Chapter 138
Chapter 138
Commandant Liu divided the cavalry into two groups, with five hundred clearing the road ahead and five hundred guarding the rear.
They protected the carriage in the middle and advanced in a mighty column toward Bei’an City.
But the main force had traveled only a few zhang when they saw a little girl standing in the middle of the official road.
She wore a bright red outfit with lantern-shaped sleeves and trousers. Two pigtails rose from her head, tied with matching red silk ribbons that ended in small bronze bells. A small yellow satchel crossed her waist, with a stuffed rabbit hanging from it.
With thick brows, large eyes, fair skin, and plump baby cheeks, she resembled a lucky child from a New Year painting.
At this moment, she stood with both hands on her hips, her little face puffed up in fury as she glared at Commandant Liu.
Commandant Liu stopped abruptly at the sight of the child. She looked vaguely familiar, as though he had seen her somewhere before, but he could not remember where.
“Commandant Liu, she… the portrait! The portrait!”
The centurion beside him was so excited he could barely speak, unable to recall the words on the tip of his tongue.
He simply pulled a portrait from inside his robes and handed it to Commandant Liu.
Commandant Liu accepted it with a frown, then suddenly threw back his head and laughed.
“Hahaha! We searched everywhere without finding her, only for her to fall into our hands effortlessly. Isn’t this the Star Maiden all of Great Xia is searching for? Seize her! Whoever captures her first will receive a thousand gold pieces.”
Commandant Liu leaped directly from his horse, tapped a toe against its back, and landed one zhang from Jin Bao.
“Little girl, will you obediently follow Uncle back, or must Uncle tie you up and take you away?”
Jin Bao glared angrily at Commandant Liu. He dared hurt Eldest Brother and still wanted to capture Baby? He was courting death.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Jin Bao felt the intent to kill.
When Commandant Liu saw that Jin Bao neither spoke nor moved, he sensed the air around him turn strangely cold. Unsure whether it was merely his imagination, he instinctively hugged his arms and glanced around. Seeing nothing, he decided it had been an illusion. What could one little girl possibly do?
Just then, the centurion hurried over.
He leaned close and whispered several words into Commandant Liu’s ear.
“Commandant, we cannot be careless. Don’t forget that the Deputy Commander led several thousand men into the forest, and none have been seen alive or dead since. Perhaps this Star Maiden truly possesses some extraordinary ability.”
Commandant Liu shuddered. He had forgotten about that.
He could not help retreating two steps. With a wave of his hand, he ordered the cavalry behind him to surround Jin Bao.
Then he instructed the centurion, “Bring Xiao Jingxing over. I refuse to believe she won’t submit obediently when we hold him hostage.”
The centurion’s eyes lit up. He immediately jogged to the rear and dragged the still-unconscious Xiao Jingxing over.
Jin Bao watched the centurion treat Xiao Jingxing like a piece of cargo, dragging him more than ten zhang across the ground until blood marked the entire path behind him.
“Eldest Brother! Let Baby’s Eldest Brother go, or Baby won’t be nice anymore!”
Jin Bao’s little fists clenched tightly at her sides, and her chest rose and fell. She was clearly furious beyond measure.
But Commandant Liu still seemed to be gloating.
“Are you frightened? As long as you obediently leave with Uncle, Uncle promises to treat both you and your brother well. I’ll also immediately send someone to treat your Eldest Brother. How does that sound? Would you like to consider it?”
Her eyes red, Jin Bao never looked away from Xiao Jingxing. At this moment, her heart and mind held only the Eldest Brother she had not seen for so long.
“Eldest Brother, wake up! It’s Baby. Why are you so thin? Does it hurt badly? Should Baby blow on it for you?”
As Jin Bao spoke, she trotted toward Xiao Jingxing.
Xiao Jingxing was little more than skin and bones, his face covered in an unkempt beard. He looked utterly different from the high-spirited young man he had once been.
Watching Jin Bao approach step by step, Commandant Liu was already delighted. Capturing Xiao Jingxing had indeed lured out the Star Maiden. He had made the correct move.
Just as Jin Bao was about to throw herself onto Xiao Jingxing, someone suddenly lifted her by the collar.
The person who had been within reach abruptly became distant.
“That’s right, little one. If you had followed Uncle earlier, your brother wouldn’t have needed to suffer. Now that I’ve caught you, your Eldest Brother is a useless piece. Keeping him alive would only waste food. Kill him.”
As soon as Commandant Liu finished speaking, the centurion drew his sword and slashed at Xiao Jingxing without hesitation.
“No!”
Jin Bao shouted and suddenly kicked Commandant Liu in the chest.
She used every ounce of strength in the blow.
Commandant Liu was sent flying several dozen zhang. Like a human battering ram, he knocked down a swath of cavalry behind him amid screams and neighing horses.
Commandant Liu died on the spot.
Terrified by Jin Bao’s fury, the centurion froze with his sword raised in midair, unable to bring it down.
Jin Bao advanced toward him one step at a time.
Despite her tiny size, she carried the presence of an army of thousands.
The centurion’s legs trembled, and his lips quivered uncontrollably. “Is… is this the power of the Star Maiden? It’s… it’s terrifying as hell.”
Then he abruptly came to his senses, hauled Xiao Jingxing from the ground, and held him as a shield before his chest.
“Don’t… don’t come closer! Take another step and I’ll kill him.”
The centurion immediately laid his blade across Xiao Jingxing’s throat.
The other cavalrymen surrounded Jin Bao from a distance in terror, but none dared approach. Her single kick had intimidated every last one of them.
At this moment, Jin Bao seemed to transform into a demon child, rage completely overwhelming her reason.
“Whoever dares hurt my Eldest Brother dies!”
Jin Bao slowly raised both arms and closed her eyes. Her bright red lantern-sleeved outfit began moving without any wind.
The red ribbons in her hair had vanished during the earlier struggle. Her glossy black hair now whipped wildly in the air, mirroring her rage.
The centurion did not know what Jin Bao intended, but he soon witnessed a terrifying sight.
Every plant on both sides of the official road began growing wildly, surging toward the crowd at a hundred times their natural speed.
Vines in particular swiftly coiled around everyone’s wrists and ankles.
The centurion had thought he held the upper hand and could control Jin Bao. Only now did he truly understand why a child of only a few years dared block the road alone. The Star Maiden’s power was so terrifying that even Bei’an City’s finest cavalry disintegrated before her in an instant.
No wonder so many people fought to possess the Star Maiden. No wonder the saying claimed that whoever possessed the Star Maiden would possess the realm. None of it was merely rumor. It was all true.
But the centurion would never pass on this news.
A sword pierced straight through him from behind.
“This is what happens when you dare hurt my son and daughter.”
Xiao Che pulled out his sword and wiped the blade clean on the centurion’s unseeing corpse before turning around.
He immediately lifted Jin Bao into his arms.
“Daughter, how do you feel? Are you sleepy? Does anything hurt?”
Jin Bao collapsed softly against Xiao Che and answered weakly, “Daddy, Baby wants to sleep. Take Eldest Brother back to our new home. Eldest Brother… hasn’t seen his new room yet. Baby prepared a present for him… Snore…”
Before Jin Bao could finish, she began snoring.
Xiao Che’s heart ached, yet he also wanted to laugh.