Since these people had discovered the cave's location, letting them go would only bring endless trouble in the future.
Second Uncle walked out holding a rifle and said, "Zhu Zi, Shan Zi and I will go with you."
Liu Tiezhu waved his hand in refusal: "Second Uncle and Big Brother can't leave. The homestead still needs you to guard it."
"Gou Zi, let's go."
"Dad, you and Big Brother wait at home for our good news."
Er Gouzi said this and quickly followed Liu Tiezhu's footsteps.
At the site where the traps were laid, Zhang Minghai and his men were stuck, unable to advance or retreat.
Everyone's faces were deathly pale, their eyes fixed on Zhang Minghai, waiting for his orders.
Zhang Minghai hadn't expected Liu Tiezhu to set such deadly traps around the area.
Now he was the backbone and couldn't afford to show weakness, or else everyone would die here.
After a moment of thought, Zhang Minghai used his knife to cut a long branch and handed it to a burly man beside him.
"Chen Lin, you take the branch and lead the way. Everyone else, line up single file and follow behind Chen Lin."
Seeing the branch handed to him, Chen Lin nearly cried.
Zhang Minghai wasn't asking him to scout the path; he was basically making him a human shield for everyone else.
If a trap was triggered, he'd be the first to die.
But with Zhang Minghai's dark gun barrel aimed at him, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and walk at the front.
The group advanced about ten steps like this, with Chen Lin's branch prying open over a dozen wooden boards studded with iron nails.
"That bastard buried so many traps."
Zhang Minghai cursed and ordered Chen Lin to keep moving.
Chen Lin swallowed his saliva, carefully stepping forward, slowly sweeping the branch across the ground.
Suddenly, he felt something trip him. He jerked his head up and saw several bamboo arrows shooting toward him.
Thwip, thwip, thwip...
The bamboo arrows whistled through the air, shooting down from the trees. The three men behind Chen Lin immediately screamed in agony.
Two took arrows to the abdomen, and another caught one in the shoulder.
Chen Lin, at the very front, fared the worst, taking three arrows.
One pierced his mouth, and two struck his chest.
He didn't even have a chance to scream before collapsing stiffly in front of everyone.
The gruesome sight of his death sent chills down the spines of those behind him.
They had thought only the ground was booby-trapped.
But they hadn't expected that, aside from the ground traps, the trees also held these highly lethal crossbows.
The traps around them were almost completely covering the area.
Even if they managed to get through, the casualties would be devastating.
Chen Lin was beyond saving, so Zhang Minghai had to abandon him.
The other three were also in grave danger.
With that much blood loss and no proper medicine, death was only a matter of time.
Zhang Minghai checked the wounds of the three men, left only the order to wait where they were, and then chose someone else to lead the way.
The cave was right in front of him; he wasn't about to give up easily.
Just then, Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi arrived.
Seeing these people carefully probing with branches, Liu Tiezhu didn't hesitate and fired a shot at the scout.
The bullet hit the scout's right leg, causing him to fall to the ground and fling the branch away.
The branch landed and tripped an ox-hide rope.
Another compound crossbow was triggered simultaneously, and bamboo arrows shot through the air again.
"Fall back, now!" Zhang Minghai shouted in panic.
But it was too late.
Almost as the burly scout hit the ground, the bamboo arrows reached them.
Thwip, thwip...
Two burly men had their necks pierced by bamboo arrows, blood gushing out in torrents.
They twitched and convulsed on the ground like half-dead chickens.
The sight scared the souls out of the remaining men.
"I can't take this anymore!"
One of them yelled and turned to flee backward.
But as soon as he stood up to run, a bamboo arrow lodged in his neck. With a spurt of blood, he collapsed stiffly in front of everyone.
The remaining sixteen were completely panicked, all lying flat on the ground, not daring to move.
"Liu Tiezhu, you son of a bitch, is sneaking attacks all you've got?"
"If you're a man, come out and fight me fair and square!"
Zhang Minghai, hiding in the thick weeds, roared in fury.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
In response to Zhang Minghai, a volley of bamboo arrows flew.
After Er Gouzi emptied the crossbow, he shouted back at Zhang Minghai.
"Idiot, come out and fight you fair and square?"
"You've got some nerve saying that!"
As soon as he spoke, bullets flew over.
"Damn it, that bastard's playing dirty!"
Er Gouzi pressed himself flat against the ground, his face pale.
He hadn't expected Zhang Minghai to be so cunning, using his words as a trap.
If he hadn't reacted in time, he'd be riddled with bullets by now.
"Gou Zi, switch positions and keep cursing him," Liu Tiezhu said from nearby.
Er Gouzi's pale face had just returned to normal, but at these words, it went pale again.
"Zhu Zi Ge, you're sending me to my death."
Liu Tiezhu lowered his voice and said, "Nonsense. Lie down first, then start yelling."
"These bastards like sneaking around, so I'll give them a taste of their own medicine."
As he spoke, Liu Tiezhu quietly circled to the right, signaling Er Gouzi to go to the opposite side and watch for his gesture.
In the middle, Zhang Minghai and his dozen men lay on the ground, forming a circle with 360-degree coverage.
Seeing no movement from Er Gouzi's side, he still didn't dare act, instead focusing more intently on the surroundings.
In this environment, whoever lost their nerve first would die first.
They had the advantage in numbers; as long as they stayed calm, they could take out Liu Tiezhu and his partner.
Besides, dawn was coming soon, which would work in their favor.
Zhang Minghai's plan was sound, but he underestimated Liu Tiezhu's tactics.
By then, Er Gouzi had reached the designated spot.
Liu Tiezhu pointed at two large trees near Er Gouzi, signaling him to duck behind them after cursing.
Er Gouzi nodded to show he understood.
After getting Er Gouzi's response, Liu Tiezhu raised his compound crossbow and aimed at a man directly in front of him.
The compound crossbow made it harder for them to pinpoint his location, helping him stay hidden.
Everything ready, Liu Tiezhu gave Er Gouzi the signal to start cursing.
"Looking for your grandpa? Your grandpa's right here!"
Er Gouzi yelled, then quickly pressed himself to the ground and rolled behind the two large trees.
Bang, bang, bang...
Almost instantly, a hail of bullets flew over, kicking up dirt everywhere.
Hidden behind the tree, Er Gouzi's face twisted in shock—he hadn't expected their marksmanship to be so accurate.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Liu Tiezhu reacted just as fast. While Zhang Minghai and his men were focused entirely on Er Gouzi, he quickly emptied the compound crossbow's bamboo arrows.
Six arrows killed two men on the spot, and another took two arrows, twitching and moaning continuously. Even if he didn't die immediately, he wouldn't last long.
By the time Zhang Minghai and the others snapped back to attention, Liu Tiezhu had already moved, quietly slipping over to Er Gouzi's side.
"Thirteen left. Let's keep going."
"You take my spot just now."
"After you curse, quickly hide behind the rock on the left."
Liu Tiezhu said this, then patted Er Gouzi's shoulder, telling him to be careful.