As Tuoba Yan spoke, he put down the basket in his hand and was about to draw his saber.
Because he was wearing military uniform, the three people below him scrambled to run in the opposite direction before he could even make a move.
A Jiu watched as the situation was about to resolve itself, only for the three to be scared away by the young Yan Yan and run directly towards the foot of the mountain.
Anyone being chased would run up a mountain, as it was easier to hide there.
In a flash, the three appeared within reach.
A Jiu swallowed and tightened her grip on the ox horn knife.
The three were in rags, their hair dishevelled, and so dirty that it was hard to tell their gender. At this moment, their eyes gleamed as they stared at the pomegranate tree and the watermelons.
"Wow, there's food!"
As soon as this was said, one of them lunged forward, grabbed a watermelon, and started to gnaw on it.
"Stop... if you want to eat, I'll pick one for you. Why must you be so wasteful?" This was her livelihood.
But these three fiends had no idea of cherishing things. They grabbed and smashed them, and without finishing one, they fought over the next.
A Jiu, heartbroken, lunged forward and grabbed one of them by the collar: "You can't be so wasteful."
The person retaliated with a slap, knocking A Jiu to the ground.
"Little Sister A Jiu!" Tuoba Yan, from a distance, threw down the bamboo basket in his hand and leaped forward, his momentum immense.
He grabbed the person's arm and twisted it. The person let out a scream and collapsed, unable to move.
A Jiu watched as, starting from that person's arm, the sound of bones cracking echoed throughout their body at a rapid frequency, their body twitching uncontrollably.
Then, Tuoba Yan grabbed the other two with one hand each. They were still holding watermelons. Tuoba Yan twisted their wrists and flung them.
They too fell to the ground, their bodies convulsing, the sound of their bones breaking like being struck by fine lightning throughout their bodies.
Soon, the three bodies visibly softened, becoming listless and losing the solid form of living beings.
"Little Sister A Jiu, are you alright?" Tuoba Yan finally helped up the stunned A Jiu.
A Jiu looked at Tuoba Yan in horror. She had forgotten the pain on her face: "You... you killed them."
A Jiu's neck was stiff, and she dared not turn her head to look at the gruesome state of the three.
"I..." Tuoba Yan looked at the terrified Little Sister A Jiu and immediately realized: "Little Sister A Jiu, I really couldn't fulfill your request. Seeing you injured, my mind went blank."
A Jiu shivered.
Just then, she heard the faint sound of horses' hooves from the village entrance.
"You... drag them into the woods and bury them, quickly!" A Jiu's hands trembled; she dared not touch the bodies, which felt like mud, as if they would break at a touch.
Tuoba Yan's eyes showed a conflicted emotion.
A Jiu quickly grabbed the basket, deliberately avoiding the three corpses, and busied herself collecting the remaining fruits.
She even put the damaged, split ones at the top of the basket, deciding they could still be eaten after being peeled at home.
She quickly covered the saplings and melon vines, then picked up the smaller bamboo basket and started to leave.
Tuoba Yan couldn't afford to hesitate. He picked up the larger bamboo basket, grabbed A Jiu's arm, and said, "Hide in the woods."
Only then did A Jiu notice that the sound of horses' hooves was already nearby. She could clearly see three constables from the town.
A Jiu could only follow Tuoba Yan's instructions and climb the mountain with him.
Although the trees in the mountain forest were mostly dead, after the rain, their branches were lush, and the wilted leaves had perked up.
It was extremely dark inside, making it a good hiding place.
"These refugees are truly troublesome. Lord Wang has ordered that they be executed upon capture."
A Jiu peeked through the branches and saw the three constables stop on the village road. Then, they split into three paths, scattering in different directions.
A Jiu breathed a sigh of temporary relief.
She then looked intently at the place where the fruits were planted at the foot of the mountain, her pupils contracting:
"Tuoba Yan, didn't I tell you to drag them into the woods? Why did you leave one body behind?"