Night Raid

"Ah!" Zhang Chao checked the wounded soldiers and saw them groaning in pain. The worst hit was their legs. He touched their calves.

“It hurts!! Ah!”

"It's a bone injury." Zhang Chao concluded.

After a pause, Zhang Chao asked, "What's the situation up there?"

"After going up for dozens of meters, there are rocks and trees...hiss...you can grab onto them and climb. I...huh...I tied the rope to a wooden stake at the top, and my feet slipped when I was coming down..." Fortunately, he was cushioned by the crooked tree when he was falling rapidly, so he didn't fall into a pulp.

Zhang Chao had him moved to an open space and assigned someone to watch over him. "He's okay, pretty smart."

At the hour of Yin, everything is quiet and everyone is fast asleep.

The group climbed up the steep cliff. Moonlight shone through the clouds onto the ridge, outlining the dark shadows among the dry trees, making the mountain ridge as rugged as ghostly shadows.

The higher we climb, the stronger the wind becomes, with low hums blowing across the mountain ridges, carrying moist air.

Wen Jingzhao lowered his head and glanced downwards. The earth had long since disappeared, and everything was gray. He could only see the heads of the people following him one after another.

He pulled the rope with one hand and exhaled slowly. He stretched his bandaged hand, which was itchy and seemed to be healing slowly.

After a short pause, I continued to climb.

"Ah!" A scream came from the mountains, extremely harsh.

Some slid down from above, waving their limbs in the air, trying to find a foothold, but to no avail.

Wen Jingzhao quickly stretched out one arm and grabbed the man's clothes, while his other hand tightly gripped the stone trough. Almost half of his body was exposed and he was being dragged down by the man.

"Whoosh." The sound of wind sounded beside his ears, and the stone trough "crackled" could not bear the weight of the two people, and shattered in an instant. The flying stone pieces hit the corner of Wen Jingzhao's eyes, bringing out a flower of blood.

"careful!"

"ah!"

The two fell rapidly.

At the critical moment, Wen Jingzhao hooked the rope with his left leg and pulled it tightly. The hemp rope rubbed against his trouser leg for a distance, and the rough touch caused dull pain in his thigh.

Wen Jingzhao groaned, and the two of them were hanging upside down. "Grab the rope and climb up." Wen Jingzhao steadied his body and pulled him up bit by bit.

"Ah...Okay! Okay!" He rescued the man and hurriedly pulled the rope hard, clinging to the cliff with his hands and feet, his legs trembling.

Seeing that he was stable, Wen Jingzhao exerted force on his waist and abdomen, tensed his muscles, turned over and suddenly jumped up. His eyes were sharp, like a nimble leopard in the dark night.

Zhang Chao breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can I get hurt?"

Wen Jingzhao clenched his fingers, his fingertips felt numb, and turned his arm, which made a crackling sound. They were all flesh wounds. "It's okay." He raised his head and gestured to continue moving forward.

Everyone became more careful and didn't dare to relax at all. The higher they climbed, the steeper the slope became, but there were more stone troughs to hold on to, which saved a lot of effort compared to being at the bottom.

Inside the mountain stronghold, the bandits were soundly sleeping and dreaming sweet dreams, while the soldiers sneaked into the stronghold as quickly as ghosts.

The signal sounded and everyone took action at the same time.

Bao Qiang woke up from his sleep, "Who?" He was instantly alert and grabbed the neck of the person on him, "...Ah...Mr. Bao...Mr. Bao...It's me...I'm Shuang'er..."

The woman was so weak and powerless, with tears on her face. Bao Qiang loosened his grip and said, "It's you."

"Cough! Cough!" Lin Shuang'er coughed violently, took deep breaths, and her face flushed. It took her a long time to catch her breath.

In the evening, he was drinking in the village. He got drunk and asked this woman to accompany him.

Lin Shuang'er's eyes were filled with tears, her red lips slightly parted, she was crying like a pear blossom in the rain, there were bruises on her body, her chest was heaving, and her flesh was rippling.

The feeling was wonderful. Bao Qiang rubbed his fingers, no need to savor it. He reached out and pulled her under him, clamped Lin Shuang'er's neck with one hand, and loosened his belt.

He reeked of alcohol, and his breath had a fishy odor. Lin Shuang'er wrinkled her nose in disgust, but was frightened and scared, so she suppressed the urge to vomit.

“Bang!”

Bao Qiang saw the disgust in her eyes, so he swung his hand back and slapped her.

"Bitch!"

“Tear!”

The already thin clothes were torn even more. He turned her over, and Lin Shuang'er's face was pressed against the bed board, forcing her to lower her head and raise her buttocks.

Suddenly, Lin Shuang'er's eyes widened as she focused on one spot.

“Swish!”

A cold light flashed, Bao Qiang dodged suddenly, and the long knife pierced his arm. His eyes blurred and he saw blood.

Bao Qiang reacted and shouted, "Who is it?"

He intended to pull out his weapon from under the bed, but Wen Jingzhao would not let him draw his sword. He leaped forward, leaving behind a sharp blade flash in the darkness, flashing like lightning.

Bao Qiang rolled to the other side and picked up the spear on the shelf. A sharp knife whistled past his ear. Bao Qiang reached out and wiped it, and there was another large pool of blood.

He was stimulated by the blood, and shouted as he rushed forward with his gun. The sword and gun collided, and sparks flew.

Bao Qiang was extremely strong. He stabbed him from top to bottom, like a mountain pressing down on his head. Wen Jingzhao felt numb in the palm of his hand.

The tip of the gun pierced the skin, and bright red blood oozed out.

Bao Qiang looked at the knife handle and his expression suddenly changed. "Old Two's knife! Did you kill him?"

Wen Jingzhao was not as strong as him and could not hold his ground for too long. Seeing that Bao Qiang was distracted, he bent his knees and hit him hard. Bao Qiang bent over in pain and lost his strength.

Wen Jingzhao took advantage of the victory and turned his wrist neatly, pretending to stab him in the heart. He bent down and swept his leg to knock him to the ground, then used his elbow to turn the tip of the knife and stab him in the abdomen.

Bao Qiang was the leader of this gang of bandits. He burned, killed, looted, and led the bandits to do evil. Most people hated him to the core. When Wen Jingzhao heard that he wanted to keep him alive, he beheaded him in public to appease the people's anger.

But Bao Qiang was no ordinary man. He kicked his legs and broke free from his shackles. "You're looking for death!" He shouted angrily, raised his spear with a fierce look, "Ah!!" The sharp tip of the spear pierced Wen Jingzhao's eye with unstoppable force.

"A-choo!" He Yingchun sneezed. When the cold wind blew outside the door, she shivered and sneezed again.

"It's cold, don't catch a cold." Mom gave her an extra piece of clothing.

"No need. It will be warm in the kitchen soon. It's just a few steps away." He Yingchun still walked quickly into the kitchen with her clothes on.

"Young Master should be back today, right?" Mom wiped her face. The wind and sand were particularly strong these days. Just the short distance from home to the noodle shop, her face was covered with dirt.

After cleaning up, He Yingchun opened the door for business.

"Boss! Give me a bowl of noodles!" Early in the morning, Liu Feng trotted in. He was dressed warmly and took off his hat. There was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

"Still the same?" "Yes!"

Liu Feng likes to eat three-fresh noodles, served with a plate of sweet and sour garlic. A mouthful of noodles and a sip of vinegar, it is so delicious.

He was not idle either, helping to put the tables and chairs in order. After a while, the noodles were served.

Liu Feng hadn't eaten for a while when Fatty Liu walked in slowly. He could hear his voice before he saw him. "Boss! The old three!" he shouted and sat down opposite Liu Feng.

These two were He Yingchun's regular customers, and they became familiar with each other after a few visits. Although Liu Feng was a scholar, his occasional swear words were quite to Fatty Liu's liking.

"Why are you so late lately?" Liu Feng asked him, "Oh, don't mention it." Fatty Liu waved his hand, "We had a batch of thin jackets, and we agreed to ship them over, but the goods were robbed by bandits a few days ago. I've been arguing with Manager Hu about this matter these days. Look at my mouth, it's irritated." He pointed to the big blisters on the corner of his mouth.

He Yingchun deftly placed the pork chop on the noodles. Fatty Liu's breakfast consisted of the same three things: pork chop noodles, roujiamo, and sweet and sour garlic. Liu Feng jokingly said that he always ordered the same three things, and he was happy to use them.

"Would you like to change to three fresh noodles?" He Yingchun looked at his big red bubble at the edge of his mouth, which looked painful.

Fatty Liu shook his head repeatedly, "No! No! I just love this piece of meat, hiss..." The bacon touching the big blister was like salt being sprinkled on the wound, and he screamed in pain.

Liu Feng shook his head, "Brother Liu really loves meat."

Fatty Liu slurped a mouthful of noodles and laughed heartily, "Brother Liu spoke right through my heart!"

"Hey, you said the bandits robbed the goods, was it in the Black Rock Mountain area?" Liu Feng asked after eating a bite of garlic.

Fatty Liu nodded. "That's the area where bandits frequently appear. I had originally agreed with Shopkeeper Hu not to go through that area. He said he got caught in a sandstorm and lost his way, so he wanted to hide there. Who knew he'd run into this?"

"Oh, don't worry too much..."

"Hmm...hmm, this sweet and sour garlic is quite flavorful today...hmm...what did you say?"

Seeing that Fatty Liu looked happy and plump, Liu Feng felt unnecessarily relieved.

"The government doesn't care?" Liu Feng had heard a lot about the bandits in Black Rock Mountain. "I don't know. I dare not say, and I dare not ask." Fatty Liu actually heard some rumors that the bandits were going to be suppressed, but there were so many people here that he didn't say much.

He Yingchun listened on the side, thinking that the bandits were rampant, and Wen Jingzhao's departure from the city might be related to this.

"To cool down." He Yingchun served them a small plate of pickled cucumbers.

"Hehe, thank you, boss!" Fatty Liu took a bite of the pickled cucumber. The cucumber was crispy and he chewed it with the other side that was not injured.

"Are there many bandits?" she asked while wiping the table.

"There are so many! Manager Hu has so many employees. Only a few with good skills escaped, and one even had his hand broken. Eh~" He moved his shoulders and couldn't bear to say anything more.

He took a sip of his noodle soup and said, "It's said, I can't guarantee it's true, that the group had three leaders. We don't know the name of the eldest, but he was called Leopard Head. It seems he was arrested by the government for robbing people, but he escaped and became a bandit."

Fatty Liu burped. "Well, the second one, some say, was originally a bodyguard. He had an affair with the escort leader's wife and had one of his hands chopped off. Later, somehow, he hooked up with that Leopard Head. He couldn't stand people seeing his hand cut off, so that's why he chopped off the hand of Shopkeeper Hu's clerk."

"The third brother is mysterious and only has the nickname of Smiling Tiger." He wiped his mouth after eating and drinking.

"Okay, from now on I can call you Brother Liu, the know-it-all!" Liu Feng ate while listening, enjoying his meal very much.

"How strong are those people?" He Yingchun asked the question that concerned him.

"I'm not sure about that, but they've robbed so many people, so they probably have some strength."

"Okay, I still have to go check on the stalls, so I'll leave first!" Fatty Liu patted his stomach, paid the bill, and left.

Liu Feng stayed for a short while and then left.

He Yingchun cleaned up the dishes with some worry. Wen Jingzhao was smarter than he was strong. It would be fine if he didn't run ahead, but he was determined to escape from slavery, so he would definitely rush forward.

Someone came in from outside the door, and He Yingchun greeted him with a smile, "Sir, please come in! Let's see what you want to eat..."

She froze, her smile frozen for a moment, then quickly smiled and said, "What kind of noodles do you want to eat?"

The guest was of medium build, with a shrewd look on his face. It was Huo Saner. He looked He Yingchun up and down and asked, "Why do you look familiar?"