Chapter 067

Chapter 067

The Xiao family's six grandsons, along with Sun Dian and Sun Wei, were all capable generals who could fight ten men on the battlefield.

However, Kong'er and Kong San, these two bandit leaders, were no pushovers either. Their background as butchers made them skilled with knives, and years of pillaging had honed their courage and provided ample combat experience.

No matter how many villagers Lingshui Village had, the distance prevented them from immediately rushing to this side.

Kong San didn't want them to come over either. He shouted, "Lao Liu, you and Lao Qi take fifty men each and head south of the village. Attack wherever there's no defense!"

Xiao Mu immediately called out to Xiao Zhen and Sun Wei: "Go after them! Gather the men in the south of the village to intercept and kill them!"

The villagers had good marksmanship but lacked combat experience, and their fear of the bandits could easily lead to chaos. They needed someone to lead them.

Xiao Zhen and Sun Wei split up and chased after the bandits. Some villagers, fearing that the bandits might break into their homes, also headed back.

Kong San then ordered his hundred men, "Those who can fight, engage the Xiao family men. The rest, charge into the Xiao family courtyard and capture all the women and children. Let’s see if they want food or their people!"

After saying this, he and Kong'er engaged Xiao Ye and Xiao Yan respectively, with their subordinates assisting. Despite the Xiao brothers' prowess, they were temporarily unable to break free.

The Xiao family's courtyard was surrounded by walls on three sides, and the bandits had horses. As long as they approached the wall and leaped onto it, they could easily jump over.

Xiao Mu, Xiao Shouyi, and Xiao She led the villagers inside to intercept, but there were too many bandits, and some managed to slip through and rush into the courtyard, kicking open doors and searching house by house.

Tong Sui had already changed her position from lying down to a half-crouch. The night concealed her, and the bandits hadn't expected anyone to be hiding on the roof of the Xiao family's house for so long. It wasn't until one of the bandits who first rushed into the central courtyard was shot through the forehead by an arrow from above and fell backward that the other two bandits stopped and shouted, "Third Leader, there's an archer on the roof!"

Kong San was still fighting Xiao Ye outside. Hearing this, he instinctively looked toward the Xiao family's roof. This distraction allowed Xiao Ye to thrust his spear at him. Although Kong San dodged in time, he fell off his horse due to the sudden movement.

Gripping his large knife, Kong San rolled twice on the ground to avoid more attacks from Xiao Ye. While running, he ordered, "Get on the roof and kill the archer!"

The bandits who had rushed into the Xiao family's courtyard split up and climbed the walls. Some were killed by Xiao Mu and others, while some successfully jumped onto the roof. Looking around, they pointed toward the ancestral hall and said, "I see her! She's on the east wing of the central courtyard!"

Inside the ancestral hall, He Shi hugged Xiao Yuchan tightly, who clung to Qi Yao. Hearing this, their hearts trembled.

Mianmian, tears streaming down her face, looked up at her mother, "Mother, Second Aunt..."

Liu Chu shook her head, crying. She didn't know if Tong Sui could escape.

Lin Ningfang glanced at everyone and then at the ancestral tablets of the Xiao family's ancestors in the ancestral hall.

She no longer believed in gods or ghosts, but she hoped that the ancestors would show mercy and help the Xiao family through this crisis.

On the roof.

Since she was already exposed, Tong Sui stood up. Bandits ran toward her, some on the ground and some jumping between walls and roofs. Each one posed a threat, but each one was also a target.

From near to far, Tong Sui shot one arrow after another. The bright moon provided enough light, and she hit four out of five arrows, aiming for heads, necks, and chests, not caring about any clothing that might obstruct the arrowheads.

At first, she was afraid, but seeing the outnumbered Xiao family men and the villagers whose spears were cut by the bandits' knives, and knowing that the women and children were hiding below, she steeled herself. As long as she didn't fear, as long as her hands didn't shake, one arrow might save another life.

In terms of long-range attacks, bows and arrows were superior to guns and swords, especially when she had the high ground.

Tong Sui's hands grew steadier as she eliminated all threats. She even moved to the southern part of the ancestral hall's roof to shoot bandits outside the gate.

A villager's wooden spear was cut in half by a bandit. Seeing the bandit lean down from his horse to strike, the villager closed his eyes, but the expected pain never came. Opening his eyes, he saw the bandit falling backward with an arrow in his neck.

With a thud, the bandit landed dead.

The villager looked toward the wall, but no one was there. Instead, a slender young man stood on the edge of the Xiao family's ancestral hall roof, drawing his bow and shooting another arrow!

Many villagers saw this scene and realized that an archer would help them when they were in danger. They either raised their wooden spears again or picked up the fallen bandits' knives and continued fighting.

"Second Brother!"

With Kong San's shrill cry, Kong'er was stabbed in the heart by Xiao Yan. Yet, he remained seated on his horse, holding his knife in one hand and the spear in the other, staring at Xiao Yan on the mule beside him.

Xiao Yan smiled at him, "Both of us are Second Brothers, but you're far inferior to mine."

After saying this, he pulled back his spear and turned his mule to look at Kong San.

Seeing his brother killed, Kong San's eyes filled with rage, but he still had to dodge Xiao Ye's attacks. Hearing the sound of an arrow coming from behind, he grabbed a subordinate and used him as a shield, feeling warm blood splatter on his face.

Xiao Ye laughed and said to the surrounding bandits, "Look, this is your Third Leader. You're just cannon fodder to him!"

Seeing this, the bandits lost heart. Looking around, they noticed that few of their comrades were still on horseback, and the villagers of Lingshui Village were regaining the upper hand.

"Run, run away!"

The bandits stopped fighting and fled north.

Xiao Yan, Xiao Ye, and Xiao She took the villagers who could ride horses to chase them, while Sun Dian and Xiao Shouyi led others to support the south of the village.

Xiao Mu shouted to the north, "Capture the Third Leader alive!"

---

As the bandits fled north, the north of the village suddenly quieted down.

Some of the men stayed behind to continue defending and check on the injured villagers.

Tong Sui still held her arrows, watching as the old man and several villagers carried the bandits' bodies out of the Xiao family's courtyard.

The night blurred the faces of the bandits, their expressions of terror or ferocity, but it couldn't hide the arrows that still quivered slightly.

Tong Sui quickly looked away.

Xiao Mu noticed and said, "Sit down and rest for a bit. Come down when we're done."

Tong Sui wanted to respond, but no sound came from her throat.

After standing for so long without feeling weak, now that she sat down, her arms and legs trembled uncontrollably.

Tong Sui unfastened the two quivers and counted the remaining arrows one by one.

There were originally one hundred sixty-seven arrows, and now there were one hundred thirty-five left.

So, tonight she had shot thirty-two arrows in total.

Tong Sui remembered that six arrows had been dodged by the bandits who had flanked them, and five arrows had failed to be fatal due to distance and angle.

In other words, the number of bandits she truly killed tonight was twenty-one.

The cold moonlight could not suppress the turmoil in her chest. Tong Sui looked up and saw villagers with guns still surrounding and killing the bandits in the northern dirt road and fields. Shadows kept falling to the ground.

Tong Sui didn't want to watch but worried if any villagers might get hurt.

At this moment, fleeing bandit figures appeared on all sides of the village.

The villagers did not give up on any of them, either capturing them alive or killing them until every single bandit was eliminated. Even the dozen mule carts they had hidden in the riverbed were brought over.

The men did not return home, and the women and children in the village continued to hide indoors, afraid to come out. This included the Xiao family; Xiao Mu also had Tong Sui go to the ancestral hall.

Thus, all the men from the village who had participated in the battle gathered at the martial arts training ground of the Xiao family.

After counting, five villagers had died at the hands of the bandits, and more than a dozen were seriously injured.

This was despite everyone having practiced their gun skills for a month and having long weapons to keep a distance from the bandits. Otherwise, the casualties would have been even higher.

Sun Xinghai stood before the bodies of the five dead villagers and said to the crowd, "They died defending our village. Those of us who are alive should donate money or grain. Let's collect it together and distribute it to their five families. Is that agreeable?"

All the villagers nodded and agreed, saying it was the right thing to do.

Sun Xinghai continued, "I will also report this to the government and see if they can provide some compensation to those five families."

These were post-mortem matters. After Sun Xinghai finished speaking, Xiao Mu gave a nod to Xiao Zhen.

Xiao Zhen then stepped forward with the bound Kong San and pointed to Kong'er's corpse lying nearby. "The Imprisoned Dragon Ridge has three leaders, all brothers born of the same mother. Tonight, one died and one was captured. Can you guess what the eldest brother, Kong Da, will do when he hears the news?"

Xiao Yan added, "By the way, the gang has a total of five hundred members. Only two hundred came tonight, leaving three hundred back at their hideout."

The villagers' hearts trembled. Did they need to guess? That eldest brother, Kong Da, would surely bring his three hundred bandits to seek revenge!

Although Lingshui Village won tonight, it was because the bandits hadn't expected everyone to have weapons, and there was even an archer hiding on the rooftops. When Kong Da brings his three hundred bandits to seek revenge, they will be better prepared. How many villagers will die then, fifty or five hundred?

"Headman, what should we do?"

"Thousand Commander Xiao, please give us some advice!"

The villagers started shouting in confusion.

Xiao Mu raised his hand, waiting for everyone to calm down. He then said solemnly, "I do have an idea. An idea that might eliminate the Imprisoned Dragon Ridge Gang and free us from future worries, or an idea that might cause another batch of villagers to die or even lead to the destruction of our village. It all depends on your choice."

The villagers: "..."

Sun Dian said, "Don't keep us in suspense, just tell us!"

Xiao Mu pointed to the captured bandits and the two hundred mules brought back by the villagers. "The government cannot handle the Imprisoned Dragon Ridge because it is a place that is easy to defend but hard to attack. Every time the government goes there, they either encounter ambushes on the mountain roads or fail to break through the mountain gate. Now, with the captured bandits leading the way, if we dress up as bandits, ride their mules, and pretend to transport several carts of grain, Kong Da will definitely let us in under the cover of night. Once inside, although they have two hundred seasoned bandits and one hundred refugees, they will be unprepared. Our chances of winning are fifty-fifty."

Sun Dian clenched his fist, "This plan is good. Instead of waiting here for them to kill us, we should strike back tonight and solve the problem once and for all. I approve!"

His enthusiasm soared, and indeed, he had the ability. The villagers looked at each other, thinking about the fifty-fifty chance of winning.

If they won, the two hundred men going would likely lose some, and if they lost, even more would die.

But if they didn't go, when Kong Da comes for revenge, death would be certain. It was better to take the chance tonight!

"I'll go!"

"Me too!"

More and more people stood up. As the number increased, the hesitant ones became determined. In the end, not a single person backed down.

Regardless of whether they truly wanted to go or simply didn't want to be mocked for being cowardly, hundreds of men stood straight like they did during morning practice, awaiting Xiao Mu's orders.

Xiao Mu scanned the crowd and said resolutely, "Those without elderly parents, young children, or wives, step forward!"

Men who met the criteria stepped forward, including young men in their teens and middle-aged men in their thirties and forties.

Sun Dian also stepped forward, "Even though I have elderly parents and young children, I have brothers who can take care of things if something happens to me. I'm not afraid!"

Sun Xinghai's eyes welled up, cursing silently several times, but did not stop him.

Thus, another group of men stepped forward, far exceeding the required two hundred.