Chapter 25: The Tyrant Is Actually a Gai Liuzi with a Machete

Xia Mo took the children and girls to hide on the side while Xiao Jingyuan rammed the door.

The guard outside heard the noise and cursed, “What the hell? Looking for death? Stay put, you little brats!”

Xiao Jingyuan ignored him and kept ramming the door.

The guard flew into a rage, grabbed a stick, then reached for the key and unlocked the door.

“You little punks, you must have a death wish! I’m gonna beat you so bad you’ll be calling for your mothers!”

As soon as the door opened, a machete was pressed against the man’s neck, cutting his curses short.

What the hell? Where did this huge blade come from? It definitely wasn’t something the kids brought in. Could one of his idiot brothers have left it behind?

“Go!”

With a cold command from Xiao Jingyuan, Xia Mo hurriedly led the girls and children outside.

“Don’t be reckless,” she reminded him before leaving.

After running for a short distance, Xia Mo suddenly stopped.

She still couldn’t stop worrying about Xiao Jingyuan. So, she turned to the oldest-looking girl and said, “I won’t go with you. The town isn’t far from here. Just follow the wheel tracks of the cart and keep running straight. You’ll see the town guards soon.”

“But what about you?” the girl asked anxiously.

“I have to go back and find my brother.”

“Don’t! That’s a gang of ruthless traffickers!”

“That’s exactly why I need to go back. My brother hasn’t arrived yet. I can’t rest easy. Go on, take the kids back.”

The girl’s face flushed red. She bit her lip and nodded firmly.

“Be careful.”

“I will.”

Xia Mo turned and ran back.

Not long after, she reached the compound where they had been locked up. From a distance, she saw Xiao Jingyuan wielding a machete, fighting fiercely against a group of traffickers.

At that moment, Xiao Jingyuan was exuding a murderous aura, just like the most ruthless street thug—one of those gai liuzi who could take on an entire gang single-handedly.

And sure enough, he was standing alone against a whole group, showing no fear.

There were six traffickers in front of him, with one already lying on the ground.

Among the remaining six, two were injured, while the other three hesitated, eyeing Xiao Jingyuan warily. Despite their fury, there was also fear in their eyes.

They had been running rampant in this trade for years, selling people without a hitch. Who would have thought they’d stumble at the hands of a half-grown kid?

It wasn’t just about losing money anymore—this was about pride!

“You little bastard, if I don’t chop you into pieces today, I’ll take your surname and call you daddy!”

“Tch, you don’t deserve it.”

“You—! Hah! You sure talk big!”

“Brothers, hack this brat to death! We’ll chop him up and eat him!”

Otherwise, there was no way they could swallow this humiliation.

The fight broke out again.

Meanwhile, Xia Mo had sneaked around to the back of the house.

She slipped into a storage shed, picked up a machete, and swung it a few times—something felt off.

She knew herself well enough to admit that she was just a weak girl. Holding a machete wouldn’t suddenly make her capable of taking down those burly traffickers.

After thinking it over, she grabbed a fire extinguisher instead. A strong hydraulic blast—that was what gave her a sense of security.

“Xiao Jing!” She seized the perfect moment and called out.

Xiao Jingyuan was sharp. The instant he heard her, he flipped backward, dodging the blast range.

With a loud hiss, the fire extinguisher sprayed directly at the traffickers, catching them completely off guard.

They had never seen anything like it before.

Blinded by the foam, they howled in pain, unable to open their eyes.

Xiao Jingyuan seized the opportunity. With a few swift slashes, he cut deep into their arms, forcing them to drop their weapons.

To prevent them from escaping, he followed up with a few cuts to their legs, sending them collapsing onto the ground, wailing in agony.

The air reeked of blood. The only sounds left were the anguished cries of the traffickers.

Victory was decided.

Clang.

The machete fell to the ground.

Only then did Xia Mo notice that Xiao Jingyuan’s hand, still gripping the knife, was trembling. His clothes had been slashed open, and blood was seeping out.

He had been wounded too.

“Xiao… Xiao Jing, you’re hurt again. Are you okay?”

Xiao Jingyuan took a deep breath, suppressing the pain as he spoke.

“I won’t die.”

That cold and domineering gaze, appearing on his still slightly youthful face, felt completely natural.

Xia Mo gradually forgot his age and only remembered that the person before her was the future tyrant.

“Come here. Let me stop the bleeding first. Losing too much blood can kill you too.”

On the shelves of the convenience store, medical supplies had already been stocked—disinfectants, hemostatic medicine, needles and thread for stitching wounds, local anesthetics, and bandages.

Xia Mo moved swiftly—injecting anesthesia, cleaning the wound, stitching it up—all in one go.

Xiao Jingyuan stared at the wound on his arm in surprise. Clearly, a needle and thread had been used, yet he hadn’t felt any pain at all.

“What kind of medicine is this?”

“I don’t know. Go ask the Goddess of Mercy.”

Xiao Jingyuan: “…”

Xia Mo quickly wrapped his wound with gauze. “Hurry, put on your clothes. We need to leave.”

Just as she was helping Xiao Jingyuan out of the house, one of the girls they had freed earlier returned—with a group of town guards.

“It’s here!”

“Huh? You’re both alright?”

Xia Mo pointed at Xiao Jingyuan’s arm. “Not completely. My brother is injured.”

“Is it serious?”

“It’s manageable.”

The girl let out a sigh of relief. “What about the traffickers?”

“In the back.”

The ones with serious injuries lay motionless on the ground, while those with lighter wounds dragged their legs, attempting to escape. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it far before the town guards caught them.

“You two were the ones who saved these children, weren’t you?”

Xia Mo nodded.

“Then please come with us to the town to meet the Tingzhang.”

At this time, the highest official in charge of a town was the Tingzhang.

As luck would have it, the beautiful girl they had rescued was actually the Tingzhang’s niece, so the entire Tingzhang’s family was deeply grateful to them.

The rescued children were quickly sent back to their respective homes, while Xia Mo and Xiao Jingyuan, being outsiders, were offered a place to stay for the night.

When asked how they had ended up in the hands of human traffickers, the case quickly led back to the town’s only inn.

The innkeeper and his wife were soon brought in. Seeing Xia Mo and Xiao Jingyuan, the couple looked utterly bewildered.

“You two… Didn’t you leave at dawn?”

The Tingzhang let out a cold snort. “Leave? They were sold off by your good brother. The witnesses are right here. Do you still dare to deny it?”

“W-what?” The middle-aged woman’s face turned pale. “I swear I knew nothing about this! My husband’s younger brother said the guests left at first light. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him yourself!”

“Oh, we will ask,” the Tingzhang said sternly. “Have they caught Ye Laosi yet?”

“Not yet, sir. Please give us a moment.”

It didn’t take long before the man was dragged in—a thin man with a mustache, held firmly between two town guards.

“He’s here! We caught him at the gambling den.”

“Let go of me! What do you want? Is gambling illegal? I don’t owe anyone money! Let go!”

The Tingzhang sneered and fixed his gaze on him. “Ye Laosi, do you recognize these two?”