Chapter 64

Chapter 64

The night was murky, and knowing the man in bed was already drugged and helpless, the middle-aged man who had pretended to be a stranded merchant and wept bitterly by the roadside earlier that day wore a cruel smile, not even bothering to hide his footsteps.

He stepped closer, reached out, and stabbed violently at the neck of the person on the bed.

But this seemingly perfect strike missed its target.

The next moment, a flash of steel appeared before his eyes, and before he could even react, his shoulder was run through.

A scream pierced the night.

Pei Mu got up without so much as flinching, kicked him out the door, eliciting another piercing scream.

The blade in his hand dripped with blood. Pei Mu gently patted the rolled-up blanket tucked at the inside of the bed, his voice surprisingly gentle, a stark contrast to the look on his face: "Cover your ears, Zhu Ge'er, don't be scared."

Zhong Yizhu acknowledged him, but only pretended to cover his ears under the blanket; he needed to hear what was happening outside, afraid Pei Mu might get hurt.

At the same moment, sounds of fighting came from other courtyards in the village. Pei Mu guarded the bedroom door without moving, only drawing his bow and shooting when he saw someone fleeing from the yard, successfully dropping the man by the roadside.

The pursuers quickly caught up and bound the man with ropes.

Blazing torches lit up the village night.

The injured man who had collapsed in Pei Mu's yard was also tied up and brought to the village square. Zhong Yizhu, wrapped in a cloak, clung tightly to Pei Mu as they walked over.

He held Pei Mu's hand with both of his own, but still couldn't help trembling with fear. Even though he had repeatedly confirmed that Pei Mu was not injured, the overwhelming fear after the event still gripped him. The sound of the blade tearing through flesh stayed with him. He never imagined such life-and-death danger would hit so close to home. Even though they'd been ready, he still couldn't take it in stride.

Some caravan members walked past, clapped Pei Mu on the shoulder, and praised him openly: "Brother, excellent archery! Thanks to you—in this dark, with the woods behind us, that bastard might've gotten away."

Pei Mu nodded and thanked him. The burly man wanted to ask Pei Mu where he'd learned to shoot, but someone more tactful pulled him away.

Pei Mu turned and pressed his lips to Zhong Yizhu's cold ear, pulling him even closer into his arms. After seeing blood tonight, the young man must be terrified. He pulled the cloak's hood forward to cover Zhong Yizhu's eyes and coaxed him gently: "Don't look at anything later, or you'll get nightmares."

Zhong Yizhu looked up at him and nodded meekly: "I'm okay, don't worry about me."

By the time they reached the village square, it was already crowded.

The caravan members were on one side; the villagers were huddled in another corner, weeping and wailing about how this gang had taken their children and forced them to poison the caravan's food.

Nearly all the ambushers were wounded and trussed up in a heap in the middle of the square.

Dong Sifang had hit the hardest—one man's arm was nearly severed, and he had passed out from the pain. Next was the one Pei Mu had stabbed through the shoulder blade, and another whose leg Pei Mu had shot through. All of them were whining and begging for mercy.

At a glance, it was a bloody mess. The villagers were terrified, insisting they had no choice because of their children, and that these people had only said they were going to steal the goods, not kill anyone.

A chill settled in Zhong Yizhu's chest. These villagers sounded innocent, but if they hadn't seen through the plot, this caravan of several dozen people, with dozens of families behind them, might have been destroyed.

Robbery and murder—could the villagers really not have guessed that? Or had these bandits promised them a cut?

Zhong Yizhu never liked to think the worst of people, but if they were truly coerced, wouldn't asking them for help be far more reliable than trusting the conscience of these bandits?

They only realized something was wrong after entering the village.

After settling in, Zhong Yizhu walked around the yard and noticed children's clothes hanging on the clothesline but saw no children. At first, he thought the children might have gone visiting relatives and didn't think much of it. But when the clothes blew off and he picked them up to return them to the host, the host was startled, stammered an explanation, and nearly tripped over his tongue, contradicting himself.

This made Zhong Yizhu frown—and Pei Mu too.

They went together to find Dong Sifang.

Dong Sifang, who clearly didn't build a big caravan by being slow, thought for just a moment after hearing their suspicions before sending someone to secretly warn everyone not to eat or drink anything the villagers provided.

He had his men check it out, and indeed they found something wrong in the village: compared to the number of households, there were too few children.

For a large caravan like this, they were familiar with the trade routes and would not rashly stay in an unfamiliar village. This village had been visited several times before, so they felt at home and at first paid no attention.

Although they had encountered that suspicious group earlier, it was still only a guess, not a certainty. They had heightened their vigilance for the rest of the journey, but nearly fell into a trap in a place they thought they knew well.

They say the darkest spot is right under the lamp—and this was a perfect case.

Only because Pei Mu and Zhong Yizhu weren't part of the caravan and had keen eyes did they catch on so early.

Dong Sifang's face darkened. Since these people had gone to such lengths to target them, he would let them have what they wanted.

Thus, they put up a pretense of falling into the trap.

Dong Sifang suggested sending Zhong Yizhu somewhere safe with Manager Wang and the other non-fighters, but Pei Mu refused. He trusted no one but himself.

Pei Mu looked at this group of vicious bandits, surrounded by the caravan men with knives. There were fewer than twenty of them, but their methods were so sinister that they sent chills down one's spine. Whether pretending to be destitute merchants trying to join the caravan earlier or coercing the villagers to drug them tonight, their ultimate goal was to kill and rob.

According to what Dong Sifang had said, there was a small outpost about thirty li off, but it didn't have many people and wouldn't dare provoke a large caravan like theirs. They only survived by collecting tolls from small merchants or travelers, far from being extremely vicious. These bandits seemed to have come out of nowhere, and no news of them had been heard before.

Meanwhile, Dong Sifang clearly had no patience for the villagers' excuses. After his subordinate reported that the children were found drugged and piled up in an abandoned house, he waved his hand for people to go retrieve the children, then shouldered his blade and walked toward Pei Mu.

Seeing Pei Mu hiding Zhong Yizhu firmly behind him, he paused, lowered the still-bloody blade, and hid it behind him.

"Pei Xiongdi, and brother's husband, today I, Dong Sifang, owe you both one. If there's ever anything you need from me, just say the word. I, Dong Sifang, mean what I say and will not refuse."

Pei Mu shook his head: "Boss Dong need not say that. Our safety is bound up with the caravan's—we did it for ourselves too."

Actually, Pei Mu also had some selfish motives. When they returned from Quzhou Prefecture, they would have to pass this road again. If there were truly vicious mountain bandits, it was better to eliminate them early.

Zhong Yizhu also said: "Boss Dong, you are too kind."

Dong Sifang waved his hand: "No need to be modest. I, Dong Sifang, know clearly who I owe grudges and who I owe gratitude. I repay both—it's not just empty words. Remember that."

Dong Sifang glanced at the two seriously injured men. He'd already admired the couple's smarts and sharp eyes, but now he really wanted to bring them on board. With skills like that and such a keen sense of danger, they'd make reassuring bodyguards for the caravan.

He lowered his voice and said to Pei Mu: "If I'm not mistaken, you two brothers aren't just visiting relatives, are you? Since both of you are in business, would you consider joining our caravan? I won't pay you a fixed wage—you can invest capital and share in the dividends. Would you like to think about it, Pei Xiongdi?"

Pei Mu was taken aback. Dong Sifang continued: "I won't beat around the bush with you. The caravan makes two trips a year. It's hard work, but I guarantee you can earn at least a hundred taels of silver. If you invest more, you'll get even more."

Pei Mu was not ungrateful. Dong Sifang's offer was truly generous. Even though he had no intention of accepting from the start, he didn't make excuses. He replied sincerely: "Thank you for your kindness, Boss Dong. But for now, I have no such plans. My family situation is complicated, and I don't feel comfortable leaving my husband alone at home."

Dong Sifang nodded: "Since that's the case, I won't force it. If your plans change, feel free to come to me anytime, and I'll welcome you."

Just then, someone from the caravan came to find Dong Sifang. He nodded to the two and left with the man. Pei Mu looked around and said to Zhong Yizhu: "I'll go get the cart. We'll probably have to stay here tonight. You try to get some sleep."

After such an incident, the caravan would definitely have to post guards to watch these people, and no one would dare stay in the villagers' homes anymore. Some caravan members were already driving the cargo carts over.

Zhong Yizhu agreed and went with Pei Mu to bring their cart over.

Pei Mu laid out the cotton quilt inside the cart. Seeing that there were enough people on guard outside, he got into the cart, held Zhong Yizhu, and lay down with him.

Pei Mu was too tall; curling up was uncomfortable and took up space, so he ended up leaning against the side of the cart, gently patting Zhong Yizhu's back.

He knew that after this ordeal, Zhong Yizhu wouldn't be able to sleep alone. He had thought traveling with a large caravan would be safe, but they had stumbled into such a terrifying night. Pei Mu sighed softly to himself, pitying the young man as he stroked his hair.

Zhong Yizhu, on the other hand, was thinking about Dong Sifang's recruitment offer to Pei Mu. Dong Sifang's caravan was well-established. Over the past few days, he had learned that they were transporting silk and fabrics. By the time they reached the northern prefectures, it would be spring and summer, and the profit from these goods would be more than double. And on the way back, they would bring furs from the north, which would mean another huge profit.

Others couldn't even get in touch. If Pei Mu were willing, the returns from investing his money could be far more lucrative than the spice trade.

But it would be too arduous and too dangerous.

Zhong Yizhu moved forward and hugged Pei Mu's waist, asking the question he had wanted to ask: "If not for me, would you go?"

Pei Mu was still so young, at an age to take on challenges, and he had the talent to be chosen by the boss of a large caravan—this was a rare opportunity.

Zhong Yizhu's thoughts were torn; he couldn't bear to part with Pei Mu, yet he feared letting Pei Mu's talents go to waste.

But Pei Mu said, "There's no such 'if' about it. Now that I have you, I wouldn't trade it for all the gold in the world."

Pei Mu reached out and covered Zhong Yizhu's ears, blocking out the noisy sounds and cries of pain outside. "Sleep now, baby—no more bad people."

Pei Mu's hands were large; covering his ears like this seemed to cut off all sounds between heaven and earth. In every breath and every sensation, only Pei Mu remained; all other sounds faded away.

Zhong Yizhu obediently closed his eyes.

He still found it hard to fall asleep, but he felt miraculously at peace inside.

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Author's note: I'm scared by recent news, so I'm working hard to adjust my routine! By the time my schedule becomes more like a regular person's, the update time should also be a bit more normal...