Chapter 98: Old Leo's Crisis, Xiao Wu and Su Mo's Opportunity! (2)
A winding path cut through the forest.
Along this path, an old man with a backpack leaned on a cane, panting, wiping sweat from his forehead as he prepared to cross.
But at that moment, several bandits in ragged clothes and headscarves suddenly emerged from one side of the forest, wielding weapons like swords, and blocked the old man's path.
At the same time, one of them—presumably the leader—raised his sword and shouted the classic robbery line fiercely:
"Hey! This mountain is mine, this tree is mine. If you want to pass through here, hand over all your money!"
"These... are bandits?"
Seeing the differently-sized bandits armed and blocking his way, the old man couldn't help but freeze and feel a bit panicked.
"When... did bandits appear here?"
This old man was named Lao Leo, and he was the village chief of Daoxiang Village.
His son worked in Notting City, and since he had some free time, he went there to visit him.
It had been a while since they had seen each other, so he stayed at his son's workplace for a while.
Thus, when he headed home, it was already getting late.
Wanting to return before nightfall, he didn't have time to take the main road and might not make it back to the village before dark.
So Lao Leo had no choice but to take a shortcut through a lesser-known path to save time.
That way, he could return to the village before night.
But unexpectedly, bandits were blocking the path.
This filled him with panic and distress.
He was very old, and it wasn't his first encounter with thieves.
If it had been before, he would have obediently handed over the money.
After all, he was poor and never carried much on him. At most, he had only a few copper coins, so he didn't mind giving them away.
Consider it buying his life—it was worth it!
But this time was different!
Because this time, when he went to visit his son, the latter had given him all the wages he had saved up over several years and asked him to go home and propose marriage to Cuihua in the village.
This was his son's wedding money. If the thieves took it, everything would be ruined!
"Boss, you're wrong. It's not that he has to give you all the money, he just has to leave some for the journey,"
While the old Leo was sweating anxiously and the bandit leader was shouting fiercely, a tall but rather foolish bandit behind him scratched his head and said:
"Go easy! It's fine as long as you get the money. Everything else stays the same."
The bandit leader blushed and angrily scolded the foolish bandit:
"The boss is right!"
On the side, a thin monkey-like bandit repeated the leader's words.
However, noticing that Lao Leo was backing away, the tall and skinny bandit couldn't help but raise the short knife in his hand and threaten:
"Old man, what's wrong? Still trying to run? You're so old—just hand over the money. It'll be good for both of us. If we fight, I'm afraid your old bones won't survive it!"
"This…"
Lao Leo grew even more anxious. He knew he had no chance of escaping from these bandits with his old limbs.
But what he carried in his backpack was his son's future!
Even if he died, he wouldn't give it up easily!
"Good sirs, this... this is all the money I have. I beg you to show mercy and let me pass. I have to return to the village quickly—it will be too late otherwise!"
Although he was very nervous about the backpack on his back, Lao Leo also knew that the more nervous he looked, the more suspicious it would be.
He could only force a smile at the bandits, feigning distress on his old face, and reluctantly pulled out a pouch from his waist to hand to the bandit leader.
"Bah! How can there be so little money?!"
The bandit leader grew furious after taking the pouch and opening it, finding only a dozen copper soul coins—barely enough to buy a meat meal.
"Good sir! Why must the poor make things difficult for the poor? Do I look rich to you?"
"This trip to Nottingham was just to buy new clothes for my grandson. After all, school starts in a few months, and I have no money!"
Facing the bandit leader's anger, Lao Leo forced a bitter smile.
Upon hearing this, the leader looked him over and saw he was wearing simple, patched-up coarse cloth. Clearly, he was also poor. He waved impatiently.
"Forget it! Forget it! Go! Go!"
Realizing he had finally made it through, Lao Leo couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and prepared to leave quickly.
But just as Lao Leo passed by, the tall and skinny bandit looked at the backpack and noticed something seemed off—the contents didn't look like clothes.
"Wait! What are you carrying on your back? Take it off and show me!"
"No! I've been found out!"
Hearing the bandit's words, Lao Leo felt a chill run down his spine and was terrified.
Driven by fear, strength suddenly returned to his arms and legs, and he ran desperately with his cane, trying to escape.
"Run!"
But when the bandits saw Lao Leo fleeing, they immediately realized he was hiding something—there must be something valuable in that backpack.
They shouted and gave chase.
But just as Lao Leo was fleeing, Xiao Wu had taken a wrong turn and, upon exiting the forest, saw everything happening.
Xiao Wu still had a strong sense of justice.
Seeing a group of strong men chasing a white-haired old man, Xiao Wu couldn't help but puff up her cheeks and shout:
"Let go of that grandpa!"
Right after yelling, Xiao Wu dashed over, her black scorpion braid swinging behind her head, and charged forward with a cry.
After reaching the road, Xiao Wu suddenly jumped and kicked a bandit who was closest to Lao Leo.
"Damn it! A girl?!"
The bandit leader grew furious upon realizing a little girl dared to ruin their robbery. He raised the large knife in his hand and attacked Xiao Wu.
"Careful, girl!"
Seeing this, Lao Leo couldn't help but cry out anxiously.
But obviously, a mere bandit leader was no match for Xiao Wu.
Just as Xiao Wu dodged the leader's knife and fought the group of bandits,
Su Mo, who had been hiding in the shadows, felt he had finally found an opportunity.
Now, he just needed to jump out and help Xiao Wu defeat the group of bandits—and he could get close to her.
Since they were already near Notting City, he could pretend he was just walking the same road as Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu studied at Notting University and had applied for a teaching position.
On the way, with his abilities, how could he not handle Xiao Wu?
Thinking this, Su Mo stopped hiding.
After removing the concealment effect caused by the deathly aura released by the Martial Soul of the Scythe of Death, Su Mo activated the Martial Soul of the Tree of Life Staff in his body at full force, letting the natural aura it released instantly surround him.
Emerging from his hiding place, Su Mo suddenly leaped and, after several moves, landed on a large tree not far from the road.
Seeing everything happening on the road, Su Mo pretended to be angry and shouted:
"Where did these bandits come from? How dare you rob people in broad daylight!"
With that, Su Mo dashed toward the battlefield where Xiao Wu and the bandits were fighting.
No time to waste!
These ordinary bandits were no match for Xiao Wu.
If he was too slow, he'd only arrive to find a bunch of unconscious thieves on the ground.
(End of this chapter)