The gunfire suddenly stopped, and Si Cheng stood up to check the situation.
Wu Tianxiang immediately grabbed him, saying, "They had grenades before, and we don't know if they have any other weapons. We can't just go out like this."
Si Cheng saw figures running ahead and knew they were preparing to leave. "We can't stay here any longer; they're ready to leave."
“We can’t go over there,” Wu Tianxiang still refused to let go. “Since they’ve left a backup plan here, they definitely won’t let us catch up with them so easily. These people are very cunning, so we need to be more careful.”
Si Cheng also believed Wu Tianxiang's judgment, but being pulled like this made it inconvenient for him to move around. "I won't go over for now, let go first."
Seeing that there was no movement from the other side, Ma Tao became anxious. "Are we just going to let them go like this?"
Si Cheng saw a pile of rubble not far away, walked over and kicked them one by one.
"There's nothing here, isn't there? Let's hurry and chase them, or they'll escape." After saying this, Ma Tao took the lead and rushed out, with his teammates following closely behind. Wu Tianxiang and the others tried to stop him, but it was too late.
Watching them walk safely across the open space, Wu Tianxiang wondered if he had misjudged the situation.
The thought had barely formed when a loud bang was heard, followed by screams.
Once they came to their senses, they immediately gave chase. It seemed their guess had been right; the other party couldn't have left so easily.
Dong Ge and his group, who had already run some distance, heard the loud noise, turned around and smiled triumphantly at each other, then turned back and continued on their way.
"These bastards!" Ma Tao cursed angrily as he lay on the ground, regretting his impulsive actions.
He struggled to his feet, wanting to check on his comrades, but it seemed he had been hit in the leg and fell back down.
"How are they?" Si Cheng and the others caught up at this time and rushed over to help the people struggling on the ground.
"Those bastards planted landmines. Xiao Fang accidentally stepped on one and was blown away. You guys hurry up and go check on him, see how he is?" Ma Tao pointed in the direction Xiao Fang had just flown off and begged the people of Pinghe Village to help him go check. It was because all the people he had brought were injured, so he had no choice but to ask Si Cheng and the others for help. The only one whose situation they didn't know was Xiao Fang, who had stepped on the landmine.
Si Cheng followed the direction he was pointing and soon saw a mangled body lying there. He went over to examine it, then stood up and shook his head at Ma Tao.
Ma Tao pounded the ground in disappointment, feeling even more remorseful for not heeding the advice he had received. Because of his impulsive actions, everyone was now injured, and Xiao Fang had even lost his life.
"Village chief, should we continue the pursuit?" Wu Shan looked around at the pitch black surroundings, where there was no trace of the other party.
"We can't catch them now. We don't even know which direction they went, and we're not familiar with this area." Si Cheng knew the principle of not pursuing a defeated enemy, but this time they escaped, and he didn't know if he would have a chance to catch them.
Moreover, he didn't want to take everyone on a risky trip. If the other side had laid an ambush ahead, given their ruthlessness, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The main force arrived at this time, and being familiar with the terrain, they began to search carefully in the vicinity, but even if there were traces, they could not catch up.
Having learned from Ma Tao's experience, everyone is now more cautious, fearing they might step on another landmine.
Concerned about the injured, Si Cheng and his group hurriedly returned after handing Ma Tao and the others over to the other party.
They had been so focused on chasing that they hadn't had time to observe the surroundings. By the time they returned, it was already getting light, and the horrific scene they had witnessed along the way was truly shocking.
The road was littered with corpses and people sitting on the ground groaning. Among them were innocent civilians, refugees from outside the city, and Dong Ge's gang.
The civilians who had been hiding also came out at this time, and they helped the troops distinguish between the original residents of the city and the refugees from outside.
Some people even cried uncontrollably beside the corpses of their loved ones, unable to accept this sudden separation of life and death.
The bodies that had been confirmed dead were all gathered together, and the injured were given simple first aid.
But the instigators weren't so lucky. They could only huddle together, clutching their wounds, with a row of armed soldiers standing beside them. Not daring to make a move, they could only sit there and wait for the final verdict.
In addition to Yun Zhixin being shot, two other people in Pinghe Village were also slashed.
The wounded man had already received basic first aid, but Yun Zhixin's case was more complicated. The bullet had to be removed from his arm, which required a professional doctor.
They only brought some basic medicine with them this time, and there was no one with medical knowledge accompanying them, so Sicheng had no choice but to ask the army for help.
"That's only right. We'll have the army doctor remove it for him in a bit. However, there aren't enough medicines, so he might have to endure some pain." Wang Letian said, sounding a little embarrassed. After all, the other party had helped him a lot, and now he couldn't even provide painkillers.
Si Cheng said, "Although we didn't bring many medicinal herbs on this trip, it should be enough to get by."
"It's alright, I can bear this pain. Let's leave the medicine for those who need it more." Yun Zhixin looked at the soldiers who were more seriously injured than him not far away, and then turned to Si Cheng and said.
Si Cheng saw determination in his eyes and could understand his feelings, so he could only nod in agreement.
Wang Letian overheard their conversation and felt even more embarrassed, so he could only keep thanking them.
If it weren't for Village Chief Si and his group arriving by chance, they would probably have suffered a major setback this time.
The people from Pinghe Village are truly their lucky stars. It seems that every time they come, they can help them solve some problems, and this time it was a life-saving grace.
Wang Letian led them to the military doctor, handed them over to the professional doctor, and then said goodbye, "You can get treatment here first. I have to go out and deal with those thugs."
Si Cheng knew that it was already very kind of them to take the time to make arrangements for them, as there were many other things waiting for him, the political commissar, to handle.
The military doctor repeatedly questioned Yun Zhixin to make sure he didn't need anesthesia before giving him a piece of rubber to bite on, since the bag of medicine next to him had just been given to him.
Yun Zhixin had suffered some injuries before, and this was the first time he had been treated without anesthesia, especially for such a major operation as removing a bullet.
He overestimated his pain tolerance. When the sterilized scalpel cut into his wound, his body involuntarily curled up. If it weren't for the strong clansmen who were prepared to hold him down, the scalpel would have missed its mark.
Seeing him like this, Si Cheng and the others couldn't help but turn their heads away, while those who were more timid simply retreated.
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