Chapter 39: One Against Three

Chapter 39: One Against Three

At the same time, she saw another robber charging toward Tianshu, brandishing a large saber.

In the heat of the moment, she twisted her body to the side to evade the punch, while her left hand snatched up a pebble and flung it out.

The punch missed, and the scream of her subordinate, Qu Ba, rang in her ears. The bandit leader lost his sanity to rage: "Damn woman, I'll see you dead!"

As he cursed, he struck again. Because Hong Xiaoduo was worried about Tianshu and the other children on the donkey cart, her focus wavered. Seeing the movement in her peripheral vision, she raised her hand holding the sword to block.

When she heard the scream beside her and turned to see the scene before her, Hong Xiaoduo nearly screamed herself in shock.

The robber before her was clutching his severed arm, his eyes wide with terror, staggering backward.

Hong Xiaoduo instinctively covered her mouth, staring blankly at the blood spurting from the severed limb, unable to be contained, spraying directly onto the ground.

Where was his arm? How... was it gone? Severed?

Suddenly, a thought struck her. She lifted her right hand to look at her sword; there was no blood on it.

She looked toward the six men not far away, but they showed no sign of stepping forward, remaining in their original positions.

The robber's arm had been severed so cleanly; it didn't look like the work of a projectile from a distance!

Could it... could it have been her? Hong Xiaoduo searched her memory intensely. It felt like she had only raised her hand to block. Was this sword truly this sharp?

Realizing she was the one who had severed the robber's arm, Hong Xiaoduo's heart raced with panic. Looking down, she saw the severed arm lying right by her feet, and she scrambled backward in terror.

When she looked up again, she saw the armless robber stumbling toward the woods. Looking toward the donkey cart, the other two robbers were crawling painfully toward the opposite side of the forest.

Were they trying to escape? What should she do? Chase them and stop them? And if she stopped them, what then? Capture them and hand them over to the authorities?

"Mother, you're amazing!" Tianshu hurried over, pulling the donkey cart, looking at Hong Xiaoduo with excitement and admiration.

"Mother, you're so amazing! You drove the bad guys away!" The children in the carriage were also crowding the window, peering at her with excitement.

It was true; the robbers had been driven off, and she and the children were safe. Logically, she should be happy, but Hong Xiaoduo couldn't find any joy.

Even as she tried to reason with herself—that they were merely highwaymen and that hurting them carried no moral weight—she simply couldn't relax.

"Mother, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" Tianshu sensed her unusual reaction and asked nervously.

Hearing this, the other children scrambled out of the cart, crowding around Hong Xiaoduo to inspect her.

Not far away, the six men watching the scene found it quite unbelievable.

"Master, shall I go over and take a look?" one follower asked tentatively, unable to restrain himself.

But the Master seemed not to hear; he didn't respond, nor did he even glance at him.

The other companions were secretly signaling him with their eyes, suggesting he just go. There was no need to ask the Master; one only had to look at his expression to know his mood.

*Hmph, keep acting all high and mighty. Are you waiting for the young lady to take the initiative and ask for help?*

*And the result? She didn't need to ask anyone; she dealt with three robbers all by herself.*

*Though her moves looked unconventional and somewhat casual, they certainly had power.*

*That robber's head—so what if he was good with a saber? He was defeated by that young lady in two moves. One move sent his blade flying, and the second sliced his arm right off.*

Encouraged by his companions, the follower gritted his teeth and spurred his horse toward them. This young lady truly embodied the saying: *one cannot judge a person by their appearance, nor the depth of a sea by a bucket!*

Even if he faced the Master's reprimand later, he had to go over and say something. Perhaps through conversation, he could learn something about her origins.

Hearing the sound of hoofbeats, the one adult and seven children all turned to look.

Why were the people who had been standing by as mere spectators during such a crisis coming over now?

Approaching, the man dismounted and cupped his fists toward Hong Xiaoduo. "Young lady, you are truly formidable. We are most impressed."

Hong Xiaoduo was in a bad mood and had no interest in greeting him; she simply stared at him expressionlessly.

Thinking of what had just happened, the newcomer also felt quite uneasy and awkwardly turned his neck. "Those three robbers have fled. I wanted to ask the young lady... did you just let them go?"

At his words, Hong Xiaoduo's brow furrowed. *Yes, did I just let them go?*

People like that wouldn't suddenly turn over a new leaf. They might seek revenge, or once their wounds healed, they would continue their life of highway robbery.

Furthermore, this likely wasn't their first time. Who knows how many people had fallen victim to them before?

At this thought, Hong Xiaoduo glanced at the narcissistic fellow sitting on the horse nearby, then turned her gaze back to the man in front of her. She cupped her fists toward him.

"There is no telling how many times those three have done such things before. Letting them go will likely only lead to more harm to travelers. I would like to capture them and hand them over to the authorities, but as you can see, I am traveling with these children, and it is not convenient. Might I trouble you, brave sir, to capture those three villains and deliver them to the authorities so they may receive their due punishment?"

Hong Xiaoduo pointed to the children beside her, making her request with a look of great difficulty.

"I see. It is a small matter. Rest easy, young lady," the man replied without a second thought.

He then turned to his companions and called out, "Come help! Catch those three bastards!"

Upon hearing this, the others scrambled to spur their horses and chase after the three men.

Mu Zitao watched his subordinates rush off to catch the criminals without even asking him, and his already gloomy mood worsened.

Sitting on his horse, he glared with a dark expression at his men—men who were capable of fighting a hundred against one on a battlefield—and yet two of them were currently chasing a single robber!

Watching the companions of the stranger pursue the robbers with such vigor, Hong Xiaoduo knew the three robbers wouldn't escape. "Sir, we must continue our journey. Farewell." Without waiting for a response, she picked up Yaoguang, placed her in the cart, and climbed in herself.

Seeing this, Tianshu urged his younger siblings to get into the cart quickly, then sat on the shafts and drove the donkey cart away.

"Eh? Young lady? Why leave so suddenly? What's the rush?" The man left standing behind muttered to himself, helpless. He hadn't expected her to be so blunt. After entrusting him with the task, she just left?

He had wanted to chat a bit more to learn more about her!

Sighing, he watched the donkey cart slowly move into the distance before mounting his horse and returning to his Master.

The three robbers were all injured and hadn't run far; they were eventually brought back by the men on horseback.

Upon reaching the Master, they were roughly thrown to the ground.

"Great lords, brave heroes, please spare our lives!" The two robbers with leg injuries kowtowed in unison, begging for mercy.

The one with the severed arm had likely lost too much blood; his face was deathly pale, and he had already fainted.

Mu Zitao ignored them and looked at his subordinates instead. "What are you doing?"

"Huh?" The subordinates looked at one another, then pointed to one of them. "Jiao Tu told us to go."

Mu Zitao turned his gaze toward the man they were pointing at.

Stared at by his Master's cold eyes, Jiao Tu felt a surge of panic. "It... it was the young lady. She said she wanted to catch them to hand them over to the authorities, saying that letting them go would cause more harm to others. She said she was traveling with a group of children and it wasn't convenient, so... so she requested..." He couldn't finish his sentence.

He had been quite bold when he took the initiative to ride over and speak to the young lady, but now, facing his Master's glare, he was utterly cowed.