Episode 28

  "Brother, there's no more hay!"

  "Chang'er, take this torch. Don't be afraid! Just head towards that tree over there!"

  "But, older brother, you..."

  "There's a house right behind you! Just hurry up and walk fast! And don't look back!"

  "Yes!"

  Chang'er nodded and turned around to run towards the big tree. At this moment, a wolf's howl rose into the sky, shaking the earth.

  "Ah"

  Another loud roar, but it was not enough to be issued, although it could not be compared with the wolf's howl, it was also full of energy. Chang Er released a spiritual sense and saw that the two giant wolves suddenly jumped up like two black shadows rushing towards Insufficient. Insufficient also flew forward, holding a long stick with burning fire, rushing towards the two wolves. In an instant, the two wolves jumped up like flying, both opening their bloody mouths, their sharp teeth shining with golden light in the firelight, and the saliva at the corner of their mouths also shone down. The end of the wooden stick in Insufficient's hand was slightly raised, his body seemed to be about to jump up, but suddenly he fell back, his body falling backwards, sliding forward on the ground, only a few inches away from the ground. However, the head of the burning stick was raised again, and then struck out horizontally, the two giant wolves were in mid-air, although they twisted their bodies to change their attack route, they had already taken the wrong path, crashing into each other, rolling on the ground several times before jumping up again. This strike was extremely clever, avoiding the two wolves' deadly blow, and using the force to make the two wolves collide with each other. The two wolves showed fierce light in their eyes, and rushed towards Insufficient again. Insufficient turned around and ran away, as if he wanted to escape. One wolf suddenly howled, and several more wolves rushed towards Insufficient. Just as Insufficient was about to be surrounded, he suddenly let out a loud roar and fell backwards, striking the ground with his stick, a miserable cry and the sound of the stick breaking echoed through the air, one giant wolf's head rolled to the side, falling to the ground without getting up. However, at the same time, another giant wolf had already rushed forward, its bloody mouth biting down on Insufficient's head. Its huge mouth was big enough to swallow Insufficient's body, let alone his head!

  "Ah! Insufficient older brother!"

  Chang'e was shocked and pale with fright, and hastily wanted to lend a hand to help, but just as her magic had barely gathered, the sky on the horizon suddenly boomed with a loud noise, and a golden light appeared.

  "Oh no! How bitter!"

  The light flashed, and Chang'er hastily retrieved her magic power. The golden light also disappeared without a trace. Chang'er took out an object from her bag of spells, intending to throw it out. However, she saw that the wolf on the other side was about to pounce, and rushed towards this side. The giant wolf opened its big mouth and howled, but seemed unable to close it. Chang'er took a closer look and saw that there was a wooden stick stuck in the wolf's mouth, propping up its upper and lower jaws, as if it had been inserted there! The rest of the wolves paused at this moment and no longer charged forward. They slowly surrounded them, closing in. Meanwhile, Chang'er and Bu Xu hastily scrambled up a big tree.

  When she calmed down a bit, Zhen'er saw that her clothes were tattered and her four limbs were covered in blood. Suddenly, she felt an inexplicable pain in her heart, and tears welled up in her eyes. Those crystal-like teardrops rolled down her exquisite face. Insufficient said:

  "Chang'er, it's all right! Look, aren't we just fine?"

  "Does it hurt? Not enough for you, brother!"

  Chang'er gently wiped away the wound with insufficient strength while tears fell.

  "Chang'er, you're quite formidable! Such a ferocious beast, even our household's prestige can't be taken lightly, yet you remain unfazed!"

  "How can I be inferior to my elder brother in courage!"

  "Hey, fortunately I used to learn martial arts with my grandfather when I was a kid. Although it's just fancy moves, but it still helps a lot in emergency situations. Haha..."

  "Insufficient brother, what you're using isn't fancy footwork, but divine skill!"

  "Haha, Zhen'er, why are you praising me wrongly? Our moves are so lacking in inner power, aren't they just fancy punches and kicks?"

  "Huh?"

  "How did you get here, Chang'er?"

  Insufficient to satisfy the gaze of the crescent moon, they saw that one of the wolves on the ground slowly got up, while another giant wolf pulled out a wooden stick from its mouth with one paw. Its mouth was full of blood, but it seemed completely unaware. Then the two giant wolves looked at the two people in the tree and slowly retreated.

  Having spent a night in the tree, by dawn the beasts had dispersed but were still roaming far and near in this thicket of woods.

  "Insufficient elder brother, you see those beasts, as if they haven't left yet. How can this be good?"

  "Don't worry, when daylight comes and there are people on the official road, we'll get down from the tree and follow them. Once we reach the village, we don't have to be afraid of bandits or wild beasts!"

  As the sun approached noon, three to five people walked in pairs on the official road, looking like merchants. Their direction was indeed northward. Insufficiently joyful, he hurriedly urged Chang'er down from the tree to walk together on the official road. Seeing those few people, Insufficiently bowed and said:

  "Are you gentlemen heading north?"

  "Indeed. Looking at the two of you, who are not very old, how did you manage to walk out from this forest?"

  These men all had their hands on the hilts of their swords, with vigilant expressions that didn't conceal their surprise, and they couldn't help but steal several glances at Chang'er. Although her face was smeared with mud and her clothes were dirty, her beauty still shone through and was hard to hide!

  "It's hard to put into words! Yesterday, the two of us were in a hurry on the road and missed our lodging place, so we had to temporarily take shelter in the woods. But unexpectedly, first there was a group of bandits, then a pack of beasts, and we narrowly escaped disaster."

  "This place is a dangerous place. Since it's like that, let's travel together! Many people means many strengths!"

  Those few people looked at each other carefully, saw that there were less than two people with no weapons in their hands, and nodded to each other after exchanging a glance. So the crowd chatted idly about irrelevant things for a while, and after three or four hours, they saw a village in the distance. It was not a big building, but it looked messy and disorderly, scattered on the slope of a small hill. In the middle, there was an official road that crossed the town, winding along the mountain slope, turning several bends, and then dividing into two forks at the northern part of the town, one heading west and the other north, forming three roads that converged in this town. Therefore, the town was called Sancha. Not long ago, I had asked fellow travelers on the same road and got confirmation that going to Gucheng City would be heading north. So, I had lunch with Jin Chuaner in the village, bought some cooked meat, pancakes, and other things, and prepared everything for the journey. Fortunately, there were still a few taels of silver left after buying clothes for Chuaner, and besides, Chuaner also had a few taels; otherwise, it would have been difficult to make ends meet.

  He had just finished packing his dry rations and was about to set off when he heard a horse whinnying and people shouting. "The Great King of the Mountains is coming to kill us, run for your lives!"

  Then came the rolling dust and smoke, flying into the town, the sound of horseshoes rumbling from afar, shaking the sky. A heroic guest on horseback shouted loudly, rushing into the town. The streets of the village were suddenly in chaos, with people from all households rushing to their own doors, every household closing their doors and not daring to move! In just a moment, the entire village was left with only bandits, and everyone else fled. Her face changed greatly, although she had encountered danger several times before, but at that time she was still young and didn't understand how dangerous it was! Now the mountain bandits were right in front of her, how could she not be afraid? She pulled Chang'er and rushed into the inn, following several guests who rolled and crawled to the main hall on the second floor.

  "Close the door! Close the door!"

  A guest shouted. Several quick-witted people hastily closed the main hall door. But then someone loudly shouted:

  "Don't let one person escape! Kill anyone who dares to move!"

  "Kill anyone who moves!"

  Hundreds of people shouted in unison. Even the store was buzzing with noise. Chen Er tightly leaned against Insufficient's side, and she could already feel Insufficient's body slightly trembling. She raised her head, opening her big eyes to stare at Insufficient, a look of sympathy gradually deepening in her gaze. Insufficient said:

  "Chang Er, don't be afraid! If the thief comes in, you hide behind someone's body and don't make a sound."

  "Yes, younger brother."

  Suddenly, the shop door was kicked open by a burly man. With a loud crash, the door split into two pieces and fell to the ground. The hall was immediately filled with dust and debris. More than ten burly men, all wearing black hoods and masks, holding knives and swords, charged in with a fierce killing intent. One of them, with a knife flashing green light, spun around and flew up to the second floor, where he cut down a middle-aged merchant who was holding a long sword, slicing him into two pieces from the neck down. Half of his body, still attached to his head, leaned against the handrail of the stairs. Before the look of shock had time to fade, a look of agony appeared on his face. At that moment, fresh blood sprayed out like a fountain, and the other half of his body fell straight down from the stairs, bringing with it his internal organs and filthy matter, splattering the entire staircase, filling the air with a foul stench.

  "Oh no!"

  One cry of surprise and both men fell dead at the same time.

  Inside the building, more than a dozen people were wet in their crotches and lay limp on the ground. Several others had already vomited on the floor. However, even more of them, over ten people, were so shocked that they stood or sat there stupidly, not speaking a word. The only sounds in the store were the vomiting noises and breathing sounds. He didn't dare to stand in front of Ting Er, covering her eyes with his body while also fearing she would reveal her true self. However, he himself was also extremely frightened. Suddenly, his mind went blank, and all thoughts disappeared, leaving only shock.

  Insufficient, both legs slightly trembling, Zhen Er saw it in her eyes, and suddenly felt a pang of pain in her heart! Such a bloody scene, Zhen Er also regarded as plain water, long waves not surprising. However, for insufficient, it was too cruel. Thinking that after all, she is still just a child!