Chapter 53: The Feigned Injury Scheme

Elder Gu also knew that the current situation was grim. "Listen up, you few. Let us carve out a breach first and let the others retreat."

His voice was loud, nearly a roar, delivered out of fear that his sons in the distance might not hear him, and Li Mumu naturally caught every word.

Such a wonderful grandfather did not deserve this ending.

Having read the book, she knew very well that the trouble concerning her scumbag father was merely a pretext. The Gu family's merits over the years were far too great to warrant such a fall; the real reason was that the aging emperor harbored deep anxieties about her grandfather, whose achievements overshadowed the throne.

Her grandfather was an upright and loyal man who loved his soldiers as his own children, making him immensely beloved by the people. Furthermore, all three of his sons were exceptional generals without a single blemish on their character, which left the aging emperor deeply uneasy.

Although Li Mumu had no bow and arrows left, she had no intention of leaving. She wanted to fight side by side with her family.

The members of the Gu family gathered together, and Li Yuan shuffled over on his injured leg. "Yuru, are you alright?"

Gu Yuru shot him a cold glare. Given the dire circumstances, he still had the leisure to ask such a question, so she simply ignored him.

Working together, the group carved out a bloody path. "Go quickly!"

Without a second thought, Zhang Xiang led the remaining people and fled.

"Mumu, hurry and follow your grandmother," urged Madam Gu.

Li Mumu shook her head. "Grandmother, Mumu needs to help out. You go ahead, I will see you later."

"Mumu~" Madam Gu was deeply worried. How could such a young child be left behind?

However, the bailiffs gave her no time to linger, urging them repeatedly, "Move, keep moving."

Zhang Xiang rushed to the very front, terrified that lingering even a moment longer would trap him there.

"Mumu, why aren't you leaving?" shouted Gu Mingjing.

Elder Gu let out a heavy sigh. "So be it. If she stays, she stays. Stop wasting words. Today, we fight these beasts to the death."

"Understood, Father," the Gu siblings answered in unison.

Elder Gu burst into laughter. "Back in my day, I led one hundred thousand elite troops against Northern Rong's force of five hundred thousand, taking the enemy general's head straight from the ranks. What are a few dozen wolves compared to that? With the Gu family united and standing shoulder to shoulder, we fear nothing! Mumu, you truly are my granddaughter—you have real guts. Yunchao, keep your wits about you, boys. There are no cowards in the Gu family."

Gu Yunhe and Gu Yunjue had been taken away. Their physical strength was exhausted, and they knew they were no match for the wolves; staying behind would only cause trouble. However, the older Gu Yunchao refused to leave.

***

Immediately, a fierce battle broke out.

Li Mumu pulled the bow and arrows from the carcass of a wolf, then took her position once more within the safety circle her family had carved out for her to launch her attacks.

So what if she was out of arrows? They could be recycled.

Besides, her hidden poison needles could also come in handy. Everyone was too busy fighting for their lives against the wolves to pay her much attention anyway.

First, she struck the ravenous wolves with her poison needles, and before her uncles even realized it, the moment the wolves were paralyzed by the poison, they were instantly slain.

Their coordination could only be described as flawless and seamless.

Though Gu Yuru had laid aside her saber for many years, the imminent threat of life and death unlocked her hidden potential. At that moment, she was unstoppable—she was never inferior to her brothers to begin with.

As for Li Yuan, it was impossible to tell whether he was simply useless or truly hindered by his leg; he was not fighting the wolves at all, but rather being hunted by them.

"Yuru!" Li Yuan was knocked down by a wolf once again, screaming in sheer terror.

Gu Yuru frowned and shot him a look of utter disgust.

Yet Elder Gu shouted, "Yuru, I have this side covered. Go help him."

Reluctantly, Gu Yuru hurried over, kicked the wolf pinning him into the air, and hauled him to his feet.

"Yuru, I knew you wouldn't just abandon me."

Gu Yuru said with disdain, "Stop creating trouble and go rest by Mumu."

Hearing that her scumbag father was coming to her side, Li Mumu was utterly disgusted; it would restrict her from doing many things.

"I want to protect you!"

"Which of us is protecting whom?" Gu Yuru retorted. "I have no time to bicker with you."

With that, she plunged back into the fray. Previously, because of the bailiffs, women, and children, the Gu family had to fend off attacks from the front while constantly watching their backs for fear of a sneak attack.

Now, however, they had no such worries. Despite enduring a grueling battle, they were finally able to unleash their full prowess, growing even fiercer with every passing moment.

Witnessing this scene, Li Mumu was reminded of the descriptions of the Gu Family Army in the book. At that moment, the Gu family truly possessed the overwhelming momentum of a single warrior holding off ten thousand foes.

***

Heaven knows what was going through her scumbag father's mind; while Li Mumu wasn't looking, he bolted forward. Claiming he wanted to help, he forced Gu Yuru to abruptly hold back a lethal strike from her blade.

It was precisely this split-second hesitation that gave another ferocious wolf the opportunity to strike. Terrified, Li Mumu hurriedly drew a poison needle, but the exact moment she released it, Li Yuan threw his body over Gu Yuru to shield her.

Because of this, Gu Yuru was completely prevented from swinging her saber again.

"Ah! Hiss!" Li Yuan let out another groan of pain, then offered a bitter smile. "Yuru, as long as you are safe..."

The wolf was struck by the poison needle and instantly collapsed to the ground. After confirming there was no immediate danger, Li Yuan collapsed into Gu Yuru's arms.

Gu Mingjing frowned, delivering a blunt-spoken remark, "Is this supposed to be helping? It's pure sabotage. If you're useless, just stay out of the way."

Gu Yuru had no choice but to place him back by Li Mumu's side. Before she could even speak, Li Mumu chimed in, "Mother, I'll keep an eye on Father."

To prevent Gu Yuru from being fooled by Li Yuan's act of self-harm, Li Mumu felt compelled to remind her, "Mother, you were clearly capable of defeating it, yet Father insisted on rushing in. What was his intention?"

Drawing in his breath through the pain, Li Yuan gasped, "I... I was just afraid your mother was in danger."

"Oh~ Father is so wonderful, worrying that Mother was in danger," Li Mumu said in an exaggerated tone. "Yet, Father, how is it that you're the one who collapsed? Are you protecting Mother, or is Mother protecting you?"

Li Yuan's back had been clawed open by a wolf, his flesh torn to shreds, leaving him with no strength to argue with Li Mumu. After gasping out a single instruction telling Gu Yuru to be careful, he collapsed face-down on the ground, hissing in pain.

Li Mumu ignored him entirely, keeping her gaze locked on the battlefield. For now, it seemed she didn't need to intervene.

Only her young uncle, Gu Mingjing, fighting the wolf king single-handedly, made her heart race with tension. However, her young uncle was not at a disadvantage and had only sustained minor injuries, so she chose to keep her hidden weapons concealed to avoid arousing suspicion.

Once the others had finished off the wolves closest to them, the group joined forces to eliminate the wolf king.

Elder Gu wiped the blood from his face and let out a hearty roar, "Exhilarating!"

Panting for breath, Gu Yuru waved the two children over. "Yunchao, Mumu, the two of you truly took Mother by surprise."

The killing intent vanished from her eyes, replaced by overflowing tenderness. "Especially you, Mumu. You brought Mother too many surprises."

Right in the middle of this heartwarming moment, as if terrified that everyone might forget his existence, Li Yuan let out a weak, breathy cry, "Yuru!"