Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 122 Withdraw!
As they drew nearer, Jia Chuan noticed the bloodstains on Gao Yunduo's fingers, and his initial doubts were answered at that moment.

It was within Jia Chuan's expectations that Dong Yuanyuan would wake up, but why did Gao Yunduo also wake up so quickly?

It was obvious that Gao Yunduo had anticipated this possibility, so she prepared fine needles and hid them on her body, instructing Dong Yuanyuan to prick her ten fingers to bleed if she woke up early.

Jia Chuan felt a pang of heartache and crawled to Gao Yunduo's side. Before he could speak, he heard Gao Yunduo say softly, "This time, I was wrong."

Jia Chuan quickly waved his hand, hesitated for a moment before saying, "Believe me, everything is for the best. Are you badly injured?"

After saying that, Jia Chuan disregarded the difference between men and women and helped Gao Yunduo sit up. The moment Gao Yunduo sat up, a mouthful of blood spurted from her mouth, startling Jia Chuan. He felt a rush of blood to his feet, and his hands supporting Gao Yunduo trembled uncontrollably.

Gao Yunduo breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It feels much better to vomit it out. Don't worry, his palm strike did injure my lungs, but fortunately it wasn't serious. Now that I've vomited up this mouthful of blood, I'm fine. Go and check on Yuanyuan. I'll take a moment to calm myself down."

Jia Chuan could only nod. Seeing Gao Yunduo sitting cross-legged, he then crawled to Dong Yuanyuan's side.

Dong Yuanyuan was lying face down before, but now she is lying on her back, with tears still streaming down her face.

Jia Chuan was startled and hurriedly asked, "Yuanyuan, tell your older brother where it hurts?"

Dong Yuanyuan pursed her lips and said, "If Brother Shunzi were here, he would definitely come to see me first."

Jia Chuan let out a long sigh and said, "You should be glad he's not here, otherwise I don't know if you'd still be alive."

Dong Yuanyuan blinked, squeezing out the excess tears from her eyes, and said, "Big brother is right. If Brother Shunzi were here, I couldn't protect him. If he saw me fall, he would definitely rush over just like Big brother saved his sister..."

"At this point, don't think too much. Tell your older brother if you are injured anywhere."

“I thought I was seriously injured, but it seems like it’s nothing serious. I just need to rest for a while. I thought I couldn’t move, but I managed to roll over with a little effort. And it wasn’t a big deal. I can get up slowly by myself. Go and check on Brother Chen.”

Jia Chuan then crawled toward Chen Mo, who was lying on top of the old man.

The fatal blow that struck him squarely in the chest was delivered by Chen Mo using all his might as he leaped up and stabbed him. He threw the knife to Gao Yunduo, but it would be awkward for Chen Mo to be without a knife, so he crawled to the side of an unconscious Imperial Guard and picked up the knife.

When Jia Chuan saw Gao Yunduo spit out a mouthful of blood, he was terrified. But just at the critical moment, before he could see Chen Mo's long sword stab the old man, he first spat out a mouthful of blood before the sword pierced the old man's chest, and then Chen Mo fainted on top of the old man's head.

At that moment, Jia Chuan was completely focused on giving the old man a sharp blow to his carotid artery, causing him to lose consciousness due to oxygen deprivation, so that he could use his knife with force. As for what was happening around him at the same time, he had no idea.

So when he looked up and saw Chen Mo faint, he assumed it was just like the other Jinyiwei who had fainted, caused by poor blood circulation, and that he would be fine in a while, so he didn't rush to check on Chen Mo first.

But Jia Chuan was slapping Chen Mo's face hard, and Chen Mo didn't react at all. Jia Chuan was anxious. He first checked Chen Mo's breathing, then his pulse, and then turned to look at the still awake Jinyiwei and asked, "Which of you can still walk?"

The two Imperial Guards barely managed to stand up.

Jia Chuan quickly showed them to check if everyone else was still alive.

After confirming that everyone was alive, but seriously injured, Jia Chuan turned to Dong Yuanyuan and asked, "When do you think we can move again?"

Fortunately, Dong Yuanyuan was not injured by any shards of the copper kettle. She only fell hard, and although she was covered in bruises, at least her internal organs and meridians were not damaged. After a while, she was able to stand up with difficulty.

"Come with me to the back to find the carriage, then drive them all away and have them give you directions," Jia Chuan said, pointing to the Imperial Guards standing there.

“I’ll go with you,” Gao Yunduo said, picking up the long knife from the ground.

"You still have injuries..."

"It's alright! Let's go quickly, I'm afraid my brother and the others won't be able to hold on."

Jia Chuan sighed inwardly at the woman's disobedience, but dared not delay. He instructed the able-bodied guards to move the unconscious people on the ground to the gatehouse, as the ground was too cold. Then the three of them ran towards the back courtyard.

……

The carriage was easy to find. Dong Yuanyuan was much smarter than Jia Chuan thought. She had seen other people drive carriages before, so she drove the carriage away in a very professional manner.

Jia Chuan and Gao Yunduo were initially heading towards the courtyard from which the fighting was coming, but Jia Chuan suddenly stopped. He smelled alcohol, and a possibility occurred to him. He turned to Gao Yunduo and said, "Let's set these houses on fire first. Before we do, let's check if there are any children inside. Children shouldn't be left in such a prominent courtyard, and there should be someone watching them. If they discover the fire, they might be brought out..."

Jia Chuan was speaking as if he were talking to Gao Yunduo, but also as if he were explaining something to himself.

Without asking why, Gao Yunduo followed Jia Chuan to find several jars of wine and a tinderbox. They looked around each room first, and then poured the wine from the jars onto the doorframes and wooden windows...

As darkness fell completely, the manor caught fire, and the north wind howled, carrying sparks everywhere. After that, Jia Chuan and Gao Yunduo didn't need to do anything.

Lian Sheng panicked. He didn't understand why no one from the Prince's Mansion had come yet. All the capable fighters on the estate had been transferred to the Prince's Mansion. The newcomer was also very skilled. One of the three old men was guarding the gate, another was guarding the man, and the third was currently surrounded by many people. The outcome was uncertain. At this moment, the estate caught fire. If the fire reached that room, the people inside would definitely be brought out. Even with the old men watching, could they be guaranteed to be saved?

Lian Sheng knew that he didn't even have the ability to organize firefighting right now. The incident happened suddenly today, and the estate was large, so it was impossible to mobilize the people stationed in various places in time. Even if he knew something was wrong here, people from other places could not come without orders. Moreover, even if he could order someone to give the order, those who could come in time would not be of much use, and these people would probably drag their feet. Lian Sheng knew how many of them were truly loyal.

Seeing the fires raging all around, Lian Sheng had no choice but to send a few of his men to relay orders to put out the fires. This meant that everyone had an opponent, and no one had any free time to do anything else.

It was quite a coincidence that Lian Sheng had called all the minor leaders of the manor to a meeting. Although he had gone to ask the two senior masters for help, these minor leaders hadn't left yet when Jia Chuan and his men arrived.

The consequence of being unprepared was that these minor leaders were all involved in frontline combat. As a result, it was uncertain whether the messengers Lian Sheng sent out could quickly bring back reinforcements, especially since the estate was so large, and the round trip would be difficult...

The village was large, but it was all wooden houses, and the north wind was still blowing. After pointing out a few spots, Jia Chuan and Gao Yunduo ran towards the fighting.

Jia Chuan, panting, asked Gao Yunduo with concern, "Are you alright? Why don't you take a break?"

Gao Yunduo's breathing was more stable than Jia Chuan's. She asked, "Why are they attacking in this direction?"

"It was random, oh, I mean I was chasing and fighting all the way. I originally wanted to find you guys, but then... I guess I couldn't back down." Soon, the two of them ran to the courtyard where the fight had taken place.

The scene before them was just as Jia Chuan had predicted: everyone had been assigned opponents, and Gao Yuntian, Wu Bing, and two of Wu Bing's men were fighting a black-haired old man.

Before Jia Chuanren had even stood still, he shouted, "The garrison troops will be here soon!"

Not to mention the winning streak in battle, even Wu's soldiers believed it.

Although the black-haired old man was entangled with Gao Yuntian's iron ruler and three long swords, he was not at a disadvantage at all. If he hadn't been afraid of hurting his own people, he might have performed even better. But when someone suddenly ran over and shouted that sentence, the old man's mind was a little confused. He didn't expect that this person would have a second sentence.

"The old man at the gate is dead. When the garrison troops arrive, they can surround the village. Once that man is found, we can leave."

For Lian Sheng and the black-haired old man, this sentence was even more devastating than the previous one.

Gao Yuntian seized the moment when the black-haired old man was distracted, and the iron ruler had a chance to touch the old man's wrist. At this moment, Gao Yunduo also rushed over, wielding her long sword.

Jia Chuan didn't have a knife in his hand at the moment. Fortunately, the enemies were all being looked after, and no one was able to escape and deal with him. He just looked at Gao Yunduo's condition and found that she was much more energetic than before. Since he was useless here, he ran towards the next courtyard that was connected to it.

Lian Sheng saw this and thought Jia Chuan had gone to set fire again. However, someone was holding him back and he was not able to defeat the person in one fell swoop. He could only shout, "Who can step back and deal with the arsonist? He ran to Yuyuan."

When Jia Chuan answered Gao Yunduo's question, he replied with "random," which reminded him of something. Wu Bing and his men were chasing after the people blocking their way without any real target. They were just hoping that Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan would suddenly appear. However, the people from the village who were blocking their way knew exactly where they were when they retreated.

The subconscious mind is a terrifying thing, especially in times of crisis when you don't know what to do. The subconscious mind can play a decisive role.

They will retreat to the important places.

What is important?
It wasn't a place to hide gold and silver, but a place to imprison that person.

With this deduction in mind, Jia Chuan ran to the next courtyard, but the courtyard was empty, with only sparks drifting in the wind, and soon the courtyard would also catch fire.

Jia Chuan saw a wooden door at the end of the corridor. He slowly walked towards the door. When he reached the courtyard, he clearly heard the sound of the lock being opened. Then the wooden door opened, and an old man with white hair came out with a hunched old man. The two stopped when they saw Jia Chuan.

At this moment, flames were raging in the courtyards ahead. By the light of the fire, Jia Chuan could make out the hunched figure's attire. Coincidentally, he had seen him before.

"You are a jade craftsman."

Jia Chuan spoke with certainty, and the old man looked up at him, his eyes full of expectation.

Jia Chuan politely clasped his hands in a fist salute to the white-haired old man and said something against his will: "Great hero, please allow me a moment. I know of your agreement with the King of Han to protect the manor and this person. The other two heroes are handling the protection of the manor. As for this person... I never intended to take him away. I know I can't take him away either."

The hunched old man's face immediately filled with despair.

Jia Chuan looked at the hunched old man and said, "I know you did not do it willingly. If you did, you wouldn't need such a capable person to take care of you. Do you know what a crime that is! Don't worry, now that I know, the Emperor knows too. People in the martial world are often powerless to control their own destiny. The Emperor will surely be understanding. Besides, you have already done your best."

The old man covered his face and wept bitterly.

Jia Chuan clasped his hands in a fist salute and said to the white-haired old man, "If the King of Han asks, just tell him the truth, and add that Jia Chuan knows everything."

After saying that, Jia Chuan turned around and ran back, where he encountered Gao Yuntian, who had just knocked down the person who had been following them.

Jia Chuan asked Gao Yuntian, "Do you still have the strength? Shout loudly that the garrison soldiers have arrived, let's retreat!"

"Really withdraw?"

"Retreat!"

……

Seeing that the group of people had left without warning, Lian Sheng truly believed that the garrison soldiers had arrived.

He didn't order anyone to chase after them, only thinking about how to deal with the garrison soldiers. He considered leaving the men behind to confront the soldiers and wait for the prince to arrive, but that wasn't something he could do just because he wanted to. Rather than causing more casualties, he decided to let these men go and focus all his energy on dealing with the soldiers.

Therefore, Jia Chuan and his men retreated very efficiently.

But the black-haired old man was thinking about his old friend at the gate, so he followed him out. When he saw that his old friend was really dead in the courtyard, he rushed over in disbelief, pulled out the knife from his chest. He wanted to avenge his old friend. He had a knife in his hand, and he could do it! But what if there were soldiers at the gate?
After only a moment's hesitation, Jia Chuan and his men had already withdrawn from the manor. By the time he made up his mind to fight for his old brother, Jia Chuan and his men had already mounted their horses and left.

The black-haired old man chased after them, carrying a knife. By the light of the raging fire on the manor, he could see that there were no soldiers at the gate, which made him even angrier. He leaped towards the sound of hooves, and after two leaps into a dense forest, he sensed something was wrong. Just as he was about to retreat, a series of arrows came flying through the air.

The place was bathed in faint moonlight, and the old man could only rely on the movement to swing his long sword to block the arrows. However, in the battle just now, his wrist had been in close contact with Gao Yuntian's iron ruler, and his shoulder had been injured by Gao Yunduo's sudden long sword. If he were not skilled in martial arts, he would have died here.

The old man struggled to leave the dense forest, but was still struck by an arrow in the back. He knew that even if he caught up, he would find it difficult to avenge himself. He gritted his teeth, turned around, and returned to the manor.

However, from then on, Jia Chuan's name was deeply etched in the hearts of the two surviving old men, which unnecessarily caused trouble for Jia Chuan's future.

……

At this moment, Jia Chuan was unaware of his own predicament; his immediate priority was to leave this place as quickly as possible.

This refers not to Zhuangzi, but to Le'an.

Although Zhuangzi did not find any imprisoned children or girls on this trip, he at least saw the jade craftsman, which was enough. If he could force Zhu Gaochi to raise an army, the children could be rescued after Zhu Gaochi was dealt with. However, the road ahead would not be easy for them.

(End of this chapter)