Chapter 403: Courting Death? No One Can Get Hurt

Ji Qingwu said through gritted teeth, "Let’s go."

Behind them, a man’s sobs could be heard. He was a grown man, yet he sat on the ground wailing uncontrollably, his shoulders shaking with each sob.

Lan Ling looked at Ji Qingwu in surprise.

"If we don’t go now, we won’t be able to leave at all."

Although Ji Qingwu said they should go, her feet had a mind of their own. She turned around and headed back the way they came.

Si Hai was also taken aback for a moment when he saw Ji Qingwu turning back.

Lan Ling said urgently, "We need to leave right now. If we’re captured by the bandits, we’ll face inhuman torture, especially..."

Si Hai stared at the dusty turf to their left and said in a low voice, "It’s too late. No one’s getting away now."

Lan Ling immediately turned her head to where Si Hai was looking. She saw the old woman who had run toward the left hillside earlier, her face filled with terror as she screamed and backed away.

She turned and ran for her life, but an arrow struck her square in the back. The old woman collapsed onto the withered yellow grass.

A group of bandits on horseback appeared before them.

Every one of them was armed, carrying bows and arrows or wielding large machetes and Meteor Hammers.

Seeing that Yu Pozi, the woman who had tried to flee, was dead, the sobs of the farmer slumped on the ground subsided. He was shocked and helpless.

Ji Qingwu walked toward the man, with Si Hai and Lan Ling following close behind her.

From the hillside behind them, the bandits’ shouts echoed.

"Without an order from our chief, nobody moves! Anyone else who tries to run will end up just like this old hag!"

Ji Qingwu stopped and turned to glance at the bandits on the hill. The dazzling sunlight was behind them, and she couldn’t make out their faces.

But she could clearly see the way they held their swords and blades.

The look in Ji Qingwu’s eyes changed.

Si Hai said in a low voice, "I can fight to the death to buy you time to escape, Miss Ji. You absolutely must not put yourself in danger."

His gaze was resolute. "Go hide in the place I mentioned earlier."

Si Hai exchanged a look with Lan Ling and said, "Lan Ling, you stay with Miss Ji."

Ji Qingwu stared intently at the bandits’ arms, frowning. "Si Hai, don’t talk nonsense. None of us can afford to get hurt, and none of us will."

The bandits charged down the hillside, completely surrounding the convoy’s people and horses and meeting up with the bandits at the front.

Their leader was a middle-aged man with a full beard, bulging eyes, and a wide mouth, giving him a boisterously frank appearance.

One of his subordinates came to report, "Second-in-command, two of them ran, but our brothers caught up and hacked them to death."

The second-in-command, named Hu Lie, said nonchalantly, "A few people died. That’s a small matter, you can handle it yourselves."

Hu Lie then urged, "Go check if there’s any good wine in the carts. I haven’t had a drop in half a month, and it’s killing me."

"Second-in-command, I already asked. This convoy is transporting goods from Princess Qingyun’s Mansion to Longzhou. Forget just wine, they have everything you could imagine."

"It’s all good stuff inside. Plenty of gold, silver, and jade, plus a lot of beautiful clothes we can give to the Chief’s wife."

Hearing that the goods belonged to a princess, Hu Lie’s interest was piqued. "Go pick out some of the nice ones and set them aside. Take them back to my wife, she’ll definitely be pleased."

His men immediately got to work. They herded everyone from the carriages onto a flat piece of ground, while a portion of them went to inventory the goods and money in the convoy.

Desperate cries rose and fell.

Ji Qingwu and her companions didn’t struggle or resist, instead allowing themselves to be herded with the main group to the side of the road.

Her gaze swept rapidly through the crowd until she finally spotted the farmer in the far-right corner.

He was shielding a woman with his broad back, and she was letting out faint moans of pain.

Ji Qingwu pushed through the people and went over. "Let me see."

The man seemed not to hear her. He just clutched the woman’s hand, tears and snot streaming down his face as he sobbed.

"Chunhua... What do I do... What about the children..."

Ji Qingwu glanced at Si Hai, who immediately understood. He grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him aside.

"You, you... Who are you? What are you doing?"

Ji Qingwu knelt and checked the woman’s condition.

Her head was covered in sweat, her face was an unnatural red, and her body was trembling. Still, she tried to comfort her husband.

With her eyes closed, she said weakly, "It’s okay, Feng. I can get through this. Don’t cry."

The farmer’s name was Jiao Zhengfeng. When he saw Ji Qingwu’s fingers touch his wife’s wrist, his eyes went wide.

His lips moved but no words came out. He dropped to his knees and began to kowtow.

Ji Qingwu withdrew her hand and said calmly, "Her condition is stable. She can have a normal delivery."

’This woman has clearly done a lot of hard labor; she’s physically very strong. It’s just her first time giving birth, so she doesn’t know how to push properly. Plus, it’s twins, which adds to the difficulty.’

Jiao Zhengfeng looked at her with pleading eyes. "Chunhua and the children can be saved! Benefactor, please save them! I’ll be your slave, I’ll even give you my life!"

Ji Qingwu nodded. "We have to deliver them now. Any later and it will be too late. If the babies stay in the womb for too long, they could be born with mental deficiencies."

"Find some clean cloths and some water."

But everyone was penned up like livestock on a patch of flat ground. There was no way to get out, and no way to get anything.

Ji Qingwu thought for a moment, then said, "Take off your outer clothes and spread them under her."

She looked at the people around them. "A woman is giving birth! Come over here and form a circle around her with your backs turned."

Most of the people from the convoy were kind-hearted and quickly did as Ji Qingwu instructed.

The bandit on guard noticed the unusual activity in the corner and walked over, brandishing his large blade.

"What are you all crowding around for? Break it up!"

Someone explained, "A woman is having a baby."

The little bandit said suspiciously, "Having a baby? Here? Are you trying to fool your grandpa?!"

’He didn’t believe such a coincidence was possible. He figured they had to be up to something, just using this as an excuse to fool him.’

Ji Qingwu was teaching Chunhua how to regulate her breathing and rhythm, telling her to follow her commands.

’The baby’s head is already crowning, its skin turning a purplish color.’

She said in a gentle, soothing tone, "Chunhua, you need to push slowly and steadily. Don’t use all your strength at once."

The little bandit pushed his way in with his blade. The people forming the outer circle to shield the birthing mother looked at each other, hesitating on whether to move aside.

As luck would have it, the little bandit stopped right in front of Lan Ling.

"Get out of the way. Don’t block your grandpa’s path."

Lan Ling didn’t budge an inch. "There’s nothing to see in a woman giving birth. You were born from a mother too. You should show some respect."

The little bandit didn’t expect her to be so defiant. "You damn girl, are you looking to die?"

Lan Ling said coldly, "If I die, I’ll come find you."