Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Xiao Che’s brows were locked tight. Even Xiao Jingmo, who had always been a master strategist, looked faintly rattled now.
Everything had happened too fast.
Xiao Che had intended to kill Ye Xiaotu in a single strike. Who could have known Ye Xiaotu would react so quickly?
If he had not shouted, Li Duanjiang would likely have already seized Pei Wanqing as a hostage. Now, although the Xiao Family’s women had been spared from falling into the bandits’ hands, their secret had been exposed.
Jin Bao saw that her father could not catch up to Li Duanjiang.
Her big eyes rolled, and by now her whole body was soaked through.
“Mother, Baby needs to pee.”
Pei Wanqing had only just recovered from her fright. A moment ago, Li Duanjiang’s hand had almost touched her face, filling her with a visceral wave of disgust.
Hearing Jin Bao say she needed to pee, Pei Wanqing instinctively set her down. Only after she did so did she suddenly realize that Jin Bao had no shoes on, and this was hardly a convenient place.
But just as she bent down to pick Jin Bao up again, the little girl had already darted more than ten feet away.
“Baby!”
Pei Wanqing cried out, startling everyone in the Xiao Family.
Xiao Jingxing had taken a palm strike from Ye Xiaotu and suffered internal injuries. Fortunately, he was usually strong and sturdy enough to withstand it. If it had been either of his two younger brothers, they would probably have lost half their lives by now.
“Father, it’s Little Sister.”
Xiao Jingxing immediately gave chase.
Xiao Jingmo was still thinking of a countermeasure. They had to find a way to cover this matter up.
Ye Xiaotu had taken a palm strike from Xiao Che, and he had also been poisoned by aconitine. At this moment, his entire face felt numb, and his tongue and mouth had already lost all feeling.
Jin Bao was as nimble as a little monkey. This forest was her territory.
In her hand, she held the poison-smeared branch she had picked up from the ground earlier. Her large eyes were fixed firmly on Ye Xiaotu’s back.
Ye Xiaotu sensed someone chasing him from behind. By instinct, he thought it was someone from the Xiao Family. When he turned to look, he found it was only a little brat.
But the child’s speed was shockingly fast. Like a wolf cub, she charged straight at him.
Jin Bao raised the little stick in her hand, wanting to stab it into the top of Ye Xiaotu’s foot.
Unfortunately, Ye Xiaotu noticed her. The moment she got nervous, her foot slipped, and she went flying forward with a splat, landing face-first.
Seeing this, Ye Xiaotu burst into loud laughter. “Little thing, are you kowtowing to your grandpa ahead of the New Year? No need to make such a grand gesture. But since you’re offering, Grandpa will accept it.”
Perhaps Ye Xiaotu was too pleased with himself. As he threw back his head and laughed, his footing became unsteady, and his legs were somewhat numb. With great flair, he toppled forward.
After Jin Bao fell, she immediately propped herself up with one hand, trying to climb to her feet, while her other hand still held the little stick high.
Before she could get up, Ye Xiaotu’s huge body came crashing down toward her.
Jin Bao’s eyes widened in terror. She thought Ye Xiaotu was coming to grab her.
Instinctively, she raised the little stick in her hand, and it happened to jab right into Ye Xiaotu’s lower jaw.
The poison on the stick had mostly been washed away by the rain, but some had still seeped into the wood. Besides, this was a second injury.
Ye Xiaotu fell to the ground and could not move for a while.
Just then, Xiao Jingxing caught up. When he saw the scene before him, even he found it unbelievable.
“Little Sister, are you all right?”
“Big Brother, bad man. Baby caught the bad man!”
Xiao Jingxing checked Jin Bao over. Seeing that she was unharmed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then his gaze shifted to Ye Xiaotu, who lay face-down on the ground. Seeing that the man’s fingers were still moving, he knew Ye Xiaotu was not dead yet.
Xiao Jingxing glanced around. The main group had long since disappeared into the forest, and aside from those of their Main Branch, no one else was in sight.
Without the slightest hesitation, he grabbed a large stone nearby and brought it down hard on Ye Xiaotu’s head.
Ye Xiaotu’s body twitched once, then he stopped breathing.
Xiao Jingxing quickly set the stone back on the ground, turned Ye Xiaotu over, and rested his head against the rock, making it look as if he had slipped and fallen to his death by accident. In any case, no one had seen it. Even if someone grew suspicious, there would be no evidence.
Once that was done, Xiao Jingxing quickly picked up Jin Bao and headed back.
Xiao Che was already seated in his wheelchair.
Pei Wanqing had just taken Jin Bao from him when she saw three figures walking through the curtain of rain.
The one in the lead was none other than Li Duanjiang. Behind him were Zhu Laosan and Zou Yong.
Xiao Jingxing instinctively stepped in front of his father, shielding him behind his back.
“Officer, the Xiao Family has been playing tricks this entire journey. Xiao Che’s leg ailment is completely fake. Not only has he deceived His Majesty, he has also fooled you officers. He shouldn’t have been sentenced to exile at all; he should have been sentenced to the extermination of all nine clans.”
Li Duanjiang complained as he walked.
Zhu Laosan’s expression was rather grim, but he still snapped coldly, “His Majesty made his own sagely judgment. Is that something an exiled criminal like you can presume to speculate on? Say one more word, and I’ll cut you down first.”
Li Duanjiang immediately shut his mouth. But when his gaze landed on the figure not far away, his pupils abruptly contracted. His steps faltered, and his breathing turned ragged.
“Big Brother!”
Li Duanjiang cried out and scrambled over in a frenzy.
His fingers trembled as he placed them beneath Ye Xiaotu’s nose, only to find that there had long since been no breath.
“Ah-!”
Li Duanjiang threw his head back and let out a long howl. Then his eyes turned bloodshot, and he rose from the ground before charging toward the Xiao Family.
Seeing that things were going wrong, Zhu Laosan hurried after him.
Zou Yong swept a glance over the corpse on the ground, his face sinking into thought as well.
Could there really be someone secretly helping the Xiao Family?
Even if Xiao Che’s legs were fine, Ye Xiaotu was no ordinary man. Besides, the Xiao Family were still wearing shackles on their feet, their movements restricted. How could they possibly have killed him instead?
And when he thought carefully about everything that had happened along the way, it was as if the Xiao Family had grown an extra pair of eyes. Everything had seemed unfavorable to the Xiao Family, yet in the end, each incident had only worsened the relationship between him and Zhu Laosan.
More importantly, of Ye Xiaotu and his two companions, two had already fallen. How could the Xiao Family’s elderly, women, and children, plus one man with crippled legs, possibly have done that?
Li Duanjiang was now bent on perishing together with the Xiao Family.
They had only just left the capital territory. This should have been the time for the brothers to make their mark, yet matters had gone far beyond his expectations. In less than a few days, two of his brothers had died one after another.
Zhu Laosan caught up from behind and lashed Li Duanjiang with his whip, slowing his movements by several beats.
“Officer, my big brother was killed by them! I beg you, Officer, seek justice for my big brother!”
Li Duanjiang knelt in the rain. Water streamed down his cheeks and gathered at his chin, forming a thin line.
Zhu Laosan was being drenched by the rain. How could he possibly be in the mood to judge their case?
“Cut the nonsense. All of you, follow me into the cave.”
Li Si did not disappoint. Halfway up the mountain, he found a cave large enough to hold a hundred people.
Li Duanjiang shot Xiao Che a vicious look, his eyes filled with unwillingness. Still, he did not dare disobey. He went back, hoisted Ye Xiaotu’s corpse onto his back, and headed toward the mountainside.
The cave was littered with dead branches and rotten leaves. Two large fires had already been built, and the exiled prisoners sat around them, huddling together for warmth as they dried their clothes.
When the people of the Xiao Family Main Branch entered, everyone merely looked up at them, then lowered their heads again, occupying all the available space.
Xiao Che was carried up by his two sons and set down near the cave wall.
Zou Yong’s gaze fixed intently on the three of them, especially on Xiao Che’s legs.
“Brother San, I think Li Duanjiang is right. If Xiao Che’s leg ailment is fake, then he’s deceived His Majesty. Since we’re helping His Majesty shoulder his worries, we ought to examine him carefully.”
Zhu Laosan pondered for a moment. Along the way, he too had been thinking about the matter of Xiao Che’s legs.
Seeing Zhu Laosan hesitate, Zou Yong walked over with his blade in hand and, without warning, stabbed it into Xiao Che’s calf.
The members of the Xiao Family cried out in alarm and crowded around him.
Zhu Laosan also turned his eyes over, observing Xiao Che’s reaction.
If Xiao Che’s leg ailment was fake, then after a stab like that, it was impossible for him to have no reaction. No matter how tough a man was, he could not possibly fail to even furrow his brow.