Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 617 Can’t Die

In the mountains.

Tang Xing sat on the ground, one of his arms hanging limply at his sides.

At dusk, they tried to break through the encirclement. Tang Xing was slashed on the arm while trying to save the men of the caravan. His arm was cut open and the flesh was torn. After he escaped, he wrapped the wound with cloth, but it was already swollen because the wound was too deep.

Chen Rong looked at Tang Xing with concern: "We'll boil some water in a bit, let it cool, and then wash it."

“We can’t take the risk,” Tang Xing said. “They can find us by the smell of smoke.”

Chen Rong slammed his fist on the ground: "It's all my fault. I should have stopped Yao Daning when he went with the villagers to check the situation."

They had been hiding well when the eldest son of the village headman came into the mountains to look for them. They felt that the villagers meant no harm, so they showed themselves to him.

As a result, problems kept arising after that.

Yao Daning and Zeng Erniu, who had gone to check on the situation, did not return. Later, Tang Xing went to find them, but encountered soldiers searching for them. Tang Xing and his men were chased all the way. Although they escaped, one of the men was injured.

They suspected that the village head's family might be involved in something, so they had to find another place to hide. After all this, everyone gradually became exhausted. The soldiers were like jackals watching them from behind; wherever they went, the soldiers could find them.

Seeing that things were not going well, Tang Xing decided to fight his way out.

As a result... they returned empty-handed.

Tang Xing said, "I made the decision. What does it have to do with you? I shouldn't have led everyone to confront them head-on." Tang Xing's plan was to leave this place and go to the mountains to the west. The mountains there are one after another. If people run into them, it's like scattering a handful of rice in the sand. They won't be able to find them all in a short time.

“If we don’t go out, staying here is just waiting to die,” Chen Rong said. “Those people will surround us little by little, and eventually we’ll have nowhere to escape.”

As soon as Chen Rong finished speaking, a man came over and said, "They're here again."

“They know we have nowhere to go, which is why they are searching the mountains so frequently.”

Tang Xing gritted his teeth and got up, wanting to check the situation, but Chen Rong stopped him: "You rest, I'll go."

Chen Rong was also injured, though not as severely as Tang Xing. Apart from Yao Daning and his companion, the rest of the caravan remained together, but everyone had some kind of injury.

Because they refused to surrender no matter what, they fought to the death every time they encountered those people, and behind their successful escapes were constant injuries.

“They’ll come back later. Hu San and I will stay here,” a man said.

The man named Hu San nodded and said, "Our legs are too badly injured to walk. You should leave quickly, and try to fight your way out."

“I’m not leaving either,” another man said. “I’ll stay and delay things for a while.”

Tang Xing frowned as he looked at the three men. Before he could speak, Hu San said, "They want to use you to harm Madam, but we won't let them have their way."

Tang Xing understood what these words meant: they would rather die than live and fall into the hands of those people.

It was clear that the three of them had already discussed it beforehand.

Hu San said, "Madam has been so good to us, we can't be ungrateful. Anyway, if it weren't for Madam, we might have frozen to death last winter. We're lucky to be alive now."

"Furthermore, even if we die, our families will still be taken care of by the village association."

That's enough, what more could you ask for?
Another man said, "That night, we knew there was a problem, but we still went out to deal with those 'mountain bandits.' Now that we've caused trouble, how can we implicate Madam?"

Tang Xing thought about what the three had said, but instead of trying to persuade them, he nodded and said, "I'll stay too."

Chen Rong's eyes widened: "Are you crazy?"

“They have a point,” Tang Xing said. “We are too badly injured and are already a burden. Even if we escape tonight, we will be caught up with tomorrow.”

"Since the outcome is the same anyway, let's just stay put."

Chen Rong clenched his fist, about to say something, when he suddenly heard a noisy commotion, with fighting and shouting sounds all mixed together.

Everyone was shocked.

Who is fighting against those who besieged them?

"Could it be that someone is coming to rescue us?" Hu San said the most unlikely result.

Chen Rong blurted out, "Impossible. The entire caravan is here. Could it be... people from the village? Yao Daning and the others left safely and brought people with them?"

They were convinced the village head's son was trying to lure them into a trap, a claim no one believed. "Could it really be bandits?"

Some people shook their heads instinctively.

"That's because they deliberately made a commotion to lure us there."

That's more plausible. Tang Xing sighed, "They really will stop at nothing."

No sooner had he finished speaking than several lights flashed in the darkness.

Tang Xing thought he was seeing things and froze on the spot. Chen Rong beside him asked in a trembling voice, "Did you see that? What was that?"

“A ceramic bottle,” Tang Xing murmured.

Several more lights flashed by, and the fire grew larger and larger in the darkness.

That was definitely a firearm, and it was a firearm made of earthenware.

After the old lady obtained the black fire oil from the demon cult, she modified it to make the earthenware bottle easier to ignite and throw. They used it when dealing with the "mountain bandits".

Chen Rong seemed to be in a dream: "Could it be that Madam sent someone?"

Tang Xingdao: "Or they might be members of the Demonic Cult."

"Why would the demonic sect save us?" Chen Rong asked. "It couldn't be the demonic sect."

That means it can only be the eldest daughter-in-law.

"Are we saved?" Hu San's voice came from behind.

Who really wants to die? As long as there is a chance to live, one should try to survive.

The crowd cheered, but the atmosphere didn't last long. The man patrolling outside came back with news: "Those people are surrounding us."

Tang Xing and Chen Rong exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of resentment in each other's eyes. Those people ignored the fighting down the mountain and still came to capture them, clearly intending to take them down and then use their lives to blackmail those attacking the mountain.

Tang Xing drew his dagger, his face resolute: "The four of us will stay. You try to leave."

Chen Rong shook his head: "If I leave you all behind, I won't have the face to see Madam. So what if I risk my life? It's no big deal. We'll all travel together on the road to the underworld, so we won't be alone."

"Bullshit!" Tang Xing shouted angrily. "Madam doesn't have many capable people to begin with. If they all die here, who will transport goods in the future?"

Chen Rong remained silent.

A moment later, another man came to report: "There are people coming from behind us too."

In other words, they are already surrounded.

Hearing that there was no chance of escape, Chen Rong seemed a little more relaxed: "Now no one can leave."

Tang Xing didn't want to pay any attention to Chen Rong. He really hadn't expected that his first time on this trade route would end up like this. He was too ashamed to face his wife and husband. The only thing he could do was risk his life.

Even though the old lady sent people down the mountain, they couldn't hold on any longer.

As Tang Xing was thinking, he suddenly heard the sound of drums.

Two soft, slow sounds, five rapid sounds.

Tang Xing's heart skipped a beat. He was afraid he had misheard, so he calmed himself down and listened carefully again, silently counting in his mind, one, two...

That's right, it's two soft, slow sounds and five rapid sounds.

"Why is there a drum sound?" Chen Rong asked.

Everyone found it strange.

"Madam has arrived," Tang Xing suddenly said. "It's Madam herself who has come."

All eyes turned to him.

Tang Xing took a deep breath: "Madam... if you let us live, you will rescue us within five days."

(End of this chapter)