Chapter 30

Chapter 30

“Move! Everyone, leave through the back door!”

The Xiao Family Main Branch and Madam Liu’s family of three had prepared long ago. Now that they heard Zhu Laosan’s order, young and old supported one another and hurried along without seeming panicked, filing out of the room in an orderly fashion.

The others on the heated brick bed were still half-asleep. Zhu Laosan snapped them awake with a crack of his whip, and when they heard the Horse Bandits had come, they all dissolved into chaos, shoving and jostling one another as they desperately squeezed toward the exit to save their own lives.

Li Si was guarding the back door. The Horse Bandits had not yet circled over from the main street. Fortunately, they had moved quickly; otherwise, they would have been trapped in the courtyard and attacked from both ends.

Hearing movement, Li Si turned back and saw Xiao Jingmo pushing a wheelchair as he led the Xiao Family people over at a trot from behind.

Whether women or children, not a single one was sobbing. On the contrary, their movements were organized, busy but not disorderly. Li Si could not help seeing them in a new light.

Inwardly, he could not help praising them: As expected of people from the Marquis’s Mansion, descendants of a military household. Their composure in the face of danger was truly admirable.

“Follow me. Brother San and I have passed through this town a few times. I know where the shortcuts are. While the Horse Bandits haven’t reacted yet, we’ll take a shortcut out of town.”

Hearing this, Xiao Jingmo felt slightly reassured and quickly followed Li Si.

In the front courtyard, the Horse Bandits had slaughtered all the waiters and the shopkeeper. Some went upstairs to search the guests’ rooms for valuables, while the rest headed toward the rear courtyard.

The moment the Horse Bandits smashed through the door, Zhu Laosan had Zou Yong block the door leading to the rear courtyard from the outside with a wooden pole. The pole was as thick as a wrist; even if they wanted to break it, it would take some effort.

Zhu Laosan’s plan was to use this method to hold them off for a while. But the Horse Bandits were no fools. When they could not push open the rear door, they knew there were people in the rear courtyard and immediately ran out the front entrance onto the street, circling straight around to the back door.

By then, Zhu Laosan had already transferred all the exiled prisoners out of the rear courtyard.

But before they could flee, they ran right into the Horse Bandits in the back alley.

“Trying to run? Brothers, get them! Dead or alive, it doesn’t matter. Especially those bailiffs. Don’t let them leave alive!”

The man in the lead had a fleshy, brutal face. With a swing of the broadsword in his hand, the men behind him howled and charged forward.

There were more than a dozen Horse Bandits in total, each strong and sturdy, wielding all manner of weapons.

After half a month of torment, the exiled prisoners were already gaunt and listless. Now, faced with the Horse Bandits’ imposing momentum, they were frightened stiff, as if their souls had left their bodies.

“Zhu Laosan, I told you we should run for our lives, but you just wouldn’t listen. Now the few of us are going to die here today. You’ve doomed us!”

Zou Yong cursed under his breath, one hand gripping his official saber as he watched the Horse Bandits opposite them warily.

Cui Jin, however, was not quite so panicked. Compared with Zou Yong, he was much calmer. He could not defeat more than a dozen Horse Bandits, but he should be able to escape under the cover of these exiled prisoners.

Li Si had led the Xiao Family people out of the alley a step earlier. Now, seeing that Zhu Laosan had not followed, unease stirred in his heart.

“Everyone wait here. I’m going to check on Brother San and the others. None of you are allowed to run around. If you run into the Horse Bandits, I won’t be able to save you.”

“Rest assured, officer. Our family is full of the old, the weak, and the disabled. We can’t run. Please go ahead.”

Xiao Che cupped his hands.

Li Si figured they would not dare to flee, so he carefully headed back.

After running through one alley, Li Si heard the sounds of fighting ahead, along with screams.

“Damn it. Did Brother San run into the Horse Bandits?”

Li Si did not hesitate. He quickened his pace and ran forward.

The moment he turned into the alley, the smell of blood drifted toward him.

As soon as Li Si showed himself, the sharp-eyed Zou Yong spotted him.

“Reinforcements are here!”

Zou Yong shouted. When the Horse Bandits heard him, they were thrown into slight confusion. They turned to look, only to discover that Li Si was alone.

Zou Yong seized the opportunity and shouted, “Li Si, are the men you brought right behind you?”

Li Si had not expected so many Horse Bandits to come over, nor did he know how Brother San was doing now.

To trick the Horse Bandits away, Li Si wisely played along with Zou Yong.

“They’re right behind me! Hold them off. We’ll attack from both sides. We absolutely cannot let them escape!”

It was in that instant, as their voices echoed back and forth from a distance, that Cui Jin sprang up, leaped over the side of the alley, and bounded across the rooftops, rising and falling until he vanished from everyone’s sight.

Zou Yong cursed inwardly: That bastard. He ran without even giving me a warning.

He casually grabbed an exiled prisoner beside him, and while the Horse Bandits had yet to react, hurled the man at them. Then he turned and fled.
The Horse Bandits realized they had been tricked. Two constables had even escaped. There was no way they could explain this to their boss when they returned.

Those two constables had to be taken down. If they brought back their heads, they might still atone for their failure.

The sudden turn of events caught both Li Si and Zhu Laosan off guard. Neither of them had expected Zou Yong and Cui Jin to lose their nerve and retreat at the last moment.

“Cousin, run! Don’t worry about me. When you get back to the capital, take good care of your nephew and niece for me. Raise them into proper adults.”

With a loud shout, Zhu Laosan swung his blade and charged forward. It was too late to run now.

All he could do was grit his teeth and fight.

In the alley on the other side, Madam Liu held Xiao Jingyu tightly in her arms and looked toward Old Madam Xiao.

“Elder Sister, I’m afraid we may not be safe here either. These Horse Bandits are not to be trifled with. They’re murderers through and through. Why don’t we take this chance to flee?”

Old Madam Xiao shook her head without the slightest hesitation.

“No. We are exiled convicts. The Xiao Family was wronged to begin with. If we run now, we will become wanted fugitives. All the merits earned by our Xiao Family ancestors will be erased by what we do today. We would become sinners of the Xiao Family.”

Xiao Che agreed. “That’s right. We can’t leave.”

Jin Bao was being held by Pei Wanqing. She pointed at a residence not far away and called out, “Mother, hurry and go into that house! There’s a secret chamber inside. The bad people won’t find us there.”

Pei Wanqing looked toward the house Jin Bao was pointing at. It sat diagonally across from them, a three-courtyard residence. The street was in complete chaos, yet there was not the slightest movement from that house.

Pei Wanqing knew that if Jin Bao said there was one, then there definitely was. But in the end, it was still someone else’s residence. It did not seem right to barge in directly.

“Mother, hurry! There isn’t anyone there. The house is empty.”

Pei Wanqing was still hesitating when Xiao Che had already made his decision.

“My lady, I’ll have to trouble you to take everyone into the secret chamber in that residence to hide for now. I need to go help the constables. Zhu Laosan is not a bad man. He has also made things easier for us. Without the constables, we would never make it to the Northern Frontier. I have to help.”

Pei Wanqing said nothing more.

The wounds on Xiao Che’s legs had already scabbed over these past few days. To him, injuries like these were nothing.

He found a set of men’s clothes inside the residence and threw them on, then dug out a piece of cloth to cover half his face before climbing over the wall and leaving.

Zhu Laosan had taken a slash to each shoulder. Li Si was no better off. His thigh had been cut, and his forearm was covered in wounds of varying depth. The two of them were already trapped beasts making their final stand. It was only a matter of time before they were cut down.

“Cousin, you’re such a fool. I told you to go, but you refused. Looks like we’ll have to be brothers again in the next life. I hope in our next life, we can be brothers by blood.”

Zhu Laosan and Li Si were both stained dark brown with blood. Each of them had slain three Horse Bandits, but the Horse Bandits’ reinforcements had arrived too quickly. No sooner had a few fallen than another dozen or so came swarming in.

“Cousin, though our status is low, we still have loyal hearts that wish to serve our sovereign and our country. In the next life, we must become men who stand above others.”

“Cousin, I’ll go on ahead.”

Li Si let out a tragic cry, raised his blade, and drove it into the chest of the Horse Bandit lunging at him. At the same time, the Horse Bandit’s broadsword pierced Li Si’s chest.

Li Si slowly collapsed before Zhu Laosan’s eyes.

Zhu Laosan had no time to grieve. He only said softly, “Cousin, wait for me.”

His gaze turned resolute. Broadsword in hand, his steps rang firm and heavy as he advanced toward the Horse Bandits. With each step, he spoke a line:

“Though born in plain cloth, I dare not forget the emperor’s command; upon this courier road, I raise my blade to guard the chained and condemned.”

With a wet thud, a Horse Bandit’s broadsword hacked into Zhu Laosan once more. His body swayed slightly, but his footsteps did not falter. His voice grew sharper and fiercer:

“A bandit’s blade pierces my chest, my blood becomes my robe; with this broken body, I still roar at jackals and wolves.”

“He’s gone mad!”

Frightened by Zhu Laosan’s presence, the Horse Bandits took a step back.

A trickle of blood spilled from the corner of Zhu Laosan’s mouth. Still, his feet did not stop. His pace was slow, but every step was as steady as Mount Tai.

“Half a writ of imperial duty weighs upon my spine; a heart full of loyalty shines over miasmic mire.

Humble in station, my loyal blood remains unchanged; if my soul breaks upon this barren mountain, then my service to my lord comes late.”

“What are you all standing around for? Haven’t we killed enough constables before? He’s a dying man. What are you afraid of? Finish him off, and then we’ll go enjoy ourselves!”

One of the Horse Bandits shouted, bolstering the others’ courage.

At his words, the Horse Bandits surged forward. Several flashes of cold steel chopped down toward Zhu Laosan at once.

Just then, a figure descended from the sky. With a rapid chain of kicks, he sent the broadswords closing in on Zhu Laosan’s chest flying away.