Xiao Man stepped forward and felt the woman's carotid artery. He sighed. The woman was already dead.
The boy, with a pair of clear eyes, stared at Xiao Man. "Young master, is my mother asleep?"
Xiao Man looked at the child, gaunt from hunger yet still tenacious, and felt a pang of compassion. He took out a flatbread from his embrace and handed it to the child. "Your mother is asleep forever. Hold on for two more days. Just two more days, and a very good-looking gentleman named Wen will come here. He will definitely save you."
The child listened, looked at the flatbread in his hand, and then at Xiao Man. He broke off a small piece and fed it to his mother's mouth. "Thank you, benefactor. Mother, there's food. Eat something quickly."
Suddenly, a hand reached out from the side, snatched the flatbread from the child's hand, and stuffed it into his mouth. "You little brat, your mother is already dead, she can't eat it. I'll help you..."
As the man took a bite, Xiao Man kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying. He landed not far away, kicking up a cloud of dust, and the flatbread fell back into Xiao Man's hand.
Xiao Man handed the flatbread back to the child. The child took it, staring blankly at Xiao Man. "Thank you, benefactor. Benefactor, what is your surname? I will repay you in the future."
"My surname is Xiao." Xiao Man patted the child's head and left with Qin Xue.
Qin Xue couldn't help but laugh. "Master is still kind-hearted."
"How can one not feel compassion when faced with such misery?" Xiao Man said worriedly. "Those people in Jiangzhou won't just sit and wait. Where is Mo Han?" Sudannovel.com
"He's almost at Yaling. Once we cross Yaling, we'll be in Jiangzhou territory. However, Yaling is not peaceful."
Xiao Man frowned, then turned around. "To Yaling."
The disaster relief convoy, carrying cartloads of silver and grain, traveled along the mountain road in the evening, like a long dragon.
The escort captain, Su Cheng, looked at the dense forests and mountains ahead and rode to the side of the carriage. "My lord, we are approaching Yaling. Once we cross it, we will be in Jiangzhou territory."
"Speed up. We need to reach Jiangzhou as soon as possible."
"My lord, Yaling is not peaceful. Especially now, with the natural disaster, there are displaced people everywhere. Yaling might be dangerous."
Wen Mohan lifted the curtain and looked outside. The road ahead was treacherous, with a posture of 'one man guarding the pass, ten thousand cannot get through'. "We are escorting disaster relief supplies. Anyone who dares to rob them will be killed without mercy. Let's move."
"Yes, my lord." Su Cheng immediately ordered scouts to go ahead, while the convoy followed closely.
On Yaling, a group of bandits were all tied up like dumplings, their faces contorted with rage, as if they wanted to devour the handsome young man before them. They had been waiting for this fat sheep for a long time, but suddenly, a group of people appeared and engaged in a turf war, defeating them all in a flash!
"Big brother, be merciful. All our brothers are hungry. You take the lion's share, and we'll share a little food."
Xiao Man played with the dagger in his hand, watching the disaster relief convoy slowly advance towards Yaling, remaining silent. Seeing that his words were not moving the other party, the leader of the bandits changed his approach.
"Big brother, we are willing to submit. With just one command from you, we will immediately go down and rob the convoy. One million taels of silver! One million taels of glittering silver!"
Xiao Man glanced over. "Do you know what kind of silver this is?"
"Yes, it's disaster relief silver."
"Knowing it's disaster relief silver, you still dare to rob it?" Xiao Man's tone was unreadable. "Who gave you the courage?"
The bandit leader finally realized that this person was not here to rob the disaster relief silver, but to protect it. His eyes darted around. "We just want to rob a little. After all, we need to eat too. With this continuous heavy rain, we have also suffered disasters. My brothers were all good citizens before, and they were forced to become bandits."
"Oh?" Xiao Man asked with a cold laugh. "How much did you find in the bandit stronghold?"
"Reporting to young master, we found thirty thousand taels of silver, a hundred dan of grain, countless gold and jewels, and quite a few livestock."
Upon hearing this, the bandit leader's eyes widened. "You brat, do you know who my backer is? How dare you touch my things! I'm telling you, even if you let these people go, they won't be able to get out of Jiangzhou alive!"
Xiao Man stood up on the precipice and looked at the convoy below, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "With me here, who can touch them?"
"Boastful! If you're smart, let us go quickly, otherwise, I'll make sure you die without a burial place!"
"Bandits are rampant, and officials are negligent. It seems to be a collusion between officials and bandits. The government alone wouldn't have such audacity. There must be military backing behind them." Xiao Man's voice was soft, as if discussing trivial matters.
"Knowing that, why aren't you letting me go!" The bandit leader struggled to stand up. "You few people, waiting for the army to arrive, won't even be enough to fill their teeth!"
Xiao Man glanced at the man but ignored him. The man walked towards Xiao Man. "Young master, it's not too late to pull back from the brink. If the disaster relief convoy enters Jiangzhou..."
Xiao Man suddenly threw the dagger in his hand, which landed at the bandit leader's feet. The bandit leader, startled, immediately retracted his foot, his heart pounding. "Are you determined to oppose us?"
"If you want to die, I will fulfill your wish."
The bandit leader's eyes were sinister. He lowered his head and thought for a moment, then suddenly charged at Xiao Man. As long as he pressed the mechanism, rocks would roll down, crushing the people below. If the disaster relief convoy was not stopped from entering Jiangzhou, they would be the ones to die!
Xiao Man sidestepped and struck the bandit leader with a palm. The bandit leader screamed and flew out, only a foot away from the mechanism, forever unable to touch it.
The disaster relief convoy was moving forward when suddenly something rolled down from the mountain, hitting the middle of the road and startling everyone. Someone immediately went to investigate and discovered that the person who rolled down was dead.
Su Cheng looked up at the cliff above but saw no one. He then looked at the corpse, noticing the rope tied to it and that its clothes did not resemble those of a commoner.
"Su Cheng, what happened?"
"My lord, someone fell from the cliff and is already dead. They don't seem to be a commoner."
Wen Mohan got out of the carriage and went to examine the body. After a brief inspection, he ordered the body to be moved aside and the journey to continue. As he got back into the carriage, he glanced up at the mountain peak. Someone was helping him. Who could it be?
The disaster relief convoy safely crossed Yaling and headed straight for Jiangzhou. Along the way, they encountered countless disaster victims. Wen Mohan was shocked. "What are the officials of Jiangzhou doing? Why are there so many displaced people?"
"My lord, should we rush to Jiangzhou Prefecture?"
"You take the imperial decree to Jiangzhou Prefecture and order the prefect of Jiangzhou to open the granaries and relieve the people," Wen Mohan said gently. "This area is severely affected by the disaster, with many victims. I need to set up a temporary relief point here to help the suffering people in the surrounding areas."
"Yes, my lord."