Everyone was stunned there!
Old Xue’s entire body trembled. "Eleven, did you see clearly? Did Mu Li, did he join those bandits willingly, or was he forced..."
"No!"
The apprentice called Eleven interrupted his master with eyes red with fury.
Seeing Old Xue startled, Eleven hastily added, "We chased after him, intending to stop him, but he broke free from Fifth Brother’s grasp and ran towards those bandits on his own, offering to lead the way for them, he..."
Eleven was choked up and couldn’t continue speaking.
Old Xue’s aged body unavoidably staggered, his face turning ashen, nearly causing him to collapse.
Eleven was alard! He rushed forward to support Old Xue’s swaying form, comforting him, "Master, Master, don’t panic, it’s not the end yet! Don’t worry, don’t worry!"
Su Pan’er also struggled to get up from the ground and hurried forward to check his pulse.
"Stricken with panic, he needs to rest quietly to recover!"
To rest quietly, sothing usually simple, yet at this mont, was utterly impossible!
Old Xue struggled to stand up: "Never mind , quick! Go now, it’s no longer safe here!"
Everyone knew this place was no longer safe, but Taohua Valley had only one exit. If the bandits had entered, they would certainly have set up an ambush at the exit. How could they break out now, with the old as old, the young as young, the wounded as wounded, the sick as sick?
After Old Xue’s words, everyone exchanged looks silently, none of them uttering words of despair.
"Old Xue, don’t worry! You rest here, and leave the rest to my n, they won’t let the bandits succeed!"
Su Pan’er said earnestly and turned to order two personal soldiers to guard the cave entrance.
The two personal soldiers, despite their injuries, showed no hesitation and quickly ran towards the cave entrance after responding.
"Co back! It’s no use..."
Old Xue, however, stopped them.
The two soldiers halted but saw Su Pan’er shake her head: "Go!" Not daring to hesitate, they quickly ran out.
Before long, the sound of fierce fighting and screams ca from the cave entrance. Echoed by the layers of the cave walls, it sounded chilling!
It turned everyone’s complexion ghostly pale.
The little hope in everyone’s eyes gradually faded, becoming increasingly desperate and oppressive.
No way forward, no retreat.
"You shouldn’t have let them go!"
Old Xue’s breathing was extrely disordered, his face pallid, yet he still stubbornly stood up: "They are determined to exterminate us today. Even if both of you go to resist, you could only fend them off temporarily, not for a lifeti! Ah!"
"Old Xue..."
Su Pan’er’s eyes turned red. She well knew what Old Xue ant, but the current situation left her no room for hesitation!
After a mont of hesitation, she stepped forward to support Old Xue: "Don’t worry, Old Xue, I, Su Pan’er, will ensure your safety. If those two can’t hold them off, I will go out and resist for a while. As for my Little Yanyan... I entrust her to your care, Old Xue!"
Old Xue’s wild gaze fell on Su Pan’er, then gradually shifted down to Little Yanyan, who had been clinging to Su Pan’er’s skirt hem. After a long ti, he closed his eyes and nodded heavily!
"Rest assured! As long as this old man draws breath, I’ll protect her for the mont. But..."
If he could not protect her, it ant that his ti, and his life, had co to an end!
Little Yanyan’s face was streaked with tears as she shook her head incessantly, pulling at Su Pan’er’s sleeve with force, shaking it: "No, Mother, Yan Yan wants to follow you. No, don’t, don’t abandon Yan Yan. Yan Yan will be good... woo woo woo..."
"Listen to ! Have you forgotten what Mother has told you? Huh?"
Su Pan’er’s own eyes turned red. She had to leave Yan Yan behind, though it was the last thing she wanted to do, but right now, she had no better option.
"I won’t, I won’t, I just won’t! Mother... woo woo..."
Yan Yan cried louder and louder, clinging tightly to Su Pan’er’s legs, her tears flowing without reserve. The sight caused Old Xue and his apprentice, Eleven, to turn their heads away, wiping their own tears.
Su Pan’er held her close; this was her daughter!
Her own flesh and blood, her precious child, dear to her heart!
Leaving her behind was as painful as being cut by a knife!
But she couldn’t cry out in pain...
She clenched her teeth and swallowed several tis, forcefully suppressing the sobs that threatened to burst forth, as she stroked Little Yanyan’s head.
"Yan Yan, be good. Mother has important things to do. You must listen to Grandpa Xue, understand?"
Little Yanyan just kept shaking her head and weeping, calling for her Mother in a bloodcurdling wail.
The scene of such a heart-wrenching departure weighed heavily on the hearts of those present. Yet Su Pan’er bit her lip, forcibly pried Yan Yan’s hands off, and turned to walk outside.
"No! Mother..."
Little Yanyan cried out in distress as she rushed forward again, but was restrained by Eleven, unable to move.
"Don’t go, Mother, please don’t leave. Mother, don’t go, don’t go..."
Little Yanyan’s wails echoed throughout the cave, causing imnse pain in Su Pan’er’s heart, yet still she hastened her steps and continued outside.
"Wait! Ugly girl, co back."
Old Xue suddenly called out to Su Pan’er. He took a few deep breaths, wiped away his tears, and closed his eyes: "When I was young, I rember hearing the grandmaster ntion that there seems to be another way out of here. However, I’ve turned this entire cave upside down through the years, and I never found any exit. So... considering our situation, like a dying horse acting as a living horse doctor, why not search? What if we find it?"
Being a practical man, Old Xue wouldn’t normally speak without confidence. But at this critical mont, confronted with a matter of life and death, he had no choice but to speak out.
Old Xue’s words brought a glimr of hope to Su Pan’er! She imdiately turned around.
"What exactly did the grandmaster tell you?"
As she spoke, she tapped gently along the stone walls.
Struggling to breathe, Old Xue followed her lead, tapping along the walls too.
"As a child, I only occasionally heard the grandmaster speak of this matter. After the grandmaster’s unexpected death, he hadn’t ti to explain everything. So, I’m even less sure about the secrets of this place."
So they had no clues at all?
Su Pan’er’s brows furrowed, as sounds of fierce fighting ca from outside, signaling that the personal soldiers might not hold out much longer. She quickened her tapping actions.
Seeing this, Eleven imdiately joined the search for a potential trigger. Even Little Yanyan stopped crying and imitated everyone else, tapping around in chaos.
The area of the cave was neither too large nor too small, only about twenty square ters or so, and shaped irregularly. Su Pan’er examined it carefully, but the walls were rely hard soil and rock, showing no trace of any chanism. Her heart slowly began to sink.
Seeing Su Pan’er’s fruitless search, Old Xue also felt conflicted: "Perhaps, the grandmaster didn’t an this. Maybe I misrembered?"
"Impossible!"
Su Pan’er imdiately rejected his suggestion: "Although this place isn’t very big, if the grandmaster chose it as a refuge, he would certainly have kept an escape route for himself. Let’s think again, perhaps we’ve overlooked sothing inadvertently."
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