Chapter 066

Chapter 066

Xiao Zhen said he would patrol the late night shift, but in reality, he woke up after only an hour of sleep.

Tong Sui also woke up, her worry quickly dispelling her drowsiness as she watched his every move with clear, dark eyes.

Xiao Zhen explained, "I couldn't sleep well, so I figured I might as well go out early to check."

Tong Sui had guessed this much, which is why she didn't ask earlier.

After putting on his shoes, Xiao Zhen walked over to her side of the bed and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "You probably don't feel like celebrating your birthday right now. When we can sleep soundly again, I'll make it up to you."

All Tong Sui needed was for their family to be safe and for nothing untoward to happen in Lingshui Village.

She held onto his hand that was resting beside the pillow.

Xiao Zhen squeezed her hand in return before turning to leave. Soon, all sounds of him were gone.

Tong Sui lay still for a while before turning over.

There was still a foot-wide gap between her quilt and the wall. In this space, she kept a dagger, a bow, and two quivers containing a total of one hundred sixty-seven arrows, along with the male attire she had worn, tailored perfectly to fit her.

The only difference tonight from last night was that one of the quivers had her money pouch inside, filled with enough gold and jade jewelry to ensure a life of comfort, provided she could survive this ordeal and find a place free from bandits and war, where she could use the money without guilt.

Tong Sui couldn't sleep anymore.

In the darkness, she put on the male attire, tied her long hair into a man's hairstyle, and lay back down.

In the courtyard, Xiao Zhen first went to the window of the west wing room.

As soon as he stood there, Xiao Ye sat up inside, approached the window, and whispered, "Second Brother?"

Xiao Zhen replied, "Everything's fine. I'm going to patrol. Just wanted to let you know."

Xiao Ye, who had been informed about the Prison Dragon Ridge Gang by his elder brother recently, was already prepared. He said, "Go ahead; I'll take care of things here."

Next, Xiao Zhen went to the West Court to wake up Third Younger Brother. As he passed through the central courtyard, he glanced at the window of his grandfather's room, pausing briefly.

In the east wing of the West Court, Xiao Yan was woken up by his elder brother and grumbled as he dressed, "Why do we have to get up so early?"

Xiao Zhen simply said, "Bring your bow and spear."

Xiao Yan's yawn was cut short, and he became serious. "Understood."

He quickly got ready and, before leaving, gently touched his wife's head, whispering, "Father and Fifth Younger Brother are here. You just rest easy."

Without waiting for Lin Ningfang's response, he strode out.

Lin Ningfang then opened her eyes.

—

For this night patrol, both Xiao Zhen and Xiao Yan led a mule from the backyard. The brothers circled around the village perimeter and halfway through, they met Sun Dian and Sun Wei.

Xiao Yan pointed at Sun Dian and asked, "I heard you stayed up all night last night. Why are you here again tonight?"

Sun Dian glanced at him. "If you're up this early, you should already know. Why ask such pointless questions?"

Last night, he had indeed stayed up all night, but he had slept during the day and in the afternoon, preparing for tonight's vigilance against the bandits.

Sun Wei, riding his mule, positioned himself between them to prevent further argument. Seeing the brothers carrying bows and spears, Sun Wei asked, "Brother Xiao Er, do you think they'll come tonight?"

Xiao Zhen replied, "They could come any of these three nights. If they do, they'll likely approach via the river."

The Lingshui River flows from the northwest, and the villages are a distance away from it. Even if the bandits rode horses, they wouldn't need to worry about alarming the villagers.

Sun Dian immediately said, "Then I'll go guard the river!"

Xiao Zhen stopped him. "Stay in the north of the village and wait for news. We three will go. If anything happens, I'll send Sun Wei back to report."

Sun Dian was about to protest and suggest swapping positions with Sun Wei when he met Xiao Zhen's narrow, dark eyes.

In that moment, Sun Dian remembered the night when the Lu family was killed by refugees and how Xiao Zhen had taken charge during the incident in Pine Village.

Some things, you just had to accept.

Seeing Sun Dian comply, Xiao Zhen led Xiao Yan and Sun Wei toward the northern river.

Upon reaching the riverbank, the three followed the gentle slope above the riverbank and ran for two miles until they reached a small grove suitable for hiding. They dismounted their mules.

Without needing to look outside the grove, Xiao Zhen lay sideways on the ground, his right ear pressed to the earth.

Xiao Yan did the same, while Sun Wei, who hadn't practiced this skill, stood silently nearby.

About three-quarters of an hour later, Xiao Zhen and Xiao Yan exchanged glances and stood up simultaneously.

Xiao Zhen quickly told Sun Wei, "They're coming, at least a hundred riders. Go back to the village immediately. Don't sound the alarm; start gathering people house by house from North Street. Don't raise the alarm until the bandits enter the village."

Before the wheat harvest, the Xiao and Sun families had specifically trained the villagers on how to respond to a large-scale refugee attack. Everyone knew what to do.

As Sun Wei mounted his mule, Xiao Zhen continued, "We'll follow them into the village. The old man has everything arranged."

Sun Wei replied, "Got it!"

He sped back along the original route, meeting Sun Dian at the martial arts training ground west of the Xiao residence. The bandits were still some distance from where Xiao Zhen and his brother were.

Xiao Mu had already risen and called out from behind the wall, "They're here?"

Sun Wei answered, "Yes, prepare yourself. We'll go notify the villagers."

Xiao Mu: "Take up your positions according to the drill and wait for my command!"

As soon as the Sun brothers left, Xiao Shouyi, Xiao She, and Xiao Ye gathered around the old man. Just as Xiao Mu was about to speak, he saw Tong Sui running over, dressed in men's clothing, holding a bow in her left hand and carrying two quivers on her back.

The young girl had excellent archery skills and a sharp mind. Knowing that arrows needed to maintain a certain weight to be effective, she made the wooden arrows longer and thicker in the absence of iron tips, ensuring they weighed as much as iron-tipped ones. With over 160 arrows weighing about twenty pounds, it did not affect her agility and nimbleness.

"Bandits are coming. Are you afraid?" Xiao Mu asked Tong Sui separately after signaling his children and grandchildren to take the women and children to the ancestral hall.

Tong Sui was scared, but she had endured countless nights of anxiety. Now that the bandits were really here, she felt relieved from the constant unease. It was time to fight.

"I'm not afraid," she said, gripping her bow tightly and trying to appear calm before the old man.

Xiao Mu smiled. "Not being afraid is good, but it's okay to be afraid too. Remember one thing: whether facing enemy soldiers or mountain bandits, if you don't kill them, they will kill you. Being soft-hearted means harming yourself. Go up there and guard the ancestral hall. You don't need to worry about what happens outside."

Tong Sui nodded, turned, and ran to the wall between the central courtyard and the eastern courtyard. She stepped on a stone stool, climbed onto the wall, walked south along the wall, and then jumped onto the roof of the ancestral hall. Looking into the distance, she could see nothing yet, so she placed an arrow next to her and lay flat on the roof.

Women and children arrived one by one.

When they heard they were to hide in the ancestral hall, Liu Chu instinctively looked at the old man.

Xiao Mu shook his head.

The family's grain storage cellar was indeed beneath the ancestral hall, known only to Liu Chu among the wives.

But the cellar was static, useful for hiding things from official searches and for women and children during wartime. However, tonight, the bandits would surely know about the pretty wives if they defeated the men. If they couldn't find anyone in the ancestral hall, they would suspect a hidden passage and dig until they found them.

So hiding in the ancestral hall was enough; no need to use the cellar unnecessarily. Everyone would have to choose their fate.

"Where is Second Sister-in-Law?" Lin Ningfang suddenly asked.

Xiao Mu: "She's on the roof. Go inside."

Lin Ningfang looked up at the ancestral hall's roof and met Tong Sui's face, framed by the crescent moon on the seventh night of the month.

Despite the danger, the girl smiled at her.

Suddenly, Lin Ningfang was no longer afraid and entered the ancestral hall with He Shi and Liu Chu.

Even lying on the roof, Tong Sui could observe the distant scene. Men from the village kept running out with spears, gathering and hiding under the walls on both sides of the streets. Outside the village, the east and south remained quiet, and the northwest seemed calm until two horsemen suddenly appeared at the river mouth. More riders followed, forming a dense swarm.

Tong Sui's heart raced with the unhidden sound of hooves, or perhaps it had stopped beating entirely, leaving her cold all over.

Just as she hoped the bandits would split and charge into the village, where they would be ambushed and stabbed off their horses, the group of about two hundred halted in the northwest, surrounding the Xiao residence from the south, west, and north!

According to the plan, the men on the northern street were supposed to ambush from within the courtyards, waiting for the bandits to enter the village before attacking. Now that the bandits had stopped in the northwest corner, the villagers' ambush lost its effectiveness.

At this moment, the bandit leader Kong'er laughed three times and shouted towards the nearby streets: "Listen up! The Xiao family ruined our plans at Imprisoned Dragon Ridge. Tonight, we're here for revenge! This is our grudge against the Xiao family. Stay in your houses, and as long as you don't come out to watch, we'll leave after robbing the Xiao family!"

His loud voice echoed throughout Lingshui Village on such a quiet night.

Sun Dian and Sun Wei, who were hiding at the front of the street, heard this and felt uneasy. They looked back, and the villagers with spears indeed showed signs of retreat.

Suddenly, Xiao Ye's angry voice rang out: "Don't believe the bandits' lies! They fear us the most. If we fall, they'll rob our village just like any other!"

Sun Dian: "That's right. Follow me!"

He charged out with his spear first, followed closely by Sun Wei. A few villagers subconsciously joined them but hesitated when they saw only a few figures on the adjacent streets, also looking uncertain.

The Sun brothers: "..."

Kong San, riding his horse, saw these two men with makeshift spears and laughed. "Good job, you two even made some wooden spears. Come on, let's have a go."

Just as he was about to ride closer to the Sun brothers, another thunderous shout came from the northern riverbank: "Sun Dian, the bandits have hidden several mule carts near the river. Calculate how many carts our twenty acres of wheat can fill!"

Still stunned, Sun Wei immediately responded: "Twenty acres of wheat yield more than twenty stones, which can only fill one cart. Fellow villagers, don't be fooled. They're here to rob the entire village! We have seven hundred people, and they only have two hundred. What do we have to fear? Kill them and seize their mules and horses, and we'll feast!"

The villagers, trained by the Xiao family to show courage, initially shrank back to protect themselves. Now, knowing the bandits had hidden several mule carts, they realized they wouldn't be spared. There was no reason to hesitate!

Men from the northern part of the village quickly gathered behind the Sun brothers, and those from the southern areas rushed over.

Seeing the villagers armed with wooden spears, Kong San shouted: "Brothers, don't be afraid. Attack before they gather!"

He didn't believe their speed and swords couldn't handle a group of villagers.

"Watch me kill you first!"

Xiao She suddenly leaped from the West Court wall, stabbing a bandit who couldn't dodge in time, knocking him off his horse!

After the bandit fell, Xiao She reclaimed his spear and seized the horse, attacking whoever was closest without regard for the bandit leader's position.

Xiao Ye and Xiao Shouyi jumped from the eastern courtyard and central courtyard walls, while the old man Xiao Mu jumped from the rear courtyard wall, each successfully seizing a horse.

Meanwhile, Xiao Zhen and Xiao Yan drove mules from the north, shooting arrows from afar, each shot fatal, and switching to spears up close, each strike bloody.