Sold immediately after wearing it? I took my family and fled the famine.

A scream rang out from the south side of the open space, so sharp it seemed to tear a hole in the night.

Jiang Xing looked in the direction of the sound.

Three bandits were surrounding a woman wearing a veiled hat, and one of them had already grabbed her sleeve and was pulling her out.

The veil was ripped off during the struggle, revealing a pale face and disheveled hair; it was Chen Zhilan.

Why is she here all alone? Where is Chen Xiucai? Just as Jiang Xing turned over to jump down, a figure staggered out from behind the broken cart.

Jiang Qingshan held a thick wooden stick he had picked up from somewhere high in his hand, let out a hoarse shout, closed his eyes, and smashed it down on the head of the nearest bandit.

Seeing that Chen Zhilan had been rescued, Jiang Xing turned around to look for Ma Dadan.

The wooden stick struck the bandit on the back of the head. The man swayed twice but did not fall. He slowly turned around.

Jiang Qingshan saw the other person clearly; he was a whole head taller than him, and the bulging muscles on his arms were stretching his tattered shirt so much it looked like it was about to burst. Blood from the back of his head was trickling down his neck.

He was a frail scholar who had never even killed a chicken in his life. This blow had exhausted all his strength; his hand was trembling, and his tiger's mouth was numb from the impact.

The bandit raised his hand to touch the back of his head, looked down and saw his palm covered in blood. His face twitched, and he lunged at Jiang Qingshan.

With one punch, Jiang Qingshan was knocked to the ground, blood gushing from his nose, and the wooden stick rolled a long way away.

The bandits straddled him, raining down punches on him, each one landing with a thud.

Jiang Qingshan could only protect his head with his hands, his muffled groans drowned out by the thud of his fists, his legs kicking unconsciously in the mud.

"Qingshan!" Jiang Dazhu's voice boomed from behind the broken cart. He had already taken Zhou Shi to hide in a corner. He had always been like this: hide first when encountering problems, shrink back first when in trouble, and find a place to squat down first when the sky falls.

But when he saw his son being beaten on the ground, his face covered in blood, he grabbed a carrying pole and rushed over, howling as if his legs were in mud, stumbling and falling as he ran.

Zhou followed behind, tripping over her own skirt as she ran. Her knee hit a stone, and she limped to her feet, screaming, "You dare hit my son! I'll fight you to the death! I'll fight you!"

Jiang Dazhu's carrying pole struck another bandit's shoulder, and the man, in pain, loosened his grip on Chen Zhilan's sleeve.

The carrying pole didn't do much damage. Since he couldn't knock the other down with one blow, he had no way to retreat. The bandit dodged Zhou's wildly swinging fist, grabbed Jiang Dazhu by the back of his collar, and his scarred face twitched as he punched Jiang in the stomach.

Jiang Dazhu bent over like a shrimp and fell backward, hitting the back of his head on the ground. He groaned and then didn't move again.

Another bandit grabbed Zhou's hair, grinned maliciously, and slapped her several times with his backhand. Blood and foam spurted from Zhou's forehead and nose, and she quickly lost consciousness.

The bandit wouldn't let go, straddling her and slapping her twice more. Zhou's face was so swollen that she couldn't open her eyes, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She completely lost consciousness.

Jiang Qingshan barely managed to steady himself and used a wooden stick to get up from the ground.

He saw his father lying motionless on the ground, and his mother being slapped unconscious by someone riding on her.

He gripped the stick tightly and swung it down hard at the bandit riding on Zhou's back, striking the man on the side of his head. The man groaned and fell to the side.

Just as the other bandit turned around, Jiang Qingshan's stick arrived, striking him on the temple. The man's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.

Both bandits were dizzy. Jiang Qingshan threw away the wooden stick, panting heavily, his legs trembling, and his fingers shaking.

Chen Zhilan was so frightened that her legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground. Half of her hair was disheveled, with a few strands sticking to her cheeks. Her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Jiang Qingshan rushed over and was about to reach out to help her when he heard Jiang Qingyue's screams coming from not far away.