A' Jiu was frightened, but the torches in the distance flickered in the woods, and they would arrive within the time it takes an incense stick to burn:
"Those refugees are almost here. Do you want your life or me?" A' Jiu's voice trembled, but she still forced herself to stay calm.
As soon as she said this, Steward Hong's pupils dilated, and he looked back. Even a blind man could see the flickering torches in the mountain forest.
Looking back at A' Jiu, he seemed to make a difficult decision: "If I hadn't come to Xinghua Village to take you back to see the master, would I be chased by refugees and end up in this predicament? Today, you must be taken, and your life must also be taken."
Steward Hong rolled up his sleeves and lunged at her.
"Dad, Mom!" A' Jiu turned and ran, her voice calling for her parents barely audible, for fear of directly attracting the refugee soldiers.
If that happened, none of their family would survive.
Who would have thought that in a moment of carelessness, she would trip over a tree root and fall, her face covered in dust.
Steward Hong grabbed her leg, which was as thin as firewood, and dragged her back.
A' Jiu desperately held onto the tree root, refusing to let go.
Steward Hong glanced back warily. Their fate depended on this moment:
"You wouldn't even eat and drink well with my master, you truly are a worthless wretch."
Steward Hong also suppressed his voice as he roared, naturally afraid of attracting the refugee soldiers.
"Ignorant little brat, how dare you disturb my cultivation. You must be tired of living."
A' Jiu seemed to hear her Grandma's voice, but wasn't she unconscious?
She struggled to turn her head towards the cave entrance and her pupils immediately contracted.
It was over. It was really her Grandma. She would definitely help Steward Hong tie her up.
"Grandma, you can't sell me out. If Dad knew, he would definitely demand an explanation from you."
A' Jiu's palm-sized face was filled with fear, her tender eyes completely overshadowed.
Seeing Grandma hobbling forward, like death was looming, A' Jiu gritted her teeth and desperately kicked at the hands that were dragging her.
Unexpectedly, Wang Shi slapped Steward Hong on the back.
Steward Hong let go and turned to face Wang Shi.
Wang Shi looked at her hand in surprise, then at the unharmed Steward Hong, and unconsciously scratched her head: "This can't be right. I've practiced this Bone Shattering Palm for hundreds of years."
After muttering to herself, she said to Steward Hong, "You should be bleeding from all seven orifices and on the verge of death right now."
A' Jiu, who had just managed to scramble to her feet, saw her Grandma's demeanor clearly and thought, what nonsense is Grandma talking?
"Wang Shi, you old hag, you're going back on your word!" Steward Hong was furious.
This old crone had taken the money, so shouldn't she be helping him get this slut into his hands obediently?
How dare she hit him?
A' Jiu hadn't recovered from the shock, had Grandma just hit Steward Hong?
Seeing Steward Hong, in a fit of rage, kick Wang Shi in the stomach. This kick would have crippled an ordinary person, let alone Wang Shi, who was over fifty years old.
"Ugh." With a muffled groan, Wang Shi was kicked like a turtle rolling down a hill, lying sprawled on the ground, and let out a cry:
"Immortal Venerable, your disciple has fallen into such a state..."
A' Jiu gasped in fright. Was Grandma possessed or something?
Steward Hong suddenly turned his head. A' Jiu, startled back to her senses, instinctively grabbed a wooden stick and, without thinking, swung it down on his head.
Unexpectedly, her frail body made Steward Hong freeze on the spot. Without a second blow, Steward Hong's eyes rolled back, and he fell straight down.
"What's going on?"
After this commotion, Nan Xing and Cai Lihua ran out one after another.
"What happened? Did the refugee soldiers catch up?" Nan Xing was in his prime, and if he encountered refugee soldiers, he would be the first to be conscripted.
A' Jiu rarely spoke to this elder brother, not because she didn't speak, but because this elder brother never paid attention to her.
Ignoring everything else, A' Jiu hurried forward and touched Wang Shi's forehead: "Grandma, are you alright?"
She had seen it clearly just now. Grandma had wanted to help her. She remembered hearing from the older generation that this kind of evil illness was usually accompanied by a high fever.