Chapter 38: The Clash

Laitou had just responded when he suddenly spotted a group of people appearing not far away. They looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen them before.

"Boss, look, it's that group," Laitou suddenly remembered. Weren't these the same people who had passed by this afternoon—the ones who looked like they weren't to be trifled with?

Wait, several hours had passed; why were they still here?

Had they returned after finishing their business? Or...?

Seeing this scene, the Boss was also startled.

"Boss, what do we do? Do we retreat?" Qu Ba's voice had even changed.

*Useless thing,* the Boss cursed inwardly, but his expression remained calm as he said, "What's the panic?" He then watched as the six riders slowly approached.

While cursing in his mind, the Boss began to analyze the situation. From what he could see, the six on horseback seemed to have nothing to do with this donkey cart. However, that didn't mean they wouldn't meddle in other people's business, perhaps playing the hero in the name of justice.

He figured that if that were the case, he and his two lackeys could only accept their bad luck and retreat first.

But, perhaps they didn't want any trouble either?

After seeing the six people, Hong Xiaoduo felt a genuine sense of relief in her heart.

That man might be narcissistic and unlikable, but in a situation like this, surely he wouldn't just stand by and watch?

Setting aside the uncertainty of whether Brother Dong had mentioned their acquaintance to him, at the very least, she had treated him to meat buns before!

Upon seeing the people over there, Tianshu was also unsure if they would lend a hand. After all, his mother's attitude toward him previously had not been very good.

As Mu Zitao rode slowly toward them, his attention was entirely focused on that little woman who had made him look foolish and had repeatedly ignored him afterward.

He could see it in her face—her reaction upon seeing him and his subordinates clearly indicated she was certain he wouldn't stand idly by!

*Heh, so confident? Dreaming too big? If you don't open your mouth to ask me, I simply won't bother!*

When he was dozens of meters away from Hong Xiaoduo and the others, Mu Zitao reined in his horse, and his five subordinates had no choice but to stop as well.

At this moment, the scene was somewhat eerie; it could only be described as strange.

"Laitou, what are you standing there for? Do it!" The bandit leader cursed his subordinate irritably, while cursing his mother inwardly as well.

It wasn't that he hadn't encountered passersby while doing this business, but it usually fell into two categories: first, people who were terrified of being caught in the crossfire and fled immediately; second, people who stared straight ahead, pretending to be deaf and mute as they continued on their way.

He had never encountered a situation like today, where people were actually watching the spectacle! It truly left this seasoned bandit at a loss!

"Yes," Laitou replied. Seeing that the leader had spoken, he also realized that the group likely wouldn't meddle. Indeed, anyone with a bit of sense would mind their own business when encountering such a thing.

Those chivalrous types who fought for justice did exist, but they were extremely rare!

Hong Xiaoduo looked toward the narcissist among the six, only to see him sitting on his horse with a half-smile, showing absolutely no intention of helping proactively.

*Good grief, how could Brother Dong be friends with someone like this?* Hong Xiaoduo was truly speechless. *Fine, I won't give you what you want. If you're so capable, then don't you dare step in later.*

It wasn't that she was being temperamental or failing to read the room; she knew that if they wanted to help, they would do so even if she didn't ask.

After all, in a situation like this, human lives were at stake.

In truth, she didn't have the luxury to think much further. Seeing that man called Laitou walking toward the donkey cart with a knife in hand, she grew anxious and shouted loudly, "You bastard, how dare you?" She flicked her hand toward the man's knee, and a pebble the size of a fingernail flew toward him.

"Laitou, watch out!" the bandit leader shouted a warning, but it was too late.

With a scream of agony, Laitou fell to one knee. He tried to use his knife planted in the ground to prop himself up, but after several struggles, he failed and instead collapsed to the ground, clutching his knee.

The bandit leader hadn't expected this young woman, who showed no signs of martial arts training, to disable his man with a single move. Realizing how formidable she was, he immediately became cautious.

He gripped the hilt and spun his wrist, creating a flurry of blade movements. With the whistling of the wind, he lunged toward Hong Xiaoduo with a series of stabs, chops, and slashes.

The moment Mu Zitao and his men saw the bandit's technique, they knew it was of a high caliber. They had misjudged and underestimated him!

Everyone was shocked, including Mu Zitao, who had already lifted his feet from the stirrups, ready to strike at any moment.

However, the next scene took them by surprise.

As Hong Xiaoduo watched the bandit leader brandishing his large blade, charging at her with fierce killing intent, she thought she would be trembling with fear. Instead, a thought popped into her head: *What is there to fear? If I die, I die. Maybe if I die here, this whole time-traveling experience will end, and I can go back to my original place.*

She drew the sword from her waist and met him head-on.

The bandit leader didn't care that his opponent was a woman; what was wrong with killing her? He was a bandit; he wasn't a good person to begin with, so he didn't care about such trivialities.

If one couldn't even touch the elderly, weak, or women, how could they call themselves a bandit?

Approaching her, he raised his blade and swung it diagonally down at the young woman, intending to split her in two.

Today was a special case. He had finally found a suitable target, only to misjudge the situation and have his subordinate disabled immediately, all while people watched the spectacle. Therefore, he would rather be mocked by the onlookers for being cruel to a woman than be defeated by her and become a laughingstock—that would be an ultimate disgrace.

Watching the young woman meet the enemy with such calm composure, Mu Zitao and the others thought simultaneously: *Could she truly be a hidden master?*

One used a saber, the other a sword. Since the bandit had made the first move, he was on the offensive, meaning she was on the defensive. She would either have to dodge, or her swordsmanship would have to be exquisite enough to find a flaw in his move at that critical moment and break his strike.

As the large blade swung down toward her, Hong Xiaoduo instinctively gripped the hilt with both hands and swung her sword upward against the blade.

*It's over.* Mu Zitao and the other five were stunned by the move. Sword techniques consisted of chops, hacks, thrusts, parries, sweeps, and stabs—but there was nothing like what she had just done.

It didn't look like a proper technique at all; it was as if she wasn't even using the sword as a sword.

Tianshu, who was still holding the reins, was incredibly nervous.

At that moment, a loud *clang* rang out. The saber went flying—it had been knocked away by the sword.

Well, everyone present, whether using a sword or a saber, fell silent!

The bandit could not believe it. Looking at his hand, which was throbbing with pain and numbness from the impact, he pointed at Tianshu and yelled at the stunned Qu Ba, "Grab that little brat driving the cart!"

After shouting, noticing the young woman was momentarily distracted, he immediately lunged with a fist.

He had truly kicked a steel plate today. He had originally thought about saving his life and fleeing to fight another day.

*Huh? Is my combat power really this high?* Hong Xiaoduo, who was also in a state of shock, snapped back to reality upon hearing his words, only to see a large, dark fist hurtling toward her chest...

(End of Chapter)