Looking at the more than one hundred people in the cave, Chenxi frowned slightly and said to the village chief Luzhuang, "Village chief, you should all go down too, don't crowd here."
Lu Zhuang was somewhat puzzled: "Commander, we hid here last night, it was very safe."
Shenxi shook her head: "That was last night. It was dark and visibility was poor. Also, your trap injured a few of the other side, which is why they couldn't find this place."
“Now that it’s daylight, if we come here, we can find traces. At that time, with so many people in the cave, it will be easy to capture them all.”
Lu Zhuang still asked with doubt, "Our able-bodied men are guarding the cave entrance, and they also need to climb down the vines. How many of them can make it down? We can just kill them one by one."
The surrounding villagers nodded in agreement.
Shenxi knew that if he didn't make things clear at once, the villagers probably wouldn't understand.
"What if the other side sets fire to the cave?"
"The weather was hot and dry, so they set fire to the cave. The dry vines inside the cave, the dry weeds at the entrance, and the vines surrounding the cave were all set on fire very quickly."
"They only need to pay with a few lives, while we will have to pay with more than a hundred. Perhaps the other side is more alert and smarter, and can protect themselves, or they can directly launch a fire attack from above and throw torches down."
"When the time comes, the vines above and below will burn together, and we'll be trapped in this small cave, unable to escape even if we want to."
Lu Zhuang and the villagers were so frightened that they couldn't speak.
In that case, they would have no chance to escape.
They'll just have to be burned alive here.
Because jumping off the cliff is impossible; there are still dozens of meters to the bottom, and jumping would mean certain death.
The enormous vines stretched all the way to the bottom of the cliff, and Chenxi and her guards climbed down.
Lu Zhuang gave the order: "Let's go down too."
Some villagers hesitated: "Village chief, I think the cave is safe. It's an open space below with hardly any grass. If bandits come down, we won't even have a place to hide."
If fire attacks are not a consideration, caves are definitely the best place for defense.
It was truly a case of one man holding the pass against ten thousand.
But is the other party an idiot?
You kill several of their people and defend so well, won't they find a way to deal with you?
No wonder they used fire!
Lu Zhuang glared at him: "Those who wish to stay in the cave may stay, but I am going down."
As he spoke, he took the lead, grabbed the vine, and climbed down.
Those who shared Lu Zhuang's thoughts also went down one by one.
There were fewer than a dozen people left.
The dozen or so people looked at each other, gritted their teeth, and went down.
This was a last resort; with only a dozen or so people, they were bound to struggle even to defend.
Let's follow the village chief; there's no other choice.
Chenxi climbed down from the vines and looked at the basin. Sure enough, it was barren—no, not entirely barren, as there were some withered and sparse weeds along the edges.
The few sparse trees that do grow there are also withered.
There is no green coverage whatsoever.
The soil is whitish in color.
This is some of the salt that has been separated out. This must be what Lu Zhuang and the others ate.
After coming down from Luzhuang, he saw Shenxi examining the soil and explained to her, "In a few days, we'll be collecting salt again. The reason we live in this mountain valley is mainly because there is salt here. We used to be able to hunt for food and barely survive."
Chenxi nodded and looked around. This basin was not very large, about the size of several football fields, and it was indeed surrounded by cliffs.
Chenxi asked, "Are we surrounded by vines?"
Lu Zhuang shook his head: "Only this side has the most vines. The other cliffs are usually covered with miscellaneous trees and grass, so there aren't many vines. The only vines that can hang down to this side are in this area."
Shenxi had already sent guards to check the surrounding area, but after hearing what Lu Zhuang said, she felt more at ease.
This vine that hangs down to the bottom of the cliff can support more than a hundred people walking down side by side.
The vines are very thick and sturdy, meaning that hundreds or even thousands of people can come down at the same time.
Chenxi asked Luzhuang, "Do you have a flint and steel?"
Most ordinary people in that era used flint and steel to start fires.
Lu Zhuang shook his head and said, "This humble subject did not bring any."
He turned to the villagers and asked, "Who among you has a flint and steel?"
Before the villagers could answer, Leng Aofu laughed: "Chief, how could you forget me?"
Chen Xi chuckled: "How could I forget you, heroine? You must have brought fire-starting tools with you when you travel the world."
Leng Aofu immediately pulled out an exquisite fire striker.
Shen Xi's eyes were almost blinded by the light.
The golden flint is engraved with exquisite patterns and inlaid with precious gemstones such as red agate and coral, which are obviously very valuable.
The villagers were stunned; they had never seen such a "deluxe" version of a flint and steel before.
Some villagers quietly put back the most "simple" version of the flint and steel they had just taken out.
The people around the leader are indeed extraordinary.
Chen Xi smiled and accepted it. It was made of pure gold and was so exquisite. If it were in the new century, it would be an antique among antiques, worth a fortune.
Seeing Chen Xi's greedy appearance, Leng Aofu couldn't help but laugh.
"If the commander likes it, it's a gift for you."
Shen Xi smiled brightly: "Then thank you, hero. As expected of a hero, this is no ordinary item."
Leng Aofu didn't expect Shen Xi to be so "unceremonious," but she greatly admired Shen Xi's approach—it was completely unpretentious.
"What is Chief Shen's purpose in requesting the flint and steel?"
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