Chapter 163: Son of a Bitch
As expected, the bandit forces below the mountain showed no signs of retreating.
Cheng Xu observed them with a cold, calculating gaze, as did Li Daoxuan from his distant vantage.
At the very front of the bandit ranks, a solid five hundred men formed a line, their voices rising in a synchronized, venomous roar aimed at the mountaintop: "Is that the Zheng Family Village militia up there? You sons of bitches! Zheng Family Village gave birth to a hero like Zheng Yanfu, who slew officials and rose in rebellion. Why won't you follow his righteous path? Instead, you conspire with the authorities to oppress us, your fellow villagers who have taken a stand! You're nothing but the government's curs and lackeys, undeserving of human status, a festering pile of dog dung, may your very names be obliterated!"
Zheng Daniu roared, his voice tearing across the air as he bellowed down the mountainside: "Zheng Yanfu is a... (muffled)..."
One of his militia comrades clapped a hand over his mouth, pulling him back. "Brother Wang Er is set on preserving Zheng Yanfu's reputation," he whispered urgently. "Let's honor Brother Wang Er's wishes and keep quiet about what Zheng Yanfu did."
Zheng Daniu tore free. "I don't care about any of that!" he seethed. "I'm going to tell everyone what Zheng Yanfu did! Dammit, I actually thought he was my friend when we were kids, and he dared to launch a night raid on Gao Family Village, intending to slaughter every last one of us!"
With that, he shoved his comrades aside, scrambled to the cliff's edge, and bellowed a fresh round of curses: "Zheng Yanfu is a dog-fathered bastard! If you follow his lead, I'll personally screw your mothers!"
Gao Chuwu, his loyal friend, naturally joined the fray. He too dove to the cliff's edge, echoing Zheng Daniu's fury: "I'll screw your mothers!"
The entire militia joined in, a chorus of enraged shouts rising from the mountaintop.
A stunned silence fell over the group.
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but break into a wry smile. "Indeed," he mused, "that's a detail even I hadn't considered, or perhaps hadn't approached from that angle. Cheng Xu likely has extensive experience in such matters, constantly leading a hundred or so soldiers to suppress bandits across the land."
This militia, it was clear, still operated without much discipline. Transforming them into anything resembling a regular army would take a long, arduous effort; Cheng Xu certainly had his work cut out for him.
Just as Li Daoxuan's thoughts drifted there, he observed the bandit forces below begin to stir, initiating their covert maneuvers.
The front ranks of the cursers continued to spew venom at the mountaintop, while a large contingent of bandits from the rear quietly slipped out of formation. Under the leadership of their Second Boss, Wind-Bearer, and Third Boss, Erchun, they stealthily pulled back, melting into the dense woods. Using the natural cover, they looped around behind a sheer cliff, then dropped low, effectively plunging into a winding mountain gully.
Li Daoxuan, lacking the ability to instantly tally their numbers with a glance, simply directed his camera to capture an image. This was then fed into his computer for scanning and identification. Moments later, the machine reported its count: four hundred men.
The bandit forces dared not deploy too many men, for a significant detachment from their main body would surely be noticed by the militia perched on the mountaintop. By sending only four hundred, they could maintain the illusion that their numbers remained undiminished, and that their entire strength was still massed on the front lines, engaged in their vulgar shouting match.
Both Wind-Bearer and Erchun were the fiercest among ferocious brigands—towering, broad-shouldered, and terrifyingly skilled in combat. Their contingent of four hundred was comprised solely of robust young men, not a single elder, infirm, woman, or child among them.
The lead guide, a local herb collector abducted from a village just to the east, possessed an uncanny familiarity with the surrounding mountain terrain. He led these four hundred hardened brigands, stealthily navigating the winding mountain gully, creeping silently as they circled higher up the slope.
Li Daoxuan observed the direction these four hundred men were heading: precisely where Cheng Xu had dispatched Xing Honglang to lay an ambush. He couldn't help but offer a silent commendation: "Cheng Xu truly possesses remarkable skill. After surveying the terrain, he immediately predicted the bandits' maneuvers. Why is such a capable military commander merely a ninth-rank inspector? Shouldn't he be afforded greater opportunities for advancement? Why, instead, did the court dispatch the Embroidered Uniform Guard to assassinate him?"
Alas, the Ming court! Oh, the Ming court!
Meanwhile...
Spring Gully Village!
The freshly appointed Inspector, Fang Wushang, stood atop a high vantage point, his gaze fixed on the direction of Heyang County. Magistrate Liang Shixian had assured him the bandit army would invariably pass through Spring Gully Village, yet Fang Wushang had waited and waited, for what felt like an eternity, but they never materialized. Where on earth could these brigands have vanished?
Suddenly, his deputy inspector came sprinting, breathless, shouting: "General Fang, dire news! The Mountain-Crossing Moon bandits of Heyang didn't head this way at all; they've gone towards Gao Family Village instead!"
Fang Wushang's expression tightened with alarm. "Damn that Liang Shixian, the incompetent fool!" he seethed. "I actually believed he was formidable, swearing confidently that the bandits would arrive at Spring Gully Village, yet it was all utter nonsense! We depart immediately for Gao Family Village!"
The deputy stammered, "It's a dozen li of treacherous mountain paths, General! We'll never make it in time!"
Fang Wushang snarled, "Even if we can't make it, we'll still rush! Move, move, move!"
Xing Honglang and her contingent waited in quiet anticipation for a stretch, until finally, movement stirred within the mountain gully.
Wind-Bearer and Erchun, hunched low, led their four hundred hardened brigands, silently slinking along the bottom of the gully.
As they advanced, the two leaders exchanged awkward whispers, keeping their voices low.
"Damn it all," Erchun muttered, his voice raspy. "I just caught sight of Xing Honglang! Those people raining stones down from the hillside—they are her subordinates."
Wind-Bearer demanded, "Are you certain?"
Erchun insisted, "I was leading the charge, quite close to the crest of the slope. I glanced up and there she was, that woman surnamed Xing, watching me from the very peak."
Wind-Bearer snarled under his breath, "That accursed woman! To actually run off and join forces with the militia against us! It's absolutely preposterous, a traitor to the greenwood brotherhood!"
Erchun's voice hardened. "Once we creep to the mountaintop, we'll strike from behind, neutralizing their ability to unleash rolling logs and boulders. Then, Big Brother's main force can immediately scale the front, a two-pronged assault! We'll capture that woman alive, and I'll make her curse the day she was ever born into this world!"
"Excellent!" Wind-Bearer declared. "Second Brother will ensure that woman is taken alive for you."
The words had barely left their lips when a coarse, booming female voice thundered from directly above them: "Erchun, your old lady sees you!"
A jolt of alarm shot through both Wind-Bearer and Erchun. They scrambled to look up.
From the cliff top, along one side of the gully, Xing Honglang's head appeared. In the very next instant, a salt smuggler peered over as well, and with a grunt, sent a massive rolling log thundering down into the gully below.
"Bloody hell!" Wind-Bearer and Erchun gasped, utterly terrified. They quickly dove to either side.
A deafening rumble erupted as rolling logs and boulders plummeted from the gully's heights, raining a furious, indiscriminate assault upon the four hundred hardened brigands trapped within.
Hardened as these brigands were, they were still flesh and blood.
And as flesh and blood, they could not withstand such a demented, brutal onslaught of rolling logs and boulders. In the blink of an eye, the valley echoed with frantic cries for mothers and fathers as the four hundred hardened brigands scattered like panicked rats, completely routed, a disorganized rabble.
Many of the bandits, their courage utterly broken, began to flee back the way they came.
Erchun, however, proved himself true to the "Stupid" in his name. Xing Honglang's sudden appearance had so inflamed his mind that he defied all reason. Instead of retreating, he let out a guttural roar and charged forward.
Whether this fellow was protected by some divine fate or merely possessed insane luck, the rolling logs and boulders inexplicably failed to connect. He charged wildly onward, actually bursting forth from the gully and, like a madman, sprinted up a steep incline directly toward Xing Honglang...
Two salt smugglers immediately moved to intercept him, but Xing Honglang swept a hand through the air. "Everyone, stand aside!" she bellowed. "Your old lady will take her revenge personally!"
These past few days, the moon above Shuangqing City has been exceptionally luminous. Just now, I glanced up and saw it in the night sky, shimmering with a distinct cross-shaped glow. This is surely a heavenly omen, bidding me deliver an extra chapter. So, an additional update it shall be.
/.Midnight]/
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