Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Cui Jin had no idea what was going on. He shot Li Duanjiang a cold glance, not knowing what madness had gotten into the man, but he had no time to deal with him now.

He had not gone down earlier because the great tree had blocked his way. Then he had seen a blur of green streak past him, and he could not shake the feeling that these woods were unsafe.

He was about to turn and leave when he heard Zhu Laosan shouting from below the slope. Cui Jin climbed onto a tree trunk and fixed his eyes on the distance. His expression changed at once. A dark, dense mass of wild boars was charging in his direction, while Zhu Laosan and Xiao Jingmo were fleeing for their lives.

Cui Jin’s face went pale on the spot. He paid no mind to Zhu Laosan and bolted back the way he had come. He planned to use the exiled prisoners in the cave as shields.

“Zou Yong, there’s a herd of wild boars. At least twenty by the looks of it, and they’re heading this way. Drive all the exiles out and use them to draw the boars’ attention. We’ll run while we can.”

Cui Jin dragged Zou Yong out of the cave and gave his instructions in a low voice.

Zou Yong’s pupils contracted. Cui Jin had no reason to lie to him. It seemed there really was a herd of wild boars.

Zou Yong cast a covert glance toward Xiao Che and his family at the cave entrance. This was the perfect opportunity. They would not even have to do anything themselves. The wild boars would kill Xiao Che and his family for them, sparing them the trouble of dirtying their own hands.

“All of you, listen up! Everyone is to go out and search for the other two bailiffs. We’ll split up. Whoever finds them first will be rewarded.”

After Zou Yong spoke, no one in the cave moved. They had all heard what Jin Bao said earlier. There were wild boars outside. Going out now was no different from walking to their deaths. The forest was pitch-black everywhere; if they went out, they might never make it back.

Seeing that no one moved, Zou Yong grabbed an exile and slit his throat with one slash of his blade.

The others screamed in terror and huddled together, trembling.

“Did you not hear what I said? If you still don’t move, I’ll keep killing.”

The members of the Xiao Family shoved and jostled one another as they headed outside, their feet feeling as heavy as lead.

Under a round of lashes from Zou Yong’s whip, everyone was driven out of the cave.

Xiao Che, supported by Nanny Chen and Xiao Jingxing, was also forced out.

In an instant, the entire cave fell silent. People were scattered throughout the woods. The torrential rain gradually weakened into a fine drizzle.

“Mother, take Little Sister. I’m going to kill Li Duanjiang. He knows our secret now. We can’t let him live. Everyone is in chaos right now, so this is the perfect chance.”

Of the three of them, Li Duanjiang had the weakest martial arts. But because he was skilled with poison, he was also the most dangerous.

Pei Wanqing felt her arms grow heavy as Xiao Jingxing stuffed Jin Bao into them.

Xiao Che reminded Xiao Jingxing once more, “Xing’er, I suspect Mo’er and the others may have run into danger.

“Those bailiffs want us to cover their retreat and block the boar herd so they can buy time to escape.

“We can’t act rashly. In a while, we’ll all hide up in the trees. Once you’re done, come back and meet up with us.”

This forest was an ancient old woodland to begin with. There was no sign of human habitation for fifty li around, and towering trees stood everywhere. Some had already grown so thick that several people could barely wrap their arms around them, with branches above interlacing in dense layers. Even if the wild boars came, they would not be able to knock such trees down anytime soon.

Xiao Jingxing nodded, then turned and chased in the direction Li Duanjiang had left.

Among the family, only Xiao Jinghao could be of help now. Xiao Che had been stabbed once in each leg, and with the slightest exertion, blood would flow nonstop. The wounds that had just been bandaged split open in an instant.

“Husband, don’t move around. If you want to do anything, tell me. I’ll help you.”

Pei Wanqing saw the dark red blood on Xiao Che’s legs turn fresh and bright again. Her heart ached, and she hurriedly set Jin Bao down before going over to support him.

“It’s nothing. Hao’er, I remember there’s a huge tree not far from the cave entrance, one so thick it takes several people to encircle. Let’s go find it.”

A few zhang away from the cave, they indeed found the tree Xiao Che had mentioned.

Many vines wound around the great tree, stretching all the way up.

The tree was large enough to build a treehouse in. The only problem was that everyone present was female. On ordinary days, they barely stepped beyond the inner courtyard, and none of them knew how to climb a tree.

How to get them all up there became a difficult problem.

Xiao Jinghao was about to place Jin Bao on the tree first, but Jin Bao patted his shoulder.

“Third Brother, put me down. I know how to climb trees!”

Xiao Jinghao looked at the thick trunk. It was so wide he could not even wrap his arms around it. How was she supposed to climb up?
Half skeptical, he set Jin Bao down on the ground.

The moment he let go, Jin Bao clung to the tree trunk, grabbed a vine, and scrambled up in just a few quick movements.

Xiao Jinghao’s mouth fell open in astonishment.

Seeing this, Xiao Che quickly told Xiao Jinghao to go pull down more vines.

It did not take much effort before Xiao Jinghao had gathered a whole pile of them.

Xiao Che directed everyone to twist the vines into a single rope. Then Xiao Jinghao pulled the vine rope up into the tree and looped it over a branch.

With both ends of the vine hanging down beneath the tree, Xiao Che first had Xiao Jingyu hold on to one end while he and Xiao Jinghao pulled on the other. Just like that, they had made a simple lift.

After quite a bit of work, they finally got everyone up into the tree. Xiao Che then endured the pain and climbed up himself.

“Ah, help!”

A scream suddenly rang out from the forest.

Jin Bao perked up her ears and nimbly climbed a little higher.

From afar, she saw that Xiao Jingmo and Zhu Laosan had already climbed up a nearby tree. No sooner had the two of them gotten up than the herd of wild boars thundered in, surrounding the tree and refusing to leave.

At the same time, the exiled prisoners who had been driven that way were also attacked by the boars. Many scattered through the forest, but with shackles on their feet, they could barely take proper steps. Before long, they were knocked to the ground by the boars. After a few struggles, they stopped moving.

Several other boars were chasing Li Si. He stumbled and staggered, scrambling and rolling as he fled, making Jin Bao break into a cold sweat for him.

Jin Bao swiftly climbed down from the tree and headed toward Li Si.

“Uncle, Baby’s here to save you!”

“Jin Bao, come back!”

Pei Wanqing watched Jin Bao climb down from the tree, so frightened her soul nearly left her body. Her shouted words came out with a cracked voice.

“Mother, Baby’s fine. Baby is going to save Uncle.”

Jin Bao even remembered to turn back and reassure her mother.

Seeing that Jin Bao was much faster than the wild boars, Xiao Che gently patted Pei Wanqing’s hand.

“It’s all right. I think Jin Bao can handle it. If she gets tired from running, she’ll climb a tree. Nothing will happen.”

Pei Wanqing was not comforted in the slightest. Anxious, she craned her neck from up in the tree to watch.

Screams echoed everywhere in the forest, and everyone in the trees was so frightened their hearts were in their throats.

Li Si was running for his life. When he heard Jin Bao’s voice, he immediately ran toward it.

The wild boars chased desperately behind him. Jin Bao rushed up behind Li Si, hurled stones at the boars, then turned and ran in another direction, the very direction of the tree where Xiao Jingmo and the others had taken shelter.

Drawn by Jin Bao, the wild boars changed course and rejoined the herd that was gathered beneath the tree, ramming into the trunk.

There were still five or six boars attacking Xiao Jingmo and the others.

Jin Bao picked up stones and threw them at those boars.

The moment the boars saw Jin Bao, they immediately stopped ramming the tree and all charged after her.

Just like that, a dozen or so wild boars were lured away by Jin Bao and chased her in another direction.

Xiao Jingmo watched the herd pursue Jin Bao. He secretly broke into a cold sweat for her. He knew very well that Jin Bao could run fast, but he still could not help worrying.

Jin Bao, however, had everything under control. Whenever she saw the boars about to stop, she picked up a rock from the forest floor and threw it at them. Enraged, the boars would chase after her again.

By now, the rain had completely stopped, and a bright, clear moon hung in the sky.

The forest was filled with the smell of rotting leaves, as well as a heavy stench of blood.

Less than half an hour after Jin Bao ran out, she heard the howls of wolves.

The wild boars behind her refused to move even one step farther, no matter how she provoked them. Instead, they turned around and ran back the way they had come.

Jin Bao anxiously chased after the boars from behind.

“Cowards! Don’t run! Go fight the wolves!”

She had finally managed to lure the boars all the way over here, but to her surprise, the two sides had not even met before this herd of boars tried to flee.

Jin Bao was so anxious she stamped her feet behind them. No matter how she threw stones at the boars, they ignored her.

The wolf howls drew closer and closer. Jin Bao quickly climbed up a large tree. Only when she saw pairs of little green lanterns in the forest did she finally feel at ease.

In her previous life, when she had watched Animal World at the orphanage, she remembered that both wolves and wild boars were very fierce when they fought. That was why she had thought of bringing the boars and wolves together, letting them fight each other so she could save everyone.

She just had not expected these wild boars to be this cowardly. They ran off before they had even seen the wolves.

They were as cowardly as she was. Back in the village, whenever she saw children stronger than her, she would run if she could not beat them. Did these wild boars also know they could not win?