With this thought, he gritted his teeth, took a step forward, and supported Yang Yuan's body.
"Hold on, brother."
After speaking, he hoisted Yang Yuan onto his shoulder and called out to Yang Bo, "Follow me."
Someone had thrown a fire starter just now, and the flame had flashed and disappeared, so Yang Bo hadn't seen clearly, but Yang Zhi had.
The firelight had fallen from the trees, meaning the ambushing men were all in the trees.
Yang Zhi, carrying Yang Yuan, sprinted towards the woods. He knew that once they entered the woods, they would be safe.
Puff, puff, a muffled sound, the sound of a repeating crossbow firing in succession. Yang Yuan, on his shoulder, suddenly straightened his body.
Another muffled sound, and a dozen arrows all hit Yang Yuan.
Yang Zhi was instantly stunned. He had carried Yang Yuan to save his brother, but he hadn't expected his brother to suddenly straighten up and act as a shield against the volley of arrows.
"Big brother, use me as a shield and hurry!"
Yang Yuan exerted his last strength and uttered these words, then his body went limp and he breathed his last.
Yang Zhi's heart was like a knife, but this was not the time to be sad. He was only a few steps away from entering the woods, and once inside, he could deal with the enemy and perhaps find a chance to escape.
Just then, the sound of sharp blades slicing through the air reached his ears again. The enemy had started firing arrows again. Helpless, Yang Zhi gritted his teeth, hardened his heart, raised Yang Yuan's body above his head, and with a few more muffled sounds, Yang Yuan's body trembled a few more times.
Taking this opportunity, Yang Zhi and Yang Bo rushed forward a few steps and finally entered the woods.
Once in the woods, Yang Zhi quickly laid Yang Yuan's body on the ground and then hid behind a large tree.
Puff, puff, another volley of arrows, a dozen arrows, all embedded in the ground.
The next moment, Yang Zhi pulled out a short knife from his chest.
Alas, it was a mistake to come into the mountains. The repeating crossbows were not distributed to everyone but were carried by a few people. Now, his only weapon was this short knife.
Then, someone spoke, "Go down and finish them."
Yang Zhi hid behind the tree, listening intently. There were three different sounds, indicating that three people had come down, and clearly, there were still people in the trees.
Soon, a faint sound came from behind him. Someone was approaching him stealthily.
One, two. Yang Zhi was certain that two people were stealthily approaching his tree, one from the left and one from the right. The other person was likely heading towards Yang Bo.
Three steps, two steps, one step. Yang Zhi suddenly lunged to the right, his short knife slashing out instantly. The blade accurately cut across the neck of the approaching person. Then, Yang Zhi turned his body along the trunk of the tree and moved behind the other person on the left.
Puff, the short knife accurately severed this person's neck again.
Just then, the sound of the repeating crossbow rang out again. Although Yang Zhi dodged quickly, his shoulder still tightened.
Damn, he was hit.
Hiding behind the tree trunk, Yang Zhi took two deep breaths. There was no pain in his shoulder, but a numbness.
This filled him with a sense of dread. The arrow was poisoned.
He tore off a piece of his garment, tied it around his shoulder, and coughed lightly.
This was a signal, he was communicating with Yang Bo.
Not far away, someone lightly tapped on a tree trunk.
Fortunately, Yang Bo was still alive.
But after only a few moments, Yang Zhi felt his head grow heavy, and stars began to appear before his eyes.
Not good. The poison was spreading quickly. If he collapsed here, he would surely die.
Therefore, rushing into the woods and leaving this place might offer a slim chance of survival.
Yang Zhi could no longer care about anything else. He took off running, heading deep into the woods with all his might.
At this time, the mountain road had descended into chaos.
La Erdo jumped off the cliff, Yang Zhi had disappeared, La Tuo had fled, and the remaining members of the Vermilion Bird Gang were in disarray. Some were hit by arrows, others were gassed, and in moments, more than half had fallen.
The rest scattered like birds and beasts, retreating down the mountain.
La Tuo, accompanied by Batu, ran at the forefront. After not traveling far, they saw a blaze of fire ahead.
Upon seeing the light, Batu quickly shouted, "Don't shoot! Brother Sun Jian is our good friend."
As he shouted, he ran forward and came before a group of men in black. Batu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "It's Brother Sun Qing. Long time no see."
Sun Qing also chuckled, "Yes, fortunately you called out to me. Otherwise, I would have shot you into a hedgehog."
"Brother Sun Qing, we'll part ways here. We'll meet again." La Tuo clasped his fists, wanting to leave quickly.
"Don't, where are you going?" Sun Qing's face was sinister. With a wave of his hand, a repeating crossbow was pointed directly at La Tuo's forehead.
La Tuo looked surprised and turned to look at Batu, "You, didn't you say...?"
Batu chuckled dryly, took a few steps, and came to Sun Qing's side. "La Tuo, what did you say last night?"
La Tuo immediately replied, "Didn't we agree that after killing Elder Brother and Second Brother, I would be the leader of the Vermilion Bird Gang, and you would be..."
At this point, La Tuo suddenly understood. "You want to be the gang leader!"
Batu burst into laughter. "You're right. After setting up such a grand scheme, do I still only want to be a second-in-command? You are truly too foolish."
La Tuo immediately became furious. "You..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a heat at his temple, his vision went black, and he could no longer speak.
Batu cupped his fists towards Sun Qing. "Thank you, Elder Brother, for fulfilling my wish. If you ever need me in the future, Batu will die without regret."
Sun Qing nodded. "Good, travel safely." Then, he suddenly raised his hand and struck two black-clothed men beside him. Puff, puff, he beat them into a mess.
The two black-clothed men were caught off guard and were directly killed by the arrows.
The rest of the crowd was immediately stunned. They looked at each other, bewildered.
Sun Qing said calmly, "These two were traitors, and I've dealt with them. Everyone, hide."
With that, he turned and left with his men.
Batu pondered for a moment, bent down, picked up the dead La Tuo, took a torch, and began to walk down the mountain step by step with difficulty.
At this time, more than a dozen people rushed down the mountain.
Seeing that La Tuo had an arrow in his head, they knew he wouldn't survive.
"Batu, what exactly happened?"
Batu looked sorrowful. "We were ambushed by those two brats. Third Master is likely in grave danger."
The dozen or so people, with sorrow on their faces, rapidly descended the mountain with Batu.
Batu knew that as long as he gritted his teeth and carried the dead man down the mountain, the position of leader of the Vermilion Bird Gang would be his.
At this time, on the mountain, Sun Jian was very pleased that the Vermilion Bird Gang had been scattered so quickly. He laughed and cursed, "What a damn Vermilion Bird Gang, what kind of experts from India! I used a small trick, and they've all turned into dead birds."
"Come, throw their corpses down and prepare to withdraw."
The black-clothed men worked together, throwing all the corpses of the Vermilion Bird Gang members lying on the ground down the mountain.
A whistle sounded, a signal to assemble. The last black-clothed man hiding in Gourd Valley also came out.