"These bandits are really well hidden."
Eighteenth Jin looked at the undulating mountain range ahead.
Zhangqing Mountain is situated among these mountains, secluded and unknown due to its remoteness, and without fertile farmland, the human presence here is scarce.
"If it wasn't for Big Teeth mentioning it, nobody would have known that there are actually bandits here." Lei Zhonglian said.
"Till now, all the information we've inquired about never mentioned bandits." Eighteenth Jin said, "They just mention there's a mountain village here, inhabited by some mountain people."
Lei Zhonglian thought about the information he had heard; these mountain people herd cattle, farm, and hunt, regularly going into town to exchange goods for rice and grains.
"These mountain people have lived here for more than ten years, always the same routine." He continued, "Bandits can pretend to be mountain people for a day, ten days, or even a year, but pretending for more than ten years would be truly ridiculous."
Eighteenth Jin shook his head.
"No, not ridiculous, it's terrifying." He said.
Lei Zhonglian looked at him.
"Is there anything you guys are afraid of?" He said.
Eighteenth Jin looked back at him.
"You better not worry about me. If Miss Jun is in trouble, I'll just lose my life." He said, "But it will be miserable for you."
Upon saying that, he spurred his horse forward, catching up with the densely packed soldiers ahead.
Lei Zhonglian exhaled on horseback, indeed, if Miss Jun were in trouble, no one would want his life, but he would fall back into self-blame and guilt for the rest of his life, and this time no one would be able to save him.
Lei Zhonglian gripped the long spear tightly in his left hand.
"Let's go." He said.
The escorts and the Fang Family guards closely followed behind.
...............….
Yang Jing looked at the rising smoke ahead.
"There have already been six plumes of smoke signals." He said, "Armored and ready, it's the Yongning Army. Including the hidden sentries along the way, we have thirty-five people in total."
This statement made everyone in the forest silent for a moment.
Thirty-five people against six to seven hundred.
"It's not like we haven't done this before." A man snorted and patted his chest, "Afraid of what? Just a bird."
Yang Jing looked at him, and the man smiled when he saw him looking, his facial wrinkles becoming more pronounced.
It's been more than ten years, their heads are now crowned with white hair.
It's no longer like the old days.
And among their thirty-five, there are children and women, even though everyone has trained hard in battle and is aided by weapons and the Hidden Formation, it's not a problem to deal with some bandits, but to really fight with the government soldiers...
"We are also government soldiers." Another man suddenly shouted.
This statement led to another silence in the forest.
"We are not government soldiers, otherwise why have we been neglected here for so long." Another man burst out, his face turning red.
His voice was hoarse, seemingly on the verge of tears.
"Why did he say he would get justice and status for us, and then never return?" He said, voice trembling with clenched teeth, "He, he lied to us!"
As soon as these words came out, someone immediately rushed over and punched him.
"What nonsense are you talking about! Say it again, I dare you!" The man also shouted with reddened eyes, grabbing the other's clothes.
The man who was grabbed looked back at him with red eyes, moved his lips, but said nothing.
"What did he lie to us about? Did he lie about cutting through thousands of troops to escape? Did he lie about keeping our families safe from harm? Did he lie about being welcomed and celebrated by the people? Did he lie about learning skills that made us invincible in battle?" The man continued to shout hoarsely.
Even his rough male voice trembled with the cry.
The man who was grabbed also had tears in his eyes.
"But he doesn't want us anymore, he doesn't want us anymore." He shouted.
Standing silently and looking into the distance, Xia Yong turned around.
"Enough, stop making a fuss." He said, then paused for a moment, "He will come back."
"Yes, he will come back. Don't let him see us like this when he does; he will ridicule us again." Yang Jing said, "No matter if it's three hundred or a thousand, they've already come. Only by fighting do we have a chance to live. Do you want us to wait for death without a fight?"
"Dare for life, hesitate for death." A man shouted, raising his bow and arrow in hand.
Immediately, more people raised their bows.
"Dare for life, hesitate for death!"
"Dare for life, hesitate for death!"
The unified cry echoed.
Xia Yong waved his hand at them.
"The same as always, bowmen to the front." He said.
The men stood erect and responded in unison, dispersing to hide among the cliffs surrounding the mountains.
Xia Yong turned to look at Yang Jing.
"You protect your sister-in-law and Niuniu and leave." He said.
Yang Jing looked at him, his lips moved.
"Alright." He finally said, without more words, turned and walked away.
"Old Yang." Xia Yong called out to him again, "This mess is my fault. Little Leopard is gone, and if I'm gone, you must protect my sister-in-law and Niuniu. Big brother will definitely come back."
Yang Jing didn't turn back, standing straight and giving a wave to Xia Yong's back, he strode away.
Xia Yong glanced in the direction of the mountain village, picked up his bow and arrow, and with big strides, entered the forest.
...........
"Stop."
General Peng reined in his horse and raised his hand, warily watching ahead.
The soldiers behind him immediately halted.
"My lord, what's the matter?" a deputy asked, "We haven't reached the vicinity of Zhangqing Mountain yet."
General Peng observed the quiet mountain path ahead.
"I have a feeling something's not right," he said, and then chuckled to himself.
Dammit, why do I feel like I'm facing an enemy on the battlefield? It's only a bunch of bandits...
"Although we haven't arrived yet, these bandits are most adept at setting traps," he raised his hand and said.
The crowd acknowledged and continued onward.
"Look, he's scared," Eighteenth Jin said to Lei Zhonglian.
Lei Zhonglian didn't want to respond to him. Compared to Eighteenth Jin, he believed more in General Peng.
"If you're not scared, go to the front then," he said, "What kind of hero hides in the back?"
Eighteenth Jin snorted.
"Your master, you go to the front," he said, then laughed, "I was never the hero type."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than they heard horses neighing abruptly in front.
Eighteenth Jin and Lei Zhonglian were startled, only to see soldiers at the very front tumbling down thud after thud.
This was because their horses, as if stepping into a quagmire, had triggered numerous ropes surfacing out of nowhere on the previously smooth mountain road.
"Tripwires!" The cries rang out relentlessly.
No, these weren't the usual tripwires. These ropes weren't fixed to the road but whizzed around like snakes, not only tripping the front horses but also curling towards those in the rear, causing more and more horses to fall like broken beads.
Shit, General Peng cursed inwardly, his eyes bulging.
If there are tripwires below, there must be bowmen around.
"Raise shields!" he shouted.
Accompanied by his voice, the buzzing sound of arrows cutting through the air could already be heard.
Soldiers with shields managed to evade, while those too late were hit, letting out cries of pain.
The once quiet mountain path was now a cacophony of turmoil.
"Shit," General Peng cursed again, looking at the arrow that had landed at his feet, "Iron-tipped heavy arrows! Did these bandits raid an armory or what?"
Standing atop a rock and watching the government soldiers, who despite the tripwires and an onslaught of arrows, were still orderly forming their ranks with shields and bows raised, Xia Yong exhaled.
Government soldiers indeed.
It would have been more pleasing to the eye had it not been a battle.
"We might as well tell them we're also government soldiers," someone behind him said with a bit of a hoarse voice.
"We've told them before, and what happened?" Xia Yong said, "They didn't believe us, and even killed the cub."
Upon hearing the word 'cub,' the people behind fell silent.
"Nobody believes what we say," Xia Yong spoke, "And no one speaks for us."
He stretched his heavy bow, with a thumb ring pressing down on the arrow.
Let it be, then.
He looked at the soldiers raising their bows on the mountain path.
At that very moment, a shrill cry came from nowhere.
"Everyone stop!"
It was a piercing female voice, not from ahead nor from behind, but from above.
Xia Yong instinctively looked up, as did everyone else.
They only heard a whoosh as someone, like a bird, swept down from the bushes in the woods.
"Village chief," a man reached out, pointing and shouting in surprise, "someone has deployed the Heavenly Net!"
Who? Who dared deploy the Heavenly Net without permission?
Xia Yong looked astonished at the person who had swept over their heads.
It was a girl, her hands grasping onto something, sliding rapidly down the Sky Net Rope, her dress fluttering about, as if a deity had descended to earth.
Her!
How did she find the Heavenly Net?
No, how did she manage to escape?
Xia Yong's expression turned from shock to horror.
The soldiers carefully arrayed on the mountain road were also dumbstruck, watching the girl descending from the sky in disbelief.
What in the world is this?
A deity? A monster?
"By my dearest mother and father," General Peng mumbled, "Strange things happen every year but this year seems particularly abundant."
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Have a pleasant Monday and good luck.