"Brother Tiezhu, we're not sticking around Liujia Village to scoop up the spoils—where are we headed?"
Seeing Liu Tiezhu about to leave, Er Gouzi was completely baffled.
In his mind, if the two sides clashed, there'd be heavy casualties on both sides.
When that happened, they could hide in the shadows and scavenge supplies.
Leaving now meant Liu Tiezhu was giving up a fat payday, didn't it?
"We're heading to the Zhang family camp," Liu Tiezhu said.
The problem Er Gouzi had thought of—how could he have missed it?
With the battle just starting, it wouldn't be over for hours.
He had to use that window of time to grab the Zhang family's supplies.
Er Gouzi paused, then quickly caught on to Liu Tiezhu's plan.
Soon, the two of them reached the spot opposite the Zhang family camp.
Liu Tiezhu observed for a moment, then said to Er Gouzi, "The Zhang family army's gone all out this time—there shouldn't be many guards left inside."
"We'll pose as the Golden Blade Bandits and go in."
"If things go south, you open fire immediately, got it?"
"Got it!"
Er Gouzi nodded, pulling out the Type 54 pistol tucked at his waist and chambering a round.
Ready to go, they mounted their horses and galloped toward the Zhang family camp.
"Halt! Dismount now, or we'll shoot!"
When they were about five meters from the camp, the Zhang family soldier on watch raised his rifle.
Ma Chenghui, the leader, stretched out his hand and shouted at Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi.
"Move aside if you don't want to die."
"Delay the boss's business, and you'll all lose your heads."
Liu Tiezhu bellowed back, not slowing down.
Hearing this, Ma Chenghui signaled the men behind him to lower their guns, but he didn't lift the barrier pole blocking the way.
Liu Tiezhu's tone sounded like the Golden Blade Bandits, but he still needed to confirm.
Seeing that Ma Chenghui hadn't raised the pole, Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi had no choice but to stop.
Ma Chenghui sized them up for a moment and asked, "Brothers, weren't you headed to Liujia Village? Why are you back?"
"There's a fight going on at Liujia Village. The boss sent us back to haul ammunition," Liu Tiezhu replied.
Ma Chenghui pressed on, "Who's your boss?"
"Hu Dahai," Er Gouzi blurted out a random name.
After all, these guys had never dealt with bandits—they wouldn't know any of them.
"Wait a moment, you two."
Ma Chenghui said, pulling out a notebook—a roster of the Golden Blade Bandits' minor leaders in the area.
That sight immediately made Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi's faces change.
Liu Tiezhu knew they couldn't bluff their way through this. He shot Er Gouzi a look, then quickly drew his compound crossbow and fired at Ma Chenghui.
Er Gouzi reacted just as fast, almost simultaneously aiming his own compound crossbow at the two men behind Ma Chenghui.
In ten seconds flat, three were dead.
The remaining three, faces pale, scrambled to raise their rifles.
But Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi were quicker, pulling the triggers on their crossbows as the others lifted their guns.
Thwip, thwip...
Blood sprayed everywhere. The three clutched their necks, collapsing and twitching on the ground.
The commotion didn't draw anyone's attention.
The two quickly dragged the bodies into the shadows and switched to moving on foot.
After a dozen steps, Liu Tiezhu spotted two more men dozing in a corner of a tent.
They had no guard up at all, curled up tight, their rifles tossed carelessly aside.
Liu Tiezhu gave Er Gouzi a look, aiming his crossbow at one of them.
Thwip, thwip...
Two bamboo bolts shot out simultaneously, sinking into the men's necks. Blood gushed out in torrents.
Before they knew what hit them, the two men met their ancestors in their sleep.
With those two dealt with, Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi pressed deeper.
A few steps later, they ran into more Zhang family soldiers napping.
Using the same method, they easily picked them off.
After about forty minutes, all seventeen people in the camp were dead at their hands, and they made it to the supply tent.
"Gouzi, go bring the carts over."
Liu Tiezhu gave the order and quickly stepped into the tent to haul supplies.
Two hours later, seven carts were loaded with dried meat and vegetables, over a thousand rounds of rifle ammo, sixty rifles, two hundred thirty pistol rounds, and twenty-six grenades.
On top of that, they found a kilogram of gold and 67,320 dollars in cash.
They'd completely cleaned out the Zhang family camp's supplies.
"Gouzi, no more loading."
Seeing Er Gouzi still going for another cart, Liu Tiezhu stopped him.
They'd been at the camp for over two hours now.
The fight at Liujia Village was probably winding down—they couldn't afford to linger.
"Brother Tiezhu, what about all this stuff left here?"
Er Gouzi pointed at the tent, a greedy look on his face.
"Can't take it, won't leave it for the Zhangs—burn it," Liu Tiezhu said.
There was kerosene nearby. Splash it on and light it up, and all the meat and dried veggies would go up in flames.
Everything set, Liu Tiezhu tossed a torch into the tent, then drove the carts away fast.
They'd barely gone a few dozen meters when a towering blaze erupted behind them.
The supply tent turned into a sea of fire.
"Hahaha, the Zhangs are going to be wailing now!"
Er Gouzi, riding ahead, burst into loud laughter.
At this rate, the whole camp would be burned to the ground in under half an hour.
Months of the Zhang family's hard work—gone in an instant.
"Gouzi, quit gloating. We need to move fast," Liu Tiezhu warned.
An hour later, the carts safely entered the mountains.
Only then did Liu Tiezhu's tense heart ease.
Being in the mountains meant they were truly safe.
Liu Tiezhu stopped and told Er Gouzi to start a fire.
They hadn't eaten in ten hours, and their stomachs were growling.
Er Gouzi got the fire going, and Liu Tiezhu prepped the dried meat, skewering it to roast.
"Brother Tiezhu, the Zhangs are definitely on the decline now."
"Without these supplies, and after a bloody fight with the Tiangang Stockade bandits,"
"their strength's bound to take a hit. Maybe the Golden Blade Bandits will cut ties with them," Er Gouzi said, a bit excited.
"You're underestimating the Zhangs."
"Raising so many men and scraping together all this weaponry in such a short time—they're not as simple as they look on the surface."
"The Golden Blade Bandits partnering with them isn't just about Zhang Mingtao and his brother's current power."
"If I'm not wrong, the bandits and the Zhangs have a much bigger plan."
"This camp is just one step in their scheme."
Liu Tiezhu spoke his mind as he warmed himself by the fire.
Er Gouzi's eyes went wide after hearing that.
"Brother Tiezhu, you're saying the Zhangs and the Golden Blade Bandits are aiming for the whole county?"
"Possible," Liu Tiezhu said, "but it won't be easy for the Zhangs to get that far."
"Right now, the town's full of rising powers. If the Zhangs want to dominate the county, they'll have to crush them all."
"Those factions won't go down without a fight. When that happens, bloodshed is unavoidable."