The General Under the Skirt - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Shen Roujia wasn’t feeling particularly aggrieved; she was just terrified.

“Third Uncle!”

When Huo Zhao arrived, he kicked the man holding her leg. His kick was no ordinary kick. The man was sent flying, his spine broken and his body contorted at an unnatural angle. Blood gurgled in his throat.

Huo Zhao held Shen Roujia close, his cold gaze sweeping over the five people, including the fat woman.

“It…it was him! He stole from us and beat Third Uncle!”

Shen Roujia clutched at Huo Zhao’s clothes and swallowed the blood in her mouth. She opened her eyes, her gaze falling on his sharp jawline. She tugged on his clothes and said to him, “…Brother Yu, there are too many of them, let’s… let’s run.”

She knew escape was unlikely. There were too many of them, and even though Brother Yu was strong, he couldn’t fight them all alone. She didn’t know what to do. If they ran, she would only slow him down.

But she was selfish; she wanted to escape with him.

Huo Zhao gently brushed the bloodstained hair away from her face and whispered, “It’s alright. We don’t have to run. Just lie here and wait for me.”

After he finished speaking, he gently put her on the ground. When he stood up, the little girl’s hand was still tightly grasping the corner of his clothes.

What weighed upon Huo Zhao was not only the prosperity and peace of Dachang. It was also the countless bleached bones and the souls of fallen enemies.

He was a man who walked the edge between life and death. He had traversed both heaven and hell, bearing the merit of unwavering loyalty as well as the sin of endless slaughter.

He tried to soften his voice as much as possible, but he still couldn’t keep the coldness from seeping in.

“Wait for me.”

Huo Zhao stood up. Shen Roujia was right behind him. In front of him were those who had once humiliated her.

Shen Roujia shrank slightly to the side, curling up a bit. Whether it was sweat or something else, everything looked a little blurry in her eyes.

The sky had dimmed, and tonight’s dusk lacked the radiant sunset that usually colored the horizon.

She looked at Yu Zhao, who was now standing in front of her with his back to her. He was tall and seemed to brim with strength. Before Yu Zhao returned, fear had surged around her like a rising tide. But now, Yu Zhao had come back.

She suddenly thought of the deceased General Huo Zhao, a legendary figure. They said he was Dachang’s strongest wall; his name inspired awe for a thousand miles and was unbreakable.

She thought, ‘Huo Zhao was Dachang’s wall, and Brother Yu was hers.’

The fat woman had been afraid of Huo Zhao from the moment she saw him. She pointed at him, her voice trembling slightly and shouted, “You… hand over that bitch! Hand her over, and we’ll let you go!”

Huo Zhao looked at the blood staining his fingertips. He didn’t answer immediately, thinking perhaps he had been too lenient with them.

“I gave you a chance.”

The men with the fat woman had been intimidated by Huo Zhao’s earlier display of power. However, they had never been treated like this in their village before. They were furious.

One of them, his face contorted with rage, charged at Huo Zhao with a machete. Two others followed. They figured it was better to attack together because this man looked dangerous.

“You dare injure my Third Uncle? I’ll kill you…”

But before he could finish, he had no chance to say the rest. He didn’t see how the man in front of him moved. His wrist was severed, and the knife in his hand fell into Huo Zhao’s. Then, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. The back of the knife cut his shoulder, and his arm seemed broken and immobile. Before he could react, the blade turned and cut his other arm.

“Argh!”

“Argh! My… my arm!”

The fat woman’s eyes widened and she shouted, “Big Brother!”

The remaining three men charged at Huo Zhao, swinging their machetes with unrestrained fury.

Huo Zhao kicked one of the machetes out of a man’s hand. Then, he sidestepped the other two men, causing their attack to miss its mark. Before they could recover, he swiftly kicked their knees, forcing them to the ground.

The entire exchange took only a few seconds. He had barely moved, and three of them were down, one incapacitated.

“Y-You… how…”

The fat woman stared at Huo Zhao as if he were a monstrous beast, stunned and unable to speak coherently.

One of the men on his knees tried to stand, but his leg, either broken or severely injured, gave way, sending a jolt of pain through his body.

Regret filled him. He was an old bachelor in the village. After accidentally beating his mute wife to death ten years ago, no woman would be with him anymore.

The fat shrew, Mrs. Liu, came to him saying that their household had lost a woman they had bought a few days ago—a real beauty. Now that the Liu family had no heir, Mrs. Liu wanted the woman captured. As long as the woman gave the Liu family a child, they could do whatever they wanted with her afterward.

He agreed on the spot. Since they had the numbers, he figured capturing the woman would be easy. He never expected such a formidable man to show up halfway through.

“B-Brother, I was just here to make up the numbers. Please spare me.”

Huo Zhao ignored him and looked at the blood splattered on his hand from the earlier fight. His expression was disgusted. “Filthy,” he muttered.

“Brother…”

Huo Zhao walked toward the trembling, fat woman with his machete still in hand and looked down at her.

“Didn’t I give you money when I took her?” he asked in a deceptively calm tone, as if making a simple inquiry.

The woman swallowed; his calm voice did nothing to ease her fear. “I…I received it,” she stammered, backing away.

“Wasn’t it enough?”

She glanced at the open gate, assessing her chances of escaping, and took a few more steps back. “It…it was enough.”

“What were you planning to do if I hadn’t come back?”

Her breathing grew ragged. She glanced at the gate, then at Huo Zhao. Seeing an opportunity, she turned and ran. She hadn’t taken more than a few steps when a bloodstained machete landed in the ground in front of her, the blade embedded in the soil.

She froze, her legs giving way as she collapsed to the ground. Huo Zhao walked toward her, his gaze cold.

“Did I say you could run?”

Unable to bear his chilling demeanor, she knelt and kowtowed, begging for mercy.

“P-Please, brother, spare me. I-I won’t capture her again. Please…”

“Argh!”

He stepped on her hand and she cried out in pain. Annoyed by her cries, he kicked her to the ground and placed his foot on her face.

“What were you planning to do with her before I returned?”

With her face pressed against the ground and saliva dribbling from her mouth, she answered truthfully, her voice muffled.

“To… to have her bear a child for my family, then g-give her to them.”

Huo Zhao nodded and removed his foot.

“Alright, get out of here, all of you.”