Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 695 - 0648: Conquering with Force (2)

The group of men sitting around the fire began to grow more anxious the more they talked about Mu Yuanxiu.

"Boss, let me go capture that kid and properly interrogate him!" a skinny-faced man said loudly, rolling up his sleeves.

"Boss, I’ll go too!" another short man echoed.

"It’s just a kid; why would I need any help? I can handle it myself!" The skinny-faced man waved his sleeves arrogantly.

He had heard that there were two young women traveling with him, and his heart itched at the thought. He didn’t want others to share the spoils.

Xiao Shan squinted his eyes, warning the skinny-faced man, "They have a leopard with them, you better be careful!"

"Don’t worry, boss. You know my archery skills; my arrows never miss!" the skinny-faced man laughed.

He waved his hand, signaling the others not to follow.

The short man, wanting to go, was also stopped by him.

"Let him go. If he fails, you can help out later. If too many people go at once, it’ll just arouse that kid’s suspicions," Xiao Shan advised the short man.

The short man sat back down and didn’t follow.

The skinny-faced man, carrying his bow and arrows, quietly made his way to the northeast corner.

In front of those two old brick houses, he indeed saw a big leopard lying between two carts.

The leopard was motionless, probably asleep.

The skinny-faced man chuckled softly with satisfaction, drawing an arrow and notching his bow.

But just at that moment, an arrow flew from his left side with a whoosh, knocking his arrow to the ground.

The leopard seemed startled awake; it suddenly got up and leaped toward him.

The skinny-faced man turned to run in fright.

But how could he outrun a leopard?

He hadn’t run two steps before he was knocked down by the leopard.

The leopard unceremoniously bit into his left thigh.

"Aah—" the skinny-faced man screamed, his cry echoing through the night sky.

The door of an old house creaked open.

Li Yuzhu’s voice called out, "Yuanxiu, the leopard has bitten a bandit! Come quickly and see!"

"Who’s stealing?" Mu Yuanxiu yawned, "Can’t anyone let a person sleep? So noisy!"

"It’s too dark to see. Zhaodi, bring a torch," Li Yuzhu called inside.

"Coming, Third Sister."

Zhou Zhaodi took a torch from the fire and handed it to Mu Yuanxiu.

Mu Yuanxiu held up the torch and walked toward the cart.

He saw a man clutching his thigh, lying on the ground, with the leopard biting down on his thigh. He was startled, "Who are you?"

Li Yuzhu also approached to look, "Ah, Yuanxiu, quickly notify the people in the village; this might be a thief coming to steal!"

Mu Yuanxiu called back to Zhou Zhaodi, "Zhaodi, get another torch for Yuzhu. You both stay here, I’ll go get the villagers!"

"Alright!" Zhou Zhaodi ran back and brought another torch.

Li Yuzhu took it in her hand, and the two of them kept watch beside the leopard.

With the leopard there, they didn’t fear anyone coming to help.

Mu Yuanxiu raised his torch and headed to the lit area in the village.

He went to the meeting hall of the village.

Xiao Shan and those people were still waiting for the skinny-faced man’s good news.

Instead, it was Mu Yuanxiu who appeared.

Everyone was surprised when they saw Mu Yuanxiu approaching.

Did he fail?

"Brother Mu, is something the matter?" Xiao Shan asked with feigned innocence and lightness.

Mu Yuanxiu brushed off some snowflakes from himself and nodded, "Indeed, something is up. A thief sneaked into the village, but I’ve caught him. You should go see."

Xiao Shan and the others’ expressions turned sour instantly.

The person sent to capture Mu Yuanxiu was caught by him instead, and Mu Yuanxiu even called him a thief. Should they admit it, or deny it?

If they admitted it, wouldn’t that mean they were targeting Mu Yuanxiu?

If they denied it...

Well, denying was the better option.

Xiao Shan feigned surprise, "How could that be? It’s impossible, Brother Mu, are you seeing things?"

Mu Yuanxiu said, "Brother Xiao, I don’t recognize that person. If you all go see now, you’ll know, won’t you?"

Xiao Shan and the others exchanged glances and had no choice but to follow Mu Yuanxiu to the old brick house in the northeast corner.

Before they got close, they could already hear the skinny-faced man’s cries of pain.

Their faces grew even more grim.

When they finally got close, everyone was taken aback.

The leopard was lying on the skinny-faced man, firmly biting his thigh.

His hands were tied with rope, his face bruised and battered, clearly having been hit hard.

Seeing his own people arrive, the skinny-faced man shouted loudly, "Boss, save me!"

Xiao Shan’s face turned iron blue, cursing inwardly, Fool!

Bragging about effortlessly dealing with the leopard, and now getting bitten instead?

Just as he was about to speak, Mu Yuanxiu coldly smirked, "Brother Xiao, so it was you who sent someone to ambush me?"

With his plot exposed, Xiao Shan became enraged out of embarrassment.

He shouted, "Everyone, get him! Capture that kid!"

Xiao Shan seized the moment, drew his knife, and aimed for the leopard’s head.

The leopard was busy biting the skinny-faced man’s leg. Xiao Shan planned to take the opportunity to kill it.

But unexpectedly, a little brat suddenly grabbed a stick and jabbed it at him.

Unprepared for the swiftness of the five-year-old, Xiao Shan’s thigh was stabbed during his moment of confusion.

Xiao Shan felt a numbing sensation in his leg and collapsed, unable to get up.

Baili Rui wielded a stick with a dagger tied to its sharp end and glared fiercely at him, "Don’t move! Move again, and I’ll stab you!"

Xiao Shan was puzzled. He was only stabbed with a dagger, and since he wore thick clothes, it barely pierced his flesh, so why couldn’t he stand?

Could it be that the dagger was poisoned?

With Xiao Shan’s shout earlier, the others all armed themselves and attacked Mu Yuanxiu.

Mu Yuanxiu remained calm, swinging his whip to lash at the two who came closest.

The two men were whipped in the legs and fell face-first into the mud.

Seeing Li Yuzhu and Zhou Zhaodi as two defenseless young women, several of the men smiled viciously, "Lasses, give up obediently to avoid suffering."

Li Yuzhu smiled sweetly, "Come a bit closer."

The four men, entranced by her smile, were bewitched, "Ah, ah, wait, master is coming."

Standing beside Li Yuzhu, holding a torch, Zhou Zhaodi’s face turned pale with fear, and she whispered, "Third Sister, don’t provoke them."

But Li Yuzhu kept smiling. As they approached and reached for her, she suddenly raised her hand, stabbing at their hands.

The two closest men felt a numbness in their hands and were stunned. Before long, they fell to the ground involuntarily, "Poi..." they couldn’t finish saying ’poison’ before their tongues stiffened.