Along the way, Chen Xiaobei discussed with Li Dong and they finally decided to put Yang Zhi in the room assigned to the village patrol team for duty.
The night shift team members could also take care of him.
Upon returning to Hetou Village, Cui Hongyu mashed fish mint into a juice, cleaned Yang Zhi’s wounds again, and re-bandaged them.
She then boiled some fish mint juice and had someone slowly feed it to Yang Zhi.
Everything was finished well past midnight.
Returning home and seeing the exhausted Cui Hongyu, Chen Xiaobei felt a pang of heartache and said with concern, "You shouldn't have gone into the mountains. We were lucky tonight."
Cui Hongyu looked at him in surprise, "Why do you say that, my husband?"
Chen Xiaobei recounted what he had seen of Sun Jian setting up an ambush.
After hearing Chen Xiaobei's story, Cui Hongyu couldn't help but feel a sense of lingering fear. If she had led people into the mountains earlier and fallen into the ambush, they would likely have faced certain death.
"From now on, don't go into the mountains on a whim," Chen Xiaobei urged again.
"But, but, I don't know if I should go into the mountains. What if you are in danger?" Cui Hongyu asked, distressed.
Cui Hongyu's question plunged Chen Xiaobei into silence. Yes, what if he were in danger?
It would be best to have a unified signal.
Entering the mountains only upon seeing a distress signal would be the most reliable approach.
But what kind of signal could be used? Shouting wouldn't work, as sound doesn't travel as far in dense forests as one might imagine.
Chen Xiaobei thought and thought, recalling many TV shows he had watched in his previous life.
Especially war films, where signal flares were fired to launch major military operations.
Yes, that was a good idea. If he could get some fireworks and launch them, "swoosh," it would be simple and direct.
However, in his memories of this life, there was no information about gunpowder.
So, whether gunpowder existed in this Great Cang Kingdom, and what the situation was, he would have to ask Li Dong. After all, the military would always use the most advanced things.
The next day, as dawn broke, Chen Xiaobei was awakened by the sound of barking dogs. The dogs were barking because someone was knocking on the door.
The courtyard gate opened, and Chen Dayong was outside.
Yes, he was on night duty with the village patrol team last night.
Chen Dayong looked agitated, "Brother, go and see quickly. That fellow has woken up and is shouting and yelling. We've tied him up, and he seems very defiant."
From a distance, Chen Xiaobei saw Yang Zhi tied up like a zongzi to a large locust tree, with a rag stuffed in his mouth.
Upon seeing Chen Xiaobei arrive, Yang Zhi glared at him with bloodshot eyes.
Chen Xiaobei smiled slightly, "What? We saved you, and you glare at me like this? Do you want to repay kindness with enmity?"
Chen Dayong, standing nearby, added, "That's right. If it weren't for Village Chief Xiaobei carrying you down from the mountain, you would be dead by now."
At this point, Yang Zhi had also calmed down. The last scene flashing repeatedly in his mind was of him charging forward recklessly, and then he couldn't remember anything else.
Seeing that his words seemed to move the other party, Chen Xiaobei reached out and pulled the rag from Yang Zhi's mouth.
Yang Zhi took a long breath, "Thank you for saving my life. I, Yang Zhi, am willing to repay you with my death."
Chen Xiaobei smiled, "We went to great lengths to save you, why would I let you die? I ask you, were you sent by Liu Ruomei?"
Yang Zhi hesitated but did not answer the question. "Sir, may I ask how far it is to Qingniu Mountain from here?"
He neither confirmed nor denied, yet Chen Xiaobei saw a fleeting flicker of an unusual light in Yang Zhi's eyes when Liu Ruomei was mentioned. Although it vanished quickly, he had keenly captured it.
This further confirmed Chen Xiaobei's judgment. It must be related to Liu Ruomei. Now he could rest assured.
While he was hesitating, Chen Dayong next to him interjected first, "This place is called Hetou Village, right at the foot of Qingniu Mountain."
Hope sparkled in Yang Zhi's eyes, "Could you please lead the way, gentlemen? I'd like to go back to Qingniu Mountain. I am willing to pay one hundred, no, two hundred taels of silver as reward."
Chen Xiaobei looked at Yang Zhi, his eyes filled with doubt.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Last night, we were attacked by ruffians. My elder brother and dozens of good brothers are missing, their whereabouts unknown. I am very uneasy!"
Hearing his words, the scene Chen Xiaobei had seen of Sun Jian and his men setting up an ambush flashed through his mind.
"Alright then, we'll accompany you up the mountain. But can you handle it physically?"
Facing Chen Xiaobei's concern, Yang Zhi nodded firmly, "Don't worry, I'm fine."
Chen Xiaowei ordered someone to untie Yang Zhi. Then he went to get him something to eat, as he needed to discuss something with Li Dong.
As soon as he heard they had to go into the mountains again, Li Dong shook his head like a rattle drum.
Chen Xiaobei explained again, "This is a good opportunity. We'll take more people and accompany him up the mountain. It will allow everyone to familiarize themselves with the terrain, as we'll have to patrol the mountains in the future, at least up to the Mountain God Temple."
Upon hearing this, Li Dong immediately objected, "That's not advisable, not advisable. Patrolling the mountains is too dangerous."
Chen Xiaobei smiled and said, "This isn't the first time we've been into the mountains. Except for Chen Ping and his group encountering a wolf pack, nothing else has happened."
"Moreover, there's silver to be earned for patrolling the mountains."
As soon as he heard about earning silver, Li Dong's spirits perked up. He went to gather personnel and accompany Yang Zhi and Chen Xiaobei into the mountains.
Yang Zhi was quite a punctual person. Before entering the mountains, he directly handed two silver notes to Chen Xiaobei.
"Here are two hundred taels, please keep them."
Chen Xiaobei didn't stand on ceremony with him.
Since it was offered, he accepted it.
Tucking the silver notes into his怀, Chen Xiaobei led the group and set off.
Along the way, Yang Zhi chose to remain silent in response to Chen Xiaobei's questions.
Since he wouldn't speak, Chen Xiaobei stopped asking after a few attempts.
After walking for over an hour, they finally passed the Mountain God Temple.
Another seven or eight li further up was where Sun Jian had set up his ambush.
Still some distance away, Chen Xiaobei could already smell a pungent odor.
It was a smell of fishiness mixed with rot.
Upon smelling this fishy stench, Yang Zhi's face visibly tensed.
Moving further, there were large patches of dark red on the ground, clearly bloodstains.
Seeing this scene, Chen Xiaobei also felt a prickle of unease.
Fortunately, he hadn't seen it in the dark last night. If he had, he probably would have vomited.
Yang Zhi squatted down and meticulously examined the bloodstains, tears streaming down his face.
"Look!" Suddenly, Chen Daqiang, a member of the village patrol team, shouted, pointing to the bottom of the cliff.
A tree grew diagonally from the edge of the cliff, and a corpse was hanging from its branches.
Looking further down, several more corpses could be vaguely seen.
Yang Zhi wiped his tears and shouted at the bottom of the mountain, "Is anyone alive? I am Yang Zhi, your second-in-command!"