Chapter 295: Come Be Our Guests
An arrow tore through the air, streaking straight for Zao Ying's back.
It was Dahong Lang who had fired this arrow.
Zao Ying had just knocked him off his horse and taken his mount, filling him with indignant rage. Yet, the militia's fearsome firearms kept him at a distance. Seething, he notched an arrow to his bowstring and let it fly.
His archery was usually dreadful—he missed five out of ten shots on an average day. But today, fortune smiled upon him; the arrow flew unerringly, directly at Zao Ying's vital spot on her back.
The sun was dipping below the horizon, casting the battlefield in poor light. The arrow was blindingly fast, unnoticed by most. In a blink, it was upon Zao Ying's back. By the time she registered the whistling tear through the air, it was too late to evade.
Just then, a massive, iron-clad figure lunged forward.
It stretched out a colossal arm, yanking Zao Ying clean off her horse.
Zao Ying was a formidable woman, with a build that rivaled Xing Honglang's – almost a veritable Amazon among women. Two or three ordinary men might not have budged her an inch. Yet, with a single pull from that towering, iron-clad figure, she was easily unseated from her horse.
Mid-fall, the iron-clad giant extended both hands, catching her in a horizontal embrace.
Zao Ying gasped in surprise, her eyes wide as she glared at the iron-clad figure. "Who are you?" she demanded. Immediately, she felt a prickle of impropriety; this man had just saved her life. She swiftly corrected herself: "Thank you."
The iron-clad figure chuckled. "Zheng... *ahem*... Guyuan's Reckless Bull Calf."
"A 'Reckless Bull Calf'?" Zao Ying mused. "That's clearly a nickname. Seems you haven't been too busy rebelling and causing havoc to come up with one. And what a fitting moniker for your build, too!"
Cheng Xu nodded. "They’ve sent us a greeting; it would be impolite not to reciprocate. Reckless Bull Calf, return fire with a hand grenade!"
The Reckless Bull Calf, who was indeed Zheng Daniu, gently set Zao Ying down. He grinned. "Ghost Centurion," he said, "we were about to withdraw, but they’re still flinging arrows at us. If we leave without teaching them a lesson, my heart will feel unsettled."
"Alright then!"
Zheng Daniu roared with laughter, then produced a fuze-lit hand grenade.
Zao Ying, now standing remarkably close to Zheng Daniu, got a clear look at the grenade. *This is that devastating explosive?* she wondered. *It looks so unassuming, just this tiny thing...*
While she was still pondering, Zheng Daniu had already ignited the fuze. Waiting until it had burned halfway, he took a swift step forward, then swung his arm with sudden force. The hand grenade soared, arcing far into the distance.
Just observing his powerful stride and arm swing, Zao Ying felt a jolt of alarm. *What a formidable brute! No wonder he yanked me off my horse so easily just now. There’s simply no contending with such a monster's strength.*
The grenade flew an impressive distance, carving an arc across some seventy yards of sky before landing near Dahong Lang. With a deafening boom, a swath of Dahong Lang's subordinates instantly collapsed. Dahong Lang himself, however, had hit the ground quickly enough to snatch back his life.
*So this is it,* Zao Ying realized. *That monstrous device that can obliterate a swarm of men with a single blast. And that colossal iron-clad figure is the one throwing them. Truly formidable.*
"Let's move!" Cheng Xu commanded with a wave of his hand.
The militia prepared to withdraw, but most of its members were clueless about riding horses, gawking blankly at the captured warhorses. Xing Honglang's band of salt smugglers, however, were skilled in all things equestrian. They swiftly mounted the freshly acquired steeds and galloped ahead, heading south.
A large herd of riderless horses thundered south alongside them, vanishing from sight in moments. The militia, meanwhile, began their slow retreat on foot...
Zao Ying, too, intended to leave, but a sudden realization struck her: she had nowhere to go.
North and west were both out of the question; either direction would lead her deep into Huanglong Mountain, now firmly Wang Zuogua's territory.
East... impossible. Hong Chengchou’s forces had just hounded her into the mountains from that very direction. She had no desire to emerge eastward only to collide head-on with him again.
No way to win. Absolutely no way.
So, what then?
South was the only option!
She turned to Cheng Xu and Xing Honglang. "It seems I, too, must withdraw south. That would be... Chengcheng County, wouldn't it?"
Cheng Xu hesitated, a flicker of doubt in his eyes. *My 'Guyuan rebel army' is meant to transform back into the Gao Family Village Militia once we return,* he thought. *If this female horse bandit is present for that, it'll complicate matters.*
He turned to Xing Honglang, who leaned in close and whispered in his ear: "Zao Ying is known for her chivalry; she wouldn't betray us. We can let her in on the truth. Besides, the Gao Family Village Militia isn't adept with horses. Even if we take these warhorses back, fully utilizing them would be a challenge. We'd be better off finding a way to draw Zao Ying into Gao Family Village. She's a master of horsemanship, and with her, these warhorses will be put to good use."
Cheng Xu considered this carefully. Indeed it was.
He glanced up at the low clouds, searching for a sign from the Heavenly Lord. There was none; clearly, no objection was forthcoming.
If the Heavenly Lord had no objections, then neither did Cheng Xu.
He turned back to Zao Ying, a wry grin spreading across his face. "Boss Zao, why don't you join us at our humble abode for a few days?"
Zao Ying blinked. "May I impose on you?"
Cheng Xu replied, "Of course! Boss Zao, you helped us reclaim five hundred warhorses. That’s a debt of tens of thousands of taels of silver, and we can’t possibly leave it unpaid. The least we can do is offer you some fine meals at our home."
Zao Ying was about to offer polite words, something akin to, "You saved my life," when she suddenly heard the audible gulping from her subordinates behind her. In this year of profound disaster, those five words—"eat some fine meals"—were utterly lethal. Instantly, all one hundred and twenty horse bandits began to drool, their hunger palpable.
Politeness, it seemed, was no longer an option. For the sake of her subordinates, she could only brazenly accept the offer of a few free meals.
"In that case... we accept your kind imposition."
From his vantage, Li Daoxuan watched with amusement. Excellent, he thought. Over a hundred cavalrymen had just arrived. Gao Family Village's most glaring weakness was, at present, its lack of a mounted force.
He had been pondering how to establish a cavalry unit with those five hundred warhorses. Just imagining the headache of training a horde of complete novices into skilled riders made his temples throb. But now, with Zao Ying entering the equation, his vision for a cavalry corps suddenly snapped into sharp focus.
To draw this group into the village, it seemed, he would have to start with their stomachs.
Their unashamed expressions made it clear: this lot was desperately in need of a good meal.
What kind of feast could he offer?
Li Daoxuan glanced at the "Westin Chinese Burger" clutched in his left hand and shook his head dismissively. No, that wouldn't do. The quality was far too subpar to *seduce*—*ahem*—to *entertain* new acquaintances. It clearly wouldn't make the cut.
He opened his food delivery app, Meituan Waimai, and began scrolling through options, searching for something truly delicious, something impressive, something that would leave a lasting impression.
He didn't know what he was missing until he looked, and when he did, he found something truly intriguing.
Nearby, a Qin Feng Restaurant was specializing in Xi'an cuisine.
Xi'an's Eight Great Bowls!
This was perfect! Not only was it presentable, but it also catered precisely to the Shaanxi palate. Nothing was more quintessentially Shaanxi than the Eight Great Bowls. He swiftly placed his order, with a delivery time of one hour.
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