……
As morning sunlight scattered down, light and shadow flickering, birds who knew nothing of human tragedy had recovered their calm, hopping and chirping crisply among the forest, not caring at all about the blood everywhere on the ground.
Ding Dachui led the remaining survivors to gather with the survivors from the other two strongholds. When they’d first met, their eyes had been red with hostility. Now their eyes were also red, but not from looking at each other—from exhaustion.
They didn’t attack each other either, but rather squeezed together as survivors, supporting each other, their gazes all looking toward a group of people not far away.
About a dozen people or so.
These dozen people looked very odd.
There was a girl, people who obviously carried the bearing of government soldiers, and those who couldn’t disguise their rough bandit air. No matter how one looked, these people shouldn’t be together.
This group was the big job the new boss had mentioned?
Ding Dachui looked down at the ground beneath his feet dyed red with blood. Last night’s robbery had truly been too intense. Their three strongholds had lost nearly half their numbers—they’d finally caught a fat sheep.
But that girl who had clearly thrown herself into the new boss’s arms crying, how was she now standing together with these fat sheep, spouting complete nonsense?
“At the time I was anxiously running out to find the authorities, then I encountered them—they said they were hunters in the mountains. These kind-hearted people heard we’d met bandits and acted with righteous indignation, seeing injustice and drawing their blades to help—”
She used up all the words she knew, then bowed to Ding Dachui and the others in courtesy.
“Thank you all, fellow villagers, for saving us.”
The scene was completely silent.
The villagers being thanked didn’t repeatedly say “no need to thank us, this is what we should do.”
Chu Zhao and Old Bai’s gazes fell on the weapons in the villagers’ hands—swords, spears, halberds—everything was there. Mountain hunters’ hunting equipment was quite complete indeed.
Deep mountains, nighttime, so many hunters—how was that possible?
Chu Zhao and Old Bai didn’t need to guess to figure out their identities.
Bandits.
They were real bandits.
How interesting—fake bandits wanted to kill her, real bandits saved her.
Though she didn’t know how Xiao Man had persuaded these bandits to come save her, it certainly wasn’t any “seeing injustice and drawing blades to help.”
However, since Xiao Man was unwilling to say, there was no need to press and ask.
After a moment of awkward silence, Chu Zhao bowed solemnly: “Thank you all, fellow villagers, for saving us. This great kindness must be repaid. You will all be heavily rewarded with gold.”
Hearing the words “heavily rewarded with gold,” Ding Dachui and the others’ gazes sharpened.
“My family has vast wealth. My parents treasure me like a jewel. You didn’t just save me—you saved my entire family.” Chu Zhao continued loudly. “Besides money and goods, whatever needs you have, my parents will certainly fulfill them. Even so, it will still be difficult to repay your life-saving grace to me and my companions.”
She bowed deeply once more as she spoke.
These were sincere words.
If not for these bandits, her life in this world would have ended here.
So she wouldn’t pursue why they came or what they were plotting. She only needed to thank them.
Old Bai and the others also all bowed in courtesy, calling out in unison: “Great kindness and virtue will never be forgotten for as long as we live.”
Though their numbers were few, their unified shout was rather intimidating.
Ding Dachui and the other bandits were startled. Hearing these grateful words, seeing these people’s solemn deep bows, they didn’t know what to do for a moment.
And the new boss had gone who knows where. During the night battle they’d been able to see her the whole time—when charging forward she was at the front splitting mountains and cutting seas, and when they felt timid, she would appear behind them, severing their thoughts of fleeing.
The new boss’s people were mixed among them—someone poked him from behind.
Ding Dachui was an alert hunter—bandit. He immediately stammered: “You’re, you’re too kind.”
His gaze also couldn’t help looking toward that girl called Xiao Man.
That girl also looked at him and suddenly raised her eyebrows at him.
“Big job,” she mouthed.
Ding Dachui’s expression changed for a moment. He roughly understood. Actually, this wasn’t unusual either.
First plant a mole among the fat sheep, then when the fat sheep encounter danger, charge out to save them. Though most of the time it was taking advantage of a fire to rob, there was also a tactic of playing the good person to gain the fat sheep’s trust, and then after that—
Put plainly, it was playing the long game to catch big fish.
Looking at the tragic scene, this girl’s group had actually been fiercely surrounded by so many people. The more dangerous, the greater the profit.
Perhaps the new boss suddenly robbing their several strongholds wasn’t truly just to dominate this mountain, but was for this very moment.
Such deep planning and foresight—
One could see this truly was a big job.