rushed to the door and peered through the crack. "It's a robber!!" he whispered in a panic. "Ah! A... a robber!" the old woman cried out, her voice trembling with fear.
Erlang's two sharp eyes were almost jolted back to normal! He hurriedly slammed the flimsy door shut, bolted it, and braced his short, stocky body against the back of the door, urgently shouting, "Mother! Turn off the light!" His voice was trembling.
Since the death of the city lord Yi Yunke, bandits from the Three Mountains and Five Barbarian tribes had frequently visited the village. Because Erlang's family was so poor that even rats couldn't leave a trace, whenever the bandits kicked down the door, they would glance at the house, curse, and turn away with disgusted expressions. Over time, the mother and daughter became unfazed by this, sometimes even neglecting to close the door, saving the bandits a kick, and practically shouting "Welcome!"
But tonight is different! A beautiful young girl has appeared in their home!! This is exactly what bandits have always coveted! That's what truly tugged at the hearts of the mother and son. As fate would have it, the people who came this time weren't actually bandits, but rather members of the Golden Knife Stronghold lurking under the guise of bandits to rob the villagers. They were far more ferocious than ordinary bandits, better equipped, and more organized. Gold, silver, treasures, and respectable women—anything that caught their eye, they abducted.
The old lady was quite energetic at that moment. As soon as her son finished speaking, her cheeks puffed out like a trumpeter's, and she seemed to be able to blow her breath three feet away. With a "whoosh," the flashing lights in front of her went out. The room was instantly plunged into darkness. The mother and son stood frozen in place, suppressing their heartbeats, not daring to breathe, only hearing the pounding of their own heartbeats.
Yi Qingxue remained calm. She groped her way to the edge of the wooden bed and sat down, thinking to herself: Now is the perfect time to call for help, but there are bandits outside. If I fall into their hands... the consequences would be even more unimaginable...
"It seems like no one's home!" The child's voice came from outside the door, and Dalang's heart began to pound.
"Nonsense! There are still clothes hanging here, how could no one be here? Wow! This silk scarf is quite bright..." A young man with a braid held up a torch and used the tip of his knife to pick up the piece of silk that Yi Qingxue had cut off from the bamboo pole. "Who knows, maybe there's a beauty hiding here!" This unintentional speculation made Erlang, who was leaning against the door, tremble with fear, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
Another burly man walked to the dark door: "Is anyone here? Let's go in and take a look!" Before he finished speaking, there was a "snap" sound as a sharp blade broke through the door, followed by a shrill scream of "Ah!" A long knife had pierced through the thin door panel and plunged into Erlang's abdomen!
"Ugh..." Erlang's body trembled violently, his face instantly contorted into a hideous pain, his hands spasmed and flailing wildly in the air, his feet stomping hard on the ground, but he was held firmly in place by the blade.
"My son!" The old woman cried out in anguish upon hearing the scream.
"Holy crap! There's someone behind the door!!" the tall, muscular man exclaimed in astonishment. He never expected that his casual poke would actually hit someone.
The boy with the doll-like figure brandished a knife and held up a torch as he stepped forward to warn, "Be careful!"
At the same time, the man with the pigtail stepped forward, and the three of them surrounded the small door in a triangular formation. With a "snap," the man with the pigtail didn't hesitate and delivered another stab in almost the same spot! After this stab, there was no sound from behind the door.
Only the old woman's low, agonizing howls echoed in the darkness: "My son..." She groped her way toward the door.
The two men outside the door exchanged a glance. The tall, muscular man and the man with the pigtail simultaneously drew their knives with a "whoosh," the blades already stained red with blood. The burly man kicked off with all his might, and with a loud "bang!" the flimsy wooden door crashed inward! The light from two torches instantly flooded in, illuminating the small mud house.
"My son! My son..." The old lady's pupils suddenly dilated as she saw Erlang's miserable state on the ground, his eyes wide open in death, blood gushing out and meandering across the uneven muddy ground. She let out a heart-wrenching scream, no longer caring about the three men with knives in front of her, and collapsed beside her son in a daze!
The moment the firelight illuminated the room, Yi Qingxue's delicate body trembled, and she couldn't help but let out a soft cry. A chill ran straight to her head! The living person who had just been speaking rudely and pestering her was now lying in a pool of blood, his face contorted in a horrifying manner of death! The scene before her made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her hair standing on end in horror.
The tall, muscular man saw the corpse on the ground, curled his lip, and complained, "Old lady, why did your son have to stand behind this door of all places? Was he trying to ambush us grandpas in the dark? What bad luck!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the girl with the braid next to him nudged him hard with her elbow, the one holding the torch, and pouted, "Hmm!" gesturing for him to look ahead. The two followed their gaze and saw a petite figure huddled on the wooden bed, the firelight illuminating her face, which, though etched with fear, couldn't hide her exquisite beauty—it was Yi Qingxue!
The burly man's eyes lit up instantly, staring intently at Yi Qingxue: "Hey! That kick wasn't for nothing! There really is a delicate little beauty hidden here!" He licked his lips, a greedy grin spreading across his face, and, carrying a blood-dripping knife, approached the bed step by step.
“…My son…my son…” The old woman held her son’s gradually cooling body, weeping uncontrollably, her mind seemingly drifting into a daze. Suddenly, she snapped back to reality, her cloudy old eyes flashing with a deep-seated hatred as she stared intently at the two men covered in blood, screaming and cursing, “You…you heartless beasts…give me back my son’s life!” She howled, then abruptly stood up, lunging forward to grab the man with the braided hair from his collar, tearing and punching him like a madwoman, even trying to snatch the knife from his hand!
The man with the braid was caught off guard by her sudden action, shouting, "Hey! Hey! You old hag! Let go! What are you trying to do?!" He held a torch in one hand and a knife in the other, but because she was an old woman, he was momentarily hesitant and stumbled backward as she pushed him. "If you dare to lay a hand on me again, don't blame me for being impolite!" Enraged by her entanglement, he threatened her fiercely.
"Hey, you damn annoying old bastard!" The burly man, his mood ruined, cursed and turned to stab her! With a "sizzle" of the knife going in, the old woman groaned, "Ugh..." as the burly man stabbed her through the heart from behind!
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