“Where is it? Is it far?”
Jin Feng quickly grabbed the hunter and asked.
“Not far. We just passed it, just over two li back.”
The hunter pointed to the road behind them.
“Then let’s go quickly!”
Jin Feng decided at once and shouted, “Old Black, seal the road and withdraw!”
“Seal the road!”
Old Black bellowed, and the five veterans in the rear rank immediately unhitched special water skins from their waists, pouring all the lamp oil onto the ground.
“Retreat!”
Old Black shouted again, leading the four veterans in the front rank to push back the bandits forcefully, then turning to run.
The veterans behind had already taken out fire folds. As soon as Old Black and his four withdrew, they immediately threw the fire folds to the ground, igniting the lamp oil.
Boom!
Flames shot up instantly, blocking the bandits behind.
By now, the female soldiers had turned their warhorses around. The group mounted up and headed back.
Under the hunter’s lead, they galloped wildly along the mountain path.
After running over two li, they indeed saw a small path up the mountain. The slope was gentler than those on either side, at least climbable for people.
At this point, the bandits led by Scarface were one li away.
Seeing Jin Feng’s group turning back, the bandits opposite all shouted excitedly, waving weapons and charging.
“Everyone abandon the horses and climb the mountain! A Mei, bring the heavy crossbow!”
Jin Feng roared, and everyone leapt from their horses.
Old Black took two men to scout ahead. A Mei carried the box with the heavy crossbow and arrows close behind.
Two veterans at the rear helped support the box on A Mei’s back.
Jin Feng held Tang Xiaobei’s hand in one of his and Guan Xiaorou’s in the other, following the three with A Mei.
Behind them were Qing Mu Lan and the female soldiers, with the remaining five male soldiers bringing up the rear.
The small hill nearby was not high. Following the path, they reached the top after several dozen metres.
The other side of the summit was a cliff, with no way forward.
“Sorry, Mr Jin, this is the only place I could think of.”
The hunter said somewhat embarrassedly, “If we go another three or four li ahead, there is another mountain path that leads to the official road north of Black Water Ditch.”
“You have nothing to apologise for. On the contrary, we should thank you properly.”
Jin Feng patted the hunter’s shoulder and said, “If not for you today, we would have been trapped dead on the road by the two bandit groups.”
“Your bandit suppression team avenged my father’s death. This is what I should do!”
The hunter shook his head repeatedly.
“If we survive today, would you be willing to come to West River Bay?”
Jin Feng extended an invitation to the hunter.
Monkey was injured, and now his personal guard team urgently needed a good scout.
The hunter’s earlier calm demeanour and familiarity with the mountains and forests perfectly met Jin Feng’s requirements.
“As long as Mr Jin doesn’t mind my age, of course I am willing!”
The hunter’s old face flushed with excitement.
“Alright then, after today, come find me at West River Bay!”
Jin Feng patted the hunter’s shoulder again and turned to the veterans.
“Old Black, seal the path up the mountain! A Lan, lead the female soldiers to assist the male soldiers with the heavy crossbow and crossbows!”
Jin Feng said confidently, “As long as everyone holds out until dark, I can get us all out alive!”
“Yes!”
Old Black immediately set the veterans to work.
Qing Mu Lan, however, sighed inwardly.
The bandits from both sides totalled over three hundred. The heavy crossbow had only ten arrows, far from enough to kill them all.
Though each veteran and female soldier carried two quivers with ten short arrows each, the bandits had clearly anticipated this and prepared many shields, rendering hand crossbows nearly useless.
Once the heavy crossbow arrows were spent, they could only engage in close combat with the bandits.
The numerical disparity was too great. Qing Mu Lan saw no hope of victory.
In her view, Jin Feng’s earlier words were merely to boost the morale of the veterans and female soldiers.
By the time Old Black had set up the heavy crossbow, Scarface had led the bandits to the foot of the mountain.
“Old Chu, you really understand Cripple Liu. He did send men to cut off Jin Feng’s retreat!”
Scarface said to the plump bandit chief, “What now? Do we attack immediately, or wait for the others to arrive before attacking?”
“Why wait for them? To share the reward with them?”
The fat bandit squinted and asked, “Anyway, Old Liu didn’t tell us there were others opposite. Let’s kill Jin Feng quickly, and the reward will be just for the three of us.”
“Haha, Old Chu thinks just like me. Since we got here first, Jin Feng is ours!”
Scarface shouted loudly, raising his long knife and yelling, “Brothers of Black Bear Ridge, Jin Feng has been forced up the mountain. Whoever kills him first gets a hundred taels of silver from me!”
For ordinary bandits, a hundred taels of silver was an astronomical sum, more effective than any pre-battle mobilisation.
Without Scarface needing to say it twice, the forty or fifty bandits from Black Bear Ridge immediately raised shields and weapons, charging up the mountain.
The fat bandit and the other chief did not compete with Scarface but immediately sent men to seize the warhorses Jin Feng’s group had abandoned.
Grassland warhorses were not cheap, and when fleeing, the difference between having a horse and not was huge.
The mountain path was not long. Black Bear Ridge’s bandits soon reached midway up.
Twang!
At that moment, a metallic hum came from the mountain. The heavy crossbow was fired.
The bandits charging eagerly were strung together like candied hawthorn berries by the arrow!
In an instant, bursts of blood mist exploded on the mountain path.
With just one arrow, over ten of Black Bear Ridge’s bandits were killed.
The rest were scared witless, scrambling and tumbling back down the mountain.
“You tricked me?!”
Scarface looked furiously at the fat bandit and the other chief.
Now all bandits in Jin Chuan knew that West River Bay had a terrifying heavy crossbow, but everyone also knew it was massive and hard to carry.
Clearly, the fatty had been unsure whether Jin Feng brought the heavy crossbow this time and used his men to probe the mountain.
Scarface had just been blinded by the silver. Now, with heavy losses among his men and not even one warhorse seized, he realised too late that the fat bandit and the other were using him as a spear.
“Scarface, saying that is just biting the hand that feeds you. You want Jin Feng’s head for the reward, and we didn’t fight you for it. Why are you still unhappy?”
The fat bandit said righteously, “What, do we have to compete with you for you to be satisfied?”
“You…”
Scarface trembled with anger but could find no words to retort.
Indeed, he had been too hasty earlier.
Not only had he lost men, but he had not seized a single warhorse. It was a huge loss.
Knowing Jin Feng had the heavy crossbow, the fat bandit and the other chief were no longer eager to attack and waited by the road.
They did not wait long before another group of bandits came running from the other side of the mountain path, the leaders’ faces blackened as if by smoke.
“Hahaha, so I wondered who Cripple Liu had arranged. It turns out to be you lot!”
The fat bandit shouted to the newly arrived bandits, “Big Toad, were you roasting rabbits and set the forest on fire? How come even your hair is singed and curled?”
