Chapter 51: Night Ambush

Whether they would encounter danger tonight or not, Hong Xiaoduo could not say for sure, but one thing was crystal clear in her mind: regardless of where the old man came from or how long they had been traveling on the road, they certainly had not encountered any danger yet.

Otherwise, the old man would never have invited her and the children to travel along with them.

Though they had only just met, she had a strong conviction that the old man possessed a good character.

Based on her observations and judgments, his accompanying guards were extremely vigilant, cautious, and on high alert. How should she put it? It was as if the guards sensed that the old man was in constant danger, while the old man himself remained completely oblivious to it.

With such an impressive travel formation, even if there were bandits along the way, none would dare to court death by coming out.

However, if someone truly came out to cause trouble, their objective certainly would not be mere wealth.

As she was pondering this, the guard at the very front suddenly blew a whistle as a warning. The next moment, a wave of figures dressed in black surged out from the nearby woods, several of them holding lit torches.

"Mother?" Tianshu had been awake the whole time. Hearing the commotion, he asked in a low voice.

"Don't come out. Stay inside and look after your younger siblings," Hong Xiaoduo instructed in a hushed tone as well.

Tianshu acknowledged the command, groped his way in the dark to find his shoes, and put them on. He stood nervously, ready for action. He wanted to step outside; though he could not help with much else, he knew how to drive the cart.

Yet, he did not dare to disobey her instructions.

Tianquan, Tianji, and the other older children were also startled awake, and Tianshu whispered instructions for them to remain silent.

Outside, Hong Xiaoduo held the whip in one hand while using the other to untie the pouch of pebbles at her waist. She then instinctively brushed her hand against the hilt of her sword.

Looking ahead, a portion of the guards had already positioned themselves facing outward, guarding the perimeter of the carriage, while the rest prepared for battle.

"Regardless of who sent you all, I advise you to withdraw immediately and refrain from confusing right and wrong or aiding a tyrant!" the leader of the guards shouted, pointing his blade at the adversaries.

Hearing this clearly from the back, Hong Xiaoduo thought to herself: *See, my guess was right.* They didn't even bother to state their origins to intimidate the enemy because they were well aware of the attackers' true intentions.

"Don't talk to your grandfather here about right and wrong! We take people's money to eliminate disasters for them. In turn, we advise you all to step aside: we only want the head of the man inside that carriage. As long as you know what's good for you and get out of our way, I guarantee my brothers won't make things difficult for you!" one of the men on the opposite side shouted arrogantly.

Hong Xiaoduo made a rough mental count. There seemed to be over thirty adversaries, though she could not tell if there were more hiding in the woods or out of sight.

To say she wasn't feeling nervous at this moment would be a complete lie.

Regardless of what kind of chaotic era this was, shouldn't she be given a reasonable amount of time to slowly adapt?

Last time there were three bandits, and five, seven, or eight would have been fine too, but jumping straight to several dozen? The escalation in quantity was a bit absurd! Did they think she was adapting to these scenarios just a little too well?

What would be next—a battle involving a hundred people?

Hong Xiaoduo muttered inwardly, feeling cold sweat bead on her forehead and across her body.

While shouting insults back and forth, the two groups did not slow their pace at all. Within moments, the outermost perimeter engaged in combat.

Swords clashed, ringing out with a rapid clatter, and sparks occasionally flew in the dim light.

At that moment, the three guards who had previously stayed behind the donkey cart approached the front. Seeing the situation ahead, they grew extremely anxious, casting resentful glances toward Hong Xiaoduo several times.

"Don't look at me like you want to slash me with those eyes. I am not your enemy, nor did I force you to protect us. Hurry up and go protect your master," Hong Xiaoduo said.

Her tone was a bit harsh, but not because she was acting out of malice; the fighting ahead had simply grown too intense.

It was evident that this gang of men in black possessed remarkably high martial arts skills.

She did not wish any harm upon the old man either, and protecting him was the guards' duty.

"But... our master's orders..." one guard hesitated.

"Those people are here for your master's life. If you waste any more time dawdling, your master's life won't be saved," Hong Xiaoduo urged, growing somewhat impatient.

"A-Dian, you stay behind to protect them," the hesitant guard told one of his companions.

The one called A-Dian looked deeply resentful. "Why do I have to stay?"

"Alright, alright, none of you need to stay! If your men don't stay here, perhaps we wouldn't be in danger at all," Hong Xiaoduo said, losing her patience as she watched them dawdle.

That remark sounded rather unpleasant.

The expressions on the three guards turned even uglier. *How ungrateful! Our master kindly let us protect you, and not only do you show no appreciation, but you even utter such hurtful words?*

With that, the three of them glared fiercely at Hong Xiaoduo, spurred their horses, and rushed to the front.

An idea suddenly struck Hong Xiaoduo. She immediately blew out the lantern hanging in front of the carriage, grabbed a handful of pebbles, and stared vigilantly into the surrounding darkness.

The old man had over twenty guards, so it was not her place to play the chivalrous hero, nor could she abandon the seven children.

By not using the old man's guards, she felt she had already done what was required of her.

To avoid attracting the attention of the men in black, she took the donkey's lead and slowly backed the cart away by a short distance.

She had indeed considered turning the cart around to flee this dangerous place, but she could not be certain whether doing so would be the right decision. Was the path they came from safe?

Judging by the determined and inescapable posture of the men in black, surely they would have left someone behind to cut off the old man's retreat.

The dangers lurking in the woods were even more unpredictable. Therefore, for now, she had no choice but to stay put with the children at this exact spot.

"Mother?" Yaoguang, who had just been woken up by the sounds of fighting, whimpered in a timid voice, suppressing a sob.

"I'm right here. Don't be afraid, just be good and listen to your older brothers and sister," Hong Xiaoduo replied softly.

Yaoguang's voice suddenly steadied Hong Xiaoduo's nervous and fluttering heart. *What is there to panic about? What is there to fear? I need to be confident! The children still need my protection!*

Thanks to the reinforcement of the three guards who had just joined the fray, the men in black ahead were clearly beginning to struggle.

Vaguely seeing some guards injured and falling from their horses, Hong Xiaoduo considered throwing pebbles to assist, but she feared drawing the attention of the attackers and leading them toward her position. Having failed to shield these seven children from terror, she already felt deep guilt and self-blame; if any of them were to get injured now, she would never forgive herself.

As the men in black were continuously cut down and forced further and further away from the carriage, their leader realized the situation was turning against them and blew a sharp whistle.

*They can't win, so now they're calling for reinforcements?* Hong Xiaoduo guessed as she listened to the shrill whistle.

Suddenly, she sensed movement from behind. Before she could even circle around to the back to check, she heard one of the adversaries say, "Hey, Lao Ba, look, there are several kids in this donkey cart. Why don't we grab one or two of them? Doesn't that old stubborn fool surnamed Wei always fancy himself as someone whose actions are completely clear to the heavens, his own conscience, and the common people?

"Let's see today whether he can still hold onto that righteousness."

Hong Xiaoduo heard every word distinctly. They intended to capture the children to use as leverage against the old man...