Chapter 90: You Are Not In Exile You Are Clearly Traveling!
Chapter 90: The Crisis of Chen Yuan
"It seems they're really not from the Chen family!"
The bandits gathered around Brother Hei, echoing his words, "Yeah, didn't they say Chen Yuan's daughter was as beautiful as a fairy?"
"Look at these people, they don't resemble them at all!"
"Yeah, we heard about Chen's daughter, but never heard about a son!"
Brother Hei's face darkened as he turned to approach the fallen Xu Tian. As for the mother of Zhang Yiquan, he didn't bother interrogating her any further since it seemed pointless.
"Where's the Chen family?" Brother Hei asked coldly, staring at Xu Tian as if he were a dead man.
Xu Tian, in fact, was just as confused. He had no idea where the Chen family had gone. The exile convoy was long, and he couldn't stay in one place all the time. When the incident occurred, he had received a message and went to the front of the convoy, so he had no knowledge of what happened behind.
He had no idea where the Chen family had gone or how the Zhang family ended up in Chen Yuan's carriage.
Seeing Xu Tian's bewildered expression, Brother Hei inferred that he had the answer.
"Search them!" he ordered his men, who then went into the crowd of exiles. Brother Hei approached Xu Tian, who still looked confused, and asked again about the Chen family.
The bandits were disappointed when they returned empty-handed, unable to find any trace of the Chen family among the exiles.
"Could they have escaped before we arrived?" one bandit wondered.
"Maybe!" another agreed.
Brother Hei frowned, suspecting that the Chen family might have fled during the chaos. But then again, they might still be hiding among the crowd. He decided to wait for the reports from the others.
Sure enough, the bandits soon returned, having found no sign of the Chen family among the exiles.
"Seems like they ran off before we got here?" a bandit speculated.
"But we've got this sack of loot, worth several thousand taels. Not a wasted trip," another bandit pointed out.
Despite the haul, Brother Hei's mood soured. He had never failed before, and the idea of letting hundreds of potential hostages slip away frustrated him.
"Kill them all, and let's go!" he ordered, deciding to massacre the exiles.
This declaration sent a wave of panic through the exiles. They knew the brutality of these bandits, but they hadn't expected to be targeted themselves.
"Anyone who tries to run will be killed first!" the bandits warned.
"Stop!"
At that moment, another voice interrupted them, angering the bandits. They turned to see who dared to speak up repeatedly, intending to teach them a lesson.
But when they saw who it was, they were stunned.
Even the prisoners were surprised. They knew these bandits were ruthless, and it was unexpected for someone to stand up to them.
They watched as the figure stepped forward, feeling a sense of familiarity. The bandits, too, felt a strange recognition when they saw the person.
After a while, someone finally remembered: it was the person who had stood up for Xu Tian earlier.
But there was confusion. This person looked different from before.
"Are you Chen Yuan?" Black Brother pushed his way through the crowd, squinting at Chen Yuan, carefully examining him.
"Yes!" Chen Yuan nodded calmly. He should have come forward earlier, but now that he was here, he had only one request: to exchange his life for the others'.
The prisoners were stunned, finding it hard to believe that Chen Yuan, who had hidden so well, had suddenly appeared and was offering himself in exchange for them.
Brother Hei laughed loudly, showing his white teeth, "Haha, another hero wannabe!"
Then, his expression turned dark, full of killing intent. "Since you're seeking death, I'll grant your wish!"
With that, he swiftly drew his sword and charged at Chen Yuan.
"Master Chen, be careful!" Xu Tian shouted in alarm, trying to rush over to help but stumbling due to his leg injury.
Chen Yuan, being a civilian, was no match for the bandit. He instinctively tried to dodge, but Brother Hei's speed was too fast. The blade grazed Chen Yuan's back, leaving a long gash.
"Master Chen!"
Xu Tian watched in horror, feeling furious with himself for failing to protect Chen Yuan He pounded the ground in frustration, wishing he could punish himself for his failure.
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