Halfway up the mountain, five figures stood bathed in sunlight, their robes billowing in the wind with a crisp rustling sound. In the center stood a woman, her hands on her hips, a golden-hilted broadsword planted firmly on the ground with her right foot stepping on a stone.
The woman appeared to be around thirty years old, dressed like an unmarried young lady, wearing a short shirt on top and black leather shorts below, revealing a pair of sun-kissed honey-colored legs and wearing rough ankle boots. Not only was she beautiful, but she also had a delicate and petite figure that made it difficult for one to associate her with the leader of bandits. If she were wearing a dress, she would be a graceful lady. Around her waist hung a broadsword wider than her own waist. This person was none other than the head of the Black Demon Bandits, Da Dao. The four men on either side were the other gang leaders: Er Fu, San Jian, Si Qiang, and Wu Gun. Although Er Fu and Si Qiang were noticeably older than Da Dao, they still regarded her as the leader, indicating that Da Dao was undoubtedly not a simple character.
Behind them, over two thousand members of the Black Demon Bandits had probably already mobilized, holding various weapons in their hands, their faces displaying a cold and ruthless expression as they stared down at the officials and soldiers below without any fear.
On the narrow path leading up the mountain, a young soldier cautiously climbed upward. The closer he got to the group of bandits, the more cautious his steps became. His name was Huang Zhengkai, renowned for his eloquence and popularity in the barracks. Little did he know, it was precisely because of this that Dong Liang recommended him to Governor Wang to persuade the bandits to surrender. If he succeeded, he would achieve great merit. However, how could these bandits be easily dealt with? He regretted why he was so articulate on ordinary days and regretted why Dong Liang discovered this trait of his.
Da Dao turned her head and coldly stared at him as he approached.
Huang Zhengkai halted his steps, seeing that she did not order him to be shot, and then continued walking, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.
“Masters, I understand that the situation is tense now, so I won’t waste words. Lord Wang’s intention is that if you are willing to surrender, those with serious crimes can receive lenient punishment, those with minor crimes can receive even lighter sentences, and those innocent might even be released. Before committing grave mistakes, everything can be discussed. Lord Wang, as the military governor of the province, always keeps his promises.”
Da Dao pointed to the edge of the cliff, her voice gentle without any malicious intent. “Come over here, I didn’t hear clearly what you just said. If we surrender, can we really receive lenient punishment?”
Huang Zhengkai was delighted and followed her suggestion, walking toward the edge of the cliff. From here, he could clearly see the people and horses below.
“Indeed. Lord Wang said—”
Before he finished speaking, Da Dao swung her broadsword, slashing across his chest.
“You—” Huang Zhengkai pointed at her, then collapsed to the ground, motionless, his clothes stained with fresh blood.
San Jian was astonished and foolishly asked, “Big sister, didn’t we say we wouldn’t kill envoys during a battle?”
Da Dao snorted coldly. “Do you think those officials and soldiers down there can really make a difference? I’m giving them a warning first to intimidate them with our momentum.”
Si Qiang and Wu Gun looked at her with admiration.
“Big sister, you make a valid point.”
Below, Wang Kui and Dong Liang watched as the female bandit ruthlessly killed Huang Zhengkai, and they were shocked and angry.
“This is unacceptable! This is outrageous! These bandits are too arrogant!” Wang Kui couldn’t contain his anger. “They don’t regard the government or the court with respect!”
Dong Liang was comparatively calm and he quickly tried to calm him down, as Wang Kui’s reaction was in line with their original plan.
Jun Xiang frowned in secret. These bandits were indeed troublesome. The crucial point might still lie with that female gang leader.
Er Fu approached Da Dao’s side, his expression not as relaxed as that of San Jian and the others. “Big sister, although what you said is not wrong, this person is an official. By doing this, aren’t we blatantly provoking the court?”
Da Dao remained unfazed. “Take him away and treat his wounds.”
Er Fu and the others were all taken aback. “He’s not dead yet?”
Da Dao calmly replied, “He’s only injured. Pretending to kill him was just a test of the government’s attitude. If they respond with fury, it means they have truly made up their minds to exterminate us, and then we will unleash our full force. Keeping this person alive can also serve as a hostage. If Governor Wang loses his nerve, we can continue to enjoy our freedom for a while longer.”
Everyone suddenly realized. “So that’s the case.”
Inside the county town at this time, almost all the shops were closed and not doing any business. Only the usually deserted teahouse suddenly became lively. The common people knew that the government had dispatched soldiers to eradicate the bandits, and they gathered together to discuss in hushed voices. Anxious yet hopeful, they all longed for the officials and soldiers to achieve complete victory so that they could have hope.
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen stayed inside the inn and did not go out. Yan Ge was writing a letter to Wei Jushen, who was managing First Company, while Huangfu Yuchen was reviewing a few documents while waiting for further news from the mountain.
Gao Yun stood outside the door and said, “Madam, the items you ordered from the bamboo crafts shop have arrived.”
“Come in, let me have a look.” Yan Ge put down his pen and enthusiastically got up.
Gao Feng handed him a string of bamboo balls he was holding.
Yan Ge and the others approached curiously.
Yan Ge examined each ball: all of them were perfectly round, meeting his requirements. He picked one up and examined it closely. Then, he smashed it on the ground, and it bounced back with good elasticity.
“What are these things for?” Huangfu Yuchen approached.
“It’s a secret,” Yan Ge said to Gao Yun. “Take one and kick it against the wall. Don’t deliberately use internal force. Count as you kick it until it breaks.”
Gao Yun froze. Could it be that Madam found him too idle recently and was punishing him in this way?
Gao Feng patted his shoulder with a smile. “Madam has reasons for doing so.”
Huangfu Yuchen asked, “Are you testing the quality of these things?”
Gao Yun finally understood and took the ball and went outside.
Thus, everyone in the inn listened to the continuous dull thumping sounds coming from downstairs. They sounded muffled through the walls, creating a hypnotic effect. That afternoon, the innkeeper slept soundly, his head resting on the counter.
Gao Yun rushed back with a broken ball. “Madam, the ball is broken.”
Huangfu Yuchen looked at Yan Ge. “The quality is not good.”
Yan Ge, however, smiled. “That’s what I wanted. Now you probably understand my purpose. These balls will indeed sell well in the future, priced between 2 to 4 coins each. Children have less strength, so a ball can last them about a month. Most families can afford it. If used by adults with more strength, kicking two hours a day would require two balls. Kicking every day, that’s 60 balls per month. This will be a good source of income for Shuangque County.”
Gao Yun scratched his head. “Will adults really enjoy playing with these?”
Yan Ge grinned without saying a word.
Huangfu Yuchen stared at the bamboo ball, lost in thought.
“But, Madam, this thing isn’t difficult to make. If others want to imitate it, it will be easy,” Deng Mande said, knowing that Yan Ge supported everyone speaking up, so he spoke.
Yan Ge nodded. “That’s true, but I believe there aren’t many who can create something as tightly designed. Besides, competition leads to development and breakthroughs. We can only show them the path; we can’t hold their hands forever.”
The others expressed their agreement, feeling enlightened.
In the late night, a hurried knocking interrupted Huangfu Yuchen and Yan Ge’s sleep.
Both of them guessed that there must be new developments from Sanzhu Mountain.
“Come in and speak,” Huangfu Yuchen gestured, and the latch on the door automatically slid open.
Although there were few guests in the inn, they still had to be cautious.
“Yes,” A Fei entered and promptly reported from behind the curtain, “Young Master, as planned, General Wang led the troops deep into the mountain and suffered a crushing defeat. Five hundred soldiers died, and three hundred were injured. General Wang has now led the troops back down the mountain.”
Huangfu Yuchen fell silent for a moment and said, “I have gathered all the doctors in the county at the Jixiang Inn. You will lead them to tend to the wounded soldiers. Tomorrow morning, you will instruct Wang Kui to…..…”
.
.
.
“ That’s it. Do you understand?”
A Fei acknowledged silently without asking any further questions and quickly left.
In the dim dawn, a bandit who was closely observing the activity down the mountain noticed that Wang Kui called over a soldier and said a few words to him. He secretly handed something to the soldier, and then the soldier, accompanied by two others, swiftly rode away on horseback. The bandit immediately called for Da Dao.
“Big sister, I just saw Governor Wang instruct three soldiers to return to the county, and he gave them something. I suspect Wang Kui intends to seek reinforcements from the neighboring Zhou Prefecture Commandery!”
Er Fu, San Jian, Si Qiang, and Wu Gun all showed great concern. While it was not impossible, Zhou Prefecture was close and with fast horses, they could arrive in just one day.
Wu Gun solemnly said, “Big sister, it seems they have made up their minds to exterminate us. We should retreat as soon as possible.”
Er Fu shook his head. “Retreating won’t be easy with over two thousand people. It will create a lot of movement.”
“Retreat?” A coldness flashed in Da Dao’s eyes. “We have spent two years building this place, and it took more than eight months just to dig the tunnel to the other side of the mountain. Are you willing to leave this place? If we leave, where will we find another suitable location? We can’t retreat easily. Even if we do retreat, we must show those officials some color. When we go to other places in the future, let the local authorities hear our name and fear us in advance!”
“Big sister is right!” Si Qiang nodded in agreement.
“Convey my orders…” Da Dao raised her arm.
The entire day passed without any major movements from the foot of the mountain. On the mountain, aside from a dozen people on the cliff keeping watch, there was silence.
Sanzhu Mountain seemed to have fallen into a deep silence.
In the middle of the night, the thunderous sound of hooves suddenly appeared, getting closer and closer.
Da Dao leaped to the edge of the cliff, followed closely by Er Fu and the others. The five of them looked down the mountain and were all taken aback. They saw numerous torches flickering like stars, converging into two fiery dragons, rapidly approaching. By the light of the fire, they could clearly see the long stretch of the entire troop. A rough estimate indicated that there were at least ten thousand people!
Three leaders rode on horses, exuding a commanding aura. The one in the middle had a particularly menacing presence. With a wave of his spear, the troop split into two, dispersing to both sides. Clearly, they were surrounding Sanzhu Mountain!
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen were also among the crowd. Yan Ge struggled to maintain a stoic expression, but inside, he was almost bursting with laughter.
Huangfu Yuchen was truly clever! These nearly ten thousand people were not soldiers but ordinary people from the county. Early this morning, Huangfu Yuchen had ordered the county to be sealed off, aiming to prevent the Black Demon Bandits from gathering information inside the city. Then, he gathered all the women in the county, and they hastily made black official caps out of paper, shaped like helmets and painted a gunmetal gray. Some were even wrapped haphazardly in black cloth. In addition, he instructed the magistrate to call on the common people to wear black clothes, don the fake helmets, hold their heads high, and approach Sanzhu Mountain under the cover of darkness.
At the same time, he arranged for a few genuine soldiers to mix in the crowd, holding torches. The light of the torches was limited, even if someone on the mountain used a telescope to observe them, they could only see the people holding torches and a few others nearby. They would never discover that most of the soldiers were impostors.
The bandits on the mountain were frightened and disoriented. Some of the timid ones muttered about surrendering, while others secretly planned to find an opportunity to escape. There were even some who took advantage of the distraction to charge down the mountain, shouting, “I surrender, don’t shoot!”
Among these bandits, only a few were guilty of serious crimes. Most of them would receive a maximum sentence of a few months or two to three years. They had their own calculations. If they really fought against the soldiers, even the innocent would be guilty!
Upon seeing this situation, Da Dao’s face turned ashen.
Si Qiang said resentfully, “Boss, these bastards are worthless! They don’t care about us, so why should we care about them? Let’s retreat!”
Huangfu Yuchen said to Jun Xiang, “Surround but don’t attack. Wait for the signal.”
Jun Xiang nodded.
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen swiftly flew up the mountain under the cover of night.
Wang Kui looked at them in astonishment and asked Jun Xiang, “Who are those two?”
Jun Xiang casually replied, “Oh, they are my two martial arts masters.”
Masters? So those two are masters with high martial arts skills? Wang Kui was stunned, but he didn’t dwell on it for long.
Tô adorando hehe ❤️