Six bandits turned their heads in unison, terror frozen on their faces as they swiftly chambered rounds into their rifles without a word.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…*
Liu Tiezhu gave them no chance to fight back. The moment they pulled their bolts, his bamboo arrows were all spent.
The six men clutched their throats tightly and collapsed stiffly to the ground.
Er Gouzi, who had been sprinting wildly, stopped only when he heard no more sounds. He crouched down and began to vomit violently.
During the frantic run, he hadn’t reacted. Now that he’d relaxed, the dizzying sensation hit him hard.
After heaving for a good while, Er Gouzi trudged back. Seeing the bandits lying on the ground, he wasn’t satisfied and kicked each of them a few more times.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of Liujia Village.
The six bandits frowned as their companions had been gone so long without returning.
“What’s going on? The boss and the others have been gone this long—could something have happened?” one bandit said.
Another replied, “Impossible. It’s just one guy. The boss and the crew must have run into something.”
At that, the others chimed in agreement, none believing their comrades were in trouble.
“What do we do now?”
Back on the ridge, Er Gouzi, tired from kicking, stopped and asked.
Now that the pursuers were dealt with, if he fired another shot, the remaining bandits wouldn’t fall for it.
“We’ll sneak over and launch a direct assault,” Liu Tiezhu said.
“Direct assault?” Er Gouzi’s eyes widened. “Tiezhu, are you kidding me?”
“Once we start fighting, the village will send support right away.”
“So we have to move fast.”
“You feign an attack from the left to draw their fire, and I’ll strike from the right flank.”
Liu Tiezhu chambered all six bandits’ rifles and handed them to Er Gouzi.
“Remember, stick to the plan: fire one shot, then switch positions.”
“Those bandits are no slouches with their guns—don’t you dare pop your head out.”
Er Gouzi took the rifles and gave Liu Tiezhu a reassuring look.
About ten minutes later, Er Gouzi reached the left side of Liujia Village’s entrance, roughly twenty meters away.
He scanned the area for a moment, then crouched into a drainage ditch along the ridge.
The ditch was narrow and frozen solid, but the raised soil still offered enough cover for his body.
He had Er Gouzi lie behind the soil, lining up the six loaded rifles in a row, spaced about a meter and a half apart, one per spot.
Once that was done, he took a deep breath to steady his racing heart.
With his heartbeat calm, Er Gouzi didn’t rush to fire. He waited, giving Liu Tiezhu more time to prepare.
After about twenty minutes, Er Gouzi figured Liu Tiezhu was in position. He picked up a rifle and pulled the trigger toward the entrance of Liujia Village.
After the first shot, he quickly rolled to the second rifle and fired again.
In just two minutes, Er Gouzi emptied all six rifles, then rolled back to reload.
At the village entrance, the bandits immediately returned fire.
They lay behind sandbags, eyes locked on Er Gouzi’s direction, firing to suppress him while searching for targets.
With that many bullets coming in, they assumed a sizable force was out there and dared not charge recklessly.
Seeing the dense volley, Er Gouzi knew they’d taken the bait. He sped up, reloading and firing without aiming.
The bandits, facing such heavy fire, stopped conserving ammo and intensified their own barrage.
While the bandits and Er Gouzi traded shots, Liu Tiezhu dashed in from the right.
He was now just ten meters from the bandits.
Another five meters, and he could use his compound crossbow to kill them.
But at that range, he’d also be in grave danger. If the bandits spotted him and turned around, he’d have nowhere to hide.
Five meters passed in an instant. Liu Tiezhu dropped flat and, using the faint muzzle flashes, loosed his first arrow.
His first target was the bandit standing farthest to the left.
That bandit had just finished reloading and was about to stand and fire when the bamboo arrow pierced his neck.
He let out a scream, crumpled to the ground, twitched briefly, and went still.
The remaining five bandits, assuming he’d been hit by a bullet, ignored him and kept reloading to shoot at Er Gouzi.
This sight let Liu Tiezhu exhale in relief. He pulled the trigger on his compound crossbow again.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…*
This time, he emptied all his bamboo arrows.
Without checking the results, he sprang up and sprinted back at full speed.
The five arrows killed three more bandits. The last two quickly caught on and swung their rifles around.
But by then, Liu Tiezhu was already twenty meters away.
He was at a ridge. After jumping down, he crawled back along the ground.
Under the pitch-black night, the two bandits could only fire blindly, unable to track Liu Tiezhu’s figure.
Hearing gunfire but no bullets coming his way, Er Gouzi realized Liu Tiezhu had made his move.
He cautiously raised his head to check the situation ahead.
He saw the two bandits, tense and aiming their rifles toward Liu Tiezhu’s direction.
Er Gouzi wasn’t about to miss this chance. He grabbed two rifles, lay flat, and crawled forward five meters.
Once at a confident firing range, he ducked his head again, not daring to move.
After a ten-second pause, he lifted his head.
Now the two bandits were back-to-back, rifles aimed left and right.
Er Gouzi didn’t hesitate. He quickly shouldered a rifle and aimed at the left bandit’s head.
He took a deep breath, steadied his heartbeat, and pulled the trigger decisively.
Just as that bandit spotted him and was about to fire, the bullet reached him.
*Thwack…*
A jet of crimson blood shot up. A smoking bullet hole gaped in the bandit’s forehead.
As he toppled stiffly, he pinned his back-to-back comrade down, his rifle skidding away.
Seeing this, Liu Tiezhu, from over ten meters away, charged forward.
The remaining bandit reacted swiftly, shoving his comrade aside and reaching for his gun.
But the moment his hand touched the rifle, a bamboo arrow pierced his palm, pinning it to the ground.
*Ahh…*
The bandit screamed in agony and reached with his other hand.
*Thwack, thwack, thwack…*
The last five bamboo arrows flew in, turning the bandit’s face into a pincushion.
“Er Gouzi, get over here!”
Liu Tiezhu called out, then leaped into the sandbag fortification to loot the bandits’ belongings.
Hearing the shout, Er Gouzi knew all the bandits were down.
He rushed over, grabbing all the grenades first, then searched the bodies.
With the gunfire, the villagers would soon come out.
They had to strip everything and flee before those people arrived.
Otherwise, being surrounded would spell disaster.
Just as they finished packing, the sound of hooves thundered toward them.
Over twenty horses surrounded them, cutting off all escape.