Sun Miao'er glared at them, displaying an imposing aura, which frightened the peasant women so much that they didn't dare to look at her at all.

Her gaze swept quickly across the crowd, and she finally spotted Old Lady Sun near the corner of the wall.

Sun Miao'er could not suppress her impulsive feelings, but she was afraid of attracting the attention of others, so she could only patrol the field and wait until it was late at night to make a decision.

The moon sank in the west, the night was as dark as ink, and even the stars in the sky seemed to be dozing off, their brightness diminished considerably.

"Manager Ji, keep an eye on things outside for me!"

Most of the villagers who were tied up could not stay up all night and fell into a deep sleep, with only a few still drowsy.

Sun Miao'er kept staring at Grandma Sun, and Grandma Sun seemed to have noticed something as well. She made eye contact with Sun Miao'er several times, but because Sun Miao'er was wearing a mask, Grandma Sun did not recognize that she was her granddaughter.

Ji Changru thought to himself that he had really become a bandit, but he had no choice but to obediently stand at the door and keep watch for her.

"Grandma, Grandma!" Sun Miao'er walked up to Grandma Sun and gently tugged at her sleeve.

Grandma Sun woke up from her sleep and saw the bandits squatting in front of her. She was so frightened by her advanced age that she almost fainted. Fortunately, Sun Miao'er pulled off her mask in time.

"Grandma, it's me!"

When Grandma Sun saw that the bandit in front of her had turned into her long-lost granddaughter, she was so excited that she couldn't speak. She tightly grasped her granddaughter's hand and said, "Miao'er, Miao'er, what are you doing here!"

Grandma Sun quickly calmed down and realized the current situation. She then nudged her granddaughter and said, "Miao'er, why are you dressed like this?"

Sun Miao'er lowered her voice and crouched behind the people in front of her, trying to hide in this corner so that she couldn't be seen from the outside at a glance. "Grandma, I'm here to save you!"

"Silly child, what nonsense are you talking about!" Old Mrs. Sun had spent the whole day in fear and anxiety, chanting Amitabha Buddha countless times in her heart, but now, seeing her granddaughter, only one thought came to her mind: "The bandits' knives have no eyes! Miao'er, you must go quickly, don't worry about us!"

"This afternoon, the bandit leader saw Zhang, the village chief's daughter, and raped her. And do you remember Hua Gu? The bandit leader said he would reward her to his most capable subordinate!"

When Grandma Sun saw her granddaughter dressed as a bandit, she thought that if the bandits recognized her, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Sun Miao'er thought to herself that Zhang Shi deserved her fate.

"Grandma, I've found the secret passage in the village. Please let me think of a way!"

Before Sun Miao'er could say two words, Ji Changru suddenly ran over and winked at her, indicating that someone was coming.

"Grandma, lie down quickly!" Sun Miao'er pulled up her mask, straightened up, and whispered, "Grandma, I'm sorry!"

After saying that, he gently kicked Old Lady Sun's back with his foot, "Old woman, wake up!"

"What's wrong?" The night patrolman came over and saw Sun Miao'er standing in the corner, so he came over and asked.

Sun Miao'er replied, "I just saw this old woman faint, and I was afraid she was going to die, so I came up to check on her."

"Don't worry, this old woman is tough. When the brothers went to her house this afternoon, she even tried to chase them away with a hoe!"

Sun Miao'er pulled the bandit on duty aside and said with a smile, "That's good. Brother is right. It must be hard for you to have to change shifts so late!"

"That's right, the boss is going to hold a big celebration banquet tomorrow morning and ordered me to slaughter cattle and sheep. I don't even have time to sleep! Sigh!" the man complained.

Sun Miao'er glanced at his waist tag, which had the number "nine" written on it, and said, "Ninth Brother, we're brothers, you're ahead of me in line, you're my eldest brother, how can I let you overwork yourself? Tell me what needs to be done at the celebration banquet tomorrow morning, and I'll take care of it for you!"

Exhausted, the bandit didn't refuse when he heard about this good opportunity. He said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, brother. Don't worry, I won't try to steal credit from you in front of the chief."

The celebration banquet—it seems even the heavens are on her side; it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Taking advantage of the darkness, Sun Miao'er ran out of the Li family ancestral hall. She instructed Ji Changru to keep a close eye on Old Lady Sun and not to give herself away.

She knew the way to the medicine shop all too well; she had walked that road countless times. But now, walking it again, she felt a different kind of emotion.

The herbal hut was in a remote location, and besides herbs, there was nothing of value inside. Since it was uninhabited, it was not looted by bandits.

But it contained what Sun Miao'er needed most right now—she rummaged through the pile of medical books for a long time, and finally tore out that page as if it were a priceless treasure.

It is a recipe for a sleeping potion, colorless and odorless, with a strong effect that knocks one unconscious upon ingestion; commonly known as "one-shot knockout."

Sun Miao'er prepared the medicine according to the prescription. Time was tight, and she didn't have time to measure the dosage accurately. If the medicine was too strong and the bandits didn't wake up, they shouldn't blame her for being ruthless.

Before dawn, the bandits in the Li family ancestral hall began to make preparations. They set up a large pot in the center of the backyard, and many bandits started carrying wine into the yard, one jar after another, piling it up as high as a small mountain.

After this long night, Sun Miao'er finally met the legendary leader, Tu Zhenshan.

Unlike those fierce and menacing bandits, Tu Zhenshan looked very refined and was not the stereotypical burly man. He wore simple linen clothes, but his eyes and brows exuded authority and his expression was very serious.

The resourceful second-in-command, however, has yet to show up.

From the bandits' conversation, Sun Miao'er learned that the second-in-command rarely appeared in the village and mostly advised the first-in-command through carrier pigeons.

A cunning rabbit has three burrows; it seems the rumored second-in-command is far more unfathomable than the first-in-command.

"Brothers, you've all worked hard lately!" Tu Zhenshan sat on the armchair that the bandits had brought over, with a tiger skin underneath, looking quite smug.

Tu Zhenshan shook his leg and laughed, "It's cold, so I specially prepared mutton soup to reward the brothers. After we take Fushui Village, we won't have to hide in the mountains anymore. Everyone, eat your fill. Let's work together as brothers and strive to take Pingnan City. Let the damned court go to hell!"

"The chief is right. If it weren't for the emperor's tyranny and his blind incompetence, which has forced us to become homeless, we brothers wouldn't be hiding in the mountains. Now we'll teach them a lesson and let them know that we common folk are not to be trifled with!"

Some people below were indignant and loudly echoed their sentiments.

"Drink this bowl of mutton soup, let's work together to break through Yingzhou and storm the capital!" Tu Zhenshan raised the mutton soup high, raised his arm and shouted, then tilted his head back and drank it down.

"Someone, bring the wine up!"

Amidst shouts, the bandits downed the soup in their bowls, then began drinking wine, creating quite a lively scene.

Sun Miao'er stood guard outside the door, listening to the jubilant sounds inside, rising and falling, gradually fading until finally, complete silence.