"Liu Tiezhu, give me an answer. Does what you said earlier count?"
Seeing no response from Liu Tiezhu, Zhang Minghai shouted again, louder this time, while signaling to Ma Guoying behind him.
"It counts. Put down your weapons and come out now, and I'll let you leave immediately."
Liu Tiezhu replied, simultaneously signaling to Er Gouzi to get ready.
"We're coming out now."
Zhang Minghai responded, tossing aside his own weapon first and stepping out from the darkness.
Four men followed behind him, also discarding their weapons.
Only Ma Guoying remained hidden behind a giant tree, his rifle aimed in Zhang Minghai's direction.
Zhang Minghai's plan was simple: use himself as bait to lure Liu Tiezhu out, then open fire immediately.
Of course, he was prepared himself, gripping a pistol in his hand, ready to shoot Liu Tiezhu at any moment.
Under the dark night sky, the pistol in his palm was nearly impossible to spot without careful observation.
If Liu Tiezhu let his guard down, the situation could turn around in an instant.
Liu Tiezhu carefully counted the number of people on Zhang Minghai's side.
Noticing one was missing, he let out a cold laugh.
"This bastard really is trying to set me up, leaving someone behind for a sneak attack."
"Gouzi, we need to change the plan."
"I'll draw their attention now. You quietly circle around to their rear."
"Once you spot the guy in back, take him out immediately."
Er Gouzi gave an OK sign, grabbed the compound crossbow, and crept away silently.
After waiting a minute with no response from Liu Tiezhu, Zhang Minghai grew restless and shouted again, "Liu Tiezhu, we're out now."
"What's your deal? Going back on your word?"
"Damn it, you think I didn't see you're still holding weapons?"
"Trying to trick me into coming out so you can make a move, you son of a bitch?" Liu Tiezhu shot back.
Hearing this, Zhang Minghai's expression shifted, but he quickly steadied himself.
His pistol was tucked up his sleeve; in this darkness, there was no way Liu Tiezhu could spot it.
So, this had to be a bluff.
Once he figured that out, Zhang Minghai immediately replied, "We've thrown away all our weapons. If you don't believe me, come out and check."
Liu Tiezhu said, "Do you take me for a three-year-old?"
"Raise your hands in the air right now, all of you."
Zhang Minghai was furious enough to spit blood, but he still signaled the others behind him to cooperate and raise their hands.
"Now we've all got our hands up. Isn't it time to let us go?" Zhang Minghai yelled.
But this time, he got no response from Liu Tiezhu at all.
After waiting two more minutes with still no reply, Zhang Minghai's anger flared.
"Liu Tiezhu, what's your game? Say something! Are you messing with me?"
Liu Tiezhu crouched low, ignoring Zhang Minghai, his eyes fixed intently on Zhang Minghai's movements.
Through careful observation, he noticed something off about Zhang Minghai's raised right hand—it clearly concealed something in his palm.
"Damn, he really thinks I'm an idiot."
Liu Tiezhu sneered, aiming his compound crossbow at Zhang Minghai's head, but he didn't pull the trigger.
He was waiting—waiting for Er Gouzi's signal.
At the same time, Er Gouzi had reached a spot five meters behind Ma Guoying.
His palms were slick with cold sweat as he slowly crouched down.
In this critical moment, even the slightest mistake could cost him his life, making his heart race and his adrenaline spike to the max.
Once hidden, he quickly aimed at the back of Ma Guoying's head and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
With a *swish*, the bamboo bolt shot out.
Ma Guoying, who had been staring intently ahead, felt a prickling sensation on his scalp.
The instant he sensed danger, he lunged forward.
His reaction was incredibly fast.
But against the speed of the bamboo bolt, it was still too slow.
Almost as soon as he straightened up, the bolt slammed into his lower abdomen.
Though he dodged a fatal hit, the searing pain sent him crashing to the ground with a scream.
Er Gouzi wasn't about to let this chance slip.
With a few more *swish* sounds, he emptied the crossbow's bolts, piercing Ma Guoying straight through.
Hearing the commotion, Zhang Minghai knew his plan had been exposed.
Without hesitation, he pulled out his pistol and fired toward where Liu Tiezhu had been speaking.
*Swish, swish, swish...*
At the same time, several bamboo bolts shot out from Liu Tiezhu's left.
Zhang Minghai's eyes went wide, but before he could even scream, his face was riddled with bolts, blood gushing out.
The remaining four men were utterly terrified, abandoning all caution about the traps and bolting wildly.
They hadn't gotten far before they screamed, clutching their feet pierced by iron spikes, writhing in agony.
Liu Tiezhu stepped out, took the pistol from Zhang Minghai's body, and found twenty rounds of ammunition.
Then he searched the others for valuables.
A few minutes later, Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi had stripped everyone clean.
"Damn it, these bastards are no ordinary folks."
Er Gouzi grinned, eyeing the gold in his hands, his eyes nearly squinting shut.
Among these sixteen men, they'd found over five hundred yuan and several dozen grams of gold.
No ordinary Zhang family soldier would have that kind of wealth.
Ahead, the pig-slaughter-like screams continued.
The four men, unable to walk, could only crawl slowly on the ground.
They hadn't gotten far before Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi caught up.
"Don't kill me! I'll give you anything!"
The four arched their backs, kowtowing frantically to Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi.
"Did Zhang Jingyang send you to kill me?" Liu Tiezhu asked.
The lead man nodded hastily: "Yes, it was Zhang Jingyang's order."
"Who guided you here?" Liu Tiezhu pressed.
"No one guided us."
No one guided them?
Er Gouzi frowned, aimed his compound crossbow at the man's right leg, and fired.
"Damn it, not telling the truth?"
"I've got plenty of ways to make you talk."
As he spoke, Er Gouzi aimed the crossbow at the man's left leg.
The man clutched his right leg with one hand, waving the other frantically at Er Gouzi.
"Ah... b-b-boss... wait..."
"I'm telling the truth!"
"We just stumbled here by blind luck."
"Do you take me for a fool?"
Er Gouzi, unconvinced, fired another bolt into the man's left leg.
*Ah...*
The man's body arched up, his mouth wide open as he gasped for air, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
It took a full two minutes before he recovered enough to plead, "Boss, just give me a quick death."
"I'm begging you, end it fast."
"You want a quick death? Then spill the whole story," Liu Tiezhu said.
The man didn't dare hold anything back, recounting in one breath how they'd entered the mountains and stumbled into the traps by accident.
"Gouzi, give them a quick end."
After hearing the man's story, Liu Tiezhu gave the order decisively.
After finishing off the four, Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi moved on.
Ahead, three men lay on the ground, their pale faces no different from corpses.
Seeing Liu Tiezhu approach, they all smiled bitterly, knowing they were done for.
Liu Tiezhu didn't torment them further—one bolt each, sending them straight to meet their ancestors.
"Brother Tiezhu, what do we do now?" Er Gouzi asked.
Liu Tiezhu's gaze shifted toward Liujia Village, his voice cold: "An eye for an eye."
"Liu Yusheng wants our lives, doesn't he?"
"Then let's deliver them to him and see if he dares to take them."