Chapter 81 Bandits Attack in the Dead of Night

Chapter 81 Bandits Attack in the Dead of Night

The Jiang family was targeted by bandits. When the bandit leader saw that the original owner of the body had a decent appearance, he wanted to humiliate her in public. In order to protect her, Jiang Sumin rushed up and fought the bandits to the death. In the end, he was tied to the back of the horse with a rope and dragged to his death on the gravel road!

Thinking of the scene of her fourth brother's tragic death, Jiang Yutang felt a chill run through her body, her fingers gripping the pages of the book tightly until her knuckles turned white.

She turned to look at Jiang Sumin, who was fast asleep not far away. This fourth brother, who had a sharp tongue but a kind heart, was curled up with his brows slightly furrowed, probably because he was too tired from traveling during the day.

No, she must not let this happen again; she must find a way to avoid this disaster!

Jiang Yutang took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and began to recall the plot of the original book, looking for a solution.

But after thinking for a long time, I still couldn't come up with any clues.

She looked up at the dark night sky. The wind on Black Stone Slope was chilly, making her heart clench.

Jiang Yutang clutched the book, pondering repeatedly: the most direct way was to remind the escorts to take a detour, but why should the escorts believe the words of a refugee? But if they didn't try, were they just going to watch everyone go to their deaths?

"Never mind, how will I know if I don't try!" She gritted her teeth and made up her mind.

The next morning, not long after the group set off, Jiang Yutang quickly caught up with the escorts walking ahead, his tone urgent and sincere.

"Sir, there's something I'd like to tell you. I heard from the old doctor in town that there are bandits around here who specifically target groups of refugees. Should we take a detour?"

The lead escort was taken aback and asked in confusion, "We're only responsible for escorting them; we're not familiar with this desolate area. Are you serious?"

Although he had his doubts, he didn't completely dismiss them. If they really encountered bandits, the three constables wouldn't be able to protect more than seventy refugees; instead, they would only bring trouble upon themselves.

"Yes! Absolutely true!" Jiang Yutang nodded vigorously, pursing her lips.

The three guards exchanged a glance, keeping a watchful eye on things, and waved to her, "Understood, we'll keep an eye on our surroundings."

After returning home, Jiang Yutang immediately told her family about the bandits, her expression serious: "Let's all be on guard tonight. If we encounter any danger, don't worry about me. Take care of yourselves and Mother first, and don't act impulsively."

Although her family was curious about where she got the news, they all nodded emphatically when they saw her serious expression.

Jiang Songzhi stared at her with a deep and solemn expression and instructed, "No matter what happens, you must stay with us and never try to be brave."

Jiang Huaiyu walked up from behind and patted her on the shoulder to comfort her.

Upon hearing their conversation, Cheng Lanzhou's expression turned serious.

He had actually noticed something was wrong, but he was still unsure. Based on his experience in the military, he was particularly sensitive to danger.

These days, he deliberately walked to the end of the group to carefully observe the traces along the roadside. He found several fresh hoof prints in many bushes. The hoof prints were dense, indicating that a large number of horses had trampled the area, and that they were not ordinary passersby.

As evening approached, according to the original plot, the bandits should have made a move by now, but the surroundings remained calm.

Jiang Yutang was even more anxious. The bandits were best at launching surprise attacks at night, and they would only make their move after everyone had fallen asleep.

She immediately found the escort and suggested, "Sir, there's a cave in the ravine ahead. Let's hide there tonight; it's too dangerous to be out in the wild at night!"

The escort was already feeling uneasy because of what she had said that morning, and now that she was "pointing fingers" at him again, he became impatient: "You're just a refugee, how dare you try to arrange things for us?"

"I didn't arrange this; I'm genuinely worried that something might happen to everyone!"

Jiang Yutang panicked and immediately raised his hand to swear: "If I have uttered even half a lie, may I be struck by lightning! Just believe me this once, even without bandits, spending the night in a cave is safer than being in the open!"

The three escorts looked at each other, still wondering about what Jiang Yutang had said that morning. But seeing her earnest oath, they finally gave in and went down the aisle.

He coughed lightly twice, hands on his hips, and called to the refugees, "Hurry up, everyone, follow us to the cave ahead!"

The refugees were like a flock of lambs, going wherever their master pointed without daring to complain.

More than seventy people were crammed into a small cave, making it difficult to even turn around; they could only huddle in a corner.

Jiang Huaiyu quietly pulled Jiang Yutang aside and asked worriedly, "If no bandits come tonight, how are we going to explain this to the escorts?"

“It’s hard to say whether the bandits will come tonight, but there are definitely some of their people around here,” Cheng Lanzhou suddenly said, breaking the tense atmosphere.

Everyone looked at him, and Jiang Huaiyu pressed, "How did you know?"

“There are a lot of fresh hoof prints on the road, and several patches of grass that have been flattened, as if someone had been lying in wait,” Cheng Lanzhou explained, then turned to Jiang Yutang, her eyes filled with inquiry, “How did you discover the anomaly?”

Jiang Yutang paused for a moment, then quickly came up with an explanation, speaking naturally: "These past few nights, I've felt something moving in the woods. I vaguely saw people lurking around nearby. I didn't dare to make a sound at the time, but the more I thought about it, the more scared I became. I realized it was bandits scouting the area."

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Cheng Lanzhou's eyes.

I never expected that each of their maternal families would have such keen observational skills.

Jiang Songzhi chuckled lightly, breaking the awkward atmosphere: "You guys are really something. I never paid attention to these details before. I'd like to ask General Tuan for more advice another day, just in case."

Shrinking to the side, Jiang Huaiyu frowned and muttered under her breath, "How come I didn't notice?"

Hearing this from the side, Cheng Dai'er sneered and mocked, "Otherwise, you'd just be a lowly soldier while he's a general."

"you!"

Jiang Huaiyu was so angry that her eyebrows shot up. She was about to have a heated argument with Cheng Daier when Jiang Shengan glared at her and stopped her abruptly. Even though she was furious, she could only hold back.

More than seventy people were crammed into the narrow cave, where even breathing felt difficult.

Someone tried to take a bite of dry rations, but the moment they pulled out their flatbread, it was knocked away by the person next to them. Those who wanted to relieve themselves had to shuffle along the rock wall to the cave entrance, constantly on guard against any noise from outside.

Jiang Yutang leaned against the rock wall, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, her arm was suddenly shaken by Jiang Huaiyu beside her.

She suddenly opened her eyes and saw Cheng Lanzhou crouching at the cave entrance, his body taut like a bow, his eyes fixed on the outside of the cave, even his breathing was extremely soft.

"What's wrong?"

She lowered her voice and looked in the direction Cheng Lanzhou indicated. Under the moonlight, a dozen dark figures were riding around the camp where they had previously stopped. The curved swords in their hands reflected a cold light, and the horses' hooves clattered on the cobblestones.

They're bandits!

Jiang Yutang was startled awake and hurriedly covered her mouth, only daring to stare wide-eyed at Cheng Lanzhou.

If they hadn't entered the cave tonight, they would probably be dead by now, killed by bandits.

Jiang Huaiyu quietly moved to the side of the three guards and gently shook them awake.

The guards had just opened their eyes, their faces still showing annoyance at being woken up, and were about to start cursing when they saw him put a finger to his lips and point to the cave entrance.

The three men immediately calmed down, squinted, and looked out of the cave. When they saw the bandits riding around on horseback outside, their eyes widened instantly, all sleepiness vanished, and only disbelief and relief remained on their faces.