Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Red

When the bandit instructed Bai Zhengliu to hold down his shoulder, he was still able to struggle calmly. However, in the next moment, Bai Zhengliu pulled him back into the encirclement formed by the Jianghu guests and the young men from Tan Family Village.

He held the bandit's arm, his hands as solid as a rock, and shouted loudly, "Brother Mei!"

Before the sound faded, Mei Yinghan was already there.

The swordsman quickly grabbed the bandit’s mask. As this happened, the other bandits, seeing this scene, went into a frenzy and pushed forward with wild abandon!

The young men from Tan Family Village blocked the two in front, but in an instant, they were knocked down by the bandits, some with crude weapons, others with nothing but fists and feet.

The Jianghu guests also blocked in front of them. The three disciples of Emei and Wudang, each holding a long sword, their blades already stained with blood, gleamed under the moonlight, reflecting like a pool of autumn water dotted with red plum blossoms, lighting up the chaotic scene before them...

“These damned bastards,” even the usually calm and reserved Lu Qing, who had been quietly standing behind his wife, couldn’t help but get angry at the fierce attacks, “Why are they suddenly so strong?!”

Upon hearing this, the few people who knew the truth of the plan immediately felt their minds clear and calm.

They had found the right direction.

Exposing the true identity of the bandits was the Tan Family’s key move!

At this moment, under Mei Yinghan's hands, the bandit’s mask had already been pushed up to the bridge of his nose, and was continuing to move upwards.

Although the bandits had desperately tried to stop this, it came swiftly. Soon, the bandit’s eyes were exposed.

Looking at the fierce, angry middle-aged man in front of them, Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan both thought at the same time: "It's settled."

Without hesitation, they quickly moved to either side and shouted, “Why is it that Meng's wife’s family and Meng's Third Uncle, who came to help during the day, are working with these bandits?!”

Upon hearing these words, the young men from Tan Family Village were stunned: “How could this be...?”

“It’s Meng Third Uncle! It really is Meng Third Uncle! I even drank with him earlier today.”

“A good man doesn’t choose to become a bandit! Why did you choose this path?”

Seeing the face under the mask, the young men from Tan Family Village, who had been on the verge of losing hope under the bandits’ fierce attacks, were revitalized again. The man with the horse-face acted quickly, seizing a wooden spear stained with the blood of his comrades, and, swinging it in agony, cried out, “Why! Why is it you?!”

Some of the others even shouted directly into the house: “Master Tan! Your in-laws are bandits! You’ve let the wolves into your home, and now we’re all suffering! My elder brother has already been... attacked by these evil people!”The chaotic sounds outside also reached the ears of those hiding inside the house.

At first, people were trying to carefully distinguish: "Why has it suddenly gotten noisy? What are they shouting?"

As the shouts of the young men outside grew louder and clearer, people’s faces slowly began to show understanding.

Their expressions when looking at the Tan family and Meng family started to grow strange.

However, none of this compared to the changing face of Tan Yuanwai.

It was as if he had been struck by lightning, confused and incredulous, muttering, "What are they shouting? The Meng family? Bandits? How is that possible..."

This scene caught Jun Yang's eye, and he quickly raised his vigilance. His gaze flickered rapidly between the Tan family and Meng family members.

At this moment, it was the most crucial part of the Jianghu guests' plan. The Tan family, as the core of this strange incident, knowing the truth of what had led to their deaths, must...

"I don’t believe it! You must have misheard," Tan Yuanwai said.

Jun Yang was slightly stunned, but quickly realized: For the other people of Tan Family Village, the news that "the bandits are from the Meng family" would make them angry and disappointed, but it wouldn’t be hard to accept. However, for Tan Yuanwai himself, those were his in-laws, whom he had been friendly with during the day. When he had asked them to help report to the officials, Meng Third and Fourth Uncles had agreed immediately, even kindly asking if Tan Yuanwai wanted to bring Tan Qiulang and Tan Yuniang along to hide.

—He had really thought that was "concern."

But now, recalling the tone and expressions of the Meng family at that time, Tan Yuanwai couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine.

All these thoughts were reflected clearly on Tan Yuanwai’s face, which Jun Yang keenly noticed.

He heard Tan Yuanwai muttering to himself: “Impossible! Impossible!” With that, he quickly walked to the door and actually pushed open the door—the door that the young men inside had seen as their lifeline!

At that point, the outside scene finally entered the view of the people inside. They saw that the Jianghu guests and the village companions who had been guarding outside to protect them had already dwindled to very few. Countless people were lying on the ground, blood gushing from their wounds, soaking into the earth beside them. Even those who were still standing at this moment were covered in injuries, swaying unsteadily.

Even at this moment, Bai Zhengliu did not release Meng Third Uncle.

His left arm had been slashed, and his body bore the marks of wooden spears. The pain surged through him, and the young man gave a slight bitter smile. This chaos was far more severe than the "Chang residence" incident.

He was like this, and beside him, Mei Yinghan, Jun Tao, and Nie Lu, the married couple, were naturally no better off. But compared to the Tan Family Village's young men, who were already lying on the ground, their fates uncertain, their condition could be considered better.Hearing the sound of the door opening behind him, Bai Zhengliu barely gathered his strength, enduring the excruciating pain, and turned Meng Third Uncle’s face toward the people inside the room.

Naturally, this also caught Tan Yuanwai's eye.

The people of Tan Family Village were in an uproar, "It really is Meng Third Uncle! He’s really a bandit!"

"Why? How could this be?!"

"Everyone! There are hardly any people left outside. Are we just going to stay inside and wait for the bandits to come and kill us? Why not go out with me, kill a few bandits, and avenge our deaths!"

After the initial shock, such calls rang out among the young men and were quickly met with a response.

They grabbed the farming tools and weapons they had brought to Tan’s house, filing out through the door—then, a group of them immediately ran toward the side hall!

None of them were fools. Who would really die for Tan’s family? The priority now was to spread the news that "the bandits are from the Meng family" so that the rest of the village would be on alert.

Yes! It had to be that way. They certainly weren’t just cowardly and panicked, fleeing for their lives.

In a short time, one-third of the young men who could still stand upright in the yard had disappeared. Among those left, some were swayed by their companions’ departure, their faces showing expressions of wanting to leave but also fearing that they couldn’t escape.

At this moment, the attention of the Jianghu guests was entirely focused on the room.

In just a short time, only the Tan family, Meng family, and Jun Yang and Qian Gui remained in the main room.

Originally, Jun Yang’s gaze had always been on Tan Yuanwai.

He had already felt that Tan Yuanwai was the biggest problem, and he still held the same attitude at this point. He was the one leading everything, and it was also him who had left Qian Gege behind... Yet, now, the situation in the yard had changed again, and Tan Yuanwai still stood there in a daze. It was as if, upon seeing Meng Third Uncle’s face, Tan Yuanwai's soul had been sucked away, leaving behind a walking corpse standing before Jun Yang.

Jun Yang's brows slowly furrowed.

He couldn’t help but question himself: Could it be that all his previous deductions were wrong? Could it be that the most important thing wasn’t—

Halfway through his thought, he heard a loud cry: "Brother, behind you!"

It was Jun Tao.

He saw a short knife attacking his elder brother, and an overwhelming concern surged in his heart. Fortunately, the knife didn’t strike his brother’s shoulder. The moment Jun Tao shouted, Jun Yang heard the sharp sound of wind coming from behind!He suddenly spun around, raising his long sword, which collided with the short knife!

The two weapons clashed together, and Jun Yang heard the crisp sound of metal striking. His hands shook violently, and in front of him was the ferocious face of Meng Uncle.

Jun Yang's mood suddenly turned cold. Yes, he had been focusing on observing Tan Yuanwai’s situation and had completely forgotten the most important thing. There were still two members of the Meng family in the room, and now that their identities were exposed, weren’t they going to attack immediately?

Meng Uncle was attacking Jun Yang, so his son, Meng Family cousin—

"No!!!"

A woman's scream rang out from the main hall of the Tan family!

In front of Meng Yuniang, Tan Qiulang had initially stiffened as he blocked the short knife from Meng Cousin. His body, driven by pain, instantly lost strength and slumped down.

He swayed slightly, as if still wanting to do something. But at that moment, Meng Cousin yanked the sharp knife from Tan Junqiu’s chest, and blood sprayed out from the youth's chest!

Tan Junqiu let out a howl-like sound from his throat. Despite the situation, he still insisted that his wife leave.

"Yuniang, go, take Wen Ge’er..."

He didn't finish speaking.

Tan Junqiu's body collapsed onto the ground, and Meng Cousin stepped over him, coming face to face with his cousin, Tan Junqiu’s wife.

The knife that had been pulled from Tan Junqiu's body was plunged into his wife's body in a heartbeat.

Things were happening too quickly, and Jun Yang was blocked by Meng Uncle, completely unable to stop the scene.

Not just him, but the Jianghu guests outside were also hindered by the bandits in front and on their sides, helplessly watching as Tan Junqiu and Meng Yuniang were brutally killed... Brutally killed?

The situation changed again!

Although the sharp knife had struck Meng Yuniang’s vital spot, she didn’t collapse in pain like her husband had. She stood there, staring at her older brother, her face filled with a mixture of shock, realization, pain, and anger... so many emotions.

The woman seemed to sigh softly and said, "Yes, others knew your identity and tried to stop your attack, so they deserved to die. But I knew who you were from the very beginning. How could you not want to kill me?"

At these words, Tan Qiulang, covered in blood and lying on the ground, his pupils contracted, and he looked at his wife in disbelief. Even though he didn’t say anything, anyone could see that Tan Junqiu’s heart was filled with the thought: "Why did Yuniang say she ‘knew from the very beginning’?"She knew the Meng family well, but now, these words made it seem like the wife had understood the Meng family’s ill intentions toward their own family from the very beginning.

Why was this happening? He didn’t understand.

"Yuniang..."

Tan Junqiu weakly and painfully called his wife’s name.

Meng Yuniang lowered her head, both looking at the knife that had pierced her chest and at her husband.

Something began to change from this moment on.

In the eyes of everyone, the woman slowly raised her hand, gripping the part of the blade that remained outside her body.

The sharp edge of the knife pierced her palm, and more blood poured out, staining Meng Yuniang’s bracelet.

"Why?" Though there was no wind, her hair seemed to be lifted by something, swaying in the air. "Why?!"

The first sentence was still in a weak female voice. In the second sentence, her voice suddenly became sharp and high-pitched. It pierced the ears of everyone present, like a long needle puncturing their eardrums!

Many of the Tan family’s young men screamed in pain, clutching their bleeding ears. At that moment, Meng Yuniang also lifted her eyes—

Jun Yang, being the closest, saw the clearest.

The woman’s eyes had also turned the color of blood.