Cao Qiang felt pain all over his body, but looking at the person in front of him, he dared not say anything.

They were all dressed as soldiers.

It goes without saying that these people are definitely from Shenxi.

If it falls into the hands of the enemy, how can it possibly end well?

Dou Yong noticed that although Cao Qiang was covered in dust and his clothes had many holes, it was clear that the material of his clothes was of excellent quality, and he was definitely not an ordinary person from this area.

“Company commander, he’s not a local, and he’s cursing the commander. He must be the one who’s trying to harm the commander.”

Li De nodded, kicked Cao Qiang, and asked sternly, "Speak, who are you, and why are you trying to harm our leader?"

Cao Qiang howled a few times, and Li De became even more impatient, kicking him again.

"If you shout again, I'll throw you back into the fire."

Cao Qiang dared not scream anymore; the feeling of being burned was too unbearable.

Despite the pain, he replied, "My name is He Qiang. I was kidnapped by Hu Axiong. It's really not my fault. I just have some money. He kidnapped me. Who knew he would bring me here? I didn't start the fire either."

Dou Yong clearly didn't believe it. A kidnapping?

What a coincidence!

Hu Axiong, he knew him well; wasn't he the bandit leader?

It is said that a few days ago, the commander wiped out a large number of these bandits, and their leader escaped.

Hu Axiong's presence here at this time must be related to the leader.

It seems that the ones who robbed the villagers this time really were this group of bandits.

Is this a resurgence? It's happened so quickly.

How many bandits must there be?

"Company commander, he's not telling the truth."

Li De was about to kick him again when Cao Qiang immediately backed down, saying tremblingly, "Don't kick me, I'll tell the truth."

Li De snorted.

This time, Cao Qiang dared not hide anything and told the whole story about his background and what had happened.

Everyone was stunned upon hearing this.

"You mean, our commander set the fire?"

"Yes, yes, if it weren't for Chief Shen setting the fire, we wouldn't have been burned like this."

More than 800 soldiers scattered and fled; probably not many managed to escape.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Li De was completely relieved; the leader was safe.

Dou Yong immediately smiled and said to Li De, "Our commander is really capable. So many people surrounded him, yet he was able to retreat, inflicting eight hundred casualties on the enemy while suffering no losses himself. I admire him greatly."

Li De was pleased to hear this, and at this moment he was no longer in a hurry to enter the dense forest.

Instead, they heeded Dou Yong's advice and retreated to the village.

Dou Yong ordered his soldiers to widen the firebreak to prevent the forest fire from spreading even slightly.

The trees inside are too dense; we can't go in to set up a firebreak.

Then send someone back to inform Mayor Zheng Hongfang and explain everything that happened here.

He also instructed the messenger to bring back food, because once the forest fire was extinguished, the commander would definitely want to eat.

He couldn't guarantee that the villagers here still had food.

Unexpectedly, while guarding this spot, we managed to catch more than twenty soldiers from Linchuan County who had escaped.

These people were burned beyond recognition. Although they managed to escape, it was clear they wouldn't survive and couldn't even speak.

Only six or seven were still alive and able to communicate. Dou Yong had read books and medical texts, so he examined them directly. He believed that these few could survive, but they were probably beyond saving.

Dou Yong asked the soldiers a few more questions, and what they said matched what Cao Qiang had said.

These soldiers were all ordinary soldiers; there were no special people among them.

Dou Yong then called the military doctor over to clean and bandage the wound.

For those who were clearly not going to survive, Dou Yong ordered the military doctors to treat them as well, just enough to make them conscious and able to speak.

Further detailed statements will be needed.

If they can be saved, they must be saved. Once the leader comes out, he will definitely interrogate them again.

Cao Qiang also received treatment; this person is very important.

The wound cleaning and medication application were extremely painful, and these people were screaming and howling, which greatly annoyed Li De.

"They're all acting like women, howling their ass."

Dou Yong brought Li De a bowl of water and said with a smile, "Company Commander, have some water to cool down. I'll have them go elsewhere for treatment."

With that, he waved his hand, signaling Kong Ze to take the people away to the other side of the village for treatment, and also took away those soldiers who were clearly not going to survive.

Li De finally had some peace and quiet.

Although they said the leader was safe, he was still worried when he didn't see him.

"Dou Yong, is the commander alright?"

"It's alright, Commander. He's incredibly lucky, like a god descended from heaven. How could anything happen to him?"

"Yes, yes, the leader is a god, he came down to earth to gain experience, he can't possibly go back without accomplishing great things, right?"

Dou Yong didn't believe in gods descending to earth, but he admired strength, and he respected those who were stronger than him.

He was completely convinced of Shen Xi's abilities.

As for his superior, Li De, he used him more as a tool than a tool.

But they wouldn't do anything bad; they would still carry out their superiors' orders.

After Li De calmed down, he remembered what Dou Yong had done before and felt angry again: "Dou Yong, you can't just think about yourself in the future. The commander's life is the most important."

Dou Yong was very clever. He knew that Li De was referring to the time he had wasted digging the firebreak, so he immediately admitted his mistake: "Yes, yes, I will definitely follow your lead from now on."

Seeing that Dou Yong readily admitted his mistake and that no harm had been caused this time, Li De let it go.

Li De picked up the water bowl and drank a few sips, which finally relieved a lot of the heat in his heart.

"I wonder if the commanders brought water and food. Judging from the fire, it won't burn for a whole day, will it?"

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