Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 315 - 314: Fallen Into a Trap

The few people who suddenly jumped out made Lu Qing and his companions immediately pull their reins, stopping their horses.

Those blocking the road were all burly figures, with either menacing scars on their faces or fleshy, aggressive looks, appearing to be brutish and ferocious characters.

The weather at this time of year was already quite warm, especially at the border between Lan Country and Shuo Country, where under the scorching sun, it was even a bit hot.

Yet the clothes worn by the people in front of them were as eccentric as could be.

Their outfits looked tattered and dirty, with frayed coarse fabric wrapped around with strips of animal skins.

They had two large knives crossed on their backs, disheveled hair, and stood there grinning wickedly as if they had spotted plump lambs delivered to their doorstep.

Zhu Yu quickly assessed them; although only seven or eight people blocked their way, the swaying treetops and wild grass on either side of the hills and forests faintly revealed moving shadows. With a closer look, it wasn’t hard to notice vague figures moving among the trees.

Clearly, there were more of them than just a few.

Zhu Yu couldn’t discern exactly how many there were, and could only hope their numbers weren’t too large, otherwise, the team Lu Zhang brought might not be sufficient.

"Gentlemen, where are you planning to go?" The man with the scarred face stepped forward two steps, asking in a peculiar intonation, "It must be a tough journey, right? Since you’ve reached our turf, why not dismount and take a rest?"

He weighed a large knife in his hand. The blood groove appeared to be filled with black-red bloodstains, with the handle wrapped in some cloth strips, also stained with dried blood, giving off a murderous aura.

"Good sir, we’re just travelers passing through." Lu Zhang cupped his hand in a polite gesture, saying courteously, "We are heading to Lan Country to visit relatives, passing by this area. If we disturb the distinguished gentlemen here, please forgive us. We’ll pass through swiftly and won’t linger."

"Judging by your accent... Jin Country folks?" The scarred man raised an eyebrow upon hearing Lu Zhang’s accent, showing a somewhat cruel smile before turning to his men, "Brothers, we’re in luck! We’ve run into some people from Jin Country!"

The others erupted into roars of laughter and began closing in on them. Behind them, indeed, more similarly dressed people emerged from the hills and forests, though they didn’t seem as large as the ones at the front.

As soon as these newcomers appeared, they joined in the strange laughter and shouting, their voices echoing through the mountain pass. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Zhu Yu listened carefully; she couldn’t accurately determine how many people were ambushed around them. However, seeing Lu Qing lower his eyes and listen closely to the surroundings, then relax his brow slightly, the number probably wasn’t too great.

"Brothers, life in these wild mountains is tough lately, nothing like back in Jie Country, with big swigs of liquor and mouthfuls of meat, sheer comfort." The scarred man, after the laughter subsided, sinisterly scrutinized Lu Zhang and his companions, lingering his gaze on Zhu Yu and Yan Shu, "Now at night, just thinking about mutton from back home keeps me up!"

"Big brother, me too, me too!" A bearded man on the side grinned while making a strange laugh.

The others chimed in agreement.

"These horses look decent, might keep them for hauling," the scarred man continued eyeing the group. "Always heard Jin Country folks are really tender... We brothers certainly have a treat coming!"

The others immediately echoed with ghoulish cries, as if they couldn’t wait to devour Lu Zhang and his companions alive.

"Run!" Lu Qing suddenly shouted and quickly turned his horse’s head to gallop back.

Zhu Yu and Yan Shu were ready, and followed the plan discussed in advance, immediately galloping back.

The bandits quickly gave chase, squealing excitedly as they ran.

"Run, run! Let’s see if you can get away!" The scarred man yelled in his strange tone while chasing, "Scare you a bit, get your blood flowing, it’ll taste better that way!"

The others echoed with their strange cries while chasing.

Yan Shu, an expert rider, remained calm, even glancing back disdainfully at the sinister bandits, saying to Zhu Yu, "These dogs! Pretending to be Jie people?! They’re clearly savages!

The forest is full of wild rabbits. Why eat people? It truly tarnishes the name of the Jie people!

I’d like to see, what are they really up to?"

Despite the bandits chasing on foot, unable to match the speed of the five mounted people, they seemed utterly unbothered, chattering and laughing loudly as they ran.

The five ran about dozens of meters further when figures emerged from the nearby bushes, blocking the path.

The bandits laughed boisterously. One, running with his shaggy beard flailing, shouted, "Run, run! Let’s see where you’re going! We should’ve set up a pot there for you to run right into, save us the trouble of setting it ourselves!"

The others laughed along at these words.

But their laughter soon stopped, as they noticed those from the bushes weren’t quite dressed like them.

Moreover, these newcomers didn’t block the mounted five but instead opened a path for them, standing firm in the middle of the road.

"Not good, it’s a trap!" The scarred man’s expression changed, realizing the situation was amiss, he quickly called his men to retreat, "Retreat! Quickly retreat!"

The others hastily followed in a panicked retreat.

Those who had sprung from the bushes were of course Lu Zhang’s men, now turning to pursue the bandits.

They pursued at a relaxed pace, keeping a steady distance from the bandits.

The pursuers were not in a hurry, nor were those on horseback.

Seeing the talismans back protecting him and Zhu Yu, Lu Qing asked, "How many of their comrades were there before?"

"Sir, not many, five or six at most." The talisman sighed, seemingly a bit disappointed.