Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Seeing Jin Bao catch up, Xiao Jingmo immediately led Wang the Rich and his family toward the mouth of the alley.
Behind them, three or four Horse Bandits followed at a measured distance, waiting for their chance.
Everything they had looted so far added together was still worth less than Wang the Rich and his family. Wang the Rich was their true target on this trip. The old bastard’s defenses had simply been too tight; after attacking for so long, they had only just managed to break in.
And now someone had come charging in out of nowhere and rescued them.
Wasn’t this like letting a cooked duck fly away? Since when had Black Bear Ridge ever done business at such a loss?
Besides, Wang the Rich’s family fortune had been specifically demanded by the people above them. If they failed to search it out today, they would have to make up the difference from their own pockets. When they got back, their boss would curse them to death.
Xiao Jingmo saw that these Horse Bandits had no intention of leaving. His face looked calm, but his mind was already racing.
“Little Sister, Second Brother has a task for you. Can you do it well?”
As soon as Jin Bao heard that, she nodded her little head rapidly.
“Second Brother, Baby can do it. Second Brother, tell me quick.”
“Go to the nearby houses and look for people who are still alive. The more, the better. Tell them the Horse Bandits’ leader has been captured, and draw everyone over here.”
“Second Brother, you have to hold on. Baby will be very fast.”
Jin Bao was close enough to Xiao Jingmo to clearly see the beads of sweat on his forehead rolling down his cheeks.
And Second Brother’s skills were not as good as Daddy’s or Eldest Brother’s. Right now, he was relying entirely on the fireball in his hand to hold them off, but that fireball would burn out sooner or later. Second Brother was asking her to find reinforcements.
Jin Bao did not take the usual route. Going around would be too far, and she might run into bad people. Climbing over walls was faster.
Jin Bao ran through several houses in a row, but every one of them was deathly silent. There were no survivors, not even a single living animal.
“What should I do now?”
Jin Bao spun in circles where she stood, so anxious she could hardly think. If she could not bring anyone back, she could not save Second Brother. Would Second Brother die?
The more Jin Bao thought about it, the more frightened she became. In her distraction, she slipped on a pebble underfoot and fell.
Jin Bao covered the back of her head and lay on the ground for a while. Then a good idea suddenly came to her.
“Beans. If only there were beans.”
As soon as Jin Bao finished muttering to herself, an image appeared before her eyes: the grain storage area in this family’s warehouse. In the corner sat half a sack of moldy beans, which the Horse Bandits had disdained to take.
Jin Bao quickly flipped over, scrambled up from the ground, and ran toward the warehouse with little thudding steps.
Half a sack of beans was far too heavy for Jin Bao to lift, but she did not need that many.
Using every bit of strength she had, Jin Bao pushed the sack over onto the ground, then scooped out more than half the beans. The smaller portion left in the sack was barely something she could drag.
When Jin Bao appeared in the alley again, she saw the Horse Bandits attacking Xiao Jingmo.
“Big bad guys! Don’t touch Baby’s Second Brother! Baby bites!”
Jin Bao scattered every bean in the sack across the ground.
Those Horse Bandits had not expected a tiny child to throw beans onto the ground. Unable to stop in time, they stepped right onto them. Their feet slipped, and they lost their balance. Grabbing at one another, they tumbled into a heap.
Xiao Jingmo and Jin Bao worked together with perfect tacit understanding.
And he reacted extremely quickly. He knew this opportunity was rare. If he could not eliminate the Horse Bandits in one move, the Horse Bandits would counterattack and kill him instead.
“Benefactor, take this.”
Wang the Rich, his hands trembling, pulled a defensive dagger from his sleeve.
He had thought this dagger would never be of use again. He had not expected that, at the very end, it would still draw blood.
Xiao Jingmo did not hesitate. He took the dagger, performed a Sparrowhawk Turnover, and landed steadily on a Horse Bandit’s chest.
His hand rose and the blade fell. With one slash, he cut the Horse Bandit’s throat, spraying warm blood across his face.
Xiao Jingmo had no time to wipe it away. He rolled aside, then lashed out with a whirlwind kick, knocking down a Horse Bandit who had only just managed to get back on his feet. The man landed right on top of another Horse Bandit who was about to straighten up, and the two of them collapsed again in a stack.
Xiao Jingmo seized the chance and finished them both off, one slash each.
Just as Xiao Jingmo killed the last of those Horse Bandits, the fourth Horse Bandit had already gripped his broadsword and aimed it at the back of Xiao Jingmo’s head.
“Don’t touch my Second Brother! Baby said it already. Baby bites!”
Jin Bao shot forward like an arrow loosed from the bowstring, slamming straight into that Horse Bandit.
Jin Bao was not very strong, but she was extremely fast. She knocked the Horse Bandit stumbling several steps, and the broadsword he swung down went off course. On top of that, Jin Bao’s shout had warned Xiao Jingmo. He quickly dodged toward Jin Bao, just in time to avoid the man’s strike.
Now that only one Horse Bandit remained, dealing with him was nothing difficult for Xiao Jingmo.
As he stood up, he casually picked up one of the Horse Bandits’ long sabers.
“Little Sister, step back. Leave this to Second Brother.”
Jin Bao was very obedient and immediately retreated to the base of the wall.
Xiao Jingmo had no trouble dealing with one of the Horse Bandits. In just a few exchanges, he drove his blade straight through the man’s chest.
He did not leave right away. Instead, he walked back and checked the Horse Bandits who had just been trampled under the horses’ hooves, in case any of them had only been knocked unconscious. He finished them off one by one, and sure enough, a few had merely passed out.
After dealing with all the Horse Bandits, Xiao Jingmo immediately led Wang the Rich out of the alley.
Once they left the alley and turned down another street, they ran into Xiao Che.
“Mo’er, how did things go on your end?”
Xiao Che had already scouted the entire town, including the locations of the remaining Horse Bandits.
“Father, we only managed to rescue Wang the Rich and his family. All the other local gentry are gone. Their guards were all killed by the Horse Bandits too. I’m afraid we don’t have many people we can use now.”
Those household guards all knew some martial arts. Even if they had to fight the Horse Bandits in greater numbers, they would not lose their nerve.
Ordinary townsfolk were different. The moment they saw the Horse Bandits, they would likely panic so badly they might not even be able to hold a blade steady.
That was why Xiao Jingmo had first thought of recruiting the guards. Only if that failed would he try to organize the common people.
“Father, what did you find?”
“Every exit out of town has been blocked by the Horse Bandits. Right now, not even a fly could get out of this place. Good thing we didn’t follow Li Si and the others down that side path back then, or we would’ve run straight into them.”
Xiao Che himself was not afraid of running into the Horse Bandits. But there were women and children in the family, and he could not take that risk.
Wang the Rich had lost an ear, and blood was pouring down his face. His entire family, old and young, followed behind him. Hearing Xiao Che’s words, he felt a lingering chill of fear. He had originally planned to secretly take his wife and children out of town. Now it seemed that even if they had made it out of the courtyard, they would never have made it out of the town.
No wonder the servants he had sent out still had not brought back reinforcements. They must have been killed by these Horse Bandits.
“Father, what do you plan to do?”
Xiao Che glanced at Wang the Rich and his family.
“Let’s settle them somewhere first. It won’t be convenient to take them with us.”
That was easy enough. Xiao Jingmo had already thought of a place for them.
“Wang the Rich, the households around here should all have cellars and the like, right?
“Take your family and hide in someone else’s cellar for a while. Those homes have already been looted clean. The Horse Bandits will never think your whole family is hiding inside one of them. It’s the safest place to hide, right under their noses.”
Wang the Rich bowed shakily. “Benefactor, I know Old Li’s family has a cellar. I’ll go to their home. Our families are close, but… their whole family is probably gone by now.”
“All right. Wang the Rich, take care.”
After sending Wang the Rich and his family away, Xiao Che finally explained his plan.
“I checked just now. There are still thirty-two Horse Bandits moving around inside the town. Each exit is guarded by two men. Our current goal is to wipe out the ones inside the town first. The ones outside won’t be a threat after that.”
“The thirty-two in town are split into two groups. One group has sixteen men, and they’re in the alley where we were hiding. In a little while, the three of us will go lure them away at the same time. Once we’ve drawn them out of the alley, we’ll run in three different directions.”
“All you need to do is run. Don’t get tangled up fighting them. Leave the killing to me. Just lead them around town.”
Jin Bao understood. She clapped her little hands happily, beaming from ear to ear. This was what she was best at, and she could even help. Jin Bao was absolutely delighted.
“Baby runs super fast! Daddy, don’t worry. Baby definitely won’t let them catch me!”
Xiao Che gently tapped Jin Bao’s little nose.
With indulgent tenderness, he said, “Good girl. Daddy knows you run fast, but don’t run so fast they can’t even see the back of your head. Otherwise, who are they supposed to chase, hmm?”
Jin Bao smiled a little shyly and scratched the soft wisps of hair on her head. “Baby remembers! Baby won’t run too fast. Baby will keep showing them the back of Baby’s head. Hee hee.”
Xiao Che took several gold beans from his robes and handed them to the two of them.
“If we want them to take the bait, we need to put out some bait first. Carry these bundles on your backs. There are a few pieces of clothing I prepared inside. They look bulging, but they’re actually light and won’t slow us down.”
Xiao Jingmo took a bundle and carefully tied it onto Jin Bao himself before tying one onto his own back.
The three of them soon arrived at the alley where the Horse Bandits were.
Xiao Che deliberately shouted, “Run! There are Horse Bandits up ahead!”
When the Horse Bandits heard him, they turned and looked. They saw three people – two adults and one child – each carrying a bulging bundle on their back.
At first, the Horse Bandits were not particularly interested in chasing the three fugitives. Then they noticed something glittering gold fall out of one of the bundles.
One of the Horse Bandits ran over, picked it up, and saw that it was a gold bean. The other Horse Bandits immediately erupted with excitement and all charged after Xiao Che and the others.