Chapter 23
The Royal Family
There were nearly 200 people in Zhao village.
A quarter of them were young adults.
All the food in their village had been brought along by the villagers.
The children, women, and old people walked in the middle while the young and strong men guarded outside with the weapons left behind by the bandits.
With their gleaming weapons and huge troops, the scattered refugees looked at the mule carts, donkey carts, and ox carts in the middle enviously. However, they basically did not dare to approach them. Instead, they were afraid that they would be robbed.
Lin Yue drove the mule cart while Bai Wutong carried Stinky and dozed off on Chu Tianbao’s shoulder.
The mule cart was much more comfortable than riding on a horse.
If it weren’t for the fact that she could see the sallow and thin refugees from time to time, she would have thought that they were traveling.
Suddenly, the mule train skidded to a halt.
Before Bai Wutong opened her eyes, she heard a familiar stuttering line.
“I’m the one who discovered this mountain and planted this tree. If you want- want to pa.s.s through it, you have to leave money behind!”
Bai Wutong looked up and saw the little bandit who had spoken being kicked away by the big-bellied second-in-charge. “What nonsense are you spouting?”
He raised a huge long knife and pointed it at Lin Yue on the mule cart. “Brothers, kill them and avenge the chief!”
Bai Wutong knew that they would be in trouble if the villagers followed, but she did not expect them to come so quickly.
When the villagers saw the groups of bandits, they immediately approached the mule cart despite saying that they would not trouble them.
The timid ones even shouted, “Madam Bai, help!”
“…” Why were they shouting for her?
As the villagers shouted, the bandits focused their attention on Bai Wutong’s face on the mule cart.
When the second-in-charge saw her appearance, he immediately lost his appet.i.te. He thought that she was a beautiful woman, but it turned out to be such an ugly woman. He immediately said in disgust, “Even a dog doesn’t want such an ugly woman.”
The third-in-charge curled his lip, his face full of viciousness. “Then feed her to the dogs.”
When Lin Yue heard them open their mouths, he knew that they were going to die.
As expected.
With a whoosh, a black shadow leaped out of the mule cart and the sharp blade fell on them.
The sword light flashed past the second-in-charge’s terrified eyes. In the next second, he watched as the blood from his throat sprayed onto the shocked third-in-charge’s face.
Before anyone could react, the second-in-charge’s burly body crashed to the ground like a mountain collapsing.
The moment the dust dissipated, the bandits behind the second-in-charge took a step back in fear.
In the blink of an eye, they all saw how Chu Tianbao had attacked. The second-in-charge died just like that.
Wouldn’t killing them be even easier than killing chickens!
When the third-in-charge saw the corpse of the second-in-charge and met Chu Tianbao’s dark gaze, he finally understood why the first-in-charge had brought so many people to the Zhao farmyard and yet to return.
They had encountered an expert among experts.
Such a person was not someone they could afford to offend.
The third-in-charge reacted and immediately said, “Run, run as far as you can!”
Before he could put his thoughts into action, he froze in his tracks.
The bandits behind him took a step back in even greater horror.
Chu Tianbao pulled out the sword that had pierced through his body. The third-in-charge’s face twitched ferociously twice before he fell down with a thud without any more breathing.
Chu Tianbao glanced at the corpse on the ground with a cold expression, like a killer from h.e.l.l.
The children in the village cried at the sight.
The mothers hurriedly covered their eyes and swore in their hearts that they would no longer secretly talk about how ugly Bai Wutong was.
The bandits turned into frightened birds and beasts and fled in all directions.
Before Zhao Pengfei could even move his knife, the danger to the troops had been resolved.
Village Chief Zhao was even more convinced that they had to follow Bai Wutong and the others closely.
As long as they followed closely, they would definitely be safe.
For this, he reminded Madam Yang and the other women to act more smartly and make sure to coax Bai Wutong well.
Bai Wutong stretched out her hand to Chu Tianbao. Chu Tianbao immediately took the handkerchief and carefully wiped the sword that had just killed two people before returning to the mule cart.
Bai Wutong glanced at his well-defined hand. Chu Tianbao extended his hand and said happily, “It’s not stained at all. I’m still a clean Tianbao.”
Bai Wutong looked away and chuckled. “Yes, you’re still a clean Tianbao.”
Chu Tianbao chuckled and sat back beside Bai Wutong. He straightened his back and patted his shoulder. “Lean on me, wife, and sleep.”
Lin Yue glanced back, wishing he could cover his ears.
They were too disgustingly loving!
When he married in the future, he must not be like Chu Tianbao.
Bai Wutong should have corrected him for stacking words in his speech. But she was probably tired. She looked at him a few times and leaned her head against him again.
She was very close and hearing the pounding of his heart made her feel rea.s.sured.
When Bai Wutong closed her eyes, she actually thought of her grandparents.
Her parents had died in a car accident when she was young. The person who had killed them had paid a lot of money and obtained the forgiveness of her grandparents. In the end, they were released after only a few years of jailtime.
When she was in her adolescence, she had unintentionally learned this news from her relatives. She had even blamed her grandparents for forgiving them.
Later, when her grandmother became terminally ill and refused to use the compensation amount.
Only then did Bai Wutong understand that they were doing this for her.
After losing their son and daughter-in-law, they would definitely suffer no less than her when she was young.
Later, when her grandmother pa.s.sed away, her grandfather followed her not long after.
She became alone.
She had met many companions during the apocalypse.
But in the end, she was the only one left.
Little Stinky in her arms moved. Bai Wutong adjusted him into a comfortable position and glanced at the obedient Chu Tianbao. She wondered how long they would last this time.
The rain fell again.
The weather in the Yan Kingdom was really strange.
It would not rain when it should and kept raining when it shouldn’t.
The mule cart travelled for a long time. The rain was getting heavier.
The refugees on the road were drenched. Those who were not wearing much were shivering in the rain.
Some simply collapsed in the water, starving, unable to get up again.
Before the villagers left, they brought all their luggage.
Excluding the adults, even children could wear straw raincoats or bamboo hats.
“Rumble—”
Lightning flashed. Dark clouds rolled in. A downpour came crashing down.
Bai Wutong and the others had no choice but to take shelter under the trees for the time being.
When the rain stopped, they continued on their way.
They encountered a huge group of people fleeing in the opposite direction of Ling Kingdom.
Bai Wutong took a closer look. Not only were there a few super luxurious carriages, but there were also a large number of attendants and troops accompanying them to protect a large amount of food and supplies. More importantly, they were actually royal guards!
The people in the carriage were definitely from the royal family.
Bai Wutong asked Lin Yue, “Do you know who’s sitting in the carriage?” He was someone who had worked for the richest man, so he should know.
Lin Yue took a closer look and frowned. He looked hesitant and puzzled.
“It must be Duke Ping, the younger brother of the current emperor.”
Seeing that he was still confused, Bai Wutong asked, “What’s wrong with them?”
Lin Yue said, “There are three types of royal guards of honor – grand, legal, and small. Other than the emperor, the other members of the imperial family can only have the legal and small guards accompanying them. The scale in front of us is the grand guards.”
If one crossed the line, one would be suspected of rebellion.