After discussing, the two retreated to a grove about a hundred meters away. The bandits weren't entering the village until dawn, so there was no point in them freezing and starving out here. It was still early—they needed to fill their stomachs and rest up before getting things done.
Er Gouzi lit a fire, took out some dried meat, and began roasting it on a spit. Liu Tiezhu pulled out the apricot blossom wine he'd bought from the tavern, took a couple of swigs, then handed it to Er Gouzi. An hour later, they were full and satisfied.
Liu Tiezhu told Er Gouzi to keep watch while he closed his eyes and dozed off. He'd barely shut his eyes when Er Gouzi shook him awake. "Tiezhu, there's movement." Er Gouzi lowered his voice and pointed at a ridge in the distance.
Liu Tiezhu followed his gaze and saw over a dozen dark figures creeping quietly toward Liujia Village. "Tiezhu, could these guys be after the bandits' supplies too?" Er Gouzi said. Liu Tiezhu thought for a moment and nodded. "Possible." The whole village was surrounded now; a dozen people wouldn't be looking to fight the Zhang family's troops head-on. And they were heading for the village's rear, clearly aiming for the bandits' stash.
Hearing this, Er Gouzi frowned immediately. "So what do we do now? Should we follow them?" Liu Tiezhu considered it. "Let's tail them, but keep our distance."
They put out the fire and quickly caught up with the dozen or so men ahead. These people stopped about twenty meters from the rear of Liujia Village. Leading them was Liu Guocheng, Liu Yusheng's cousin.
As the captain of the Li family's security team, Liu Guocheng had acted on the news from his cousin Liu Ruyu, bringing his trusted men along at once. The bandits' supplies were worth a hundred thousand. If he could seize them, he could go solo.
Seeing the Zhang family's troops guarding the area, Liu Guocheng frowned. The intel he'd gotten said the bandits in the cellar had been wiped out with no one left to guard it. Now, with so many Zhang soldiers around, he was stumped. Still, luckily, these Zhang troops didn't seem to know about the secret cellar.
After some thought, Liu Guocheng decided on a quick strike: take out the Zhang soldiers, grab the cash and gold from the cellar, and run. The group discussed it briefly, then charged toward the cellar.
"What the hell, a bunch of idiots." "Once the guns go off, you think you fools can escape?" Watching from behind, Liu Tiezhu couldn't help cursing. He didn't care how they died. What worried him was the cellar's location being exposed. If that happened, their own chance would slip away.
"What were these bastards thinking? Got their heads stuck in a door?" "Just a dozen guys daring to ambush—I don't know where they got the balls." Er Gouzi joined in the cursing. He and Liu Tiezhu had been squatting here all day. They'd planned to slip in when the bandits and Zhang troops started shooting. Now Liu Guocheng's bunch of morons had ruined everything.
"Pull back." When Liu Guocheng's men were only five meters from the Zhang troops, Liu Tiezhu gave the order to retreat. No sooner had they entered the woods than heavy gunfire erupted behind them.
"I swear to their ancestors, if I ever get my hands on those bastards, I'll cut their dicks off." Er Gouzi gritted his teeth in fury, cursing aloud. Liu Tiezhu's face darkened too. Their plan had been perfect, and then this wild card showed up, wasting half a day's work. Now that shots had been fired, the Zhang troops would swarm in soon. Once they caught those idiots, the bandits' supplies would definitely be exposed.
Then came even denser gunfire. The shots were rapid, continuous, with a heavy echo. "Machine gun. The bandits are entering the village." Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi said in unison.
"Gouzi, this is our chance." Liu Tiezhu grinned. He'd already given up hope on the bandits' supplies. Now the bandits were attacking, and the timing was perfect. Under the bandits' assault, the Zhang troops would be stretched thin. Judging by the gunfire, ninety percent of them had been pulled to the village entrance. The ones left, after fighting Liu Guocheng's group, would be battered too.
"Tiezhu, should we turn back now?" Er Gouzi asked, grinning with excitement. Liu Tiezhu nodded. "Check your gear. Let's head back." "But don't get too close. Wait till they're done, then we swoop in."
After checking their equipment, they dashed toward the village's rear. About thirty meters out, Liu Tiezhu stopped. Ahead, bullets flew back and forth as both sides exchanged fire. Liu Guocheng hadn't expected the gunfire to draw over twenty Zhang soldiers. He'd planned to retreat and wait for another chance. But hearing shots from the village entrance too, he changed his mind and ordered his men to intensify their fire.
After over ten minutes, the Zhang side had lost seven men, and Liu Guocheng's side three. Both forces were evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand. But as things stood, Liu Guocheng couldn't afford to drag it out.
"Damn it, use the grenades." At that moment, Liu Guocheng couldn't wait any longer. Grimacing, he ordered the two men behind him. He'd gone through hell to get those—only four of them, hoarded and never used. Now, he was all in.
The two men pulled out grenades, yanked the pins, and hurled them at the Zhang troops. Boom!! The ground shook, and dirt and debris flew up with severed limbs. Screams rang out from the Zhang side, and their firepower dropped by half. Two grenades had taken out eleven Zhang soldiers. The survivors were dazed from the blast.
Liu Guocheng seized the moment to charge. "Damn, these bastards may be dumb, but they've got some fight," Er Gouzi said. "Getting grenades means they're tied to some big power." Liu Tiezhu agreed. Judging by their moves, Liu Guocheng's men had seen battle before.
As they spoke, Liu Guocheng's group broke through the Zhang line. Just as they were about to go all out, more gunfire erupted. Rat-tat-tat-tat... The machine gun's roar was relentless. Caught off guard, Liu Guocheng's men took heavy losses. About ten meters away, a machine gun blazed with blinding sparks. Wherever the bullets hit, flesh and blood flew.
Under the machine gun's fierce suppression, Liu Guocheng's men scrambled back behind cover ten meters away. The machine gun had killed six of his men on the spot. Adding the earlier losses, he now had only eight left. The Zhang side still had five men, backed by the machine gun, completely pinning down Liu Guocheng's group. The standoff dragged on.
Hiding behind cover, Liu Guocheng was frantic as a cat on hot bricks. He couldn't afford to wait—the longer it took, the worse for him. Once the fighting at the village entrance stopped, more Zhang troops would surround them, and he'd lose not just the supplies but his life.
"Damn it, I'm not going down easy." "Use the grenades again." At his command, two more grenades flew toward the machine gun. With a boom, five Zhang soldiers were thrown from their cover. Liu Guocheng didn't hesitate, charging forward with his men.
Seeing this, Liu Tiezhu spoke up. "Gouzi, time for us to work."