Pfft... pfft...
Two streams of blood shot out. Two burly men collapsed to the ground before they even realized what had happened.
One of their rifles clattered to the ground and discharged accidentally.
The gunshot rang out sharply in the silent night.
Liu Tiezhu quickly stepped forward, grabbed both rifles, tossed one to Er Gouzi, and pointed toward the left side of the ancestral hall entrance.
"Gouzi, let's switch to that direction."
Er Gouzi held the rifle, his mind a bit dazed.
The gunshot had now fully exposed their position.
Under these circumstances, shouldn't they be retreating quickly?
But Liu Tiezhu hadn't chosen to retreat; instead, he was telling him to stay.
Seeing Er Gouzi frozen in place, Liu Tiezhu immediately kicked him.
"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and follow me."
Er Gouzi didn't dare delay and quickly caught up with Liu Tiezhu.
They reached the wall on the left side of the ancestral hall entrance, crouched down swiftly, and blended into the pitch-black night.
Er Gouzi's heart pounded wildly, his palms drenched in cold sweat, because at that moment he heard dense footsteps.
Judging by the sound, a sizable group was approaching.
With no escape route behind them now, once these people spotted them, they'd be sitting ducks.
"Tiezhu, we're surrounded."
After a moment of silence, Er Gouzi couldn't help but speak up.
"You're wrong. We're surrounding them."
As Liu Tiezhu finished speaking, he quickly loaded his bamboo arrows and chambered a round in the rifle.
Geographically, they truly had no retreat.
But that would only matter if these people had already discovered them.
Right now, as these people charged over, they'd never expect them to be bold enough to stay put and set an ambush.
Liu Tiezhu was audacious and skilled, choosing to go against the grain—taking advantage of their chaos to kill them.
Er Gouzi paused, then immediately understood Liu Tiezhu's intent.
Their current position was the most advantageous spot in the entire dilapidated ancestral hall.
Not only did it command the high ground, but the crumbling walls around them also provided excellent cover.
Even if a fight broke out, they could use these walls to hold out for a while.
"Tiezhu, they're coming."
Er Gouzi pointed toward the outskirts of the ancestral hall, where several flashlight beams swayed and shone in their direction.
Seeing this, the two quickly ducked back.
Soon, eight burly men jogged over, rifles raised.
When the leader saw their comrades lying on the ground, he immediately started cursing.
"Tiezhu, do we fight or not?"
In the corner by the wall, Er Gouzi noticed the eight men showed little caution, and his mind grew restless.
Liu Tiezhu waved his hand: "Not yet. This isn't the best moment."
Below, the man cursed a few more times, then ordered everyone to search toward the village outskirts.
Judging by the still-uncongealed blood on the two bodies, Liu Tiezhu and his companion couldn't have gone far.
As the leader's command fell, everyone turned around.
How could Liu Tiezhu miss such a perfect opportunity?
Almost the instant they turned, Liu Tiezhu decisively signaled Er Gouzi to strike.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
In one minute, they emptied the bamboo arrows from their compound crossbows.
Of the eight men, six fell on the spot.
The splattering blood scared the remaining two so badly they nearly shit themselves.
They held their rifles, unable to even figure out how to chamber a round.
Seeing this, Liu Tiezhu didn't care about exposing himself anymore.
He quickly raised his pistol and fired two shots at their heads—bang, bang.
The two men stared wide-eyed, their faces twisted in unwillingness as they collapsed.
Er Gouzi stripped everything valuable from the bodies and asked, "Tiezhu, do we keep ambushing?"
"We can't stay here. Let's move. Go."
Meanwhile, at Liu Yusheng's house.
Hearing gunshots from the same spot, Liu Yusheng immediately ordered a dozen men to head to the ancestral hall.
Fifteen men grabbed their rifles and rushed toward the dilapidated ancestral hall at top speed.
They moved fast, arriving at the scene in just three minutes.
But by then, Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi had already slipped away.
Seeing the corpses scattered everywhere, the leader, Liu Zhengkang, was fuming with rage.
"Search! Dig three feet deep if you have to—find those two bastards!"
Liu Zhengkang shouted furiously, his eyes bloodshot.
At his command, the men split into pairs and quickly began searching the surrounding area.
Meanwhile, thirty meters from the ancestral hall, in a dim alley.
Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi hid inside, taking stock of their gear.
After several rounds of use, each still had twenty-six bamboo arrows left.
They had two rifles each, with over a hundred rounds of ammunition.
But they wouldn't use the rifles unless absolutely necessary.
The moment those went off, their position would be instantly exposed.
After resting for over ten minutes, Er Gouzi asked, "Tiezhu, do we leave the village now or keep ambushing?"
Liu Tiezhu thought for a moment and said, "Let's circle back and take out Liu Yusheng."
By now, everyone in Liujia Village probably thought they were fleeing.
This was the perfect chance to launch a counterattack.
Er Gouzi's eyes widened, completely in awe of Liu Tiezhu's audacity.
Any normal person would seize the chance to escape.
But Liu Tiezhu was thinking about going back to kill Liu Yusheng—that was sheer nerve.
Er Gouzi paused for a second, then nodded: "Let's go back and get him."
A few minutes later, the two quietly slipped out of the alley and crept toward Liu Yusheng's house.
About fifty meters in, they ran into three patrol teams.
Each team consisted of two men.
They were supposedly on patrol, but they showed little vigilance.
They just slung their rifles over their shoulders, leaned against walls, smoking and chatting.
Seizing the opportunity, Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi didn't hesitate—their compound crossbows sent them off.
After taking out the three patrol teams, the two returned to the alley next to Liu Yusheng's house.
The courtyard was still brightly lit, and they could faintly hear voices inside—sounded like quite a few people.
Er Gouzi listened carefully for a few minutes, then couldn't help cursing, "That bastard Liu Yusheng is cautious. Looks like he's guarding against us coming back."
Liu Tiezhu frowned too. Judging by the voices, there were at least twenty-plus people in the yard.
"That son of a bitch—when did he gather so many men?"
Based on his earlier assessment, Liu Yusheng should have sent people out to search for him and Er Gouzi.
Even if he kept some around, it wouldn't be this many.
Er Gouzi said, "Could these guys be bandits?"
"When I was searching their stuff earlier, I noticed several unfamiliar faces."
Bandits?
Liu Tiezhu paused, then nodded: "Possible."
"Given Liu Yusheng's resources, even if he sold his ancestral graves, he couldn't afford this many rifles."
"Tiezhu, so you're saying that bastard Liu Yusheng has teamed up with bandits?"
"Then do we still go after him?" Er Gouzi asked.
"Fall back. The risk of dying is too high—we're not doing it."
Liu Tiezhu waved his hand, already thinking of another way to deal with Liu Yusheng.