Old Man Lu and Old Lady Lu were at the back of the group and had no idea what had just happened.

They saw the village chief urging everyone to keep moving forward, but Shen Qingwan remained behind.

Immediately, Old Man Lu panicked.

He wanted to ask the village chief what was going on, but the chief simply told him to leave first and talk later.

“Why did you leave my eldest daughter-in-law behind?” Old Lady Lu also noticed that Shen Qingwan wasn’t following them and became anxious.

“Eldest daughter-in-law—”

Just as Old Lady Lu called out, Lu Wenguang quickly pulled her back. “Mother, Sister-in-law asked us to leave first. She said she has a way to escape.”

Lu Wenguang trusted his sister-in-law.

After all, when the bandits attacked the village earlier, she had shown incredible skill.

“Sigh, what way could she possibly have? She’s just a woman! She only said that so we wouldn’t worry about her. Second son, we can’t just abandon her!”

Old Lady Lu’s eyes turned red as she spoke.

Old Man Lu also felt that his wife’s words made sense, but the village chief was leading everyone to safety, and he was worried that saying anything rash might put the whole group in danger.

So, he could only drag Old Lady Lu forward.

As Shen Qingwan watched the villagers leave, she finally lowered her weapon and spoke, “Weren’t you going to take me back? Let’s go.”

Her words stunned the bandits for a moment.

Did this woman even realize she was being captured?

Meanwhile, the bandit leader had already lost too much blood and passed out.

Seeing this, his subordinates quickly lifted him onto a horse and took Shen Qingwan with them back to their hideout.

She hadn’t expected these bandits to be from the mountains, and their hideout wasn’t far from where they had attacked.

After walking for over an hour, she realized they had practically delivered themselves to the enemy.

Of course, Shen Qingwan wasn’t foolish enough to obediently let herself be captured.

Nor was she self-sacrificing enough to die for the sake of the villagers.

Her real goal was to destroy this bandit stronghold.

Earlier, she had witnessed how cruel these bandits were.

No matter how much the refugees begged for their lives, the bandits showed no mercy—once caught, death was the only fate that awaited them.

Shen Qingwan came from a post-apocalyptic world and was no stranger to bloodshed.

She was ruthless when necessary, so she had no intention of going easy on these bandits.

..

The people of Dahe Village had only walked a short distance when Old Lady Lu burst into tears.

She wailed, demanding to know why they had abandoned her daughter-in-law to face those beasts alone.

The village chief was overwhelmed with guilt, and the others felt equally uneasy.

They all regretted leaving Shen Qingwan behind.

“We have to believe in her. She’s smart and capable. Since she told us to go ahead, she must have a plan to escape. She told us to wait for her in Jicheng,” the village chief tried to reassure them.

But even he wasn’t entirely convinced. He feared that she wouldn’t be able to escape and that her words were only meant to give them peace of mind.

“She’s only eighteen! How could she possibly get out of that den of wolves? She only said that to comfort us. She sacrificed herself to protect us!”

Old Lady Lu cried even harder, her grief pouring out uncontrollably.

Lu Wenguang’s eyes also turned red. “Sister-in-law put herself in danger to make sure no one in the village got hurt. She risked her life for us!”

“My sister-in-law…”

Lu Jiaojiao, remembering how well Shen Qingwan had treated her, also started crying.

Zhou Huiniang sobbed softly, afraid to scare the children.

But Xiao Yu overheard their conversation. Looking around and not seeing her mother, she immediately ran to Old Man Lu.

“Grandpa, where’s my mother?”

Old Man Lu was speechless. He didn’t know how to answer.

Xiao Yu looked around in panic.

Seeing no sign of her mother, she began crying loudly.

“Grandma? Where’s my mother? Aunt? Have you seen my mother? Mom? Where are you… Mom?!”

The little girl wailed, her sobs shaking the cart.

Even her younger brother, Xiaochen, started crying along with her.

“Be good, Xiao Yu. Your mother had something important to do, but we’ll reunite with her in Jicheng,” Zhou Huiniang coaxed as she took the children into the cart.

The people of Dahe Village all lowered their heads in silence.

Their fists clenched in frustration.

They wished they could turn back and rescue Shen Qingwan.

After some thought, the village chief decided to take a few men and go back to check on her.

However, they soon discovered that the bandits had not taken the same route back but had instead disappeared down a hidden path.

By then, it was too late to track them.

With no other choice, they continued their journey, hoping to reunite with Shen Qingwan in Jicheng, as she had said.

..

Although Shen Qingwan had been “captured,” the bandits didn’t dare to tie her up or even get too close to her.

She rode her own horse alongside them as they returned to the mountain stronghold.

The bandit leader’s right-hand man, known as nicknamed Dogtooth, took charge since the leader was unconscious.

However, he was visibly intimidated by Shen Qingwan’s aura.

Even though he wanted to tie her up, he simply didn’t dare.

When they arrived at the hideout, Dogtooth finally realized something was wrong.

The second-in-command greeted them with a furious slap across Dogtooth’s face.

“Is your brain full of shit? This woman injured our boss, and you didn’t even tie her up? You let her ride freely on a horse, even leading the way? Damn it! If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was the boss here!”

The second-in-command was a hot-tempered but fiercely loyal man. Seeing their leader injured had enraged him.

Dogtooth, terrified, stammered, “Second Boss, I—I’m sorry! I’ll tie her up right now!”

The second-in-command kicked him hard. “You idiot! Now it’s too late! Get a doctor for the boss first!”

“Yes, yes! Right away!” Dogtooth scrambled off to find a doctor.

Meanwhile, the second-in-command turned his sharp gaze to Shen Qingwan, but she didn’t seem the least bit afraid.

Instead, she casually observed the surroundings, as if taking a leisurely stroll.

The hideout was a small fortress, home only to bandits. The courtyard she stood in was the largest in the area—clearly the leader’s residence.

Seeing Shen Qingwan so unfazed, the second-in-command ordered his men, “Tie her up and throw her in with the other women. We’ll deal with her once the boss wakes up!”

The bandits rushed forward to grab her.

But Shen Qingwan simply smirked. Her lips curled into a wicked smile.

“Too bad… you won’t get the chance.”

With a swift motion, she pulled out a submachine gun.

The moment the weapon appeared, their fates were sealed.

Shen Qingwan opened fire, mowing down the bandits in a ruthless barrage of bullets.

Just as Dogtooth returned with the doctor, he froze in horror.

His comrades lay in pools of blood. The second-in-command had collapsed, lifeless.

The only one still standing was Shen Qingwan.

“You…”

Dogtooth turned to run, but Shen Qingwan calmly raised her gun.

“The hunt begins.”

Bang! Bang!

Two gunshots echoed through the hideout.

Dogtooth and the doctor fell to the ground.

Shen Qingwan continued her slaughter, eliminating every last bandit and seizing their hidden stockpiles of treasure and food.