Chapter 94: Something’s Wrong
“They say the meat doesn’t taste good. We have wild boar meat anyway, so there’s no rush to eat that. Once we get down the mountain and reach a town, we can sell the tiger meat and pelt. The whole thing can be sold for silver, and then we can split it among our families.”
“Sounds good. Carrying it along would be a hassle anyway. Better to exchange it for silver. If we weren’t in a hurry, we could buy the pelt ourselves. As for the tiger bones, we already have some, so we can pass on that. Besides, buying it openly in front of everyone might make it hard to store in the system.”
“If you want it, just buy it. I heard tiger pelts are very warm. I’ll go ask how much they want for it. We can skip the bones.”
Saying that Yu Haojie went off to discuss with Yu Zhengqing and Zhang Yuan.
“Mother, aren’t you worried that we’ll be targeted for showing off our wealth?”
“If they want to target us, let them. If there are any among them who are greedy for our silver, it’s better to see their true colors now. That way, we can part ways with them sooner rather than later. There’s no need to get dragged down by such people.
Our family could make it to the wilderness safely even without them. The only reason we haven’t split off yet is that we need Yu Zhengqing to handle the legal procedures when we get there. But if anyone tries to harm us, we won’t hold back.”
“Testing hearts with gold may be risky, but it’s also a good way to find out who we can trust. Besides, if there’s any danger, the system will warn me.”
“Dear, I asked about the tiger pelt. Zhang Yuan wanted 300 taels, but Yu Zhengqing haggled it down to 200 taels. Should we buy it?”
“Of course. If we treat it properly, laying it under our blankets at night will keep us much warmer.”
Hearing that, Yu Haojie handed over 200 silver taels and bought the tiger pelt. The silver was divided among the four families right away. On Yu Zhengqing’s orders, Lady Lan even sent 20 taels to Ye Jiamei’s family.
Apparently, the 50 taels that fell to Yu Zhengqing’s family were split between the two brothers, with the remaining 10 taels given to the second and third branches of the family.
The two branches didn’t mind. After all, they hadn’t contributed to killing the tiger but still got 5 taels for free—no reason to complain.
Once the tiger was dealt with and everything packed on the horses, Yu Zhengqing used his lightness skills to leap up a tree and survey the Mountains ahead.
Every morning before they set out, he would do this to determine the direction.
“If nothing goes wrong, we should be out of the Mountains in about four days.”
As usual, Yu Zhengqing’s words before departure boosted everyone’s spirits.
But just when you think nothing could go wrong, that’s when trouble strikes. As the group moved smoothly through the mountains, they suddenly stumbled into a valley.
Unlike other places filled with trees, this valley was full of people. In the dead of winter, they were wearing thin clothes, banging on rocks with a rhythmic clatter!
Their entrance was so sudden that when Yu Zhengqing realized something was off, those people also spotted them!
The guards standing around exchanged a quick glance with Yu Zhengqing and his group. In the next instant, one of the guards used lightness skills to dash off in another direction. Meanwhile, the others blew a whistle, immediately alarming hidden sentries around them!
“Retreat!”
The moment he saw the archers aiming at them, Yu Zhengqing shouted. But before the people behind him could grasp what was happening, they turned and fled!
The path they came from was slightly downhill, overgrown with weeds and small trees. Yu Zhengqing had led the way, cutting a path with a large knife as they went.
Such a sudden retreat threw the hundred-plus people into chaos. Adding to that, there were ten horses laden with heavy cargo, as well as children and the elderly!
Seeing this, Ye Jiamei and Yu Luo had already drawn the crossbows from their waists and turned to flee with the crowd!
But as luck would have it, Liu Lan, who had been behind them, stumbled in her panic and fell right toward Yu Luo and Ye Jiamei!
In that brief moment, while Ye Jiamei was helping Liu Lan up, she glanced ahead and realized that their escape route was already surrounded!
Zhang Yuan, who had been guarding the rear, gripped his large knife tightly and began to step back cautiously.
Looking up, Yu Luo saw over twenty archers standing on higher ground, arrows nocked and aimed directly at them.
And behind those archers, several experts skilled in lightness skills landed one by one, smirking maliciously at them!
[Ding! Friendly reminder: this is a private gold mine operated by bandits. There are over a hundred thousand taels of gold already mined. If the Host can seize the gold and lead these people away safely, the Host will earn 2,000 system points. If the mission fails, no points will be deducted.]
“System, since when did you become so generous? I suspect you knew about this danger all along and didn’t warn me because you wanted me to seize that gold!”
[Yes, Host. The more wealth you accumulate, the better it will be for your family’s future. With enough money, you can build your own forces. Even in the wilderness, many heroes would work for you.]
“You’re being honest for once. But in this situation, we’re definitely getting captured. Judging by their formation and skills, these bandits are much stronger than the ones we encountered before. Since this is a private mine, there must be many more of them. If you don’t give me something useful, I won’t be able to complete this mission!”
Not wanting to draw suspicion, Yu Luo kept communicating with the system while quietly stashing her crossbow into the system space.
A mother and daughter truly share a bond. Knowing they were outmatched, Ye Jiamei wasn’t foolish enough to hold onto the crossbow. Rather than risking a head-on clash with the bandits, it was better to hide the crossbow for a surprise attack when the time came.
Judging by the situation, they were bound to be captured.
“Heh, there are even women and children! It’s been a long time since we’ve seen an exile group this big. And look at these women—fresh and juicy!”
Surrounded by archers aiming at them, despite having a dozen men skilled in martial arts, no one dared to make a move against the bandits’ taunts.
