Chapter 66: Chapter 66

However, the government officers were just scared into scattering, and they couldn’t get hold of anything for a moment.

The man looked at her thoughtfully, then called people over to tie them all up and take them into the village.

Not only were the people of the Ruan family captured, but others were also brought in successively.

Ruan Mian noticed that the people in this village were all practitioners, strong and with thick calluses on their hands.

Moreover, each of them had gruesome scars on their bodies, all caused by burns. Some were so severe that their faces were unrecognizable, while others were less severe.

As they brought people in one after another, someone suddenly burst in, found the man in red, and said nervously, "Brother Mu! Old Niu... he might not make it!"

"What?!" The man in red’s face changed dramatically, and seeing this, Ruan Mian seized the opportunity and volunteered.

"Perhaps I can help you."

So, Ruan Mian was taken to a stone house with a flickering dim light inside, where several severely injured people were lying on the ground.

One of them had a gruesome wound, clearly due to a lack of timely medication, resulting in a large-scale infection.

Looking closely, their scars were all recent injuries.

Ruan Mian looked at the man in red and said, "I’ll go get some medicine."

As she turned, someone blocked her way, and the man followed with a cold expression, clearly worried she might try something.

They were so cautious, probably forced to the brink by the Xuanjia Army.

Ruan Mian thought carefully and asked another question.

"Young master, how did you offend the Xuanjia Army to make them..." Follow current novᴇls on NoveI★Fire.net

Before she could finish her sentence, the man drew a sharp blade to stop her from wasting words.

Ruan Mian shrugged her shoulders and temporarily held her tongue.

She opened the wooden box on the cart, touched the Jade Bracelet, and quickly retrieved some hemostatic powder and the bandaging gauze and sesame oil from the shelves.

The man’s wounds were mostly under his armpits and on his head, difficult places to bandage, and the lack of ventilation accelerated the infection.

She rolled up some dry smoked grass leaves, lit them, and seared the patient’s wounds.

Under the high temperature, the man screamed in agony!

Ruan Mian held his hand down, and the man in red grabbed her throat, "His wound is burned , and you still want to burn him! What are you trying to..."

"If you don’t want him to die, this is the fastest method! Do you know medicine, or do I? You have my family held hostage, I have no reason to risk killing him, let go!"

Ruan Mian’s eyes turned cold, and the man gave her a deep look. The man was almost beyond saving; they had to treat a dead horse as a living one.

Besides, Ruan Mian indeed brought medicine over.

She continued to cauterize him while throwing the golden sore powder in front of the man.

"Apply this to the wounds first, and have someone boil the herbs I brought."

Her gaze was firm, carrying an inexplicable authority.

The man did as instructed, but before long, he rushed in from outside with a tense face, speaking in a low voice.

"The Xuanjia Army is searching here, Old Song! Take everyone into the mountains, I’ll draw them away."

"How can you do it alone! I’ll go with you!"

"Only you know the retreat route well! You lead the brothers out first."

At this point, they were still hesitating, pushing each other, Ruan Mian couldn’t stand it and decisively got up to push Old Song away.

"I’ll go with him to draw those people away, you take the others and retreat, and take my family with you, please." The two were slightly stunned, but before they could speak, Ruan Mian urged, "If you’re any slower, no one will leave! Where’s the horse?"

The man in red gave her a significant look and decisively led her out.

In the distance, there were now flames on the hill, slowly approaching.

The man mounted the horse and lifted Ruan Mian up: "Aren’t you afraid of death?"

Ruan Mian ignored his words, only asking, "Do you know the temporary camp of the Xuanjia Army? We’ll lead them in that direction."

"Are you crazy? Going to their lair is a death wish?"

"General Mu Su, you can’t catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger’s den, can you? They already know your hiding place and are pursuing you. You may hide temporarily, but can you hide forever? Wouldn’t it be better to eliminate them all and be at ease?"

If they didn’t eliminate that group, the entire exile party was in danger.

Ruan Mian kicked the horse’s rear, and the horse bolted forward like an arrow, neighing painfully!

The man pulled the reins tight, stabilizing their bodies, and was surprised as he asked her.

"How do you know my name?"

Little did he know, Ruan Mian had matched this scene to a particular plot from the original book based on the previous situations.

If the guess was correct, this man in red was probably a general named Mu Su mentioned in the original book.

He and Pan Chen, whom she met earlier, were both generals of the Rongcheng Army.

They each led half of the Rongcheng Army, one guarding the south and the other the north, to fend off the enemy jointly.

Pan Chen on the south encountered a natural disaster, was deprived of grain and salary, and was forced to flee.

Meanwhile, Mu Su in the north invaded Bianpo City, where King Yan’s men, eager for military achievements, set the whole city ablaze, disregarding the Rongcheng Army fighting inside.

In the original book, due to this, the Rongcheng Army was dispersed and inevitably absorbed by the Xuanjia, with King Yan and his court allies seizing the power over the frontier.

Initially, when meeting Pan Chen, Ruan Mian hadn’t thought this far.

Now, the book’s plot was closing the loop.

Being dragged into it already, she might as well sweep away these villains, making those in the court who don’t treat the people as human and are blinded by greed taste a good defeat!

They dashed into the thickets, the horse neighing among the torches, causing a ruckus among the men.

In the dark night, Ruan Mian saw numerous figures running behind her, feeling arrows swiftly passing her ears! While Mu Su focused on the road, she quickly touched the Jade Bracelet and released the White Tiger!

In an instant, she leaped off the horse and kicked the horse’s rear fiercely: "Wait for me at the downhill glade ahead!"

Mu Su was taken aback, but when he turned back, he only saw a vague white shadow darting into the bushes.

"Little Tiger, I’m counting on you."

Ruan Mian clung tightly to the White Tiger’s neck as it soared rapidly, scaring the wits out of those men in the faint firelight.

"How can there be a wild beast... Ah..." Before they could finish, they were swatted away by the White Tiger’s paws.

Ruan Mian took the chance to roll to the ground, patting Little Tiger’s flank: "I’ll leave this to you."

Then, as Little Tiger charged forward, she quickly stripped two people of their military uniforms.

After changing into one herself, she took another set and moved toward the downhill glade.

Most of the men were driven backward by the White Tiger, and she headed to the glade in the direction with no firelight.

Emerging from the bushes, she saw Mu Su, pacing back and forth on horseback in the downhill glade.

"Mu Su!" she called, tossing the stripped man’s clothes onto Mu Su’s face.

"Put the clothes on."

At this moment, they could still faintly hear noises from behind, possibly screams or roars.

Seeing Ruan Mian’s calm face, unlike an ordinary woman, Mu Su couldn’t help but ask.

"Just now, I saw a white shadow. What was that?"

Ruan Mian avoided the question, instead asking him: "Did you initially appear mysteriously on that hill intending to scare away anyone trying to enter Stone Village?"

Seeing Mu Su nod, Ruan Mian laughed again: "Though the method is clumsy, it works against a few scouts from the Xuanjia Army. Unfortunately, they’ve tracked us here, but with not many pursuing, it’s not too difficult a situation."