A single sentence from Cheng Yao made the siblings stop in their tracks.
“All right…”
With so many fewer people, they would indeed attract attention.
Hongxiu looked worried. “But, Madam, it’s too dangerous outside. You’ll be alone…”
“It’s fine. I won’t go far. Besides…” Cheng Yao smiled confidently. “I’m rather good at escaping for my life.”
Hongxiu fell silent.
Judging solely by the fact that Madam could make the General disappear at the drop of a hat, her abilities were more than merely good—they were simply unrivaled.
Cheng Yao turned and sauntered outside. The constables were all inside the ruined temple, fighting the wild boars, and had no time to pay attention to what was happening outside.
Zhan Haoting gave Xiao Fu a meaningful glance. Xiao Fu immediately understood and turned to follow her.
At that moment, his back was straight and his steps light and vigorous, without the slightest trace of the sluggishness and frailty he usually displayed.
Zhan Qingrou stared in astonishment, her small mouth falling open.
She suddenly felt that everyone around her elder brother was extraordinary. She was the only useless one among them!
Inside the ruined temple.
“Help! Somebody save me!” A woman had been knocked to the ground by a wild boar and stretched out a hand in desperation.
Shao Yutong tried to rush over, but another wild boar blocked her path.
She hurled her torch at its eyes. While it recoiled in pain, she seized the woman and dragged her behind the Buddha statue.
“Get to higher ground! Hurry!” she shouted.
The panicked crowd scrambled onto the remaining Buddhist altar.
The wild boars chased those who failed to climb up in time. Several of them went berserk, ramming the base of the altar until broken stones and dust came raining down.
Zhang Dapeng and several others desperately fought back with wooden clubs and swords, but before the rampaging herd, their resistance was like an insect trying to stop a chariot.
Shao Yutong clung tightly to the tottering Buddha statue. Her entire body trembled, and her eyes were filled with terror and remorse.
Worst of all, the largest sow seemed to have detected the scent of her piglet on her. It charged madly toward her.
The heavy impact made the entire altar shake violently. An old man standing at the edge lost his balance and fell into the herd with a scream.
“No!” Shao Yutong reached out, but caught nothing but empty air.
At that critical moment, three black figures swept past like ghosts. Blades flashed. Two wild boars fell to the ground, pierced through by swords, while a dagger was buried in the eye of another.
They were Zhan Haoting’s shadow guards!
Shao Yutong’s heart jolted. In the end, her elder cousin had still stepped in to save his clansmen!
How powerful!
Once this was over, she absolutely had to find a way to win his favor!
With the three shadow guards joining the fight, the tide turned.
They worked together seamlessly, and every strike was lethal. Before long, they had carved out a path through the herd.
But there were simply too many wild boars, and the animals had gone berserk protecting their young. The shadow guards were soon wounded as well.
One of them, a tall and thin guard, was hurt the worst. His abdomen had been slashed open by a tusk. Through the torn black clothing, the wound gaped with raw red flesh, and his organs were faintly visible.
“Chief, we can’t go on like this!” a somewhat younger guard said to him. “There are too many wild boars!”
“Stop whining! If we don’t drive them back, we’ll all have to go before Master with our heads in our hands!” The tall guard gritted his teeth and swung his blade backhandedly, plunging it deep into the left side of a wild boar that had tried to sneak up on him.
“Argh!”
The wild boar’s shrill howl echoed through the mountain forest, chilling everyone to the soul.
Shao Yutong watched anxiously.
Not to mention whether the wild boars might call more of their kind, the thick stench of blood alone could attract even more beasts.
If more people died, then even if she survived this crisis, the enraged survivors would beat her to death afterward.
What should she do?!
Cheng Yao moved swiftly through the forest, her pace growing faster and faster.
Xiao Fu, following behind her, blinked—and suddenly lost sight of her.
He stood there in the wind, utterly bewildered. He had once been one of his master’s first-rate shadow guards. Although he had retired to become a steward, he had never slacked off in his training, and his martial abilities had not diminished in the slightest.
Yet whenever he encountered Madam, why did he feel as if he had become useless?
Normally, when Madam took Master away, he could at least pretend he hadn’t noticed. But now he had been following her and had actually lost her!
He had diligently practiced martial arts for forty years, and his lightness kung fu was no joke. Yet he still couldn’t compare with a woman who wasn’t even twenty. Where was the justice in that?
Cheng Yao emerged from her personal space to survey the surroundings. When she saw Xiao Fu standing there and questioning his entire life, she smiled, then quietly teleported back to the vicinity of the ruined temple.
The wails inside the temple had grown somewhat fainter, which meant that Zhan Haoting’s shadow guards had arrived.
But there were still too many wild boars for even them to deal with. They might even lose their lives there.
Cheng Yao’s expression turned solemn. She took two land mines from her space, lit them, and threw them simultaneously.
Boom! Boom!
Two earth-shaking explosions rang out. The ground trembled as half-meter-deep craters were blasted open. Dead grass and broken branches flew through the air, and even the atmosphere seemed to vibrate.
The earthen walls of the ruined temple collapsed from the shock. Everyone screamed and fell headlong. The wild boars stumbled as the blast wave sent them reeling, while broken roof tiles pelted down like rain. Dust instantly filled the air.
Cheng Yao frowned at the acrid smell of gunpowder. She took out a bottle of insect repellent and sprayed it repeatedly into the craters, then added some floral perfume to muddle the scent of the explosives. That would make things a little safer.
Only after she had finished did she pinch her voice and shout, “An earthquake! There’s been an earthquake! Run!”
After shouting several times, she teleported away in an instant. Using gathering medicinal herbs as an excuse was merely a cover. Scaring away the wild boars was her true objective.
The temple descended into even greater chaos. Startled by the explosions, the wild boars that had been savagely attacking the crowd went completely berserk. The lead boar still had strips of human clothing hanging from its tusks, but it changed direction, its eyes bloodshot, and charged toward the tottering temple gate.
Wood splinters and dust flew everywhere. Several wild boars trampled over the bodies of those who had fallen and bolted outside.
The remaining animals crashed about wildly in the smoke and dust, tossing people aside and sending them sprawling. When someone fell, they desperately seized the clothing of the person beside them, and the two of them rolled beneath an offering table. An incense burner toppled over, and ash mixed with mud smeared their faces.
Someone tried to get up and flee, only to be shoved back by the surging crowd. Their foot stepped on something soft, and they let out a terrified scream.
The ruined temple shed dirt and debris from above. Choking dust filled the air, mingling with desperate cries and wails.
Xiao Fu had also been startled by the deafening explosions and instinctively dropped flat on the ground.
When he heard someone shout “earthquake,” he scrambled up and ran back.
But after taking two steps, he stopped.
Something was wrong. If this was an earthquake, why hadn’t the ground beneath his feet shaken?
Could someone have used the rare Thunderclap Bombs of the martial world to ambush Master?
Xiao Fu’s heart tightened. He was about to use his lightness kung fu when another thought struck him.
Where had Madam gone?
If anything happened to Madam, how was he supposed to answer to Master?
“Uncle Xiao?” A familiar voice came from behind him. “What are you doing here?”
Xiao Fu turned around and saw Cheng Yao standing there, completely unharmed and looking as lovely as ever. Relief instantly flooded his heart, and tears sprang to his eyes.
“Madam, where did you run off to just now?”
“I spotted a wild rabbit and chased it into the grass…” Cheng Yao paused, then looked at him. “Wait, Uncle Xiao, were you looking for me?”
“Master sent this old servant to find you.” Xiao Fu wiped the corner of his eye. “Madam, where are your medicinal herbs?”
Cheng Yao coughed lightly. “I was so focused on catching the wild rabbit that I forgot to look for medicinal herbs. Anyway, it seems something has happened at the temple. We should hurry back.”
Xiao Fu’s attention was instantly diverted. “Let’s go.”
But after taking only a few steps, he spotted two wild boars charging toward them in blind panic.
Cheng Yao shouted excitedly, “Uncle Xiao, hurry! Take advantage of their confusion and bring them down!”
