The fire quickly burned down the bamboo spear wall, and the water bandits on the rope ladder climbed up one by one.

Wu Xiao had previously walked this path, leading the water bandits towards the village.

Unexpectedly, a water bandit behind him suddenly screamed.

Everyone turned around to see that the bandit had stepped into a trap.

Wu Xiao thought about the bamboo spear wall on the cliff and instinctively felt that there were probably many traps in the forest as well.

He swallowed and said, “Brothers, follow me closely. There may be traps in this forest!”

As soon as he finished speaking, several bamboo spears shot out from the forest, and several water bandits were killed on the spot.

At that moment, all the water bandits looked panicked, shooting arrows into the dense forest where the bamboo spears came from.

But there was no sound from the forest, as if there was nobody there at all.

The leader of the water bandits was furious, grabbing Wu Xiao by the collar and growling, “I’m starting to think more and more that you’re colluding with Qiyun Village, kid!”

Wu Xiaozui pleaded earnestly, “Boss, calm down! I’ve already been expelled from Qiyun Village. Now all the major mountain gangs know that Qiyun Village wants to kill me. How could I collude with them?”

Just then, a water bandit who had gone to investigate the forest shouted, “Boss, there’s blood here!”

The leader of the water bandits finally let go of Wu Xiao and strode over.

Seeing the arrowheads stained with sticky blood and nail-sized blood stains under the trees, he grinned and said, “Follow the blood trail for me!”

On the other side, Wang Dama, with her injured arm, and several men from the village were hiding in a low-lying area of the forest.

Wang Dama pulled out the arrowhead from her arm, blood oozing out, but she didn’t even blink.

She said to a young man, “Xiao Liu, you go back and report that Wu Xiao is leading the water bandits here. They have bows and crossbows; we can’t confront them head-on.”

The young man asked, “What about you, Wang Dama?”

Wang Dama smirked, “Will a wounded arm kill me? Hurry back and report!”

Only after scaring off a few men did Wang Dama roll up her trouser legs and deal with the arrow wound on her foot.

She had been shot in the foot as well, but she had pulled out the arrowhead at the time.

However, with her foot injured, she had to move slower.

Those men were Wang Biao’s brothers, loyal and wouldn’t abandon an old woman like her alone.

Wang Dama had been strong all her life and wouldn’t allow herself to be a burden to others at such a time.

---

After Qin Zheng went to report to Wang Dama, she was told to go home and wait.

If something unexpected happened, she was not to worry about anything and just follow Aunt Lu.

When the signal flare went off in the back mountain, the whole village became restless.

Qin Zheng had just reached her doorstep when Aunt Lu came out from inside, grabbing her hand and pulling her out. “Madam, come with me to the cave.”

Qin Zheng, being dragged along, asked while running, “The cave?”

Aunt Lu, panting, explained, “More than a decade ago, Qiyun Village was also attacked from the back mountain.

Most of the people in the village were killed or injured that time. Since then, the former village chief cut off the rope ladder on the back mountain and abandoned that path.

Instead, he led the people of the village to dig a large cave under the mountain rocks, in case one day Qiyun Village was attacked again, and the old folks and children in the village had nowhere to hide.”

Qin Zheng thought about Lin Yao, who was alone now, injured and unable to descend.

She said to Aunt Lu, “Let’s call a few people to carry the village chief over too.”

Ever since the second-in-command party was captured, Lin Yao and his sister hadn’t arranged for anyone to protect them in the courtyard.

Aunt Lu also didn’t know the situation in Lin Yao’s courtyard.

When she heard Qin Zheng’s report, she hurried to find people.

Most of the young men in the village had gone down the mountain.

Those who stayed behind today were partly at the dam and partly at the back mountain.

Most of those still in the village were the elderly, women, and children.

However, the village women indeed had quite a bit of strength.

Carrying a stretcher with four people lifting Lin Yao didn’t feel too difficult.

As they walked out of the courtyard gate, they ran into the young man rushing back to report.

The young man was still catching his breath, “Master, Wu Xiaozui and the water bandits are coming to attack. They have bows and crossbows, and we can’t get close to them at all!”

Lin Yao’s face immediately turned ugly.

It would be one thing if it were someone else attacking Qiyun Village, but Wu Xiaozui knew the location of the cave.

If they all hid in the cave, they would only be trapped there by the water bandits.

Lin Yao immediately said, “Madam Cheng, you and the others in the village go to the cave. Rest assured, I will chop off that scoundrel’s head before Wu Xiaozui reveals the cave’s location.”

The dogs in the village were barking loudly, making people nervous, but Lin Yao remained calm, “Liuzi, take all the village dogs to the back mountain to chase away the water bandits. The Two Weirs Mountain is our territory. Without Wu Xiaozui leading them, let them wander around in the mountains.”

The attackers were strangers, and they would surely be chased all over the mountain by the village dogs.

The young man suddenly became happy, “Alright! I’ll take the dogs now!”

But Qin Zheng refused to leave. Lin Yao looked at her, “Madam Cheng, do you have something to say?”

Qin Zheng nodded, “I’ve heard that Wu Xiao is highly skilled in martial arts. With a shortage of manpower in the village today, and you are also injured, it may not be easy to defeat him.”

Lin Yao smiled, his demeanor no less than when Qin Zheng first met him on the river, “Lin is not without skill. Within a hundred steps, I should still be able to take his life with a bow.”

Although bows and crossbows were useful, they couldn’t match the range of those skilled archers with boundless strength.

Qin Zheng frowned upon hearing this.

Lin Yao’s meaning was clear: to exchange his own life for Wu Xiao’s.

This way, the people hiding in the cave wouldn’t be discovered.

She said, “I have a plan to temporarily scare off the water bandits.”

Lin Yao raised an eyebrow, “Madam Cheng, let’s hear it.”

Qin Zheng said, “The water bandits don’t know that the other villagers have gone down the mountain. Why don’t we use the Empty City Strategy to scare them away?”

At this, Lin Yao looked at her with some surprise.

---

The water bandits searched everywhere on the back mountain for the villagers, but they were in the light while the villagers were in the dark.

Although Wu Xiao had walked this path on the back mountain, he wasn’t very familiar with the forest.

He triggered several traps: animal traps and bamboo spears were small troubles.

One misstep on the ground covered with dry branches and leaves could lead to a deep pit full of venomous snakes, making one’s scalp tingle.

As another water bandit stepped into a snare and was hung upside down on a tree, the leader of the water bandits spotted Wang Dan.

“A mere old woman, how many of my brothers have you killed?” The leader of the water bandits pointed his crossbow at Wang Dan and spat on the ground fiercely.

Seeing Wang Dan here, Wu Xiao felt a bit puzzled, “Wang Dan, is your good son dead or paralyzed that you’re here in the back mountain?”

Wang Dan knew she couldn’t let them discover that there was no one in the village; otherwise, it would only make this group of people more reckless.

She spat out a mouthful of blood foam and sneered, “To deal with traitors like you, I naturally have to use my butcher knife!”

Wu Xiao’s face darkened, about to say something harsh, but at that moment, a sharp bird call came from the forest.

Understanding the mountain village’s secret language, Wu Xiao immediately shouted, “It’s an ambush, retreat!”

Some low-ranking water bandits scattered like birds and beasts along with Wu Xiao.

The leader of the water bandits, however, shot an arrow at Wang Dan without fear.

With a crisp sound, the arrow was blocked by Lin Zhao using a sickle.

She wore a crimson dress, and when she leaped down from the tree, the layers of her skirt fluttered like a fiery cloud descending into the woods.

The leader of the water bandits narrowed his eyes, “Impressive skill. Are you the young lady of Qiyun Village?”

Lin Zhao didn’t reply.

She scattered lime powder from her hand, filling the air with dust.

The leader of the water bandits quickly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Lin Zhao had already disappeared into the forest with Wang Dan.

There was a strange commotion around, and the leader of the water bandits and his subordinates backed against a tree, aiming their crossbows into the woods.

The source of the commotion became clear in the next moment: dozens of fierce dogs came running madly from the forest, their barking waves covering each other, making people’s scalps tingle.

The water bandits hurriedly fired arrows, but with many trees in the forest and the dogs running fast, few arrows hit their target.

The water bandits were scattered and fleeing in all directions.

Those who were left alone were killed by the hidden people of Qiyun Village and had their crossbows taken away.

Following closely behind Wu Xiao, dozens of water bandits were in a slightly better situation.

They managed to avoid getting lost in the forest and emerged from the dense woods of the back mountain.

Filled with anger, they intended to burn, kill, and plunder.

They kicked the doors of several houses in the village that were still open, but the yards were empty, as if the entire village had evacuated early in the morning.

The leader of the water bandits was burning with anger and kicked Wu Xiao to the ground with one foot, “You bastard, you still say this isn’t a setup you and Qiyun Village arranged?”

“The cave, they must be hiding in the cave!” Although Wu Xiaozui said so, he wasn’t very confident.

Qiyun Village had so many people, and they had set up so many traps in the back mountain.

It was impossible for them to retreat to the cave without a fight with the water bandits.

Could it be that they really fell into a trap?

At this moment, cries of misery echoed from the dense forest of the back mountain, startling the birds and beasts.

This deserted village seemed even more eerie.

The leader of the water bandits was itching with hatred, eager to tear Wu Xiao apart, but this was Two Weirs Mountain, and only Wu Xiao was most familiar with this place.

He pressed a knife against Wu Xiao’s neck and said fiercely, “Lead us to a safe place to retreat! Quickly!”

They had clearly fallen into a trap.

This was a situation where they were being lured into a trap!

They didn’t dare to go to the back mountain anymore.

Wu Xiao led them to the dam.

Before they even reached the plank road, arrows rained down on them.

It turned out that the people from the village had seized the crossbows from the isolated water bandits and forced them to retreat using their own weapons.

The water bandits were unaware of how many people lay in ambush ahead, and the opposing side also wielded crossbows.

After weighing their options, they turned back and retreated from the back mountain.

On the plank road, Lin Zhao watched the water bandits scrambling back to the back mountain with relief and couldn’t hide her joy. “A-Zheng, your Empty City Strategy was amazing. With just a few of us, we managed to scare them away!”

Qin Zheng also breathed a sigh of relief when the water bandits fled. “Don’t block them on the back mountain anymore. After they descend from the rope ladder, pour a bucket of oil down and burn the wooden beams on the cliff.”

Without those wooden beams on the cliff, the water bandits would be as good as grounded if they tried to come up again.

Lin Zhao nodded heavily, admiration evident in her eyes as she looked at Qin Zheng.

However, the unexpected occurred in an instant.

With the village under attack and the guards for He Laozhi all dealing with the water bandits, He Laozhi and a few trusted followers seized the opportunity to escape.

But they ran into the water bandits head-on.

Both groups were taken aback.

However, the water bandits numbered in the dozens, while there were only a few people on the otherside.

Recognizing the He Laozhi, the leader of the water bandits sneered, “He Laozhi of Qiyun Village? Seize him!”

Several followers of He Laozhi from the western village were adept at judging the situation and immediately knelt down, “We are just prisoners of Qiyun Village now. We are willing to join Panlong Gully!”

He Laozhi remained silent.

The leader of the water bandits glanced at them, as if suddenly understanding something, “So Qiyun Village has undergone changes?”

One of the followers from the western village was afraid that the leader of the water bandits wouldn’t accept them and hurriedly said, “Leader, I know where the cave is. All the men in the village have gone down the mountain today, and those women must be hiding in the cave!”

“We also have a beautiful woman in the village who looks like a celestial beauty. Leader, take her back to Panlong Gully. She can be our hostage!”

The leader of the water bandits’ expression changed, “The people in the village have gone down the mountain?”

No wonder there was a woman ambushing them in the forest!

The follower from the western village wanted to explain further, but the second-in-command suddenly twisted his neck, breaking it.

Even though he had been in jail for the past two days and looked somewhat disheveled, the second-in-command’s face was still dignified like the bark of a pine tree, “Even if there is a fierce internal struggle in Qiyun Village, we will not hand this land over to outsiders!”

As he spoke, He Laozhi stared straight at Wu Xiaozui.

Wu Xiaozui was startled and took a step back under the gaze of He Laozhi.

The other followers from the western village looked at their dead companion in shock.

He Laozhi took a step forward, drew a large knife from the waist of one of the water bandits, and everyone thought he was going to kill Wu Xiao, even Wu Xiao himself thought so.

But unexpectedly, He Laozhi swiftly decapitated the followers from the western village, blood splattering everywhere.

The leader of the water bandits quickly understood that He Laozhi intended to kill those who knew the location of the cave.

He sneered and ordered his men, “Go to the cave!”

Feeling angry and embarrassed, the water bandit leader’s anger rose.

When He Laozhi came to fight him to the death with a large knife, the water bandit leader was still young and strong.

With just two moves, he knocked He Laozhi down and stabbed him twice in the chest.

The water bandit leader squatted down and patted his face, “I heard that He Laozhi has a beautiful daughter. Don’t worry, I will make sure my brothers get to taste her!”

As he stood up to leave, He Laozhi, who was on his last breath, used all his strength to bite the water bandit leader’s calf.

The water bandit leader screamed in pain.

Despite punching and kicking He Laozhi, he couldn’t make him let go.

Several lackeys pulled out their swords and knives and repeatedly stabbed He Laozhi.