Before me was a little girl of about twelve or thirteen years old, with heavy shackles on her hands and feet, and a pair of bright and lively big eyes.
However, the little girl's lips were so dry that they were peeling.
Clearly, the little girl must have been very thirsty!
Li Yao was slightly taken aback, not expecting this little girl to give him such precious water to drink.
In the arid desert, even a single drop of water is incredibly precious.
After taking a small sip of water, Li Yao felt that his body had recovered considerably.
In a hoarse voice, he said to the little girl with heartfelt gratitude, "Thank you, little girl."
The little girl smiled sweetly, shook her head slightly, and then held the last bit of water in her hands, feeding it to a little boy standing nearby.
But she herself didn't drink a single drop!
At this moment, Li Yao noticed that in addition to the two children, there were also two people dressed as government officials.
Clearly, the two children must be the children of a prisoner.
Because of the principle of collective punishment, he was exiled to the frontier.
A drop of kindness deserves a spring of gratitude in return!
Li Yao decided that as long as he lived, he would definitely rescue the two children from the two constables.
Just then, he suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching.
He blurted out, "Someone's coming! Five people, five horses!"
The little girl looked around blankly, but saw no one except for the yellow sand.
The little girl asked curiously, "Big brother, is there anyone else besides us?"
The two officers sitting on the ground sneered, one of them mocking, "I think his head's been fried by the sun. Where's anyone?"
After saying that, they stood up and shouted at the two children, "Get up, get up, we should get going."
The two children reluctantly stood up.
At this moment.
Da da da...
A rapid sound of horses' hooves came from afar.
Soon, five horses came galloping towards them.
The two officers exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.
There really are people!
And it really was five people and five horses!
The little girl said with admiration, "Big brother, you're amazing! You were right!"
Before long, five horses surrounded them.
The two constables were terrified and quickly drew their swords, saying in a fierce but weak voice, "Who are you? How dare you stop government officials? Aren't you afraid of losing your heads?"
One of the men chopped off the wooden shackles on the little boy's hands with a knife and shouted fiercely at the two officers, "Enough nonsense, remove the shackles now, or I'll kill you!"
Clearly, these people were after the two children.
The two officers looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
These two children are wanted criminals by the imperial court!
If we release them, we probably won't be able to explain ourselves when we get back, and we might even lose our heads.
If we don't let them go, they'll probably die here immediately.
At this moment, a middle-aged man with a long mustache spoke up in a friendly manner:
"We are here to rescue Lord Yang's child, not to kill anyone."
"You were just doing your job; this has nothing to do with you."
"I think we should do this: you should come with us too, otherwise those Eastern Depot agents won't let you off the hook."
The two officers exchanged a glance. Faced with the situation, they had no choice but to unlock the two children's shackles.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Suddenly, a series of sharp arrows shot through the air.
Immediately afterward, a group of black-clad archers on horseback appeared in the distance.
One of them exclaimed, "It's the Black-Clad Arrow Team from the Eastern Depot!"
The man with the mustache suddenly turned serious and said to the two officers, "You two protect the child."
Immediately, he drew his long sword and said to the others, "Let's kill the barbarians!"
Throughout the entire ordeal, Li Yao remained lying on the ground, coldly observing everything.
(P.S.: This is not a historical novel, please do not view it with a historical perspective, because this world is a heavily modified version of the Ming Dynasty, incorporating elements from New Dragon Gate Inn, The World's Number One, and My Own Swordsman...)
(Additionally, since this work merges multiple worlds, some settings may conflict; please do not delve into the details.)
Chapter 120 The Woman in Black, Five Cold Arrows
Ta-da!
The man with the mustache and his companions brandished their long knives, knocking down arrows one after another.
At the same time, they formed a circle, protecting the two children in the middle.
Of course, Li Yao and the two constables were also surrounded by them.
Soon, the arrows were all fired.
Da da da...
Dust billowed as a group of black-clad cavalry, riding fine horses, arrived in the blink of an eye and surrounded the group.
"Kill them all, leave no one alive!"
One of the cavalrymen shouted.
Immediately, the cavalry charged forward like tigers.
"Brothers, let's fight our way out!"
The man with the mustache brandished his long knife, spurred his horse on, and charged ahead.
Immediately, a melee broke out between the two sides.
These black-clad cavalrymen were specially trained, worked in teams of five, coordinated perfectly, and were extremely powerful in combat.
However, the man with the mustache and his gang were all outlaws who lived on the edge of a knife, each with high martial arts skills and ruthless attacks.
Therefore, for a time, it was difficult for either side to determine a winner.
Now, the two officials had no choice but to protect the two children from being captured by the Eastern Depot agents.
Li Yao remained lying on the ground, quietly watching everything unfold.
At this moment, his gaze was as deep as an abyss, unfathomable.
The Eastern Depot!
In addition, there's the way these people dress.
Li Yao was certain that he had traveled to the world of the Ming Dynasty.
He never imagined that he would have such a connection with the Ming Dynasty world.
First, there's the world of Embroidered Spring Blade, set in the late Ming Dynasty.
Later, it became the world of Yitian, set in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties.
I don't know what period of the Ming Dynasty we are in now.
However, there are simply too many worlds set against the backdrop of the Ming Dynasty.
He couldn't immediately determine which world he was in.
Let's take another look!
Li Yao has extremely sharp eyes.
He lay on his side on the ground, and through the gaps between the constantly swaying horse legs, he could see a group of black-clad cavalrymen on a distant hilltop.
One of them was holding something that looked like binoculars, observing the situation.
It seems these people are the real behind-the-scenes bosses.
At this moment, a small group of cavalrymen broke off from the black-clad cavalry in the distance and galloped toward this side.
With the addition of this small group of cavalry, the balance of power between the two sides immediately shifted.
The black-clad cavalry clearly had the upper hand.
In the chaos, the two officers were killed by the black-clad cavalry.
The man with the mustache was shot in the arm by a sharp arrow, and one of his brothers was also killed by the black-clad cavalry.
It was clear that the man with the mustache was about to collapse.
Li Yao remained lying on the ground, offering no assistance to the group led by the man with the mustache.
In truth, he was willing but unable to do so.
He only drank a small sip of water, and his strength was only partially restored, leaving him with limited ability to protect himself.
Just now, several black-clad cavalrymen tried to rush over and kill him, but he killed them with stones.
If he hadn't been starving for over ten days, he could have easily killed the black-clad cavalryman from a distance using the power of his One-Finger Divine Skill.
Just then, a dark figure appeared on the hilltop not far away.
Then a dark figure flew over.