noffsinger Chapter 86 Creating an Explosion
Chapter 86 Creating an Explosion
The commotion at the back of the convoy went unnoticed by Meng Linlang in the crowd. The moment she saw the man with an arrow in his shoulder, countless memories flooded her mind, making her slightly dizzy.
This man's name was Qi Liang. In the dream, she took pity on him and his family during their escape from famine. To repay her kindness, he led a group of people to escort the villagers of Mengjia Village all the way, following her every command.
Later, Qi Liang joined the army and became a general, making great contributions to overthrowing Xie Jin's tyranny.
If they could get his protection, would their family be able to break away from the group led by Meng Fuqing?
Can Qi Liang help her get rid of Xie Jin? Can she convince her family? And what about Shen Lianxing's family?
Meng Linlang was caught in a dilemma.
On one side of the official road was a high-altitude forest. Suddenly, several refugees carrying hoes, axes, and wooden sticks emerged from the forest behind the caravan. The moment they rushed out, they were frightened by the large knives held by Niu Er and the other men.
Niu Er sneered when he saw the wooden sticks these people were carrying. He put one hand on his hip, raised his knife, and pointed it at them: "If you can put down your sticks and surrender, we might spare your lives. If not, hmph, you'd better think carefully whether your bones are as hard as my big knife!"
The refugees gathered together to make it easier to seize food. Now that they have finally found a flock of fat sheep, how can they easily give it up?
The two leaders exchanged a glance, both seeing the desperate gamble in each other's eyes.
"Charge them!"
The villagers, who had been instructed by Niu Er and others to be on high alert, drew their weapons.
The weapons that had been scattered in the official granary were also loaded onto the vehicles. Before leaving, they tried their best to stuff some into each vehicle so that they could be pulled out at any time if there was any unusual activity.
Therefore, not only the strong laborers selected earlier had weapons, but the women in the company also carried long guns to protect the children in the middle.
Some of the fearful refugees, seeing the villagers' posture, immediately hesitated and dared not go forward. However, the majority of the refugees were attracted by the cartloads of grain and rushed straight towards them.
The refugees surged in like a tidal wave. The caravan was impacted but not scattered. The villagers firmly protected the carriages and horses in the middle and showed no mercy to the fleeing refugees.
Niu Er and his group worked together, and every strike they delivered was deadly.
Occasionally, some refugees would break through the defenses and reach out to pull the grain down, only to be stabbed by the women inside with long spears. They might not be very strong, and the spears were heavy, so their stabbing might not be powerful enough, but they couldn't withstand the combined force of several nearby women stabbing together.
At this moment, another man in black appeared as if he had grown wings, standing on the roof of the carriage and flying forward with a bow and arrow in hand to provide support.
They stood on the roof of the cart, aiming their arrows at the refugees, and every single one of them hit its mark.
At this moment, the refugees' fear of this group reached its peak.
The battle was fierce in the rear, and it wasn't easy in the front either.
After being shot, Qi Liang hid among the refugees, his eyes fixed on the leading carriage with a sinister gaze, and he pulled the arrow out with a fierce grip.
"Charge if you want to live!" he shouted.
The previous four arrows caused panic among many refugees, who hesitated to step forward, resulting in a stalemate between the two sides.
At this moment, Meng Fuqing whispered to Xie Jin, "Keep watch for me until I come back."
After saying that, she turned around and went back to the group. Regardless of whose things were on the vehicle, she grabbed a small half bag of flour and asked the village chief for a tinderbox.
On their return journey, the refugees, encouraged by their leader, began to swarm forward one after another.
Fortunately, Xie Jin and his men, along with the villagers, were able to hold out for the time being.
Meng Fuqing climbed onto the roof of the car, and before she made her move, she shouted, "Everyone retreat!"
Xie Jin and his men reacted quickly, turning around and retreating. The villagers were very familiar with Meng Fuqing's voice, and obeyed without hesitation.
Faced with the surging refugees, Meng Fuqing forcefully tossed flour over their heads, then threw a tinderbox with a flame in its hand at the place where the flour was densest, before turning around and jumping off the carriage.
The flour exploded when it came into contact with the open flame, and flames suddenly burst forth, instantly scorching the exposed skin of the refugees, and screams of agony filled the air.
Everyone and the livestock were terrified by the explosion. The livestock tried to escape, but the villagers managed to hold them back in time.
After witnessing the tragic scene of the refugees falling and rolling on the ground, the villagers were both excited and terrified.
They were excited because the method really worked, but also fearful because if they hadn't been able to retreat in time, they would have ended up like that too.
The remaining refugees who were not affected were so frightened by the sight that they turned and fled.
After Meng Fuqing landed, he turned around and saw that Xie Jin's horse, caught in the flames, was neighing mournfully as it ran away.
She looked up and met Xie Jin's gaze without any obstruction, then turned away to look at him. "Shall I get it back for you?"
Before she could make a move, Ling Jiu, having received Xie Jin's instructions, had already given chase.
Seeing this, Meng Fuqing pressed his advantage and said, "Could you trouble Young Master Xie to also bring back the leader of the refugees?"
So Mu Sheng also left.
The fewer refugees at the back of the convoy escaped faster than those at the front.
Before the two sides started fighting, some refugees who were walking on the official road hid. They were hoping that if the refugees won, they could take advantage of the chaos to steal some food.
Witnessing the strength of Meng Fuqing and his group, they were all shocked and fled in panic.
After dealing with the refugees, some villagers, even those accustomed to seeing corpses, couldn't help but vomit when faced with the ground littered with dead bodies. The children, in particular, let out their long-suppressed cries and wailed incessantly.
Fortunately, it's all over now.
Niu Er and his companions were used to seeing corpses on the battlefield, so they were not afraid at all. They even searched the bodies of the dead refugees. Even a mosquito is still meat, and they put all the slightly valuable items they got into Meng Fuqing's carriage.
Meng Fuqing's carriage, which carried little cargo, had become a place to store the team's valuables.
Having just experienced a fight, the villagers were on edge, and with some people having left and no one knowing when they would return, Meng Bochang simply told everyone to rest by the roadside.
With a pale face, Meng Linlang followed the group toward the resting place. Just now, she was almost pulled out of the group by the clothes of a refugee, but luckily her older brother slashed the man with a knife.
Thinking of Qi Liang who had escaped, her illusions were shattered once again. No matter how powerful Qi Liang was in her dreams, he was no match for Xie Jin right now. She had been too naive.
After the fight, many villagers were also injured, but fortunately none of their injuries were serious.
Zheng Yi, who rarely appears in public, brought Meng Ranran to apply medicine and bandage the villagers.
After recovering a bit, Hu Zi, who had witnessed the explosion, couldn't contain his curiosity and asked Meng Fuqing, "Qingqing, how did you make that noise? That was amazing!"
Xie Jin's resting place was not far from them, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but glance over.
Meng Fuqing leaned against a tree, facing the gazes of the crowd, and explained simply: "If there is enough flour, it will explode when it comes into contact with an open flame. It will make a loud noise, but the lethality is average. It is mainly for deterring them."