My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 73 Mutation
"You don't need to worry. I'll send someone to Zhang Village later to have someone identify you and confirm your identity."

"I will not hurt you before that, so there is no need to be so afraid."

Li Mi, who had been terrified, finally calmed down. "That's for the best! That's for the best!"

Liu Chounu had him tied up and placed aside. He looked around in terror, curled up all over. Anyone who saw him felt sorry for him; he was just a bullied farmer.

Li Xuanba had already begun giving orders: "Zhang Tuanzuo, send a few men to gather all our troops here."

"Then, send another person with Yuanji to the city to find my grandfather, tell him about this, and ask him to send someone to help."

He looked at Li Yuanji and said, "Yuanji, tell your father that there are a lot of bandits here. If your father is not here, go find your eldest brother. If even your eldest brother is not here, go directly to Wang Zanwu. If you don't dare to do it yourself, go to your second brother and ask him to help you find people."

"Here!"

"Let's move back a bit further, so as not to alert them."

Li Xuanba made the arrangements, and those who received the orders left, while Li Xuanba led his troops to retreat again.

They led their men to a secluded spot, a low-lying depression with trees on both sides, where they hid. They could hear any knights passing by on the road.

Li Xuanba was holding a pancake and eating it in big bites.

He had a very good appetite and was always hungry, so he always brought a lot of food with him whenever he went out.

Zhang Du stood suspiciously in front of the dark-faced man, staring intently at him.

No matter how Zhang Du looked at him, he didn't think the person in front of him was a thief or a villain; he was just a farmer.

His accent, appearance, clothing, eyes, and even the calluses on his hands all pointed to him as someone who worked in the fields.

He suddenly started talking to Li Mi about the surrounding situation.

Li Mi was fluent in his answers and quite familiar with the surrounding area, including Zhang Village. When Zhang Du talked to him about crops, he answered fluently again, clearly an experienced old farmer.

Zhang Du returned to Li Xuanba's side. He hesitated for a long time before saying, "Master, I think this person is really just a farmer from the surrounding area. He doesn't seem like a bad person."

"If you're not a bad person, why do you want to run away?"

He said he was going to relieve himself.

"Ha, that's not what you said, old man. After you exposed him, he even tried to run away."

Zhang Du nodded slightly. "He said he was frightened just now."

Li Xuanba shook his head. "It's alright. We'll find out who it is when Father comes. He can send someone to investigate. If we've arrested the wrong person, I'll apologize to him and give him some food. We didn't hit him, we just subdued him. There's nothing wrong with that."

Zhang Du nodded again.

He had experienced being caught and humiliated by government officials, so he felt somewhat sorry for people like him.

He also sent someone to give the dark-faced man some water.

Li Mi was extremely excited, expressing his gratitude repeatedly, his eyes glistening with tears, looking pitiful.

Time passes little by little.

The call of an unknown bird came from afar, and apart from that, there was only deathly silence.

The group didn't dare to talk much, but instead gripped their weapons warily and waited patiently.

A bird's cry rang out, and Liu Chounu suddenly opened his eyes. "Hold the bow!"

The crowd was shocked and, for some reason, they all picked up their bows and arrows.

At this moment, Li Mi breathed a sigh of relief. He raised his head again and looked at Li Xuanba opposite him.

At this moment, he became somewhat different.

The image of the honest and pitiful old farmer from a moment ago has vanished. His eyes are confident, and a smile is on his lips. He is like a completely different person.

"Third Master, why don't you let me go?"

Everyone looked at him, and they were all taken aback.

The next moment, several people suddenly emerged from the surrounding high places. They were all masked, and there were only about ten of them. But what was most surprising was that they were all carrying crossbows!

The crossbows were ready and could fire at any moment, all aimed at Li Xuanba.

Liu Chounu stood in front of Li Xuanba, and the village soldiers' arrows were also aimed at them.

Li Mi shook his head helplessly, "It didn't have to be like this in the first place."

He slowly stood up, his hands still bound behind his back.

He spoke up, "Young Master probably knows about crossbows. None of you are armored, and you can't protect Third Young Master with just your flesh and blood. If you ask me, it's really inappropriate to hurt Third Young Master for someone as worthless as me." He looked directly at Liu Chounu, "Old man, you seem to be a reasonable person."

"Although my men are few, you can see that they are all quite skilled, and they are all armed with powerful crossbows. If we fight head-on, I will certainly die, but Sanlangjun will likely also meet with misfortune. We are not enemies, and I am definitely not in cahoots with those bandits over there. I am here to report these scoundrels, and I have absolutely no intention of harming Sanlangjun. Therefore, I think it is best for us to make peace."

“I will take them with me. My enemy is not the Duke of Tang. I will go far away and never appear again. You just need to protect Sanlangjun and make sure he doesn’t get hurt. What do you think?”

Looking at the crossbows aimed at him in the distance, Li Xuanba felt a sense of fear as the threat of death loomed over him, and he gripped the iron ruler in his hand tightly.

Standing before him, Liu Chounu was incredibly nervous. If they were to actually fight, he didn't know if he could protect Sanlangjun.

Several local militiamen surrounded Li Xuanba from all sides, including Zhang Du, whose bow was already aimed at Li Mi.

He never expected that this guy was actually a villain!

"Have your men move to the back!"

"Let's evacuate at the same time!"

Liu Chounu finally spoke.

Li Mi agreed to the matter, and the warriors gradually retreated to the front of Liu Chounu and the others. Liu Chounu made sure that no one was behind him, and the group surrounded Li Xuanba and retreated little by little. Li Mi was also quickly cut by someone and then retreated step by step.

The distance between the two sides is getting farther and farther.

"Tap, tap, tap~~"

The sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from the road in the distance.

Li Mi was taken aback. How long had it been?

The other side's people have already arrived? How is that possible??
"Retreat!! Retreat into the woods!!"

Li Mi abandoned the standoff and led the charge into the dense forest. The warriors, who were also well-trained, lowered their crossbows and rushed into the forest.

Liu Chounu did not order a pursuit; he continued to retreat. Those men had crossbows, and he couldn't let his lord take the risk!

A cavalry unit appeared in the distance, consisting of more than thirty men, all fully armed and skilled riders. They spotted the bandits fleeing into the dense forest.

"Whoosh~~"

"Whoosh~~"

"Whoosh~~"

The knights drew their bows and shot arrows, which rained down on the distant bandits. These were not the local soldiers under Li Xuanba's command. Among his local soldiers, only the skilled archers sent by his elder brother knew how to ride and shoot, and they were not this formidable.

"Move to the sides! Don't let the thieves get away!!"

The knights fired repeatedly, and some soldiers on the other side fell to the ground screaming in pain.

Li Xuanba and the others watched the group warily, but the voice that had just been heard sounded very familiar.

A knight approached them, and the leader dismounted and rushed to Li Xuanba, beginning to feel him up and down. "Are you injured?"

This knight was none other than Li Shimin.

He had just led his men out when he saw someone confronting his brother with a crossbow.

At that moment, Li Shimin didn't know how he felt. He had never been so afraid before, and his hands were trembling.

"Second Brother."

Upon confirming that his younger brother was unharmed, Li Shimin's face flushed crimson, and his previous fear transformed into anger.

He raised his hand, about to slap his younger brother in the face, but he managed to hold back.

"If I hadn't met Yuanji on the way..."

I'll settle the score with you later!

He angrily looked into the distance, in the direction where Li Mi and the others had fled. His whole body was burning with rage. He took a few steps and then suddenly jumped onto his horse.

"You scoundrel!! How dare you hurt my brother! I'll take your life!!"

"Chase after me!!"

"drive!!"

With a shout, his warhorse galloped away, and Li Shimin raised his bow and arrow, drawing the bow and shooting.

(End of this chapter)