When they reached the foot of the mountain, everyone was stunned. It looked no different from the mountains they had seen before.
From afar, the mountain had appeared green, but that was only the upper half. Naturally it looked green from a distance. Most of the lower slopes were completely barren.
As they continued forward and rounded another bend at the mountain’s base, dozens of corpses scattered in twisted positions suddenly came into view.
“This…”
Song Dian stopped the mule cart in shock, staring at the horrifying scene while sucking in a cold breath.
“They were killed by bandits.”
Pei Guang jumped down from the carriage, inspected the area, and spoke grimly.
Lin Zhiyue wanted to get down too, but Lin Yan stopped her. The scene before them was simply too horrifying.
Men, women, old people, and children all lay among the dead. Some had their necks severed, while others had their stomachs pierced open.
“Do we keep going?”
Lin Zhishu covered his mouth and dry-heaved, his stomach churning violently.
Inside the carriage, Old Master Lin quickly lowered all the curtains.
The three children—Lin Zhiyue included—had only managed to glimpse the figures on the ground before their view was blocked.
“We keep moving. We can’t stay here until nightfall. What, are we supposed to spend the night beside corpses?”
“I’ll drive the mule cart. You two get onto the carriage. If we really run into mountain bandits, you drive the carriage and escape. I’ll hold them off.”
After a moment of thought, Pei Guang made his decision.
No matter how many bandits there were, escaping alone wouldn’t be difficult for him. But escaping while protecting this entire family was another matter.
“Big Brother, bring over the oilcloth. It doesn’t take up much space,” Lin Zhiyue called from inside the carriage.
Thus, Lin Zhishu also squeezed into the carriage, while Lin Dian took over the position Lin Yan had previously occupied.
Lin Yan drove the carriage. After following Pei Guang for the past several days, he had learned how to handle it himself.
Pei Guang drove the mule cart in front while the horse carriage followed closely behind.
The surroundings were deathly silent. The sounds of the horse and mule hooves became unnaturally clear.
“Amitabha… Bodhisattva, please protect us.”
Old Madam Lin closed her eyes and muttered prayers softly.
They safely traveled another two kilometers before Pei Guang suddenly stopped at the sight ahead. The road curved sharply around a cliff wall.
“Everyone stay alert.”
A bad feeling crept into him.
The Lin family immediately tensed. Lin Zhiyue took out her electric baton, while Lin Zhishu gripped his machete tightly.
Outside, Lin Yan’s hands trembled slightly as he clenched the reins, his eyes fixed on the bend ahead.
“Hahaha! More fat sheep delivered right to us!”
A mocking voice rang out.
As soon as they rounded the bend, they saw twenty or thirty mountain bandits blocking the road ahead.
More than a dozen sat mounted on horses in the center of the road, while the others lounged or stood on both sides.
Without wasting a word, Pei Guang instantly jumped off the mule cart and slashed the mule with his blade.
The mule screamed in pain and bolted forward like mad.
“Follow behind the mule cart and run! Don’t worry about me! If we get separated, just leave—don’t come back for me!”
Pei Guang had barely finished shouting at Lin Yan before the bandits on both sides charged forward.
Pei Guang moved to intercept them while Lin Yan drove the carriage hard behind the mule cart. Lin Zhishu climbed out beside him, machete in hand.
The bandits blocking the road were scattered apart by the charging mule cart. Some reacted quickly and immediately rushed after them with raised blades.
Lin Dian and Lin Zhishu defended both sides of Lin Yan.
Lin Yan focused solely on driving. He didn’t dare slow down for even a moment.
Fortunately, after practicing martial arts nonstop these past days, Lin Dian and Lin Zhishu had learned some techniques for dodging and counterattacking.
For the moment, two or three bandits couldn’t do much against them.
By the time the other bandits reacted, Lin Yan had already driven the carriage out of the encirclement.
Behind them, Pei Guang managed to hold back some of the mounted bandits.
As he dodged attacks, he deliberately drew more bandits toward himself.
There were simply too many enemies. All he needed to do was evade them and buy Lin Yan’s group more time.
“You riders—go after that carriage!”
The bandit leader saw through Pei Guang’s intentions. Realizing he couldn’t take him down quickly, he shouted orders to the mounted bandits.
Seven or eight riders turned their horses around.
Pei Guang immediately moved to stop them.
The bandit leader charged at him on horseback. Pei Guang rolled across the ground, narrowly avoiding the horse’s hooves.
Helplessly, he watched the seven or eight riders chase after the Lin family.
“If that’s how it is… then you’re staying here.”
A sharp glint flashed in Pei Guang’s eyes. No longer focusing purely on evasion, he launched a fierce attack against the bandit leader.
Meanwhile, Lin Yan continued driving the carriage at full speed.
Bandits occasionally slashed at them from the sides, but Lin Dian and Lin Zhishu blocked every attack.
Through the rear window, Lin Zhiyue spotted another seven or eight riders catching up.
What do we do? At this rate they’ll catch us sooner or later.
Forget it.
She closed her eyes and sent her consciousness into her space.
When she opened them again, she stretched her hand out the window and scattered an entire box of thumbtacks onto the road.
After that, a beer bottle appeared in her hand. She smashed it hard against the ground, scattering shards everywhere.
After breaking several beer bottles, she smashed a few bowls as well.
Just as she was about to smash more bowls, the two horses running in front suddenly collapsed with a crash.
The fallen horses instantly tripped the horses behind them. The bandits following close behind hurriedly yanked their reins in panic.
Seeing the seven or eight riders temporarily blocked behind them, Lin Zhiyue noticed there were still four or five bandits beside the carriage.
She crawled around inside the carriage, secretly transferring everything from the compartments into her space before moving toward the carriage entrance.
“Dad! There are still four or five left nearby. The ones behind got delayed, but since we’re in a carriage and they’re on horseback, they’ll eventually catch up again. We need to abandon the carriage and flee into the mountains!”
Lin Zhiyue shouted quickly to Lin Yan.
Once they entered the mountains, the bandits wouldn’t be able to ride their horses properly either. Everyone would be on foot, which was already better than their current situation.
Besides, the mountains offered far more places to hide than the open road.
“Alright. I’ll look for a chance to stop.”
Lin Yan glanced around and spotted a small mountain path ahead to the right.
“Big Brother, Zhishu, get ready! We’re stopping on the right!”
Lin Yan steered toward the side.
“Uncle! To the right—attack that horse!” Lin Zhiyue warned.
Lin Dian gripped the carriage frame tightly with one hand and slashed toward the bandit’s horse with his machete.
The bandit dodged.
There was no more time.
Seeing this, Lin Zhiyue returned into the carriage and moved beside the window, electric baton in hand.
She stretched it outside and waited for the bandit to approach again.
The bandit’s attention remained fully focused on Lin Dian. The moment he drew close once more, Lin Zhiyue jabbed the electric baton directly into the horse’s rear.
A shrill scream erupted.
The horse collapsed instantly, and another horse right behind it crashed straight into it.
The three bandits on the left were stunned at the sudden fall of their companions.
Just as they turned back in shock to see what happened, the fleeing carriage suddenly stopped.
“Quick! Run into the mountains!”
Lin Yan, Lin Dian, and Lin Zhishu jumped down from the carriage and blocked the three bandits on the left.
Taking advantage of the opening, everyone else quickly climbed out of the carriage.
Lin Zhiyue deliberately stayed behind. Before leaving, she swept all the remaining belongings inside into her space.
The moment she crawled out, she saw one of the bandits who had previously been delayed rushing over, clearly aiming for Lin Zhishu.
One-on-one combat was already difficult enough. If it became two against one, even surviving would leave someone crippled.
Gripping the electric baton, Lin Zhiyue darted forward.
Before the bandit could react, she struck precisely at his waist.
As he collapsed, the bandit’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He had underestimated her. He never imagined a mere child could possess such terrifying lethality.
We have to end this quickly.
If the bandits behind catch up, we’re dead.
As Lin Zhiyue thought this, she carefully observed the ongoing fights, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike decisively.