Chapter 9: Breakthrough

When Tian Mi found the right moment, she had already wrapped her head in a black cloth, leaving only her eyes exposed. With her physique, she looked more like a man.

The area had calmed down; the two night watchmen were dozing off, and the others were snoring loudly in their sleep.

Three of the women had already died and were carelessly tossed aside under a large tree, including Cheng Yuhuan, while the remaining ones had also fainted.

Tian Mi still found a spot upwind to sprinkle the sleeping powder. It was her first time doing this, and her heart told her it had to be done, but her hands were shaking uncontrollably.

Watching these beasts sleep soundly, she took out her large knife and aimed it at them.

But then she hesitated; with such a big knife, where could she strike to ensure a fatal blow?

One man was slumped against the tree, his head drooping in unconsciousness. Tian Mi made a cutting motion near his neck, trying to aim carefully so she wouldn’t just wake him up instead of killing him.

After aiming, she swung the knife down but hesitated again just before it touched his neck.

Tian Mi entered her space and tossed aside the large knife; it was too cumbersome to operate and not precise at all.

She took out a set of sharp surgical knives, which her father had given her after teaching her how to stitch wounds. He had said that even though their family focused on traditional Chinese medicine, they still needed to know how to suture ordinary wounds and use surgical knives for cutting and stitching.

Holding the surgical knife, Tian Mi realized she had never used it on a person before because such matters never concerned her.

Unexpectedly, her first time would be to kill someone. Unconsciously, she was sweating profusely, even a thin layer of sweat forming on her nose.

She was still a bit soft-hearted!

Taking a deep breath, she told herself that if she didn’t act today, she might die tomorrow, along with her family and loved ones.

With the surgical knife in hand, her eyes were resolute and cold.

Aiming the surgical knife at the man’s neck, Tian Mi was familiar with human anatomy and knew where the fatal points were. She closed her eyes and made the cut, completing her breakthrough.

The man fell to the ground, still unconscious, but instinctively clasped his neck and struggled. After a moment, he quieted down. Killing the first person was the hardest; after that, it became much easier.

One by one, she took them down. When only a few were left, one of them suddenly clutched his neck and let out a loud cry. One of the fainted women, barely conscious, struggled to open her eyes, wanting to grab a knife to fight back. She was two meters away from Tian Mi. Tian Mi turned and took out the large knife from her space, spun around, and swiftly severed his neck. Blood gushed out, and half of his body hung limply.

Wow, the original owner’s strength was no joke.

Startled, Tian Mi broke out in a cold sweat. It took her a while to find her breath and then cut the remaining few’s throats.

As for the fainted women, Tian Mi didn’t care about them; life and death were left to fate!

Nearby, the caravan of horse-drawn carts and the weapons of these people were all collected into her space. The horses fainted immediately upon entering the space. Tian Mi knew this space was a bit strange; it was static, and living creatures would faint upon entry. Once released, they would be fine, as if they had never entered her space.

As for people? She hadn’t tried that; she didn’t want to expose her space to anyone.

Tian Mi moved a box down from one of the carts to open it, and inside was a dazzling silver gleam that nearly blinded her eyes. The entire box was filled with silver, neatly stacked. Tian Mi gulped, and looking at the carts, there were more than a dozen large boxes, with fifteen carts in total. Was she about to get rich? After preparing so many things in her previous life, she hadn’t even gotten started before reaching the peak of her life?

Oh wow! County Magistrate Cheng must have never imagined that his lifetime of corruption was for her benefit.

In fact, she was overthinking it. Out of the fifteen carts, six were filled with food and other items, and only nine contained treasures. This was just part of County Magistrate Cheng’s wealth, which he had prepared to pave the way for the prince, hoping to secure a safe county town for himself.

After exiting the space, leaving behind a bag of grain and a bucket of water, she left.

When she returned to where everyone was resting, they had all woken up and were looking for her. It turned out that during the night watch, Cui Dahu had noticed Tian Mi was missing. He asked his father, who said she was behind the stones. Worried, he went to check and found no one, causing a commotion.

Tian Mi was gone, and just as they were about to search everywhere, she returned.

“I was just looking for a place to relieve myself nearby. Why are you making such a fuss?”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief!

She sat down to rest behind the stones. There was still a faint smell of blood on her, and she was afraid they might notice if she got too close.

Once everyone fell asleep, she took out her clothes from her bag and entered her space.

She decided to take a bath. There was no shower gel, just clean water to rinse off. She couldn’t wash her hair; it would be obvious if she did.

The clothes she changed out of were also rinsed with clean water.

Even just rinsing with water felt refreshing! Tian Mi collapsed onto the sofa and was about to fall asleep, but she managed to hold on to her last bit of rationality and slept behind the large stone.

The next day, before dawn, Tian Dabiao woke everyone up to continue their journey.

Tian Dabiao said, “Today, let’s keep our voices down while on the road. Stay alert and listen carefully. If we see the constable and his men, we should hide if we can. If we can’t hide, we need to prepare ourselves. The first strike should be aimed at the constable; if we take him down, the others will be scared. It’s best not to engage them in a fight; they have the numbers, and we would be at a disadvantage.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The moonlight today looked a bit dimmer, and everyone cautiously continued on their way. The corpses that had fallen to the ground the previous night were still there.

Tian Dabiao stopped and, along with Uncle Cui, moved the bodies off the road.

Looking at the corpses scattered everywhere made him feel uneasy.

Uncle Liu said, “Let’s go! We still don’t know where those people are.”

Uncle Cui and Tian Dabiao were still reluctant.

Tian Dabiao suggested, “How about we dig a big pit and bury them all together? This is really unacceptable. Those people definitely won’t dare to come back; they must be ahead of us.”

Their escorting mission had a sense of righteousness at its core.

So many corpses were truly hard to bear, especially with the presence of children.

Uncle Cui and Uncle Chen immediately responded, taking tools off the ox and starting to dig a pit by the roadside. The other men moved the scattered bodies over, taking turns digging for over an hour until they finally dug a large pit when the sky began to brighten. They placed all the bodies inside, which barely fit, covered them with dirt, and a large mound appeared there.

Alas! Life is unpredictable! These people were well-known and respected in their county; who would have thought they would end up dead in the wilderness?

At that moment, many travelers began to appear on the narrow road, all looking dazed, their eyes devoid of light.

Originally, they were supposed to reach Xingrong County today, but now they would have to wait until tomorrow. Everyone continued to tread carefully on their journey.