The Gusu Mistake - Chapter 38

Night fell gradually. As the last sliver of light vanished, the old house’s dilapidated front door was indeed opened from the outside, and a few men swearing and grumbling pushed several children inside.

“Damn it, we didn’t get much of a haul today!”

“It’s all these useless brats’ fault!”

In a fit of anger, one man whipped a child, whose already ragged clothes became even more tattered and messy. Frightened, the child huddled into a ball. But he didn’t dare to cry, knowing that tears would only invite a harsher beating.

Seeing this, the other children also scattered, each trying to hide, terrified of being hit by the whip.

“What are you hiding for? Get inside already!” One of the men kicked a child, sending him sprawling to the ground.

“You beasts!” Jiang Yilan, who was hiding in the shadows, couldn’t help but curse. It was this one sound that the human traffickers heard:

“Who’s there? Who’s cursing at me?” The man who had been whipping the children moments ago stormed into the house, only to see that the previously silent mechanism had been activated and the man who was supposed to be on guard was lying motionless on the ground. He immediately became alert. “Who’s in there?”

“Me!” Jiang Yilan leaped out, first kicking the man in the chest, sending him flying far out the door. Then, she stood her ground, her eyes cold and menacing as she stared at him.

“Where did this woman come from?” The man quickly got up, pointing at Jiang Yilan in a rage. “Catch her for me, quickly, catch her!”

“You want to catch me? Come on!” Having witnessed their evil deeds, Jiang Yilan was already filled with resentment. She didn’t wait for them to charge, she made her move first.

Fueled by hatred, Jiang Yilan’s attacks were exceptionally heavy. In a short while, she had taken down most of the human traffickers. The remaining ringleader was left, held by his hair as she made a worm crawl into his nose.

“Ah…” The ringleader began to scream in discomfort, scratching at his nose fiercely, but to no avail.

“Yilan!” Yuan Ruo grabbed Jiang Yilan’s wrist. “We have to leave one alive, right?”

Jiang Yilan gritted her teeth. “Why leave him?”

“These children!” Yuan Ruo glanced over the trembling, frightened children. “We can’t take care of them. They need to be sent to the authorities!”

Jiang Yilan considered this, and realized she was right. She then released the ringleader and removed the worm from him. “He got to live longer, how lucky for him!”

“He will surely die!” Yuan Ruo said. “But someone needs to corroborate the identities of these children!”

“Okay!” Jiang Yilan nodded. “Let’s send them to the authorities!”

The authorities were far away, which was why these traffickers had been so rampant. After much effort, Jiang Yilan and Yuan Ruo finally took them to the government office. But as they were leaving, the boy who had first led them there followed them out.

“Two older sisters!” The boy ran to block their path.

Jiang Yilan had previously thought the boy was up to no good and didn’t want to deal with him, but now her attitude toward him was much better. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” The boy hesitated, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say.

Jiang Yilan asked, “What’s the matter? Do you have a problem? Just say it! I’ll help you!”

“It’s just…” The boy bit his lip. “Could you send me and my sister home? I know where our house is!”

“This…” Jiang Yilan looked at Yuan Ruo, seeking her opinion with her eyes.

Yuan Ruo smiled faintly. “If you want to take them, then let’s go. It’s no trouble!”

Jiang Yilan smiled back at Yuan Ruo, then turned to the boy. “Then… where’s your sister?”

“I’ll go get my sister!” The boy scurried back into the government office and came out with his sister a moment later. But for some reason, his sister was still trembling, clearly very scared.

“Why are you still shaking?” Jiang Yilan hugged the little girl. “Don’t be afraid, Big Sister will take you home now!”

The little girl just looked at Jiang Yilan once and didn’t say anything.

“She’s probably been scared silly. Let’s hurry and take them back!” Yuan Ruo suggested, and Jiang Yilan agreed. They then began the journey to take the brother and sister home.

The boy led the way, and the path was truly not close. Along the way, they passed through several mountain roads, and the path became increasingly remote.

“Is your home that far out?” Jiang Yilan asked the boy, as they had been walking for a long time and the area no longer seemed inhabited.

“We’re almost there!” The boy said perfunctorily, and continued to walk. But Jiang Yilan felt for the little girl.

“We’ve walked for so long, the little sister must be tired. Let’s rest for a bit!”

Upon hearing this, the little girl suddenly looked up from beside Jiang Yilan and stared at her with a strange expression.

Jiang Yilan was a little taken aback. “Why are you looking at me like that? What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry!” The little girl suddenly apologized, and before Jiang Yilan could even react, she abruptly stabbed a needle into her shoulder.

“You…” Jiang Yilan cried out in pain and quickly retreated.

“Yilan!” Seeing this, Yuan Ruo kicked the little girl away and rushed to support Jiang Yilan. “Are you okay?”

Jiang Yilan pulled the needle out. “It’s poisoned!”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ruo immediately turned to the brother and sister. The little girl, who had been kicked to the ground, didn’t move and kept muttering “I’m sorry.” The boy, however, had completely changed his expression, now sinister and malevolent.

“Who are you? Why are you doing this?” Yuan Ruo demanded of the boy.

The boy just sneered. A group of people then appeared from behind him, and the one at the front was none other than Jiang Yuan of the Jiang family.

“So it was you!” Jiang Yilan clutched her shoulder, staring at Jiang Yuan with indignation. “You beast, you set me up!”

“I wanted to kill you directly!” Jiang Yuan said with a chuckle. “But unfortunately, you’re a woman with too much luck!”

“Let’s go!” Yuan Ruo feared that Jiang Yilan was too deeply poisoned and did not want to get entangled. She tried to lead her away. However, Jiang Yuan had gone to such great lengths to set up this scheme that he was not about to let them escape.

“Take them down for me!” Jiang Yuan gave the order, and his subordinates attacked collectively. Yuan Ruo had to both look after Jiang Yilan and fight at the same time. For a moment, even with her considerable cultivation, she was overwhelmed.

Watching the state of the battle, Jiang Yuan felt a sense of victory, and he couldn’t help but smile contentedly. “Jiang Yilan, let’s see how you’ll survive today!”

“Yilan!” Yuan Ruo was caught off guard, and the poisoned and wobbly Jiang Yilan fell. Yuan Ruo tried to help her up but couldn’t find an opportunity.

“Don’t struggle anymore, just accept your death!” Jiang Yuan stood by, looking pleased.

“She won’t die, but you will!” Yuan Ruo gritted her teeth. After a single sword strike to deflect someone trying to sneak attack Jiang Yilan, she formed a hand seal, igniting a cluster of flames. With a shake of her hand, she scattered the flames to all the people around.

“Ah…”

“Ah…”

For a moment, shouts erupted one after another. Even the previously victorious Jiang Yuan was no exception, his body burning as he tried to pat the flames out in a panic. But before the fire was extinguished, Yuan Ruo’s sword was already at his throat.

“Give me the antidote!”

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