The Mei Sisters, Mother and Son Block the Path

The Witchcraft Academy is situated on a low hill twenty miles outside of Wen'an County.

This place serves as both an academy and a branch altar established by the Witchcraft sect in Wen'an County, and its incense offerings are quite prosperous.

The massive, grey-white complex of buildings was constructed against the mountain, layer upon layer. At the foot of the mountain, many carriages of various styles were already parked, all belonging to families from the city who had come to pick up their children.

Liu Qi drove the carriage to an empty spot and parked it steadily, then climbed down with the maid, Xiao Gao. He said to Lu Chen, "Brother Lu, I must trouble you to watch the carriage for a while. We are going up to pick up the young ladies and move their luggage."

Lu Chen looked at the mountain path, which was not steep but certainly not short. "I will go as well; I fear the luggage will not be light."

"No need, no need." Liu Qi waved his hand. "It is just some personal belongings; we can manage. Brother Lu, please just rest."

"Very well."

After a while, the sound of laughter and chatter drifted down from the mountain path as several handsome and pretty youths walked down.

Liu Qi and Xiao Gao followed behind, carrying and shouldering a large pile of trunks and bundles; their waists were bent under the weight, and their steps were unsteady.

Seeing this, Lu Chen immediately jumped off the carriage shaft and walked quickly to meet them to help.

Liu Qi caught his breath and gave a wry smile.

"We finally made it down. Many thanks, Brother Lu."

Once he had caught his breath, he gestured with his chin toward the youths who had already reached the carriage. "This time, besides the two young ladies, their three classmates are also hitching a ride back to the county seat. Fortunately, the mistress had the foresight to rent a carriage spacious enough, otherwise, we really wouldn't have been able to squeeze them in."

As he spoke, he worked with Lu Chen and Xiao Gao to properly stow the luggage one by one into the rear compartment and onto the roof rack of the carriage.

The two daughters of the master's wife were each more beautiful than the other.

The elder sister, Mei Dai, was fourteen, with a slender waist and long legs.

The younger sister, Mei Ying, was thirteen, petite and exquisite, with a face as delicate as a doll's.

Because Master Deng had married into the family, both daughters took their mother's surname.

The three classmates who came along were all young men, and they were also well-groomed.

One was surnamed Zhang, and one was surnamed Lei; both were from wealthy families in Wen'an.

The other was surnamed Wen and was from out of town. Judging by his attire, he was not as wealthy as the first two, but in terms of appearance, he was the most outstanding of the three.

All three were suitors of the two young ladies.

Once they boarded the carriage, they set off for the county seat.

Because of the many people and the heavy load, the two horses pulling the carriage could barely manage, and they could not move quickly.

Lu Chen asked, "Will we be able to return before dark?"

Liu Qi nodded. "Yes, I guarantee we will reach the city gates before dark."

Lu Chen said no more.

The carriage swayed along the road, and the people inside chatted and laughed.

Lu Chen held his blade, his eyes scanning the sides of the road with vigilance.

With the New Year approaching, thieves and bandits were also looking to make some money for the holidays, so one had to be on guard.

Listening to the laughter inside the carriage, he gradually began to notice something.

These three youths were less like suitors to both young ladies.

It would be more accurate to say that their hearts were entirely set on the younger sister, Mei Ying.

The younger sister was indeed prettier than the elder, and her voice was delicate and crisp, as if she had inherited her father's clever tongue.

The elder sister, Mei Dai, was more like the mistress; her temperament was somewhat cold, and she spoke little. Aside from being tall and having long legs, she seemed less eye-catching than her sister in every way.

The three men were working hard to crack witty jokes, each one directed toward Mei Ying's ears, trying every method to make her happy.

The elder sister only chimed in occasionally, her voice indifferent.

Halfway through the journey, snow began to fall.

Lu Chen's vigilance reached its peak.

In this weather and in this area, this was the exact time for bandits to emerge.

Sure enough, a mother and son blocked the road ahead.

The woman was about twenty years old, wrapped in a worn blue cloth jacket, holding a child wrapped in a thick cloak in her arms, with only a pair of pitch-black eyes visible.

"Kind sir! Have mercy, please give us mother and son a ride. The child is freezing and cannot bear it any longer; just to the village ahead will do!" The woman stopped the carriage and pleaded.

Liu Qi looked at Lu Chen, feeling somewhat conflicted.

Lu Chen remained silent, merely observing the mother and son coldly.

"What is going on?" The carriage curtain was lifted at a corner, revealing Young Master Lei's impatient face. "Why have we stopped?"

"Young Master Lei, a woman has stopped the carriage and wants a ride for a short distance," Liu Qi said hurriedly.

"Stopping the carriage?" Young Master Lei glanced at the mother and son in the middle of the road, his brows furrowing. "In this wilderness, who knows where they come from? Send them away quickly; it is getting dark, and we still need to make time."

Mei Dai also said in a low voice, "It is indeed strange. In this weather, why would a decent woman be traveling with a young child?"

No one present was a fool. In this world, the area outside the city walls was never safe.

A young woman traveling alone with a small child, flagging down a carriage in the middle of a snowstorm? Nine times out of ten, it was a trap.

"The carriage is full, we cannot take you," Lu Chen said. "The village ahead is only five or six miles away; walk there yourself."

He gave a slight nod to Liu Qi.

Liu Qi understood and flicked the reins. "Giddyap!"

The woman tried to block them again, her pleas growing more desperate.

But the carriage had already accelerated, leaving her behind in the snow.

After traveling another two or three miles, they encountered three government runners riding toward them on horseback. Their official robes were dusted with light snow, and their expressions were hurried.

The leader pulled on his reins, blocking the road, and shouted:

"Hey! Driver, have you seen a young woman with a child of five or six years old?"

Hearing this, Young Master Lei immediately lifted the carriage curtain and answered eagerly, "We saw them, we saw them! They're on the road behind us, not far from here. She was holding a child and trying to flag down carriages."

The runner's eyes lit up. He exchanged a look with his companions, and without waiting to ask more, he let out a low shout: "Move!"

The three men whipped their horses and galloped back the way they came, kicking up a spray of snowy slush.

The carriage continued forward.

About a stick of incense later, Lu Chen suddenly raised his hand and said in a low voice, "Slow down!"

Liu Qi hurriedly reined in the horses.

The road ahead was completely blocked. Several trees as thick as a bowl had been felled by someone, lying in a tangled mess across the path, with piles of loose stones heaped between them, sealing the imperial road tight.

The accumulated snow was covered in chaotic tracks.

Even more chilling was the overturned carriage lying to the side of the barricade. The horse that had pulled it was long gone, the shafts were snapped, and the cabin was shattered.

On the snow, several pools of blood had already frozen into a dark, brownish hue.

Against the backdrop of the pristine white snow, they looked particularly jarring.

The surroundings were silent, save for the howling of the wind and snow.

The passengers in the carriage gasped in alarm at the sight.

Lu Chen leaped off the carriage, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade as he scanned the area.

The blood had not yet fully congealed, yet the carriage was empty; it was clearly a fresh robbery.

He understood immediately: they had run into bandits blocking the road.

Returning to the carriage, he cupped his hands toward the three youths in brocade robes:

"Gentlemen, please, lend a hand and help clear the road."

Young Master Zhang's face fell the moment he heard this.

He had been pampered since childhood, born with delicate skin and tender flesh; when had he ever done such manual labor? He said with disgust:

"Is this sort of menial labor something we should be touching? Isn't that the duty of you servants?"

Young Master Lei added, "Our families paid you silver to hire you, not to have you act like masters! To think you would dare order us around—have you no sense of status or propriety?"

Seeing this, Liu Qi hurriedly explained, "The two young masters have misunderstood. Brother Lu Chen is not a servant; he is a disciple of our Plum Blossom Martial Hall. He is on the verge of breaking through to the External Strength realm. Knowing the year-end is unstable, the Mistress specifically asked Brother Lu to come and escort the two young ladies."

The younger sister, Mei Ying, heard this and pursed her lips into a smile, her voice crisp:

"I was wondering! Father is usually so calculating, how could he suddenly be so generous as to hire an extra hand? So, Senior Brother Lu is a bodyguard expert hired by Mother."