Guan Xiaorou had already been very angry inside for a while, but she had kept it under control.
When she heard that the bandits cut off the female workers’ ears to claim rewards, she could no longer hold back. She erupted completely.
“Go tell Liu Tie that Guan Xiaorou said to kill them all!”
Guan Xiaorou said with red eyes and gritted teeth, “Kill them all! Behead them!”
“Behead them?!”
The escort guard was shocked again.
In feudal times, people valued keeping the body intact. Only the most heinous criminals were beheaded.
Even Iron Ox, that notorious killer, only hanged the bandit captives at Shuangtuo Peak.
The escort guard really could not understand why Guan Xiaorou, who usually seemed so gentle and weak, would give such a ruthless order.
Ah Ju saw the escort guard still hesitating. She secretly gave him a look.
The escort guard understood and quickly followed Ah Ju to one side.
Ah Ju quietly told him everything that had happened.
Only then did the escort guard realise why Guan Xiaorou had lost control.
“Damn it, they actually cut off the girls’ ears. Beheading them is what they deserve!”
The escort guard was furious too. He mounted his horse and left.
Not long after, Liu Tie came in person again.
“What, since the master is not here, my words do not count anymore?”
Guan Xiaorou looked up and glared at Liu Tie. She asked, “I said behead them. If the master comes back and blames anyone, I, Guan Xiaorou, will take full responsibility. You, Liu Tie, will not suffer any consequences!”
“Madam, that is not what I meant!”
Liu Tie quickly explained, “Factory Chief Tang suspected someone was stirring trouble behind the scenes, right? I questioned the bandit chief. He said this whole operation was planned by a man called Mister Liu.”
“Mister Liu?” Guan Xiaorou asked at once, “A while ago when Little Bei was robbed by water bandits in Jiangnan, I heard it was also a Mister Liu. Is it the same person?”
“I do not know. Probably not.”
Liu Tie said, “I have heard of that Mister Liu too. The master chased him all the way to the East Sea and has not come back yet. He could not have returned so quickly.”
“That is true,” Guan Xiaorou nodded. “Where is this Mister Liu now?”
“The bandit chief said he was nearby before, but he does not know when he ran away. I have already sent men to search the mountains.”
Liu Tie continued, “But this kind of person is slipperier than an eel. The fog is thick in the mountains now, and we do not have enough men. We might not catch him.”
“We already let one Mister Feng escape. We must catch this Mister Liu no matter what!”
Guan Xiaorou said, “Send someone back to tell Little Jade. Have her mobilise the villagers. Seal off a five-li radius around Yangjuan Ridge. We absolutely cannot let this man get away!”
When Liu Tie heard this, his eyes lit up. He nodded quickly, “I will go arrange it now!”
According to the bandit chief’s confession, Mister Liu only had one bodyguard with him.
The fog was so thick now, and the sky was completely dark. Even locals could get lost in the mountains. Where could two outsiders possibly run to?
Soon, two escort guards rode back to Xihe Bay.
“Madam, about the beheading, are you really not going to reconsider?”
Liu Tie noticed that Guan Xiaorou had calmed down a bit. He asked cautiously.
“They did not leave the sisters with intact bodies. Why should I leave them intact!”
Guan Xiaorou said coldly in a low voice, “No need to reconsider. Do exactly as I said!”
“Yes!”
Liu Tie saw that Guan Xiaorou had made up her mind firmly. He did not try to persuade her further.
Not long after, heart-rending screams and sounds of fighting came from the distance.
Almost all the bandits who knew about the Zhen Yuan Escort Agency knew they did not kill captives.
This was one reason Master Chen could hire bandits so quickly to cause trouble in Jinchuan.
After all, if they were caught, they would not die. At worst they would be sent to dig coal in Heishui Gully, and they would still get full meals every day. What was there to fear?
This group of bandits had come to Jinchuan with exactly that mindset.
Although Iron Ox had broken the rule a few days ago at Shuangtuo Peak, Iron Ox was already infamous in the martial world as a killer. Killing captives was not surprising for him.
When the bandits realised Liu Tie had caught up but did not kill them, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed that the only killer in the Zhen Yuan Escort Agency was Iron Ox. The others still did not kill captives.
But who could have guessed that after Liu Tie left for a while and came back, he ordered the cavalry to kill them all!
And to behead them!
The bandits panicked at once. Some begged for mercy, some resisted, and some cursed loudly.
But they had already been tied up. Whatever they did, they could not change the outcome.
Soon a thick smell of blood filled the mountain ridges.
The pitch-black night, the dense fog, the heart-rending screams, the bodies everywhere, the spreading stench of blood…
The atmosphere on Yangjuan Ridge became oppressive and terrifying.
Many female workers felt a little afraid, but when they saw Guan Xiaorou standing not far away, they felt reassured again.
Under Guan Xiaorou’s arrangements, the army doctors and female workers began treating the wounded and collecting the bodies of the fallen female workers.
On the mountain path, female workers were everywhere holding torches.
“Sisters, be careful. We must find every single ear!”
Guan Xiaorou reminded them loudly.
They kept working until dawn. Only then did Guan Xiaorou and Zuo Feifei lead the female workers back to Tieguan Mountain!
The next day around mid-morning, a hunter passed by Yangjuan Ridge and was almost scared to death.
He saw the mountain path on Yangjuan Ridge covered with beheaded bodies!
One after another, stretching more than a li long!
That stretch of more than a li of mountain path was completely dyed red with blood!
The common people did not know the details of the battle. They only knew that the female workers from Tieguan Mountain had blocked bandits who wanted to attack Xihe Bay.
After this battle, the fame of the Tieguan Mountain female workers spread far and wide.
Since almost all the female workers who fought in this battle had signed marriage contracts with Jin Feng, the common people began calling them the Tieguan Mountain Jin Family Ladies’ Army.
This battle was the first fight of the Tieguan Mountain Jin Family Ladies’ Army!
Because of it, the common people renamed Yangjuan Ridge to Jin Family Ladies’ Mountain.
Of course, these things came later.
After Guan Xiaorou brought the female workers back to Tieguan Mountain, she did not rest. Instead, she asked Zuo Feifei to bring needles and thread so they could sew the ears back onto the fallen girls.
“Madam, Ah Ju told me you have not slept for several days. Go and rest for a while. I will do the sewing!”
Zuo Feifei saw Guan Xiaorou’s face growing paler and paler. She urged her.
“No need. I am not sleepy!”
Guan Xiaorou took the needle and thread and said casually, “Feifei, from now on do not call me Madam anymore. Just call me sister.”
When Zuo Feifei heard this, her heart suddenly beat two paces faster.
She was not stupid. Besides, Guan Xiaorou had spoken so clearly. Even if she were stupid, she would understand what Guan Xiaorou meant.
“What, you do not want to?”
Guan Xiaorou saw that Zuo Feifei did not respond. She said, “If you think I am too young, you can call me little sister instead.”
“That is not what I meant. It is just that… sister said it so suddenly. I have not quite recovered yet…”
Zuo Feifei quickly waved her hands to explain.
When Guan Xiaorou heard Zuo Feifei change the way she addressed her, she understood her meaning.
She looked down again at the fallen female workers on the ground and sighed, “Feifei, since you called me sister, that means you are willing to enter the Jin family. Then I will not treat you as an outsider. Help me with something.”
