A loud crashing sound came from the doorway. Wei Jinglan quickly shouted, "Don't bang on the door! There's fire at the door!"
The crashing sounds hadn't stopped, probably because the sound of the burning matches was too loud, and the people inside were in a panic and couldn't hear what the people outside were saying.
Wei Jinglan knew she couldn't wait any longer. She looked around, trying to find a water source, but there was nothing around except for the burning flames and thick smoke. Her gaze fell on the pile of debris next to her, so she could only do the same thing as before. She quickly picked up a few planks and stones, went around to the window where the fire was a little smaller, and smashed them against the window with all her might.
It was difficult to exert force from a distance, so she could only try to get as close as possible. When she finally managed to break a crack in the window, sparks flew onto her clothes, and she quickly rolled on the ground to extinguish them.
Just as she was panting heavily, exhausted, a noise came from inside the window. Someone used the crack she had just smashed to forcefully lift the window open. Then, one woman after another crawled out of the window. Their hands and feet were bound, and they could only climb out with difficulty by using their physical strength.
The fire had spread to the windows, and their clothes were covered in flames. The quick-thinking women were able to roll on the ground to put out the fire, while those who reacted slowly could only watch helplessly as the flames spread on their clothes.
Wei Jinglan quickly took off her tattered coat and went to help them put out the fire. When the fire on their bodies was finally extinguished, the wooden house could no longer withstand the onslaught of the fire and began to slowly collapse.
Ignoring everything else, Wei Jinglan used trembling hands to untie the ropes binding their hands, and then let them untie the ropes binding their feet themselves.
One of the women, having just untied her hands, hurriedly removed the gag from her mouth and said in a hoarse voice, "Girl, thank you! Do you know how to get out of here?"
Wei Jinglan shook her head. "I don't know. I was kidnapped too."
There were six women who escaped from the house. Without saying a word, they helped each other and quickly moved away from the fire.
By this time, the village was in complete chaos. They hadn't gone far when they encountered two bandits with knives. Fortunately, the two men did not stop when they saw them, but turned and ran away. It was probably because the government troops had attacked and they were busy escaping for their lives, and they didn't have time to care about them.
Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, a man wielding a curved knife suddenly appeared in front of them, staring at them fiercely: "Damn it, how could I forget about you?"
After saying that, he raised his scimitar, ready to kill them. Everyone was terrified and scattered in all directions. But the man was very fast. He grabbed the woman closest to him and held the scimitar to her neck. Another woman, who was trying to escape, rushed forward and clung to his arm tightly.
However, having just escaped death, they had hardly any strength left. The man quickly reacted and reached back to stab the woman with his curved knife.
Wei Jinglan reacted at this moment, gritted her teeth, turned around and suddenly grabbed the man's neck from behind. The woman who was grabbed also took the opportunity to open her mouth and bite the man's hand holding the knife. The man was in pain and the curved knife fell to the ground with a "clang".
The three men were too weak to move, so they could only use their weight to press him down. The knife that the man had dropped was right next to them, but none of them dared to pick it up. The man who was pinned down was still roaring, "Damn bitches, I'll kill you all."
Just as she was about to lose control of him, another woman heard the shout and returned. She picked up the scimitar from the ground, her hands trembling, imagining that she was chopping wood, and swung it down at the man's head. With one stroke, she only managed to cut off his ear. The intense pain unleashed even more power, and just as she was about to overturn the three people on top of her, the woman with the knife closed her eyes, choking back sobs as she continued to chop down the man until he was completely silent.
The air was thick with the stench of blood. The three of them stood up shakily, and one of the women said in a trembling voice, "He...he's dead."
"Stop looking, run!" After saying that, the woman who was stabbing people turned around and ran towards the mountain next to her.
Wei Jinglan was a step behind, so she quickly caught up.
The fire began to spread through the village, and everyone ran towards the unburnt areas. The seven people who had escaped earlier unexpectedly met again. Wei Jinglan untied her skirt, tore it into strips, and gave one piece to each person.
"The officers and soldiers who are suppressing bandits have brought hunting dogs. This cloth has a fragrance. You should carry it with you. If you find a safe place to hide, you can try to burn the cloth. The smell will be stronger after it burns. But remember, once the cloth is burned, the smell will be gone when you move to another place."
The fire was bound to spread sooner or later, and they couldn't stay here any longer. They had no choice but to continue fleeing for their lives. On their way, they encountered people from the village again, and they were forced to separate and scatter. Wei Jinglan finally escaped the village and entered the mountains. But as soon as she found a rock to rest on, she saw the person who terrified her the most. Behind him were several bandits.
She turned and ran, but before she could take more than a few steps, she was caught by one of the bandits. "Boss, we caught her! The authorities found our place. It must have been this little bitch. Otherwise, how could the authorities have found us so soon after we caught her?"
Wei Jinglan shook her head in despair, "I didn't, it wasn't me, it really wasn't me!"
“Boss, you absolutely can’t believe her. This little wench is definitely lying. Kill her quickly so we can move on to another place. As long as we’re alive, we can always find another opportunity,” another bandit chimed in.
Just when Wei Jinglan thought she was going to die, the man didn't make a move. Instead, he grabbed her arm and said to the other bandits, "Let's go!"
Along the way, the other bandits looked at Wei Jinglan with eyes that were practically spitting fire. Even Wei Jinglan was a little stunned. She couldn't believe that he couldn't guess that the matter of the government soldiers was related to her. But even so, when they were fleeing for their lives, he still insisted on taking her with him. She couldn't understand it.
After the soldiers stormed the village, they began searching for Wei Jinglan. Although suppressing the bandits was the top priority, the safety of Wei Jinglan, their informant, had been personally emphasized by the prefect.
Such a great achievement in suppressing bandits could be ruined if such details weren't paid attention to, or the reward would be lost. However, they found many women in the mountain stronghold, but Wei Jinglan was nowhere to be found.
Moreover, they learned from the captured bandits that their leader was still at large. Chen Han, the leader, began to worry. Then, one of his men reported that the hunting dogs they had brought had suddenly become agitated, as if they had discovered something. Only then did they follow the hunting dogs deeper into the mountains.
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