Chapter 390 - Moments of Danger Reveal a Persons True Hear (1/2)

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The group had over a hundred people and most of them were the elderly, women and children. Flurries of activity bustled within the group. The sounds of children crying, women scolding, and the men urging them on merged into a cacophony...the sounds startled all of the birds in the area, causing them to flee into the air.

The village chief, who was following the Yu Family closely, looked back and saw the mess. He couldn’t stand it anymore and raised his voice to scold all of the villagers, “Every man in the household, become the man! Control your wife and children! You guys are so noisy, is it because you’re afraid that the Wokou pirates don’t know where we are ah? If you guys lure these pirates to you, no one’s going to care whether you live or die!”

The words of the village chief were very quickly disseminated throughout the people. Within moments, the noise settled down. Occasionally the sound of a child crying could be heard before the parents shushed their child. A voice sounded from the group, “Aren’t there about a dozen bodyguards who are skilled from Imperial Prince Jing’s mountain villa ah? Would they really just watch as we die in front of them?”

The village chief glanced at the bodyguards, whose expressions hadn’t changed, and coldly laughed. He replied back in the direction of the sound, “Just what type of status do you have that you want the Imperial Prince’s bodyguards to save you? They are here to protect the princess consort. How thick faced are you to bring yourself up to the level of the princess consort? Cut the crap and use your energy to flee, alright? If the Wokou pirates catch you, then you can find out if the bodyguards will help you or not, okay?”

The nearby villagers looked at the cold and indifferent expressions on the bodyguards and anxiety swirled within them. Who was so stupid to provoke these bodyguards at this time? If these soldiers decided to leave them to fend for themselves, the West Mountains were very large and it was likely they would get lost within moments. If they ended up rushing into the territory of ferocious beasts, they didn’t even need to wait for the pirates to catch up before they would be torn into the pieces tonight by animals!

Yu Xiaocao, who was at the very front, thought that the person asking sounded like Madam Zhang. She sneered inside, ‘Do you think you’re the sun ah? And that the earth has to rotate around you? You want the Imperial Prince’s bodyguards to protect you? Gosh, what type of crazy ideas do you have in your mind? Stop dreaming ah!’

She was currently traversing through a bunch of vegetation that was about as tall as a person. The bodyguards next to her were using their swords constantly to cut any plants that were in the way so that the princess consort’s sedan could pass through without any issues. As this continued, the speed of the fleeing group had slowed down.

There were still a few people lagging behind in the back because they were not willing to lighten their packs and leave any items behind. Thus, they struggled through the thick vegetation. Suddenly, in the very back, Yu Dashan could faintly hear the voices of people that were speaking in a foreign language. The sounds did not seem very far from him.

Yu Dashan was so scared that his legs trembled. He threw down the giant pack on his back and raced for his life as he ran forward. He ran and screamed at the same time, “The Wokou pirates have caught up. Quickly run ah! The pirates are here…”

The two women with him, who had been unceremoniously left behind, were stunned for a moment. Neither Madam Zhang or Madam Li had ever thought that Yu Dashan, who usually acted very filial and loving to his mother and wife, would actually leave the two of them, one an elder and one a weak woman, behind and only be concerned for his own safety.

Madam Li very quickly regained her wits and she turned her head around to look at the thick forest behind her. Although she couldn’t see any pirates in the back, she could hear the sounds of them approaching. Because Yu Dashan had run away screaming his head off, the pirates were able to pinpoint the direction that the villagers were fleeing in. Thus, a hundred or so pirates were now running in their direction.

Madam Li imitated Yu Dashan’s actions and also threw away all of the possessions she was holding. With her load lightened, she glanced briefly at Madam Zhang, who still had a giant wicker basket on her back, and huffed and puffed as she took off for her life. Her only thought was this: ‘As long as I can pass more people, I'll be safe.’

Madam Zhang was so distraught by the events that tears almost dripped down her face. She was now very regretful and angry. She hated her eldest son, who she had taken care of for more than a dozen years. Despite her affections for him, he was willing to throw her away, his old mother, at the face of danger to save his own skin. She was regretful about her previous actions. By being so cruel, she had severed all relations she had with Yu Hai and his family. If she had treated them better in the past, with Yu Hai’s kind hearted temperament, he absolutely wouldn’t act like Yu Dashan and leave her behind cold-heartedly. Instead, the one who would be protected by the bodyguards in front would be her.

The people around Madam Zhang were all throwing away their belongings without a single thought and scattering around in a panic as they absconded for their lives. She couldn’t care about her possessions anymore either. At any rate, all of the family’s money was on her body, so the rest of the items didn’t amount to much! She threw off the giant bamboo basket onto the ground and quickened her steps forward as she crookedly stumbled up the mountain trail. She did her best to catch up with the other villagers. She didn’t want to be left behind and become the first sacrifice to the Wokou pirates.

“What should we do? The pirates are about to catch up! We can’t just watch as they harm and kill all of the other people in Dongshan Village ah!” Yu Hai heard the panicked noises behind them and couldn’t help from clenching his hands into fists.

Yu Xiaocao frowned seriously and chewed on her lips before she spoke to the commander of the bodyguards, “Commander Zheng, with our current speed, I’m pretty sure that the pirates will very quickly catch up to us.”

The commander of the bodyguards unsheathed his long sword and nodded, “Miss Yu, you don’t need to worry about that. Continue to lead the way ahead and I will take a few brothers along to the back to intercept the Wokou pirates. This will give everyone some more time to run away…”

Yu Hai suddenly volunteered, “I’m very familiar with these mountain forests and I also know how to hunt and stalk prey in this area. I’ll go with you guys!”