As soon as these words were uttered, over a dozen people behind them all drew weapons of varying lengths, some even holding sickles.
Perhaps these men were new recruits, their gear not as polished.
Meng Shaode stumbled back two steps, terrified. "It was a misunderstanding! I was a镖师 back then, and you were mountain bandits. Your brother blocked my path, threatening my life, so I had to protect myself. Besides, I have Lord Chen's backing!"
Meng Shaode's guilty conscience made Ah Jiu nervous. This Lord Chen was the subordinate of Lord Wang, whom Steward Hong from the Li Mansion had mentioned.
"So it's you, you little brat! Lord Chen? Haha, that guy was so chased by the officials that he ran into my lair. I already chopped him down with my own blade."
The chieftain smacked his short sword against his palm with a resounding clap, stepping forward step by step.
"Chopped him down?" Meng Shaode, unsuited for close combat with his bow and arrows, retreated in fear.
"Shaode..." Cai Lihua's face was pale, her hand trembling as she clutched their daughter's arm.
"What do we do?" Cai Lihua's eyes suddenly widened. She flipped into the carriage and emerged holding a cleaver.
Husband and wife are like birds of a feather in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they must fight together. "Ah Jiu, if a fight breaks out, don't worry about anything, just run."
Little did they know Ah Jiu was a step ahead of her.
"Chieftain, it's a drought, and I have water here. Take it as a tribute."
With that, she tossed the water pouch through the air.
The water pouch traced an arc over everyone's heads and was caught precisely by the chieftain.
"This lass is sensible. I like those who know their place. All of you learn from her."
The chieftain pulled out the stopper and sniffed it.
With the great drought plaguing the land, even mountain bandits were once common folk. How precious was water?
He sniffed the water before his nose, and it already smelled sweet.
"Sister Ah Jiu..." Tuobayan watched her throw out the water pouch with great distress.
Though he didn't need to drink constantly, Sister Ah Jiu's family were people of this world. All people needed water.
To give such a precious item to that bandit! If he had known, he wouldn't have had that aversion to blood.
Thinking this, Tuobayan stamped his foot in anger at himself.
"Anything else? Bring it all out."
Under Ah Jiu's watchful gaze, the chieftain tilted his head and took a sip.
Then, the chieftain's tilted head froze. His eyes widened, his hand visibly trying to pull the water pouch away, but it wouldn't budge.
Water mixed with blood dripped from his lips, followed by frothing.
"If you don't take it out soon, we'll really kill someone."
The men around him hadn't noticed the chieftain's abnormality. Wielding their long knives, they advanced with more than a dozen others.
"Search the carriage! If there's nothing else, the horse alone can feed us brothers for a meal."
Ah Jiu had already climbed out and sat outside, gripping the reins tightly, her pupils constricting.
Three, two, one...
With a thud.
The chieftain collapsed to the ground with a boom, his face turning from pale to black at a visible rate, his limbs convulsing.
Cao Lihua and Meng Shaode stumbled back two steps, completely bewildered by what had happened.
Wu Dalei behind them gaped. "He... he seems to be dead."
"Chieftain!" The men who had just approached the carriage suddenly noticed something amiss. To their horror, the chieftain was frothing at the mouth and had lost consciousness.
"Father, drive!" Ah Jiu shouted, tossing the reins.
Meng Shaode finally snapped back to reality. He pushed his wife onto the carriage, took the reins with his other hand, and mounted the vehicle.
"Giddy up!"
The wheels rolled, and Ah Jiu's heart pounded so fast it felt like it would leap out of her throat.
"Little Yan Yan, run! Take my water pouch!"
Ah Jiu called out, leaning out the carriage window.
Tuobayan didn't know what had happened, but he trusted Sister Ah Jiu's words the most.
While running, he casually pulled the water pouch from the chieftain's mouth and, with a burst of speed, called to Zhao Kun.
"Let's go."
Zhao Kun ran alongside him, saying, "Master, if I weren't afraid of you fainting at the sight of blood, I would have disabled him long ago."
"Enough said, I know," Tuobayan briefly explained, and the master and servant ran to catch up with the carriage.
"Stop!"
"Stop for me!"