68 Danger

Zhou Jia turned around and saw that everyone was dragging their tired feet weakly. He shouted in front, “Everyone, hold on for a while longer. We can stop and rest when we reach the forest in front.”

The village chief also roared, “Everyone, cheer up and use more strength. Let’s have a good night’s rest when we get there.”

When the adults and children heard this, they all followed the car forward in one go. After walking for almost two hours, they finally saw a small forest. The mule cart in front stopped and everyone unloaded the car. According to Li Yu’s instructions, they used a large handcart to circle the cart and the burden in the middle. The people then laid out tents.

After feeding the livestock with grass and water and arranging everything, Auntie He and Li Mei lit the firewood and started the stove to boil water.

The children staggered to the ground and could not cry out. Everyone felt a piercing pain in the soles of their feet after using too much strength. Their legs were also sore and weak.

When Li Yu saw this, she said to the people sitting on the ground, “Everyone, don’t sit still. Use your hands to loosen your calves. Otherwise, you won’t be able to walk tomorrow or the day after. Also, it’s best to heat up a handkerchief and apply it to your feet.”

Someone quickly got up to help his child pat and rub his calf. He patted his own too. Some people did not comment and curled up without moving.

Li Yu didn’t say much. She led Li Qing, Zhaodi, and the others to relax their muscles. She took out the cured meat and hoes and began to cook the rice. Zhou Jia also clumsily helped to scrape the hoe. After being teased by Zhaodi and Laidi, he awkwardly put down the hoe and helped Li Yu burn the fire.

After Ji Xiang, Ruyi, and the others set up the tent, Li Yu’s cured meat rice was also cooked. Auntie He and Li Mei cooked a pot of pickled vegetable soup. Zhou Jia called the few families who helped over for a meal.

After everyone finished eating, the village chief came over and said to Li Yu, “Xiaoyu, we have to split up to keep watch. Everyone is tired. I’ll get Yaohui and Chen Zhong to keep watch for the first half of the night. You guys will take over the second half.”

Li Yu thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright, we’ll guard at midnight. Tell the person on duty not to fall asleep.”

“I’ll take care of them.” The chief shuffled back inside.

Li Yu brought Laidi to the tent and fell asleep. Chen Yaohui, Chen Zhong, and the three men from the village sat in front of the fire and were dozing off.

At midnight, Chen Yaohui suddenly heard the crisp sound of a tree branch being broken. He stood up and shouted, “Who is it?” The others also woke up and picked up their machetes to look around. They saw that the forest was dark and there was no movement.

Chen Zhong laughed. “No one! Hui, you’re too nervous!”

Butcher He shook his head. “I also feel that something is wrong. Let’s call Mr. Zhou and Xiaoyu over to take a look!”

Chen Yaohui looked at Chen Zhong. “I clearly heard it. I hope they are not wild beasts! I’ll go wake Xiaoyu and the others up.”

Chen Yaohui walked towards Li Yu’s tent. Li Yu had already come out of the tent with a crossbow and a quiver on her back. Chen Yaohui went forward and said to Li Yu, “Xiaoyu, Uncle feels that something is wrong.”

Li Yu nodded. “I heard it.” Li Yu pointed at the fire and instructed Chen Yaohui, “Get everyone to heat up the fire. I’ll wake Ruyi and the others up.”

Zhou Jia had already come out of the tent with Ji Xiang and Zhao Cai. Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia. “Zhou Jia, go into the tent so that we won’t be distracted.”

“You guys have to be careful too.” Zhou Jia shook Li Yu’s hand and returned to the tent.

Ruyi climbed up a big tree. The dark moonlight shone through the bare tree trunk into the forest. Ruyi lay on the tree and saw a faint shadow behind the tree trunk in front of him.

Ruyi came down from the tree and whispered to Li Yu, “Miss Li, there’s probably someone lying in ambush in front. Seeing that we have more people, they probably want to wait for us to fall asleep before coming to rob us.”

Li Yu made arrangements in a low voice. “Their goal is the food in the cart. Ji Xiang, go guard the livestock. Zhao Cai, Ruyi, and I will guard the cart.”

When everyone heard this, they silently guarded their posts according to Li Yu’s arrangements. Li Yu said to Chen Yaohui, Butcher He, and the others, “Uncles, use your machetes to protect our people.”

The bandits hiding behind the tree looked at Li Yu and the others’ camp and saw that the fire had burned even brighter. One of them complained softly, “It’s Big Head’s fault for waking them up. If you ask me, Third Master is too careful. It’s just a group of bumpkins. If we had rushed over earlier, we would have dealt with them in less than an hour.”

One of them asked softly, “What do we do, Third-in-charge? Should we go up or retreat?”

The Third-in-charge looked at Li Yu and the others’ camp. “Wait a little longer. There’s no benefit in fighting them head-on. Besides, they’ve been climbing the mountain for a day today. We can save some energy.” Everyone could only lie down and look at the fire opposite from afar.

Li Yu leaned against the tree trunk as if she was asleep. Only those who knew her would know that she was squinting and paying attention to the subtle changes in her surroundings.

After another hour, the bandits looked at Li Yu and the others. The fire was still burning brightly, but the people had long calmed down and stopped moving.

The Third-in-charge thought that it was about time. No matter how vigilant a person was, they wouldn’t be able to take it after a long day.

The Third-in-charge raised his hand and more than ten people quickly rushed towards Li Yu’s camp. When the bandits were about ten meters away from the camp, Ruyi jumped up at lightning speed, drew his bow, and shot arrows in one go. After a whoosh, the bandits in front fell. The bandits behind began to retreat and didn’t move forward. The third-in-charge shouted, “Everyone, disperse and attack! They think we’re afraid of a bow!”

Chen Yaohui, Butcher He, and the others widened their eyes and watched as the bandits rushed over. They held the woodcutters in their trembling hands and made a fighting stance.

The bandits split up and rushed towards the grain cart. Li Yu half-squatted behind a big tree and held the crossbow horizontally. With a few soft sounds, the crossbow bolts tore through the air. In an instant, two bandits clutched their throats and fell. Li Yu moved like lightning behind the tree and coordinated with Ruyi to attack the bandits from both sides.

Under Li Yu and Ruyi’s attacks, seven or eight bandits fell in the blink of an eye. The Third-in-charge saw that he had lost more than half of his men and hurriedly shouted, “Retreat quickly. They have experts protecting them.”

When the bandits heard this, they hurriedly turned around to flee. Ruyi wanted to chase after them with her bow and arrow. Li Yu shouted at her, “Ruyi, come back. Don’t chase after a cornered enemy.”

Li Yu and Ruyi raised their crossbows and bows and watched the bandits escape before relaxing. Chen Yaohui, Butcher He, and the others surrounded Li Yu and Ruyi. Zhou Jia and Uncle Zhou also came out of the tent, followed by Li Mei and Auntie He.

Li Yu said to Ji Xiang and Zhao Cai, “The two of you, bring Uncle Chen and the others to see if those bandits are dead. Be careful not to be tricked.”

The two of them respectfully took the torches and walked towards the bandits on the ground with Chen Yaohui and the others.

Zhou Jia said to Auntie He, “Auntie He, pour some hot water for Xiaoyu and Ruyi to wash up.”

Li Mei looked at Li Yu worriedly. “Yu’er, are you hurt anywhere?”

Seeing that Zhou Jia and Li Mei were looking at her worriedly, Li Yu smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

“It’s good that you’re fine. Wash up first before resting.” Li Mei went to Li Yu’s tent and took out a handkerchief. She wet it in the basin and wrung it dry before handing it to Li Yu.

Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu’s tired appearance and swallowed the words he wanted to say. After Li Yu washed up, he sent her to the entrance of the tent and watched her enter it to rest.

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